Archie Comics has released a preview for Madam Satan #1, its upcoming one-shot starring the primary antagonists of its main Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic book.
Set to hit comic shops in October, Madam Satan #1 comes from writer Eliot Rahal and artists Julius Ohta, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli. In it, "The Queen of Hell has had enough playing second fiddle to the Devil himself and is ready to take matters into her own hands!" First appearing all the way back in 1941's Pep Comics #16, Madam Satan serves as the villain of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Robert Hack's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which launched in 2014. The character has since gone on to appear in the Netflix series of the same name, in which she is played by Michelle Gomez.
The preview, released by io9, includes fully colored, unlettered pages from the comic, as well as concept art. "Madam Satan is such a unique character within the Archie Comics/Sabrina Spellman world -- she's pure chaotic evil," Rahal told io9. "Her motivations are entirely her own and based solely upon her own experience. I'm fascinated with that kind of emotional decision making. It's so incredibly disruptive and compelling.
"Simply, my goal with this one-shot was to continue enriching this beloved character by grounding the story in something we can all relate to: the idea of expectation versus reality," he continued. "Madam Satan is about getting exactly what you want and it not being enough. It's about the nature of evil and desire, emptiness." As Rahal explains, however, "[I]n the end, it's all about the art, and these pages are Hollywood Horror set in Hell."
"In December 2019, I got a message from [Archie Comics co-president] Alex Segura asking when I could do something with Archie Comics," added Ohta "A few months later, I was already working on Madam Satan! I love horror comics and it's a real pleasure to work on one with such a talented team. I hope you all enjoy what we've been cooking!"
Written by Eliot Rahal and illustrated by Julius Ohta, Matt Herms and Jack Morelli with a main cover by Ohta and a variant by Robert Hack, Madam Satan #1 goes on sale Oct. 21 from Archie Comics.