Okay - HOW MANY FLIPPING VERSIONS, ALREADY, HAVE their been of the " serious " super-heroes published by ACP have there been? I was tending to call them " the MLJ heroes, yes, evem[size=78%] including the ones who originated after the MLJ name was given up, but I saw a Wikipedia entry saying " Red Circle " was the prefered generic phrase. Which one?[/size]

Quote from: ASS-P on September 30, 2017, 07:46:05 AM
Okay - HOW MANY FLIPPING VERSIONS, ALREADY, HAVE their been of the " serious " super-heroes published by ACP have there been? I was tending to call them " the MLJ heroes, yes, evem[size=78%] including the ones who originated after the MLJ name was given up, but I saw a Wikipedia entry saying " Red Circle " was the prefered generic phrase. Which one?[/size]

The MLJ era = 1939-1948 (Pep, Zip, Top-Notch, Blue Ribbon, Jackpot. Black Hood and Shield are the last holdouts in Laugh and Pep after 1946.

"Archie Adventure Series" era = 1959-1964 Adventures of the Fly #1-30, Double Life of Pvt. Strong #1-2, Adventures of the Jaguar #1-15, The Shadow #1-3. Jaguar, Fly, and Fly-Girl also appear briefly as a regular short feature of both Laugh and Pep.

Mighty Comics Group era = 1965-1967 The Shadow #4-8, Fly-Man #31-39, The Mighty Crusaders #1-7, Mighty Comics Presents #40-50.

Red Circle (1) imprint = 1972-1974 Horror/mystery stories, no supers. Chilling Tales of Sorcery, Madhouse.

Red Circle (2) era = 1983-1985 Brief revival years of The Mighty Crusaders #1-13, plus several other heroes in their own titles. All short-lived. Final year dispenses with Red Circle imprint (originally direct-sales only) in favor of "Archie Adventure Series" corner box and newsstand distribution again.

*Spectrum Comics* (circa 1989-1990)  Intended "edgy" ACP superhero imprint which would have rebooted The Fly and The Hangman; others in various stages of treatment. Cancelled after over a year in development plus advance publicity in The Comics Buyers' Guide, when Michael Silberkleit finally sees Kelley Jones' pencilled pages for The Hangman #1, is utterly revolted, and pulls the plug on the entire project.

Impact! Comics era = 1991-1992 (licensed by DC Comics) Numerous titles, rebooted heroes. Lighter tone than current DC mainstream titles, for an intended audience a few years younger (not unlike Marvel's "Ultimate" universe, a decade later).

Red Circle (3) era = 2009-2010 (licensed by DC Comics) The Shield, The Web, Hangman, Mighty Crusaders

Red Circle (4) era = 2012-2014 Back at Archie Comics: New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes #1-6; The Fox #1-5

Dark Circle era = 2015-2017  Black Hood, The Fox, Hangman, The Shield, The Mighty Crusaders #1 (Dec. 2017)