Archie Is, & Thus Archie Was

When they have "Little Archie" stories in Archie comics, how come the characters refer to each other as "Little Archie" and "Little Reggie" and so forth, as opposed to just "Archie" and "Reggie"?

It makes sense to call the comic "Little Archie" because that is what it's about. It indicates that the following story is not about "present day" Archie, it's instead about one of his childhood adventures. "Little Archie" can exist within the context of Archie’s current existence. Archie "is" and thus Archie "was."

But when we read "Little Archie" we are essentially in his "present day." why wouldn't Little Archie just call himself Archie? Little Archie has no concept of "Archie" because "Archie" doesn't actually even exist yet. Why then does Little Archie identify himself with a superlative intended to discern himself from the teenager he will become? There is no context for Archie and his friends to qualify themselves as "Little.

It’s like if "Little Archie" was just "Archie" and the character in the regular "Archie" referred to himself as "Future Archie."

It’s almost as if the characters are acknowledging that they somehow co-exist in the same plane of reality as their future, fully realized selves. Why else would they identify themselves as "Little," except to discern between the separate entities that "are" Archie, at least from the reader's perspective?

It’s like the stories of Archie are actually being abstractly narrated, as opposed to the reader essentially "witnessing" the action.

Then I started noticing the secret codes and messages in the dialogue.