Dark Circle Comics is an imprint of

Archie Comics Publications, Inc. Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York. including such characters as the

Black Hood The Black Hood is a fictional character created by MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comic Books". The Black Hood first appeared in ''Top-Notch Comics #9'', October 1940 and became one of MLJ ...

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt pol ...

, the Wizard, the Hangman, The Fly, Flygirl, The Comet,

The Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web s ...

, Jaguar, and the Fox. These characters were previously published when Archie Comics was

MLJ Magazines Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

in the early 1990s under the DC imprint

Impact Comics Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It began in 1991 and ended in 1993. The initial "I" in the logo was stylized as an exclamation point, but the official name of the imprint was not ''!mpact''. Impac ...

, and then again from 2007 to 2011, when DC attempted to integrate them into the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

. When this failed, the characters reverted to Archie Comics, which launched the imprint digitally. The company retired this in late 2014; the line was relaunched as the Dark Circle Comics imprint in 2015.

Publication history

MLJ Magazines

MLJ's first comic book published in November 1939 was '' Blue Ribbon Comics'', with the first half of the magazine in full color and the second half in red and white tints. In January 1940, ''Pep Comics'' debuted with the Shield, created by writer and managing editor

Harry Shorten Harry Shorten (1914–1991) was an American writer, editor, and book publisher best known for the syndicated gag cartoon ''There Oughta Be a Law!'', as well as his work with Archie Comics, and his long association with Archie's publishers Louis Si ...

and artist

Irv Novick Irving Novick (; April 11, 1916 – October 15, 2004) was an American comics artist who worked almost continuously from 1939 until the 1990s. Career A graduate of the National Academy of Design, Irv Novick got his start in the workshop of Harry " ...

. The Shield was one of the first superheroes with a costume based upon United States patriotic iconography, first appearing 14 months earlier than Joe Simon and

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

's Captain America. MLJ's Golden Age heroes also included the

, who also appeared in pulp magazinesThe Black Hood
International Catalogue of Superheroes and a radio show; and The Wizard, who shared a title with the Shield. '' Top-Notch Comics'' (featuring, among others, The Wizard, Black Hood, and The Firefly) was launched in December 1941. The Archie character soon dominated MLJ publications, pushing out the superheroes. For instance, at first, the cover feature of ''

Pep Comics ''Pep Comics'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc. (commonly known as MLJ Comics) during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. The titl ...

'' was The Shield; he and The Hangman shared the cover with Archie in ''Pep Comics'' #36 (February, 1943). Archie increasingly was given the cover until issue #51 (August, 1944), when he took over the cover permanently. The company was later (in 1946) renamed after the character.

MLJ superhero titles

* '' Blue Ribbon Comics'' (November 1939 – March 1942) – 22 issues; also known as ''Blue Ribbon Mystery Comics'' * '' Hangman'' (Spring 1942 – Fall 1943) – 7 issues * ''

'' (Jan. 1940 – Oct. 1947) – 64 issues; becomes all-humor after issue #65 * '' Shield-Wizard Comics'' (Summer 1940 – Spring 1944) – 13 issues * '' Top Notch Comics'' (December 1939 – May 1942) – 27 issues * ''

Zip Comics ''Zip Comics'' was the name of an American anthology comic book series published by MLJ Magazines Inc., more commonly known as MLJ Comics, for 47 issues between February 1940 and Summer 1944. It featured a number of adventure, humor and costumed h ...

'' (February 1940 – Summer 1944) – 47 issues; became mostly humor after issue #35

Archie Adventure Series

Archie's Silver Age relaunch of its superheroes under the Archie Adventure Series line featured two new characters, The Jaguar and The Fly, as well as a new version of the Shield, inspired by DC's revivals of their 1940s characters.Donald D. Markstein
The ShieldToonopedia
The Archie Adventure Series line debuted with the June 1959 release of ''The Double Life of Private Strong'' #1, by creators Joe Simon and

, which also introduced The Fly, also by Simon and Kirby.

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' lawyers, citing similarity to Superman, forced Archie Comics to stop publishing ''Private Strong'' after two issues. ''Adventures of The Fly'' appeared two months after ''Private Strong'' #1 and ran for 30 issues under that title, until October, 1964. ''The Adventures of the Jaguar'' began in September 1961 and ran for 15 issues until November 1963. During this time, Archie Comics licensed the 1930s pulp character

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

, whom they portrayed first as a spy in a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

mode, before turning him into a costumed superhero. Archie's version of ''The Shadow'' ran for eight issues (Aug. 1964 – Sept. 1965). In addition, the Jaguar, The Fly, and his partner Flygirl appeared in issues of ''

'' and '' Laugh Comics'' between 1961 and 1963. Much of the output during the Adventure Series period after the departure of Simon and Kirby was by writer Robert Bernstein and artists John Rosenberger and John Giunta.

Mighty Comics / Radio Comics

The Mighty Comics Group imprint (alternately known as Radio Comics) took over the Adventure titles in the mid-1960s as general imitation of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

and the '' Batman'' TV show camp; Superman creator

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996) Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/ Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, i ...

was brought in to be the imprint's main writer, along with Marvel Comics artist

Paul Reinman Paul J. Reinman (; born Joseph Paul Reinmann, ; 2 September 1910 – 27 September 1988)Paul J. Reinmen

. The shift to the Mighty imprint (which first appeared on covers dated January 1966) included changing the title ''Adventures of The Fly'' into ''Fly Man''. The first issue of ''Fly Man'', #31, brought the company its first super hero team (similar to

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

's Avengers), The

Mighty Crusaders The Mighty Crusaders is a fictional superhero team published by Archie Comics. The team originally appeared in ''Fly-Man'' No. 31, #32 and No. 33 before being launched in its own title, ''Mighty Crusaders''. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry ...

, made up of Fly Man, a newly revived version of

, The Black Hood (who had appeared occasionally in ''Adventures of The Fly''), and a newly revived version of The Comet (who had appeared a few months before in the final issue of ''Adventures of The Fly''). The Mighty Crusaders spun off into their own title after three ''Fly Man'' appearances. The Wizard and the Hangman, who had been heroes during their MLJ publication, became recurring villains. In ''The Mighty Crusaders'' #4, many of the old MLJ heroes made cameo appearances. In November 1966, with issue 40, ''Fly Man'' changed its name again to ''Mighty Comics'', which featured various Mighty super-heroes (The Shield,

, The Hangman, Steel Sterling, Mister Justice) in rotating solo adventures until its cancellation ten issues later. Similarly, the final issue of ''Mighty Crusaders'' was taken over by a solo adventure of Steel Sterling. The Mighty Comics Group line was cancelled in late 1967.Donald D. Markstein
Mighty CrusadersToonopedia
Several stories from this period were published in the mass-market paperback ''High Camp Super-Heroes'' by

Belmont Books Belmont Books, also known as Belmont Productions, was an American publisher of genre fiction paperback originals founded in 1960. It specialized in science fiction, horror fiction, horror and fantasy, with titles appearing from 1961 through 1971. T ...

in 1966 (Belmont was owned by the same company that owned Archie),Hyfler, Richard
"Books For Bus Terminals: Whatever Happened to Belmont Productions?"
''Forbes.com'' (SEP 15, 2010). which featured an introduction by Siegel, as well as in a 1966 deluxe special, ''Super Heroes Versus Super Villains''.

Red Circle Comics

Red Circle Comics was launched in the late 1970s as a fantasy/horror imprint, but switched over to superheroes in the 1980s. The line was first used to publish ''Chilling Adventures in Sorcery'' in October 1973, which for its first two issues was called ''Chilling Adventures in Sorcery as Told by Sabrina''. With the third issue, the title was renamed and published under Red Circle Comics. The name "Red Circle" was based on the previous business that Michael Silberkleit's father had with Martin Goodman, with

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

as editor. With issue number 6 ''Chilling Adventures'' was renamed ''Red Circle Sorcery'' and lasted until issue number 11 (Feb. 1975). Red Circle published one issue of '' The Super Cops'' (based on the movie of the same name) in July 1974. Shortly thereafter, '' Mad House'' (a re-title of ''Mad House Glads'') was published under the Red Circle Comics line starting with issue number 95 (Sept. 1974). This ended after number 97 (January 1975), when the title reverted to being a standard Archie humor title.Gilbert, Jonathan A
The Groovy Age: Mystery Days at Riverdale High
The Groovy Age. Reposted at Mighty Crusader Network. Accessed May 22, 2013. In 1978 and 1979, Archie published two digests collecting their superhero materials from the 1960s. The first was titled ''Archie's Super Hero Special''. The second issue was titled ''Archie's Super Hero Comic Digest Magazine'', and is notable for publishing the previously unpublished revamp of the

done by

and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Sup ...

. There was nothing on their covers to indicate they were Red Circle titles; only the interior indicia indicated the publisher. In the 1980s, Archie made a concerted effort to reuse its superheroes. The first appearance was in JC Comics's ''JCP Features'' #1 (Dec. 1981), which reprinted the new Black Hood materials that appeared in ''Archie Super Hero Comic Digest Magazine'' #2. In March 1983, the Red Circle brand was resurrected with first issue of a new volume of ''

''. That title lasted 13 issues and led to many new titles under the Red Circle Comics banner, including ''The Fly'' (nine issues, May 1983-October, 1984), ''Black Hood'' (three issues, June–October, 1983), ''Lancelot Strong, The Shield'' (two issues, June–August, 1983, before becoming ''Shield – Steel Sterling'' for issue #3 ec. 1983and finally ''Steel Sterling'' for issues #4–7 an.-July, 1984, ''The Original Shield'' (four issues, April–Oct., 1984), ''Blue Ribbon'' (14 issues, including new material and reprints of older material; Nov. 1983-Dec. 1984) and '' The Comet'' (two issues of a three-issue miniseries, October–December, 1983).Se

an

/ref> Though this 1980s incarnation featured

Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

's work prominently, it also featured contributions from others, including artists Jim Steranko,

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

, Rudy Nebres, Alan Weiss, Carmine Infantino,

Dick Ayers Richard Bache Ayers (; April 28, 1924 – May 4, 2014) was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on s ...

John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics ''Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, ...

and

Pat Boyette Aaron P. "Pat" Boyette (July 27, 1923 – January 14, 2000) was an American broadcasting personality and news producer, and later a comic book artist best known for two decades of work for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the character the Pe ...

Archie Adventure Series revival

With the February 1984 issues, the Red Circle line was renamed the Archie Adventure Series, reviving the name from the company's superhero line of the early 1960s. During this period, the company published, as either Red Circle or Archie Adventure, a comic-book tie-in to

Remco Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company in the United States founded in the 1940s. It was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and early 1960s, like the 'Johnny Reb Cannon', 'Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier', 'Remco Voi ...

's ''ManTech Robot Warriors'' toy line (two issues, Sept.-Dec. 1984), a

Katy Keene Katy Keene is a character created by Bill Woggon that has appeared in several comic book series published by Archie Comics since 1945. She is a model/actress/singer marketed by the publisher as "America's Queen of Pin-Ups and Fashions". In the bo ...

Special (Sept. 1983), and an issue of ''

Thunder Bunny Thunderbunny is a comic book about a boy who transforms into a superhero resembling a large pink humanoid rabbit. It was created by Martin Greim. Publication history Thunderbunny's first appearance published by a major company was '' Charlton Bull ...

'' (Jan. 1984). By September 1985, the entire line that originated with Red Circle had been cancelled. In 1988, however, with Archie's acquisition of the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' license, the Archie Adventure Series returned as the imprint behind ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is a comic book series published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is mainly based on t ...

'', which ran 72 issues until October 1995. In the late 1980s, Archie Adventure Series published '' The Adventures of Bayou Billy'', based on a popular video game, and in the early 1990s the imprint published '' Mighty Mutanimals'', a superhero team comic spun off from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Spectrum Comics

Archie planned to begin publishing superheroes again in the late 1980s with an imprint called Spectrum Comics, featuring a number of high-profile talents, including

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early lif ...

Jim Valentino Jim Valentino (born October 28, 1952) is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publis ...

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...

Michael Bair Michael A. Hernandez is an American comics artist also known by the pen name Michael Bair, who is best known for his work as an inker. His work includes Marvel Comics' ''Alpha Flight'', and DC Comics' ''Hawkman''. He is best known for inking Rags ...

Kelley Jones Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962) is an American comics artist best known for his work on ''Batman'' with writer Doug Moench and on '' The Sandman'' with writer Neil Gaiman. Early life Kelley Jones was born in Sacramento, California and grew up ...

, and

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

. Planned Spectrum titles included '' The Fly'', '' The Fox'', '' Hangman'', '' Jaguar'', '' Mister Justice'', and ''

''. Ultimately, Archie cancelled Spectrum Comics before publishing a single issue.

DC Comics licensing

Impact Comics

licensed the Red Circle characters and revamped them for publishing under the

imprint from 1991 to 1992. This attempt also included a super team, called simply "The Crusaders". The stories in the line were set their own shared universe, unrelated to previous incarnations of the characters or to DC's own fictional universe.

Red Circle line

DC was granted the license to the Red Circle characters in 2008. DC planned to inject the characters into the

and tapped writer J. Michael Straczynski.

The line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

folded in late 2010. In July 2011, it was revealed that DC no longer had the rights to them.

Red Circle digital imprint

Archie Comics announced at the New York Comic Con in October 2011 that its superhero line will return as an all-digital line under a subscription model with back issues archive access. This was announced as the Red Circle line starting with the New Crusader comic in 2012. The Red Circle Comics app provides readers access to a new chapter of the ''New Crusaders'' comic, as well as the Red Circle library of comics from the previous 70 years for a 99 cent weekly subscription price.Keily, Karl (July 25, 2012)
"CCI: 'New Crusaders' Rule Archie's Red Circle Comics Panel"
Comic Book Resources. In 2012, New Crusaders was followed up with ''Lost Crusade: Prelude'', a free one-shot focusing on the lives of the original Mighty Crusaders which debuted on August 29 through the Red Circle Comics app at RedCircleComics.com. Ian Flynn had pitched the idea as "I was really excited by all the prospective stories to be told between the end of the '80s series and our relaunch... There were so many open endings when the '80s era series wrapped up that it's hard to choose. What happened to Darkling? Who was the traitor? Did Black Hood figure it out or just make things worse? Did anyone mourn Doc Reeves?" The first arc of New Crusaders was also printed.Phegley, Kiel (August 29, 2012)
"Ian Flynn Launches Red Circle's 'Lost Crusade'"
Comic Book Resources. Chuck Dixon was announced as writing the second story arc of ''Lost Crusade'' and ''New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow'' was announced for May 2013, but neither was released. A five-issue ''The Fox'' miniseries by Mark Waid and

Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel (born May 31, 1967 in New York City) is an American comic book artist, writer, and playwright. He is known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his '' American Splendor ...

began in October 2013, with ''The Shield'' back-up strips by J.M. DeMatteis (who co-wrote ''Fox'' #5 instead of Waid).

Dark Circle Comics

In July 2014, Archie Comics announced that the Red Circle Comics imprint would be relaunched as Dark Circle Comics in early 2015 with the past continuity removed. Tales will be self-contained, five-issue story arcs in ongoing series. ''

'' debuted in February 2015, followed by ''The Fox'', continuing from the digital Red Circle line in April 2015, with ''The Shield'' debuting in September 2015 after being delayed. A digital exclusive, ''Sam Hill: In The Crosshairs'', was released in October 2015 featuring former NYPD detective Sam Hill. A fourth series, '' The Hangman'', debuted in November 2015. In July 2015, the publisher announced a revamped version of its 1940s character the Web would debut the following year.The announced series never materialised.

Characters

As of 2016 * Black Hood (Greg Hettinger) * The Fox (Paul Patton Jr.) * Shield (Victoria Adams) * The Hangman * The Web (Jane Raymond) Former * Black Hood (Matthew Burland) *Black Jack *Captain Commando * The Comet *Fireball * Firefly * The Fly/Fly-Man * Flygirl * The Fox * The Jaguar *

* Mister Justice * Sam Hill * Shield (Joe Higgins) * Shield (Lancelot Strong) * Steel Sterling * The Web (John Raymond) * Wizard * Doc Reeves

Titles

Titles in publication as of 2016 * ''

'' (October 2015–) * '' The Hangman'' (November 2015–) * '' The Black Hood: Season 2'' (October 2016–)

References

External links

*
Mighty Crusaders Network
{{Comic book publishers in North America navbox Archie Comics imprints Comic book publishing companies of the United States