Oni Press will soon be publishing Archie Comics.
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.
Following Oni Press’s success with the EC Comics brand, the publisher will now produce and distribute Archie Comics periodical comics beginning in early 2026. Creators include such fresh names as Patrick Horvath, Corinna Bechko and Fábio Moon.
The benefits to both publishers are clear: Oni adds some of the most iconic characters in American pop culture to its brand, and Archie Comics, which has recently made changes in their distribution model, get new life for those icons.
“How do you take a character that is so malleable and has been put in virtually every situation possible in Riverdale and beyond and do something fresh in the year 2026?” said Oni’s chief Hunter Gorinson. “That is the kind of tall order that we put up for ourselves.”
According to Oni, they have licensed the full Archie Comics catalog and will take over monthly periodical titles as well as collected editions.
UPDATE: To clarify, Archie Comics will continue to publish “Classic Archie” versions of the characters, including a just-announced new quarterly magazine, ARCHIE JUMBO COMIC MAGAZINE, which will feature more than 100 pages of comics. The Classic Archie line will include new material.
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 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. So by this time next year there will be Classic Archie from Archie Comics, “new Archie” from Oni, and “Ya/MG Archie also from Oni.
Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn is the chief editor on the line, aided by Senior Editor Bess Pallares and Editor Megan Brown are working with Archie Senior Director of Editorial Jamie Rotante and Editor & Art Director Vincent Lovallo.
More details are to come at ComicsPRO 2026 and SDCC ’26.
Per the official announcement, there will be a few new ongoing Oni/Archie comics, including Archie by W. Maxwell Prince and Fábio Moon, and a horror comic called Archie in Hell from Eisner winner Patrick Horvath and Out of Alcatraz artist Tyler Crook. A Sabrina the Teenage Witch title will also serve as a launch book, in time with DC’s DC KO appearance of the teenage witch, by Corinna Bechko and EC/Oni’s Kano.
“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 in a statement. “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.”
“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.”
“Archie comics are always stories with elements of hope to them,” editor Jamie Rotante. told THR. “Even when you veer into the dark, or the tone gets serious, one thing that people look to for Archie is comfort and familiarity.”
“You only get so many chances to start these characters fresh, and we wanted to do something meaningful,” Gorinson said. “The mission statement was to take big swings and do big ongoing books that people can sink their teeth into over the course of years.”
There is no word yet as to whether current Archie standard-bearer Dan Parent will have a role in the reinvented publisher. Parent was largely absent from the “New Riverdale” reboot of 2015, but returned to prominence in the years since.
ARCHIE #1 Written by W. Maxwell Prince Art by Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti September 2026
SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #1 Written by Corinna Bechko Art by Kano October 2026
ARCHIE IN HELL #1 Written by Patrick Horvath Art by Tyler Crook November 2026
