Little Archie Comics Digest Magazine #20
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLittle Archie Comics Digest Magazine #20 (1986) is a representative entry in the digest run that gave the childhood incarnation of Sabrina Spellman — under her recurring strip title 'Sabrina — That Cute Little Witch' — her most consistent ongoing exposure to a new generation of readers throughout the 1980s. By folding the elementary-school-aged Sabrina, complete with Aunts Hilda and Zelda, into the same digest pages as the core Little Archie cast, these issues cemented the character's cross-generational appeal a full decade before her television breakthrough. The digest format also served as the primary reprint vehicle for Bob Bolling's celebrated Little Archie adventure stories and Joe Edwards's Li'l Jinx gag strips, making each issue a curated sampler of Archie's most distinctive all-ages storytelling traditions.
In "Meets the Monster," Little Archie takes over Chick Cooper’s paper route when Chick falls ill, teaming up with Dilton to test a high-tech paper-throwing machine. With Spotty pulling the contraption, things go smoothly—until the sight of Yakaboo, Mrs. Skratchlow’s dreaded cat, sends Spotty bolting in panic. Written and illustrated by Bob Bolling, with coloring by Barry Grossman and lettering by Bill Yoshida, this 1986 digest issue features a cover by Dexter Taylor.
When Little Archie volunteers to deliver Valentine’s Day cards to Miss Shapely, he’s sidetracked by Mr. Weatherbee’s sudden interest in taking the job—only to end up with the wrong address, sending the cards straight to the plumber Fred had annoyed earlier that day.
When Little Archie takes over Chick Cooper’s paper route, he and Dilton try out a high-tech paper-throwing machine—only to have things go sideways when Spotty bolts after Yakaboo, Mrs. Skratchlow’s notorious feline foe. The chaos unfolds in a whirlwind of flapping newspapers and frantic chases, all in the name of a perfect delivery.
When budget cuts hit Riverdale High, Mr. Weatherbee tasks Professor Flutesnoot with repurposing his new riding lawn mower to polish floors for Svenson—much to the professor’s dismay and the students’ amusement.
In "Little Archie and His Teachers," Mr. Weatherbee and Miss Grundy swap roles with their students, stepping into the classroom as pupils while the kids take charge. The story follows their unexpected day of lessons, where the usual order is turned upside down.
In "The Old Shell Game," Jo and the gang spend a summer day at Ronnie’s beach cottage, seeking peace from the constant bickering between her parents over renovations. When they head to the shore to collect shells, they stumble upon something unexpected—a wartime relic that quietly reminds them of how easily things can get out of hand.
In "Winning Ways," Ronnie’s relentless attempts to tag along with Little Archie and Spotty lead her straight into the territory of Fangs Fogarty and the South Side Serpents—unaware she’s just made a very dangerous move. When the Serpents close in, Ronnie’s quick thinking and surprising courage turn the tables in a moment that leaves her both surprised and unprepared for what comes next.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The Little Archie Comics Digest Magazine (1985 series) continued the numbering established by the earlier Little Archie Comics Digest Annual Magazine series, picking up from issue #15 onward. By the time issue #20 appeared in 1986, the series had settled into a quarterly publication schedule under the Archie Digest Library imprint, carrying the Comics Code Authority seal and edited under Victor Gorelick and Richard Goldwater's editorial stewardship — the same team overseeing the broader digest line. Notably, issue #16 of this same series marked the first new Bob Bolling Little Archie story since 1966, after which Bolling contributed longer adventure stories to the series on a recurring basis across these mid-1980s issues.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published by Archie Comic Publications, Inc. in 1986 as part of the ongoing Little Archie Comics Digest Magazine (1985 series), which continued numbering from the earlier Little Archie Comics Digest Annual Magazine series.
- Little Sabrina Spellman appears in her recurring feature 'Sabrina — That Cute Little Witch,' which ran in nearly all Little Archie comics of this era, presenting the character at elementary-school age alongside the rest of the Riverdale kids.
- Sabrina was originally created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, debuting in Archie's Madhouse #22 (October 1962); her childhood incarnation in the Little Archie stories was a separate, parallel feature developed for that title.
- Supporting Sabrina in these Little Archie stories are her Aunts Hilda and Zelda Spellman, her guardians who are witches themselves — the same core family dynamic that would later anchor the 1990s television adaptations.
- Fangs Fogarty, the recurring elementary-school bully of the Little Archie universe, appears as a regular antagonist throughout the series, providing physical comedy and conflict across many stories in these digests.
- Li'l Jinx (created by Joe Edwards) and her father Hap Holliday and friend Greg appear as a recurring backup strip, a separate Archie Comics feature folded into the digest alongside the Little Archie material.
- Principal Waldo Weatherbee appears in his childhood role at the kids' elementary school, a recurring comedic inversion that lets readers see the authority figures of Riverdale as children themselves.
- The series carried the Comics Code Authority seal and was published under the Archie Digest Library brand, designed as an affordable, newsstand-accessible all-ages format reprinting and occasionally presenting new stories.
Cast · 13 characters
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Little Archie Giant Comics #18 (1961), Archie Giant Series Magazine #168 (1970), Little Archie #58 (1970), Betty and Me #65 (1975), Little Archie #105 (1976), Little Archie #108 (1976), Laugh Comics / Laugh #309 (1976), Laugh Comics / Laugh #310 (1977), Sabrina, the Teenage Witch #43 (1977), Little Archie #129 (1978), Little Archie #136 (1978), Little Archie #137 (1978), Pep #345 (1979), Little Archie #149 (1979), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals #138 (1980), Little Archie #150 (1980)
Reprinted in Little Archie #144 (1979), Jughead's Double Digest #85 (2002), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #139 (2003), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #72 (2003), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #140 (2003), Jughead's Double Digest #147 (2009), Jughead's Double Digest #153 (2009)
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