Sabrina Spellman

Sabrina Victoria Spellman (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) is the eponymous character of the Archie Comics series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and she first appeared in Archie's Mad House #22 in October 1962.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch debuted in Archie's Madhouse (the logo 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"), and eventually became one of Archie Comics' major characters, appearing in an animated series and a television sitcom. Gladir recalled in 2007:

"I think we both envisioned it as a one-shot and were surprised when fans asked for more. We continued to do Sabrina stories off and on in Mad House until 1969 when we were flabbergasted to hear it was to become an animated [TV series]. When it came to naming Sabrina I decided to name her after a woman I recalled from my junior high school days ... who was very active in school affairs, and who assigned a number of us to interview prominent people in the media. In addition, the woman's name had a New England ring to it. Some years later I recalled the woman's name was not Sabrina, but actually Sabra Holbrook."

Sabrina was created by her two aunts, Hilda and Zelda Spellman, from a magic potion that turned out wrong. However, it was later retconned by the 1996 Sabrina sitcom that Sabrina is a "half-witch" (her mother is an ordinary human, or "mortal" as witches refer to them, while her father is a warlock). She lives with Hilda and Zelda (both witches themselves) in the fictional town of Greendale, which is located somewhere near Riverdale, the home of Archie Andrews, while her father is away. The 1996 live action series also gave Sabrina and her aunts the last name “Spellman”. Also living with the three women as the family pet is Salem Saberhagen. In the original comic stories Salem was a typical witch's cat who did not talk. The 1996 sitcom introduced the idea that Salem was a witch who has been turned into a cat as punishment for world domination attempts.

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," while the live-action sitcom referred to it as the "Other Realm." These adventures even contained moments where Sabrina had to act as a superhero on occasion.

Sabrina's primary romantic love interest is her mortal boyfriend named Harvey Kinkle who, unlike nearly all the other mortals in Sabrina's world, is aware his girlfriend is a witch.

Sabrina possesses a vast range of mystical powers, including the ability to travel through time, fly via broomstick, or shapeshift into anything. She had these capabilities since birth and grown quite comfortable with them. Due to her hybrid nature, she is skilled in alchemy, cheerleading, and journalism.

Sabrina Spellman appears in the first issue of Afterlife with Archie where she resurrects Hot Dog for Jughead. This starts the zombie apocalypse in Riverdale. She later appears in issue 6 where she is forced to become the bride of Cthulhu.