Little Archie in "The Thanksgiving"

Just a little note before I continue with today's blog.  Initially I wanted to use my scanner for the images in this post, but as it turns out, my scanner is broken.  Fortunately, the camera in my iPod is fairly clear, so I just used that.  You can still make out the images, but they might appear slanted.  Until I can get my scanner fixed, this will have to do for now.

Anyway, for any Americans that might be reading this blog, I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving.  And you're in luck because today's blog post is Thanksgiving themed!  And for those of you who aren't celebrating Thanksgiving today, at least give this a look.

Since I am an unapologetic fan of Archie comics, I continue to buy them even though I am in my late thirties and they are now close to eight bucks for one digest.  What can I say?  It's the one thing from childhood that I absolutely refuse to let go of.  And besides, it's a good thing that I still read them because otherwise I wouldn't have been reminded of one of my favourite Thanksgiving themed stories ever created.

If you want to pick up a copy of this story right now, see if you can fetch a copy of "Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #293".  As of November 2018, it's the most recent issue, so it's still readily available.  

But if you want the original source of this story, you will have to locate a copy of Little Archie #102.  

The story is called "The Thanksgiving", and it stars Little Archie and his dog Spotty.  Now, I know that some fans of Archie aren't fans of Little Archie and like to focus on teenage Archie instead.  But as I mentioned in the introductory post, Little Archie was the title that introduced me to Archie comics in the first place, so I have a very soft spot for the title.  In fact, I will go on the record in stating that some of the Little Archie comics of the 1970s are among some of my all-time favourite stories in the whole Archie universe!

At this point, I will like to remind those of you who have not read this story yet that the rest of this blog post will have spoilers inside of it, so if you haven't read the story, go to the nearest supermarket, pick up the book that I've listed above with the reprinted version, and read it.  If you have, continue on.

It's Thanksgiving, and Little Archie and his parents are going to visit Grandpa and Grandma Andrews for the holiday.  Spotty is tagging along too.  As they pull up into the driveway, Little Archie notices a sign telling them that they are on private property, which Mr. Andrews says the reason behind it is because of hunters.  Seems like a random piece of information, but as we well know in Archie comics, nothing is ever random.

Once they get out of the car, they are immediately greeted by Grandpa and Grandma Andrews, where Grandpa informs Little Archie that he has a big surprise for him.  It appears as though a friend that they met a couple of years earlier has been seen in the area, and for Little Archie, it brings back a bittersweet memory.

When Little Archie was even littler, he was visiting his grandparents during the summer when he heard gunfire.  When he tried to find out what it was, he found that two hunters had shot and killed an adult raccoon.  To make the situation even more heartbreaking, when the hunters left, Little Archie discovered a baby raccoon hiding in a tree.  The hunters had killed the baby's mother, and it was up to Little Archie to help him.

Little Archie took the baby raccoon back to his grandparents' place and together the three of them took care of him so he wouldn't starve.  They even nicknamed him "Little Bandit", since the black marks around his eyes sort of looked like a mask.  After a few weeks though, Little Bandit had to go back to the woods, and a tearful Little Archie said farewell to his friend.

Little Archie, Grandpa Andrews, and Spotty go out into the woods to leave Little Bandit some corn for Thanksgiving dinner, and Grandpa Andrews warns Little Archie to keep back as Little Bandit isn't comfortable around humans.  But Spotty didn't get that message and he darts into the forest once he gets a glimpse of Little Bandit.

Eventually, Little Bandit manages to hide in the forest, and Spotty is left wondering where he disappeared to.  But then the worst possible thing happens and Spotty is shot by what appears to be the same hunters that shot and killed Little Bandit's mother!  What are the odds, right?  The good news is that Spotty doesn't immediately die and is just knocked unconscious...but he needs medical help, and quickly.

This is of little comfort to Little Archie, who is absolutely freaking out over Spotty's disappearance.  He is so broken-hearted about it that he can't even enjoy Thanksgiving dinner even though he has ended up with one of the drumsticks that in my family was the piece of the turkey that we all fought over at my holiday dinners!  Of course, Little Archie doesn't realize that Spotty is in danger.

Now here's where the story takes a turn from depressing to heartwarming.

Little Bandit stumbles upon Spotty lying in the forest, an obvious bullet wound in his body (which in the recent reprint was edited out, might I add), and Little Bandit recalls seeing the dog before.  He then remembers Little Archie, and rushes towards Grandpa and Grandma Andrews' farmhouse to alert someone of what happened.  It doesn't take long for Little Bandit to attract Little Archie's attention...after all, Little Archie is staring out the window in sadness over missing Spotty.  Little Bandit motions Little Archie to follow him into the woods, and he leads him right to a wounded Spotty.

It is touch and go for a few panels as Spotty is rushed to the local vet by Grandpa and Mr. Andrews, and Little Archie is worried sick about his beloved dog.  But the tense silence is interrupted by a familiar bark, and it looks like Spotty will make a full recovery.

It's a true Thanksgiving miracle!

And, of course, to end this story on an even happier note, when the Andrews family get back to the farmhouse to resume Thanksgiving dinner, Little Archie does another disappearing act.  Grandma Andrews explains that Little Archie fixed up a plate of food to give to a friend, but Little Archie's parents are confused because Spotty is resting comfortably on the floor.

It's not until the final panel of the story that we see who the food is for...the true hero of the tale.  A Little Bandit.

A lot of the stories from the 1970s were a bit more serious in nature compared to some of the other funnier tales of the decades before and the decades after.  And yet, these stories are some of the tales that I believe have aged the best out of all of the Archie stories ever written and illustrated.  That's certainly the case with this Little Archie adventure.