Misadventures of Archie - When he was a BOY! Little Archie 1 Facsimile Reprint Review

Little Archie 1, from January 1956 is the latest facsimile reprint from Archie Comics. The further misadventures of America's favorite comic book teenager, Archie Andrews! The debut issue opens with Little Archie and Little Jughead on a hunting safari in the Andrews living room! The duo approaches their quarry from opposite sides and with dual "SPLAT!" they nail Fred Andrews with their suction cup arrows! Both he and Mary advise the boys to take their hunting expedition outside. That's where they concoct a plan to open a wild animal zoo! With Betty and Veronica, they head down to the creek to look for wild animals. Finding a turtle, they bring him home, and Jughead plops him in Mr. Andrews' tub... before an unsuspecting Mr. Andrews dives in for a relaxing bath.

Next, the boys enjoy watching racing on television and get the idea to have their own soap box derby! While everyone else builds their own racer, Archie enlists Veronica and Betty to help him with his. Unfortunately, the other boys discover what Archie's got hidden under the hood!

Later, Veronica ropes Archie into matrimony and they play "house". Mr. Andrews tells Archie to be a gentleman. Betty wants in, so she tries to marry her cat to Archie's dog. Which lands her cat up a tree and Archie in trouble with his pop. Things go from bad to worse when his friends start teasing him.

Finally, playing army, General Little Archie and Moose inspect the troops... Until Veronica gets hold of Moose bugle and turns everything around.

The issue is buttoned up with Reggie and Archie playing "office".

The stories are so much fun and light-hearted. Full of wonder and imagination. Bob Bolling captures the spirit of being a kid.

The reprint facsimile of Little Archie 1 earns five stars.  

 

Archie Andrews Pure of Heart! The Life with Archie 42 Review!

June 2026, Archie Comics released a facsimile reprint of the October 1965 Life with Archie, featuring the FIRST appearance of Archie as Pureheart the Powerful.

The cool villain, The Ice Cube freezes Pureheart in a block of ice. While whisking the hero away, Pureheart's "inner goodness" melts the ice! Free, Pureheart grabs a nearby flagpole, while the street floods with the water from the block of ice! Before he can carry The Cube away, The Witch Doctor turns Pureheart into a white rabbit! Hopping away to find help from The Head, who uses syrup and a lighter to change him back. It's a game of cat and mouse as Pureheart endeavors to prevent The Ice Cube from stealing Mr. Lodge's fortune!

The pacing is somewhat uneven and jerky, jumping from one thing to the next pretty quickly. That's due to the nature of the story and The Reveal. The reveal is a bit of a letdown. Pureheart is a very cool character. He deserves a genuine, unique origin.

Of course, Archie is pretty similar to Jimmy Olsen and Chris King. So maybe a Walter Mitty approach is not so bad a thing.

The back-up story features Archie stepping in at the Choklit Shoppe when Pop Tate gets a crick in his neck. Reggie pulls a prank that drives everyone away and causes Pop to throw Archie out when he comes back.

Hilarity courtesy of Archie scribe Frank Doyle, with art by Bob White and Mario Acquaviva.

The highlights of the reprint are original ads featuring Rocky and Bullwinkle for Cheerios, the Trix Rabbit and Sunny, the Cuckoo Bird for Cocoa Puffs! Good times...

Life with Archie 42 earns five stars as a definite classic.