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Two great first issues this week, one revealing a long awaited history while the other pushes forward to create a new one. Yet one vibrant and multi-layered comics legacy seems yet again to be fading into obscurity.

In an Q&A session on Facebook prior to San Diego Comicon, Dan DiDio answered questions regarding the new DCnU, but there was one little pearl that I found devastating.

Dan DiDio Jerry, sorry but we no longer have the rights to Red Circle.

So, the tales of the Mighty Crusaders have once again bitten the dust, this time before they barely even got started. Which is a crying shame, since the current interpretation of the characters was easily as good if not better than the !mpact versions (and on a nostalgic level, The Comet and The Fly took some beating). They could have fit into the new DC Universe with ease, and been granted the status as characters that they deserve.

I only hope that someone, (hopefully Archie?), continues the brand. Heck, if Valiant can make a comeback, then there’s no reason we can’t see more of the American Shiled, the Hangman and my favourite, The Fly.

However, there is plenty that I can console myself with. The new Locke & Key series, Clockworks has been released and reveals some of the history of the town of Lovecraft, and the appropriately demonic stirrings deep beneath the town. Taking a dive back into the time of the Revolutionary War we see a whole new cast of characters (not that I expect them to last that long bar one or two of them) and within a couple of pages, all thoughts of the contemporary cast flew from my mind. Once again, Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have delivered an enthralling tale, a great jumping on point for new readers if you have missed the previous series, and exhibit that Locke & Key are not going to run out of steam any time soon.

Another offering from IDW this week is Infestation:Outbreak #1, and the ending certainly took me by surprise. It was great to see the characters of the C.V.O. that I first met in the Infestation crossover, the bookends having been by far the best parts of the event. If, like me, you used Infestation to explore the various IDW titles, then I think you will already be fond of Cross, Brit and the rest of the Covert Vampiric Operations team. This issue sets up the new status quo in the wake of the ‘Undermind Incident’, and a combination of excellent scripting at the hands of Chris Ryall and Tom Waltz and the evocatively moody of David Messina has made me hungry for more.