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Column:
Small Fries
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
By Adam White
Published: 2006-08-17
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SMALL FRIES focuses on family-friendly comicbooks that are entertaining for all ages. These
are the books that you can read with your kids and still enjoy them yourselves.
“Comics are for kids.”
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that in my life, yet finding series that actually are for kids
has become increasingly difficult as each new year passes. Even when you do come across something you could share with your
children, half the time it is something vapid, devoid of meaning, and relies on repetition as if everyone that sees it has
the attention span of a tree sloth. Fortunately, there are still creators and publishers out there that avoid talking down
to kids and produce comics that are fun for them and still readable by adults.
The first example of such a series is Sabrina the Teenage Witch from Archie Comics. While Archie Comics (the
character and the company) may have something of a stigma attached to it among the larger comicbook
reading community (which now consists mainly of readers 20+ years old), they actually produce many great series that have
provided countless hours of entertainment to readers for 65 years and counting. Sabrina stands out because of her
recent transition into a manga-style series that plays well to the “tween” crowd, an increasingly savvy
demographic that demands constant entertainment that doesn’t insult their intelligence. Sabrina succeeds
immensely in that sense, with writer/artist Tania del Rio creating clever, engrossing stories that provide a great mixture of
humor, drama, and romance.
Taking over the series with #58, del Rio has turned Sabrina into a magical romp (pardon the pun) that makes her
hip and accessible yet retains the spirit of the character’s previous incarnations. del Rio makes Sabrina fresh
for new
readers and also draws in the massive manga crowd, which is smart considering how much more manga American bookstores carry
(and sell through) than they do American comicbooks. del Rio places Sabrina in the middle of a love triangle between
long-time crush Harvey and magic school friend Shinji, and much of the humor comes from Sabrina’s indecision and the
boys’ jealousy as rivals. Whereas each issue features a complete story entirely readable on its own, del Rio also
hints at pieces of a larger story in each issue as well to keep all readers interested and show younger readers the
joys of ongoing comicbook series.
del Rio’s manga art style also perfectly suits Sabrina and gives her a unique identity separate from her
Archie counterparts. While the Archie “house style” suits the Riverdale characters, I’ve
always felt that Sabrina and her world would work better in a different style, and del Rio succeeds at that immensely. While
many long-time fans may have feared the manga makeover, the new Sabrina has caught on and shown that change is a good
thing and can make the series better than ever, especially when combined with such deftly crafted stories.
Archie Comics also has plenty of other series that are great, but I’ll be covering those in future columns. But if
you are a comicbook reader with children of your own and you want to turn them on to comics, Sabrina the Teenage Witch
is the perfect place to start. While Sabrina is especially ideal for young female readers, I’m an adult male reader
and I got hooked on them, so don’t be afraid to show them to both genders and all ages. I figure you’ll get a
kick out of them too.
Also, between now and September 30, 2006, you can order Tania del Rio’s hard-to-find first four issues (#58-61) direct from Archie Comics using the order form to your left. Just click on the image to see the full form and details of the offer.
—CCdC—
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