Prepare for a spine-tingling journey into the heart of Riverdale with Archie Comics: Judgement Day, an epic three-issue event set to captivate readers with a tale of demonic forces, moral quandaries, and the relentless quest for righteousness. Hitting shelves on May 22 from the Archie Horror imprint, this miniseries reimagines the iconic Archie Comics characters in a dark, supernatural setting and promises to take readers on one hell of a ride in the first Archie Premium Event.
Written by Aubrey Sitterson (Archie vs. The World, No One Left to Fight) with art by Megan Hutchison (Rockstars), colors by Matt Herms (Chilling Adventures of Salem, Madam Satan), and letters by Jack Morelli (Chilling Adventures Presents…), Judgement Day sets Archie Andrews on a daring quest to cleanse an alternate version of Riverdale overrun by demons. After claiming some destructive powers of his own, Archie is forced to destroy corrupted versions of the people closest to him, ostensibly in the name of the greater good. 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 or pure evil?
“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?” said Archie Comics’ Jesse Goldwater. “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.”
On top of bringing readers to the most horrifying version of Riverdale yet, Judgement Day also introduces the new Archie Premium Event branding, which 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.
“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,” said Jonathan Betancourt, Archie Comics Senior Vice President. “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: Judgement Day #1, with a main cardstock cover by Hutchison and variant cardstock covers by Francesco Francavilla, Jae Lee, and Reiko Murakami, releases on May 22 in comic shops nationwide and will be available for pre-order starting February 23 (FOC: April 29).
