Archie Comics have announced a new, three-issue Archie Horror series starting this May, simply titled “Archie Comics: Judgment Day.” Written by Aubrey Sitterson with art by Megan Hutchison (“Rockstars”), coloring by Matt Herms, and lettering by Jack Morelli, the series is set in a world overrun by demons, who’ve possessed many of Riverdale’s best-known residents. After capturing and harnessing a demon for its power, Archie Andrews takes it upon himself to destroy his old friends. But, “as questions about his own morality and the sacrifices he’s made start to pile up, Archie must confront if his efforts are truly good, or in fact the work of pure evil?”
Jesse Goldwater, Archie Comics’ creative consultant, says “‘Judgment Day’ places Archie Andrews squarely at the center, acting as our hero — but with the power to choose who lives and who dies, can he truly remain a hero through and through? This miniseries raises the stakes more than any title we’ve ever done before. The fate of the entire world is in Archie’s hands.” None of the creative team are strangers to Archie, with Sitterson having contributed to 2022’s “The Best Archie Comic Ever!,” and written 2023’s post-apocalyptic take-off “Archie vs. The World,” while Hutchison was the artist behind several variant covers for Horror titles like “Betty: The Final Girl,” and “Vampironica: New Blood.”
The book marks Archie’s first miniseries since the conclusion of “Sabrina: Something Wicked” in 2021, with the company having focused since then on one-shots, specials and anthologies, in addition to their ongoing series. Appropriately, it will be branded as the first ‘Archie Premium Event,’ which the publisher says will “designate upcoming Archie stories that are simply too grand for a single one-shot release. With their extended length and scale, these cinematic miniseries will take Archie Comics in epic new narrative directions, paired with upgraded collector-quality issues featuring cardstock covers, improved interior paper stock, and specialized print finishes.”
Jonathan Betancourt, Senior Vice President of Archie, comments “‘Judgment Day’ is the first in a compelling slate of events. As we look to the future of Archie, we wanted to translate our success in TV and film to focus that sense of grandeur back to our core publishing efforts. With our ‘Archie Premium Event’ series, we’ve imbued each project with an epic sense of storytelling that is evocative of the exciting new direction for the company. In addition to our concentrated focus on elevated storytelling, these new series are also investments for the larger comic book community, transforming what would be a normal print issue into a must-have collector’s item.”
“Archie Comics: Judgment Day” #1 will retail for $4.99 on May 22, with a main cover by Hutchison, and variants by Francesco Francavilla, Jae Lee, and Reiko Murakami. You can check those out below, along with two additional interior pages.
