Okay, the Mighty Crusaders are owned by Archie Comics. Now, Archie isn't defunct, but they might as well be as far as their superhero line is concerned. Sorry, but just seeing these characters make a cameo appearance every once in a while in an issue of Sabrina the Teen-age Witch just ain't gonna cut it.
So, in the grand tradition of such CAF gallery owners as the magnificent Michael Dunne, I try to show the MLJ characters some love by commissioning new art featuring them. Thus we have the Mighty Crusaders going up against Prof. Xavier's ill-tempered half-brother, the Juggernaut!
The Crusaders are the Comet (flying overhead), Steel Sterling (in Juggy's left hand), the Black Hood (bottom with his back to the audience), the Fly, the Shield, Fly Girl, the Web, and the Jaguar (on Juggy's back). Yes, I know Steel Sterling was never an official member of the team. But I wanted him there, and really, isn't that all that matters?:-)
The last time we saw the Juggernaut here in my gallery was when he was going up against the Continuity superheroes. I figured he'd get tired of always getting his ass kicked by the X-Men, and would want to mix it up with somebody different for a change. So I decided to have him take a trip through the comics multiverse and find some new playmates. Wait'll you see him pay a visit to the old Atlas/Seaboard characters and Malibu's the Protectors, among others. Obscure heroes are alive and well in this gallery, my friends.
This piece was powerfully penciled by the incredible KEVIN SHARPE. Kev penciled issues of X-MEN and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. I asked him to use the cover of WORLD WAR HULK #2 as a template, then replace Hulk with Juggy and the Marvel heroes with the MLJ heroes, and there you have it. Kevin did a superb job.
Special thanks to my fellow CAF gallery owner and straight-up cool guy MIKI ANNAMANTHADOO. He helped arrange to get Kevin to do this piece for me, and saw it through to its conclusion. Good guys like him help make this hobby worth it. I'll be knocking on his online door again in the future.
