The Mighty Crusaders: Origin of a Super-Team

Ever read a Marvel comic that is supposedly "realistic" because the superheroes have personal problems and agonize over every little decision they have to make, yet all the problems are caused by the characters themselves rather than originating elsewhere, and all would go away if the characters just acted like normal humans do? F'rinstance, if Spider-Man didn't lug around the guilt over his Uncle Ben's death since HE DIDN'T ACTUALLY CAUSE IT? Or if Daredevil just TOLD KAREN PAGE THAT HE LOVES HER TOO? Of if Captain America got over Bucky's death 20-odd years earlier and WHICH HE PLAYED NO PART IN ASIDE FROM BEING PRESENT? Most people have better-adjusted psyches than that. Well, Archie Comics' Silver Age superheroes were created for those of us who realize that all the tropes of Marvel Comics are ridiculous, and so the Archie characters have over-the-top problems and goof on all the Marvel cliches. Super heroes meet for the first time? They fight! The Web has to sneak out of his own house because his wife forbids him to be a superhero! Steel Sterling can't hold down a job! All played for fun with a wink at the reader. What larks!

When I discovered these stories in a used book store in the early 1970's I was 12. I recognized even then that their storytelling style, dialog, and art had been bypassed by the then current relevancy movement, the hyper realism of Neal Adams, and horror stories of Berni Wrightson. But they had a old fashioned charm that made me feel as if I had found some unknown treasure. I had three friends who also read comics, and none of them had ever heard of these characters. Over the next year or so, I was able to pick up the run of FlyMan presented here as well as Mighty Crusaders and Mighty Comics (which continues on Flyman's numbering with issue 40 as I recall). Rereading these comics 30 years later still made me feel like I had discovered a long lost treasure, this time though it was a part of my youth. These stories are completely appropriate for kids of almost any age (5 and up I would say). Compared to today's comics (or other contemporary comics for that matter), the art is somewhat rough and not particularly pretty. And the stories certainly harken back to simpler times. The dialog is funny, even though I am not sure that it was originally meant to be. But all that said, these stories are like a time capsule back to a different time in the history of comics. A time that is cherished by fewer and fewer fans as time goes on . Buy it for yourself and think back. Or buy it for a son or nephew, or daughter or niece. They may just enjoy seeing how comics used to be as much as I did as a 12 year old.

Let me start off by saying that reading this book will make you laugh long and hard - not because the stories are intentionally funny, but because they are so overwhelmingly absurd. It's a product of the times, however, and it is an essential part of your comic education.Every company that could was riding the superhero wave of what is considered the Silver Age of comics. DC, Marvel, Charlton, Gold Key, et al, were drowning us with men in tights. Not to be outdone (in THEIR minds, at least) Archie Comics decided to stray from their standard fare with the creation of the Mighty Comics Group, giving us brightly-garbed heroes such as Fly-Man, Fly-Girl, The Black Hood, The Comet, and The Shield. These characters united to form the Mighty Crusaders. While these stories never touched Mighty's competitors in terms of quality, they more than made up for it in unintentional laughs. What am I talking about? Well, how about the fact that Fly-Man seems to have more powers than the entire Avengers roster - is there anything he can't do? The Black Hood rides into combat on... a flying robotic horse? The Comet's costume, designed by Peter Max? The hilariously snide comments and forced confrontations between team members that substitute for characterization? I had to put the book down several times in order to compose myself. Don't let this deter you, however: the writing, for all its faults, is very creative, so thumbs-up to Jerry Siegel (yes, THAT Jerry Siegel). Paul Reinman's art is razor-sharp and very reminiscent of Mike Sekowsky, which was a big selling point for me. His layouts could be compared to early '60s Kirby. This collection includes FLY MAN #31 - 33 and MIGHTY CRUSADERS #1, originally published in 1965. The art has been restored, and the coloring is amazingly vibrant on bright white paper.