New Crusaders #1

History

The series was announced at New York Comic Con in October 2011, when Archie revealed its superhero line would return as an all-digital subscription offering built around a dedicated Red Circle Comics app developed in partnership with iVerse Media — giving subscribers access both to new weekly installments and a deep archive of historical Red Circle material. Writer Ian Flynn, then best known for his long run on Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog, was tapped to script the series, conducting extensive research into every prior incarnation of the characters; penciler Ben Bates, another Sonic the Hedgehog collaborator, handled the interior art for the first two issues, bringing an animated, clean-line style to the new characters before Alitha Martinez transitioned in as regular artist with issue #3. The print edition of #1, which debuted at Comic-Con International in San Diego before reaching general distribution on September 5, 2012, collected the first four digital chapters and offered multiple variant covers, including a SDCC exclusive sketch cover by Bates and an alternate by Mike Norton.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearances of the entire next-generation New Crusaders roster: Ivette Velez/Jaguar, Alex Tyler/Fireball, Greg Dickering/Comet, Johnny Sterling/Steel Sterling, Kelly Brand/Fly-Girl, and Wyatt Raymond/Web — all original characters debuting in this continuity.
• The Shield (Joe Higgins), the only surviving member of the original Mighty Crusaders, is introduced in his new role as mentor and trainer to the teenage team after the Brain Emperor defeats and apparently kills the other original heroes.
• The issue opens the 'Rise of the Heroes' story arc, in which the Brain Emperor — a classic Mighty Crusaders villain — attacks the retired heroes' community of Red Circle, destroying the original team and forcing their children to take up their legacies.
• Written by Ian Flynn (Sonic the Hedgehog) with interior art by Ben Bates and inks by Gary Martin; cover art for the standard print edition by Ryan Jampole; lettering by veteran John Workman.
• Digital release preceded print by nearly four months: the first chapter appeared May 16, 2012 via the Red Circle Comics app (built with iVerse Media), with digital installments released in six-page segments weekly; the collected print #1 reached shops September 5, 2012.
• The series was announced at New York Comic Con in October 2011 as the cornerstone of Archie's all-digital, subscription-based Red Circle Comics relaunch — the publisher's first self-produced superhero line since the 1980s Red Circle era, following two failed DC licensing arrangements.
• Ivette Velez (the new Jaguar), introduced here as the orphaned protege of original Jaguar Ralph Hardy, went on to headline her own standalone Dark Circle one-shot in February 2024, confirming her as the most enduring new character created by this issue.
• The series ended on a cliffhanger after six issues; planned follow-up arcs ('Dark Tomorrow,' 'Lost Crusade') were announced but largely unrealized before the line was relaunched as Dark Circle Comics in 2015, with a New Crusaders: Dark Tomorrow Special #1 ultimately published in March 2015.

Cast · 38 characters

Full credits

Variants (3)