the black hood

If you're not following the events of The Black Hood: Season 2, the flagship title of Archie's gritty Dark Circle imprint, you've been missing a pretty thrilling story. After leaving Philadelphia to escape the crimes he committed as a vigilante, Greg Hettinger is being lured back by a villain called Nobody, who has vowed to undo every good thing Hettinger has done, working backwards down the timeline of people he's saved and committing exponentially worse crimes. Like, say, poisoning an entire steak house full of people just to make his point. Check out the preview to see the action for yourself!

The Holidays are upon as, and the year is basically gone. And as you know by now, that mean that here at ComicsAlliance, we're looking back at the best that comics had to offer in 2016. So here, to give you warm feeling as you head into your holiday weekend, are the best Archie Comics covers of the year.

The Black Hood was unquestionably the breakout star of Archie's grim and gritty Dark Circle imprint. Sure, the initial wave of interest may have come from the fact that it was the first comic published by Archie to ever drop the F-bomb on the page, but what kept readers coming back was the brutal crime story of Greg Hettinger, a cop turned vigilante turned criminal who just kept making things worse for himself. Now, Greg is back, having fled from Philadelphia and the pretty extensive crimes of his past, as Duane Swierczynski, Greg Scott, Kelly Fitzpatrick and Rachel Deering bring you The Black Hood: Season 2. And while the setting may have changed to California, the action is every bit as ruthless as it has been.

Poor Greg Hettinger. Ever since Duane Swierczynski and Michael Gaydos relaunched The Black Hood as the flagship title of Archie's Dark Circle line, he's been having a pretty rough time. He's been shot in the face with a shotgun, gotten hooked on painkillers, and taken up a new life as a masked vigilante that, in all honesty, does not seem to be working out that well for him. It's almost enough to make you forgive his shocking penchant for profanity. But, as is usually the case with these things, the next issue is going to see it get even worse, with his secret identity exposed, a ticking clock on the complete ruination of his life, and, you know, that thing where he's getting punched and stabbed a whole bunch. It all kicks off with a fight to the death in a Philly cemetery, and you can check that out in our preview!

The first three ongoing titles in Archie Comics' new Dark Circle line of superhero comics have been announced, and they offer an immediate glimpse of the diversity of the range, with one offbeat comedy book, one violent noir book, and what looks like a fairly classic legacy superhero story. Duane Swierczynski and Michael Gaydos tackle noir in The Black Hood; Mark Waid and Dean Haspiel return for more of The Fox; and novelists Adam Christopher and Chuck Wendig join artist Wilfredo Torres on The Shield. All three titles have promise, but they paint a slightly different picture of the line than the forbidding 'Dark Circle' umbrella might have lead readers to expect!