American Update: Fly, Jaguar and more Archie Super- sorry, Mighty – Heroes
*Archie: We’ve wombled on nostalgically about Archie Comics’ various ventures into super-heroics, and we’re delighted that our readership has responded, so following brisk sales in this category, we’re restocking both ‘wings’ of the Archie/Radio/Mighty Comics super-heroes (or ‘Mighty Heroes’, as legal constraints forced them to call them after the mid-60s!). From the earlier wave, we have new issues of the Fly (from #10) and the Jaguar (from #1), mostly superbly illustrated by the underrated John Rosenberger, with fun heroics reminiscent of the Weisinger-era Superman family. From the clunkingly awful ‘faux Marvel’ of the second wave, we have new issues of their showcase title, Mighty Comics Presents, from #43, with the Shield, Black Hood, Steel Sterling and others, and the publisher’s cringe-making attempt at Avengers-style team conflicts with the Mighty Crusaders, from #3! Off to one side, there’s the company’s peculiar attempt at taking the classic pulp character, the Shadow, a figure of enigma and darkness, and transforming him into a brightly-clad ersatz Batman. One of vintage comics’ guilty pleasures – go on, you know you want to try them…