# Archie Comics
**Archie Comics** (Archie Comic Publications, Inc.) is an [American comic book](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-comic-book) publisher, founded in 1939 as MLJ Magazines, best known for the teenage characters of Riverdale: [Archie Andrews](https://www.edgepedia.org/archie-andrews), Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, and [Jughead Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/jughead-jones), along with spin-off characters such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Josie and the Pussycats. The company's own history page describes it as spanning 85 years, with sales of over 2 billion comics, books published in dozens of languages, and global distribution[1](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/); a 2025 partnership announcement put cumulative sales at more than three billion comics since the company's founding in 1939[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1939 as MLJ Magazines by Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater; the initials M, L, and J come from their given names[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing) |
| First Archie story | Pep Comics #22, 1941; Archie debuted under his own title the following year[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing) |
| Renamed | Archie Comic Publications in 1946, after the character outsold the company's superheroes[4](https://www.rarecomicscollectors.com/guides/history-of-mlj-magazines-archie) |
| Headquarters | Mamaroneck, New York, as of 2011; the mailing address is now Pelham, New York[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html) • [1](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/) |
| Signature series | Archie, Betty & Veronica, Jughead, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, Katy Keene[1](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/) |
| Digital milestone | First mainstream publisher to release its entire line digitally on the same day as print, April 2011[6](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/archie-comics/) |
| Current publishing partner | Oni Press, in a partnership announced December 18, 2025, launching new monthly series from Fall 2026[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/) |
## Origins as MLJ Magazines
The firm started in 1939 as MLJ Magazines, the monogram formed from the first-name initials of its three New York partners: Maurice Coyne, who handled finances, Louis Silberkleit, and John L. Goldwater[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing) • [4](https://www.rarecomicscollectors.com/guides/history-of-mlj-magazines-archie). Its first comic book was *Blue Ribbon Comics* (1939 to 1942), followed by *Pep Comics* from 1940 and *Zip Comics* from 1940[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing) • [7](https://alexanderstreet.com/sites/default/files/collection_pdf/12154_Archie%20Comics_1122_WEB.pdf). The early line was superhero fare: the Shield, described in a ProQuest collection overview as the first patriotic hero in the United States wearing a costume of red, white, and blue, appeared in Pep Comics #1, and other features included Black Hood and the Comet[7](https://alexanderstreet.com/sites/default/files/collection_pdf/12154_Archie%20Comics_1122_WEB.pdf).
**Archie changes everything.** Archie Andrews first appeared in Pep Comics #22 in 1941, in a story alongside the lead feature starring the Shield[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing). Betty and Jughead appeared in that first comic; Veronica did not appear until a year later[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html). The character's popularity was such that he debuted under his own title the following year, and in 1946 the company renamed itself Archie Comic Publications[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing) • [4](https://www.rarecomicscollectors.com/guides/history-of-mlj-magazines-archie). John Goldwater led the company away from material aimed at boys toward more wholesome fare for all audiences[3](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing).
From 1947 until his death in 1975, artist Bob Montana led the studio that produced the Archie newspaper comic strip; in Archie Comics' own version of its history, Goldwater is credited with inventing the characters and Montana with envisioning them[8](https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/comic-art/about-this-exhibition/mid-twentieth-century-1930s-to-1960s/archie-and-friends/) • [9](https://www.tcj.com/bob-montanas-archie-newspaper-comic-strip-and-who-actually-invented-archie/). Artist [Dan DeCarlo](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-decarlo)'s work defined the look of the modern characters, including Josie and the Pussycats; a 2001 federal case, *DeCarlo v. Archie Comic Publications*, concerned his claim to ownership of the Josie characters, which the court declined to recognize[10](https://app.midpage.ai/document/decarlo-v-archie-comic-publications-2512259).
## The formula and its audience
The core of the line has long been short, self-contained humorous stories about perpetual teenagers, reprinted for decades in small digests sold at newsstands and supermarket checkouts. A company president summed up the formula in 2011 as "really sexy girls and really funny guys"[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html). Because readers age out of the characters, the stories reset rather than accumulate continuity, which has allowed each generation of children to read essentially the same material[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html).
That newsstand presence distinguished Archie from the direct-market specialty shops that cater to older comics readers. A 1989 Washington Post profile called Archie Comic Publications the nation's third-largest comic publisher, behind Marvel and DC, and noted that the company's co-head Louis Silberkleit also presided over the Comics Magazine Association of America, which awarded the Comics Code seal[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/07/22/the-squeaky-clean-comics/cc70d21f-018f-49e5-8203-59dc448ec2ca/). Archie and DC were, according to a 2013 dissertation, still submitting materials to the [Comics Code Authority](https://www.edgepedia.org/comics-code-authority) until January 2011[12](https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu//bitstreams/93851906-4a2e-404b-89d2-202f95685d05/download). By the early 2010s, Diamond market-share data put the publisher's share of the North American comic market under one percent, a steep decline from its peak years; [FiveThirtyEight](https://www.edgepedia.org/fivethirtyeight) noted that this measure understates Archie because much of its volume moves through newsstand channels that Diamond does not distribute[13](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/archie-death-comic-sales/).
## Modernization since 2010
**Digital first.** In April 2011 Archie became the first mainstream publisher to make its entire line available digitally on the day of print release, five months before [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) and eleven months before Marvel[6](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/archie-comics/). The company later offered its titles day and date on Comixology Unlimited and reported over 750,000 pages of Archie stories read monthly through digital subscription services[14](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20210301/85698-archie-comics-any-way-you-want-them.html).
**Diversity and topical stories.** In 2010 the company introduced Kevin Keller, Riverdale's first openly gay character, who later became the first gay male character in mainstream comics to carry his own solo series[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html) • [6](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/archie-comics/). *Life with Archie* published Kevin's wedding in 2012, ahead of Marvel's much-publicized gay wedding in *Astonishing X-Men* the same year[6](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/archie-comics/). Singapore's Media Development Authority banned the third volume of *Archie: The Married Life* from sale for its depiction of that same-sex wedding[15](https://time.com/3000130/singapore-has-banned-an-archie-comic-for-depicting-a-gay-wedding/). The same era brought parallel storylines in which Archie marries Veronica or Betty, a 2015 redesign of the cast, and the death of Archie in the *Life with Archie* storyline[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html) • [16](https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/).
**Horror.** In 2013, writer and Archie chief creative officer [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberto-aguirre-sacasa) launched *Afterlife with Archie*, which placed the Riverdale cast in a zombie apocalypse; it was the publisher's first Teen-rated series and, per a [University of Delaware](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-delaware) dissertation, one of its most critically and commercially successful titles[17](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstreams/b1eb327a-3a0d-4b9f-86f5-c9b02a40c706/download). The company now maintains an Archie Horror imprint for adult-oriented stories[1](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/).
## Screen and media adaptations
The characters have moved repeatedly into other media. A live-action drama was developed for Fox in 2014 before the series *Riverdale* premiered on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw) in 2017, produced by Berlanti Productions and written by Aguirre-Sacasa[18](https://time.com/3536332/fox-archie-riverdale-tv-series/) • [19](https://time.com/4649889/riverdale-cw-review/). Netflix followed with *Chilling Adventures of Sabrina*, and the company's About page also cites Netflix's *The Archies*, described there as the first comic-based Hindi-language feature film[1](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/). A live-action horror series, *Afterlife with Archie*, is set for Disney+, and a live-action feature film written by [Tom King](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-king) is in development at [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures) with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller producing[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/). Licensing partnerships have extended to Scholastic prose novels, WebToon digital comics, and BuzzPop children's books[14](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20210301/85698-archie-comics-any-way-you-want-them.html) • [20](https://archiecomics.com/buzzpop-to-be-master-publisher-for-archie-comics-licensed-formats/).
## The Oni Press partnership
In December 2025, Archie Comic Publications and [Oni Press](https://www.edgepedia.org/oni-press), the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher founded in 1997, announced a wide-ranging publishing partnership covering monthly series, original graphic novels, and prestige collections[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/). The announcement comes after Archie's characters had previously been published in partnership with another publisher, [Dark Horse Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dark-horse-comics), including the 2015 Archie Meets Predator crossover[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/) • [24](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-dark-horse-unveil-the-unthinkable-archie-meets-predator/).
The new line is timed to the 85th anniversary of Archie's first appearance in Pep Comics #22 and begins in Fall 2026 with three ongoing monthly series: *Archie* #1, written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti, on sale September 2, 2026; *Sabrina the Teenage Witch* #1, written by Corinna Bechko with art by Kano, on sale October 7, 2026; and *Archie in Hell* #1, written by Patrick Horvath with art by Tyler Crook, in November 2026[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/) • [21](https://www.onipress.com/archie). After the debut, Oni plans new collections spanning all eras of the company's history in digest, deluxe hardcover, omnibus, and box-set formats, spotlighting original creators John L. Goldwater, Bob Montana, and Vic Bloom alongside later artists and writers including Dan DeCarlo, Fiona Staples, Mark Waid, and Chip Zdarsky[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/). In 2027 the line is to expand with middle grade and young adult graphic novels in their own continuity, and the Grand Comics Database indexes the 2026 *Archie* series as an ongoing co-published by Archie Comics and Oni Press[2](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/) • [22](https://www.comics.org/series/240257/).
Archie's own imprint line continues alongside the partnership. The one-shot *Jughead: Piemageddon*, written by Tom King with art by Dan Parent, was scheduled for July 15, 2026, a follow-up to their 2024 one-shot *Archie: The Decision*[23](https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/jughead-causes-a-pie-fight-apocalypse-in-new-archie-one-shot-from-supergirl-woman-of-tomorrow-writer/).
## References
1. [About Us, Archie Comics](https://archiecomics.com/about-us/)
2. [Archie Comics and Oni Press Unite For a New Publishing Partnership!, Archie Comics, December 18, 2025](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-oni-press-unite-for-a-new-publishing-partnership/)
3. [A Brewing Backlash: Pulp Publishing, Crime Comics, and Public Outcry, Washington University Libraries digital exhibit](https://digitalexhibits.library.washu.edu/s/domesticated-pulp-archie/page/pulp-publishing)
4. [MLJ Magazines: the Golden Age superhero publisher that became Archie, Rare Comics Collectors](https://www.rarecomicscollectors.com/guides/history-of-mlj-magazines-archie)
5. [The New Archie Comics, Publishers Weekly, February 14, 2011](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/46104-the-new-archie-comics.html)
6. [How Archie Became the Most Enlightened Publisher in Comics, WIRED, March 6, 2014](https://www.wired.com/2014/03/archie-comics/)
7. [Archie Comics in American History, Alexander Street / ProQuest collection description](https://alexanderstreet.com/sites/default/files/collection_pdf/12154_Archie%20Comics_1122_WEB.pdf)
8. [Archie and Friends, Library of Congress exhibition, Comic Art: 120 Years of Panels and Pages](https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/comic-art/about-this-exhibition/mid-twentieth-century-1930s-to-1960s/archie-and-friends/)
9. [Bob Montana's Archie Newspaper Comic Strip...And Who, Actually, Invented Archie, The Comics Journal](https://www.tcj.com/bob-montanas-archie-newspaper-comic-strip-and-who-actually-invented-archie/)
10. [DeCarlo v. Archie Comic Publications, Inc., 127 F. Supp. 2d 497 (S.D.N.Y. 2001)](https://app.midpage.ai/document/decarlo-v-archie-comic-publications-2512259)
11. [The Squeaky-Clean Comics, The Washington Post, July 22, 1989](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/07/22/the-squeaky-clean-comics/cc70d21f-018f-49e5-8203-59dc448ec2ca/)
12. [Origin Stories: Narrative, Identity, and the Comics Form, University of Oregon dissertation](https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu//bitstreams/93851906-4a2e-404b-89d2-202f95685d05/download)
13. [Archie Was Dying Long Before They Killed Him, FiveThirtyEight](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/archie-death-comic-sales/)
14. [Archie Comics Any Way You Want Them, Publishers Weekly, March 1, 2021](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20210301/85698-archie-comics-any-way-you-want-them.html)
15. [Singapore Has Banned an Archie Comic for Depicting a Gay Wedding, TIME, July 17, 2014](https://time.com/3000130/singapore-has-banned-an-archie-comic-for-depicting-a-gay-wedding/)
16. [Archie Andrews Got a 21st Century Makeover, TIME, July 9, 2015](https://time.com/3950623/archie-comics-makeover-justin-bieber-comiccon/)
17. [Phenomenal Adaptations, University of Delaware dissertation](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstreams/b1eb327a-3a0d-4b9f-86f5-c9b02a40c706/download)
18. [Fox Is Developing an Archie TV Series, TIME, October 24, 2014](https://time.com/3536332/fox-archie-riverdale-tv-series/)
19. [Review: Archie Returns in Gloomy, Glib 'Riverdale', TIME, January 26, 2017](https://time.com/4649889/riverdale-cw-review/)
20. [BuzzPop to be master publisher for Archie Comics licensed formats, Archie Comics](https://archiecomics.com/buzzpop-to-be-master-publisher-for-archie-comics-licensed-formats/)
21. [Archie: Welcome to the All-New Riverdale, Oni Press](https://www.onipress.com/archie)
22. [Archie (2026 series), Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/series/240257/)
23. [Jughead causes a pie-fight apocalypse in new Archie one-shot, GamesRadar+, April 16, 2026](https://www.gamesradar.com/comics/jughead-causes-a-pie-fight-apocalypse-in-new-archie-one-shot-from-supergirl-woman-of-tomorrow-writer/)
24. [ARCHIE COMICS AND DARK HORSE UNVEIL THE UNTHINKABLE: ARCHIE MEETS PREDATOR - Archie Comics](https://archiecomics.com/archie-comics-and-dark-horse-unveil-the-unthinkable-archie-meets-predator/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Magazines › Comics and manga periodicals*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license