Archie #297

A sunny beach setting provides the backdrop for this two-panel cover by Dan DeCarlo, where a lifeguard perched atop a tall stand directs a charging, fist-clenched Moose with the words "Reggie went that way, Moose!" — sending the big guy thundering across the sand. The second panel delivers the punchline as the lifeguard, now tumbled off his stand and soaked, quips "First life I've ever saved on dry land!" to a bemused Betty and onlookers. It's a perfectly timed bit of Riverdale beach humor that captures everything fun about Archie Comics' summer charm in 1980.