Let's Go On A Crusade -A Mighty Crusade! (updated)

Right, now before anyone thinks I'm going on some holy crusade let me tell you I am not....not after last time. Honestly, a six day war. Sheesh.

I am referring to The Mighty Crusaders. The gang originally appeared in Fly-Man No. 31, #32 and No. 33 from Archie Comics -or as it re-labelled its adventure line, Mighty Comics.  The team must have attracted some attention because they soon got their own title, The Mighty Crusaders in 1965.

The series was written by none other than Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel but, sadly, the series only lasted seven issues before being cancelled -having only run from November, 1965 – November, 1966. Apart from Siegel there were Paul Reinman (who also worked as inker on Marvels The Mighty Avengers) and Mike Sekowsky (hey -he worked on the original Justice League of America for DC). Reinman also did some of the inking alongside Joe Giella (who inked Fawcett's Captain Marvel) -these were all Golden Age creators.

And in case you need a Who Is Who -I point out here that I've collected these photos over the years so have no idea who took them but (c) where-ever it applies.

Above: Jerry Siegel


Below: Mike Sekowsky below with a model -Joyce Miller

Below: Joe Giella

 

And...Paul Reinman (1964?)

The team core consisted of the Simon & Kirby created character, The Fly who first appeared in The Double Life of Private Strong No. 1., June, 1959. Then there was The Jaguar who appeared as a back-up feature in a number of Archie titles before appearing in 15 issues of The Adventures of the Jaguar, 1961. Of course, there was the original star-spangled patriotic hero The Shield. But Joe Higgins was not the original Shield (looong story) who appeared Pep Comics no. 1, 1940 (his Silver Age debut was in Fly Man no. 31).

Now, the Comet seemed to have a rather "odd" costume but this was a revamp of the original (again a looong story) who first appeared in Pep Comics No. 1 in January 1940. Then there was the cop with a mask -Black Hood (you guessed there is another very long story to this, right?) who first appeared in Top Notch Comics No.9, October, 1940. And, of course, there had to be a female since the Avengers had The Wasp and the JLA had Wonder Woman so, following her debut in The Adventures Of The Fly, No. 13...Flygirl.

This was the time of "high camp" comics, thanks to the 1960s Batman TV series and Don Markstein wrote that the stories touched on all the comic cliches of that time and of Siegel's writing he says that it was "hokey rendition of Stan Lee." 

In fact, they were rather fun and introduced me to characters I had not seen before. I knew about Archie Comics but just the humour stuff.

You see, I've already posted this story but as it seems to be lost on CBO I'll re-post it here as it tells you WHY I love these characters!

THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS –Too Many Super Heroes?

My first introduction to Mighty Comics and its characters came while purchasing the black and white reprints of Alan Class such as SUSPENSE. However, around 1971 I walked into a bookseller that also stocked back issue comics -Bristol Book Centre, run by a very strange American woman who had been involved in classical music (I think a singer). 

It was in one box that I found MIGHTY CRUSADERS #4 [April,1966].This comic really hit my button! There were heroes I had never seen or heard of before such as MR JUSTICE, FIREBALL, INFERNO and FIREFLY, BLACK JACK and my all time image favourite: The FOX! Twenty-one heroes, plus two former heroes-turned-villains: HANGMAN and The WIZARD [a cheat here since the Golden Age goody WIZARD turned up at the end to defeat his future evil counterpart!].

Yes, it was "Jerry Ess" (Siegel) writing but I still enjoy the comic and only now does it read rather inane in places. "Paul Are" did the art chores and I must admit that Are and Reinman have come in for a great deal of stick over the years but they did the job! I love their stuff and it was only in 2004 that I got a copy of MIGHTY CRUSADERS #4 to replace the one destroyed years before.

Someone, I am sure, will correct me if I am wrong, but the internal squabbling and fighting of the Crusaders pre-empted the Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch AVENGERS team? I know I kept thinking “why can’t they just work together?” but it was still enjoyable –like squabbling kids in the age group the comics were aimed at! It was like your gang, friends but fights breaking out amongst the members.

There was more, though; one thing that always sticks in my mind is the difficulty two of the characters had in private. BILL HIGGINS, aka THE SHIELD, had to constantly get fired for fouling up haircuts and more so that he could get into costume and away –in this aptly titled “TOO MANY SUPER HEROES”, Bill is a removal man who has to fumble and smash a mirror. I always felt sorry for him.

Then there was JOHN RAYMOND, aka THE WEB. Poor John, his wife was somewhat of a nagger but also highly strung. John had to constantly slip away from Rosie, a woman he dearly loved, and leave the dishes to return to adventuring.

Okay, the story was a series of in-fights but there were the villains. I was glad to see the HANGMAN become a hero again in the 1980s Red Circle run. However, his team up with the now villainous WIZARD was interesting. That, at the end of this story,ROY THE MIGHTY BOY appears from the past, followed by the Golden Age WIZARD was a very nice touch indeed.The splash page to Part Three shows a lovely use of blacks by Are and I think the reason this particular issue sticks in my memory is the story and art and the feel of the mid-1960s and the so-called “camp” hero period that ran alongside the imaginative story telling and art of Marvel Comics.

What might the MIGHTY CRUSADERS have been like had Jack Kirby been drawing or even drawing and writing the series?I also sit back and, looking at this and the other MCG titles, wonder why Archie has never tried to pull together this original series, the one of the 1980s and produce an “Essentials” style black and white book?

There are also the appearances of a more cohesive Crusaders team in ARCHIE WEIRD MYSTERIES #3 and 14. What a book that would make!!Never was there ever a gathering of super heroes in a MCG title again. Odd how time plays with your memories but I thought there were far more heroes in this issue!!

If you can get a copy of this comic- do! This is certainly one of my all-time 1960s favourites and I’m glad I managed to find a replacement copy.

That’s a little piece of the comic mind of Terry Hooper!

Nostalgia, heh?

 But the comics were soon all sold (to me). Sadly, until I was in my forties -now that really is unbelievable, isn't it? I am over forty- I had no permanent home. This meant that on one move I put my box of comics into the van -my parents (without telling me) took them off. This is all like therapy for me, okay?

 Years later, in Germany I grabbed a copy of Das Ruhmreiche Star Team (below) but never got to read it as someone threw it out with rubbish while I was out working one  day. No respect.

 


Years passed. The boy grew into an angry moustachioed young man. And with my young brother, Mike, in tow, we campily walked (it was the 1980s now) into Forever People in Park Street, Bristol -where the famous Dilworth/Andrew Hope incident was to take place.

Looking around I saw something I could not believe....Mighty Crusaders no.1 -a NEW Mighty Crusaders No. 1 (this was back when there were not 10-15 "new number ones" a year).  And Blue Ribbon with The Fly....Mr Justice.....ooooooooooooooooooh.

Anyway, after being revived, Mike led me to a bench where I just raced through the books. I loved them. Not campy but good, serious stories and characterisation --and it all seemed to continue on from the 1960s series.  The Brain Emperor...Hangman -back as a hero this time. 

You see, Archie had revived its adventure line as Red Circle Comics line in 1983. The great Rich Buckler (creator of Deathlock) was now the writer and penciller on the first issue, though as I later learnt,  a contractual dispute between Buckler and DC Comics saw the publication of the first issue being delayed.  And Buckler had recruited Cary Burkett to write several issues of the Mighty Crusaders. The result was a fantastic read -and it still is.  Then, WFT????

 

Issue No. 11 was like a punch to the solar plexus.  Rich Margopoulos was the writer. Alan Kupperberg and Frank Giacoia were the art team. It was competent enough but seems rushed. What the hell -one "iffy" issue.  Then...issue 12. The cover should have warned me -the art was just not what it used to be. Then..No. 13. I wanted to blind myself. That was to be the last issue and I only wish it had ended with No. 10 or 11.

And the cancellation came with issue No.13, cover dated September, 1985.

Above: Rich Buckler (photo (c)  Luigi Nove)

Below: Cary Burkett at Witf radio studio (c)Witf/Burkett
http://www.witf.org/smart-talk/2013/10/rst-comic-book-superheroes-superman-and-cary-burkett.php




Now this was all before the internet so we had no real "skinny"/skuttlebut (as we say on the street) as to what was going on. What had happened??

Then came nothing.

 

Unbelievably, in 1992, Archie licensed the characters to DC Comics who relaunched the team as The Crusaders, aiming the comic at younger readers as part of its !Impact! line and the series lasted eight issues: May to December, 1992.

The first issue was written by Mark Waid and Brian Augustyn and simply was NOT the Crusaders. The series -the line of titles under Impact Comics were, as I've mentioned, aimed at younger readers. And DC Comics even attempted to sell the Impact Comics titles through US  news-stands in an attempt to expand the potential market. Grab every red cent. Or that had been the plan but due to internal conflicts, this distribution never happened and the imprint eventually -can you believe it?- collapsed due to quite poor sales.
 
The last issue of DCs Crusaders series was issue No. 8, December 1992.

I sighed. I still have no idea what Archie Comics was thinking -was it just grab the DC money and leave it at that? And DC...I would ask WHY they needed to grab The Crusaders when they had sufficient numbers of characters that had not been seen for years that qualified to entertain younger readers.

 

 So, DC lost out. Characters back to Archie Comics -or that was the previously referred to "skinny" on the comic street.

In 2000 Archie Comics started reviving its characters but mainly as guests in Archie Weird Mysteries.


 Want some details? Okay:

Archie's Weird Mysteries #3
April 2000
cover by Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski
Mighty Crusaders in "A Mighty Weird Crusade"
(w) Paul Castiglia (a) Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski

Archie's Weird Mysteries #14
August 2001
cover by Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski
Mighty Crusaders in "The Return of the Mighty Crusaders"
(w) Paul Castiglia (a) Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski

One appearance I missed was in....

Witch Vol 2 #30

- See more at: http://digital.archiecomics.com/series_comic_details.php?product_id=com.iversecomics.archie.comics.sabrina.the.teenage.witch.vol.2.thirty.03082013#sthash.FIp0Og86.dpuf

Sabrina #30 volume 2
May 2002
cover by Dave Manak & Jon D'Agostino
Jaguar in "It's in the Jag"
(w) Mike Gallagher (a) Dave Manak & Jon D'Agostino
Harvey in "Your Papers, Please!"
(w) Mike Gallagher (a) Dave Manak & Jon D'Agostino

Aaaaaand...

 The Shield: America's 1st Patriotic Comic Book Hero trade paperback
Setember 2002
cover by Stephanie & Mark Heike
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Pep Comics #1 (1/40)
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Pep Comics #2 (2/40)
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Pep Comics #3 (4/40)
Shield in "untitled"
(w) Irv Novick (a) Irv Novick & Harry Shorten
reprinted from Pep Comics #4 (5/40)
Shield in "untitled"
(w) Irv Novick (a) Irv Novick & Harry Shorten
reprinted from Pep Comics #5 (6/40)
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Shield-Wizard #1 (summer 1940)
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Shield-Wizard #1 (summer 1940)
Shield in "untitled"
(w/a) Irv Novick
reprinted from Shield-Wizard #1 (summer 1940)

Archie & Friends and the Shield ashcan
October 2002
cover by Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski
Shield in "Celluloid Heroes!"
(w) Paul Castiglia (a) Fernando Ruiz & Rich Koslowski

Never got the Sabrina, Shield Trade or ashcan...I had hoped Archie might have sent them as "thank yous" but...

No.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Or a yell to that effect. A new Mighty Crusaders series was released by DC Comics, which assimilated the Red Circle heroes into its continuity following the Final Crisis (before the next one) series. There followed a series of one-shots which led into the two ongoing Shield and Web series. Ahem, each of which was cancelled after a run of ten issues.

Mighty Crusaders lasted seven issues. I ought to point out that in addition to the allready established Red Circle characters, DC introduced an original heroine by the name of War Eagle.  The new team consisted, this time, of the Comet, Inferno, Flygirl, The Shield, the Web, Hangman, the Fox and Jaguar.

Nice art but these -again- were not the old team.

 

    
Interestinbgly, the Mighty Crusaders served as a partial inspiration for Alan Moore's  Watchmen
series. It seems Moore had initially imagined the story as being based around the, uh, "second string heroes"  According to Moore ( (). The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore (Indispensable ed.). Khoury, George: December 2008, TwoMorrows. p. 109.)

"I wanted more average super-heroes, like the Mighty Crusaders line ... [the] original idea had started off with the dead body of the Shield being pulled out of a river somewhere."

Why waste an idea? Moore then  used this idea when he was asked to submit a pitch for a treatment of DC Comics then-newly-acquired Charlton Comics properties. The treatment was rejected -but we got Watchmen from it.

 Then, in 2012, I got a big press release from Archie Comics -one of the last things they ever sent me:

Acclaimed super hero comic book series prepares for second arc and new #1.

   

New York, NY – Red Circle Comics, the super hero imprint of comic publisher Archie Comics, is proud to launch the second arc of the groundbreaking New Crusaders series: Dark Tomorrow. New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes saw the revival of the Red Circle heroes and a fresh, exciting take on the classic franchise.

Beginning this May, the New Crusaders continue their triumphant return with New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow following their fiercest battle to date with the shocking conclusion to New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes. The digital first series successfully made the transition to print this summer and continues to build on its timeless legacy.

“This new series will introduce some new characters to the team, and some familiar faces to the Red Circle universe will be back,” teases Red Circle Executive Director of Editorial Paul Kaminski. “Dark Tomorrow will take our kids back to high school, where they begin to juggle their super hero identities with the normal trials of high school life. The 6-issue limited series format will allow us to pace out the long-form story just as writer Ian Flynn has crafted it over time, and that story is intense.”

“New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow is a fantastic first issue!” exclaims Red Circle Comics President Mike Pellerito. “Not only is it filled with suspense, mystery and intrigue, but it’s not a dream or an imaginary tale. Dark Tomorrow is a tale only the radical Red Circle would attempt! Plus, it’s still only $2.99! But in all seriousness, we couldn’t be more excited for this story to kick off and take our readers on a new journey with these characters we’ve all grown to love with a passion.”

The innovative flagship title for Red Circle Comics will now offer fans day-and-date releases of the issues either in print from their local comic shop or digitally on the Red Circle App. In addition to the ongoing storyline, The Lost Crusade stories will continue to explore the histories of the original Mighty Crusaders, filling in the gaps between the classic series up to now and featuring some of today’s top creators.

New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow #1 features the continued talents of writer Ian Flynn (Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man) and artist Alitha Martinez (Iron Man, Batgirl) with cover art by superstar artist Phil Jimenez (JLA, Infinite Crisis) and variant cover art by original New Crusaders artist Ben Bates.

As I never rated a copy of the series to review I waited until I got the collection -cheaply! It was okay. A bit cartoony but, again, the old characters never got a very good treatment.

And  if you missed out on the great 1980s run then a book for you is New Crusaders Legacy -various issues as "flashbacks"!

But the astute will note no mention of the Fly. With the !Impact! series the late Mike Parobeck excelled with his version. Archie even produced a trade collecting the Mighty Crusaders of the 1960s....

 The book is no longer published. It was with drawn as Joe Simon succeeded in winning back the rights to the character he created along with Kirby.

And if you'd like to find out more go to The Mighty Crusaders Network
http://www.mightycrusaders.net/

For me, those 1960s comics were only ever exceeded by the 1980s run. Everything after that is sort of blurred but let's see what Archie comes up with for the super team next!