Josie and the Pussycats (initially published as She's Josie and Josie) is a teen-humor comic book about a fictional rock band, created by Dan DeCarlo and published by Archie Comics. First published in 1963, with regular issues through 1982, additional one-shot issues followed on an irregular basis. A reboot of the comic for the New Riverdale imprint launched in September 2016.
Hanna–Barbera adapted the comic as a Saturday-morning animated TV series in 1970, paired with an eponymous pop album. The band was subsequently portrayed in a 2001 live-action film, with musical performances released on an eponymous soundtrack album. Josie and the Pussycats appear as part of the 2017 live-action television drama series Riverdale on The CW, with the character of Josie recurring in the Katy Keene spin-off series.
Publication history Cartoonist Dan DeCarlo, who had spent most of the 1950s drawing teen and career-girl humor comics such as Millie the Model for Atlas Comics, that decade's forerunner of Marvel Comics, began freelancing for Archie Comics. In 1960, he and Atlas editor-in-chief Stan Lee co-created the short-lived syndicated comic strip Willie Lumpkin, about a suburban mail carrier,Dan DeCarlo at the Lambiek Comiclopedia for the Chicago, Illinois-based Publishers Syndicate.Carter, B. J. "Interview: Dan DeCarlo: Archie, Josie and Dan", The Trades, January 1, 2002. WebCite archive. Casting about for more comic-strip work, DeCarlo created the characters of Josie and her friends. Josie DeCarlo, the artist's wife and Josie's namesake, explained that "We went on a Caribbean cruise, and I had a [cat] costume for the cruise, and that's the way it started."Nash, Eric. "Dan DeCarlo, Archie Artist and Creator Of Josie and the Pussycats, Is Dead at 82", The New York Times, December 23, 2001
DeCarlo first tried to sell the character as a syndicated comic strip called Here's Josie, recalling in 2001:
Josie was introduced in a solo series, She's Josie. The first issue was cover-dated February 1963. The series featured levelheaded, sweet-natured redhead Josie, her ditzy blonde bombshell friend Melody, and the brainy, cynical, bespectacled brunette Pepper. These early years also featured the characters of Josie's beatnik boyfriend Albert; Pepper's strong but not-too-bright boyfriend Socrates ("Sock" for short); Albert's rival Alexander Cabot III, who chased after both Josie and Melody; and Alex's obnoxious twin sister Alexandra Cabot. None of the mainstream Archie characters appeared with Josie until the ninth issue of her own title.Josie #9 at the Grand Comics Database Josie and her friends occasionally appeared in "crossover" issues with the main Archie characters. She's Josie displayed a new Josie-only logo beginning with issue #14 (August, 1965), was officially renamed Josie with issue #17 (December, 1965),Josie at the Grand Comics Database and again renamed, to Josie and the Pussycats, with issue #45 (December, 1969). The series finished its run under this title with issue #106 (October, 1982).Josie and the Pussycats at the Grand Comics Database Josie and her gang also made irregular appearances in Pep Comics and Laugh Comics during the 1960s.
In 1969, Archie Comics made several changes to the Josie comic: In Josie #42 (August 1969), Josie met a heavily built blond folk singer named Alan M. who, over time, became Josie's on-again, off-again boyfriend (much to the chagrin of Alexandra, who was also immediately smitten with Alan M. and never missed an opportunity to try and steal him away). In Josie #43 (September 1969), Alexandra discovered that her cat Sebastian was actually a reincarnation of an ancestor of the Cabot family, who was executed for consorting with witches. Whenever Alexandra held Sebastian in her arms, she could cast magic spells. Alexandra generally used her powers to compete with Josie for Alan M., but the spells she cast usually backfired in some way. Moreover, her spells ended whenever someone nearby snapped their fingers (which happened often). Alexandra and Sebastian's witchy powers were not used in Hanna-Barbera's TV show, and they were soon discontinued in the comic as well. In Josie and the Pussycats #45 (December 1969), the first issue to bear that new title, Josie and Melody decided to start a band called the Pussycats. Alexandra was asked to be their bassist, but she insisted that the group's name be to "Alexandra's Cool Time Cats"; so, instead, Valerie Smith, a new girl in school, was recruited to play bass. The Pussycats made their leopard print band uniforms (complete with cat-ear headbands and long tails) and performed at their first gig, a school dance, as a seething Alexandra tried unsuccessfully to use her witchcraft for revenge.
The reimagining of the comic resulted in three casualties: Albert, Sock, and Pepper, who were phased out altogether. From 1970 on, most of the stories in the comic book revolved around the Pussycats traveling around the country and the world to perform gigs, with Alan M., Alex, and Alexandra (and sometimes Sebastian) in tow. When the girls were not performing, they dealt with the various trials and tribulations of teenage life, often including Alex's jealousy of Alan M. and Alexandra's jealousy of Josie. The Josie and the Pussycats comic ran until 1982, after which the girls were featured in various Archie Giant Series issues and miniseries and one-shot comics of their own. Reprinted Josie stories (including the occasional pre-Pussycats stories) appear frequently in the various Archie Library digests. Archie & Friends #47-95 (June 2001-November 2005) featured new Josie and the Pussycats stories in the regular house style after the 2001 film renewed interest in the series. They later appeared in a new two-part story, "Battle of the Bands", in Archie & Friends #130-131 (June–July 2009).
Manga makeover In March 2005, Archie Comics announced that a manga version of the title would be published, with art by Tania del Rio,Brady, Matt. "Josie and the Pussycats Go Manga" , Newsarama.com, March 3, 2005 who was also responsible for the manga makeover of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The first such "Josie and the Pussycasts" story, "Opening Act" ran in Tales from Riverdale Digest #3 (August 2005) The band had previously appeared in manga form in issue Sabrina, The Teenage Witch #67 (August 2005).
In Archie & Friends #96 (January 2006) the origin of the Pussycats was retconned. The manga version implies that none of the characters previously knew each other. Josie Jones was cut from the school choir, but met Valerie Smith and the two founded the band. They recruited Melody, whose idea it was to wear cat outfits. The band was not doing well at first, but Alex liked the group, though Alexandra could tell he was more interested in Josie. Alex's father let him be the manager as long as he did not use his wealth to help make them stars. In Sabrina the Teenage Witch #72 (February 2006), a stranger named Alan helped carry their equipment. Josie, already attracted to Alan, jealously thought there was an attraction between Alan and Melody. Alex hired him as their stagehand.
The manga focused on the group's attempt to reach fame rather than on their career after they have already achieved it. It featured characters not seen in other comics, including Alan's younger sister Alison and the rival group the Vixens. The manga version was not popular among readers, who preferred the traditional style. Its final appearance was in Archie & Friends #104 (December 2006). A Katy Keene revival replaced it (both featured alongside each other in the latter part of the manga's run), though it, too, did not last.
Afterlife with Archie In the world of Afterlife with Archie, Josie and the Pussycats are revealed to be vampires. Josephine McCoy is orphaned shortly after her birth in 1906 and winds up in an orphanage run by Alexandra Cabot, who has three other children: Melody, Valerie, and Pepper. Due to their singing talent, "Uncle Buddy" (one of Alexandra's friends) takes the trio on tour, eventually forcing Pepper to marry him. Shortly after this, Josie, Melody and Valerie are turned into vampires. The three then go on to become several short lived groups, with "Josie and the Pussycats" being the latest incarnation. In the 1980s, Pepper finds Josie and tries to blackmail Josie into turning her into a vampire. Josie tries to explain that becoming a vampire locks you into the state you were in when you were turned. Pepper won't listen and Josie is forced to kill her childhood friend. Josie them mesmerizes the interviewer she has been telling this to so the three of them can feed. Later on, on their jet, they detect irregularities at their destination of Riverdale, deciding to land there anyway rather than detour."Afterlife with Archie" #10 (2016)
Reboot On June 8, 2016, a reboot of the series was announced in the same style of the Archie, Jughead, and Betty & Veronica reboots as part of the New Riverdale imprint. The series is co-written by Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio with the art by Audrey Mok. The reboot features Josie uniting the band to take their big shot at musical stardom, only to contend with the machinations of Alexandra Cabot, the ever-Machiavellian sister of the Pussycats’ manager. The first issue was released on September 28, 2016.Holub, Christian. "Josie & the Pussycats reboot comic coming this September" ew.com, June 8, 2016
Characters
Josie A short-haired redhead, Josie is the leader and co-founder of the Pussycats. She is the lead vocalist and songwriter and plays guitar. Portrayed as a sweet, attractive, and level-headed teenage girl, Josie is usually the stable center in the middle of the chaos surrounding her band and her friends.
Josie's surname has been inconsistent. It was alternately "Jones" or "James" for much of the comic's run. McCoy was her surname for the 2001 movie. Archie Comics later sometimes acknowledged the surnames from the movie as canonical, though not consistently. In a few stories reprinted in the 2000s decade, Archie Comics changed her surname to McCoy. However, the manga version used "Jones", which was her first surname to actually appear in the comics.
During the early years of her comic (1963–1969), Josie dated a guitarist named Albert. During and after the Josie and the Pussycats revamp, she dated Alan M. Mayberry. Alexander Cabot is regularly attracted to her in the comics. Though she is known to date him, she really loves Alan M.
In the cartoon series, Josie's speaking voice was performed by Janet Waldo (the voice of Judy Jetson and Penelope Pitstop) and her singing voice was performed by Cathy Dougher. She was played by Rachael Leigh Cook in the 2001 live-action Josie and the Pussycats movie (singing voice performed by Kay Hanley). She appeared in The CW series Riverdale with Ashleigh Murray portraying her as an African American and lead singer of the band. Murray eventually left the show and joined the spinoff Katy Keene. She returns as a special guest star in the musical episode "Chapter Ninety-One: The Return of the Pussycats", which is centered on her, Pussycats Valerie and Melody, and Alexandra Cabot.
Josie was ranked 77th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.
Melody Valentine The co-founder and drummer for the Pussycats (she also sang occasional lead vocals for the TV series), Melody is a cute, vivacious blonde and usually speaks in a sing-song voice, denoted by the musical notes in her cartoon word balloons. She is a slightly ditzy, bubbly sort of character, often taken to using silly nonsense language and provides much of the comic relief of the series.