From: New Adventures of Superboy #10 (October 1980), plus Superboy Spectacular #1 (June 1980)
With the 80s comes a new Superboy series, and Krypto is, well, okay, not a MAJOR part of it, but he does get his moments. His first appearance is in New Adventures is in #10, but it's a Krypto-centric back-up! (Though he does appear in the Smallville Mailsack banner as of issue 5.)
In "The Super Watchdog of Smallville", Krypto gets a new secret identity. Yes, these chronicles have shown him going by several aliases, but those stories were set in the Superman era. So this one would appear to be the first, from his point of view. Basically, dog walks into the Kent home just as Lana Lang pays the household a visit, Krypto is sent to the basement, but he's not happy with the arrangement, so...
I gather this is gonna cost Pa Kent an arm and a leg in stain, over time. But he needs a name, how about... Skippy!
Quick thinking Martha (MARTHAAAAA!), must be that peanut butter stain on his back. Lana is completely snowed, even though the dog smells of shellac. Martha then brings Krypto to Jonathan's department store to get dog food, and there we meet someone who might become a recurring antagonist if Krypto is to have more back-up stories: Howard Shatt, the town's dogcatcher AND veterinarian. I guess when you're the only guy in town with kennel cages...
Does Pa Kent realize Krypto can't really get a shot? Before we have too much time to think about this, the store's watches are stolen and Krypto must follow his nose to find the culprits, already back on the tour bus that just stopped by. Changing back from Skippy to Krypto is a bit of a hassle though.
The super-dog flies the bus to the police station where the malefactors are outed and arrested.
The one crime that goes unpunished is Martha's pun. Oof.
A few months earlier, to celebrate Superboy's 35th Anniversary, presumably, DC came out with a Superboy Spectacular which reprinted a number of old stories, some featuring Krypto. We've covered them before. But of interest, the front and back covers which show our super-dog where he belongs, at Superboy's side:
Or Clark's. Same difference.
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