Archaic

by Melissa F. Olson

For fans of Saga, a modern fantasy comic from acclaimed novelist Melissa F. Olson, author of the bestselling Old World series. Meet Tess Halliday, a broke single mom desperate to protect her kids from vicious criminals trying to collect on her ex-husband’s debts. Following a mysterious message, Tess flees to the island of Demonde—a place of demons, legendary creatures, and a family secret that just might cost Tess her life. Artist Sally Cantrino (I Walk With Monsters) deftly brings this mystical world to life.

128 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Melissa F. Olson is a writer and film professor. Her work includes the comic ARCHAIC, the feminist horror novel The Other Frankenstein, and more than 20 urban fantasy novels and novellas, including the Scarlett Bernard series and the Boundary Magic novels. Her journalism and academic work has been published in The International Journal of Comic Art, the compilation Images of the Modern Vampire, Tor.com,  and the Everyone's Gone to the Movies series.
Melissa has been a writing teacher, English professor, and TEDx presenter, but she now divides her time between writing and conventions, where she speaks about issues related to genre, feminism, writing, and parenting. Read more about her life and work at MFOlson.com.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it but it was frustrating as it has a great concept but I felt like there was a lot of build up to a rushed ending which happens a lot in these five issue series. Did end on a sort of cliffhanger though so I'd be interested in continuing it to see if future arcs are more developed now that the concept is established.