He began his career in drama and playwriting, creating several small-scale theater productions. From here he — a self-described longtime comic book fan — was recruited to write for Marvel Comics, penning for Nightcrawler, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four among other characters.
In 2013, he wrote Afterlife with Archie, which led to him being named Chief Creative Officer at Archie Comics. He was the showrunner behind Riverdale and its spinoffs.
Aguirre-Sacasa is of Nicaraguan descent and openly gay.
Works of his include:
Comic Books
- Marvel Knights 4 (2004-2006)
- Nightcrawler (2004-2006)
- The Sensational Spider-Man (2006-2007)
- Man-Thing (2008)
- Angel Revelations (2008)
- The Stand (2008-2012)
- Archie Meets Glee (2013)
- Afterlife with Archie (2013-2016)
- Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2014-2019)
Films (as screenwriter)
Television
- Big Love (2009-2011): Writer, producer
- Glee (2011-2014): Writer, producer
- Looking (2015): Writer, producer
- Riverdale (2017-present): Writer, producer, showrunner
- Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020)
- Katy Keene (2020)
- Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin (2022): Showrunner
Theatre
- Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (book revision)
- American Psycho (book)
Tropes in his works:
- Darker and Edgier: His works for Archie Comics deliberately contrast the franchise's wholesome all-American image. Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina turn to supernatural horror, while Riverdale features several adult topics faced by the characters.
- Writing Around Trademarks: An early play of Aguirre-Sacasa's was titled Archie's Weird Fantasy and featured Archie Comics characters before being hit with a cease-and-desist. It was later retitled Weird Comic Book Fantasy with names swapped. Ironically, Aguirre-Sacasa would later go on to become one of the chief minds at Archie.
