Archie In Hell #1 Review

 

 

Archie In Hell #1 Review

Writer: Patrick Horvath

Artist: Tyler Crook

Colorist: Francesco Segala

Flatter: Sabrina del Grosso

Letterer: Tyler Crook

Cover Artists: Tyler Crook, Patrick Horvath, Paul Azaceta, Jessie Lonergan, Kano, Dan Parent, Mirka Andolfo & Mahmud Asrar

Publisher: Oni Press

Issue Description: 32 Pages, Full Color

Price: $4.99 US

Release Date: November 4, 2026

 

Archie Andrews loves life. He’s got the best girl in the world, Betty Cooper. But then, he also adores Veronica Lodge. When he's not dating the lovely ladies in his life, Archie hangs out with his friend Jughead. His life in Riverdale couldn't be better. Still, Archie will do his best to make it Heaven on Earth. What happens when Archie resolves to pack more into each day? Can Archie juggle his love life, schoolwork, sports, time with his friends, and still find time for charitable endeavors? Let’s leap into Archie In Hell #1 and see!

 

Story

It may be the weekend. Still, Archie rises at dawn. He has a date with Betty in the afternoon, then another with Veronica in the evening. But first, he wants to help the food drive. Archie grabs cans of food for Reach Out Riverdale and goes out to collect more. The people in Archie's life received the same appeals. Still, Archie is the one who mobilizes them to contribute.

 

Life has taught Sabrina to be careful. When she gained her magical abilities, Sabrina tried to shirk them. Yet in Archie In Hell #1, Sabrina no longer needs Salem to urge her to take her role as Greendale's protector seriously. Instead of rebuking her for not being cautious enough, her familiar thinks Sabrina is being too cautious. Yet when a spell alerts her to danger, the teenage witch needs her aunts' help to understand the stakes and who might be most endangered.

 

As Patrick Horvath splits the narrative between his two protagonists, Archie does good works, while Sabrina races to protect him. Along the way, Reggie seeks to discredit Archie to gain Veronica's favor. Yet even though he inadvertently helps his rival, Reggie and Sabrina are two steps behind the villains. In Archie In Hell #1, the Order of A’ldarax has planned its operation well. And whether they succeed or fail, Riverdale, Greendale, and the world will never be the same.  

 

Art

As the sun rises, Archie's mother carries a hamper of clothes to Archie's bedroom. Her jaw drops when she finds his room empty. Archie's father sits in the dining room, nursing a mug as Archie passes. Both parents lean out to watch their industrious son depart. A framed painting of a thatch-roof cottage links Fred and Mary Andrews’ conventional lifestyle with Hilda and Zelda Spellman’s old-world magic.

 

As Tyler Crook links Riverdale and Greendale, white space frames rectangular panels. Francesco Segala and Sabrina del Grosso adorn Archie In Hell #1 with limited and full palettes. Yellow sunlight streams into Archie’s bedroom as candles fill a dark room with yellow light. The teenage witch confers with her aunts amid yellow light while Reggie rides his yellow motorcycle. Archie's orange hair links him with Sabrina's top and Reggie's helmet. Archie's red car seems to herald bloodshed. Yet as panels adopt more diagonal angles, green conjures change in Archie's reality.

 

While Tyler Crook places black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes, Salem’s white uppercase letters appear in black balloons. Reggie’s words quickly shrink and swell as jealousy unbalances him. Yet when they recognize the danger threatening their world, Sabrina lowers her voice, Archie’s words grow bold and unbalanced, and both friends conjure large letters into spiky balloons. Sound effects link Archie's car with Reggie's motorcycle as Archie knocks on doors in Riverdale. Thanks to Oni Press for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

As each day brings new opportunities for Archie and his friends, Archie's innocence makes him a target of nefarious individuals. A sect needs someone like him to accomplish their goal. Yet, with Sabrina's help, Archie may surprise the Order of A’ldarax in Archie In Hell #1.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For more collectible covers, see Archie In Hell #1 Cover Preview. 

 

For Sabrina's early struggles with witchcraft, see Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1 Review. 

 

For more of Archie's adventures, see Archie #1 Review and Archie #2 Review.