Salem the cat returns for a frightful magical showdown!

THE NINE LIVES OF SALEM main cover by Dan Schoening

Sabrina’s feline familiar headlines a solo horror one-shot from Archie Comics in October!

Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s famous feline familiar takes matters into his own paws this October with THE NINE LIVES OF SALEM, a new solo horror one-shot from Archie Comics! The creative team behind Salem’s first foray into horror comics in 2022 — writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dan Schoening — returns with artist Ben Galvan for a tale of restless demons, warlock duels, and thrilling magical cat action.

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“It brings me so much sick joy to return to the dark, twisted, and pawsitively riveting world of Salem,” said Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante. “It makes me even giddier to return to that world with the same team that brought us the first Salem one-shot. Cullen and Dan have worked perfectly together to craft classic-style horror that not only spotlights Salem but expands his world and those within it. NINE LIVES OF SALEM explores Salem confronting sins of his past as a warlock, and how he handles them now, as an apex predator.”

Part of Archie’s “Chilling Adventures Presents” series of horror one-shots, NINE LIVES OF SALEM is a standalone exploration of a fan-favorite character who was recently popularized in the Netflix streaming series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Bunn said, “We’re setting our fiendish feline up as an occult investigator of sorts, the John Constantine of the Archie Universe. And, make no mistake, even with a cat as the protagonist, these stand-alone stories are dark and horror-filled. You can grab a copy and delight in the terror we’re unleashing in these pages.”

THE NINE LIVES OF SALEM variant cover art by Robert Hack

In the first Salem horror comic, CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SALEM, a rare solo outing saw him defending local stray animals from the machinations of an evil magician. The new story is similarly set in a “four legs” perspective, but this time, Salem is pitted against his fellow creatures in a series of magical battles culminating in a new direction for Sabrina’s once-cuddly confidante. Bunn and Schoening also recently teamed up on two installments of THE CULT OF THAT WILKIN BOY, another reinterpretation of a classic Archie character for the “Chilling Adventures Presents” label.

“I’m grateful to be back in the world of Archie Horror, and to sink my teeth into this terrifying story penned by the amazing mind of Cullen Bunn,” Schoening said. “This time around, I’ll be working on designs and layouts, then passing along finishing duties to the sublime hand of Ben Galvan. We’ve also whipped up some never-before-seen gruesome characters for this issue that you won’t want to miss.”

Galvan, a regular artist on Archie’s line of all-ages comics along with his father Bill, added, “It’s always exciting for me to switch over from classic Archie to demonic Archie because it’s such a striking switch-up! Cullen’s mythical Americana mixed with Dan’s scary-beautiful style and detail guarantees some horrifying fun for the Archie Universe.”

THE NINE LIVES OF SALEM releases October 16 in comic shops nationwide, with colors by Matt Herms, letters by Jack Morelli, and an open-to-order variant cover by Robert Hack. It will be available for pre-order on July 26.

Salem was once a powerful warlock whose misuse of powers led him to live the rest of his life in servitude, acting as a cat familiar to a family of witches. But even in feline form, he can’t escape the sins of his past. And when some familiar faces return seeking revenge, he might just use up all of his nine lives trying to save himself from their wrath.

Script: Cullen Bunn
Art: Dan Schoening and Ben Galvan
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli
Main Cover: Dan Schoening
Variant Cover: Robert Hack
On Sale Date: 10/16
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.