Sabrina The Teenage Witch Conjures Holiday Mischief With Zelda & Hilda - Exclusive

Sabrina Spellman is returning for another adventure, and it promises to be a magical and festive ride for fans of Archie Comics' resident teenage witch.

"Sabrina The Teenage Witch Holiday Special" is a 32-page one-shot that contains two stories with a Solstice twist. In "The Longest Night," Sabrina and her friends must contend with a Beast that's impossible to kill in its own world and is a force to be reckoned with everywhere else. So, when the monster finds its way to Sabrina's boarding school and targets her friend, the gang must band together to save the day. 

The second tale, "A Very Spellman Solstice," is a throwback story about Hilda and Zelda during their teenage years, which sees them encounter a ghost from the past. According to Jamie L. Rotante, Archie Comics' Senior Director of Editorial, the flashback tale is inspired by a popular movie about witches. "Think Practical Magic with a Solstice spin," she told Looper. "'Tis the season for bewitching."

"Sabrina The Teenage Witch Holiday Special" also sees writer Kelly Thompson and artists Veronica and Andy Fish return to the series. Elsewhere, writer Danielle Paige and artist Veronica Johnson have also lent their talents to the festive special, while Laura Braga has treated fans to some bewitching variant cover art. Furthermore, Looper can exclusively share the covers for the upcoming release, along with some words from the creators.

While the aforementioned stories tease some scary scenarios for Sabrina, her friends, and family, Kelly Thompson's run with the Archie Comics series has been light on terror thus far. The writer's stories have been much more lighthearted and grounded than the devilish "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," but they're just as captivating in their own way. The eye-catching covers for "Sabrina the Teenage Witch Holiday Special" hint at more adventures of this ilk as they highlight the main character in a festive and happy mood. 

Veronica Fish's captivating cover shows Sabrina smiling and casting a spell against a snowy backdrop, which the artist feels captures the witch's personality. "Vincent [Lovallo, Archie Comics art director] sent me a nice mood board with some ideas for the cover direction, and I've always felt Sabrina's personality should have a lightness and sense of joy about her, so we went with a simple composition but kept the magic bright and shimmering."

Archie Comics/Veronica Fish

Laura Braga's variant cover, meanwhile, captures the more gothic and spooky sensibilities of Sabrina and her loyal cat, Salem. Furthermore, Braga enjoyed creating it as it allowed her to lean into the comic's seasonal vibes. "Sabrina is one of my favorite Archie Comics characters, and the idea of working on a cover with a magical, winter setting was truly inspiring. It was fun working on it, studying the expressiveness of Sabrina and Salem as characters but also being able to play with a cold color palette and light effects. I'm grateful to Archie Comics for this opportunity."

Kelly Thompson is an in-demand writer whose other popular credits include Marvel's "Captain Marvel" and DC Comics' "Harley Quinn: Black & White." However, her fans have wanted to see her return to the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" universe for quite some time.

"It's a total joy to return to Sabrina's world, and doing it with Veronica is the only way I would have wanted to come back," Thompson told Looper. "And 'Please do more Sabrina!' is one of my most frequent fan requests. I know they'd like something longer, but hopefully, this will still be a treat for us all."

"Sabrina the Teenage Witch Holiday Special" marks Danielle Paige's first time working on a comic about these characters. However, the best-selling author of the "Dorothy Must Die" series is a long-time fan of the comics and a big admirer of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish, so she's delighted to have contributed a story about Zelda and Hilda. "I've always been obsessed with Sabrina's aunts, the witches that helped shape her into the character that we love so much. So, stepping back in time and getting to see a young Hilda and Zelda making magic and maybe a little trouble was truly an honor for me as a writer and a forever fan."

Archie Comics' "Sabrina the Teenage Witch Holiday Special" will be available on December 13, 2023.