Laugh Comics / Laugh #390
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeLaugh Comics #390 (cover-dated October 1985) arrives near the tail end of one of Archie's longest-running anthology titles, a series that had been collecting Riverdale's ensemble in short-form humor strips since 1946. By 1985 the title was deep into its final years — it would close out at issue #400 in 1987 — making this run a late-era snapshot of the classic Archie anthology format before the series wound down. What makes this particular issue notable for character historians is the breadth of its indexed cast: it gathers core Riverdale regulars (Archie, Reggie, Veronica, Moose, Mr. Weatherbee, Coach Kleats, Professor Flutesnoot, Smithers), the Sabrina Spellman corner of the universe (Sabrina herself, Aunts Hilda and Zelda, Cousin Ambrose), and the Little Archie sub-cast (Little Archie, Little Jughead, Little Veronica) all within a single issue — a breadth that underscores how the anthology format served as the connective tissue holding Archie's various narrative worlds together. The co-presence of the Sabrina family characters alongside the full Riverdale roster reflects the mid-1980s moment when Sabrina's dedicated solo title (vol. 1, 1971–1983) had just concluded its run, pushing her appearances back into anthology vehicles like this one.
Archie’s unexpected agility in a volleyball game sparks a surprise—his secret? Ballet lessons for flexibility. When Reggie and Moose catch on, they’re quick to follow suit, eager to gain the same edge. The court becomes a stage for unlikely moves and growing confidence, all in the name of winning.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Laugh Comics launched in 1946, picking up its numbering from Black Hood Comics, and became one of Archie's flagship anthology showcases, featuring rotating short stories spotlighting the full Riverdale cast. The series drew on a rotating pool of Archie's studio talent — writers and artists including Frank Doyle, Dan DeCarlo, and Samm Schwartz contributed to its long run. Issue #390 falls in the mid-1980s phase of the title, roughly two years before volume one concluded with #400 in 1987, after which a second volume titled simply Laugh carried on until 1991. No issue-specific editorial or production notes for #390 have been identified in available sources.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Laugh Comics #390 carries a cover date of October 1985, published by Archie Comics.
- The issue falls within the final stretch of Laugh Comics vol. 1, which ran from issue #20 (1946) through issue #400 (1987), continuing the numbering inherited from Black Hood Comics.
- The indexed cast includes characters from three distinct Archie sub-universes: the main Riverdale teen cast, the Sabrina/Spellman supernatural cast, and the 'Little Archie' younger-years cast.
- Sabrina Spellman and her aunts Hilda and Zelda appear alongside Cousin Ambrose; Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo and first appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22 (October 1962).
- Cousin Ambrose — Sabrina's witch cousin — was a recurring supporting character in the Sabrina corner of the Archie universe; in the comics he is described as having an acute sense of fashion and showmanship.
- The inclusion of 'Little Archie,' 'Little Jughead,' and 'Little Veronica' reflects the anthology's practice of mixing the standard Riverdale teen stories with the separate 'Little Archie' strip format, which depicted the characters as young children.
- By 1985, Sabrina's first dedicated solo series (vol. 1, 77 issues, 1971–1983) had concluded, making anthology appearances in titles like Laugh Comics a primary venue for her stories in this period.
- Laugh Comics ran for over 400 issues across both volumes, making it one of the longest continuously published anthology titles in Archie's history.
Cast · 16 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Betty and Veronica Comics Digest Magazine #43 (1990), Jughead with Archie Digest #99 (1990), Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #89 (1990), Little Archie Comics Digest Magazine #44 (1990), Laugh Comics Digest / Laugh Comics Digest Magazine / Laugh Digest Magazine #120 (1995), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #13 (1995), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #48 (2000), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #161 (2005), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #94 (2005), Archie's Double Digest Magazine #203 (2009), Archie's Pals 'n' Gals Double Digest Magazine #142 (2010), Archie 1000 Page Comics Blow-Out #[nn] (2015), Archie's Funhouse Double Digest #14 (2015), World of Archie (Jumbo Comics) Double Digest #92 (2019)
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