100-Year-Old Riverdale Cult Officially Sends Archie Straight to Hell in New Comic Release

A cult targets Archie

Archie Andrews, the familiar teenager from Riverdale, has recently faced a zombie apocalypse and a complicated romance. His latest change of setting takes him to Hell in the new series Archie in Hell.

Writer Patrick Horvath and artist Tyler Crook launched the title this month. Its first issue reveals that a secret cult has manipulated Riverdale’s residents for a century and wants Archie as its final human sacrifice.

A journey into the past

In issue #2, Archie is thrown back to Riverdale’s earliest days in Colonial America. He encounters counterparts of people he knows, alongside superstition and suspicion about witchcraft. The story leaves Archie’s fate uncertain: he must find a way back to the present or risk being burned at the stake. The issue is due in stores December 16.

A new publishing partnership

Archie Comics, formerly known as MLJ Comics, is publishing the series with independent comics company Oni Press. The companies’ collaboration also includes a relaunched Archie ongoing series and a new Sabrina the Teenage Witch title.

The main Archie series returned in September, written by W. Maxwell Prince with artists Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti. Sabrina the Teenage Witch arrived last month, written by Corinna Bechko and illustrated by Kano.

Creators and cover artists

Horvath and Crook are behind Archie in Hell. Horvath’s other work includes Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, while Crook’s includes Harrow County. Issue #2 features covers by Crook, Dustin Weaver, Jonathan Case, Abigail Harding, Dan Parent and Patricia Martín.