Updated on February 26, 2023
Archie & Friends #152
Written by: Tania Del Rio
Art by: Bill Galvan
In this month’s issue, Sabrina the Teenage Witch makes a long-overdue return to the mainstream Archie books, in this followup tale to last year’s “Jughead” #200 (where one of the core Archie cast—Jughead—finally learns about Sabrina’s secret). The story features Jughead, still reeling from losing an eating contest to Kevin Keller (in “Veronica” #202), losing another eating contest at a fair. Feeling he’s losing his food-scarfing abilities, he asks Sabrina (who’s also attending the fair) for a bit of magical help at getting his “A-game” back. Sabrina attempts to teach him a lesson about being obsessed with food by casting a different spell on Jughead, one which (in typical “Sabrina” story fashion) quickly backfires. Mayhem ensues.
Keeping with the “Friends” side of this title, Chuck and Nancy put in appearances, as does recently created new character Raj Patel. There’s also a bit of continuity to this issue, as Kevin’s appearance in “Veronica” #202 is referred to, along with Sabrina being from Greendale (a town near Riverdale, and Sabrina’s residence since the early 2000s Sabrina animated series’ setting was adapted to the comics).
The story is pretty typical for a Sabrina outing, though I figured Jughead wouldn’t be so careless as to nearly blurt out in public about Sabrina’s secret. I don’t recall him blurting out about such similar odd incidents he’s experienced but kept mum about—the “Jughead’s Time Police” series from the early 90s particularly comes to mind. The ending, though, does leave open another Jughead/Sabrina pairing being possible in the future. Maybe Jughead will get to team up with Sabrina’s aunts and Salem next?
