The various Red Circle characters for DC have been flying under the radar. The Shield and The Web have not gotten the same hype as some other titles of a much lesser quality. Eric Trautmann and Brandon Jerwa have continually impressed me with their work on The Shield. Matt Sturges hopped aboard The Web and immediately improved that title. John Rozum has been doing a nice job with the Hangman back-up stories in The Web.
Needless to say, my interest was piqued when I heard the news that these four writers were going to be combining their efforts to crank out a team title starring these Red Circle characters. Mighty Crusaders #1 should be a good read. I am looking forward to finally seeing these Red Circle characters coming together into a shared story. Let’s go ahead and hit this review for Mighty Crusaders #1.
Creative Team
Writers: Matthew Sturges, Brandon Jerwa, John Rozum and Eric Trautmann
Artist: Javi Pina
Colors: Jason Wright
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: We begin with a meeting of the Global Concern in New York City. The head of the Global Concern, Doctor Zarda is enraged over the fiasco that occurred one week ago. Zarda shoots one of the members of the Board for the failure. Zarda then asks another member of the Board, Ms. Frey, to give him all the information they have about the metahumans who ruined their operation last week.
We cut to one week ago. An auction for super villains is being held by The Auctioneer, who is world-renowned for his discretion and quality of merchandise. We see the Auctioneer beginning to start the bidding on a strange metal box whose contents are unknown. The box is also nigh impossible to open. Suddenly, the Web crashes into the room.
The Web punches the Auctioneer and grabs the box. The Web then flies off with the box. We see a mysterious looking woman, who wanted to buy the box, teleport away from the scene.
We cut to the Web flying away from the scene. We see the mysterious woman teleporting behind him and following him. The Web is happy with himself for being smart enough to figure out where the Auctioneer’s secret auction was being held. Suddenly, the mysterious woman appears in front of the Web and attacks him. We learn that her name is The Persian and that she was the Global Concern’s agent that was sent to buy the metal box.
The Web and the Persian battle, with the Web finally getting the upper hand. The Persian then teleports away from the scene.
We then see The Inferno arriving on the scene along with the rest of Group Epsilon. Inferno’s commanding officer sends Inferno into the field to get the metal box from the Web. General Latham then contacts Inferno through a secret line and tells Inferno that Group Epsilon cannot come into possession of the metal box.
We cut to Inferno catching up with the Web. The two heroes square off. The Web refuses to give Inferno the metal box. Predictably, a fight ensues. While Inferno and the Web are brawling, a petty thief known as the Buzzard, swoops in and grabs the metal box. The Web grabs the Buzzard. The Buzzard shocks the Web with an electrical blast. Inferno grabs the unconscious Web from falling off the building. The Buzzard flies off with the box.
Inferno and Web make friends and realize they are on the same side. We cut to Inferno’s commanding officer from Group Epsilon yelling at Inferno for failing to get the box or the Web. Inferno’s commanding officer then sends Comet out along with Inferno to make sure that Inferno gets the job done.
We shift to the Hangman following the Buzzard. The Hangman attacks the Buzzard. Hangman gets the metal box and defeats the Buzzard. The Web, Inferno and Comet then arrive on the scene. The Hangman explains that the box was originally a safe. That it was Abraham Lincoln’s idea. It was used to contain all the strange secrets, creatures and discoveries that were found in the American West.
That in 1866, Hangman and El Diablo tracked down a scientist who was conducting strange experiments using a mystical hourglass. Hangman and Diablo forced the energy manifestation and the scientist back into the hourglass and sealed it. They then placed the Hourglass in the metal box and Diablo did something to it to make sure it couldn’t be forced open in any manner. Only the secret combination could open it.
The metal box was then buried in the National Archives. After some enemy agents tried to steal it during World War II, the box disappeared. Until now. Hangman thinks that the glass of the hourglass is broken and that it needs to be repaired before what is inside of it gets out. The Hangman then uses the secret combination to open the box. There is a huge explosion of green energy and a shadowy figure pops out of the box.
The figure screams for our heroes to kill “it.” Suddenly, a large metal robot spider comes out of the box. The metal spider stabs the figure made of shadows. Our heroes start battling with the metal spider.
We see that General Latham’s helicopter has arrived on the scene. Latham orders the Shield to join the battle. The Shield jumps out of the helicopter and attacks the giant robot spider. The Shield becomes the defacto leader of our four heroes and starts barking out orders. Our heroes combine their abilities to defeat the spider and close the metal box. The figure of shadows asks if he found the right door. The right universe. The shadowy figure then disappears.
We shift to the Shield, the Web, Inferno and Hangman meeting with General Latham. Latham tells our heroes to join his team if they want answers to what is going on. Hangman states that the metal box was built as a doorway to a place that is decidedly other. And its inhabitants are also strange and bizarre. Latham says that there are villains and terrorists who wanted this metal box for the extra-dimensional portal it holds. For conquest or to harvest more creatures like what they battled today.
Latham says the box has housed secrets like the ones contained in Project Liberty. Latham holds a large book with the name Project Liberty on its cover. Latham says that they need to find the shadowy figure because he had access to every secret in the box while he was inside of the box. Latham says that there is a conspiracy hidden with the most secret organizations in the U.S. military like Project: Shield and Group Epsilon and beyond.
Latham says that the Web, Shield, Hangman and Inferno are now all targets of the villains and terrorists who wanted the metal box. Latham gives each of the heroes a secure communications ear piece that he can use to contact them virtually anywhere on the planet. Latham says that they will use this location outside of San Francisco as their safehouse. Latham says that this will be dangerous and that they all need to stick together. Our heroes all agree to do so.
We hop back to the present day at the meeting of the Global Concern in New York. Ms. Frey tells Zarda that they do not know the identity of the man made of shadows that sprang forth from the metal box. Zarda orders for her to find the man of shadows.
We slide over to the Group Epsilon Safehouse. We see that they have the shadowy man in a clear cube prison. The leader of Group Epsilon tells the shadowy man to tell her everything that he read while in the metal box. The shadowy man keeps asking if he found the right door. The man says that he thinks he was a secret.
The leader of Group Epsilon walks away. We see her ears become pointed, her eyes flow yellow and a magical symbol appear on her forehead. She says that the door the shadowy man opened only spells trouble. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: The Mighty Crusaders #1 was an absolute blast to read. This was a great one-shot designed to get readers excited and interested in the upcoming Mighty Crusaders title coming out in July. The writers took full advantage of this opportunity to introduce these Red Circle characters to readers who were unfamiliar with them.
First, a bit about the characters who appear in this issue. In 1959, Archie Comics decided to try and publish a line of super hero comics. The characters consisted of a bunch of old Golden Age characters that Archie Comics was trying to revive. Archie Comics hired Joe Simon and Jack Kirby to head up this effort. This line of super hero comics was printed under the Archie Adventure Series banner.
With the explosion of Marvel’s super heroes in the mid 1960’s, Archie Comics hired Jerry Siegel to create a line of comics to compete with the Marvel super hero titles. The same Golden Age characters were used, but these titles came out under the Mighty Comics Group banner.
Archie Comics then continued this effort with these characters in the 1970’s and 80’s under the Red Circle imprint.
The Mighty Crusaders #1 came out in November of 1965. The original line-up consisted of The Shield, The Comet, Black Hood, The Fly and Flygirl. The characters in this issue, The Web, The Shield, Hangman, Inferno and the Comet are all Golden Age characters that Archie Comics used during the Silver Age to try and compete with Marvel and DC’s super hero titles.
The Comet was created by Jack Cole and first appeared in Pep Comics #1 in 1940. The Shield was created by Irv Novick and Harry Shorten and first appeared in Pep Comics #1 in 1940. Hangman was created by Cliff Campbell and George Storm and first appeared in Pep #17 in 1941. Inferno was created by Joe Blair and Paul Reinman and first appeared in Zip #10 in 1941. The Web was created by John Cassone and first appeared in Zip Comics #27 in 1942.
All right, enough of the history lesson. If you want more information then check out MightyCrusaders.net. This excellent website has more information about these old characters than you could imagine. Their handbook is particularly well done and incredibly detailed.
Back to the issue at hand. The writers delivered a technically well constructed read that possessed everything that a one-shot teaser issue for a new series is supposed to do. The writers properly introduced each character, gave the reader a taste for the flavor of each character’s personality as well power set.
Best of all, the writers did this in a fashion that was nicely integrated into the story. There were no long bits of exposition explaining each character. There were no boring flashbacks. Instead, the reader learned about the personalities and power of each character in a pleasantly organic fashion.
Also, the writers managed to make Mighty Crusaders #1 just as interesting to readers who have been following the Red Circle characters from the start as they did for new readers. Often, in trying to make an introductory story new reader friendly, the writer often runs the risk of boring the established readers. That is definitely not the case with Mighty Crusaders #1.
Mighty Crusaders #1 was a well paced issue. The story had an excellent flow as the writers knew just when to ease of the gas for dialogue heavy scenes and when to crank up the speed for entertaining action scenes. The scene transitions were done nicely as the writers did a fine job bringing together the various Red Circle heroes in a natural fashion.
Mighty Crusaders #1 presents the reader with a great balance of drama and action. The writers are as adept at writing humorous dialogue, rich narration as well as dishing out actions scenes that kick butt. All of the action scenes were well choreographed. Without a doubt, the writers made sure that the reader got plenty of action packed into this issue.
Mighty Crusaders #1 was also a nicely plotted issue. I enjoyed how the writers pulled all of these different characters in a logical and seamless fashion. The story moves with a clear purpose in mind. It is obvious that the writers spent plenty of time carefully planning this story and fleshing out even the smallest details.
The writers display a deft hand with their ability to juggle a large roster of characters. There are plenty of various factions that the writers put into play in this issue. We have our heroes working for Latham, we have Project: Shield, the Group Epsilon and the Global Concern. All of these various factions are competing with each other. The writers do a good job keeping the reader guessing at what each faction is plotting.
What is impressive is that despite the various competing factions and the complex plotlines, Mighty Crusaders never feels crowded or confusing. Each faction and plotline is nicely focused and the reader never feels overwhelmed or lost. The writers are able to move the various chess pieces across the board in an enjoyable manner.
What I appreciated the most is how quickly the writers set up the team in this issue. All of the necessary set-up work for a team title is performed in an economical fashion as the writers swiftly established why this team would be created, the mission statement for the team and the opening challenge that they will be facing. It seems that more often than not, writes take an entire four to six issue story arc in order to assemble the team, present their mission statement and get them moving forward. I am thrilled that Might Crusaders #1 bucks that trend.
To be sure, Mighty Crusaders #1 offers the reader a dense story. There is plenty of substance in this issue for the reader to chew on and digest. Mighty Crusaders #1 is an issue that warrants multiple reads. And that is most certainly a rarity with modern comics as decompressed and as shallow as many of them are. The reader certainly gets their money’s worth with this issue.
The main plotline involving the metal safe was interesting. I found the metal safe to be a neat concept with many possibilities. This is certainly a plot device that should allow our authors plenty of creative space to let their imaginations run wild. I liked the historical context of the metal safe as well. This served to add another layer to the story and anchor it to the “real” world. This is something that is usually done more over at Marvel than DC.
I love how the writers cast the old West as a weird land full of strange things, ideas and creatures and objects. The theme of a wild untamed nature full of unknown mysticism and spirits reminded me of how Twin Peaks dealt with the untamed nature out West. It immediately appealed to me and added a layer of the mystical into a title without making this story become a completely magic based story.
The writers deliver some great character work in this issue. I genuinely like all of these Red Circle characters. I think that the Web, Shield, Inferno and Hangman all have plenty of potential. The writers did a fine job highlighting the differences between each of these four characters. The reader gets a good sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these heroes. The writers are also able to show how these four heroes complement each other and are able to become something much great when working together versus working independently.
The writers also crank out some well crafted dialogue. Each character has their own unique external voice. My favorite dialogue bits were the Web’s lines. Even better was the Web’s internal monologue. It was fantastic. What I enjoyed was that the writers could deliver strong serious dialogue while still also being able to deliver some funny dialogue as well. The tongue in cheek humor was well placed and the story never de-evolved into Bwa-ha-ha humor.
I liked how the writers even poked fun at certain aspects of their own story. The scene where the Web and Inferno have their predictable misunderstanding and fight that eventually leads to them realizing they are on the same team is a standard issue moment that we have seen countless times in comics. The writers know that and have one of the characters mention how that scene was straight out of a children’s comic book.
I also liked how the Web ends up calling Hangman Mr. Deus Ex Machina due to the convenient nature of his mystical powers. These moments show that while the writers do deliver a story that is overall serious in tone that they never take themselves too seriously.
The great dialogue and good character work combine to create some fantastic chemistry between the four heroes in this issue. I was stunned how swiftly the writers were able to generate such great chemistry on this title. It usually takes a writer a while to generate nice chemistry between characters on a team title. That is not the case with Mighty Crusaders #1 as our character gel with each other naturally and quickly.
I also liked the various supporting characters that appear in this issue. The Auctioneer is a great character. For a minor character, he had a great look and a well defined personality.
I also loved the Persian. What a cool character. She makes for an unusual hitman as she does not like killing, but realizes that it does make her stronger. She is certainly a villain that has some depth and a personality that makes the reader attracted to her character. I hope that the writers bring the Persian back into the mix at some point.
The Buzzard was another great character. I loved the obvious connection between his codename being that of a scavenger and the fact that he is a cowardly petty criminal. The Comet provided for some good comedic relief. Comet’s line referencing Hall and Oats was great. How often to you get a Hall and Oats reference in a comic book?
The shadowy figure immediately grabbed my interest. This must be the scientist who was locked in the metal safe in 1866. Clearly, being able to travel between the different universes has fractured his mind. I am extremely curious to learn more about this character. Also, it should be neat to learn about the secrets that he gained knowledge of while sealed in the metal box. As a fan of the Multiverse, I am always attracted to a storyline that deals with multiple universes.
Mighty Crusaders #1 ended with a solid hook ending as the reader learns about a large conspiracy within Project: SHIELD and the Epsilon Group. We also have the sinister Global Concern in the mix. The fact that the leader of the Epsilon Group is actually demonic and the mysteries of the metal safe as well. The writers do a fantastic job ending this issue with multiple interesting plotlines. The reader has many questions at the end of this issue which help get the reader anxious for the next installment of the Mighty Crusaders. This issue was a fine example of how to properly hook readers on a new title and get them wanting to come back for more.
Javi Pina delivered some great looking artwork. Pina crafts some dynamic and exciting action scenes. But, Pina also did a fine job injecting plenty of emotion into the slower paced dialogue heavy scenes. The layouts are well done on this issue. Pina varies up the panel sizes and points of view with each page. All in all, Pina makes Mighty Crusaders #1 a pleasant issue to look at.
The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.
Overall: Mighty Crusaders #1 was a great read. Matthew Sturges, Brandon Jerwa, John Rozum and Eric Trautmann did a great job combining efforts to deliver a technically well crafted read that did everything that a one-shot issues for a new title is supposed to do. The writers took this opportunity to quickly pull together the team, establish multiple interesting plotlines and get the reader excited for more. Mighty Crusaders is certainly being added to my pull list.
I would definitely recommend getting Mighty Crusaders #1. This issue is an excellent blend of classic super hero, military black ops, and magic based stories. There is plenty of diversity in terms of genres and themes that should make Mighty Crusader appealing to a wide range of readers. You will certainly get your money’s worth with this issue.
Rokk