The REAL first appearance of the Mighty Crusaders!

 

As it turns out, the Mighty Crusaders did not make their first appearance in the pages of FlyMan! Instead, a fan illustration in Adventures of the Jaguar #8 (circa 1962) shows the first grouping of these heroes. The fan called the heroes the Anti-Crime Team, and the line-up consisted of Lancelot Strong, the Black Hood, the Jaguar, The Fly and Fly Girl. The illustration and the fan's letter are prominently displayed on the letters page, so, evidently, ArchieCo must have been at least pondering a team book featuring their own heroes. I'm sure the success of the Fantastic Four and Justice League hadn't escaped their editorial staff's attention. (FF had only been out a year or so when Jaguar #8 hit the newsstands.) Frankly, I wish they'd tackled the Crusaders with this line-up and with John Rosenberger handling the art chores instead of Paul Reinman. 

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