Popverse's top stories of the day

• How a second Donald Trump U.S. Presidency might impact the movie, tv, and comics industries
• 40 years after its debut, Dragon Ball is a pop culture force like few others
• Sisterhood of Dune ending explained: Understanding the book that Dune: Prophecy was based on

Archie Andrews has gotten up to a lot of things in his 80+ year career as Riverdale’s favorite redhead. (Sorry, Cheryl Blossom; you know it’s true.) He’s two-timed Betty and Veronica, he’s been a superhero, a time-traveler, and solved a murder or two — but little has prepared him for what’s lying in wait in a few months, when Riverdale goes to hell… pretty much literally.

Launching this May, Archie Comics: Judgment Day sees Archie as the last, best hope for Riverdale after the entire town is overrun by demons, including corrupted versions of those closest to him. But are the powers that he’s been gifted to help with the problem might not be entirely as good as he’d initially believed, leading him to wonder if he’s truly the good guy in this story after all. If all of this sounds like something that Sabrina Spellman would enjoy, that’s not entirely a coincidence: the three-issue series comes from the same Archie Horror imprint that gave the world The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the inspiration behind the Netflix show of the same name.

Archie Comics: Judgment Day is the work of Aubrey Sitterson, Megan Hutchison, and Matt Herms, and it’s definitely something that Archie Comics is excited about. The company’s creative consultant Jesse Goldwater describes it as a comic that “raises the stakes more than any title we’ve ever done before,” and to emphasis that, it’s the launch title for the publisher’s new Archie Premium Event branding.

Discussing the new branding, Archie SVP Jonathan Betancourt said in a statement, “As we look to the future of Archie, we wanted to translate our success in TV and film to focus that sense of grandeur back to our core publishing efforts. With our Archie Premium Event series, we've imbued each project with an epic sense of storytelling that is evocative of the exciting new direction for the company. In addition to our concentrated focus on elevated storytelling, these new series are also investments for the larger comic book community, transforming what would be a normal print issue into a must-have collector’s item." Each Premium Event issue will feature cardstock covers, “improved” paper stock for interior pages, and what Archie is calling “specialized print finishes.”

The first issue of Archie Comics: Judgment Day will be released May 22, and feature covers from Hutchinson, Francesco Francavilla, Joe Lee, and Reiko Murakami. Check out those covers, and some of Hutchinson and Helms’ interior art, in the gallery below.

Archie Horror is also revealing just how horror-filled the music industry can be, with the Cult of that Wilkin Boy...