Super-Powered Comics: J. Michael Straczynski's Red Circle

I hyped up DC’s The Red Circle a few months back. Well, August brought us the J. Michael Straczynski-pinned series of one-shots in case you were already unaware. Apparently a lot of people were, as the sales on the books were so-so at best. It’s a shame more people aren’t interested in trying out these new characters, but the format for their release honestly only encourages people familiar with the characters’s previous incarnations any chance of interest. DC did nothing to market these at all, and that is a damn shame. Even a small spot in the current Blackest Night crossover might have helped, but as I surmised when DC licensed these characters along with the Milestone line, they have no plans of using their licensed characters in anything that will potentially be reprinted again and again and again.

But I am here to review the four new takes on the old Archie heroes, and that is what I will do. Make your own judgments about DC’s handling of the license, but try not to let that keep you from buying any book you want, including these titles.

The line opened with The Hangman. With pencils by the criminally underrated Tom Derenick and inks by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz, the art shines through. The character of the Hangman definitely has similar themes to other mystical immortals. I can best describe him as a cross of the Spectre and El Diablo, but with a genuine secret identity. Of all the characters, he has the most potential as the initial four stories end.

Inferno came next with art by Sword of Dracula’s Greg Scott. A lot has been made by Inferno’s fiery alter ego resembling Dan Didio. Inferno fills the standard John Doe/cypher character slot. His past is a mystery to everyone, including himself; he doesn’t know the origin of his powers; or even understand his transformations. JMS tweaks the formula a bit, but the initial chapter is quite predictable. He does have a brief and somewhat entertaining battle with the previous week’s star, but it does more to show how intriguing a character Hangman could be.

The Web opens week 3, with art by Roger Robinson (of Prototype and Azrael fame) and Hilary Barta. Here we get a rather large digression from the original concept. Now The Web is a rich heir with too much time on his hands. To prove to himself he can do good, he dons a costume and sets out to answer calls from help off the internet. The concept works better than I expected, even though I think JMS shoehorns a bit of tragedy in to the story to give it more of a Spider-Man meets Batman origin. The Web has the potential to either be great or an absolute mess. It will be interesting to see where the ongoing ends up.

The Red Circle rounds out with The Shield. The utterly out of place art team of Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens provide the story’s art. A survivor of a bomb blast in Afghanistan gets an experimental exo-skeleton and becomes the military’s first on-call hero. The book runs to the serious and the cartoonish stylings of McDaniel distract from what could otherwise be a solid political action thriller. JMS does more to hint at the backstory of the Shield than any other character, which is unfortunate...

as with last week’s The Shield #1, most of those subplots are nowhere to be seen. Instead we get a rather dull trip in to post-52 Bialya which seems less of a story than a set-up for a guest shot by DC’s other new military hero: Magog. Hopefully, Eric Trautmann can bring a little more to the story with subsequent chapters. I will say the art team of Marco Rudy and Mick Gray are far and away more suited for this character than McDaniel and Owens.

The backup featuring Inferno gives us a little bit more about the character, but it only serves as a set-up to a repeat from his one-shot, only this time he fights Green Arrow instead of Hangman. Greg Scott remains solid on the art, and Brandon Jerwa seems to have the seeds of a decent opening story arc. I just wonder if a co-feature is the best way to deal with a character that clearly has the longest story drive of these four heroes.

The Web #1 debuts later this month, and I am sure I will be back with a review of that when it is out. FOr now, I recommend The Red Circle but suggest you can take a pass on The Shield #1. Let’s hope later issues show some improvement, as I do not want to see the Red Circle heroes go the way of the late, lamented Impact Comics.

Super-Powered Web: They're Baaaaack!

A grand theme of this year’s San Diego Comicon seems to be the return of several great old school characters to the comics fold. Who am I talking about?


Well the biggest news of the con so far is probably the acquisition of this fella by Marvel Comics. That’s right. Marvel Comics has bought Marvelman (better known to American fans as Miracleman) outright from creator Mick Anglo. No one is quite willing to say what plans they have for the character, but considering modern Marvel’s working relationship with Neil Gaiman, methinks they will give us a conclusion to the classic series. Hopefully they will give us reprints of both the Gaiman/Buckingham and the Alan Moore issues as well.


DC has made its own deal with the new owners of the THUNDER Agents license. The classic Tower heroes will join the Milestone and Archie/Red Circle heroes as part of the ever expanding DC Universe. I am not sure I am in love with the costume redesigns, and I sure as hell want to know where Noman is, but I cannot help but feel excited that one of the best teams in comics is finally back. And sans the terrible remake attempt that was canned by DC a few years ago after problems with the previous rights owners. I have no clue how The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves will interact with the current UN peacekeeping body Checkmate, but I suppose we will all have to wait and see on that one.


Finally, Dark Horse has acquired the rights to publish new books based on the classic Gold Key characters, such as Dr. Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok, and Mighty Samson. You might recognize those first three names from the Valiant comics of the nineties. So did Dark Horse, as they have hired Valiant creator Jim Shooter as the man to bring the new line of titles to life. This one doesn’t even come with a fancy image (hence the old Gold Key cover), so we will have to see when they get published the changes Shooter and co. will make.

The real question is whether the market can support these books. I hope the answer is yes, because a hardcore fan of the THUNDER Agents like myself has been waiting since childhood to see these characters return. Good luck on all of these, guys, and once again I think the statement has been proven: Everything old is new again.

Super-Powered Web: The Red Circle redux

I wrote about these characters just a few days ago, but the fine folks at the DCU Blog, The Source, have more up on the Red Circle books here, including art teams. Above you can see another image of the Web from the series. We can look forward to some great art with Tom Derenick teaming with Bill Sienkiewicz on Hangman, Greg Scott on Inferno, former Ultraverse and Azrael artist Roger Robinson on The Web, and the always amazing Scott McDaniel on The Shield. Sounds like some winning art for some winning titles.

And courtesy of Comic Book Resources here are the solicits for the four titles!

THE RED CIRCLE

J. Michael Straczynski dives into the DC Universe at last – and he’s bringing four of the finest heroes of the Golden and Silver Ages with him! Completely reimagined for the modern world from their original appearances in Archie/MLJ publications, these four heroes will show you a side of the DC Universe you’ve never seen before! Arriving weekly throughout the month of August, these specials thrust four amazing new characters into the heart of the DC story!

THE RED CIRCLE: THE HANGMAN #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Tom Derenick & Bill Sienkiewicz
Cover by Jesus Saiz
The Civil War claimed many lives…but one of those lives still hasn’t ended! Union doctor Robert Dickering found himself on the wrong side of the battle lines, and despite his heroic treatment of a fallen enemy soldier, he also found himself on the wrong end of a noose! But a shadowy power stepped forth in the twilit moments between life and death and offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse: to forever roam the Earth, saving the lives of innocents condemned like himself – or hastening the deaths of the guilty! But in taking the seemingly righteous mission of the Hangman, has he accepted God’s work? Or has he become the vengeful fist of the Devil himself? Featuring art by Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz, the acclaimed team behind REIGN IN HELL!
On sale August 5 • 32 pg, one shot, FC, $2.99 US

THE RED CIRCLE: INFERNO #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Greg Scott
Cover by Jesus Saiz
The mysterious stranger was brought into the hospital with one name on his lips: “Frank Verrano.” He has no memory of who he was, where he came from, or how he could possibly be the only survivor of a bombing attack on a cruise liner that killed hundreds of people. But as deep as that mystery runs, a violent attack on the hospital opens a deeper one. How can this man burst into flames…and survive? And why does the man who stands in those flames, the man know as the Inferno, look nothing like the one who stood in his place just seconds before? Blaze into this thrilling issue featuring art by Greg Scott (GOTHAM CENTRAL)!
On sale August 12 • 32 pg, one shot, FC, $2.99 US

THE RED CIRCLE: THE WEB #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Roger Robinson & Hilary Barta
Cover by Jesus Saiz
Billionaire John Raymond has it all – fame, fortune, and a brilliant mind! He also has a brother with the one trait John lacks: compassion. No matter how relentlessly awe-inspiring John’s achievements get, it’s his brother who’s always seen as the hero. So John sets out to upstage his brother one more time. He’ll show the world just how much heroism money can buy as the amazing (and suspiciously well-equipped) Web. But when a dark fate arrives for his brother, John learns first-hand what a hero leaves on the line, and that there are worse losses than the ones that hit your checkbook! Featuring art by Roger Robinson (THE BRAVE & THE BOLD, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS)!
On sale August 19 • 32 pg, one shot, FC, $2.99 US

THE RED CIRCLE: THE SHIELD #1
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens
Cover by Jesus Saiz
Lieutenant Joe Higgins was dying in the dirt of a battlefield in Afghanistan when they whisked him away to a top-secret facility and saved his life with nanotechnology so experimental they couldn’t dare to use it on a living man. Now Higgins has been enlisted to a whole new mission – to be the public face of the American fighting man as the patriotic Shield! But today’s grueling military battles test the limits of patriotism and the limits of the technology that keeps him alive. And the shocking secret behind that technology may be too much for his bullet-riddled heart to bear. Featuring art from Marco Rudy (FINAL CRISIS)!
On sale August 26 • 32 pg, one shot, FC, $2.99 US

Super-Powered Web: The Red Circle

I mentioned DC’s new blog, The Source yesterday and it has been a font of interesting preview images over the last few weeks, but none have interested me more than the images from the upcoming Red Circle project. For those who don’t know, this project will revive a whole bunch of defunct Archie (back when it was still called MLJ) superheroes. And I for one am a huge fan of the characters from Archie’s superhero line. One of the first line of books I really tried to collect was the Impact line that DC produced in the early nineties. They felt like characters aimed straight at tween readers like myself, modern despite a sixty year history behind some of them. I was more than devastated when the line discontinued less than two years later. Outside a couple appearances in Archie’s Weird Mysteries, the characters have remained dormant for nearly twenty years until now. The blog gave us images to look at of the revamped characters all designed by J.G. Jones (of Final Crisis and the far superior Shi: Black, White, and Red fame) and drawn for the J. Michael Straczynski-penned series by Jesus Saiz. My thoughts on the initial four characters:


Not much can be said about the redesigned Shield. The costume was pretty iconic from the get-go, and neither artist did much to tweak it. Gone is the armored look of the Impact version. Hopefully the anti-military storytelling of that version will be gone as well. It just didn’t hold true to every previous version of the character.


I am not overly familiar with the Silver Age version of the Web other than a few reprints of Fly stories that gave little detail about the character. His costume was pretty dated however, and this redesign integrates the color scheme and style while updating it to a more modern look. I still agree with the Impact Comics concept for the series better though, as The Web works better as a organization name than an individual hero.


I think the Hangman is probably the weakest redesign. While the late 40’s Hangman had far too generic a superhero costume for the name, I think this look goes too far in the other direction. He looks like an actual hangman with a cape added on. Not a lot of innovation there, but maybe I am just partial to the Impact version.


I cannot really comment much on the redesign of Inferno. A golden age character with no silver age or Impact era variation that I can find, he does definitely look like he might fit in to the reformed villain concept of the original. I would have preferred Fireball, the member of the Crusaders with a just plain awesome costume.

So while I am wary of where The Red Circle is going to take some of my favorite heroes, I am definitely looking forward to its premiere later this year. Hopefully this time the Archie/MLJ heroes can stick around a whole lot longer!