That Wilkin Boy #18
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThat Wilkin Boy #18 is a solid mid-run entry in Archie's most ambitious spin-off of the early 1970s — a book that pushed the Archie house style into romance-comic territory while its lead title stayed safely comedic. The issue's standout story, narrated in first-person by Samantha Smythe in the florid style of a romance comic, represents a creative experiment the GCD has noted may have originated as an unused Betty and Veronica script, offering a rare window into how Archie's editorial recycled and cross-pollinated material across its line. The issue also carries a one-page Li'l Jinx backup by Joe Edwards, maintaining the cross-property variety-show format that the series had established from its very first issue and that made That Wilkin Boy a minor laboratory for Archie's backup-feature ecosystem. As a 52-page giant — a format the line adopted starting with issue #12 and abandoned after issue #26 — #18 belongs to a brief, editorially ambitious chapter in the series' history.
In "The Ghost Hunters," Samantha’s carefree attitude toward her loyal dog Bingo takes a surprising turn when she casually sidelines him for more glamorous companions. But when her usual crowd lets her down at the biggest dance of the year, she finds herself unexpectedly relying on Bingo—only to learn a lesson in appreciation the hard way. Written by Frank Doyle and brought to life with Dan DeCarlo’s signature style, Rudy Lapick’s inks, Barry Grossman’s colors, and Bill Yoshida’s lettering, this 1972 Archie classic features a memorable cover by Stan Goldberg and Jon D'Agostino.
In "The Ghost Hunters," Bingo, Samantha, and Teddy take a winter trip to a nearly empty ski lodge, drawn by the mystery of the supposedly haunted house next door. When eerie noises keep the guests away, the trio sets out to uncover the truth behind the spooky rumors—no matter how cold the trail gets.
When Mr. Smythe warns Samantha not to throw wild parties while he’s away, she promises to behave—until a school bus full of children breaks down outside, and she finds herself in charge of a sudden, unexpected crowd. With Bingo Wilkin and the Smythe family in the mix, chaos and humor unfold as trust, rules, and teenage responsibility are put to the test.
In a quiet moment of reflection, Samantha realizes she’s taken Bingo for granted—keeping him on a leash for convenience while chasing more exciting boys. When Bingo finally grows tired of being second choice, Samantha tries to fix things by pairing him with her quiet friend Sally, thinking it’ll keep him busy without competition. But when the big dance arrives and her usual dates let her down, Samantha finds herself reaching for Bingo—only to learn, too late, that heartache is a two-way street.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
That Wilkin Boy launched in late 1968 on the commercial tailwind of The Archies' pop-chart success, with Bingo's garage band the Bingoes filling a similar role for the new title. By issue #18 (July 1972), the series had settled into a rotating team of veteran Archie craftsmen: Frank Doyle provided scripts, with pencil work split between Dan DeCarlo — the series' foundational artist — and Stan Goldberg, whose cover graces this issue (inked by Jon D'Agostino). The Li'l Jinx one-pagers were the province of her creator, Joe Edwards, who contributed them as backup features throughout the run. Credits for some interior stories in this issue were later reconstructed from the reprint in Jughead's Double Digest #189, as the original printing carried incomplete indicia.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 1972 by Archie Publications; cover pencils by Stan Goldberg, inks by Jon D'Agostino.
- Issue falls within the series' 52-page 'giant' era, which ran from issue #12 through issue #26 before the line returned to standard 36-page books.
- Lead story 'Heartache Is a Two-Way Street' (script Frank Doyle, pencils Dan DeCarlo, inks Rudy Lapick) is narrated by Samantha in the first-person style of a romance comic — the GCD notes this was one of several such stories in the period and speculates the script may have been repurposed from an unused Betty and Veronica story.
- In that same story, several of Samantha's boyfriends are named after real Archie Comics contributors: Stan (Goldberg), Al (Hartley), Dexter (Taylor), and Bob (Bolling).
- A second major story sends Bingo, Samantha, and Tough Teddy to a ski lodge to investigate a supposedly haunted neighboring house.
- Li'l Jinx backup story by Joe Edwards features Jinx attempting a William Tell stunt with a boomerang instead of an arrow — one of the recurring one-page humor strips Edwards contributed throughout the series.
- Roz, one of Li'l Jinx's friends (an African-American character added to the strip following the civil rights movement era), is indexed as appearing in the Li'l Jinx feature.
- Stories from this issue were later reprinted in multiple digest formats, including Jughead's Double Digest #189 and Jughead & Friends Digest Magazine #26, demonstrating the material's ongoing editorial utility across decades.
Cast · 8 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #26 (1980), Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #28 (1980), Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #30 (1980), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #27 (1987), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #33 (1988), Betty & Veronica (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest #12 (1989), Jughead & Friends Digest Magazine #7 (2006), Tales from Riverdale Digest #11 (2006), Jughead & Friends Digest Magazine #26 (2008), Jughead's Double Digest #166 (2011), B&V Friends Double Digest Magazine #215 (2011), Jughead's Double Digest #189 (2013), Archie and Me Comics Digest #23 (2020)
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