sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bill DuBay, Black Hood, Cary Burkett, Charles Biro, Comet (Archie Comics), Comet (Impact Comics)

THE

COMPANION

by Paul Castiglia The Complete History & Rik Offenberger of Comics’ Super-Heroes!

from THE GOLDEN AGE…

through the silver age…

into the 1980s…

up to the present day! Foreword Table of Contents by Paul Castiglia ...... 7 Introduction by Rik Offenberger...... 9 The Mighty Heroes of MLJ ...... 10 Chapter 1: MLJ Heroes in the 1930s and ’40s Publisher Profile: MLJ Comics...... 12 All The Way With MLJ! The Saga of the Super-Heroes who Paved the Way for Archie...... 15 Interview with ...... 00 The Black Hits the Airwaves...... 00 A Brief History of Canada’s Golden Age ...... 00 Chapter 2: Mighty Comics in the 1950s and 1960s Those Mighty, : The Rise And Fall— And Rise And Fall And Rise—of Archie’s 1960s Super-Hero Group...... 00 High-Camp Superheroes Invade Your Local Book Store!...... 00 The Mighty Comics Super-Heroes Board Game...... 00 ’s Forgotten Chapter...... 00 Chapter 3: The ’70s Red Circle Comics Group Sorcery Supreme! The Shortlived but Glorious Red Circle...... 00 Interview...... 00 Chapter 4: Red Circle in the 1980s The Red Circle Years...... 00 Interview...... 00 Cary Burkett Interview...... 00 Interview...... 00 Bill DuBay Interview...... 00 Stan Timmons Interview ...... 00 in Archie’s Henhouse: Toth’s Edgy Take on the MLJ Hero ...... 00 at Archie: a Brief History ...... 00 Chapter 5: The Ill-Fated Spectrum Comics Line The Ill-Fated Spectrum Line...... 00 Kelly Jones Interview...... 00 Mark Ellis Interview...... 00 Jim Valentino Interview...... 00 Steve Englehart charts the ’s course...... 00 Chapter 4: !mpact Comics in the 1990s !mpact Comics: An essay...... 00 !mpact Comics Character Stats...... 00 Brian Augustyn Interview...... 00 Interview...... 00 Michael Uslan Interview...... 00 Sidebar: The Mighty Crusaders Make a Digital Comeback (of sorts)...... 00 Chapter 5: Archie revivals and DC integration in the 2000s The Mighty Crusaders Meet Archie & Friends!...... 00 Paul Castiglia Interview...... 00 MLJ at DC again (2009-2010)...... 00 Rachel Gluckstern Interview...... 00 Marco Rudy Interview...... 00 John Rozum Interview...... 00 Eric Trautmann Interview...... 00 Interview...... 00 Tom Derenick Interview...... 00 Chapter 6 “Dark Circle” and MLJ Today Alex Segura Interview...... 00 Collecting MLJ: An Interview with Jeffrey C. Vaughn...... 00 Chapter 7 The Characters Spotlight on The My Brother the Shield or Two, Two Shields in One...... 00 Spotlight on The Fly A Capsule History Of The Fly—And His Awesome Offspring...... 00 The Fly Wings His Way To France.. And Becomes A Mosquito!...... 00 Fly on the Wall by ...... 00 The MLJ Comics Super-Hero Index (1939-1948)...... 00 A Skeleton Key To The Golden Age Of What Became Archie Comic Publications, Inc. by Michelle Nolan...... 00 The MLJ Comics Super-Hero Index (1949-present)...... 00 Sidebar: Cameo and guest appearances of the MLJ heroes in Archie comics...... 00 Additional Resources...... 00 THE : Zoologist Ralph Hardy, friend to all animals, picks up a mysterious jaguar belt left by the ancients and transforms into The Jaguar -- complete with super- heightened animal powers!

THE SHIELD: Chemist Joe Higgins devoted his life to fighting evil after the murder of his father by the diabolical Eraser. Donning a patriotic costume, this G-Man has become an extraordinary hero!

THE : An experimental substance gives young scientist John Dickering powers beyond belief—including the power of flight! He soon decides to use his newfound powers in the fight for justice!

THE FLY: Attorney Tommy Troy, using the powers of the magic ring given to him by Turan, emissary of the extraterrestrial Fly People, transforms into the Fly. He possesses the strength of 100 men, has the ability to see in all directions and is endowed with super quick insect reflexes—making him a super of justice!

10 THE MLJ COMPANION Chapter MLJ Heroes in the 1One 1930s and 1940s Archie Comics put out a whole slew of super-hero characters beginning in their very first comic publication,Blue Ribbon Comics #1, way back in November 1939. Other super-hero titles they published during the 1940s included , Jackpot Comics, Comics, Shield- Comics, and even —which before Archie came along in issue #22, was home to the first-ever patriotic super-hero, The Shield. Publisher Profile: MLJ Comics by Rik Offenberger left that company and it was owned solely by Silberkleit and Coyne. [Editor’s Note: The following original- MLJ Comics Index Columbia was one of the last pulp ly appeared in slightly different form in COMICS companies, putting out its last pulp Borderline #19 (Mar. 1, 2003).] Winter 1943-44 to Summer 1946 in the late ’50s (only Pines’ Ranch #9–#19 Romance ran longer). Maurice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater formed MLJ BLUE RIBBON COMICS JOHN L. GOLDWATER Magazines and started publishing in (BLUE RIBBON MYSTERY (Feb. 14, 1906–Feb.26, 1999) November 1939. The company name COMICS 9-18) John Goldwater grew up as an was derived from the initials of the November 1939 to March 1942 in Harlem, New York. As partners’ first names. #1–#22 a teenager, he traveled the country HANGMAN COMICS working odd jobs. Eventually return- MAURICE COYNE Spring 1942 to Fall 1943 ing to New York, he began working (Sept. 15, 1901–May 1971) #2–#8 loading magazines at the docks, Maurice Coyne had worked with before starting at Independent News. Louis Silberkleit in several publishing JACKPOT COMICS Goldwater served as editor-in-chief ventures, starting with employment Spring 1941 to Spring 1943 and co-publisher for MLJ. He was from Hugo Gernsback. Maurice #1—#9 focused primarily on the editorial end Coyne and Louis Silberkleit were PEP COMICS of the business. Goldwater was one of partners in Columbia Publishing. the founders of the Comics Magazine January 1940 to March 1987 Maurice Coyne also served as MLJ’s Association of America, and served as #1—#65 bookkeeper and chief financial officer. its president for 25 years. The CMAA SHIELD-WIZARD COMICS is best known to comics fans for its LOUIS HORACE SILBERKLEIT Summer 1940 to Spring 1944 . He was also (Nov. 17, 1900–Feb. 21, 1986) #1-#13 a national commissioner of the Louis Silberkleit had a college Anti-Defamation League. degree from St. John’s University, was SPECIAL COMICS a licensed registered pharmacist, and Winter 1941-41 All of them—Maurice Coyne, Louis also had a law degree from New York #1 Silberkleit, and John Goldwater—had Law School. Silberkleit was regard- TOP-NOTCH COMICS met when they worked at Independent ed as having an uncanny knack as a December 1939 to June 1944 News for Paul Sampliner. Sampliner, circulator and was known for setting #1–#45 along with Jack Liebowitz and Harry very tight distributions and being Donnenfeld of DC Comics, founded an extremely tough negotiator with ZIP COMICS Independent News, which was, in printers, distributors, and separators. February 1940 to Summer 1944 turn, the distribution company of DC He worked for a pulp chain in the #1–#47 Comics. Louis Silberkleit worked on late 1920s and, in the early 1930s, some publishing ventures with his Silberkleit, Martin Goodman, and Next page is a circa 1943 photo of the three founders of MLJ, a company friend Martin Goodman, who was a Maurice Coyne started Columbia name derived from the initials of the owners’ first names. From left, Mau- founder of Timely/. Publications. Martin Goodman soon rice Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John Goldwater. Note the painting.

12 THE MLJ COMPANION All The Way With MLJ! The Saga Of The Super-Heroes Who Paved The Way For Archie by Ron Goulart

[Editor’s Note: This material was originally printed, in slightly differ- ent form, in the magazine Comics Collector, in the issues for Summer and Winter 1984. Thanks to Brian K. Morris for a retyping assist.]

“Give Me An ‘M,’ Give Me An…” In 1984, the Archie Comics folks again resurrected some of their old-time super-heroes and costumed crime fighters. By way of their Red Circle line of comic books, you could once again follow the adventures of Steel Sterling, the Shield, the Black Hood, Mr. Justice, and several other heroic chaps who first set up shop forty and more years ago. I got a kick out of seeing some of my boyhood idols cavorting again and I wish Red Circle well.

The only trouble is, for someone like me who grew up follow- ing these fellows in their original Golden Age incarnations, these latter-day Mighty Crusaders are too slick and sensible. I miss those old illogical, sometimes outright wacky heroes of my youth. I miss, too, the second-banana good guys—such as Mr. Satan, Ty-Gor, the , Captain Valor, etc.—who probably won’t even get revived this time around. And I miss the eclectic look of the magazines of that long ago and more innocent age.

Let me, in the following pages, show you what I mean.

When these particular heroes first came forth, Archie hadn’t even been born and the publishers called themselves MLJ Magazines, Inc. Less formal than MGM, the company took its title from the first-name initials of its proprietors. They were Morris Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John Goldwater, and they entered the fast-grow- ing funny-book field late in 1939. The artwork and scripts for the About the only bright in the issue was “Crime on the Run,” earliest issues of the new titles were provided by the sweatshop run a lively Gang Busters sort of feature turned out by a young fellow by Harry “A” Chesler. While some gifted people worked for the en- named Jack Cole, later famed for creating . Although terprising Chesler, it doesn’t look as though he sent in his first team he favored big-foot gag cartooning, Cole was already developing an to produce material for Morris, Louis, and John. effective adventure style. He also, unlike most of the Chesler col- leagues with whom he shared the magazine, understood that comic Blue Ribbon Comics books were different from newspaper strips and pulp magazines. The MLJ line got off to a rather shaky start with the launching of Blue Ribbon Comics. The first issue had a November cover date, and its star was not a super-hero but a dog. “Rang-A-Tang,” billed as “The Wonder Dog,” was right there on the cover acting courageous, and his six-page adventure started off the issue. Rin Tin Tin, who’d made his movie debut way back in the silent days of 1916, was undoubtedly the inspiration for this less-than-scintillating feature. Most of the other strips, such as “Dan Hastings,” “Buck Stacey,” and “Burk of the Briney,” weren’t much snappier. hero At top is the cover of the very first MLJ ,Blue Ribbon Comics #1 [Nov. Hastings wasn’t even brand new, having already done his stuff in 1939] featuring the Rin Tin Tin knock-off, Rang-A-Tang, with cover art possibly by Star Comics for another company as early as two years before. Edd Ashe. Above is “Bob ” panel from Blue Ribbon #2, art by Irv Novick.

MLJ Heroes in the 1930s and 1940s 15 An Interview with Creator 1Chat Irv Novick

Conducted by John Coates

[Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted in the 1990s and it originally saw print in Comic Book Marketplace #77 (April 2000). From 1939 to 1946, Irv Novick (April 11, 1916 – October 15, 2004) worked for MLJ Comics. He was the primary artist for the super-hero comics, including the Shield, Bob Phantom, the Hangman, and Steel Sterling. Irv continued to work in comics through the 1990s, mostly for DC Comics. Primarily focusing on the , in the super-hero line he worked on , , The , Teen Titansand . Our thanks to Brian K. Morris for a retyping assist.]

“[MLJ] Was Paying More Money Than Chesler Was”

John Coates: How did you become interested in comic books? Irv Novick: Well, I graduated from the [National Academy of De- sign] in 1938 and had seen an ad in the New York Times newspaper for artists to draw comic books. Being that the industry was still in its infancy, I had never heard of a comic book, never seen one, didn’t know what it was other than it meant work. I showed them my showcard art and they hired me right away. This was with Harry Chesler’s outfit. At first, I worked in his shop but eventually moved to working freelance from my home. Working in the office was Above is a portrait of Irving Novick as young MLJ artist. Below left is the artist in 2002 pleasant, but I preferred working at my own pace, on my own time. with his wife Sylvia. Novick would pass away two years later. On the opposite page is I’ve always been a night person. I like to work at night when every- Novick’s late ’60s/early ’70s illustration rendered for Jim Steranko’s History of Comics. one else has gone to bed. I never went to bed before two o’. character. Did they have a ready-made character when you arrived? Novick: Well, they had an idea for a hero that was based on the JC: How long did you work for patriot theme. From their initial idea, I designed the costume and Harry Chesler? created his character of being a G-man. Once I had defined and Novick: A few years, I believe. At created the character, was brought in to write and the time, MLJ was buying most edit the stories. I believe The Shield was the first patriotic hero. He of the work being produced from appeared in Pep Comics. Chesler’s studio. MLJ was a pub- lishing house founded by Morris JC: You’re correct; he was the first patriotic hero. Were you at all excit- Coyne, Louis Silberkleit, and John ed or surprised when it became a hit? Goldwater. Anyway, after a while, Novick: I tell you, John, to me it was just a character and a job and Louis came to me and asked if I that was it. I tried to do it to the best of my abilities. That’s it! could work directly for them. They wanted me to work on a character JC: What was the creative process at MLJ? called The Shield. They were pay- Novick: Well, MLJ provided me with a script, and I penciled and ing more money than Chesler, so I inked it. If I wanted to change things in the story, they were always did. I think this was around 1940. open to it.

JC: Let’s talk about The Shield. You JC: While at MLJ, there were other artists of note. Let me toss out a said MLJ wanted you to work on the few names: ?

32 THE MLJ COMPANION The Archie Phenomenon America’s Teen transformed MLJ and the entire field by Jon B. Cooke As fate would have it, the appellation for kids going through puberty, though long in the making, was Let’s it: the appeal of the comics depicting coined at almost the exact moment the antics of a gang of high schoolers from the debuted in Pep Comics. Author Steven Mintz cites mythical American town of Riverdale (as idyllic in his book, Huck’s Raft: A History of American and improbable a place as Walt Disney’s “Main Childhood, “The first published use of the word Street, U.S.A.” attraction) is sex. Not the icky, teenager occurred in September 1941, when a sweaty, fumbling-in-the-backseat sex of our columnist in Popular Science Monthly remarked all-too real world, but more the foolishness and, about a young person: ‘I never knew teen-agers well, quaint hormone-driven attraction between could be so serious.’” Though rarely somber, Archie kids growing ever so slowly into adulthood amid a and his four-color Riverdale gang (at least Betty and typically middle-class rural America hamlet. The love ) first appeared—buried 49 pages into the 68- triangles, the striving to impress, the pining (with just page Pep #22 [Dec. ’41], hardly a headliner, in writer a touch of angst), the stereotypes and cliques, and overall silliness of Vic Bloom and artist Bob ’s superfluous six-pager—and the courtship “drama” of pubescent youngsters… That’s what keeps real-life teen readers made the feature a smash hit. Soon enough, the the Archie Comics’ teenage humor barreling along, now carrot-topped “America’s Typical Teen” would become the engine heading to its eighth decade, an unbroken progression of success that drove MLJ Publications, so much so that the company changed for a single comic book genre that cumulatively beats out even the its name to Archie Comic Publications less than five years hence. seemingly dominant category of super-heroes. It is safe to surmise that had it not been for their teenage humor And here’s the thing: though it was the fantastically-powered property, MLJ would not have survived the 1940s as a comic book costumed crimefighters which expanded the comics industry when publisher. The Archie formula proved bulletproof, unlike the super- Superman first lifted that coupe over his head in 1938, and besides, heroes (including MLJ’s troupe of mystery men) who were dropping perhaps, the provocativeness of Matt Baker’s and like dud bombs by the end of the Second World War, hardly six other flimsily dressed damsels, what super-heroes lacked was any years after their exploding on the scene. The rubric consisted of a overt sex appeal. Archie Andrews and company… well, they simply small cast of characters all playing their parts in mundane situations: filled a need. Teenagers, a huge portion of the comics readership, Archie, the headliner, who describes as “clean cut, well are perennially obsessed with the mating mannered, and well-meaning, but extremely impulsive and well ritual, and what better subject to distracted”; his girlfriends, the wholesome, blond girl-next-door exploit for a company cognizant Betty and her best friend, Veronica, a spoiled rich, sultry brunette; of the booms and busts of the pal Jughead, ever seeking a nap and a cheeseburger, always fleeing magazine industry? both labor and female attachment; and Reggie, the handsome, smart alecky jock with seemingly sinister intent.

Supporting cast members abound in the bucolic setting of small town America, where the kids hang out at Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe and attend Riverdale High under the tutelage of Principal Weatherbee and their teacher, , but it’s the romantic triangle (epitomized by the illustration at left) that most resonates: Archie yearns for a (relatively) indifferent Veronica and rejects the unceasing adoration of Betty. Of course, other dynamics come into play and desires can vary, but this basic template is the crux of the Archie phenomenon, resonating now for three-quarters of a century. (And do not be fooled: male readers—if not necessarily super-hero fans—have consistently comprised a significant portion of the readership of these so- called “girls’ comics.”) Many thousands of Archie comics have milked this classic love triangle, in an apparently infinite range of possibility.

52 THE MLJ COMPANION Chapter Mighty Comics in 2Two the ’50s and ’60s The Shield led off Archie’s Silver Age super-hero publications in the famous Joe Simon/ collaboration,The Double Life of Private Strong (June 1959), but the threat of a lawsuit by DC Comics (over the character’s supposed similarity to Superman) killed the title after only two issues. Archie soon published another Simon/Kirby opus,The Adventures of the Fly (August 1959), as well as Adventures of the Jaguar (Sept. 1961). By the mid-’60s, the super-heroes were back in full force in both Mighty Comics Presents and The Mighty Crusaders, which featured all of Archie’s super-hero characters teaming up for epic adventures. Those Mighty Crusaders! The Rise And Fall—And Rise And Fall And Rise— Of Archie’s 1960s Super-Hero Group by Will Murray work—they were just very simple stories of a couple of well-drawn and [Editor’s Note: This article was edited fairly new super-heroes. I never ran from a piece that originally appeared in across any of the pre-1961 issues of the magazine Comics Feature #56-57 either title, so I never suspected that it (July & July 1987).] hadn’t always been that way. Nor did I have an inkling that the figure of the Part I: Radio Comics Fly buzzing out of the magazine’s bold When I began collecting comics in the logo—it had to be bold because the title early 1960s, my allowance was a mere was so wimpy—was actually drawn by dollar per week. But comic books were no less than Jack Kirby. But I get ahead only 12 cents. It was enough to buy all the of my story. DCs—my first love—and most of the Marvels. And a smattering of lesser titles Adventures of the Fly was the older of from the Charlton, Dell, and ACG lines. the two titles—its first issue had a cover date of Aug. 1959—and my favorite of the High on my “smattering” list were the pair. Blond attorney Thomas Troy possessed unlikely pair of Adventures of the Fly and a magic ring which, when he rubbed it in Adventures of the Jaguar, products of the Archie the fashion of Aladdin and his magic lamp, Adventure line, formerly known as MLJ Com- transformed him into the heroic Fly. Clad in ics, but for some reason now calling themselves a spiffy green and yellow outfit, a buzz gun Radio Comics. I bought those two titles for hanging at his hip, and clear fly wings growing simple reasons: they were bright, colorful, and out of his shoulders, he was half-man, half-in- most importantly, between 1961 and 1964, they sect. The Fly could fly, spin hard steel cocoons were practically the only super-hero comics not around his body, and communicate with an published by DC or Marvel. obedient insect world. He also possessed the proportionate strength of an insect—a super- They were also relentlessly anonymous. No writer power analogy than went back to Superman’s credits were given, and the artist never signed his earliest days. In many respects, the Fly was an anticipation of Marvel’s Spider-Man and Ant- Idendeliquas aut quo di volor raturib uscias eos venis dest, sitem volup- Man, two characters on which Jack Kirby would ta ssequi ni inverori voluptas maio. Nequat. later claim co-creator status. Da con nos santium enes qui utestib usaessunt estestrunt occulparum fugit eost apicit ulparchil ma is doleces cipsund anisti bla cuptatentur

54 THE MLJ COMPANION Shadow were solid efforts, the work ofFly scripter Robert Ber- nstein and Jaguar artist . But, with the third issue, the character was turned inside out like a sock puppet. They took away his dark blue-black business suit and matching cloak, and handed him an ugly blue and green super-hero costume and a trick multi-pistol. Siegel, who had grown up on the Shadow’s pulp exploits and should have known better, was responsible for the re-imagining—or should we call it undoing?

Some responsibility could also be attached to the new house art- ist, . He had been working for Marvel Comics, doing short back-ups for and inking Jack Kirby’s pencils on classic Marvels like The Incredible #1 and The X-Men. No great penciler, Reinman was a pedestrian who stepped on Kirby’s pencils until the magic was, in the immortal words of Little Lulu’s Tubby, “mashed to a crisp.”

The Shadow became very boring very fast. In virtually every issue the hero fought Shiwan Khan. But even as that title was marching into oblivion, Radio Comics unexpectedly revived The Fly.

I really missed the Fly after his title was cancelled in the summer of 1964. So you can imagine my pleasure when, the following spring, the character came buzzing back.

I can still recall my initial surprise at finding issue #31 at the corner drugstore. The cover showed a weakened Fly about to be pounced on by several thugs led by the Spider, now tricked out in a weird cobwebby purple outfit. Three other super-heroes were swoop- ing to his rescue. I recognized the Black Hood and the Comet—but the latter’s costume was an ugly orange and green instead of the pristine red and white of his revival appearance. The third character

Part II—Mighty Comics Imo enis maximpor as aut mostem ut re plibus sin non perorem consequ iducimo luptae It was not the first time that the company that had once been MLJ pediciamenes arumet la cupturit acea porumquos audis adi corupta tureici dipsam que had put its super-heroes out to pasture. By 1947, they had canceled quostrum et incilia conectassit, quiatio ium fugiati umquatia nim quam lam fuga. Torrunti oditem volessitas all of their Golden Age mystery men except “The Shield” and “The Black Hood,” who hung around for another year or so in Pep Comics and the renamed Laugh Comics.

But Radio Comics was not completely defunct yet. They continued publishing their re- vival of The Shadow. Launched in 1964 to keep the Archie Adventure line going, at least in name, Radio’s Shadow was updated—a helping of James Bond, a touch of the old-time radio version of the Shadow, and a dollop—in the form of the character’s old arch-nemesis, Shiwan Khan— from the Shadow’s pulp maga- zine. His trademark slouch hat was nowhere to be seen. Out of fashion, no doubt.

The first two issues ofThe

68 THE MLJ COMPANION Writer shoe-horned 21 of his “ultra-heroes” and three ultra-villains into his aptly titled “Too Many Super Heroes” story crowding The Mighty Crusad- 1 ers #4 [Apr. 1966], an assignment that doubtless had artist Paul Reinman scouring 2 the bound MLJ Comics archives. Here’s a handy identification feature for you. 3 4 1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 5 6 7 8 10 11

12

13 9 10 11 12 14 15

16 17

18 13 14 15 16 19 20

21 22

17 18 19 20 23

24

21 22 23 24

[Spoiler Alert: The climax of The Mighty Crusaders #4 features the Golden Age Wizard as the “secret super-hero” guest star.]

Mighty Comics in the 1950s and 1960s 73 The Shadow’s Forgotten Chapter Who knows… why he was made into a super-hero? by Paul Castiglia That’s right, hethrows his voice! To change into his “secret” I.D., he does [Editor’s Note: This article appeared in nothing more than put on glasses and different form in Comic Book Marketplace remove his cape! Amazingly, this is all it #101.] takes to project the mystery man described as “America’s top secret agent” in the “U.S. The Shadow. The mere mention of his name Secret Service”! evokes many things: The classic radio show whose catchphrase—“Who knows what Also on hand are secretary Margo Lane evil lurks in the hearts of men… the Shadow and chauffeur Shrevy. The plot involves the knows!”—remains firmly ingrained in classic Shadow villain, evil Shiwan Khan, the American consciousness; the original trying to steal plans for a new, experimental magazine pulps, enthralling millions of “cold war” theme. Despite the trite story, we readers; the merchandising spawned by are treated to a James Bond-esque scene in the radio series; the movie serials and short which Cranston, trapped in his own limo, features of the 1940s; and the various gleefully informs his would-be-assassin that comic book adaptations—from the original his Rolls is equipped with a “dual set Street & Smith editions to the Marvel, of controls,” enabling him to Dark Horse, and, of course, the celebrated control the car from the back Michael Kaluta-illustrated DC issues—not seat and to knock out the to mention his encounters with Batman! driver with an electrical charge. Like all great literary figures, however, the Shadow has a little- known skeleton in his closet: From August 1964 until September In the back-up story, 1965, his course was charted by the good folks at—are you ready?— “The Eyes of the Tiger,” Archie Comics! the Shadow When you first pick up the Archie Comics’ version ofThe Shadow tackles #1 (Aug. 1964), the cover deceives you into thinking that this will some common thugs be just like the classic Street & Smith Shadow comics of the Golden attempting an insurance Age. The slouch hat, the dark cloak, and his distinctive nose are scam by holding a pen- clearly in view. Then you turn to the first page. In a story entitled light under his face so “The Shadow vs. the RXG Spymaster,” we see Lamont Cranston as that he appears -like. the Shadow: no hat, a bright blue cloak, and blonde hair astonishing The crooks think he is a us all right off the bat with the awesome power of…ventriloquism! tiger(!), and the Shadow takes advantage of their fear to knock them out. The issue is written by Bob Bernstein with art by John Rosenberger.

As if the incongruities Atesequi oditempe millupta aut qui unt maximolorro dolut officatem adi volor sed et int, of the Archie secesed quatiam quam iusciur sedi di beris quos etur? Xere pro ipsum everiatiur arum, version weren’t nestrup tiurepta sunt ulpa aspe verferro corum voluptia nis aliqui doluptat que ad

86 THE MLJ COMPANION The Red Circle 4 Heroes of the ’80s After taking a break in the 1970s (except for a brief Black Hood appearance in ’79), the heroes returned full-force in the 1980s, when Archie spun the characters off into a new line of periodicals called Red Circle Comics. The notion was for the House of Archie to claim its stake in the burgeoning direct sales market of that era, specifically appealing not just to the general reader but to the growing super-hero fan base. Leading the charge—once again—was the Mighty Crusaders, with Archie’s Silver Age characters, Lancelot Strong as the Shield and the Fly, getting their own series (as well as Golden-Agers Steel Sterling and the Comet helming their respective titles, as well as the modern- ized Black Hood) and Blue Ribbon Comics was resurrected to showcase other costumed characters. The Red Circle Years Dropping the Camp and Cornball, the MLJ Line of Super-Heroes Get Real and Gritty for the ’80s by Paul Castiglia? shops were allowed to order specific comics directly from the publishers. The most important elements The concept of the direct market—comics pub- of the system were that retailers’ orders were lishers distributing their titles through stores pre-paid and non-returnable—the retailers specializing in the sale of comic books— could chose which comic titles they wanted was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling, to sell and the quantity of each they organizer of the New York Comic Art would receive. Convention. At the time, comics were dis- persed by magazine distributors and sold to Compared to newsstand distribution, newsstands, pharmacies, and candy stores. Archie Comics owners Richard Goldwater These retailers had no choices of title, quan- and Michael Silberkleit tity, or publisher. The distributor would drop saw the new direct off the comics, and pick up the unsold copies, market system charging the retailer for the sold comics only, and as a bonanza. destroying the unsold ones. Magazine distributors The newsstand refused to deal with comic book specialty shops, distributor used book stores, or with any retailer who dealt would subtract unsold in back issues. These distributors believed comic returns from their shops would purchase used comics from their customers payments to for pennies, and then send those copies back for credit as “unsold.” The distributors had no way of knowing if a comic had been sold at full retail price to the reader and then repurchased by the shop, with the intention of getting both a sale and a full credit for the returned product.

Seuling formed Seagate Distributors as a method to get comics into the hands of collectors and enthusiasts. He made deals with Archie, DC, Marvel, and Warren to buy their comic books from a central distribution center in Sparta, Illinois. This was called the direct market distribution system, wherein specialty

Idendeliquas aut quo di volor raturib uscias eos venis dest, sitem volupta ssequi ni inverori voluptas maio. Nequat. Da con nos santium enes qui utestib usaessunt estestrunt occulparum fugit eost apicit ulparchil ma is doleces cipsund anisti bla.

100 THE MLJ COMPANION The Eve of The legendary artist got started at… Archie Comics?

Before his golden age at DC, before creating Marvel classics, even During 1960, Adams, though his talent as super-hero artist clearly before his ground-breaking Warren work and syndicated evident in that single Fly panel, enthusiastically took on ‘Archie’ gag artistry, Neal Adams, the visionary who, in the work, aping the Bob Montana style. (Ty Templeton points out, in wake of the campy Batman TV series, completely invigorated and his blog devoted to “Top Ten Reasons to Love Neal Adams,” that revitalized the super-hero genre, got his start in the field drawing… one was that the artist wasn’t afraid to take on any assignment while Archie Andrews gags…? Yep, back in 1959, the aspiring starting out, “[B]ecause it was honest work.”) Adams single- and Adams, a graduate of the School of Industrial art, was rejected by half-pagers appeared in Pep and Archie’s Joke Book, before he moved DC and gave Archie a try, where idol Jack Kirby was contributing. on to advertising and comic strip assignments.

“[At age 17] I started to do samples for Archie,” the artist shared, Many years later, in 1974, Adams produced the ten-page Black “and I left myFly samples there. A couple weeks later when I came in Hood story, “Life’s Not Like a Comic Book,” for friend and to show my ‘Archie’ samples, I noticed that the pages were still there, peer Gray Morrow, who was packaging a new title for the Red but the bottom panel was cut off of one of my pages. I said, ‘What Circle Comics Group bring a crime-story take to the character. happened?’ They said, ‘One of the artists did this transition where Unfortunately that series would remain unpublished until 1979, Tommy Troy turns into the Fly and it’s not very good. You did this reproduced at unfortunate dimensions in Archie’s Super real nice piece, so we’ll use that, if it’s ok.’ I said, ‘That’s great. That’s Hero Comics Digest Magazine #2. It would finally be terrific.’” That panel, seen above, is inThe Fly #4 [Jan. ’60]. reproduced at correct size in Blue Ribbon #8 [May ’84).

Sunte poreperitat eliam fugiame volorerro evelesectem quia venda quodi ut erition con nisti nonsedi acearum rehent acea volupta tisitat urist, ut ut et, tem inimus, simo est alia

The Red Circle Heroes of the ’80s 107 !mpact Comics 6 in the 1990s The next incarnation of the MLJ heroes was !mpact Comics, a line of comics published by DC Comics in the 1990s. Archie licensed the rights to DC and while many of their titles received critical acclaim, there were already too many comics flooding the market, so interest was curtailed. Making An !mpact Recalling those bygone days when DC Comics licensed the Archie Super-Hero Line

by Bradley S. Cobb

It was 1991. Memories of the 1980s Red Circle era were still floating around in some comic fans’ minds. Some of the more astute fans were still wondering where the Spectrum Comics line went. It was a time when X-Men and Spider-Man got brand new titles which sold way more than they should have (and is McFarlane’s art really that good?).

Mike Gold, along with Brian Augustyn and , were com- ing up with some plans. Gold, for quite some time, has been a champion of bringing in younger readers to comic books. The big three really haven’t paid all that much attention to the idea (Batman Adventures being a nota- ble exception from DC), but in 1991, the House of Superman gave it a shot.

The premise was simple: find some old characters that have some name recognition, and update them. And, while not “dumbing them down,” make them easily accessible to the eight-to-twelve year-old age group. How well it worked can be debated forever (and seeing that !mpact folded after two years, the naysayers may have a point), but it brought this read- er into comic books, and into the world of cool super-heroes.

After deciding not to go with theT.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (there were legal issues still surrounding the characters at the time), it was decided that the Mighty Crusaders would be good candidates. So, Archie Comics was approached, and the rest is history.

Ate nullenistio. Imil molupta commolu ptatium endisquo mil iunde occab idempor aut aut pa non nulloreicia velendes solorem facepuditio que latem acestem aut andelecus molupta si ducid ut lam adis nis molupta tibust, cum abo. Itate

138 THE MLJ COMPANION 7 e ffaa e of truil he !m mp lp ciact Dseuane tmCoCd o let ttics lheio neicr se exxpp ari ae, tnd he MMs biunnleilhe tagem pubn, iotaiclhe rio wthign res e moie. e cchrt Aack ab Aack e cchrt moie. y knapm ept t ch aeactrahe tivlrs he a segourh of grh at-stuesies r ap eap ancar nd ies, 2009, A ochrn e ancie a liage seneicn d rs asadeury Cthighe Mt Cthighe rs aasadeury rrs chetaelnd teactrad Drs Coo mC tm thics, uiis a nendeme “Rr d CCew icle”rid mp t.nir MLJMLLJ Goes s toto RiverdaleRi ivvererdalle The Mighty Crusader Meet Ars Arct hie & FFrriends!

ia ligtsal Cuay Pb Cuay ligtsal ia chrA ie’’ss WWeiei d MMr ies #3 (retysd AApp 2000) br n wwageil Aitn chrh ie e 1990s a  t dedend dersnd ade of tct tt he 2000s w earehe tte he mosmossily t ovecitex ovcit led ld ilr g honilr ho ig hles Mn Cthigis Chigis sadey csadeury ors ic bmo b ooic k he Mr tme foid terettasc foid tme he MMr Cthighe chsadeury Witrseactrars h pp. cteojrh s bunioctleloc t… hose wt w t’nerehose ot honhe tly cles noo wetn . Ihitnd t icne of lim a log frnignar a log of lim icne cseneic (Dmod Cics ’s !mp iact mpm! p t), tnir o lo’nsaw bnt e a lrefog l pareite oatrol neepl d up i o Atn A chro ie’s w ldro … a he hes of tgnileletw rne of tgnileletw he hes oesor vniigr’ pubs selia aicvric noune encnou- tatrop a dl sionmeio wsio Arhen chre ie’’ss ffaaavv heitro es wwore actrees laue ly ayle of Bthe sn ts itnme ts sn of Bthe ayle tnamta A: Setaminhe frred m aaoies, ivchrm e lear s! esrotis ty a “ishelabt Ctuittubssd ” ccrssadeure wenco” eirhept n ig vnitnirpes rnioctleloc vnitnirpes ig Cgatni ssadeure trotrs ties, oo nhe no-neiln ly wt h of Mtleahe LLJ/MJ Cey/RthigJ/M chrid rs cceactracle aours blld ocel me WWeb/Aeb/A cchr r sesovosrie s rotr yy,, TToo Saavve TToo orrmo wwNN the o eo eet, gnirhe s if nesadeurC escrs rsaes yy.. I a ct tneimbolso sd nrepuhe Caruta sadeurl rs . dendeic ictclee erew ictclee dendeic . fot aro im osipmn agn u, ttamitlnd iurely mp t o nah shosho t .meaot

y of pietrahe vo tg tniddA tg vo y of ppietrahe acteojry ps, end rrhhaps takiki g a cue frfrn og m AI t 2001 ttsugun Ct rsadeurhe ineruetrs Ad ie’chrn e’’ss WWeiei Mr retysd - ilnhe ot ilnhe ne WebWeb ie ppchrA pchrA- wniriaie a fereg ae ettw mptp t is no e ttargetn he ies #14. e a e wwtn uae aepps td Es csearhe d a dedeetearr seicvd ninde g nrs ieactrars chsadeurC ieactrars nrs ttn wo ohe rrldld of A achr hie frnd ieis nds vie ia tla Cl rs exexsadeurhe Becrs Jlpt iack ltnack Bombio ack JJl. ack’s so niotul : -meat up s ot rriesies i the cn bmo IF.skooic YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW,rt aavv b tel Rivack CLICKeo tadre THE rle LINK sourceo rit seame uittubsl stu tuittubse e BELOW TO ORDER THIS ArssadeurC BOOK!ie’chr: e’’ss S epu r TTee ! Asne nd it’s m ene-uch d heldee p, not ps leadety sabe bree wre bree sabe ps leadleadety tnips tg to -meahese uupsps In t. he 1990s tsuj rt to he ototescue Chehe busadeurr ars tt defealso t tto Mt etsnohe r ly 2000s, Mrnd eaa ly 2000s, Mrnd y CCthig chsadeury ceactrars bours e seseld n oee n aekaM hr scnd rais ar of Mmry wortsnoy jids, neioho fone wcrd h tites he ls ala’ wrseactraie chchrA wrseactraie ls aala’ pls aetoss orr ot, tr cn rs of cceovhe tmors heics y Eve !rsearil m es timet; sognieade rrew sognieade mes ttimet; Ames gchrhe mnaie d aaaderuesqag Md thigs y THE MLJ chsadeurC rs fofoeactrars Hrs COMPANION (eewlolar is hhtn ap ineep n sesed arevn l nex te u-meat tu cap iale tme pn of Sgahe nirabes #30 (Fn raureba y THE MLJirots COMPANION a pniudnclies documentsr of AAiag the complete Hchrr history of Archiegeewlolaie ivn ea aComics’w ca super-herooy ics) amo charactersnd known as the  “Mighty v2002). rsioeis of S wnirabn baa oseas td an inhe seetami trd ahies t Crusaders”—THE SHIELD, BLACK HOOD, STEEL STERLING, HANGMAN, MR. JUSTICE, THE FLY, and many others. It features in-depth cmoc examinationsoic nnvv of each av aniotne nd era bbs, of the characters’s of e extensive ShShnololand history: and THE otield GOLDENhend C AGEsader sadeurr (beginningrs with the saw puw Shield, the fr-npus first m ttoo lm iv sitioact-eivhe . Smocn S anirab. nd SSa tleand rm aavvel patriotic super-hero, eeactrach who mevrs ade pre-dated it iin Captain a ptnade America serao by a full year), frncueqade THE toe he um unexxpp cte - St Atouo wicfrh hea the frhein Lier p’andralnd s aatneras krs eppaidne d SILVER AGE (spotlighting those offbeat, campy Mighty Comics is- sues, and The Fly and Jaguar), aclaicitrc-nda-de THEmeiaclly BRONZE Mme AGE (with the cchrA-elvrad eesovosrie nevr An chrt, ie a pb r clotaretrpey cl tnimiar bg e Ro r frfrerembmeee Ior ancm n Red Circle teteM line, Ps and the !mpact.rishenuhe imprint published by DC glohotym yy.. H ewo eve rr,, it aapp teap tahrs vt is gialilhe etn nitet g hel lp from Comics), up to THE MODERN AGE, with its Dark Circle im- print (featuring such fan-favorites series as otno thene n e Jahr J haugan Coufselmir it b! e sosold e ae eswn?! r is “The Fox”  byt MARK of trse he WAID ociaand DEAN the HASPIEL). cu-meal iaps a pme of isian ues of Asr A chrues ie’s roso aleeaven s Sd anirab ta Jnd paugahe tovrr be e a tto nahpmiure t, Plus: Learn what “MLJ” stands for! Uncover such WWeiraritiesei as Mr the Mightyetysd rriesies Crusaders B d board oosea. td game, an and the d seetaminhe rriesies of t same nhe name me, torhe . e actactmeaic teackp-nio. wad s wale rit bet y MMn Giky hegallae r Shadow’s Peitrw short-lived Cuar careerligtsal ia as sa a wspandex-clad a n superhero! oarutaw tninepl cg tnenoo he Cct C-sadurhe aitw frrh m Dot aavv Mv .kanae Discover the ill-fated Spectrum line of comics, that was abruptly ae halted Ars due touchrnd its violentrses content! uueivnie See tnsirses where cg tncohe iaheit At ie’chrn e’’ss WWeieird the super-heroes aretysM crossed over cnihtynies, oug intold Archie, hou aapp Betty, andaep it un dlausnd . e sidly s rot. ies OI r 2002, AAeboctn tchrr umeeaie wd Diaitp moh Como mnd ic Veronica’s world! And read interviews with IRV NOVICK, DICKe AYERS,drrew aw nRICH by BUCKLER, ffaan-ffaaavv oBILL DuBAY, aitr STEVE Fistre ENGLE- Ruanret indo Biz m-mtan tna e A: inh footiburtDis trs he aar fraunnhe Hel n ggso-seaneewlolae ivn eaaw ca moy ic. HART, JIM Setam VALENTINO, sred yle.ties JIMMY PALMIOTTI, KELLEY p malpuoese nir wmoci-n oreics gee eivn n aaww y bba ry rs tileaety o JONES, MICHAEL USLAN, and others who chronicled the Mighty Crusaders’ exploits from the 1940s to today! loheit cuayr meotsl As mersme abneiotn. tovd Ce, urhe rs msadeu ade IdendeliquasBy RIK OFFENBERGER aut quo diand volor PAUL raturib CASTIGLIA uscias, with eos a veniscover bydest, sitem arhepirep l ap areap inca tes pn Hiorhe lar low gee eaeaivn aww bua wys, itt h voluptaIRV NOVICK ssequiand ni JOEinverori RUBINSTEIN voluptas. maio. Nequat. Da con nos & FchrA nds aaierie tnds Shnd tieldhe C, … orssadeurhe o n… ar melyy,, e santium enes qui utestibINCLUDES usaessunt 64 estestrunt FULL-COLOR occulparum PAGES fugit OF KEY MLJ STORIES! r setnek cooield tSh cooield r setnek s gatr e, aapp onireap n 8 of tg he 12 s prot esgay . e eost apicit ulparchil ma is doleces(288-page cipsund anisti bla.with COLOR) $31.95 • (Digital Edition) $12.95 ISBN: 978-1-60549-067-0 • SHIPS AUGUST 2016! http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_94&products_id=1251 168816 THE MLJ CCOMPANIONOMPPANIONANION