Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch Get Modern Relaunch With Oni Press Deal (Exclusive)

In early 2025, Oni Press president and publisher Hunter Gorinson met over Zoom with Archie Comic Publications heads Jon Goldwater, Jesse Goldwater and Mike Pellerito.

What was supposed to be their usual catch up on the state of the comics industry turned into a conversation about the state of Archie comics. The freckled red-haired teen and his friends have, since their first appearance in 1941, become as American as apple pie. The comics and their impact have waxed and waned. Perhaps it was time for a refresh.

Gorinson left with his brain buzzing, and consulted with his editor-in-chief Siera Hahn, among others on his team, to put together some ideas. A few weeks later, he met up with the Archie execs again, this time in person at February’s retailer convention ComicsPRO in Glendale.

“How do you take a character that is so malleable and has been put in virtually every situation possible in Riverdale and beyond and do something fresh in the year 2026?” posited Gorinson. “That is the kind of tall order that we put up for ourselves. “

The result of that meeting will bear fruit in the second half of 2026, when Oni and Archie Comics begin rolling out what is being described as a distinctly original and stylistically reimagined slate of monthly comic series, original graphic novels and prestige collections. These books will feature Archie, Betty and Veronica, Jughead, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and the rest of Riverdale’s cast of characters. It is also the first time that Archie’s iconic characters will be released in a partnership with another publisher.

The first wave of books will be written and drawn by a group of some of the biggest names in indie comics, creators one would never associate with an Archie title.

Archie will be written by W. Maxwell Prince, the co-creator of Image Comics’ Ice Cream Man, the acclaimed and sometimes surreal horror anthology, with art by Eisner-winning cartoonist Fábio Moon (Daytripper) and Nick Cagnetti, the pop art maven who created Pink Lemonade.

Sarbina the Teenage Witch will be written by Corinna Bechko, a Hugo and Eisner-nominated author who recently penned stories for Oni’s revival of EC Comics, and drawn by Kano, who has worked for DC and Marvel.

Then there will be Archie in Hell, a horror title penned by Patrick Horvath, the creator of Dexter-meets-cuddly animals sensation Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees. Tyler Crook, known for his collaborations with Mike Mignola on B.R.P.D.: Hell on Earth and horror comic Harrow County, will supply the art.

The comics will begin rolling out in September 2026. Archie will be the first, followed by Sabrina in October and Archie in Hell in November. The comics will be monthly ongoing series.  

“From the world of comics, where Archie’s stories led so many to pick up their very first comic book, to the long-running success of Riverdale, Archie’s cherished cast of characters have few rivals in terms of their visibility or influence on global pop culture,” said David Steward II, chairman of the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group. “This new partnership is one of the most significant moments in Oni Press’ three decades as a leading publisher of independent comics, and, in collaboration with the Archie team, we look forward to writing a memorable new chapter in the history of these legendary characters that will set the stage for decades worth of stories yet to come.”

There is more to the partnership than monthly comics. Following the debut of the all-new Archie No. 1, Oni will also work on releasing a wave of brand-new collections giving all eras of Archie’s history a showcase via a variety of formats, including compact digest editions, deluxe hardcovers and omnibi, and comprehensive box sets. The goal is to highlight work by original creators John L. Goldwater, Bob Montana and Vic Bloom, as well as names ranging from Dan DeCarlo, Veronica Fish, Francesco Francavilla to Stan Goldberg, Tom King and Paul Kupperberg, among others.

In 2027, the line will expand further with the debut of an all-new line of middle grade and young adult graphic novels, all set in their own, accessible continuity outside of the core Oni publishing line. The plane is to have creative teams made up of acclaimed and recognizable talents.

According to the companies, the new Archie line will be editorially overseen by Oni’s Hahn with additional contributions from senior editor Bess Pallares and editor Megan Brown with guidance from Archie Comics’ own senior director of editorial Jamie Rotante and editor and art director Vincent Lovallo.

While the comic book medium has had ups and downs in recent years, Archie has thrived or generated interest in other media. Riverdale was a soapy take on the material, and the series ran for seven seasons on The CW, making stars out of actors KJ Apa and Camila Mendes. A live-action adaptation of an early 2010s best-seller Afterlife with Archie is in development at Disney+ with Berlanti Productions as a show. Meanwhile, Phil Lord and Chris Miller are developing a feature, being written by comic superstar Tom King, for Universal.

The takes and plot details for the monthly series are being kept in the Lodge Family vault, but both parties say Gorinson and his team had significant leeway. The publisher asked for a guiding ethos from the Archie team and was told that Archie stories are told through a lens of what children think being a teenager is like. He and the writers are trying to shift the perspective.

“In 2026, I think it can be said it’s adults’ idealistic version of what their childhood should have been,” he notes, adding that one guiding watch word for the title is All-Star Superman, the mini-series by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely that distilled decades worth of Superman story eras into one acclaimed and influential tale.

But even as unique and disruptive as the new comics could very well turn out to be, the core of Archie will remain.  

“Archie comics are always stories with elements of hope to them,” said Rotante. “Even when you veer into the dark, or the tone gets serious, one thing that people look to for Archie is comfort and familiarity.”

Added Gorinson, “You only get so many chances to start these characters fresh, and we wanted to do something meaningful. The mission statement was to take big swings and do big ongoing books that people can sink their teeth into over the course of years.”

Check out the teasers for the three new titles below.