Talking ‘The Cursed Library: Alpha’ With Eliot Rahal And Craig Cermak (Plus An EXCLUSIVE Art Preview)

They say the answer to any question can be found in the pages of a book, but can Jinx find the right book before her father, Lucifer, destroys the world permanently? In the latest from Archie Comics, writers Magdalene Visaggio and Eliot Rahal, and artist Craig Cermak, are combining the world’s of Madam Satan and Jinx Holliday for Cursed Library, a three-issue limited series colored by Matt Herms and lettered by Jack Morelli. For more on the first issue (and an EXCLUSIVE peek at some of the art from The Cursed Library: Alpha), check out this interview with Rahal and Cermak below:

Rachel Bellwoar: Between Judgement Day and now this, the Archie Universe has been hanging by a thread lately. What has it been like having to imagine such a dystopian version of Greendale?

Eliot Rahal:A dream come true? I feel like it’s a writer’s fantasy. I mean, don’t we all love to joke about our favorite characters? Have conversations with our friends saying things like, “Wouldn’t it be great if X met Y? Like if Jughead did Weird Science and created a hyper-intelligent talking hamburger?” Etc. And now here I am, actually doing it—and doing it with an incredibly talented team. I need to allow myself to appreciate the experience and have fun; I’ve been so focused on matching the effort everyone involved has put into this.

Craig Cermak: Getting to draw everything in disarray is always fun. Who doesn’t enjoy random piles of rubble, smashed windows, and characters in tattered clothes? Doing it specifically in the Archie Universe adds a layer of eeriness, where now it feels like nothing is safe. It also allows more mood lighting and scenery to play with.

Bellwoar: It sounds like Madame Satan and Danni are going to be paired up a lot in this miniseries. What kind of dynamic do they have as a team?

Rahal: They are new to each other, and they don’t understand each other, but they need to work together to stop Satan’s Apocalypse. Their relationship starts as a captive and prisoner trope that grows into a strategic/tactical partnership and then finally into something else.

Cermak: I’ve been adding more and more confidence in my portrayal of Danni, particularly in her dealing with Madam Satan. She sees Madam Satan as less of a threat at this point, not to mention more sympathetic towards her as Jinx indignifies her. I give Madam Satan a continual boldness and an edge, while the literal appearance of her is in shambles.

Bellwoar: Unfortunately that leaves Jinx to spend more time with her father, the Devil. Will there be some family bonding going on or is he just going to be a bad influence on her?

Rahal: I think the answer is both; at least, it is for me. Truth is a tricky thing. You can manipulate someone using the truth, it can be used with motive. The truth is that Lucifer loves his daughter—but there’s a hidden agenda behind it. His love is not an unconditional one.

Cermak: When drawing the pair together I try to give Jinx a more stoic yet cautious feeling when dealing with Lucifer. She believes she has plenty of good reasons to be upset with him, whereas Lucifer is trying hard to get her on his good (or is it bad?) side. So, I try to illustrate him with a softer, slightly more relaxed aura to him, though still powerful and imposing. He is still a dad trying to do right by her, even if his life goals are problematic to say the least.

Bellwoar: When we’ve seen Lucifer in the past he’s had the whole ram’s head look going on. Now that he’s on Earth will he be adopting a more human appearance?

Rahal: NO WAY! RAM’S HEAD RULES! To not allow Craig to draw Ram’s head Satan would be . . . a sin. However, he gets a fun Hawaiian shirt at one point.

Cermak: Gotta have the ram’s head. He’s more handsome this way, anyway. I imagine him as though he’s adopted a more humanoid figure though, rather than goat legs, in order to make Jinx just a tiny bit more comfortable as he tries to connect with her. Also so he could fit into his dashing dinner apparel.

Bellwoar: As for (the currently powerless) Madame Satan, will she ever get out of those bandages?

Rahal: She’ll shed an entirely new skin after this series. Or is it that she’ll grow one? I dunno. You’ll see.

Cermak: A great reveal that’ll have you really feeling for her!

Bellwoar: The solicitation text for The Cursed Library: Omega mentions that Jinx, Danni, and Lucifer are going to be sharing a meal together. What does the Devil serve for dinner?

Rahal: Standard Keto Diet: whole wheat pasta and eyeballs, a lightly seared human hand, big bowls of cottage cheese. Everyone gets their personalized meal.

Bellwoar: Delicious might not be the word, but that certainly sounds like something. Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Eliot and Craig!

The Cursed Library: Alpha goes on sale August 23rd from Archie Comics. The FOC date is Monday, August 5th.

If you need to catch up on Madam Satan’s one-shots, three of her main appearances are in the Chilling Adventures Anthology, along with Jinx’s first appearance (Madam Satan: Hell on Earth isn’t included). For Jinx, there’s also the one-shot A Cursed Life and the 2023 and 2024 FCBD issues. Dani takes the spotlight in the one-shot, Strange Science.