The Other Guys-Non-DC & Marvel Reviews
Nov 24, 2017 22:55:01 GMT -5
shaxper, EdoBosnar, and 2 more like this
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 24, 2017 22:55:01 GMT -5
Set your Wayback machine o 1981. Just 3 years before, Archie had put out their first Superhero Special, showcasing some of their old superhero comics, from the Silver Age, as well as their Riverdale Gang-as-superheroes. They followed that up, within a year, with a second digest, featuring unpublished Black Hood stories, from Gray Morrow, Al McWilliams and Neal Adams & Dick Giordano (plus some of their Red Circle horror material). The digests had been well received. and the wondered, might it be time to try superheroes again? The newly expanding Direct Market allowed for more niche product, like the MLJ/Archie superheroes, so maybe they could use that to better target the audience for that material. They would test the waters, again, with the help of a new partner.
John Carbonaro had acquired the rights to Tower Comics' old THUNDER Agents series and was looking to start publishing new stories with them, as well as reprinting classic material, featuring the likes of Wally Wood, Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska and more. To do this, he partnered with Archie to print and distribute the new comics. The first of these was a magazine-format comic, JCP Features The THUNDER Agents.
Aside from reintroducing the THUNDER Agents, the magazine reprinted some of the Black Hood material, seen in the Archie Superhero Digest #2. After this came out, Archie decided to continue and relaunch their superhero line, using the Red Circle name, to let it have its own identity. They also hired someone with some pretty big credits at the Big Two, someone who knew how to ape the success of the masters at those two companies: Rich Buckler. Buckler broke in at Marvel, largely as someone who could imitate Kirby. He developed a reputation, in some corners, as a swipe artist (as he would recreate whole figures and panels, not to mention Kirby's style); but, over time, he started to pull away from being a pure Kirby imitator. He co-created the sci-fi anti-hero, Deathlok, with Doug Moench, which proved to be a huge cult hit in the 70s. By the late 70s, he had moved on to DC, where he did several covers, as well as some of their original material Treasury Editions, and helped launch the All-Star Squadron. By this point, Buckler had developed a dynamic style that mixed Kirby with Adams, and a few other influences. Archie recruited him to launch their revived Red Circle Line. He, in turn, recruited Cary Burkett, who co-created Nemesis, with Dan Spiegle, at DC. Together, they set to work on the title that would relaunch the Red Circle line and the MLJ heroes: The Mighty Crusaders.
Buckler's intent was that Mighty Crusaders would be the flagship title, where the various heroes mixed, while they had their own adventures in other books. he sets out, in that first issue, to reintroduce the heroes as they were last seen, while filling in what they have been up to, as an old threat resurfaces. That threat is The Brain Emperor, who has some kind of advanced craft...
and who has some giant Brainbots helping him...
The story features the converging of the heroes, as the Brain Emperor's scheme unfolds, as we catch up with Lancelot Strong, the Fly and Fly Girl and the Jaguar, who are soon joined by the Webm the original Shield (Joe Higgins), the Black Hood, the Comet, and the Web's adventurer/scientist friend, Malcolm Reeves. We also learn that the Brain Emperor is a servant of Eterno the Conqueror, the first foe of the Mighty Crusaders (if you don't count the Spider, who brought them together). As the story progresses, we meet a new character, Darkling, to up tthe female quotient, and see the Crusaders attacked by the Malevolent Legion of Juggernauts (put the initials together), who turn out to be android versions of the other heroes. The gang gets together and stops Eterno, who is raising Atlantis, while bickering up a storm, with Jaguar and Lancelot Strong coming across as real A-holes.
Those first three issues really grab you and feature some spectacular art from Buckler. Just look at the wrap-around cover he did for issue 2...
Now look at the original art...
Buckler's covers at DC had been a cut above their norm; but, this was outstanding!
With that initial storyline, we are thrust back into the world of the superheroes and they would soon get solo stories. Some of the characters were quickly shoved to the background, while others became more dominant. The original Shield appears to have been a favorite of Buckler's and he gets a back-up series within the Mighty Crusaders. Meanwhile, coinciding with the conclusion to "Atlantis Rising," we get the new titles.
The Fly is first and he gets some cover lovin' from Jim Steranko.
and Rudy Nebres...
Inside, we get another treat, as the art for much of the series is from Steve Ditko and it is some of the better Ditko work of the era. The stories mix solo tales for each of the Flies, as well as joint adventures. Tomy Troy ends up disbarred, at one point, in an attempt to darken the character. Kim Brand continues working in film, which allows for some commentary about the movie industry.
The Black Hood is next; and, we get some new stories and reprints of the previous material. The book is short lived; but, features some fine work from such masters of adventure as Gray Morrow (not sure if these were new stories or inventory from the earlier unpublished material) , Al McWilliams (reprint), Pat Boyette (new) and Dan Spiegle (also new). Meanwhile, issue two and the third and final issue give us the masters' master, Alex Toth. Toth takes on the Fox in excellent back-up stories, filled with action and a storytelling demonstrations from one of the best storytellers in the business. The stories would go on to influence the Mark Waid and Dan Haspiel mini-series, that launched the latest revival, with Dark Circle.
It would be a few months before we got more titles, with a Comet mini-series.
The story is from Bill DuBay, with art by Carmine Infantino. In the pages of the Mighty Crusaders, we first saw the Comet in his Altroxian gear. It starts kicking out, when he meets up with the Brain Emperor; but, his old powers return and he soon adopts his old costume. At first, they used a transitional one, where they eliminated the stars and moons (but kept the goggle/visor) but soon put those back on. We learn how the supposedly dead Comet was swept away to the Planet Altrox, before he was returned home. Then, he seemed to die and was pulled back by the princess who fell in love with him and who put all of their science into reviving him. he helps fight off robot overlords, then returns to Earth, years later, reuniting him with our present. As a man out of time, he finds his younger brother, the Hangman, on his deathbed, as an old man. We also learn that his nephew has been running around as a new Hangman, but isn't very good at it. John Dickering must assume his brother Bob's identity as the Hangman, to save his nephew.
Infantino is inked by Alex Nino, which makes for a pretty good combination, reining in some of Infantino's stylistic excesses, of the period. However, Bill DuBay's script, though full of inventive ideas, is rather overwrought and kind of dark. They never got to finish the series though, as Archie pulled the plug after two issues. In this interview Dubay talks about what he was doing with the series and some of the behind-the-scenes of Red Circle.
The other new title out was The Shield.
This book focuses on Lancelot Strong, the Simon & Kirby Shield. He is now a captain in the Army and is a covert operative of the military. He is busy dealing with a spy on the base, that transformed into a monster. Art is by Alan Weiss, who gives it a nice look.
Also appearing in the book is Steel Sterling, in a story from Rich Buckler and Adrian Gonzales. It reintroduces the muscleman and sets him squarely into a world of gyms, weightlifting and bodybuilding. With issue two, he has shoved Lancelot Strong to the back, as Robert Kanigher and Rudy Nebres begin their stories of the musclehead. By the third issue, Steel has equal billing with Capt. Strong and by the fourth e has taken completely over.
The stories revolve around a proposed Steel Sterling movie, which has the gym rats and steroid apes pumping iron, in hopes of being cast. Steel eventually gets pushed aside by the Young Steelers, a Guardian Angel type street gang, who are admirers of the slab of beef. Quite frankly, these stories aren't that good. Kanigher had written for MLJ, before moving on to DC; but, his best work was behind him and he was never that great a fit for superheroes (especially compared to his war comics).
The next book released was Blue Ribbon Comics, updating the original Archie anthology title; but, we will come back to that. First, the last of the solo titles, the original Shield.
The series is a continuation of the Shield back-up stories, from Mighty Crusaders, as he is plagued by a mysterious triumvirate, the Delta 3. The script is from Martin Greim, with art from Dick Ayers and Ricardo Villagran. Ayers had time on superheroes and his Avenger (Magazine Enterprises) was one of the better ones from the post-war era (where he fought Red Menaces). he had some time on the Marvel heroes, before settling in for a long run with Sgt Fury (as well as some sweet westerns). However, his stuff here wasn't of the same magnitude. It has moments; but, he isn't given a lot to work with, in some generic scripts from Greim. The Delta 3 conspiracy starts out intriguing; but, kind of flounders. The series lasted 4 issues and things were moved back to the Mighty Crusaders for resolution. I don't know why Buckler and the others seemed to take to this guy, over Lancelot Strong; but, they did and poor Lancelot was sidelined quickly and seemed to be killed off, while Joe Higgins hung around. One of the odder elements of this was that Joe Higgins (the Shield) and John Dickering (the Comet) began to share an apartment, which found them talking to one another at night, in their tightie whities and pyjama bottoms, at rather close ranges. I don't know if it was intentional; but, there is a whole gay subtext going on in these scenes, as both commiserate about being men out of time, and being alienated from everyone else. You can just read it as friendship and identifying with similar problems; but, the body language and the layouts can just as easily suggest a more forward-thinking idea of two gay men coming to terms with their sexuality. But, this was before Kevin Keller and Archie wasn't going to publish something like that.
The last title we will look at was the anthology Blue Ribbon Comics.
Blue Ribbon Comics became the place for solo stories from the heroes without their own book and/or reprints of classic material. Issue one features a reprinting of Simon & Kirby Fly stories, along with a Steve Ditko cover. Issue 2 has a Mr Justice tale (MLJ's pseudo-Spectre ghost hero), issue 3 features Steel Sterling's origin, which leads into his own series. Issue 4 is new Fly material, including a stry from Jack C Harris, late of DC. Issue 5 reprints The Double Life of Private Strong #1, in all it's Simon & Kirby glory and imagination, before DC came a-threatenin' (like Doc Savage didn't have first dibs). Issues 6 and 7 feature a two-part tale of the Fox. unfortunately, Alex Toth isn't here. However, Tony Dezuniga is, filling the two issues with martial arts action unparalleled (well, except maybe Paul Gulacy). The Fox comes up against the Eraser, the mob hitman who turned the original Shield to stone (back in the Mighty Comics continuity). The Eraser isn't the most threatening guy, with a tubby body (or "barrel-chested," if you like) and a green suit with yellow bandoliers. It's kind of hard to look threatening when you look like an overweight HYDRA reject.
Issue 8 sees two Black Hood stories, both reprints: the origin story from Gray Morrow, and the Neal Adams story. The Morrow one features some new editing, which alters the tone of the story somewhat. Issue 9 features a new group of characters, the Agents of Atlantis, a group of special agents, working for an underwater scientific complex. The whole thing looks like Irwin Allen meets the THUNDER Agents, with the heroes Neptune, Vortex, Hurricane, Nebula and Dolphin. The issue also features a reprint of one of the Red Circle horror stories, from the 70s.
Issue 10 has more Fly reprints, from the earlier Adv, of the Fly, while 11 has more Black Hood, including a story about a new Black Hood, a hood name Matt Regis who seems to want out, especially after meeting up with an old flame from high school, who develops a split personality and operates as a returned Black Hood. Interesting idea that doesn't get further development.
Issue 12 sees the THUNDER Agents, in a crossover from the sister JC Comics, as the team and Iron Maiden (and her mercs) face off against aliens. Issue 13 has more thunder, Thunderbunny, who had previously been seen at Charlton, in the Charlton Bullseye. and who also got a single issue with Red Circle (aside from this appearance).
A second story was featured in Pep Comics, of all places, in issue 393, in a story that creator Martin Greim says was butchered by Archie.
Our heroic lepus would then turn up at WaRP Graphics and Apple comics.
The 14th and final issue features the Web, who was one of my favorite characters, yet seemed to be lost in the shuffle at Red Circle. He did take part in Mighty Crusaders stories, but was screaming for his own adventures, especially since he made for a great visual and his background as a criminologist made him a perfect urban adventurer.
While Red Circle was getting up and running, there were some side projects related to it. I spoke of John Carbonaro's JC Comics, with the THUNDER Agents. They got two new issues and 3 reprints, under the title Hall of Fame, Featuring the THUNDER Agents
.
Carbonaro also did some editing and plotting with Red Circle and there were clashes with Buckler. Carbonaro soon found himself embroiled in a lawsuit against David Singer's Deluxe Comics, which published a rival Waly Wood's THUNDER Agents, believing the characters to be in the public domain. The superior Deluxe comics stories were selling better than Carbonaro's and he wasn't happy. Deluxe was aided by work from people like George Perez, Kieth Giffen, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and Dave Cockrum. The courts ruled in Carbonaro's favor and Deluxe ceased publishing. However, the fight took up all of Carbonaro's time and money and JC Comics also folded. he would later partner with Solson and Penthouse (via their Omni Comix) before licensing the characters to DC, prior to his death.
Previously, when Carbonaro was putting out JCP Features, Buckler edited his own magazine, Galaxia Magazine, which featured his Devil-Slayer on the cover, and also seemed to be involved with Archie, in some fashion, as they advertised it.
More Galaxia was shown in house ads within the Red Circle books, but no more issues were produced.
Another side project during this time, done via Red Circle/Archie Adventure Series was Mantech Robot Warriors
This was a line of toys, from Remco.
Archie adapted the toys into a sci-fi comic, via the Archie Adventure line (the retooled Red Circle), for 4 bizarre issues. The toys weren't exactly hot sellers (Remco was a pretty cheap outfit, which also produced wrestling figures from the American Wrestling Association (the AWA, promoted by Verne Gagne, featuring his son, Nick Bockwinkel, the Road Warriors, and son-in-law Larry Zbysko) and woud go on to have a further association with Archie/Red Circle: Mighty crusader figures...
Like the AWA figures, there appeared to be one body mold and very little articulation. I never saw one of these in the wild; but, I was in college when they were put out, so I wasn't exactly haunting toy stores.
Red Circle was doomed from the start. Archie's longtime model for publishing was low overhead, which translates as producing the books cheaply. They weren't known for paying great rates and their creators found their creations making Goldwater and Silberkleit (and Coye) rich; but not them. The Archie books were fairly simple, as a result, with minimal backgrounds and basic layouts. Superhero comics required more detail, which meant more money and time. Publishers Richard Goldwater and Michael Silberkleit weren't happy with the costs of these books, especially in relation to their sales. The Direct Market may have been non-returnable; but, the shops weren't falling all over themselves to buy the Red Circle books and few touched Archie products at all. Buckler didn't help himself with late books and the publishers started looking for new editors. Bill DuBay claims they approached him about taking it over; but, as he was married to Buckler's sister, he declined, though offered to edit books that Buckler wasn't. Eventually, Buckler was out and Robin Snyder took over. Just before this, Archie dropped the Red Circle name and went with the Archie Adventure Series masthead, feeling they had greater name recognition in comics and on newsstands. It didn't help. By the end of 1985 the Red Circle experiment was over.
That seemed to be the end of things, as Archie concentrated on producing Archie comics, to what appeared to be a dwindling audience, as newsstands continued to dry up. Towards the end of the decade, they tried to liven up there books by giving Jughead a new little sister and they contemplated re-entering the superhero world, after seeing how Crisis on Infinite Earths and Secret Wars had revitalized DC and Marvel, as well as the darker, grittier takes on batman and daredevil, provided by Frank Miller (and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons on Watchmen). Next, we will look at the Archie superhero line that almost was, a grim and gritty take on some of their old heroes, from some of the top names in superhero comics, at DC and Marvel. Come on back for the story of Spectrum Comics!
John Carbonaro had acquired the rights to Tower Comics' old THUNDER Agents series and was looking to start publishing new stories with them, as well as reprinting classic material, featuring the likes of Wally Wood, Gil Kane, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska and more. To do this, he partnered with Archie to print and distribute the new comics. The first of these was a magazine-format comic, JCP Features The THUNDER Agents.
Aside from reintroducing the THUNDER Agents, the magazine reprinted some of the Black Hood material, seen in the Archie Superhero Digest #2. After this came out, Archie decided to continue and relaunch their superhero line, using the Red Circle name, to let it have its own identity. They also hired someone with some pretty big credits at the Big Two, someone who knew how to ape the success of the masters at those two companies: Rich Buckler. Buckler broke in at Marvel, largely as someone who could imitate Kirby. He developed a reputation, in some corners, as a swipe artist (as he would recreate whole figures and panels, not to mention Kirby's style); but, over time, he started to pull away from being a pure Kirby imitator. He co-created the sci-fi anti-hero, Deathlok, with Doug Moench, which proved to be a huge cult hit in the 70s. By the late 70s, he had moved on to DC, where he did several covers, as well as some of their original material Treasury Editions, and helped launch the All-Star Squadron. By this point, Buckler had developed a dynamic style that mixed Kirby with Adams, and a few other influences. Archie recruited him to launch their revived Red Circle Line. He, in turn, recruited Cary Burkett, who co-created Nemesis, with Dan Spiegle, at DC. Together, they set to work on the title that would relaunch the Red Circle line and the MLJ heroes: The Mighty Crusaders.
Buckler's intent was that Mighty Crusaders would be the flagship title, where the various heroes mixed, while they had their own adventures in other books. he sets out, in that first issue, to reintroduce the heroes as they were last seen, while filling in what they have been up to, as an old threat resurfaces. That threat is The Brain Emperor, who has some kind of advanced craft...
and who has some giant Brainbots helping him...
The story features the converging of the heroes, as the Brain Emperor's scheme unfolds, as we catch up with Lancelot Strong, the Fly and Fly Girl and the Jaguar, who are soon joined by the Webm the original Shield (Joe Higgins), the Black Hood, the Comet, and the Web's adventurer/scientist friend, Malcolm Reeves. We also learn that the Brain Emperor is a servant of Eterno the Conqueror, the first foe of the Mighty Crusaders (if you don't count the Spider, who brought them together). As the story progresses, we meet a new character, Darkling, to up tthe female quotient, and see the Crusaders attacked by the Malevolent Legion of Juggernauts (put the initials together), who turn out to be android versions of the other heroes. The gang gets together and stops Eterno, who is raising Atlantis, while bickering up a storm, with Jaguar and Lancelot Strong coming across as real A-holes.
Those first three issues really grab you and feature some spectacular art from Buckler. Just look at the wrap-around cover he did for issue 2...
Now look at the original art...
Buckler's covers at DC had been a cut above their norm; but, this was outstanding!
With that initial storyline, we are thrust back into the world of the superheroes and they would soon get solo stories. Some of the characters were quickly shoved to the background, while others became more dominant. The original Shield appears to have been a favorite of Buckler's and he gets a back-up series within the Mighty Crusaders. Meanwhile, coinciding with the conclusion to "Atlantis Rising," we get the new titles.
The Fly is first and he gets some cover lovin' from Jim Steranko.
and Rudy Nebres...
Inside, we get another treat, as the art for much of the series is from Steve Ditko and it is some of the better Ditko work of the era. The stories mix solo tales for each of the Flies, as well as joint adventures. Tomy Troy ends up disbarred, at one point, in an attempt to darken the character. Kim Brand continues working in film, which allows for some commentary about the movie industry.
The Black Hood is next; and, we get some new stories and reprints of the previous material. The book is short lived; but, features some fine work from such masters of adventure as Gray Morrow (not sure if these were new stories or inventory from the earlier unpublished material) , Al McWilliams (reprint), Pat Boyette (new) and Dan Spiegle (also new). Meanwhile, issue two and the third and final issue give us the masters' master, Alex Toth. Toth takes on the Fox in excellent back-up stories, filled with action and a storytelling demonstrations from one of the best storytellers in the business. The stories would go on to influence the Mark Waid and Dan Haspiel mini-series, that launched the latest revival, with Dark Circle.
It would be a few months before we got more titles, with a Comet mini-series.
The story is from Bill DuBay, with art by Carmine Infantino. In the pages of the Mighty Crusaders, we first saw the Comet in his Altroxian gear. It starts kicking out, when he meets up with the Brain Emperor; but, his old powers return and he soon adopts his old costume. At first, they used a transitional one, where they eliminated the stars and moons (but kept the goggle/visor) but soon put those back on. We learn how the supposedly dead Comet was swept away to the Planet Altrox, before he was returned home. Then, he seemed to die and was pulled back by the princess who fell in love with him and who put all of their science into reviving him. he helps fight off robot overlords, then returns to Earth, years later, reuniting him with our present. As a man out of time, he finds his younger brother, the Hangman, on his deathbed, as an old man. We also learn that his nephew has been running around as a new Hangman, but isn't very good at it. John Dickering must assume his brother Bob's identity as the Hangman, to save his nephew.
Infantino is inked by Alex Nino, which makes for a pretty good combination, reining in some of Infantino's stylistic excesses, of the period. However, Bill DuBay's script, though full of inventive ideas, is rather overwrought and kind of dark. They never got to finish the series though, as Archie pulled the plug after two issues. In this interview Dubay talks about what he was doing with the series and some of the behind-the-scenes of Red Circle.
The other new title out was The Shield.
This book focuses on Lancelot Strong, the Simon & Kirby Shield. He is now a captain in the Army and is a covert operative of the military. He is busy dealing with a spy on the base, that transformed into a monster. Art is by Alan Weiss, who gives it a nice look.
Also appearing in the book is Steel Sterling, in a story from Rich Buckler and Adrian Gonzales. It reintroduces the muscleman and sets him squarely into a world of gyms, weightlifting and bodybuilding. With issue two, he has shoved Lancelot Strong to the back, as Robert Kanigher and Rudy Nebres begin their stories of the musclehead. By the third issue, Steel has equal billing with Capt. Strong and by the fourth e has taken completely over.
The stories revolve around a proposed Steel Sterling movie, which has the gym rats and steroid apes pumping iron, in hopes of being cast. Steel eventually gets pushed aside by the Young Steelers, a Guardian Angel type street gang, who are admirers of the slab of beef. Quite frankly, these stories aren't that good. Kanigher had written for MLJ, before moving on to DC; but, his best work was behind him and he was never that great a fit for superheroes (especially compared to his war comics).
The next book released was Blue Ribbon Comics, updating the original Archie anthology title; but, we will come back to that. First, the last of the solo titles, the original Shield.
The series is a continuation of the Shield back-up stories, from Mighty Crusaders, as he is plagued by a mysterious triumvirate, the Delta 3. The script is from Martin Greim, with art from Dick Ayers and Ricardo Villagran. Ayers had time on superheroes and his Avenger (Magazine Enterprises) was one of the better ones from the post-war era (where he fought Red Menaces). he had some time on the Marvel heroes, before settling in for a long run with Sgt Fury (as well as some sweet westerns). However, his stuff here wasn't of the same magnitude. It has moments; but, he isn't given a lot to work with, in some generic scripts from Greim. The Delta 3 conspiracy starts out intriguing; but, kind of flounders. The series lasted 4 issues and things were moved back to the Mighty Crusaders for resolution. I don't know why Buckler and the others seemed to take to this guy, over Lancelot Strong; but, they did and poor Lancelot was sidelined quickly and seemed to be killed off, while Joe Higgins hung around. One of the odder elements of this was that Joe Higgins (the Shield) and John Dickering (the Comet) began to share an apartment, which found them talking to one another at night, in their tightie whities and pyjama bottoms, at rather close ranges. I don't know if it was intentional; but, there is a whole gay subtext going on in these scenes, as both commiserate about being men out of time, and being alienated from everyone else. You can just read it as friendship and identifying with similar problems; but, the body language and the layouts can just as easily suggest a more forward-thinking idea of two gay men coming to terms with their sexuality. But, this was before Kevin Keller and Archie wasn't going to publish something like that.
The last title we will look at was the anthology Blue Ribbon Comics.
Blue Ribbon Comics became the place for solo stories from the heroes without their own book and/or reprints of classic material. Issue one features a reprinting of Simon & Kirby Fly stories, along with a Steve Ditko cover. Issue 2 has a Mr Justice tale (MLJ's pseudo-Spectre ghost hero), issue 3 features Steel Sterling's origin, which leads into his own series. Issue 4 is new Fly material, including a stry from Jack C Harris, late of DC. Issue 5 reprints The Double Life of Private Strong #1, in all it's Simon & Kirby glory and imagination, before DC came a-threatenin' (like Doc Savage didn't have first dibs). Issues 6 and 7 feature a two-part tale of the Fox. unfortunately, Alex Toth isn't here. However, Tony Dezuniga is, filling the two issues with martial arts action unparalleled (well, except maybe Paul Gulacy). The Fox comes up against the Eraser, the mob hitman who turned the original Shield to stone (back in the Mighty Comics continuity). The Eraser isn't the most threatening guy, with a tubby body (or "barrel-chested," if you like) and a green suit with yellow bandoliers. It's kind of hard to look threatening when you look like an overweight HYDRA reject.
Issue 8 sees two Black Hood stories, both reprints: the origin story from Gray Morrow, and the Neal Adams story. The Morrow one features some new editing, which alters the tone of the story somewhat. Issue 9 features a new group of characters, the Agents of Atlantis, a group of special agents, working for an underwater scientific complex. The whole thing looks like Irwin Allen meets the THUNDER Agents, with the heroes Neptune, Vortex, Hurricane, Nebula and Dolphin. The issue also features a reprint of one of the Red Circle horror stories, from the 70s.
Issue 10 has more Fly reprints, from the earlier Adv, of the Fly, while 11 has more Black Hood, including a story about a new Black Hood, a hood name Matt Regis who seems to want out, especially after meeting up with an old flame from high school, who develops a split personality and operates as a returned Black Hood. Interesting idea that doesn't get further development.
Issue 12 sees the THUNDER Agents, in a crossover from the sister JC Comics, as the team and Iron Maiden (and her mercs) face off against aliens. Issue 13 has more thunder, Thunderbunny, who had previously been seen at Charlton, in the Charlton Bullseye. and who also got a single issue with Red Circle (aside from this appearance).
A second story was featured in Pep Comics, of all places, in issue 393, in a story that creator Martin Greim says was butchered by Archie.
Our heroic lepus would then turn up at WaRP Graphics and Apple comics.
The 14th and final issue features the Web, who was one of my favorite characters, yet seemed to be lost in the shuffle at Red Circle. He did take part in Mighty Crusaders stories, but was screaming for his own adventures, especially since he made for a great visual and his background as a criminologist made him a perfect urban adventurer.
While Red Circle was getting up and running, there were some side projects related to it. I spoke of John Carbonaro's JC Comics, with the THUNDER Agents. They got two new issues and 3 reprints, under the title Hall of Fame, Featuring the THUNDER Agents
.
Carbonaro also did some editing and plotting with Red Circle and there were clashes with Buckler. Carbonaro soon found himself embroiled in a lawsuit against David Singer's Deluxe Comics, which published a rival Waly Wood's THUNDER Agents, believing the characters to be in the public domain. The superior Deluxe comics stories were selling better than Carbonaro's and he wasn't happy. Deluxe was aided by work from people like George Perez, Kieth Giffen, Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and Dave Cockrum. The courts ruled in Carbonaro's favor and Deluxe ceased publishing. However, the fight took up all of Carbonaro's time and money and JC Comics also folded. he would later partner with Solson and Penthouse (via their Omni Comix) before licensing the characters to DC, prior to his death.
Previously, when Carbonaro was putting out JCP Features, Buckler edited his own magazine, Galaxia Magazine, which featured his Devil-Slayer on the cover, and also seemed to be involved with Archie, in some fashion, as they advertised it.
More Galaxia was shown in house ads within the Red Circle books, but no more issues were produced.
Another side project during this time, done via Red Circle/Archie Adventure Series was Mantech Robot Warriors
This was a line of toys, from Remco.
Archie adapted the toys into a sci-fi comic, via the Archie Adventure line (the retooled Red Circle), for 4 bizarre issues. The toys weren't exactly hot sellers (Remco was a pretty cheap outfit, which also produced wrestling figures from the American Wrestling Association (the AWA, promoted by Verne Gagne, featuring his son, Nick Bockwinkel, the Road Warriors, and son-in-law Larry Zbysko) and woud go on to have a further association with Archie/Red Circle: Mighty crusader figures...
Like the AWA figures, there appeared to be one body mold and very little articulation. I never saw one of these in the wild; but, I was in college when they were put out, so I wasn't exactly haunting toy stores.
Red Circle was doomed from the start. Archie's longtime model for publishing was low overhead, which translates as producing the books cheaply. They weren't known for paying great rates and their creators found their creations making Goldwater and Silberkleit (and Coye) rich; but not them. The Archie books were fairly simple, as a result, with minimal backgrounds and basic layouts. Superhero comics required more detail, which meant more money and time. Publishers Richard Goldwater and Michael Silberkleit weren't happy with the costs of these books, especially in relation to their sales. The Direct Market may have been non-returnable; but, the shops weren't falling all over themselves to buy the Red Circle books and few touched Archie products at all. Buckler didn't help himself with late books and the publishers started looking for new editors. Bill DuBay claims they approached him about taking it over; but, as he was married to Buckler's sister, he declined, though offered to edit books that Buckler wasn't. Eventually, Buckler was out and Robin Snyder took over. Just before this, Archie dropped the Red Circle name and went with the Archie Adventure Series masthead, feeling they had greater name recognition in comics and on newsstands. It didn't help. By the end of 1985 the Red Circle experiment was over.
That seemed to be the end of things, as Archie concentrated on producing Archie comics, to what appeared to be a dwindling audience, as newsstands continued to dry up. Towards the end of the decade, they tried to liven up there books by giving Jughead a new little sister and they contemplated re-entering the superhero world, after seeing how Crisis on Infinite Earths and Secret Wars had revitalized DC and Marvel, as well as the darker, grittier takes on batman and daredevil, provided by Frank Miller (and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons on Watchmen). Next, we will look at the Archie superhero line that almost was, a grim and gritty take on some of their old heroes, from some of the top names in superhero comics, at DC and Marvel. Come on back for the story of Spectrum Comics!