Dark Circle Comics is an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead ...

Under its previous name, Red Circle Comics, it published non-humor characters, particularly superheroes in the 1970s and 1980s. It was a digital imprint from 2012 to 2014, and in 2015, it was converted back to a print imprint and was completely revamped as Dark Circle Comics, featuring darker and more mature content than previous incarnations of Archie's superhero line. The term "Red Circle characters" is also used to refer to Archie Comics' superheroes, including such characters as the

Black Hood The Black Hood is the name of several fictional characters (Matthew/Mateo Burland, Thomas "Kip" Burland, and Gregory Hettinger) created by Archie Comics, MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comi ...

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

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

The Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond IT specialists and hobbyists. It allows documents and other web ...

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

, and the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. These characters were previously published when Archie Comics was

MLJ Magazines Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead ...

, then published under various Archie imprints: Archie Adventure Series, Radio Comics/Mighty Comics Group, Red Circle Comics and the Red Circle Comics digital imprint (2012). Archie licensed their Red Circle characters to

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

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''. Impa ...

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

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

. 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 ''Blue Ribbon Comics'' is the name of two American comic book anthology series, the first published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc., commonly known as MLJ Comics, from 1939 to 1942, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. The r ...

'', 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 A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

, created by writer and managing editor

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

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 Harr ...

. 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 Joseph Henry Simon (born Hymie Simon; October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books ...

and

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

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

. 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 ''Top-Notch Comics'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by MLJ Magazines Inc., more commonly known as MLJ Comics, during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. From issue #28 it was re-title ...

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

'' 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

* ''

'' (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 ''Top-Notch Comics'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by MLJ Magazines Inc., more commonly known as MLJ Comics, during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books. From issue #28 it was re-titled ...

'' (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 ...

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

Archie Adventure Series

Archie's

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

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

and

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

' lawyers, citing similarity to

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, 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 American 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 Gibs ...

, whom they portrayed first as a spy in a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

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 ''Laugh Comics'' was a comic book produced by Archie Comics in two volumes, from 1946 to 1987 and 1987 to 1991. The title showcased some of the early appearances of the "Archie gang." Beginning with issue #145, Josie began making semi-regular ap ...

'' 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 John Francis Rosenberger (November 30, 1918 in Richmond Hill, Queens – January 24, 1977), also occasionally credited as John Diehl, was an American comics artist and painter from after the Second World War until the mid-1970s. Educated at the P ...

and

John Giunta John Giunta (June 5, 1920 – November 6, 1970) was an American illustrator of comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. He worked on horror titles like ''Tomb of Terror'', ''Chamber of Chills'' ( Harvey), ''Journey into Mystery'' and ''Weird ...

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 a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' TV show camp;

creator

Jerry Siegel Jerome "Jerry" 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 was the co-creator of ...

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 ...

Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

), 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, ''The Mighty Crusaders''. Written by Superman co-creator Je ...

, 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 The Shield is the name of several superheroes created by MLJ (now known as Archie Comics). Appearing months before Captain America, the Shield has the distinction of being the first superhero with a costume based upon United States patriotic icon ...

, 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 and fantasy, with titles appearing from 1961 through 1971. The company pu ...

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 early 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 Sabrina may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Hafren, known in English as Sabrina, a British princess in Welsh mythology ...

''. 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)Gray Morrow
at the S ...

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 ''The Super Cops'' is a 1974 action adventure film directed by Gordon Parks and starring Ron Leibman and David Selby. The film is based on the book ''The Super Cops: The True Story of the Cops Called Batman and Robin'' by L. H. Whittemore. The ...

'' (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 Digest may refer to: Biology *Digestion of food *Restriction digest Literature and publications *'' The Digest'', formerly the English and Empire Digest *Digest size magazine format * ''Digest'' (Roman law), also known as ''Pandects'', a digest ...

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

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001)Gray Morrow
at the S ...

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 Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

. 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 In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

, October–December, 1983).Se

an

/ref> Though this 1980s incarnation featured

Rich Buckler Rich Buckler (February 6, 1949 – May 19, 2017) was an Americans, American comics artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' in the mid-1970s and for creating the character Deat ...

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

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...

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 through ...

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 ac ...

Rudy Nebres Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...

, Alan Weiss,

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

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, e ...

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 an American toy company. Founded in 1949, it is known for toys integrating technology and innovation from their inception. The company's slogan in its early TV commercials was, "Every Boy Wants a Remco Toy...And So Do ...

'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 b ...

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

Thunder Bunny Thunderbunny is a comic book character who transforms from a boy into a superhero resembling a large pink humanoid rabbit. The character was created by Martin L. Greim. Publication history Thunderbunny's first appearance published by a major comp ...

'' (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'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

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

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is an American comic book series that was published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics. The series, which was aimed at a younger audience than other ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comic ...

'', which ran 72 issues until October 1995. In the late 1980s, Archie Adventure Series published ''

The Adventures of Bayou Billy ''The Adventures of Bayou Billy'', known in Japan as , is a 1988 Beat 'em up game, beat ‘em up game developed and published by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Plot Billy West, otherwise known as Bayou Billy, is a Michael "Crocodil ...

'', based on a popular video game, and in the early 1990s the imprint published ''

Mighty Mutanimals ''Mighty Mutanimals'', a superhero group within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise, emerged in the comic-book series ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures''. Composed of various mutated animals, the team collaborated with the ...

'', 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 li ...

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 publ ...

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 (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...

Michael Bair Michael A. Hernandez is an Americans, 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 (comic book), Alpha Flight'', and DC Comics' ''Hawkma ...

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'', ''

'', '' 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 Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...

. The line 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 Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s. Early life D ...

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 Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...

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 Splendo ...

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 Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created by ...

would debut the following year. The announced series never materialised.

Dark Circle Comics titles

* '' The Black Hood'' #1–11 (February 2015 — June 2016) * '' The Black Hood: Season 2'' #1–5 (October 2016 – June 2017), a continuation of ''The Black Hood''. * '' The Fox'' #1–5 (April 2015 — August 2015) * '' The Hangman'' #1–4 (November 2015 – October 2016) * ''New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow Special'' #1 (March 2015),

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

featuring the Red Circle Comics versions of the characters. * ''Sam Hill: In The Crosshairs'' (October 2015), a graphic novel released digitally featuring former NYPD detective Sam Hill. * ''

'' #1–4 (October 2015 – November 2016)

Archie Comics one-shots

In March 2021, four years after the conclusion of the Dark Circle Universe, Archie Comics announced that

would re-image the Mighty Crusaders with a four-issue series of one-shots, beginning with ''The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield'' #1. However, that May, Liefeld announced his departure from the project, after objecting to a variant cover being publicized by its artist that allegedly spoiled the end of ''The Shield'' one-shot.

David Gallaher David Matthew Gallaher (born June 5, 1975) is an American video game writer, comics writer, podcaster and editor, known primarily for his work in comics and video games: '' Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint'', '' Vampire: The Masquerade'', ''Yo ...

was then brought in to script a new story for the one-shot based on Liefeld's completed artwork. Despite the creative change, ''The Mighty Crusaders: The Shield'' #1 officially sold out at Diamond Comic Distributors. After revamping The Fox for Red Circle Comics, and later Dark Circle Comics,

returned to script a new one-shot titled ''The Fox: Family Values'', published in May 2022. That November, Archie Comics released the one-shot ''Bob Phantom'', which re-imagined the superhero's alter ego, Walt Whitney, as a struggling journalist who daydreams of a secret adventurous life. In November 2023, Archie Comics rebooted the Red Circle superhero, Darkling (Darla Lang), with a one-shot by Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli. In February 2024, writer Keryl Brown Ahmed and artist Tango re-introduced readers to The Jaguar (Ivette Velez), who previously appeared in the 2012 mini-series, ''New Crusaders'', in the one-shot ''The Jaguar''. The first Jaguar, Ralph Hardy, also made a special appearance in the one-shot comic.

Characters

* Black Hood (Matthew Burland) * Black Hood (Greg Hettinger) *Black Jack * Bob Phantom (Walt Whitney) *Captain Commando * The Comet * Darkling (Darla Lang) *Fireball *

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

* The Fly/Fly-Man * Flygirl * The Fox * The Fox (Paul Patton Jr.) * The Hangman * The Jaguar (Ralph Hardy) * The Jaguar (Ivette Velez) *

* Mister Justice * Sam Hill * Shield (Joe Higgins) * Shield (Lancelot Strong) * Shield (Victoria Adams) *

* The Web (John Raymond) * The Web (Jane Raymond) * Wizard * Doc Reeves