For Archie, Almost Everything’s Oni

A shuffle is happening in Riverdale. No, it’s not zombies from Afterlife with Archie, though that’s getting new life on Disney+ of all places. In 2026, Archie Comics enters a publishing deal with Oni Press. They announced it last week, but I had to think about why it makes sense.

In the wake of Diamond Distribution’s implosion, readers have to check several different distributors to find books. Though Archie Comics still has high brand recognition, they need strength in numbers. Also, strength in what they do best. Oni Press has a stronger line to the collectors’ market, and Archie will be able to focus on the reliable comics and digests that parents know they can safely pick up at the grocery store check-out stand.

Archie has gone modern, then dark before. A sudden burst of popularity made the Archie Horror line interesting but editorially unwieldy. Though it sold well, Afterlife with Archie dribbled off as creative director Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tried balancing that with overseeing the CW series Riverdale. Recently, the publisher tried again with a loosely connected horrorverse. But it’s easy to get lost in one catalogue, let alone three. Or four. Or five.

Plus, this is the market. First issues and bold new directions garner fresh interest. Fan favorite creators get a chance to play with characters that have been there all their lives. Oni Press can deliver high end omnibuses and hardcovers for those who get their comics in a dedicated store, not Wal-Mart or the Piggly Wiggly.

Aguirre-Sacasa seems to have moved on, which seems healthy. He said what he wanted to say with the line, and new visions can take a shot. Read the press release and you’ll see Oni has lined up creators that mean they’ll at least be worth my “3 issue” test.

From Oni Press:

Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997 – and the iconic world-renowned Archie Comic Publications, Inc. are proud to unveil an ambitious and wide-ranging publishing partnership that will mark a milestone new beginning for Archie, Betty and Veronica, Jughead, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, and the rest of Riverdale’s most iconic characters across a distinctly original and stylistically reimagined slate of monthly comic series, original graphic novels, and prestige collections honoring the full breadth and influence of Archie Comics’ nearly nine-decade history.

The joy of being young. The pain of growing up. In 2026, the fantastical, pure-pop existence of “America’s Favorite Teenager” will be thrown into overdrive as Archie Andrews reaches a once-in-a-lifetime crossroads between then and now, daydream and reality, the heat of the moment and the vast expanse of eternity, across three daring new monthly series from some of the most brilliantly innovative creators working in the comics industry today: multiple Eisner Award nominee W. Maxwell Prince (Ice Cream Man, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum), Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko (EC Comics’ Blood Type, Green Lantern: Earth One) and Harvey Award winner Patrick Horvath (Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Free for All), working alongside riveting artists, including multiple Eisner Award winner Fábio Moon (Daytripper, Casanova), Nick Cagnetti (Spirit of the Shadows, Pink Lemonade), Eisner Award nominee Kano (EC Comics’ Cruel Universe, Gotham Central), and Russ Manning Award winner Tyler Crook (Out of Alcatraz, Harrow County).

“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.”

Timed to coincide with the 85th anniversary of Archie’s’ first appearance in PEP COMICS #22 in 1941, the new partnership will officially begin in Fall 2026 with a new slate of ongoing, monthly comics series.

“At the heart of everything we do, Archie’s representation on the printed page is always the starting point for each great leap forward our company has experienced,” added Jesse Goldwater, Senior Vice President of Creative of Archie Publications, Inc. “From our very first conversations with Hunter, Sierra, and the Oni team, we knew that these were the ideal partners to write a new chapter for Riverdale – one that’s faithful to the past, while unafraid to chart new territory for the future.”

“Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and the rest of Riverdale’s most memorable teenagers aren’t just some of the greatest comic book characters ever created – they’re also full-blown American icons. It’s the privilege of a lifetime to be able to build upon their rich legacy with this incredibly talented cast of creators to push the storytelling conventions of what an Archie comic can be,” said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “We’re immensely grateful to Jon Goldwater, Jesse Goldwater, Mike Pellerito, and the rest of the Archie Comics team for their trust, partnership, and collaboration as we ready what we intend to be one of the most inspired and groundbreaking comics publishing programs of the 21st century.”

The new Archie line will be editorially overseen by Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra 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 & Art Director Vincent Lovallo. Full creative details on each series are being kept under tight wraps, but readers and retailers can expect to hear more as Oni Press and Archie begin a unified marketing and communications campaign for their new slate that will include key appearances at the annual ComicsPRO Industry Conference in Glendale, CA and San Diego Comic-Con 2026 in the months ahead.

“Life in the 21st century isn’t all milkshakes and sunshine. What does it mean to be ‘America’s Favorite Teenager’ in 2026?” said Hahn. “Behind the scenes, for the better part of a year, we’ve been challenging ourselves to re-conceptualize a Riverdale that’s at once informed by all eras of Archie’s past, while also defining an utterly unique path into the future. With this new line, we’re hoping to forge an All-Star Superman moment for Archie’s brilliant constellation of characters – whether it’s W. Maxwell Prince, Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti on ARCHIE, Corinna Bechko and Kano on SABRINA, or Patrick Horvath and Tyler Crook on their own HELL of a title, rest assured: You’ve never read an Archie comic quite like these before.”

Following the debut of the all-new ARCHIE #1 in September 2026, the unprecedented publishing partnership between Oni Press and Archie Comics will continue as Oni releases a wave of brand-new collections spanning all eras of Archie’s history in variety of formats – including compact digest editions, deluxe hardcovers and omnibi, and comprehensive box sets – that will spotlight contributions from the characters’ original creators John L. Goldwater, Bob Montana & Vic Bloom, alongside those from a decades-spanning cast of seminal writers and artists including Dan DeCarlo, Veronica Fish, Francesco Francavilla, Erica Henderson, Stan Goldberg, Tom King, Paul Kupperberg, Dan Parent, Samm Schwartz, Fiona Staples, Kelly Thompson, Michael Uslan, Mark Waid, Chip Zdarksy, and many more.

In 2027, the line will expand further will the debut of an all-new line of middle grade and young adult graphic novels – set in their own, accessible continuity outside of the core Oni Press publishing line – that will feature contributions from some of the most acclaimed and recognizable talents writing and illustrating for those audiences today. More details on those titles will be revealed in mid-2026.

With more than three billion comics sold worldwide since the company’s founding in 1939, Archie Comics is one of the most successful and influential publishers in the history of the comics medium with instantly recognizable series including ARCHIE, BETTY & VERONICA, JUGHEAD, SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH, KATY KEENE, and many dozens more. In 2017, Archie’s universe of characters evolved with the premiere of RIVERDALE on The CW. Archie will next appear on the small screen in a live-action horror series AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE on Disney+ followed by the big screen in a new live-action feature film written by Eisner Award winner Tom King and produced by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller for Universal Pictures.

The new partnership between Archie Comics and Oni Press represents the first time that Archie’s iconic characters have been published in partnership with another publisher. The new collaboration represents another high-profile addition to Oni’s publishing stable, which recently included the company’s best-selling, Eisner and Ringo Award-nominated resurgence of the legendary EC Comics publishing imprint, in addition to the hit relaunch of the Adventure Time franchise and the upcoming debut of New York Times best-selling creator Matt Kindt’s Flux House imprint in Summer 2026.

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