Longtime Archie and Cracked writer George Gladir passed away on Wednesday.  Gladir began writing for Archie in 1959, and continued to write for the company until his death. 

Perhaps Gladir’s most significant contribution to the Archie universe was the co-creation, with Dan DeCarlo, of Sabrina the Teenage Witch for Archie’s MadHouse #22 in 1962.  The character went on to star in animated and live action television series and is in development as a feature film at Sony (see “Sony Rebooting ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch’”).

Gladir also worked extensively at Cracked, where he was the head writer for a time and wrote over 2000 pages, many of which were drawn by John Severin.

Gladir was awarded the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing in 2007.

Archie Co-CEO Jon Goldwater said of Gladir, “George Gladir was one of the most important and influential writers at Archie Comics.  He was a sweet and lovable man and we will miss him.”

Archie EIC/Co-President Victor Gorelick’s comment gives a feel for the length and stability of Gladir's career, perhaps only possible in a family-owned business like Archie.  “I’ve had the pleasure and the honor of working and learning from George for 54 years,” he said.  “He was always current, understood the characters, was funny and always sent reference.  The entire staff at Archie Comics was saddened by the loss of George Gladir.”