That Wilkin Boy #3
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThat Wilkin Boy #3 (on sale April 8, 1969) is one of the earliest issues of Archie's only sustained Silver Age spin-off built around a teenage rock band, arriving at the precise cultural moment when youth music culture and generation-gap comedy were defining American pop. As the third chapter in a series that would run 52 issues through 1982, it deepens the ensemble dynamics — particularly the running gag of Sampson Smythe's hypermasculinity clashing with the Wilkin household — and its lead story 'Dad's Dilemma' delivers a quietly notable character beat: Samantha reveals her father nicknamed her 'Sam' because he wanted a son, a small but resonant moment of gender commentary embedded in a humor book. The issue also marks one of the earliest in-series appearances of Joe Edwards's Li'l Jinx (with her father Hap Holliday) as a backup feature, a cross-title publishing practice that would persist across the series' entire run and later in digest reprints.
In "Generosity," the third issue of That Wilkin Boy (1969), Mr. Wilkin earns Mr. Smythe's respect through an unexpected display of willpower—lifting weights not by strength, but by sheer determination. Meanwhile, Samantha shares a quiet moment about her name, and her father begins to see Bingo in a new light, hinting at a shift in how he views family and legacy. Written by Frank Doyle and brought to life by Dan DeCarlo’s expressive art, Rudy Lapick’s inks, Barry Grossman’s colors, and Bill Yoshida’s lettering, the issue captures the warmth and humor of Archie’s early 1960s charm. The cover, penciled by DeCarlo and inked by Lapick, perfectly captures the story’s heartfelt tone.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The series was created with writer Frank Doyle scripting and artist Dan DeCarlo penciling (with inker Rudy Lapick), the same powerhouse team responsible for the core Archie line at the time; DeCarlo himself confirmed his involvement in drawing the premiere issue in a statement quoted in 'The Best of Betty and Veronica Summer Fun.' The book was edited by Richard H. Goldwater and published under the indicia imprint 'That Wilkin Boy Inc.,' a standard Archie corporate practice of the era for subsidiary titles. Issue #3 continued the early format of 36 full-color pages at a 12-cent cover price, a price point it would hold through issue #3 — the last issue at that price — before the series moved to 15 cents with issue #4.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published with a cover date of June 1969; on sale April 8, 1969, per Library of Congress copyright records.
- Issue #3 is the last in the series to carry the original 12-cent cover price; issue #4 stepped up to 15 cents.
- All main stories scripted by Frank Doyle, penciled by Dan DeCarlo, inked by Rudy Lapick, and lettered by Bill Yoshida — the core creative team throughout the early run.
- The issue contains five stories: 'Generosity' (The Bingoes practice at the Smythe home; Teddy schemes to prove Rebel is no ordinary dog), 'Charade' (Rebel warns Samantha about Teddy's latest plot to split her from Bingo), 'Dad's Dilemma' (Willie Wilkin earns a measure of Sampson Smythe's respect through sheer willpower at the weight rack; Samantha reveals her father's nickname 'Sam' for her, and Sampson contemplates Bingo as a future son-in-law), a one-page 'Wilkin Mail Box' advice column scripted and drawn by Joe Edwards (as Bingo), and the one-page Li'l Jinx strip 'Read n' Right!' by Joe Edwards (featuring Li'l Jinx and Hap Holliday), and the five-page 'Drum Rolls and Coffee' (Buddy loses his drumsticks to Sampson and the gang improvises replacement percussion).
- The GCD notes an internal continuity wrinkle in 'Generosity': Samantha is not depicted as a member of The Bingoes band, even though other stories and covers in the series show her playing tambourine and singing backing vocals.
- The Li'l Jinx one-pager 'Read n' Right!' from this issue was later reprinted in Li'l Jinx Giant Laugh-Out #38 (October 1972), Tales from Riverdale Digest #5 (November 2005), and B&V Friends Double Digest Magazine #218 (November 2011).
- The 'Drum Rolls and Coffee' story was reprinted in Jughead & Friends Digest Magazine #25 (February 2008) and Jughead's Double Digest #190 (May 2013), demonstrating the series' ongoing life in Archie's digest reprint program.
- Li'l Jinx — whose father Hap Holliday appears in the backup strip — is a Joe Edwards creation who first appeared in Pep Comics #62 (July 1947); her regular presence as a backup in That Wilkin Boy was part of Archie's practice of cross-pollinating its humor titles.
Cast · 11 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Mr. Wilkin wins Mr. Smythe's respect by proving he can lift weights through sheer force of will power. Samantha reveals that her father calls her "Sam" because he wanted a boy, while her father starts to think that Bingo might make a good father for his grandson.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
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