Archie's Madhouse #22
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeArchie's Madhouse #22 is the single most significant issue in Archie Comics' Silver Age catalog because it introduces Sabrina Spellman — the Teenage Witch — who would grow from a throwaway gag-anthology character into one of the publisher's pillars, eventually headlining her own long-running comic series, a Filmation animated series, and a live-action ABC sitcom. The debut story planted the core concept of a supernaturally gifted teenager navigating the tension between the magical and mortal worlds, a premise that proved durable enough to be reinvented for every generation from the 1960s through the Netflix era. By sliding a supernatural protagonist into the same warm suburban idiom that defined the Archie universe, the issue quietly expanded what an Archie comic could contain, opening the door for every horror- and fantasy-inflected title the company would publish in the decades to come. That the character emerged from a humor anthology aimed at one-shot gags — and survived entirely on reader demand — makes the issue an unusually pure example of audience taste shaping comic-book history.
In "Presenting Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch," a new kind of high schooler takes center stage: Sabrina, a stylish teen with a magical twist. Written by George Gladir and brought to life with Dan DeCarlo’s dynamic art and Rudy Lapick’s inks, this issue introduces Sabrina’s world, where spells come with rules—like never crying, never sinking in water, and the one rule that could change everything: falling in love means losing your powers. The cover by Bob White captures her mischievous charm, setting the tone for a story where magic and teenage life collide.
Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch is back in a delightfully mischievous 1962 tale from Archie's Madhouse #22, where she charms her way through high school with a spellbook in one hand and a teenage heart in the other. Juggling teenage drama and magical rules—like never crying, never sinking in water, and the one big catch: falling in love means losing your powers—Sabrina proves that even witches need a little help with homework.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Archie's Madhouse had pivoted away from Archie-gang stories after issue #18, repositioning itself as a monster-and-sci-fi humor anthology designed to echo MAD Magazine's irreverent short-form sensibility. Writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo — with inks by Rudy Lapick and lettering by Vincent DeCarlo — contributed the five-page lead story 'Presenting Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch' as what both creators expected to be a one-off gag piece, drawing liberally on the then-recent Kim Novak film Bell, Book and Candle for the character's initial rules of witchcraft (no crying, no sinking in water, powers lost if she falls in love — all elements later dropped). Gladir later revealed he named the character after a woman from his junior high school days whom he misremembered as 'Sabrina' when her actual name was 'Sabra.' The issue was edited by Richard H. Goldwater and carried a standard 12-cent cover price, with a 15-cent price variant also documented.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Sabrina Spellman, the Teenage Witch — the character's only debut issue, cover-dated October 1962.
- First appearance of Salem, Sabrina's cat, and Della, the Head Witch — both introduced in the same five-page lead story.
- Written by George Gladir and drawn by Dan DeCarlo, with inks by Rudy Lapick and lettering by Vincent DeCarlo; uncredited editor Richard H. Goldwater.
- The debut story is titled 'Presenting Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch' and ran as the lead story in a 36-page humor anthology; Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper appear in brief cameos.
- The issue exists in two editions: a standard 12-cent cover-price copy and a 15-cent price variant.
- The debut story's witch mythology (losing powers if falling in love, inability to cry) was drawn from the 1958 Kim Novak film Bell, Book and Candle and was subsequently dropped from all later Sabrina stories.
- The Sabrina debut story was reprinted in Archie's Madhouse Annual #3 (1965–66) and Madhouse Comics Digest #1 (1975–76), among other digest appearances.
- Sabrina continued making intermittent appearances in Archie's Madhouse through issue #74 before graduating to Archie's TV Laugh-Out and her own solo title (Vol. 1, 1971–1983, 77 issues), which launched after Filmation adapted her for Saturday morning animation in 1969.
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Archie's Madhouse #20 (1962), Archie's Madhouse #21 (1962)
Reprinted in Archie's Madhouse Annual #3 (1965), Archie Giant Series Magazine #141 (1966), Mad House Annual #12 (1974), Madhouse Comics Digest #1 (1975), Madhouse Comics Digest #2 (1976), Jughead with Archie Digest #46 (1981), Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #197 (2004), Tales from Riverdale Digest #4 (2005), Tales from Riverdale Digest #10 (2006), The Best of Archie's Madhouse #[nn] (2011), The Best of Archie Comics #[1] (2011), Archie: The Best of Dan DeCarlo #4 (2012), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #1 (2014), Archie 1000 Page Comics Blow-Out #[nn] (2015), Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest #260 (2015), Best of Archie Comics #1 (2016), Archie Spotlight Digest: Archie 75th Anniversary Digest #3 (2016), Sabrina the Teenage Witch Complete Collection #1 (2017), Archie's Big Book #1 (2017), Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Occult Edition #[nn] (2019), Sabrina: 60 Magical Stories #[nn] (2022), Sabrina Annual Spectacular #1 (2023)
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