New Crusaders #1-2 (Archie Comics)
Ian Flynn (w), Ben Bates (p), Gary Martin (i), Matt Herms (c)
I've seen a lot of variations on the old MLJ superheroes in my many years as a fan, beginning with the "Mighty Crusaders" in the 1960s. I don't know if this version will meet with any more success than the others, but it's my favorite so far.
For those just coming in, Archie Comics began in the late 1930s as MLJ comics, publishing mostly superheroes in books like Blue Ribbon Comics, Pep Comics and Top-Notch Comics. Archie was introduced in 1941 (Pep Comics #22), and was so successful that he and the Riverdale gang squeezed out the superheroes, with the company renaming itself Archie Comics in 1946 or so.
Those superheroes weren't exactly lightweights, either. Among them were The Shield (a patriotic superhero that predated Captain America by more than a year), The Comet and Steel Sterling. In 1959 Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created a new Shield (usually referred to as Lancelot Strong) and The Fly (later Fly-Man, along with Fly-Girl), and The Jaguar came along two years later.
By the mid-1960s those three and many of the MLJ superheroes were revived as "The Mighty Crusaders," and played as campy as possible in reflection of the Batman TV show. When the show ended, so did Archie's "Mighty Comics" (sometimes "Radio Comics") line. It was no loss, as the books were really terrible, sometimes written by an aging Jerry Siegel writing slang he didn't understand and drawn mostly by Paul Reinman at his most uninspired.
In the early 1970s Archie launched a companion line called "Red Circle" for non-Archie suspense books, fleshed out in the early 1980s by a new revival of the MLJ characters. Rich Buckler was the driving force behind this revival, which was drawn mostly in the Neal Adams school of photo-realism. The most lasting effect of this revival is that fans now often refer to Archie's superheroes as "the Red Circle characters."
The same characters were briefly revived in the late 1980s under the "Archie Adventure Series" banner. But perhaps the most famous run for the MLJ characters was when they were leased by DC Comics and published under the "Impact!" line (1991-93), written and drawn by DC professionals but aimed at kids. DC took another stab at the characters in 2008 with another lease deal, but now they are back at Archie.
Hence New Crusaders, the latest revival, which initially launched online but is now being collected and released in print. And it's not bad.
Without spoiling too much, the first book begins with a reunion of many of the former MLJ characters, who have aged into late middle age. Accompanying the older characters to the reunion are their teenage kids and proteges, all meeting at the home of Jack Sterling (Steel Sterling, duh), who is mayor of the town of Red Circle. An old villain attacks, and one of the old gang evacuates the kids and then tells them he is going to train them to take their elders' place as The New Crusaders. The kids, who had no idea until now that their parents had been superheroes, aren't too keen on the idea. Their revolt is the subject of the second issue. Will they or won't they?
Well, I'm probably not spoiling anything by saying "of course they will." Otherwise, there'd be no series! But really, if you're a comics fan, you've read a million super-team origin stories, and could see where this was going from a mile away.
But writer Ian Flynn knows you know that, and really doesn't pretend to much suspense. Instead, he focuses on developing the personalities of his new cast, and I rather enjoyed that. One character emerges as a level-headed leader, another with a chip on his shoulder, another with crippling shyness. To my surprise, two of the teens aren't athletic in the slightest, which is a refreshing nod to reality.
Not that there aren't mysteries. Some of the kids make oblique references to relatives we haven't met, and circumstances we don't know. The fate of the original Crusaders is in doubt. And there's a lot of background alluded to that we don't know, but I kinda want to (see below).
That Flynn knows his way around an adventure story is no surprise, as he made his bones on the Sonic the Hedgehog line of books. Of equal interest is the art by Bates, with whom I'm not familiar. But his work bears a strong resemblance to that of the late Mike Parobeck, with a little manga influence thrown in. And for those (like me) who enjoyed Parobeck's work -- especially on the short-lived Justice Society title -- isn't that exactly the perfect style for an Archie superhero line? It's clear and clean and attractive, splitting the difference between too serious and too cartoony.
In summary, it's a professional outing and nice package. My only complaint was a misspelling in issue one ("hoarde") and a homophone error in issue two ("sight" for "site"). That's so unusual in professional comics it bears mention, but didn't really spoil my enjoyment.
So, yeah, I rather enjoyed New Crusaders, and I hope it succeeds. If nothing else, it's a kind of "Intro to Superheroes" that I think even girls might like, and I don't think there's anything filling that tweenage niche currently.
So that's my review. But that's not why you're all reading this, right? You're comics fans, and you're probably bubbling over with continuity questions! So, OK, let's scratch that itch:
First, the initial few pages were a fun game of Name That Hero, because Flynn introduces them all by their civilian names, and in civilian clothes. What fun! As noted, Steel Sterling was easy to pick out, and from my familiarity with the earlier versions of these characters, I was able to identify The Comet (chemist John Dickering), The Shield (Joe Higgins), The Jaguar (zoologist Ralph Hardy), Fly-Girl (retired movie star Kim Brand) and The Web (novelist John Raymond). That left unidentified Dora Sterling (Steel's wife), Thelma Dickering (journalist, and presumably Comet's wife), Rose Raymond (homemaker, and Web's wife) and retired Fire Chief Ted Tyler.
Later on, it's established that Tyler was Fireball and Rose Raymond was Pow Girl, two characters from the Golden Age with whom I have no familiarity. A Google search revealed that Dora and Thelma were the Golden Age girlfriends of Steel Sterling and The Comet, respectively.
From what I can tell, these characters really are the original MLJ characters (plus Jaguar and Fly-Girl), without any of the continuity associated with the various revivals. In fact, not even the Silver Age counts, as Mayor Sterling toasts a number of characters (both present and absent) as Mighty Crusaders, who weren't Mighty Crusaders in the 1960s. In fact, part of the Golden Age doesn't apply, because John "The Comet" Dickering died in the Golden Age! So they have a lengthy past that is yet to be documented -- presumably from their cancellation in the late 1940s to present -- but several hints are dropped. For example, Mr. Justice is dead, sacrificing himself for the others in an unspecified manner. Someone named "Paul" seems to be estranged from the group, and Kim Brand demonstrates the most antipathy (probably Paul Patton, The Fox). A "Darla" is mentioned (probably Darla "Darkling" Lang, who only appeared in the 1980s Red Circle line), as are former sidekick Dusty (Shield) and Roy (Rossman, the Super-Boy).
The kids are fairly straightforward. The Web's son Wyatt will be a new Web (and has already demonstrated "Web Vision" of sorts). The Comet's son Greg (inexplicably black, since both parents are white) will be the new Comet. The Jaguar's protege, an orphaned Hispanic girl named Ivette, will be the new Jaguar. Steel Sterling's son Johnny inherited his dad's size and strength, and will be the new Steel Sterling. Brand's daughter Kelly is slated to be the new Fly-Girl. Fireball's nephew will be the new Fireball.
Flynn also has some fun name-dropping for us older fans. As noted, the town the former Crusaders all live in is called Red Circle. A town named Riverdale is mentioned. The path to the reunion is lined with Blue Ribbons. The government disaster response team is the Military Logistics and Jurisdiction bureau (MLJ). An Agent Simmons appears, who could be the original Shield sidekick Dusty Simmons.
There are a couple of references I can't identify. One is newscaster Cassie O'Neal. Is that a character original to this series, or does she -- like virtually everyone else with a name -- have a Golden Age connection? Also, there's a talking monkey. If that rings a bell for anyone, let me know!
Replies
A coupla from-memory clarifications/expansions/corrections...
Emerkeith Davyjack said:
Emerkeith Davyjack said:
Emerkeith Davyjack said:
I slipped up on the Buckler timeline, but it's fixed now.
In one of the 60s Web stories his wife adopted the identity of Pow Girl and had an adventure with him, without revealing to him who she really was. My recollection is the 60s Web was a criminologist rather than a novelist, but that he also wrote novels may have been established somewhere.
You might be wrong about the continuity. The 60s comics featured a version of the Comet with a different costume and powers to those he originally had. The 80s revival initially used this version and shifted him back to his original powers and costume. I don’t know if an explanation of his survival of his Golden Age death was offered in the 60s, but one was in the first issue of The Comet from the 80s revival.
In the Golden Age when the Comet was killed and his brother Bob became the Hangman Bob inherited Thelma as his girlfriend. He died in the second issue of the 80s The Comet, so Thelma might be Bob’s widow rather than John’s wife, or it may be in the new series she’s supposed to have married John after her first husband’s death. In the 80s The Comet Bob and Thelma had a son, Steve, whom he was revealed to have treated violently.
Mighty Crusaders #4 (1966) featured a story in which a number of further MLJ heroes tried to join the team. This story might be the basis for some of these heroes being counted as Mighty Crusaders, but I can’t remember how their petition for membership was ultimately resolved. The GCD tells me some of the heroes returned in the next issue as members of new super-teams.
Pep Comics #1 had a comedy item called “Jocko” about a chimp who returns to a community of chimps (and other animals) “from a three year tour with the circus” and is given a contract to build a road, which he manages corruptly. The animals in this story speak and wear clothes. He wears a check suit, bow tie and derby, and might be your monkey (although as my niece once pointed out to me, chimps aren’t monkeys).
I fear you've written "Joe Siegel" rather than "Jerry". Cassie O'Neal defeats me. I suppose if she's a Golden Age character (but then wouldn't she be as old as the elder superheroes?) she needn't be from a superhero feature.
Luke Blanchard said:
Is that what that Little Nemo stuff was? I didn't know that. Another example might be the Pecos Pete story in Air Fighters Comics #1.
I know that a lot of Legionnaires are fond of DC's Impact line but my favorite version of the Mighty Crusaders is probably the Rich Buckler version from the early '80s. Thanks for mentioning it, Cap, and reviving those warm memories.