History
MLJ Comics was named after its three creators first initials: Morris Coyne, Louis Silberkleit and John Goldwater. It is also known as Archie Comics/Red Circle et al.
During the superhero boom of the 1940s, MLJ produced various titles featuring their own superheroes, including the first patriotic-themed superhero The Shield and an early "magic ring" hero, The Fly.
During the 1960s, the MLJ heroes were made into a team called The Mighty Crusaders.
Archie Comics tried reviving the heroes over the years, with varying degrees of success. In the 1970s and 80s, they created the imprint Red Circle Comics to publish non-Archie characters, such as their superheroes.
By September 1985, Archie Comics discontinued the Red Circle titles due to expenses.
In 1991, the Red Circle superheroes were licensed by DC for their Impact comic line.
In 2008, it was announced that the characters would be introduced in the pages of Brave and the Bold (volume 3) as part of the DC Universe. This never came to be.
Their first introduction as New Earth citizens occurred in October 2009 when DC published The Red Circle — four one-shots with each issue spotlighting on a newly, revamped DC version of a MLJ/Red Circle superhero. The one-shots featured: The Hangman, Inferno, The Shield and The Web.
The "Mighty" Characters
The Mighty Crusaders
- The Mighty Crusaders (1983)
Other MLJ Characters
See Also
- Pages related to MLJ Comics
- MLJ Comics Characters
Notes
Trivia
- Before being persuaded by Dick Giordano to use the Charlton Comics characters, Alan Moore originally intended to use the MLJ characters in his work "Watchmen."
Links and References
- The ARCHIE Comics "Mighty Crusaders" Super-Hero Characters of the 1960's by Unca Cheeks
- Toonopedia entry on MLJ characters
- "Archie Comics" at Wikipedia
- "ArchieComics.com" - Official Website
- Mighty Crusaders Network
- Who's Who in the Mighty Crusaders
- J.G. Jones - Redesigning the Red Circle at Newsarama April 23, 2009
- Completing the Red Circle: Talking to JMS at Newsarama April 29, 2009
| Red Circle | |
|---|---|
| Impact Comics | Black Hood • Comet • Crucible • Crusaders • Fly • Impact Winter Special • Jaguar • Legend of the Shield • Web • Who's Who |
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 This company is or was an Independent Publisher, and published its own comics. It may have since then become defunct, or been bought by another company. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Publishers category. |