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This issue’s 10-page “Little Archie” cover-story, “The Phantom Of Landlocked Lakes” was written and drawn by Bob Bolling. It begins as Little Archie and Veronica Lodge accompany her father to his new country estate, “just on the other side of Turkeyville”. On the way, they pass a theater that’s showing the movie “Flip My Wigwam”, where its star, Mimi Freem, will be appearing in person. That evening, Mr. Lodge relates the local legend of “The Point Of Tears”, a lakeside formation where a ghost of a Native American squaw -- mourning the death of her mate by the lake’s resident monster – supposedly has appeared. The next day, headstrong Little Archie ventures out onto the foggy lake, intent on catching a few fish before he’s missed. But when he becomes lost in the haze near The Point Of Tears, he encounters a beautiful “Indian lady” who warns him of danger. Before he can leave, his boat becomes ensnarled in the tentacles of a huge, purple, squid-like monster! Diving overboard, Little Archie nearly drowns, but is rescued by the woman he met earlier. Taking him to an underwater cavern, she resuscitates the young redhead. But the lake-monster, apparently following Little Archie’s scent – the Native American thinks that, for some reason, it cannot see her – soon surfaces in a pool within the cave. Intentionally triggering a rockslide to block the passage back to the lake and forcing the creature back to the ocean from where it originally came. As she leads Little Archie back to the surface, the beautiful woman explains:

NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN:
Many winters ago, when my tribe first hunted here, Landlocked Lakes were ocean inlets! Then came a great earthquake and the se lakes were sealed off from the sea! The monster was trapped here!

Soon, Little Archie is reunited with Veronica and Mr. Lodge, but they refuse to believe his story, preferring to think that he must have met the movie actress Mimi Freen, walking around the area in the costume from her movie. But when Mimi’s agent arrives, hoping to take advantage of her life-saving act to garner publicity for his client, Little Archie realizes the blonde actress looks nothing like the woman who saved his life! As their limousine departs for Riverdale, a familiar lone figure watches them from her vantage point atop The Point Of Tears…one that greatly resembles that of Little Archie’s real benefactor! (Here’s the image of this memorable final panel.)

This “Giant” issue of THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE ARCHIE also includes the stories and features:

• “Little Archie Meets The Barracuda”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (When Little Archie’s father takes him to the local bank to open his very own savings account, their visit is interrupted by a bank-heist headed by the criminal mastermind, The Barracuda! One of the crooks knocks out Little Archie’s dad and takes the young redhead hostage! Fleeing to their farmhouse hideout a few miles outside of Riverdale, Little Archie bravely frees the elderly residents who the Barracuda has held prisoner and incites the farm’s animals to stampede. The critters interfere with the takeoff of the Barracuda’s private plane, which crash-lands in a nearby meadow. The crooks are hauled away by the police, but Little Archie decides his piggy bank is the safest place for his allowance money!)

• “Little Archie” in “Business Boom”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (a one-page gag-strip)

• “Li’l Jinx” in “Party Stunt”, written and drawn by Joe Edwards (a one-page gag-strip)

• “Little Archie” in “Adventure On Shipwreck Island”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (The entire “good ol’ gang” join Betty and an alarmingly youthful Mr. Lodge on his yacht for a vacation cruise. During a rain squall, their boat crashes on some half-submerged rocks, leaving its passengers as castaways on a small island. After they have typical “Swiss Family Robinson” exploits (involving a sea turtle and a manta ray), they’re rescued by a passing ocean liner. Only young Jughead is reticent to be saved -- because he’s prone to seasickness!)

• “Li’l Jinx” in “The Stopper”, written and drawn by Joe Edwards (a one-page gag-strip)

• “Little Archie” in “Sports Spot”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (a page of single-panel gag cartoons)

• “Little Archie” in “Fight To The Finish”, written and drawn by Bob Bolling – (When Little Archie’s gorgeous cousin Claudia hears the music of aspiring songwriter Beato Kreech, she assumes someone’s abusing a cat. Beato gives her a tour of modern-day Riverdale -- she hasn’t been in town since Claudia and the long-haired hipster were in the seventh grade together -- but run afoul of two teenage thugs at Granny’s Thrivin’ Drive-In. One of them decks Beato for trying to prevent him from stealing Claudia’s purse, so Little Archie clobbers him with Beato’s guitar. Not only does this foil the creep, but also the sound of the impact provides Beato with the final notes to the song that he’s been struggling to write! His guitar now smashed, Beato switches to a comb-with-tissue-paper to compose his next tune.)

• “Little Archie” in “A Royal Appetite”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (Little Archie works hard to convince Veronica to invite Jughead to her fancy party in honor of a young Prince Wahnu, the son of one of her father’s business associates. She finally relents, but insatiable Juggie makes a shambles of the shindig in his quest for food. When the Lodge’s butler finally ejects Jughead from the mansion, Prince Wahnu also disappears, but both later turn up gobbling hamburgers together at Pop’s Choc’lit Shoppe!)

• “Little Archie” in “The Ghost Of Ancient Cemetery”, written and drawn by Dexter Taylor (One evening, after reading a magazine full of ghost stories, nervous Little Archie and Jughead walk home past Ancient Cemetery. But Little Archie’s pooch Spotty chases a squirrel into the forbidding graveyard, so they have no choice but to go after him. Inside, they find Spotty, but encounter a creepy-looking ex-con, “Trigger” – whom they assume is a ghost -- digging up the loot he buried there decades earlier. Spotty leaps to their defense, but the crook knocks him out as they escape. They, but bravely continue to search for Spotty, who they find, unconscious in the “ghost’s” underground hideout. While waiting for Spotty to recover, the boys concoct a plan. Covering themselves with one of Trigger’s bed sheets, they scare him into fleeing and knocking himself out when he runs into a headstone. Little Archie and Juggie call the police, who help find the stolen money and give the duo a cash reward. They spend the money not on more ghost stories, but instead on magazines about rockets and outer space – since Little Archie and Jughead no longer believe in ghosts!)

ODDBALL Factoid – The cover of this issue of THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE ARCHIE is actually composed of two reprinted panels from the comic’s interior stories, both by cartoonist Bob Bolling!

For more from Scott Shaw!, visit his Web site at http://www.shawcartoons.com/.

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