Sorry to learn today of the passing of Rich Buckler. He was a polarizing figure in comics for sure, but my personal experience with Rich was quite positive. He granted me an interview for The MLJ Companion, the book on which I collaborated with Rik Offenberger and Jon B. Cooke. Rich, as a writer, artist and editor was one of the main players behind Archie’s 1980s revival of the MLJ/Mighty Crusaders characters, under the Red Circle imprint. There was quite a bit of behind-the-scenes drama in the creation of that line. What made the interview so special was that Rich agreed to leave that turmoil behind and make the interview about the characters and stories and how he and his team did all they could to make them shine. I was quite appreciative of him taking such a gracious approach to the interview. Rest in peace, Rich.
About Author
Paul Castiglia has been editor and writer on a series of comic books including various Archie titles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures and Sonic the Hedgehog. He was the head writer on all 34 issues of Archie’s Weird Mysteries/Archie’s Mysteries and was a contributing writer to several issues of The New Little Archie Digest Comic Magazine. Over a span of 20 years, Castiglia had an editorial hand in all 12 volumes of the Archie Americana Series and various collections of vintage Archie stories, including volumes featuring the various Mighty Crusaders, and Josie & the Pussycats. Paul has also written for DC Comics, Dark Horse, Antarctic Press and Cracked Magazine, on a variety of characters including Tex Avery’s Wolf & Red and Droopy Dog, and Superman’s pal Bibbo. Non-fiction projects include TwoMorrows’ The MLJ Companion, co-written with Rik Offenberger and Jon B. Cooke and charting the history of Archie’s superheroes; and the upcoming Scared Silly – a compendium of reviews of classic horror-comedy movies. Paul is also a film historian who speaks at classic film screenings, a movie producer of a documentary about the Dead End Kids, and an animation script-writer who has worked on Thomas & Friends Adventures for Mattel Toys as well as upcoming episodes of Cocoa Talk for Minno.
Sorry to learn today of the passing of Rich Buckler. He was a polarizing figure in comics for sure, but my personal experience with Rich was quite positive. He granted me an interview for The MLJ Companion, the book on which I collaborated with Rik Offenberger and Jon B. Cooke. Rich, as a writer, artist and editor was one of the main players behind Archie’s 1980s revival of the MLJ/Mighty Crusaders characters, under the Red Circle imprint. There was quite a bit of behind-the-scenes drama in the creation of that line. What made the interview so special was that Rich agreed to leave that turmoil behind and make the interview about the characters and stories and how he and his team did all they could to make them shine. I was quite appreciative of him taking such a gracious approach to the interview. Rest in peace, Rich.