A Good Soul In A Bad Place

Main cover art for issue one by Tyler Crook

It feels like recently I've been focusing on comics that put All-American nice guy Archie Andrews through the wringer, but tonight's announcement takes the biscuit: Archie is going to Hell!

A collab between Oni Press and Archie Comics, the first issue of the new ongoing title Archie in Hell is due to be summoned in November.

Written by Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees' Patrick Horvath, with art from Harrow County's Tyler Crook, this series weaves "a blood-stained trail from Riverdale’s dark colonial past to its all-too-sunny streets in the modern day!"

I'm a sucker for Archie's horror tales, and Archie Goes To Hell sounds like it has great possibilities (and not just because it features Sabrina and Salem!).

They say that every small town has a secret.

Well, in the case of Riverdale, it’s one heck of a humdinger: An ancient order of cultists has infiltrated its townspeople, bent on using human sacrifice to usher a demon lord into our mortal plane. And they’ve finally identified the final target they need to bring a century’s worth of planning to fruition: hometown football champion and all-around good guy Archie Andrews.

But this secret cabal never dreamed that actual witches walk Riverdale’s streets... and when cult and coven clash in the final stages of Archie’s secret ritual sacrifice, the consequences will be cosmic... and young Archie Andrews will find himself damned to something far worse than Hell’s inner circle.

Unstuck from time and space. Bound to a terrible curse. Late for school.

Things are about to go from bad to downright diabolical as Horvath and Crook unleash Archie in Hell #1, the most malevolent and merciless Archie Comics tale ever told... and, truly, you’ll never ever expect what happens next!

Here's a preview of pages from the first issue:

You Wait All Day For An Omnibus, Then Three Come Along

As we were talking about Afterlife With Archie the other day, it's worth pointing out that just in time for Halloween this year Oni Press - in collaboration with Archie Comics - is releasing a deluxe hardcover collection of all ten issues of the comic.

R.I.P. Riverdale! Once in a generation, a story so potent, so powerful, so horrifying rises from the grave to redefine the comics medium’s greatest icons.

Enter: The first-ever deluxe collection of Afterlife with Archie — collecting the totality of the groundbreaking, cemetery-shaking comics masterpiece from Harvey Award–winning writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Stephen King's The Stand: American Nightmare) and Eisner Award–winning artist Francesco Francavilla (Batman: The Black Mirror) that first introduced Riverdale’s teenage icons into a merciless world of ritual magic, undead terror, and survival at any cost!

When a tragic death befalls Jughead Jones’s closest companion, his grief drives him to the doorstep of Sabrina the Teenage Witch... and into the thrall of a dark magic that will soon turn the whole of Riverdale into a ravenous pack of undead zombies fueled by a desire for human flesh.

Hunted by the reanimated corpses of their friends and loved ones, can Archie, Betty, Veronica, and the rest of America's most beloved teenagers battle back by a legion of the dead... and live long enough to stop the entire world from being consumed by the same unholy hunger?

Pal vs. pal. Classmate vs. classmate. Living vs. dead. They swore to be friends until the end... but they never expected the end to look quite like this.

This definitive hardcover collection of the riveting and relentless milestone that the New York Times calls “gruesome [and] masterly” re-presents the entirety of the Afterlife with Archie saga — including the never-before-collected issues #6–10 — in an oversized format that also features a complete cover gallery and behind-the-scenes materials on the development of Archie Comics’ first all-out horror epic.

The Afterlife With Archie Deluxe Edition is scheduled to rise from the grave on October 27.

But that's not all, young adventurers, we also have a two volume collection of Marvel's original run of high-octane, pulp yarns involving the world's most famous archaeologist: Indiana Jones.

Both hardcover volumes are due to be dug up on September 29.

With Raiders being my all-time favourite movie and my enduring crush on Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) also being no secret, you know this pair of eldritch tomes will be finding a way onto my shelves.

Each volume holds over 500 pages of Indy goodness from the '80s, featuring the work of such legends as John Byrne, Walt Simonson, Dennis O'Neill, Christopher Priest, David Michelinie and more.

At the height of the popularity of Indiana Jones in the 1980s, Marvel Comics - and some of the biggest creators of the era - took on the challenge of bringing the iconic hero from the silver screen to the printed page, and the results were every bit as exhilarating as you’d expect!

Now these action-packed adventures are being collected in a pair of volumes destined to be treasures worthy of Indy himself!

Volume one includes adaptations of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, plus the first half of the Further Adventures of Indiana Jones series that expanded the character’s mythos in blockbuster fashion!

Volume one collects: Marvel Super Special (1977) #18, #30; Further Adventures of Indiana Jones (1983) #1-16

With clouds of war gathering ominously over Europe and a Great Depression gripping the world, one globe-trotting professor’s appetite for adventure and discovery remains unsated! Join Dr. Henry Jones as he scours the farthest corners of the planet in a constant race to keep priceless artifacts out of the wrong hands!

This volume collects the second half of the action-packed Further Adventures of Indiana Jones series alongside the official adaptation of beloved film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - featuring work by some of the biggest talents of the 1980s.

Volume two collects: Further Adventures of Indiana Jones (1983) #17-34, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) #1-4

Archie Injects New Life Into Live-Action Zombies

When Jughead's beloved pet Hot Dog is killed in a hit and run, Jughead turns to the only person he knows who can help bring back his canine companion — Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Using dark, forbidden magic, Sabrina is successful and Hot Dog returns to the land of the living. But he's not the same... and soon, the darkness he brings back with him from beyond the grave begins to spread, forcing Archie and the gang to try to escape Riverdale!

There are some who say the zombie has had its day as a horror antagonist and should be left to rot.

Thankfully Disney doesn't listen to such naysayers and has greenlit a live-action adaptation of one of the finest, modern zombie stories in decades: Afterlife With Archie.

It is scheduled to debut on Disney Plus in Autumn 2027, which seems like the right time of year.

The show is based on the comic book series from 2013 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla, with Aguirre-Sacasa acting as showrunner.

Not only was it an incredible horror comic, but Afterlife With Archie was also one of the strongest character-led comics of recent years.

Unfortunately, as well as generating great critical acclaim, fan adulation, and a reputation for the sheer brilliance of the story and its visuals, the comic is also remembered for never actually reaching a conclusion.

Of course, the tale had to have a Lovecraftian twist in it!

Much like Doctor Who, it was never officially cancelled, it's just been on an extended hiatus... resting (in peace).

Only the first 10 issues of Afterlife With Archie were published and while subsequent ones were solicitated they never actually appeared.

Ironically, this was largely because Aguirre-Sacasa's career in television took off, with Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Let's hope that several episodes into the new streaming show, Aguirre-Sacasa doesn't get distracted by another 'better offer'.

Rumour has that more issues of the comic are also now "on the way", but no dates have been announced, and we'll believe that when we see it.

Of course, if the show 'overtakes' the story being told in the comics, we do run the risk of another Game of Thrones crash-and-burn. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Jumbo Celebration of Over Eight Decades' Worth of Archie

Iconic cover art by the legendary Dan DeCarlo and Rosario “Tito” Peña

This year marks the 85th anniversary of the first appearance of Archie Andrews in 1941's Pep Comics #22 and, as part of Archie Comics celebrations, a new magazine is being launched for the occasion.

Hitting stores on March 18, the first issue of Archie Jumbo Comic Magazine is a 112-page collection of the comic strips from throughout the decades.

Honouring 85 years of heart, humour, and hijinks, this must-have magazine will collect some of the most important (and hilarious!) stories in Archie’s history, featuring your favourite characters from the worlds of Archie, Sabrina, Josie & the Pussycats, and more!

Unfinished horror masterpiece Afterlife With Archie aside, it's this continuity-free, classic style of Archie antics where my love for these characters lies.

Archie & Pals Retaining Their Youthful Looks At 85

In March, Archie Comics is releasing a "jumbo comic magazine" celebrating 85 years of the wholesome adventures of Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, and Betty Cooper (Veronica didn't appear until the following year!).

The publishers publicity blurb for the 112-page book reads as follows:

"Archie Comics is proud to present a jumbo-sized magazine celebrating 85 years of heart, humour, and hijinks! This magazine will collect some of the most important (and hilarious!) stories in Archie’s history, featuring your favourite characters from the worlds of Archie, Sabrina, Josie & the Pussycats, and more! This is a collector’s edition you can’t miss!"

The Dan DeCarlo/Rosario “Tito” Peña cover depicts the icomnic image of Archie sharing a milkshake with Betty and Veronica.

The Portable Door (2023)

Desperate for a job to cover his rent, bumbling Paul Carpenter (Patrick Gibson) - through a series of unlikely coincidences - stumbles into an interview at London's mysterious J.W. Wells and Co.

Somehow acing the interview, he and fellow interviewee, Sophie Pettingel (Sophie Wilde), are taken on as interns.

It is only then that they truly discover what the company does: magically shift reality to create beneficial coincidences for their clients.

Paul, it seems, has a gift for "divining", which company CEO Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz) seeks to use to find his missing "portable door" (which turns out to be a brilliant magical device capable of opening portals to anywhere the user desires).

However, there are forces within the company seeming set upon blocking Paul's progress.

Overall, The Portable Door is a fun, fantasy adventure, with an amazing cast of distinguished actors, such as Sam Neill and Miranda Otto, bringing their A-games to a variety of supporting roles.

Based, apparently, on the first in a series of books by Tom Holt, the twists and misdirections in Leon Ford's script (directed by Jeffrey Walker) are impressively orchestrated, if occasionally obvious.

However, while I'm all in favour of weirdness and inexplicable goings-on in my films, for what is essentially a "young adult" story there's a bit too much obfuscation and confusion in the narrative, hindered by the common problem that a lot of the action takes place in poorly lit environments.

There is also the issue of the story's obvious comparisons to the Harry Potter franchise, with JW Wells feeling like a corporate Hogwarts - with a dash of Warehouse 13 craziness thrown in for good measure.

Paul is a Harry/Ron surrogate, the gifted Sophie is a Hermione, Sam Neill's hostile Dennis Tanner is Snape, Miranda Otto (drawing upon her Zelda Spellman from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Countess Judy is Professor McGonagall etc

The way the story employs supernatural goblins is also an obvious similarity (not that JK Rowling has a copyright on "goblins", of course).

Nevertheless, for all the Potterisms on display, ultimately the world of The Portable Door remains intriguing and full of possibilities.

Running for almost two hours, the film doesn't drag, but could also do with tightening its belt a bit. It certainly doesn't need to be that long.

I've never heard of Tom Holt's J.W. Wells & Co. book series, and this didn't make me want to rush out and read them but I'd certainly be interested in seeing further adaptations in this "corporate magic" style of adventure.