The Next Wave of Red Circle Characters

[Captain Sprocket]

Interesting stuff here!
http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/12/18/editor-rachel-gluckstern-on-the-next-wave-of-red-circle-characters/

[TheFox3]

I have something to add to that!

Been working on set as a P.A and the director was talking about how he would like to make a Fox movie. Appartenly grew up reading the blue ribbon re-boots in the 80's and still has his Fox action figure.

[leonmallett]

With that many characters forthcoming (five), I wonder if we may see a couple of one-shots at least or even a mini?

I really like some of the designs - especially Mr. Justice and the Comet.

[leonmallett]

I have something to add to that!

Been working on set as a P.A and the director was talking about how he would like to make a Fox movie. Appartenly grew up reading the blue ribbon re-boots in the 80's and still has his Fox action figure.

Welcome aboard TheFox3 - please stay awhile. :)

Given your name what are your initial thoughts on the Fox re-design? Costume? Abilities - possibly spirit animal empowered?

I like the initial look - nice classic design mixing some elements of the old Fox costume as well as white gloves and boots (I guess) which works well for many characters (Punisher, Star Boy, Deathurge etc). I think the character needs to have some special abilities since as we have discussed in other threads the DCU has a lot of 'non-powered' heroes already.

[FLOOD1976]

Loving the redesign so far of the next wave.Its a damn shame the Fly was not a part of it.

[Captain Sprocket]

Loving the redesign so far of the next wave.Its a damn shame the Fly was not a part of it.

Glad you like it. And, yes, too bad The Fly is not involved.

My question to the forum is: Does anyone else out there feel like this is !mpact II? Superman and The Batman have had the same basic uniform design for over 70 years; Spider-Man 40+ years. These are not the characters I was looking forward to seeing when the Red Circle announcement was made in 2008.

I think the new Fly story in that French magazine shows you can keep the traditional, but still have a compelling (although in this case, too short) tale. http://mightycrusaders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2988

I'm disappointed with the Red Circle revival so far and give this latest attempt another year. (And that's being generous!)

[leonmallett]

First off I will acknowledge I enjoyed, and still enjoy, the !mpact era. I read that before I got to know the MLJ/Archie Adventure incarnations which I came to really enjoy also (especially the early books in the 80's era). That said I can enjoy them both as different things.

Similarly I view the new Red Circle as a new set of characters. I don't think DC publishing this set of heroes stopped Archie doing anything with the characters - it has seemed clear for some time that Archie had no desire to return to 'straight up' super (or even ultra) hero comic books. I don't think it was an 'either or' proposition. So I look at what the DC offers as being a bonus, which may or may not be to everyone's tastes granted. But in that, the Fly excepted, the !mpact heroes were very different to the originals, perhaps more-so than the new Red Circle are. So I think of this more as a reinvention along the lines of what happened in Ultimate Marvel or even more closely, with Project Superpowers, rather than simply !mpact 2.0.

I think many of the characters simply could not have been published as-is by DC. They (DC) already have reams of non-powered heroes, so likely a good half of the MLJ roster would simply have no real niche, especially due to the shadow of the Bat-family. Likewise, even though Shield pre-dates Captain America, most fans won't care about that - what they might care about is the appearance that the origin has been ripped off in some way, even if the truth is more the other way around. I think reimaginations were necessary for the most part - look at the parallel with Project: Superpowers; they use a Golden Age-based roster that has undergone reinvention to make them more relevent to todays market with some degree of success. Not all of the reinventions will work, but as much as half a dozen of us would probably read the (new) adventures of the MLJ/Archie iterations, that was never a realistic recipe for success.

I respect our difference of opinion on this Captain, but out of interest, what aspects of the Red Circle books and/or character reinventions have you found disappointing, especially in the context of a difficult market which is notorious for new titles to stay in?

[leonmallett]

Loving the redesign so far of the next wave.Its a damn shame the Fly was not a part of it.

Any favourites?

[FLOOD1976]

Mr Justice is my fav so far,I just wish we had some new female Red Circle hero's. I can't wait to see the rest of the Red Circle cast been redsigned.

[leonmallett]

Mr Justice is my fav so far,I just wish we had some new female Red Circle hero's. I can't wait to see the rest of the Red Circle cast been redsigned.

I think it isn't just gender balance being addressed that is a possible issue, but also ethnic inclusion.

It is odd that DC in recent years has reimagined a variety of characters with more variation of gender, ethnicity and even sexual orientation (Blue Beetle, the Question, the new Batwoman, Firestorm, Judomaster, are among various examples), which was a very particular agenda of increased diversity. When coming to the Red Circle the same hasn't applied, which makes me wonder if that was part of the deal for the license, possibly?

[FLOOD1976]

I think your on to something there Leonmallett.Well hopefully when the next wave of characters arrive we will see a lot more diversity.

[TheFox3]

Hey Leon

The new Fox Custome is cool! Kinds reminds me of Alan Moore's "Vilgante" character from the 80's

Really happy about exploring more of Japanese cultute. In Japan the fox is seen as a mythic creature, lots of fokelore stories. Combine that with the martial arts think it would be very cool.

[Captain Sprocket]

I respect our difference of opinion on this Captain, but out of interest, what aspects of the Red Circle books and/or character reinventions have you found disappointing, especially in the context of a difficult market which is notorious for new titles to stay in?

I'm an old-timer who likes the traditional characters. I really enjoyed the 80s Red Circle/Archie Adventure Series revival, was very unhappy with the !mpact era and so far, I'm disappointed with this second DC effort. I base that solely on being teased in 2008 with wonderful promotional artwork featuring the traditional Shield, Black Hood and (albeit mistakenly) Fly characters fighting Batman. I'm getting nothing close to that. Meanwhile, the French present The Fly in his corny old costume in a short story with a lot of fun, mystique and creativity. And The Fly even gets laid!

I will continue to support this project (buying two copies of each title, as I did in the 80s with RC/AAS and the 90s with !mpact); however, I'm still giving it only a year.

[Captain Sprocket]

P.S. At least I like The Web. I look forward to reading that book!

[captainzero]

Loving the redesign so far of the next wave.Its a damn shame the Fly was not a part of it.

Glad you like it. And, yes, too bad The Fly is not involved.

My question to the forum is: Does anyone else out there feel like this is !mpact II? Superman and The Batman have had the same basic uniform design for over 70 years; Spider-Man 40+ years. These are not the characters I was looking forward to seeing when the Red Circle announcement was made in 2008.

I think the new Fly story in that French magazine shows you can keep the traditional, but still have a compelling (although in this case, too short) tale. http://mightycrusaders.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2988

I'm disappointed with the Red Circle revival so far and give this latest attempt another year. (And that's being generous!)

I'm WITH you, Captain.!! This isn't quite what I signed on for.