'Red Circle' rights no longer held by DC

DC Comics no longer holds the rights to Archie's Red Circle heroes, according to co-publisher Dan DiDio.

The exec made the announcement last night during a fan Q&A at a virtual convention panel on Facebook ahead of the San Diego Comic-Con.

Archie Comics introduced the Red Circle characters in the 1970s. DC purchased the rights to them in 2009 and integrated them into its mainstream universe through a series of one-shots by J. Michael Straczynski.

The Red Circle: The Web, The Red Circle: The Hangman, The Red Circle: Inferno and The Red Circle: The Shield debuted in summer 2009, introducing revamped versions of the classic superheroes.

The characters united for DC's The Mighty Crusaders Special one-shot last year.

Plans to revive the Red Circle properties again in the future are yet to be announced.