Masks 2 from Dynamite coming in April!

I came across this annoucement on First Comics News earlier today on my way to work and have been dying to give it a longer look. Here's an abbreviated version of the release, including a variant cover featuring our former cover girl.

Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce the full creative team for Masks 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to 2012-2013’s pulp hero extravaganza, Masks.

Artist Eman Cassalos (Alice Cooper) joins fan-favorite writer Cullen Bunn (Deadpool) in an epic comic book event uniting such diverse pulp characters as The Shadow, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, Lady Satan, Black Terror, Green Hornet, Zorro, and more.

Slated for release in April 2015, Masks 2 will feature cover artwork by a selection of the industry’s most celebrated artists, including Butch Guice, Jae Lee, Gabriel Hardman, Colton Worley, Sean Chen, and Robert Hack.

...Masks 2 promises to expand the scope dramatically beyond even what the first series presented, while simultaneously serving as an entry point for new, curious readers.

“I’m introducing a new villain called the Red Death who is plaguing the heroes in three different time periods,” says Bunn. “Again and again, she resurfaces, in the ’30s, the ’70s, and the present day. Her agenda is a bit of a mystery… but our heroes will start to see just how dangerous the Red Death can be. Her machinations definitely have the potential to bring all of civilization to ruin.”

The complete Masks 2 roster of pulp heroes, gathered from different periods in time, includes: The Shadow, Green Hornet, Kato, Black Terror, The Spider, Green Lama, Lady Satan, Black Sparrow, Miss Fury, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, Black Bat, and Zorro. However, readers should expect the unexpected when dealing with these characters. Bunn says, “We’re working with a cast of existing and new characters who span three different timelines. For some characters, like the Green Hornet, we’ll be seeing multiple versions of those characters. We might even be seeing those various versions of those characters interacting with each other! So, the Green Hornet and Kato of the 30s will be meeting their modern day counterparts face-to-face. It’s a very ambitious, wild story. There were moments where, in the middle of writing this beast, I wondered if I’d bitten off way more than I could chew. But it’s come together, and I’m really excited for readers to dig in.”

Interesting take indeed. Full release here.

Specific to the The Black Bat, Dynamite indeed has two versions of the character; the one from the first volume of Masks and the modern-day version that had a 12-issue series between 2013 and 2014. I didn't finish that series (waiting for the Omnibus) so I don't know if he even lived through the end. Even if he did, that Black Bat seemed to be in his own setting (one without characters like The Shadow and The Spider around) so I doubt he would be brought in to Masks 2.

No sense worrying about it too much because it doesn't appear as though The Black Bat will be featured player this time around either. Clicking on the link above to view the release will display some of the covers and interior art, all of which is rather Bat-deficient. If not for his name appearing in the text, you'd be hard-pressed to know that he's included at all. On the cover below, if you squint enough, you can see him in a frame behind the logo. Hooray!!

Still going in with an open mind though. While his part was small in the first volume, he made a good team with Zorro and had an idealogical clash with The Shadow that I was hoping would lead to more. With a different writer involved, I doubt that point will be revisited but I'm eager to see what Bunn does to make him stand out.