JOSIE ANNUAL SPECTACULAR, NO. 1
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.
STORY: Dan Parent; Dick Malmgren
PENCILS: Dan Parent; Dan DeCarlo; Frank Doyle
INKS: Bob Smith; Rudy Lapick
COLORS: Glenn Whitmore; Barry Grossman
LETTERS: Jack Morelli; Bill Yoshida
EDITORS: Jamie Lee Rotante; Vincent Lovallo; Stephen Oswald
EiC: Mike Pellerito
COVER: Dan Parent with Rosario “Tito” Peña
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Dan DeCarlo
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2026); on-sale November 19, 2025
Rating: All-Ages
“Scare Tactics”
In December 1962, Archie Comics introduced the character, Josie Jones, in Archie's Pals 'n' Gals #23 (cover dated: Winter 1962-1963). Created by Dan DeCarlo, Josie Jones would become “Josie McCoy,” and she would join her friends, Melody and Valerie, in the band, “Josie and the Pussycats.”
Josie Annual Spectacular, No. 1 is an annual one-shot comic book featuring Josie and the Pussycats. The 2025 release includes one new story and three reprint stories. The new story features “The Southside Serpents” and is entitled “Scare Tactics” It is written by Dan Parent; drawn by Parent (pencils) and Bob Smith (inks); colored by Glenn Whitmore; and lettered by the great Jack Morelli.
The South Side Serpents in “Scare Tactics”:
Josie and the Pussycats were supposed to play a gig at the haunted “Eyegore Estates.” Well, they were supposed to do so, but they have discovered that another band has stolen their gig. But the thieves – the South Side Serpents – are not a real band. And why is Alexandra Cabot singing with this fake band? Can Josie, Valerie, and Melody get their gig back? Also, are there already forces ready to put an end to the entire thing?
THE LOWDOWN: I have been a fan of the Josie and the Pussycats franchise since I was a small child. I am crazy about classic Josie comic books that were published from the 1960s to the early 1980s, some of which you, dear readers, can find in the 2021 trade paperback collection, Shes Josie. I'm also still in love with the two 1970s animated television series based on the Josie comics.
“Scare Tactics” is one of the better five-page “Josie and the Pussycats” stories that I have read in a long time. Of course, it is written and drawn by the great Archie Comics creator, Dan Parent, who he has mastered the short-short story just as he has mastered longer stories. Parent manages to squeeze in a nice subplot and a few neat twists in “Scare Tactics,” which made me wish this story was longer.
The rest of this comic book features reprint stories. One of those is the cute single-page tale, “Hair with Flair.” Another is the three-part “The Ghost of Dark Valley Manor,” which features art from the team of Dan DeCarlo (pencils) and Rudy Lapick (inks.)
In my reviews of Archie Comics that feature reprinted stories, I always warn readers of my prejudice or preference. It is this: I will always recommend classic-style Archie Comics titles. Josie Annual Spectacular No. 1 (2025) is a cool comic book – from new to old.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of classic-style Archie Comics and of Josie and the Pussycats will definitely want to get a copy of Josie Annual Spectacular No. 1 (2025).
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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