text: DeCarlo first tried to sell the character as a syndicated comic strip called Here's Josie, recalling in 2001:
  Josie was introduced in a solo series, She's Josie. The first issue was cover-dated February 1963. The series featured levelheaded, sweet-natured redhead Josie, her ditzy blonde bombshell friend Melody, and the brainy, cynical, bespectacled brunette Pepper. These early years also featured the characters of Josie's beatnik boyfriend Albert; Pepper's strong but not-too-bright boyfriend Socrates ("Sock" for short); Albert's rival Alexander Cabot III, who chased after both Josie and Melody; and Alex's obnoxious twin sister Alexandra Cabot. None of the mainstream Archie characters appeared with Josie until the ninth issue of her own title. Josie and her friends occasionally appeared in "crossover" issues with the main Archie characters. She's Josie displayed a new Josie-only logo beginning with issue #14 (August, 1965), was officially renamed Josie with issue #17 (December, 1965), and again renamed, to Josie and the Pussycats, with issue #45 (December, 1969). The series finished its run under this title with issue #106 (October, 1982). Josie and her gang also made irregular appearances in Pep Comics and Laugh Comics during the 1960s.
  In 1969, Archie Comics made several changes to the Josie comic: