text: Afterlife with Archie In the world of Afterlife with Archie, Josie and the Pussycats are revealed to be vampires. Josephine McCoy is orphaned shortly after her birth in 1906 and winds up in an orphanage run by Alexandra Cabot, who has three other children: Melody, Valerie, and Pepper. Due to their singing talent, "Uncle Buddy" (one of Alexandra's friends) takes the trio on tour, eventually forcing Pepper to marry him. Shortly after this, Josie, Melody and Valerie are turned into vampires. The three then go on to become several short lived groups, with "Josie and the Pussycats" being the latest incarnation. In the 1980s, Pepper finds Josie and tries to blackmail Josie into turning her into a vampire. Josie tries to explain that becoming a vampire locks you into the state you were in when you were turned. Pepper won't listen and Josie is forced to kill her childhood friend. Josie them mesmerizes the interviewer she has been telling this to so the three of them can feed. Later on, on their jet, they detect irregularities at their destination of Riverdale, deciding to land there anyway rather than detour.
  Reboot
  On June 8, 2016, a reboot of the series was announced in the same style of the Archie, Jughead, and Betty & Veronica reboots as part of the New Riverdale imprint. The series is co-written by Marguerite Bennett and Cameron DeOrdio with the art by Audrey Mok. The reboot features Josie uniting the band to take their big shot at musical stardom, only to contend with the machinations of Alexandra Cabot, the ever-Machiavellian sister of the Pussycats’ manager. The first issue was released on September 28, 2016.
  Characters
  Josie
  A short-haired redhead, Josie is the leader and co-founder of the Pussycats. She is the lead vocalist and songwriter and plays guitar. Portrayed as a sweet, attractive, and level-headed teenage girl, Josie is usually the stable center in the middle of the chaos surrounding her band and her friends.