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Sabrina made her debut in 1962 when she was featured in
number 22 of the Archie Comics Mad House comics.
The Mad House comics were a spin-off world of the Archie comics most of us might think of. These comics deal with monsters and ghouls, aliens and mad scientists and magicians. This first story introduces Sabrina, her aunts, and Salem and describes a bit about her magical powers and struggle to fit in--or not-- with the mortals. In this first incarnation of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, she is a trickster and Chris Sims (2014) writes that "there’s something sinister in that first appearance, with all the bits about how she uses her magic to make the mortals around her fall in love and how she’ll alter the score of a high school basketball game for no purpose other than to take the edge off her own ennui.” _______________________________________________________________ Although Sabrina's appearance in her first Archie comic was supposed to be for one occasion, because of her popularity, in the 1970's she received her own cartoon and then her own comic (Pop culture Addict 2011). These second incarnations of Sabrina showed the beginning of the change in her character. In these 1970's versions of Sabrina, she was less of a trickster, and more of a teenager trying to fit into a mortal life. _________________________________________________________________
As Sabrina's comic dwindled in the 1980's, she prepared for her big comeback. In 1996, a Sabrina the Teenage Witch made-for-TV movie was released. Not only was this a new medium to display Sabrina the Teenage Witch but Sabrina took another step away from her trickster roots. Sabrina was portrayed simply as a teenage girl with the desire to fit in. ________________________________________________________________ |
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After the success of her first movie, another Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV series was released in 1996. This was Sabrina's first live-action television series. Moreover, this incarnation took another step away from the character that was developed in the 1960s Archie comics. This Sabrina is focused on fitting in as a high school teenager, and opposed to her trickster original, the typical plot line of a Sabrina the Teenage Witch show portrays Sabrina as getting in trouble when using her magic to help family or friends with their problems. ________________________________________________________________ Two made for TV movies were released as the Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV series aired. These were Sabrina Goes to Rome, and Sabrina Down Under. These films are interesting because they occur entirely outside of the Sabrina The Teenage Witch storyline that is established in the TV series. Sabrina's boyfriend Harvey is not part of these movies. Her friends are also not in these movies. Moreover, the actress that plays Sabrina's best friend in the TV show plays a different character in the Sabrina Down Under Movie. _______________________________________________________________ Not only were there movies, but Sabrina the Teenage Witch books were also made to go along with the TV series. The books were released along-side the episodes so that Sabrina's biggest fans could prove their dedication. This also allowed dedicated viewers to experience an additional layer of Sabrina's life. _________________________________________________________________ Since Sabrina blossomed in the 1990s, she has seen a few additional forms. These included another Sabrina animated series where Sabrina is a 12 year old witch, a manga version of Sabrina, and Sabrina as a super hero. _________________________________________________________________ Sabrina comes full circle and returns to the earliest dark and sinister Sabrina, and ratchets it up a notch or two. Comic 1 opens with Sabrina’s father --who has conjured Satan into his presence. |