CSBG Archive
SDCC Thoughts on the Return of the Archie Heroes
See, now THIS one I am less wary over. Newsarama has a good interview with J. Michael Straczynski where he discusses the move (that’s where this neat promo image came from, as well!).
The Archie heroes are fine heroes, in and of themselves, but unlike the Milestone heroes, they’re not tied to one specific universe, as already noted by the !mpact experiment of the early 90s (which had some really good comics, notably the Black Hood and Waid’s The Comet), so they’re basically blank slates for Straczynski to attempt to work some magic on.
I’m looking forward to their usage in The Brave and the Bold. It sucks that he’s able to get the usage of characters from a whole other comic book company, but can’t use Vertigo character. Feh, I say! FEH!
By the by, who drew the promo piece? Is that Joe Bennett?
15 Comments
Matt D
July 28, 2008 at 5:32 am
I was born in 1981 and didn’t really start reading DC until after Zero Hour (Marvel I had started to read five years earlier).
It means that I only ever saw the aftereffects of the universe merging. Except for in back issues, I never knew anything else. I’m curious to see how well this integration works from the ground up though.
Pedro Bouça
July 28, 2008 at 5:48 am
Cool, it’s not my childhood we will be destroying now. Be at will to say that the Fly’s powers come from a fly totem, that the Comet’s sweethart had sex with his greatest enemy or to make Black Hood strike a deal with the devil, JMS. This time I don’t care!
Best,
Hunter (Pedro Bouça)
Stephane Savoie
July 28, 2008 at 6:27 am
The 90s Fly was fantastic. I miss those !mpact books.
buttler
July 28, 2008 at 7:25 am
I just hope BOB PHANTOM is part of it. Everybody loves BOB PHANTOM.
jazzbo
July 28, 2008 at 10:10 am
What Vertigo character wasn’t he able to get? That does seem pretty silly.
Nessor Sille
July 28, 2008 at 11:51 am
I liked the !mpact line. Especially The Fly, The Jaguar, The Comet, and (of course) The Black Hood. It’s a pity the line went through rapid creative and direction changes near the end, then ended up canceled just when it looked like the retooling might lead to something cool.
Pity JMS hints he felt only disdain for it.
Bill Reed
July 28, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I miss !mpact comics.
Nessor Sille
July 28, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The Legend of the Shield was good too, before they replaced him with the blond guy.
Ken
July 28, 2008 at 2:24 pm
When I first heard that the “Archie heroes,” were being used in DC, I thought they meant Pureheart the Powerful, Superteen, et al. What a relief!
(I’m actually looking forward to this, even though it’s JMS as writer. I miss those Impact characters.)
Chris Griswold
July 28, 2008 at 4:27 pm
@Ken: That’s what I thought.
Jack Norris
July 28, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Ken: Thank you. I’ve been very disappointed at the lack of “where’s Pureheart?” jokes.
Pól Rua
July 28, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Mmmmmmmmaybe something good… mmmmmmmaybe something bad.
I am unhealthily fond of the MLJ heroes. Just something about those names… like the major arcana of some weird silver age superhero tarot (The Shield, The Web, The Comet, The Hangman, The Jaguar…).
That said, I’d much rather see them on their own ‘world’ rather than coming in as fifth or sixth bananas in a DC Universe already crowded with Quality, Charlton, Fawcett and DC characters.
I mean, really, if Captain Marvel, Captain Atom or Plastic Man can’t break the ‘DC Ceiling’, what chance do Steel Sterling and The Fly have?
yo go re
July 28, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I, too, would rather have !mpact versions – those were some of the first superhero comics I read…
edc
July 29, 2008 at 12:01 am
burchett – black hood – 2009
make it so, dc!
Nessor Sille
July 29, 2008 at 6:52 am
For me, the deal-killer is that it’s JMS. He seems quite skilled at writing something potentially good, but then shoehorning in something meant to make it more serious and meaningful that ends up making the story ridiculous.
(See Reed Richard’s poor, persecuted communist uncle, Inertia’s origin, most of the Jewish angst in The Twelve, etc)