Oni Press to Publish Archie Comics in 2026

Archie Comics has been its own publisher for decades and will still exist, but starting in 2026, Oni Press will be publishing a number of Archie floppies as well. As Comics Beat observed, "That’s the short version of yet another comics publishing trend that is becoming increasingly common: legacy publishers licensing out their venerable titles to other publishers who can bring a fresh take." We saw this with EC popping up over at Oni as well, after all. Oni gets some well-known characters, and Archie gets an injection of new life in their properties. Archie still has the rights to publish the, "Classic,"-style material, and Oni does the monthly newer stuff with more modern sensibilities.

There are many plans as, "Oni will also publish their new ARCHIE #1 in September 2026, and the line will continue with brand-new collections spanning all eras of Archie’s history in a variety of formats – including compact digest editions, deluxe hardcovers and omnibi, and comprehensive box sets. In 2027, the Oni/Archie line will expand further with a line of middle grade and YA graphic novels, but set in their own continuity line." That's a lot of Archie-related content to look forward to, and yes, it includes a new, "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," comic as part of the new line and the horror-focused series that have been popular (I just posted yesterday about an, "Afterlife with Archie," comic giveaway). I look forward to learning more about all these new comics as we enter into 2026!

15th Anniversary Giveaway Post 4: An, "Afterlife With Archie," #1 First Printing Comic With a Variant Cover

What's this? Another giveaway thanks to my chums over at the website Comics Heating Up/Comics Heating Up Forums? That is correct! They are all incredible folks and courtesy of them I have a copy of, "Afterlife with Archie," #1 to have mailed to a lucky winner! This issue features a fantastic variant cover by Andrew Pepoy and is bound to only grow in popularity since the announcement of an, "Afterlife With Archie," show is in the works!

To win this incredible prize, you only need to comment with your name and email address on this post within the next 48 or so hours. That, or you can email me at davidbitterbaum@gmail.com if you would prefer your email not be public. Thanks yet again to the great folks at Comics Heating Up for this giveaway!

Delayed Comics are the Annoying (Continuing) Trend of the Year--2017 in Review

So, So, Annoying

A great cover to a comic that should've already come out and now isn't due till 2018.

"Doom Patrol," "The Black Monday Murders," "Southern Bastards," anything relating to the, "Afterlife With Archie," brand. All these comics I've greatly enjoyed and they all have had abhorrent delays. When it gets to the point when I can't recall what happened in the previous issue of a comic because it has been months, or even more than a year, I know there's a big problem. I was really loving, "Doom Patrol," but I've quit reading it in single issues because at this point I might as well just pick it up in trade whenever the horrifically-delayed issues are collected. "Southern Bastards," has long been a favorite comic of mine but comes out maybe quarterly, and when was the last time we saw any of that zombie-Archie comic?

If a book is solicited to come out monthly or every two months and doesn't that can kill the momentum. I adore, "The Black Monday Murders," with the great writing of Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker's amazing artwork but its sporadic release schedule really makes it hard to recall who's who in its big cast of characters all following their own plots and subplots. I'm happy to get to read the book at all, but I'll be darned if these delays don't temper my enthusiasm a bit at times.

This came out 8/31/16, nothing since. #11 will maybe be out December 26th...of 2018.

Look, I know that things can come-up and make it hard for a book to come out on time. Whether it is a big comic company or a smaller independent book shit can happen. It just is annoying when a book I really dig is delayed beyond all rhyme or reason to the point I just give-up waiting for it. This by no means was a problem exclusive to 2017, but perhaps as I grow older my patience just wears increasingly thin for this kind of thing.

Rant-Reviews: Sex, Politics, and Zombies

The Things We Love and Hate

Almost all of us love sex, and almost everyone hates politics or at least certain aspects of it. We both love and hate zombies too. I wanted to do a post discussing comics that touch upon these subjects in various ways, so here we go!

Nudity, Voting, and the Living Dead = A Fun Time!

Sex #28

Joe Casey continues his ever-so-slow build of tension with this series that is still incredibly weird, but now is starting to show more of an overall arching plot that has taken awhile to become apparent.Plus, in its process of forming a story it has revealed to be holding quite a rewarding to those who have played close attention. The seemingly simple concept of what happens after a man named Simon Cooke retires from being a city's super-hero--The Iron Saint--morphed into tale of competing gangs, mid-life crises, and of course lots of sex (I mean, that is in the title).

This issue moves us ever-closer to the possibility that Cooke maybe isn't done being a hero which is a bit ironic as the always-fascinating back-matter which features the musings of writer Joe Casey talks about how he is feeling disenfranchised by mainstream super-hero comics lately. Piotr Kowlalski supplies the usual incredible art to compliment the increasing wild-vibe of this series, and I undoubtedly am excited to see where things continue to go.

4 out of 5 stars.

Citizen Jack #6

This comic jumped around so much for me, alternating between being a really clever and funny look at the absurdity of politics to being so on-the-nose that it was less funny than it was obvious. This issue concludes the mini-series but makes it clear more will most likely be on the way. It also throws in a joke about how other politicians have made deals with devils that I should have seen coming but did not. This was a series where I kept seeing lots of potential within and it occasionally was hilarious or clever, but in the end this petered out a bit. Perhaps the sequel its clearly setting-up will be good with Jack as our President.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Nighthawk #1

I was interested when this comic was announced as I enjoyed the, "Supreme Power," comics until they sort-of trailed off and died (before the comic's world officially dying). The idea that one character escaped that reality and came to the main Marvel Universe is an interesting one (and he's part of a team full of refugees from other worlds as, "Squad Supreme" explores), and I quite enjoyed reading about this Nighthawk before in the older comics. This isn't a Marvel Max book anymore so swearing is blurred out, but the illustrations by Ramon Villalobos are sufficiently brutal as to remind me of those previous comics. Writer David Walker gives us a good balance of Nighthawk out being a super-hero killing white supremacists (who readers of "Supreme Power" know are responsible for his parent's death) and his civilian identity (his real name is Kyle Richmond but he can't use that on this Earth as there is another Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk too).

Watching Kyle balance his life between fighting criminals and then fighting corrupt businessmen is entertaining. Speaking of those businessmen, one wants to force out the residents of affordable housing out so he can build condos, and our hero wants to help fix-up them up, which is interesting with its introduction of class and racial elements into the book. I look forward to writer David Walker having that element more in the story as much of the first issue was focused more on Nighthawk fighting folk than his day-time activities. The political-stuff with Nighthawk's regular life always fascinated me as much as if not more-so than his heroics, after all, but this was still a solid start.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Afterlife with Archie #9

Everyone else reviewing this has already cracked all the good jokes about how long the waits are between issues, so I won't do any and simply say that yeah, it is pretty absurd. I has gotten to the point I dropped the, "Sabrina," book--which is another horror title in this line but set in a different continuity--due to its delays, figuring I'll read it in trade sometime. That said, I just won't ever quit, "Afterlife with Archie," even with its laughable delays as the book is just so good, so dark, and generally wild (plus it helpfully sums up the story so far at the opening for all of us who are bit hazy on things). Finally living up to its hint of Betty's life being in danger that the arc's title has carried, it seems that Reggie may be the threat the comic long hinted he was. I've always thought of Reggie as being a bit of a sociopath so having the comic discuss that, shut the idea down, but then bring it back with a vengeance was clever. Francavilla is the perfect artist for this book, providing amazing moody tones full of dark hues and drama. There just isn't much else to say besides, "Afterlife with Archie," is amazing no matter how late it always happens to be.

5 out of 5 stars.

Was it Good For You Too?

Whether you're making love, picking a politician, or fighting off some zombies, I hope you're happy and satisfied--although with politics the odds of you actually being satisfied are slim-to-none. After all, in sex and politics a lot of people get screwed. I know, that's a terrible pun to end this article on, but it's the one I chose. Maybe I should have done something zombie themed? Oh well. Wait, I've got it! Politicians are like zombies, they....um....damn it.

2014 In Review--My Favorite Ongoing Comics This Year

And The Winner Is...
To kick-off my series of segments looking at 2014 I thought I would make sense to start with some of my favorite comics from this year that were ongoing series. Now, I do have another post that deals with my favorite cancelled comics of 2014, but that will go up at a later date and these are ongoing titles that seem to be continuing into the foreseeable future. Now, in no particular order my top three ongoing series and an honorable mention...

...These Comics!
Zero

Ales Kot has a fascinating comic he is writing here. Each issue has a different artist (but the same colorist in Jordie Bellaire) but it isn't too jarring as often we view different times in the life of Edward Zero, a man who was raised by "The Agency" but then left it. It is a fascinating series exploring the mindset of a man who for so long lived in violence and then tried to achieve peace, but as we see from scenes set far in the future with Zero as a young man things went horribly wrong. Each issue's artist compliments the plot well, be it brutal violence, a peacefully quiet vignette, or whatever else Kot feels like having occur. I just really, really, enjoy this.

Moon Knight

Warren Ellis absolutely killed it on the first six issues of this comic with artist Declan Shalvey and colorist Jordie Bellaire (the same person from "Zero"!) contributing art that complimented the writing in ways that resulted in something quite often amazing. I was concerned when Brian Wood took over writing with art by Greg Smallwood, but since came on I have continued to be impressed. This results in a comic that despite having a big change in writer and artist (thankfully Bellaire continues to supply amazing color-work) still found itself as one of my favorite books of 2014.

Moon Knight is of course a hero I absolutely love to a degree you could argue is an unhealthy level of fanboy-ism, so even if his comic were terrible I would probably pick it up. Therefore, it is just wonderful that a comic about one of my most beloved characters can also be a book I think is just stellar and which continues to impress even as it seems Marc Spector may not be as much of the "Moon Knight" he once was. What will happen before the next creative team appears for the next arc will remain to be seen, but as long as it continues the trend of quality work I'll be eager to read "Moon Knight".

The Wicked and The Divine

This one took a little while to grow on me, besdies instantly loving Luci. The early issues had me unsure what exactly I was dealing with, the immense cast could be confusing, and I wasn't sure if the main protagonist Laura was especially interesting a person. However, as the first four issues passed I found myself being more and more drawn into this world where every ninety years Gods manifest on Earth--but only for two years. I was fascinated by the pantheon of characters as we got to know them a bit better, and then the absolutely shocking events of the fifth issue (why did they do that to Luci?) followed by an ominous sixth have me completely hooked.

Kieron Gillen and Jamie Mckelvie are of course a stellar team, turning in such amazing works as  "Phonogram" or "Young Avengers", so when you get a writer and artist duo that seem to work so perfectly in sync it just results in a wonderful title. "The Wicked and the Divine" is a prime example of that and I am excited to see where it goes.

Honorable Mention--Afterlife with Archie

Is this really an ongoing comic? I mean, I suppose it officially is in that there is no determined final issue and we get a new entry in the zombie-infested adventures of Archie and crew every long once in a while. That said, this just comes out so rarely I wasn't sure I could truly say it was one of my favorite ongoing comics this year so much as declaring it is a stellar comic on the rare occasion an issue comes out of this sadly oft-delayed title. How delayed is it? Well, this issue discusses Thanksgiving and the next one which has an undetermined release date is the Christmas issue...and Christmas just passed us. All of that aside however, this is a stellar comic with art by Francavilla that blows my mind and quality story-telling by Aguirre-Sacasa. I just wish "Afterlife with Archie" came out more often than every 4 or 5 months.

There Are Plenty More Thoughts on 2014 to Share
That's the start of my thought-pieces on 2014. Come on back soon for more. It should be a fun six days.

Rant-Reviews of some Newer Releases That Just Started or Concluded

New-Comic Smell
Earlier today I did some rant-reviews of comics that have been out for a bit and either just started or
ended. Now, I would like to talk about some more comics that are beginning or ending, but these ones are slightly newer releases. Shall We?

The Reviews Themselves (Again)
Wytches #1
With Scott Snyder writing a horror-story (and I always think he is at his best when getting a bit horror-styled, even on his "Batman work) and Jock turning in his amazing art, would you really expect this comic to be any less than at least impressive? In all seriousness though, this is a great piece of work, even if the true premise isn't quite clear until some back-matter in the book where Snyder shares his inspiration for the story and how it will deal with the need for people to "pledge" others in order to get wishes they have granted. This issue itself is more of a way to set-up how a family, and their daughter (named Sail) in particular will be suffering due to the Wytches, an ancient evil force that Sail's parents seem to know a bit more about then they are letting on, but future issues will probably reveal more of that.

As always, Jock's art is amazing, with its somewhat scratchy-style complimenting the creepy and at times violent presentation of the story expertly. The Wytches are a somewhat hard-to-picture force, with Jock's hints of their immense scale and power allowing us to see just enough to be intimidated, and hiding just enough to have our imaginations concoct all kinds of horrors. Between Jock's stellar art and Snyder's scary writing this is quite the good first issue, although it was a bit annoying  that to understand the true "concept" of the book I had to read the additional back-matter instead of the story itself explaining things in this debut issue. I imagine future ones will clarify the concept of "Wytches" further however, so I'm not overly concerned.
4 out of 5 stars.

Sabrina #1
Another new series dealing with wytches, but in this case spelled the normal way (witches) and with the twist that this isn't just a normal scary witchcraft yarn, this is with someone who is possibly the most famous witch of all--Sabrina. With the immense success of the "Afterlife with Archie" comics that took the Archie characters and put them into something much darker and violent than usual, it was thought it made sense to do the same thing with Sabrina, although this comic takes place in its own world separate from any of the other Archie-comics.

As with "Afterlife with Archie" part of the thrill of this comic is seeing a character we are used to behaving one way and having it morphed into something quite different. Taking place in the 1960's this comic has a strong horror vibe but does work in some humor so as to keep things a tad fun. Sabrina is of course a teenage witch, but this isn't a light-and-happy witchcraft, it is dark and a bit brutal. Sabrina's cousin Ambrose (a warlock) is an interesting character too as his flippant attitude toward the rules of witchcraft is a good counter to Sabrina's desire to be well-behaved despite having her own selfish desires (such as making a boy at the high-school be attracted to her). The whole thing works quite well between the art and eerie-yet-not-too-dark tone, and I look forward to the next issue.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Standard #5
I've discussed my fondness for this comic before, and this fifth and final double-sized issue (with it even having a break in the middle as if to lead into a sixth) is a solid piece of entertainment. While not as meta as the third issue (something I loved), it brings things to a satisfying conclusion and has overall been a great tale about what happens when a Golden-Age hero ends up having to face the modern world and all its evils. Even though this is the conclusion to the story, certain sub-plots seem unresolved (who was "The Corpse"?) and I could see how this comic could come back in the future if desired by the creators. As it stands now though, this was a delightful mini-series.
4 out of 5 stars.

Punks: The Comic #1
I actually am familiar with the "Punks" comics. I somehow have a little digest containing some stories about the titular "Punks" that I remember enjoying, and am not quite certain how it came into my possession, although I am glad it did because that faint memory of enjoying the other "Punks" works I read helped me know I wanted to get this new release and enjoy it. As I was expecting weird abstract humor with a dash of the absurd I was happy when that was what I got. "Punks" is the sort of comic that makes no sense, but that actually is what makes it most enjoyable. As it takes place in a fiction with no rules, it can do whatever it wants, be that having a joke about pants that can withstand any punch to the groin (Wunderpants!) or suddenly becoming an activity-sheet like you see in restaurants on kids' menus, but of course with a much more twisted sense of humor (it may be juvenile, but the word-search having nothing but, "Poop," as an option made me grin).

One fascinating thing about "Punks" is how it isn't just the writer, Joshua Hale Fialkov, who makes it enjoyable, but in fact the art by Kody Chamberlain that, "Seals the deal," as it were. The artwork is a mish-mash of images that look pasted together almost as a sort of grade-school collage but with hints of well-done illustration. The strangeness of the imagery compliments the story well, with the surreal smiling faces of some murderous garden gnomes that appear early in the story working well to impart just how bizarre all the proceedings in the comic truly are. That said, comedy is a hard thing to do, and while this issue did give me some chuckles, it didn't crack me up as much as I would have hoped to give it a truly stellar rating. Still, for the masterful artwork and some solid gags I still think I can give this...
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Memetic #1
A new BOOM! comic, "Memetic" is a three-issue limited series that was initially promoted  through BOOM! and a bunch of its affiliated creators randomly posting a meme of a smiling sloth. Little did we as the populace know that the sloth himself would end up being a meme that destroys society--in the fiction of the comic only, thankfully. Regardless of if a meme really could destroy the world, this comic makes it seem quite possible and is amazingly good.

When I first heard about how the concept for the comic would how the sudden appearance of a "Good Times Sloth," causes society to fall apart I wasn't sure how writer James Tynion IV would make that work. Well, he makes it work exceptionally well, starting us on day 3 after the appearance of the meme and then rewinding back to the start. An immense feeling of dread built in me as I read the issue, seeing everyone around the world quickly become obsessed with this new meme (not unlike how real society can suddenly care a lot about some random fun image), and wondering when things would go wrong. Well, toward the end of the issue it becomes clear that the meme is not just a cute image, with it in fact causing grisly results 12 hours after once someone is exposed to it--with some exceptions such as one of our main characters, Aaron, being color-blind and therefore unable to be harmed by the meme.

When people start going mad the comic reminds me a bit of a zombie-story but mixed with the fast-moving insane-people of the "28 Days/Weeks" later series or "Crossed". The aspect of the comic that sets it apart from being just a re-hash of those stories however is how it uses the concept of our highly inter-connected society and riffs on the idea that such an easy way to connect with others could easily bring about our world's downfall. Also, the fact that it isn't until towards the end of the comic that all Hell breaks loose allows the comic to have a pace that isn't slow, but also knows better than to rush in to all the madness. By teasing us with a fear of what the "Good Times Sloth" may cause but not revealing it until we are already somewhat emotionally invested in the characters it makes the shock of sudden violence all that more scary. This was a really, really great comic, and I am surprised I loved this as much as I did, considering I expected something just decent. You should check this out for sure, just look out for that meme!
5 out of 5 stars.

Great Fun Was Had
There you go, a bunch of quality-stuff that is a bit newer. Go give them a read!

Some Much-Delayed Thoughts on "Afterlife with Archie" #6 AKA How I Wish "Fatale" Had Been Done

If You'll Allow Me To Explain

I really loved the latest issue of "Afterlife with Archie" that came out some weeks ago. It took me until recently to read it but once I did I had two major thoughts, "This is incredibly good," and "This really reminds me of 'Fatale', and is actually how I wish 'Fatale' had been." Should this thinking confuse you or seem weird to compare two seemingly very different comics I'll explain. Basically, its all about the creeping sense of horror.

So Much Tension That It Eventually Got Boring
"Fatale" featured a female protagonist named Josephine with scary powers (in this case the ability to basically mind-control men and recover from any injury whilst not aging) who was trying to escape from an evil cult that seemed to worship a variety of horrifying Cthulhu-styled creatures. It jumped around in time, and despite starting out promising I found myself growing bored with it. I ended-up quitting the comic around the point it had jumped-forward in time from what was arguably the "main" story to a tale about Seattle in the 1990's.

I did like the earlier issues.

As I stated, it began quite well, with Josephine--also known as "Jo"--being interesting and a bit scary, yet also sympathetic. I've loved past works by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Philips, so I was intrigued when I began the series. There was this sense of tension and foreboding...and then nothing much happened for a bunch of issues. You can only have tensions ratcheting-up for so long without a release before people just get exhausted along with possibly bored, and well, with Fatale I became pretty bored. For all I know the last issue paid off in a big way and cashed-in expertly on all that led into it, but as it stands, when I remember "Fatale" I think of how it had so much tension that it eventually got boring, if that paradox makes any sense. Then in comparison we have "Afterlife with Archie" #6, i.e. how I want a comic to build-up my anxiety and then pay off on it.

Not the Kind of Dream Wedding Most People Hope For, But Delightful For A Reader

"Afterlife with Archie" has centered on a zombie invasion of the town of Riverdale brought about by Sabrina (The Teenage Witch) using magic she shouldn't have in an attempt to help Jughead bring his dog named "Hot Dog" back to life. After the first issue where Sabrina was banished by her aunts to a nether-realm the comic has focused on Archie and crew, with us readers only able to wonder what came of Sabrina. Well, the sixth issue of this comic offers a bit of an interlude from the goings-on in Riverdale and fills us in on Sabrina. Basically, she has been at an institution for troubled youth since the supposed deaths of her aunts. Clearly, something is amiss.

This may sound quite different from "Fatale", but in this issue there are many similarities. The issue features a female protagonist with scary powers (magic), who is trying to escape from a sort of asylum run by an evil cult that worships Cthulhu. See how that sort of links up? There are little things too, like how the motif in "Fatale" of people seeing creepy things for a split-second before "reality" sets back in happens a bunch in this issue of "Afterlife", which was in fact one of the first things that made me start thinking of "Fatale". From my noticing how this was like "Fatale" I started to see how it did something very well that I've made clear "Fatale" did not--the tension-building.

The issue opens with Sabrina describing a nightmarish dream to Doctor Lovecraft (see what they did there?) and continues from there as we see her in the institution. Sabrina is trying to figure out why everything seems off, and if this strange belief that she is actually a witch is true or some delusion--as she has been informed as such by folk at her establishment of forced housing. As the issue continues a sense of palpable dread and fear grows and grows until a heck of an ending where Sabrina learns the truth is she is a witch that the Doctor's snatched from the nether-realm and is to be the bride of none other than Cthulhu himself. Yeah, not the kind of dream-wedding most people hope for, but delightful for a reader.

Whereas with "Fatale" I was putting up with issue-after-issue of a feeling of fear and trouble, nothing too big actually really occurred (yes, there were some smaller pay-offs, but not a "wow" moment like "Afterlife" contained). Meanwhile, in a single issue of "Afterlife with Archie", writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa expertly started things out with a creepy vibe, built up my worry and fear for Sabrina, and ended with a huge bang. If any issue of "Fatale" had been as good as this single one of "Afterlife with Archie" I probably would have gladly stuck with it till the end.

Top-Notch Stuff
I've sounded negative about "Fatale" but it was a perfectly good comic, it just got grating after awhile. At least the art in "Afterlife" is incredible thanks to Franco Francavilla, and Sean Philip's work in "Fatale" was top-notch too, so both books are beautiful; it just in the end comes down to the story the comics have been telling. While most of "Afterlife with Archie" has had more of a strange "Walking Dead"-type feel, this check-in with Sabrina was full-tilt Cthulhu and Elder Gods-styled. Therefore, trying to compare other issues of "Afterlife" to "Fatale" would be a bit silly, but works wonderfully for this issue.

Usually "Afterlife with Archie" has more zombie-smashing than Cthulhu

This issue of "Afterlife with Archie" is a stellar example of an interpretation of HP Lovecraft, period, not just how I wish "Fatale" had gone. In the end they are very different comics, but I just felt like sharing how while reading the sixth issue of "Afterlife with Archie" I couldn't stop repeatedly thinking, "This is how I wish 'Fatale' had read." It may be unfair to Brubaker and Philips to write this as they were doing their own thing, but its just an observation I had and wanted to share with you all out there on the internet. As it is, this issue of "Afterlife" is my favorite thus far and just a great comic. I mean, when one comic is so good you wish other comics were like it that means something, I would argue. Anyways, top-notch stuff.

5 out of 5 (for the sixth issue of "Afterlife with Archie").