*Archie: Contrary to popular belief, Archie and his pals weren’t the only hit series for his eponymous company; two well-loved ‘cousin’ series were Josie (later Josie and the Pussycats) and Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch, both co-created by the legendary ‘funny girl’ artist, Dan DeCarlo. But neither of those ladies made their first appearances in their own titles; they had to win their spurs as supporting acts, and we have the first appearances of both, though sadly neither was heralded on the cover. Archie’s Pals ‘N’ Gals #23 featured among its many strips an unobtrusive story, ‘Tongue Twister’, which introduced the world to maladroit and well-intentioned Josie McCoy (and her stunning curvaceous chum Melody Valentine). Predicated, as many stories were, on Josie and her pal Pepper trying to brighten Melody’s ‘dim bulb’, this proved popular enough that Josie gained her own series, running 40-odd issues before being remade as a touring fictional pop group for an even longer run. Meanwhile, another anthology, Archie’s Madhouse, was doing creditable business as a Comics Code-Approved Mad Magazine, and showcased a bunch of recurring features, some of which stuck, and some of which didn’t. One that stuck big was Sabrina the Teen-Age Witch, a space-age update on ‘I Married A Witch’ and ‘Bell, Book and Candle’, in which a teenage sorceress tackles the challenges of dating, studying, cheerleading and having to make her assigned quota of Evil Deeds! Sabrina, while continuing to appear in Madhouse and many other Archie titles (as indeed did Josie) headlined various series of her own title for a combined total of, so far, more than 200 issues. Also a long-running TV show starring Melissa Joan Hart, Sabrina is rumoured to be returning in the hit ‘Riverdale’ series, so interest in the character has never been higher. Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #23 is a FA/GD cents copy, with undamaged interiors, but a piece out of the lower back cover, and slight wear in the cover’s centre on sale at £35. Archie’s Madhouse #22 is a superior FN cents copy at £250.