DC's new Batman may be part of the Fox family, but Archie Comics has its own Fox family of superheroes - Paul Patton, Jr., AKA the Fox, who fights crime alongside his wife She-Fox and their son Ghost Fox. And in May, the Fox and his kin will return to comics with The Fox: Family Values one-shot from writer/artist Dean Haspiel.
The Fox: Family Values #1 also features a second story by writer Vito Delsante, artist Richard Ortiz, colorist Matt Herms, and letterer Jack Morelli, as well as a reprint of a classic Silver Age Fox story by legendary cartoonist Alex Toth.
The Fox is a classic Archie superhero character who is part of the publisher's 'Red Circle' superhero universe, dating all the way back to the '40s. As part of the Mighty Crusaders team alongside heroes such as the Shield and the Web, he's sorta like Archie's equivalent of Batman.
Haspiel, who writes and draws the main story of The Fox: Family Values #1 previously created 10 issues of The Fox alongside writer Mark Waid as part of Archie's 'Dark Circle' version of its superhero imprint. Now, in 2022, Archie senior director of editorial Jamie L. Rotante states that bringing the Fox back to the forefront as part of a new wave of 'Red Circle' superhero stories is a priority for the publisher.
"We wanted to bring The Fox back to the spotlight in 2022 in a way that makes it very accessible to new fans while also honoring what's come before. And what better way to do that than bringing back Dean Haspiel?" says Rotante in Archie's announcement. "What's so interesting about this character is that he's a superhero unlike any other—he can deftly tackle both serious issues and weird and wacky villains and situations all in the same issue."
Here's a gallery of uncolored interior pages from Haspiel, as well his cover roughs, his main cover for the one-shot, and a variant cover from George Caltsoudas:
Haspiel, who plotted and drew his ten-issue run of The Fox with writer Mark Waid scripting, states that the inspiration for returning to the character came when he thought about the context of the Fox as part of a whole family of superheroes.
"When I plotted and drew ten issues of The Fox, I was basically given full latitude to do what I wanted and it encouraged me to open all kinds of unexpected doors," Haspiel says. "After a good 5-year break, I wondered where The Fox was these days and realized his ‘freak magnet’ curse had become a family affair. I decided to explore a day-in-the-life story about a man and his wife and their son and how each one of them deals with their idea of what it means to be a hero. I also wanted to deliver a tale that could introduce The Fox to new readers and spark the possibility of more stories!"
The Fox: Family Values #1 is due out May 18. As for when or if more stories of the Fox and Archie's other heroes may arrive, time will tell.
Archie's 'Red Circle' continuity is one of the best non-Marvel, non-DC superhero universes of all time.
