Sabrina Spellman is back, in more ways than one. Not only is Archie Comics coming out with a new issue of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina after a four-year absence, but creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is launching a second comic book series that will continue the story of the Netflix adaptation.
In an emailed press release, Archie Comics announced two new Sabrina Spellman comics in celebration of the character’s 60th anniversary — both of them from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina creator and showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The first will be the long-awaited ninth issue of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the fantastic horror comic that launched in 2014 and ran through to 2017’s “Witch-War Part 2 (of 6): A Serpent’s Tooth,” after which it vanished faster than a pancake once it hits Sabrina Spellman’s mouth. In a statement, Aguirre-Sacasa shared his excitement for teaming up with artists Robert Hack and Jack Morelli to revive Sabrina’s long-dead corpse.
“Bringing Sabrina and her family and friends to life on the screen for Netflix was a dark dream come true, and I couldn’t be prouder of our four seasons, but it all started with a comic book series that was truly a labour of love for everyone who worked on it,” he said. “Reuniting with Robert Hack and the entire Archie Comics team and getting to pick up where we left off has been the best homecoming I could have ever asked for.”
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the original saga, is much darker than the Netflix series. There are no pagan circuses or musical numbers; instead, it’s a lot of devil-worshipping abominations doing horrible things just for the heck of it. For example, in the original comic series, Sabrina’s father isn’t Lucifer Morningstar. He’s Edward Spellman, an evil warlock who’s reanimated Harvey’s body and is pretending to be her boyfriend… just as the two are getting ready to have sex for the first time. Yikes. In “Witch War Part 3: The Sacrificial Lamb,” Sabrina has to make the decision whether to sacrifice someone in order to keep Harvey (who’s secretly her father) among the living. If she doesn’t, the Gates of Hell will open, and some bad things will happen. Because, y’know, they’re the Gates. Of Hell.
Speaking of opening the Gates of Hell, remember the two or three times that almost happened on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina? The show was a bit of a mixed bag by the finale, ending after four truncated seasons in a way that suggested it was not the way they planned to go out (mostly because, like, Kiernan Shipka’s Sabrina died). Well, it’s time to revive the white-haired witch! Aguirre-Sacasa is also developing The Occult World of Sabrina with artist Audrey Mok, which will continue the story from the Netflix adaptation. The first story arc is called “A World Without Sabrina,” so I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer season six scenario.
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina continues with issue nine on October 13, while The Occult World of Sabrina is set to debut later this year.