Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 (cover-dated Oct. 1962). Storylines of the character at elementary-school-age appeared under the title "Sabrina -- That Cute Little Witch" in almost all of the Little Archie comics.
The premise is that Sabrina, a "half-witch" – her mother is an ordinary human, or "mortal" as witches refer to them, while her father is a warlock – lives with her two aunts, Hilda and Zelda Spellman, both witches themselves, in the fictional town of Greendale, which is located somewhere near Riverdale, the home of Archie Andrews. Also living with the three women as the family pet is Salem Saberhagen, a warlock who has been turned into a cat as punishment for world domination attempts. Sabrina's primary romantic interest is her mortal boyfriend Harvey Kinkle who, like nearly all the other mortals in Sabrina's world, is unaware she is a witch.
Most of Sabrina's adventures consist of Sabrina either trying to use her powers in secret to help others – witches generally are not allowed to tell mortals about their abilities or existence – or dealing with the day-to-day trials of being a teenager. A recurring theme in Sabrina's stories is her learning more about the proper use of her powers, either through her aunts or from trips to a magical dimension that is the home of various magical/mythological creatures, including other witches. Various names are given to this dimension; the mid-late 2000s comics refer to it as the "Magic Realm",Sabrina the Teenage Witch vol. 3, #58–100, 2004–2009 while the live-action sitcom referred to it as the "Other Realm".
The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media formats. The live-action sitcom, in which Sabrina discovers her powers at the age of sixteen, aired for a combined seven seasons on ABC and the WB. Earlier, there had been an animated series produced by Filmation Associates. Another format was a series of paperback novels (see list below) written by various authors, including Nancy Holder, Diana G. Gallagher, and Mel Odom, as well as a late 1990s/early 2000s animated series set in the original Archie Comics continuity, where Sabrina already knows about her powers while in junior high. She is portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart on the live action sitcom and Kiernan Shipka on the Riverdale spin-off, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Publication history Sabrina the Teenage Witch debuted in Archie's Madhouse (the logo is sometimes given as Archie's Mad House) #22 (Oct. 1962). Created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. She first appeared in that humor anthology's lead story (the logo then spelled "Teen-Age"),Archive of McQuarrie, Jim, "Archie's Mad House No. 22", "Oddball Comics" (column) #1153, April 1, 2007. Original page and eventually became one of Archie Comics' major characters, appearing in an animated series and a television sitcom. Gladir recalled in 2007,
Sabrina made regular appearances in the comic book Archie's TV Laugh-Out. The title was published from 1969 to 1985, and consisted of 106 issues.
The first volume of Sabrina The Teenage Witch was published from 1971 to 1983, and ran for 77 issues.Sabrina the Teenage Witch at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on February 10, 2017. A new "Sabrina" comic series was introduced shortly after the debut of the 1996 live-action sitcom. This series ran for 32 issues, between 1997 and December 1999. The new series incorporated elements from the live-action sitcom, including modernized fashions and appearances for the aunts, Sabrina's last name and Salem's personality and backstory.
Starting in January 2000, Archie rebooted the series from #1, this time based upon the 2000 animated series (the final issue of the 1997–1999 series had acted as a transition between the two adaptations). This new title was simply titled Sabrina and lasted for 37 issues; issue #38, published in late 2002, again acted as a transition issue, as the series was re-titled Sabrina The Teenage Witch and resumed the conventional high school setting. However, elements of the live-action sitcom (Salem's backstory, the modernized appearances of Hilda and Zelda) were retained, along with the name of Sabrina's hometown (Greendale) from Sabrina the Animated Series being incorporated into the comics. The conventional setting lasted until issue #57, published in 2004, when the comic underwent a manga makeover (see below). The series ended with issue #104 in September 2009.
Sabrina also occasionally appears in other Archie Comics as a visiting acquaintance of Archie, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and Jughead Jones. In Jughead #200 (May 2010), Sabrina reveals to Jughead that she is a witch, which is made use of in a follow-up story.Archie & Friends #152, April 2011 Sabrina and Salem make a notable appearance in the 2012 Archie issue #636, where Salem, as a plot device, performs a spell (against Sabrina's desires) that gender-bends the entire town of Riverdale without the characters noticing the change.
Specials Issue #28 of Sabrina, as well as the Sonic Super Special Crossover Chaos, featured a crossover with Sonic the Hedgehog, in which Sonic was brought to Greendale from Mobius by one of Sabrina's enemies and subsequently brainwashed into attacking Sabrina herself. In this issue, it is mentioned that Salem is a fan of Sonic and has all of his comics and watches Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Manga-inspired version In 2004, beginning with issue #58 (in the second Sabrina the Teenage Witch comic book series), the comics were taken over by Tania del Rio with her manga-inspired art and design style. Concurrent with this, the comic ceased to be connected to either the live-action or animated Sabrina series. The comics were then released featuring new characters and a slightly more serious, continuity-heavy plot. The manga Sabrina story wrapped up at issue #100 in 2009, albeit with a few unresolved subplots.
Issues #58–61 of the 'manga makeover' series were reprinted as Sabrina- The Magic Revisited. Then, in 2013, issues #58–67 were reprinted as Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Magic Within Book 1 in grayscale instead of full-color. Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Magic Within Book 2 containing issues #68–78 also was reprinted in grayscale instead of full-color. Book 3 and 4 containing issues #79–89 and #90–100, respectively, were also released and, like the first two, were reprinted in gray-scale instead of full color.
Issues #58–100 of the 'manga makeover' series were released digitally as Sabrina Manga #1–43.
Stories of Young Salem A four-issue spin-off miniseries featuring Salem as a young boy (predating his attempts at conquest later in life and his transformation into a cat) was published in 2009. The miniseries was written by Ian Flynn and illustrated by Chad Thomas. The mini-series continued directly on Sabrina's regular series beginning with issue #101, albeit with a different title known as The Magical Tales of Young Salem. This was done as a method to cut newsstands costs. The new series is partially based on a two-part story which occurred during the manga Sabrina series issues #93 and #94, which was a flashback about Salem's near-rise to power. As of issue #104, the first The Magical Tales of Young Salem mini-series was concluded, but apparently the comic book series was subsequently suspended for internal reasons with no further Young Salem stories announced.
New Riverdale
In 2015, "New Riverdale" was introduced, rebooting the entire original Archie lineup in favor of a realistic aesthetic aimed at older readers. Sabrina debuted in the "New Riverdale" with Jughead #9. She continued to appear for issues #10 and #11. In December 2016, it was announced that a Sabrina the Teenage Witch one-shot would debut in March 2017 as part of Archie Comics' "pilot season". This one-shot would have been greenlit into a full series if there was enough fan interest. However, in May 2017 it was revealed that the one-shot was cancelled, with no intention of releasing it at a later date.
2019 miniseries
In November 2018, Archie Comics announced a five-issue miniseries, written by Kelly Thompson and illustrated by the husband-and-wife team of Veronica Fish and Andy Fish, set to launch in the spring of 2019.
The series was critically acclaimed, with Thrillist calling it "one of the best comics of the year" and commercially successful. Archie Comics announced a second series to debut in the winter of 2020 with the same creative team.
2020 miniseries
In Winter 2020, "Sabrina, Something WICKED" would debut with writer Kelly Thompson and husband-wife duo Veronica Fish and Andy Fish all returning for another five issues.
This miniseries would end with the fifth issue, featuring the first comic appearance of Ambrose, from the Chilling Adventures show, telling Sabrina she had been accepted into a magical academy.
This version of the Sabrina mythos would continue with one last issue, the 2020 Sabrina Winter Special, picking up after the end of "Something WICKED" with writer Kelly Thompson again returning to write with Veronica Fish and Andy Fish once again illustrating.
The Winter Special shows Sabrina attending her new magical school, and helping her classmates rescue a fellow friend from a demon-beast.
As an added bonus, the winter special would also include a bonus comic featuring Sabrina's aunts and parents in their teenage years trying to save the "Yuel Festival" from the spirit of one of Sabrina's ancestors.
2026 series Has part of a partnership with Oni Press, Sabrina is relaunched.
Characters This is a list and description of the characters that appear in the Sabrina comic books. For information about the characters from the live-action TV sitcom, see List of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series) characters.
Main characters Sabrina Spellman: the lead character of the series. In the early comic series, Sabrina is a well-meaning girl, but she struggles with constant pressure to be "bad" from all the other witches around her, especially her aunts, as well as learning to master her powers. Later comics incarnations (and media spinoffs) present other witches, including her aunts, as largely "good", though Sabrina still struggles to fully master her powers. Hilda Spellman: Sabrina's aunt. In the earlier comics, Hilda is portrayed dressed as and behaving in a more stereotypical witch manner, including being cranky, disliking mortals (particularly Harvey), and prone to using her powers for revenge or resolving petty disputes. The 1990s comics toned down Hilda's cranky behavior and modernized her clothing and physical appearance. Zelda Spellman: Sabrina's aunt. In the earlier comics, Zelda (like Hilda) also was dressed in stereotypical witch's clothes, but unlike Hilda, was the more compassionate and kindly of the two. The 1990s comics modernized Zelda's clothing and physical appearance. In the earliest comics, she was supposed to find a husband within a year or else lose her powers. Harvey Kinkle: Sabrina's boyfriend, a mortal who is unaware of Sabrina's being a witch. Harvey is presented as being sweet and loyal, but also accident-prone (similar to Archie).