Impact Comics

Impact Comics was an imprint of DC Comics that was aimed at younger audiences. It was begun in 1991 and ended by 1993. (The initial "I" in the logo looked like an exclamation point, but the name of the imprint was not actually !mpact.)

Its titles featured the adventures of altered versions of superheroes licensed from Archie Comics including the Fly, the Comet, the Shield, the Jaguar, the Web, and the Black Hood. Changes included making the new Jaguar a woman and making the Web an organization instead of a solo hero. This was a second attempt to revive the old Archie heroes, the other one being the Red Circle line of comics in the early 1980s.

In an effort to reach out to kids who were not aware of the direct market system, DC Comics attempted to sell Impact Comics titles through newsstands, however that never happened. The imprint eventually collapsed due to poor sales. A final series The Crucible was initially intended to relaunch the line, but instead served as its finale. Since then, Archie Comics has used some of their superheroes in cameo roles, and aside from publishing some trade paperback reprint collections, the company has yet to utilize them in any significant way, relicensing them to DC in 2008.

Characters

 * American Crusaders (Original Shield, Captain Commando, Firefly, Doc Strong, and Black Witch) [50s superhero team]
 * American Shield
 * Black Hoods
 * Black Jack
 * Black Witch
 * Bob Phantom
 * Captain Commando
 * Comet
 * Crusaders (Shield, Fly, Comet, Jaguar, Fireball, and The Web)
 * Doc Strong
 * Dusty (sidekick of Original Shield)
 * Fireball
 * Firefly
 * The Fly
 * Fox
 * Hangman
 * Jaguar
 * Original Shield
 * Shield (Joe Higgins)
 * Shield (Michael Barnes)
 * Shield Kid
 * Steel Sterling
 * The Web (now a group)