Archie Comics: Dark Circle Comics (2015)

[Dylan Davison]

I think it's a great sign that they stopped. They thought about if they were ready and decided to give it more time. That is better then getting a issue one that was rushed, then getting a issue two late. Giving themselves the time to be ready is never a bad thing. Yes, it does suck that it has been delayed, by rather now, before it starts, then later.

We also got some amazing art to give us a look to how she will look inside:
The-Shield-design-update-4baba.jpg

Also here is what Alex had to say on twitter about The Shield #1:

"SHIELD #1 moving to June - obviously not ideal, but we'd rather shuffle the launch than not be on time with subsequent issues. The retailer incentives remain in place, the team has put together a kickass issue for fans that reimagines an icon - not an easy thing! The script that @ChuckWendig and @ghostfinder turned in will really blow people away - you will know from page 1 that she's The Shield. So, while not ideal - the delay comes from wanting to get the character right and have the book hit on schedule. Thanks for listening! "

I think noticing this problem early and giving themselves more time to get more ready and even head is a great thing. I don't mind waiting till June for a great comic, then get a rushed bad comic, with delays later. But I understand why people are sad, delays suck.


Here are also the Solcations for June: (with out Shield #1, since we have seen that before. Info for that is on page one).

BlackHood-5-5fdfc.jpg
THE BLACK HOOD #5
CONCLUDING THE FIRST, NOIR ARC OF THE FLAGSHIP DARK CIRCLE COMICS SERIES! "Bullet's Kiss, Part 5”:
The Black Hood finally corners the mysterious "Connection” on the abandoned seventh floor of City Hall. No cops, no witness—just the two of them, ready to throw down. But when the Connection finally reveals his identity, Greg realizes the game was rigged from the beginning. And it's going to take all of the Black Hood's strength to walk out of this building alive…
Script: Duane Swierczynski
Art: Michael Gaydos, Rachel Deering, Kelly Fitzpatrick
Black Hood #5 CVR A Reg: Francesco Francavilla
Black Hood #5 CVR B Variant: David Mack
Black Hood #5 CVR C Variant: Howard Chaykin
Black Hood #5 CVR D Variant: Dennis Calero
Black Hood #5 CVR E Variant: Matthew Dow Smith
On Sale Date: 6/24
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.


Fox-4Dino-532ee.jpg
THE FOX #4
NEW ONGOING SERIES FROM DARK CIRCLE! "Fox Hunt, Part 4”: The FOX has been punched, thrown, stabbed, crushed, shot at and smothered by a virtual army of super villains—but nothing is stopping Paul Patton, Jr. from finding his son! But that was just for starters—get ready for intense action and psychedelic paranoia as The Fox straddles the line between reality and a world of NIGHTMARE! Who is behind all of this madness? Will Fox's son, the Ghost Fox, make it out of the city alive? Find out as the hunt continues! Featuring cover art from Dean Haspiel, Irvin Rodriguez, Dirk Shearer and Jay Shaw!
Plot: Dean Haspiel
Art: Dean Haspiel, John Workman and Allen Passalaqua
Script: Mark Waid
The Fox #4 CVR A Reg: Dean Haspiel
The Fox #4 CVR B Variant: Irvin Rodriguez
The Fox #4 CVR C Variant: Dirk Shearer
The Fox #4 CVR D Variant: Jay Shaw
On Sale Date: 7/8
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.

Also here is a interview with Dean, from Bleedingcool. About The Fox #1:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/03/...id-comic-book/

[Captain Craig]

Was a reason stated for the delay? I agree it's never good to have any stumbles out of the gate on a line wide launch. They are supposed to be keyed up and ready to go.
I need to hear a reason from Archie on the delay. Doesn't mean I'm not going to get the book, or the line, but it is indeed a misstep.

[Dylan Davison]

Was a reason stated for the delay? I agree it's never good to have any stumbles out of the gate on a line wide launch. They are supposed to be keyed up and ready to go.
I need to hear a reason from Archie on the delay. Doesn't mean I'm not going to get the book, or the line, but it is indeed a misstep.

To me it seems like they are just not ready, that could mean the script needed some work, or that the art was still being done. Or that issue two was going a little slow so they wanted more time. But even if we don't know the for sure reason, its a good thing that they caught themselves before it was to late.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

According to the June solicitations The Shield has already been delayed...

Not a good sign.

yeah....never a good sign

[Dylan Davison]

yeah....never a good sign

I disagree, it sucks, but it's smart planning. If they aren't ready, why would they release it. I would rather give them two months to be ready, so that there won't be delays later on.


I asked Adam Christoper about the reason for the delay, this is what he told me:

Oh yeah, fair question. Nothing particularly exciting or mysterious to report, just a change of schedule. The last thing we want is delays between issues once we're rolling.

So to me it sounds like issue two just needs more time to get done, or maybe a bit of issue one. Nothing to big, they just need an extra two months to make sure nothing will get delayed later on in the series. Sounds alright to me.

Delays like this, with good reasons, won't make me want the comic less at all haha. I am just glad it's before San Diego Comic Con, so I can get it signed :P.

[Dylan Davison]

Comic Vine Reviews The Fox #1 gives it 4 out of 5 stars!

Also I did not notice this, but they but the little Dark Circle bar thing at the bottom of The Shield covers. It looks great! I love the little stylized star and logo.

TheShield-1var-90f0c.jpg

Its so cool. I love how each series gets a different looking one.

[alton]

I'm guessing that a vast majority of Marvel's reader demographics don't match Archie's Dark Circle reader demographics (or is it vice versa?).

Btw, have yet to read Black Hood #1, though it's at the top of my to-read pile! >_>

I think the real question here is would any of Marvel's hard core demographic even be aware of much less buy Red Circle? What are the preorder numbers on any of the Red Circle titles? They have had plenty of time to promote and launch this ahead of Secret Wars.

[Dylan Davison]

FB_IMG_1426971192358.jpg

Don't forget guys, The Black Hood #2 comes out tomorrow! After the way the last issue ended, I am super excited for this issue, and to see what happens next.

[Bslythegamerguy]

Anyone in this thread pick up Dark Circles The Black Hood #2 yet? I read it digitally today (waiting on the GN/TPB to own) and wow, what a weird issue. It was literally NOTHING like I thought it would be. And sadly, he hasn't banged his speech coach yet, *sigh*.

Some mob hot shot tells the police that the "junkie cop must go" and next thing you know someone is breaking into The Black Hood's pad and planting drugs on him, not that he wasn't out scoring his own stuff earlier in the issue. Seconds later the cops show up to raid his pad and find the stashed drugs and arrest him. Holy smokes! Interesting issue indeed, not sure how I felt about it. It's so dark and twisted that I can't help but to keep reading, so I suppose that's a good thing. What else can I say?

Thoughts?

[Bslythegamerguy]

According to the Dark Circle official FB page The Fox has been delayed and won't come out until April 15th....

*Sigh*

[Dylan Davison]

According to the Dark Circle official FB page The Fox has been delayed and won't come out until April 15th....

*Sigh*

It's only a week, not a huge deal, really. Maybe a shipping problem or something tiny. No need to blow it out of proportion in my opinion haha. Comics get pushed a week all the time, from the big two, to IDW. So it's no biggy, at least to me haha.

They also gave us this awesome page preview:
FB_IMG_1427315445102.jpg


Also have not made it to the store yet, will be heading there soon to pick up issue two of The Black Hood. I can't wait though. I will post my thoughts after I read it haha.

[Bslythegamerguy]

I get that you're a super fan and all but sometimes you got to take off the rose colored glasses and see things for what they are. This is two delays for two books that haven't even seen the light of day yet, if anyone think these little tidbits are going to magically end once the books come out than they're crazy. The company has already announced that they'll be taking breaks after every arc, which is to hopefully avoid delays by catching up, but still.....

Things like this absolutely kill momentum for a series, Project Superpowers and Kirby: Genesis saw this happen, as have countless others. The same may happen for Dark Circle....

[Bslythegamerguy]

So, Diamond orders for The Black Hood #1 were up over 10,300 units according to the top 300 sales charts for February. That's quite a bit more than I was expecting (I predicted under 3,000) and I hope the numbers for subsequent issues don't dip too far down. This doesn't count digital orders and direct sales from the publisher which could bring it up another 1,000 or so, but yeah.....solid numbers for an Archie title.

[Dylan Davison]

Screenshot_2015-03-25-15-35-20-1.jpg
Yep looks like it's a printing error, nothing they could do. Better to fix it, then send out something with a printing error. That's why it's only a week though, something small like this.

I get that you're a super fan and all but sometimes you got to take off the rose colored glasses and see things for what they are. This is two delays for two books that haven't even seen the light of day yet, if anyone think these little tidbits are going to magically end once the books come out than they're crazy. The company has already announced that they'll be taking breaks after every arc, which is to hopefully avoid delays by catching up, but still.....

Things like this absolutely kill momentum for a series, Project Superpowers and Kirby: Genesis saw this happen, as have countless others. The same may happen for Dark Circle....

Even if they were not delayed they would have not seen the light of day yet haha, as they were both coming out in April haha :P. But, I don't know, I maybe would freak out if both were delayed 2 months. But it's just a week. Also I have never have mind delays, so it has nothing to do with me being a super fan haha, just me only caring that it comes out, and not caring if comics are late.

[Bslythegamerguy]

Screenshot_2015-03-25-15-35-20-1.jpg
Yep looks like it's a printing error, nothing they could do. Better to fix it, then send out something with a printing error. That's why it's only a week though, something small like this.


Even if they were not delayed they would have not seen the light of day yet haha, as they were both coming out in April haha :P. But, I don't know, I maybe would freak out if both were delayed 2 months. But it's just a week. Also I have never have mind delays, so it has nothing to do with me being a super fan haha, just me only caring that it comes out, and not caring if comics are late.

Delays equal upset fans, upset fans stop supporting the product, product doesn't make money, no money equals cancellation.