Editing Archie Comics (section)

== Characters ==
{{Main|List of Archie Comics characters}}

=== Archie and Riverdale ===
{{Main|Archie Andrews}}
''Archie'' is set in the fictional small town of Riverdale.

The ''New York Times'' postulated that "the cartoonist Bob Montana inked the original likenesses of Archie and his pals and plopped them in an idyllic Midwestern community named Riverdale because Mr. Goldwater, a New Yorker, had fond memories of time spent in [[Hiawatha, Kansas]]."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/nyregion/the-battle-for-a-comic-empire-that-archie-built.html | work=The New York Times | first=Robin | last=Finn | title=The Battle for a Comic Empire That Archie Built | date=April 13, 2012}}</ref> However, others have noted resemblance between Riverdale and [[Haverhill, Massachusetts]], where Bob Montana attended [[Haverhill High School]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wbur.org/artery/2015/05/30/archie-betty-haverhill-geary |title=A Search For The Real Life Archie, Betty, And Friends Began In Haverhill |author=Andrea Shea |date=May 30, 2015 |work=WBUR |access-date=May 16, 2020}}</ref>

=== Superheroes ===
{{Main|Dark Circle Comics}}
Initially, MLJ started out publishing humor and adventure strips in anthology comic books as was the standard, but quickly added superheroes in their first title's second issue, ''[[Blue Ribbon Comics]]'' #2, with [[Bob Phantom]].<ref name=top/> In January 1940, ''Pep Comics'' debuted featuring the [[The Shield (Archie Comics)|Shield]], America's first patriotic comic book hero, by writer and managing editor [[Harry Shorten]] and artist [[Irv Novick]].<ref name=icsh/>  MLJ's Golden Age heroes also included  the [[Black Hood]], who also appeared in pulp magazines<ref>[http://www.mightycrusaders.net/pulp.htm Pulps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522132646/http://www.mightycrusaders.net/pulp.htm |date=May 22, 2013 }}. The Mighty Crusaders Network.</ref><ref name=icsh0>[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/blakhod1.htm The Black Hood]. International Catalogue of Superheroes</ref> and a radio show;<ref name=icsh0/><ref>[http://www.mightycrusaders.net/radio.htm Radio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518074803/http://www.mightycrusaders.net/radio.htm |date=May 18, 2013 }}. The Mighty Crusaders Network.</ref> and the Wizard, who shared a title with the Shield.<ref>[http://www.mightycrusaders.net/wizard.htm Shield-Wizard Comics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140613023759/http://www.mightycrusaders.net/wizard.htm |date=June 13, 2014 }}. The Mighty Crusaders Network.</ref>

Later revivals of the MLJ superheroes occurred under a number of imprints: Archie Adventure Series, Mighty Comics, [[Red Circle Comics]]<ref name=top/> and one aborted attempt, Spectrum Comics.<ref name=tcj/> Archies Publications then licensed them out to [[DC Comics]] in the 1990s for [[Impact Comics]] universe imprint then again in 2008 for a DC Universe integrated Red Circle line.<ref name=cbc/><ref name=DC>{{cite news| url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080726-comiccon-jms-archie.html|title=SDCC '08 JMS Talks DC's Brave & the Bold... and Archie??? |access-date=September 18, 2008 |work=[[Newsarama]]|date=July 26, 2008}}</ref>

Archie's Silver Age relaunch of its superheroes under the Archie Adventure Series imprint and then the Mighty Comics imprint began with a [[Shield (Archie Comics)#Lancelot Strong|new version of the Shield]] and two new characters: the [[Jaguar (Archie Comics)|Jaguar]] and the [[Fly (Archie Comics)|Fly]].<ref name=top/> In the mid-1960s with the Silver Age of Comics, Archie switched the heroes to a new imprint, "[[Mighty Comics]] Group", with the revival of all the MLJ heroes done as Marvel parodies with "the campy humor of the Batman TV show."<ref name=top/> This imprint shift soon brought the company its first super hero team book similar to [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'s [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] with the [[Mighty Crusaders]].<ref name=top1>[http://www.toonopedia.com/mightycr.htm Mighty Crusaders] at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]].</ref> This imprint ended in 1967.<ref name=top/>

With the conversion of Archie's Red Circle Comics from horror to superheroes in the 1980s, the Mighty Crusaders,<ref name=top1/> Black Hood, the Comet, the [[Fly (Archie Comics)|Fly]] and two versions of the Shield had their own titles.

Archie planned to publish superheroes again in the late 1980s with an imprint called [[Mighty Comics#Spectrum Comics|Spectrum Comics]], featuring a number of high-profile talents, including [[Steve Englehart]], [[Jim Valentino]], [[Marv Wolfman]], [[Michael Bair]], [[Kelley Jones]], and [[Rob Liefeld]]. Planned Spectrum titles included ''[[Fly (Archie Comics)|The Fly]]'', ''[[Fox (comics)|The Fox]]'', ''[[Hangman (Archie Comics)|Hangman]]'', ''[[Jaguar (Archie Comics)|Jaguar]]'', ''[[Terrific Three|Mister Justice]]'', and ''[[Shield (Archie Comics)|The Shield]]''. Ultimately, Archie cancelled Spectrum Comics before publishing a single issue.<ref name=tcj/>

In 2012, Archie Comics relaunched its superhero imprint, [[Dark Circle Comics#Digital imprint Red Circle|Red Circle Comics]], as an all-digital line under a subscription model with back issues archive access starting with New Crusader.<ref name=nyt/><ref name=cbc0/>

In 2015, Archie Comics rebranded its superhero imprint under the new title [[Dark Circle Comics]]. It was launched in February with [[Black Hood|The Black Hood]] followed by the launch of ''[[Fox (comics)#Archie Comics|The Fox]]'' in April, while ''[[Shield (Archie Comics)#Victoria Adams|The Shield]]'' and ''[[Hangman (Archie Comics)|The Hangman]]'' followed in September and November.