Good Problem To Have

While becoming more familiar with The Black Bat, I was surprised to find out that much like a pulp version of David Hasselhoff, he became hugely popular in Germany after his popularity fizzled in North America. So after I was done with building the pages that would display covers and art from Dynamite Comics and Black Book Detective, I thought I would try to find as many cover images from Pabel Kriminalroman Fledermaus as I could.

And that has gone far better than I could have hoped.

I found about a dozen of them at first, from various sources, but later landed a bunch more while searching ebay listing from Austria and Germany.

Then earlier tonight, I came across a website which enabled me to search ended ebay listings. With that site's help, I scored about 40 more. Not taking into account the covers which do not display The Black Bat (and therefore are of no interst to me), my collection is becoming quite complete.

The collection has become so large, in fact, that it was becoming cumbersome to have all the covers on only one page. I have therefore broken it down over three pages. And as I continue to add images, then perhaps I'll expand from three to four to five pages, whatever. For now, that's where we're at.

I also came across something a little unexpected. Back in January, I bought one of these German mini-novels because it was cheap and had Canadian involvement. I'm Canadian and that the Black Bat would have anything to do with this country struck me as unusual, so I thought it would be a good issue to sample.

That was issue 498. Well, it turns out that issue 513 also involves Canada and it was also relatively inexpensive, especially for being shipped from Europe. So I bought earlier tonight and apparently I can expect to receive in about two weeks. Merry Christmas to me.

(Chase To Canada)

So while I wait for that to arrive, I'll embellish the cover images I found earlier tonight and start adding them to their respective pages.

Reluctant Review: Guns Of The Black Bat

I was stoked when this series was announced, bummed (but not surprised) when it turned out to be late, then excited when I saw all three issues available for order from Moonstone's website. I ordered them that morning and they hit my mailbox two weeks later.  Pretty good turn around time, Moonstone, so thank you for that.

So was it worth the wait?

I don't like to review books, frankly.  I've never had a damn thing published and my art skills are at toddler levels. Who the hell am I to judge someone else's work when they're clearly better than I am?

I'll share impressions, knowledge of content and personal opinion but with a reminder that whether or not *I* happen to like something (or not) doesn't make it good or bad. Different strokes and all that.

First things first; I've long had the impression that this project encountered a lot of challenges. Both writing and art credits changed since the covers for the first issue (at right) were revealed. Fortier's name remains, but with co-writer Eric Esquivel taking Shaps' place and art by Paul Delacroix. Also, some pages of art are more detailed than others which makes me wonder if there wasn't a bit of a rush to get the book finished. Entirely speculative on my part, mind you.

As to the cast, I very much enjoyed the variety among the Guns. Staying with the first issue, let's refer back to the solicitation text for a moment.

Dateline 1938.
Hitler and the Nazis have begun their plans to conquer the world. In the states, the crimefighter known as the Black Bat encounters German spies exhibiting strange, unworldly powers. Have aliens infiltrated the Third Reich and is the threat to mankind greater than imagined? Hurriedly the Bat assembles a team of specialists to help him confront this unknown foe: Airboy, Domino Lady, Moon Man, Golden Amazon, and more! They will become known as The Guns of the Black Bat.

More signs of changes in original plans. The book actually takes place in December 1940, not 1938. Domino Lady does not appear in this book, however another character does and a few more are referred to. There are a number of Easter eggs for long-time pulp fans, which is always fun.

The book assumes you have some basic knowledge of the characters. Golden Amazon, for example, has some sort of evil voice-in-head deal going on, but it is never explained.

This doesn't take anything away from the book. If anything, it adds an element of mystery. But it does feel as though the first issue might have better served as the third issue out of four or more (and makes one question whether that wasn't the original plan). Several aspects of the book make it feel as though the story of the Guns was meant to continue but as we move to issues two and three, none of the material from number one is acknowledged.

Numbers two and three take place in 1937. Again, being that they are earlier chronologically, they probably should have been released first. In fact, Sylvestre Szilagyi's art is so gorgeous that I feel that releasing issue two as issue one (and three as two, obviously) instead would probably have made a stronger first impression.

Different cast in this two-part story called The Final Phase, but many similarities among the characters. Instead of Air Boy flying overhead, we have Ron Fortier's original creation, Nighthawk. Instead of The Golden Amazon providing a strong female presence, we get the Domino Lady.

These issues do a great job of building the suspense and desparation of a very dire situation, explained in issue two's solicitation text:

Someone has poisoned Manhattan’s water supply and is turning both humans and animals in to de-evolved monsters and beasts. Only the Black Bat and his assembled team, Phantom Detective, Domino Lady, I.V. Frost and Nighthawk can hope to stem the nightmare tide and save their city before it is too late.

I can tell you one thing, there is none of that "decompressed writing" crap. There is a lot of character interaction, dialogue and narration because so much happens so quickly. All three books have a very quick pace. No panel is wasted.

And while there are many "Guns" featured in these three issues, the Black Bat is undeniably the star of the show. A fine balance has been struck.

So yeah, very enjoyable ride and fun concept. I would love this idea to become a Moonstone regular.

It would probably work best as one-shots or two-parters. I can imagine a "core" group of guns (I.V. Frost as the resident scientist type, Nighthawk as the regular provider of air support, etc.) with an otherwise rotating cast. Something like Marvel's Defenders; a "non-team" which nonetheless featured some characters while others came and went.

We'll keep our fingers crossed while we wait for the Black Bat / Domino Lady mini to be solicited and released.  But to those of you who have read and enjoyed these books, take the time to provide feedback to Moonstone if you would like to see more. It may have more of an impact than you realize.

Excelsior's Other Black Bat Project

It's been about two years since Excelsior updated its Black Bat webcomic. I still check in from time to time to see if any progress has been made but it's been clear for some time that this project is basically dead in mid-fight after 18 pages of story plus one cover page.

If that's the case, we might have lost more than it appears. Going back over the images posted in the Excelsior Webcomics Facebook group back in 2012, it seems as though two separate projects were underway at the time.

The webcomic was written by Nick Ahlhelm and drawn by Marc Santiago. Some of the first pictures added to the Facebook group were design sketches by Santiago. Makes sense.

But a few weeks later, artist Edgar Bercasio got into the game with, among other things, this beauty:

There was some discussion within the group about how Bercasio's initial attempt looked too much like that other Bat-themed character (due to pointy ears on the cowl, the bottom half of the face being visible, etc.). This led to the more finished product you see above.

What it didn't lead to was a completed product. The webcomic plodded along slowly, releasing a page every three months or so. But Bercasio, obviously very enthusiastic about the project he was involved with, at one point posted the first page of a story written by Gordon Dymoski.

So apparently there were plans for both a webcomic and a print one. That I know of, nothing ever came of the latter and the former has now dried out. Too bad, because that's some quality work up there.

Here's a look at another image by Bercasio. I assume it was intended to be the cover prior to the redesign of the character's appearance. Still cool.

The Beetle and The Bat

November should bring us the second issue of Lucky Comics' Black Bat Tales but I recently found out that The Masked Nemesis of Crime will also make a guest-appearance in one of the publisher's other books.

Lucky Comics has several irons in the fire but Beetle Girl is arguably its flagship book and character with five issues available as I write this. The above image is the cover to a compilation of issues one through ten and is expected to be available in March. Furthermore, she will be one of the main character in an all-female team book coming soon (December?) which will include this blog's former co-star, Miss Fury.

While promoting the book on Facebook, publisher John Helmer mentioned that issue number seven will feature "BG vs Black Bat".  So we have that to look forward to.

And who is this Beetle Girl? The following bio is provided inside the front cover.

There you have it. Her current issues, and number seven once it is available, can be downloaded from drivethrucomics. Print versions coming soon.

For Halloween, Return Of The Monsters

This is a bit of a frustrating time to be a Bat fan.  There are all kinds of projects on the way, whether comic, novel or reprint, but they are all taking forever to arrive.

So today being Halloween, I took the plunge and bought the digital version of  Return of the Monsters: Black Bat & Death Angel vs. Dracula.

A Return of the Originals event! For the first time in history three eras collide in one place as Pulp Fiction's newest heroine, Death Angel joins forces with Pulp's enduring vigilante The Black Bat to battle the eternal face of horror, Dracula. Mike Bullock (The Phantom) and rising star Eric Johns bring this spine-tingling tale of darkness, lust and fear to you, wrapped in a visceral cover crafted by horror comic legend Dan Brereton.

All right. While I can enjoy a different interpretation of the character, I hated the version by Moonstone from the Return Of The Original "event" which basically fizzled. He was little more than a schizophrenic psychopath, at least in his own oversized book. And I have no love for Death Angel, a character who was unnecessarily shoe-horned into said book.

But this single issue had a few good things going for it, admittedly. Aside from a couple of panels I found confusing, Eric Johns' art is easy on the eyes. And while little attention was paid to The Black Bat's team of assistants in Moonstone's material at the time, McGrath makes a brief appearance in this one.

One the downside, for a book which uses the Black Bat as a selling feature, the character first appears on page 22 out of 30. Death Angel, mind you, is on every single page. Hell, she gets more face time than Dracula! In fact, she basically defeats him!

Setting that aside, this book left open the possibility of these characters meeting again.  But being that it was published in 2011 and it appears that Moonstone now prefers to publish a more traditional version of The Black Bat, it's unlikely to happen.

Still, I may very well include it when I order the print version of Moonstone's Guns Of The Black Bat series. It's not a classic but it would nicely complete the collection of Moonstone's initial attempt at publishing the character. Demonstrating interest can't possibly be a bad thing.

The Shootout Takes Place in FAC2 from Will Lill Comics!

I misunderstood an announcement from Will Lill Comics this past spring.

They revealed a preview of their Fun Adventure Comics anthology by listing some of the stories to be included (including a Black Bat story called Shootout At The Dry Martini) in the book and naming the creators involved.

When they stated that issue #1 would be available in July of this year I assumed, in error, that the Black Bat story was going to be included therein. That was not the case. It was, rather, included in the second issue which was uploaded to Drivethru Comics a week ago.

Issue 2 of Fun Adventure Comics! includes 3 great stories: Part 2 of The Midnight Stranger in "Between the Wish and the Thing..." by Lloyd Smith, Joe Koziarski & Warren Montgomery. Todd Jones, Lee Oaks & James Gaubatz brings us "The Paranormal Consultant" and The Black Bat in "Shootout at the Dry Martini". Cover by Bruce Cashman.

I'm a big fan of Drivethru but if print is your thing, the book was also added to IndyPlanet.

Coming this fall from Altus Press: The Black Bat Omnibus Volume 6

Altus continues to keep its promise of a quicker release schedule for the Black Bat Omnibus.

Pulp hero the Black Bat returns! This collection contains the next three adventures of the Black Bat: “The Eyes of the Blind,” “The Blackout Murders,” and “Shadow of evil,” uncut and restored with the original illustrations. It’s the next volume of the complete reprinting of the series.

So the 16th through 18th stories of the series, all written by Norman A. Daniels this time. I'll provide an exact date when one is made available.

Coming Up Next From Lucky Comics...

Lucky Comics took us by surprise last month when they announced their Black Bat Tales series. The first issue, an 8-page comic book, was released a few days later and they then announced plan for the second issue on their blog.

Lucky Comics marches on with their new take on the old Bat! A prose story 2,300 words by legend Lou Mougin.

Who are you calling old? ;-)

Lucky gave us a look at a work-in-progress version of the cover as well, by Eric Douthitt.

Mougin has worked for Marvel (Avengers Spotlight, Inhumans) and Eclipse Comics (Icicle, Sparkplug, Champions) in the past and is currently writing the Flare book for Heroic Publishing.

In prose format, Mougin recently contributed a story called The Big Download for the Legends Of New Pulp Fiction anthology.

Beyond "Faces Of Fear"

I almost gave up. Almost. I normally listen to the Airship 27 podcasts right to the delightful closing tune but when it seemed like there would be no Black Bat discussion during episode 18, I came this close to shutting her down at the 53:48 mark. But they were moving on to fan questions, there were only about six minutes left in the show, so I said "what the hell" and finished the show.

Quite glad I did. At the last minute (very nearly literally), Ron Fortier brought us up to date on Faces Of Fear, the team up book with The Purple Scar to be published by Moonstone.  A choppy partial transcript of Fortier's conversation with Rob Davis follows (Fortier is speaking throughout):

You and I have done a book for Joe (Gentile, Moonstone Books) called Faces Of Fear in which The Black Bat teams up with The Purple Scar. 

Well Joe was so happy with that particular novella, which should be out (in) maybe another month...Well, at Windy City this year, Joe and I got to talking and Joe said "Would you and Rob (Davis) consider doing another one of those?"

And I said "'m pretty sure we can fit it in our schedule later, for the start of next year". So I said "Are we talking novella and, you know, Rob's illustrations, and all that stuff?" and he said "Definitely". 

And he turned around and told me this: "I'd love for it to feature The Black Bat and Domino Lady". And I went "Okay... " and he goes "Remember that character that you like so much on radio, Ron?...Could we incorporate that character in the story as well?".

So it's basically going to be two classic pulp heroes and the premiere of this classic radio character in print, in prose, for the first time ever.

So what do we know about this character? Prior to relating the details of that conversation, Fortier explained that the character was an inspiration to Stan Lee for the creation of a specific Marvel character.  The obvious answer would be The Spider but he doesn't meet the criteria of being a prose first-timer.

So I'm a little stumped, but it makes for a fun mystery. And it's encouraging to know that the flow of Black Bat material is not on the verge of stopping for a while.

Guns Of The Black #2 Bat Preview Art

Courtesy of Ron Fortier. I've been away from the internet for a few days.  The message below is from Mr. Fortier, originally posted on August 4th on his Facebook page  .

I want to personally thank all of you who picked up Moonstone Comics' GUNS OF THE BLACK BAT # 1 yesterday upon its release to comic shops. Writer Erick Esquivel and artist Paul Delacroix were the stars of that issue, I being brought on board at the 11th hour to do a little script doctoring. With issue # 2, my participation grew a bit more with artist Sylvestre Szilagyi joining the team. Here's a peek at page #1 of issue #2 as my way of saying thanks for your wonderful support.

It seems like publishing this book has been quite a battle. If my memory is sound, the first issue was scheduled for April but only finally reached stores this past week. And at the moment, Previews World display a release date of December 28th for issue #2. Yikes.

Looks gorgeous though.

Coming Soon: Black Bat Tales from Lucky Comics

Being Canadian, I've been a supporter of Red Leaf Comics for a number of years as they published stories about Canadian characters past, present and future.

Roughly two years ago, Red Leaf publisher (and writer) John Michael Helmer launched Lucky Comics with a goal of releasing books about, in part, golden age characters.

And that now extends to The Black Bat!  Below is the solicitation text for the first issue Black Bat Tales, due out later this month.

Battling gangsters and crimelords in the 1940's, the Black Bat wages a never ending battle against those who would do wrong. 

Art by Pedro Cruz
Written by John Michael Helmer
Cover A by Eric Douthitt & Federico Sioc

Available in Print and digital format.
Pages: 8
Format: B&W
Price: $2.00
​Release Date: July 2016

The Lucky Comics website has a fact sheet about The Black Bat on its "characters" page and a small art preview on the blog (dated tomorrow, I just noticed).  Take a peek at those in anticipation in the book coming out later this month!

Sanctum Books' Black Bat Volume 6 Scheduled for Late September!

First seen on the Pulp Coming Attractions Facebook group.

Anthony Tollin's Sanctum Books 

Coming to online retailers in late August/early September!
Coming to comic shops September 28! 

THE BLACK BAT VOLUME 6:  

"The Black Bat and the Trojan Horse" & "The Black Bat's Dragon Trail" 

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic 1940 pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels and The Spider's Norvell Page. 

First, murderous foreign agents make a deadly attack on America's prewar defenses in "The Black Bat and the Trojan Horse," an action-packed thriller edited by future Batman editor Mort Weisinger!

Then, the Scourge of the Underworld foils the Dragon Master's nefarious plans in "The Black Bat's Dragon Trail," as Tony Quinn attempts to prevent the exploitation of China by a war profiteer!

Plus, the Mask returns in a Golden Age classic from Nedor's Exciting Comics #6.

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W, $14.95.

These are stories number nine and ten in publishing order.

Next Black Bat Omnibus Volume Premiering at Pulpfest 2016!

This news from Altus Press nearly slid by me. Luckily, reading virtually every Black Bat story that is immediately available has sharpened my detective skills to the level or a razor blade.

Altus Press Books Premiering at Pulpfest 2016. 

Altus Press is pleased to announce its summer 2016 releases, all of which will premiere at Pulpfest. They’ll be available exclusively at the Mike Chomko, Books, table.

And among them...

The Black Bat Omnibus Volume 5 

by Norvell W. Page and Norman A. Daniels 

Pulp hero the Black Bat returns! This collection contains the next three adventures of the Black Bat: “The Black Bat’s Summons,” “The Black Bat’s Invisible Enemy,” and “The Voice of Doom,” uncut and restored with the original illustrations. Featuring a story by long-time Spider author, Norvell W. Page, it’s the next volume of the complete reprinting of the series. 

339 pages | $19.95 softcover | $29.95 hardcover

Awesome. Pulpfest runs from July 21st to 24th in Columbus, Ohio.  No doubt the book will be available for order by mail right around that time.

The full list of release is included in this press release.  Quite a variety if you're a pulp fan.

"Gordon Dymowski on Black Bat Mystery, Vol. 3 and much more!"

Gordon Dymowski contributed "The Magnificent Anderson" to Airship 27's third volume of their Black Bat Mystery series and joined Art Sippo for a chat about that story among many other topics.

Click on the link below to be taken to the First Comics News page from which you can listen to the conversation. The Black Bat content starts at about the seven minute mark or so.

Another Option For a Shootout. Again.

I've been a reader of Will Lill Comics for some time now so seeing The Black Bat named in a preview of an upcoming book was a pleasant surprise.

Here is a preview of our next anthology Fun Adventure Comics! #1 on sale in July.

Stories featured: 

"Alex Miracle" by Lloyd Smith, Ernest Edwards & David Vance
"The Black Bat" by Todd Jones & Lee Oaks
"The Midnight Stranger" by Lloyd Smith & Joe Koziarski
"Captain Jain Marlee" by Ron Fortier & Luis Rivera  

Cover Art: Aileen Oracion, colors by Warren Montgomery

That short story gets around. My first exposure to it was in All-Star Pulp Comics #2 by Redbud Studios / Airship 27. It was then released again digitally by Wicked Wolf Comics in the fourth issue of a book called Wicked Awesome Tales last July. If Will Lill holds true to form, they will offer it in both print and digital format as well.

Here's a sample (unlettered) page.

In other comics news, Ron Fortier mentioned on the Black Bat Facebook page that the third issue of Guns Of The Black Bat by Moonstone Books is the final one.  Unfortunate news but he later added that the plan is to go from that book to the Black Bat / Domino Lady series which is expected to run (at least) four issues.

So that gives us a tentative release date for the first issue of the BB/DL book of October or so. The first issue of "Guns" is late, sadly, but expected to be available this week or next. So it's been a long time coming, but it IS coming.

Sanctum's Fifth Volume of Black Bat Reprints Coming in July

The following information was first spotted on the fine, fine Pulp Coming Attractions Facebook group.

THE BLACK BAT VOLUME 5:
"Markets of Treason" & "The Black Bat's Triumph" 

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels. 

First, murder runs rampant as gruesome cloaked hunchback killers terrorize a city until "The Black Bat's Triumph," in a bizarre thriller edited by future Batman editor Mort Weisinger! 

Then, the Cowled Crimebuster tackles the toughest racket he's ever confronted when ex-bootleggers band together to manipulate "Markets of Treason." 

Plus, The Mask returns in a Golden Age classic from Nedor's Exciting Comics #5. 

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W $14.95

Sanctum's selection for this volume follows the pattern of the previous one. Rather than reprint every story in its exact order, they include one early tale and one from later on in the Black Bat's publishing history.

Stories one through six were published in volumes one through three. Volume four included the seventh, so now volume five will have the eighth in The Black Bat's Triumph from September 1940.

Markets of Treason, meanwhile, is from winter 1944 and the 27th Black Bat story published. It is notable for being the story in which The Black Bat ceases to wear his wings. He continues to dress in black and blend into shadows but does not resemble a bat as such, a significant turning point in his "career".

While arguably making him far less distinctive, it doesn't appear to have hurt his popularity. He continued to have stories published regularly right into the 50s.

Guns Of The Black Bat #3 solicitation

Writer: Ron Fortier
Art: Silvestre Szilagyi
Cover: Michael Stribling 

32pgs, grayscale, $3.50 

UPC: 685239899108 

Domino Lady and the Phantom Detective travel to the Congo to find a life-saving plant as the Black Bat and the rest of his team continue to battle prehistoric humans and animals on the streets of Manhattan..

Might have me a new banner picture coming soon...

Edit: In response to a question asked by a fan on Facebook, writer Ron Fortier identifies the two men on either side as I.V. Frost and Jim Anthony. And Ki-Gor in the middle, but most people probably figured that part out based on past solicitation material.

Takeaways From the March 16th's Art's Reviews

Earlier this month, Arthur Sippo hosted five of the writers involved in the "The Black Bat Returns" anthology book from Moonstone. The interview lasts over an hour, but here are the most noteworthy (in my opinion, of course) points touched upon.

1) Most of the stories are re-writes of Spider stories that Moonstone could no longer publish.

This is the lump of coal gift to Spider fans that keeps on giving to Bat fans. If not for the folks holding The Spider's license yanking the character away from Moonstone, we would not have the Black Bat / Domino Lady comic that is (presumably still) coming soon and perhaps not even this book.

Most of the writers explain that they had planned to contribute to a Spider anthology only to find out that they could not, so their respective tales were adapted for the Black Bat. Honestly, there is little evidence of this as one reads the stories. The transition from one character to another is rather seamless.

2) Green Lama fans really should get this book. 

Writer Adam Lance Garcia explains that his story is his take on the Green Lama's return to New York from the Tibet (?) and essentially the character's first adventure under that name.

So while The Green Lama appears in only one of the nine stories, it's a rather important one for the character. And that's because...

3) Moonstone may be working towards a true shared universe.

This wasn't the first "first" mentioned during the interview. Black Bat Returns also features the first encounter between our hero and Domino Lady (and The Golden Amazon, for that matter).

I don't know how tight the continuity might become but there is a fair amount of discussion around trying to get all the various projects somewhat connected.  Whether this is something the writers are taking on themselves or a Moonstone-driven initiative, at the end of the day they want to build a certain consistency so that the Domino Lady that you read about in one book is the same in every book, for example.

Pay attention, DC Comics.

4) We have quite a few more "qualified" writers now.

A couple of the writers admit to knowing precious little about the character prior to writing (or adapting) about him but having since developed a fondness for him. Nice to have the talent pool get a little deeper as a result of this book's publication.

5) McGrath doesn't have a first name. 

Well, son of a bitch. And here I thought I was just unable to find it.

I wish this interview had taken place months ago, it would have saved me a bunch of time. If I ever do come across one when I'm further along in the original stories I'll be sure to make a big deal out of it.


While those might be the key points, a lengthy round-table style interview such as this one naturally has far more to offer. I would suggest listening in regardless to hear each writer detail his inspiration for his specific story or for more discussion about Domino Lady, Honey West and a slew of upcoming projects from the cast.

Some Bat Treats Just Before Easter

Batman fans have a seemingly unlimited supply of merchandise to choose from. Black Bat fans...Not so much.

While looking for content for this blog the other day, I landed on artist Michael Dorman's Dorway Studios site. And I found a couple of items that I very much wanted to add to my hidden crime-fighting laboratory (what most of you call a "basement").

You've likely seen the image at right a few times by now.

I'm not entirely sure where the "Black Bat / Domino Lady: Danger Coast to Coast" comics series project stands. My understanding is that Mr. Dorman has completed the art for the first issue and a different artist will handle the second.

But regardless, the following was posted on the Black Bat Facebook page in October 2014:

Artist Michael Dorman and writer Ron Fortier, the creators behind BLACK BAT - DOMINO LADY : Danger Coast to Coast for Moonstone Comics will both be guest at the Rocky Mountain Con in Denver on Oct 25 - 26. 

To celebrate his first trip to Denver, Mike has done a limited print featuring the these classic pulp heroes in front of the state capital building in 1930. Anthony Lee provided the coloring.

Mr. Dorman sells prints of this image from his website. Now I made a small mistake when I ordered. I believed it was a 7" X 11" image. But it is 11" X 17". So I was quite surprised when I received it.

And damn, it's gorgeous! I love the way the Black Bat's cape hangs over his arms and what I believed was a gun in Domino Lady's right hand is actually a syringe, very true to character. Terrific stuff.

But in actual fact, the primary reason for my order was a 12-page preview of the series' first issue (cover at left).

And it is awesome.  It is full of action, it includes a guest-appearance that pulp fans will appreciate, The Black Bat is completely bad-ass and Domino Lady is her usual seductive self. All this is packed into a half-sized comic, so I can only imagine what the full-length product will be like, assuming it's still on the docket.

Now that my order has arrived, I need to give Mr. Dorman a little praise.

First, because I am ordering from Canada, the online ordering system on his website would not recognize my address (there are no zip codes in Canada). He did the leg work to determine what postage would cost me, which was good. I wasn't spending hundreds of dollars on these items...

That done, he included a few interesting extras in the package. I'm not going to say what they are because I don't want to put him on the spot or create an expectation for anyone else ordering from him. Suffice to say they are a) quite cool, and b) very much appreciated.

Anyway, I would love it if more artists did this. Quite a few talented people have handled the character and it would be fun to gather a portfolio of prints and commissions and such. No doubt there's a cost involved, so I understand if it's easier said than done, just throwing it out as feedback.

As for Mr Dorman, while I provided a link to his site earlier, the store page specifically is here.

Faces Of Fear Solicitation!

Good stuff! Maintaining a fairly steady monthly stream of Black Bat content starting next month, our hero's team-up with The Purple Scar will hit stores in July.

The BLACK BAT & The PURPLE SCAR
“Faces of Fear”
Illustrated novel 

Story:  Ron Fortier
Art: Rob Davis 

Cover: Dennis Calero
100pgs, grayscale, 7” x 10”,
$9.99 

ISBN: 978-1-944017-04-0 

When dead gangsters begin appearing all over New York, the Black Bat and his team find themselves on the trail of a merciless crime boss known as Mr. Mask. 

At the same time a strange vigilante known as the Purple Scar enters fray, but is he friend or foe? 

Will even the pairing of the Black Bat and this mysterious new crime-fighter to solve the mystery of the Faces of Fear?

And dig that killer cover by Dennis Calero. This should be a blast.

Volumes 3 and 4 of Sanctum Reprints Coming Soon!

Sanctum Books' plans to reprint the original Black Bat stories appear to be proceeding nicely although there is an odd aspect to the two next releases.

Much of the information below is lifted from the Pulp Coming Attractions page.

THE BLACK BAT  Volume 4: "Black Bat's Crusade" & The Black Bat's Flame Trail" 

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels and The Spider's Norvell Page.

First, voodoo drums sound in cities across the nation as a wave of mysterious murders fueled by ancient magic takes a terrifying toll in "The Black Bat's Crusade," edited by future Batman editors Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff!

Then, "The Black Bat's Flame Trail" leads to a sinister arsonist who wields a deadly torch of terror as New York tenements burn.

Plus, The Mask returns in an illustrated adventure from Nedor's Exciting Comics #4. 

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W    $14.95 

THE BLACK BAT  Volume 3: "Captains of Death" & The Black Bat's Spy Trail" 

Sanctum Books presents two espionage thrillers showcasing the cowled superhero written by Norman A. Daniels!

First, with the outbreak of World War II, foreign spies flood the United States to challenge the Nemesis of Crime in "The Black Bat's Spy Trail," edited by future Batman editors Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff!

Then, a rogue Nazi agent offers former District Attorney Tony Quinn a deal he can't refuse in "Captains of Death."

Plus, The Mask returns in a rare 1940 illustrated classic from Nedor's Exciting Comics #3. 

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W    $14.95

The peculiar thing is that Pulp Coming Attractions displays a tentative release period for #4 of "late April", but #3 is said to be "coming soon". Odd that they'd have a clearer picture of the release timing of the second of their next two issues. I assume PCA got the information from Sanctum directly.

Whatever. Sanctum's schedule appears to be more or less monthly so it's probably safe to assume that #3 will hit shelves around the middle or end of March.

Altus still leads the reprint race 12-8. ;-)

Guns Of The Black Bat #2 Solicitation

From Moonstone's June 2016 solicitations:

GUNS OF THE BLACK BAT # 2 

Writer: Ron Fortier
Art: Silvestre Szilagyi
Cover: Michael Stribling
32pgs, grayscale, $3.50 

UPC: 685239899085
UPC (variant): 685239899092 

Someone has poisoned Manhattan’s water supply and is turning both humans and animals in to de-evolved monsters and beasts. Only the Black Bat and his assembled team, Phantom Detective, Domino Lady, I.V. Frost and Nighthawk, can hope to stem the nightmare tide and save their city before it is too late. 

RETAILER INCENTIVE: If you purchase 3 or more of Guns of the Black Bat #2, you can purchase a variant…AND you get one variant free!

We'd seen the regular cover quite some time ago (though I believe at the time it was said to be the cover for the third issue) but it looks great with the header. And the variant follows the close-up style used for the first issue.

"Ready for some more Moonstone Black Bat?"

Moonstone Books' monthly newsletter was issued earlier today. Since Moonstone has had a number of Black Bat projects in the works, there's always a sense of anticipation when it arrives.

The February newsletter did mention The Black Bat a fair bit, but unfortunately it was a little light on details. It made reference to two hardcover books; the recently-released The Black Bat Returns and a reprint of the "Return Of The Originals" version. All right.

Then the "Moonstone News" section displays four headlines, two of which involve The Black Bat.

The second issue of The Guns of the Black Bat by Ron Fortier & Silvestre Szilagyi in PREVIEWS magazine! 

The BLACK BAT & PURPLE SCAR

original graphic novel by Ron Fortier & Rob Davis

Great! But...That's it. No images, no release date...One assumes that both are scheduled for May since one of the other books mentioned in this section (Domino Lady: Threesome) was also said to appear in Previews magazine. Presumably Moonstone is referring to the same issue of Previews.

But in the meantime, the following image appeared on the Black Bat Facebook page:

"Ready for some more Moonstone Black Bat?"

Uhm...yes.

Still nothing on the Black Bat / Domino Lady book but that may not be a terrible thing. Much like Dynamite went a bit overboard when they began publishing The Green Hornet books, you don't want to release a boatload of series at the same time and compete against yourself for dollars.

So if Moonstone wants to average a Black Bat book a month or so, between Guns, Purple Scar, Domino Lady and the occasional prose project, we'll take it.

Over to you, Dynamite.

Recent Page Updates

No specific news about Black Bat appearances to report at this time, just some updates to a couple of pages that regular visitors (if such a thing exists for this blog) may have missed.

Originally, I was hopeful of finding a couple of dozen covers or so to display from the German Black Bat novels that were published in the 60s and 70s.

I have been far more successful than anticipated. As I write this, there are 38 uploaded onto the "German version" page located under the banner and I have more than 50 more squirreled away on my hard drive waiting to be cleaned up and added.

If nothing else, It's interesting to see the styles change over the years. The first few are very colourful and flamboyant. They get darker over time and for a while, many included only an outline of the Bat's face over the scene of a crime. You can get a feel for that even from the small sample size currently posted.

There quite a few on which the Black Bat doesn't appear at all, making me question if he's even the subject of the story. Even if he is, I may not bother including those ones. Or if they are included, they'll be among the last ones posted.

I also finished the Moonstone Covers page, including solicitation material for books that were never released.

Though disappointing at the time, I think it can now be considered a blessing in disguise. Moonstone's first attempt at publishing new Black Bat material was rather poor. Their take on the character bore little resemblance to the source material. He wasn't particularly likeable on any level. But the various projects that Moonstone has planned for 2016, both prose and comic format, seem to be on the right track.

El Murciélago Negro

So I want to learn Spanish. My sister married a gentleman from Cuba and while his English is very good, I want to be better able to communicate with members of his family who don't speak English at all.

My first language is actually French. I began to learn the English language around the age of nine and reading comics was a big part of accomplishing that. I plan to apply the same method to Spanish and doing so with...The Black Bat!

The image at right is lifted from the Proyecto Pulp blog. It has a page specific to a fan fiction project called the "Liga De Los Hombres Misteriosos".

Aside from our favourite masked nemesis of crime, the story (apparently entitled "The Enemy Within") also includes The Green Lama, Ki-Gor, Captain Future and Secret Agent X. Covers to subsequent volumes also display The Spider.

If those covers are to be trusted, The Black Bat seems to be active throughout most of the volumes. I was able to locate the first one on Wattpad. It is only 20 pages long but that's quite all right since it will be a slow process to make my way through it. And assuming The Bat continues to have a prominent role throughout the rest of the volumes, I'll take those in as well.

The cover to volume one was drawn by Carlos Rios. The images below are the work of one Jose Bai Xau Li and were also used as covers for La Liga (issues five and seven respectively, I believe). You can view more of his work on his deviantart page.

Hey, Look Who's Back!

For the first time in quite a while, Dynamite Entertainment solicitations actually look like the Dynamite Entertainment that I enjoyed so much a few years ago. No knock on whomever happens to enjoy books about Grumpy Cat and Bob's Burgers but it ain't my deal and it certainly is not what I'd grown to expect from Dynamite.

Today felt more like "old times" though when I stumbled into the following among Dynamite's upcoming books for April:

MISS FURY VOL. 2 #1 (OF 6)
(W) Corinna Bechko (A) Jonathan Lau
(CA) Tula Lotay, Jonathan Lau 

The Golden Age heroine returns! New York during the Second World War is a place of mystery and intrigue, but with all our boys fighting in Europe, who will stand up to the forces of darkness at home? 

Miss Fury is ready to step into the breach, but even she doesn’t understand the shadow she carries within herself. Is it a force of good or of evil? And can she learn to control it in time to stop the deadly attack that threatens to destroy the Big Apple?

I didn't expect to see this blog's former co-star any time soon, unless it was in a team-up book similar to Noir or Masks. It raises hope that Dynamite may, one day, give The Black Bat another try. 

Spring Comes Early Thanks to Altus!

Altus Press continues to impress.

A week ago, they announced that they would speed up their release schedule of Black Bat Omnibus volumes, starting with number 4, "hopefully in the spring". Good news on its own!

Earlier today they announced that volume was now available.

Damn. If only spring could come that fast!

So this book will feature the character's tenth to twelfth published stories that originally appeared in early 1941, being The Black Bat’s Dragon Trail, The Black Bat’s Justice and The Black Bat and the Red Menace.

As was the case for the third volume, the first story was written by someone other than regular writer Norman A. Daniels. This time, Norvell W. Page pitches in. Page is better known for his extensive work on The Spider in the 30s and early 40s.

For that matter, The fifth volume will start the same way. The Black Bat's Summons was also written by Page and it should kick off the next book. I guess we'll see later this year!

Domino Lady's Threesome

While I wait for Moonstone's Return Of The Black Bat to arrive (tomorrow!), I shall shine my small spotlight onto another Moonstone project scheduled to be available in May because the primary character is one that has been teamed with The Black Bat on a number of occasions in recent years, and will be again.

DOMINO LADY THREESOME #1
Story: Nancy Holder, Bobby Nash
Art: Marco Santiago
Cover: Glen Fernandez 

Trouble Times Three! It’s Coast to Coast action, adventure, romance, and intrigue as Pulp’s #1 Adventuress, Domino Lady teams up with the Golden Amazon and The Veil to thwart a killer, stop a nefarious Nazi plot, and uncover mysterious happenings on big Hollywood movie set. When just one hero isn’t enough, Domino Lady and her companions come together to get the job done.

A little guesswork is required here. The name of the series seemed familiar and it should. Moonstone released a title by that very name in 2012. Solicitation below:

A Return of the Originals Event!  

Story: Nancy Holder, Bobby Nash
Art: Marco Santiago
Cover: Glen Fernandez

When young women vanish at a sleazy burlesque club, three beautiful heroines slip undercover and out of their clothes to investigate - and wind up confronting a kidnapper who just might be out of this world. 

Featuring the delicious Domino Lady, the first appearance of the deadly Golden Amazon in 70 years and introducing the voluptuous new pulp crime-fighter, The Veil!

Return Of The Originals was an ambitious project through which Moonstone had planned several ongoing and limited series featuring pulp characters. Most of the material was never released and/or projects were aborted. The Black Bat himself is a good example; his "ongoing" series consisted of a graphic novel shared with a character named Death Angel.

I suspect that the upcoming Threesome is a rework of sorts of the one published in 2012. The latter was probably intended to run longer than the single issue which was released.

It feels as though Moonstone has a quiet relaunch and reorganization of its comics line going on.  We know Guns of The Black Bat is on the way in April (though the second issue is not solicited in May) and that it will also include, at least short term, Domino Lady and The Golden Amazon among others. The Black Bat featured in that book seems to be far more faithful to the original than Moonstone's first attempt.

I'm curious to know whether this will be a "structured universe" where events in one book are recognized in another.  I doubt it, but we'll need to wait until the spring to find out.

Volume Two of Sanctum's Black Bat reprints on the way!

Sanctum Books has been in the reprint game for a while but only began including The Black Bat among their publishing schedule last summer. The original intent was to have a quarterly Black Bat release and with today's announcement of the second volume being available soon, they are close to meeting that goal. Solicitation below.

At the printer and shipping soon - THE BLACK BAT Volume 2: "The Black Bat Strikes Again" & "The Black Bat's Challenge"  

Mass murders set the Nemesis of Crime in pursuit of a ring of satanic killers as "The Black Bat Strikes Again."  

Then, "The Black Bat's Challenge" is to unmask the hidden leader of a vicious gang of beggars! 

GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS BONUS: "The Mask Returns!" in a rare 1940 Golden Age classic from Nedor's EXCITING COMICS #2, and an article on pulp cover illustrator turned comic book artist Raymond Thayer.  

This instant collector's item features both classic color pulp covers and the original interior illustrations by Harry Parkhurst, with historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.  7x10, 128 pages, B&W, $14.95

And here's a look at the back cover.

Those extras make the whole thing kind of tempting. Credit to Sanctum for finding a way to separate themselves from what Altus is offering.

I guess the race is on! Altus has reprinted the first nine stories and plan to pick up the pace in terms of release dates. Sanctum will have reprinted four when this book is available. Let's see if they manage to catch up.

Happy New Year from Altus Press!

A month ago today, I wrote a brief blog post about how starting a Twitter account connected to this blog paid off within 24 hours.

On its "monthiversary", it pays off again. Altus shared the following earlier today.

About the only "complaint" I ever had with Altus' Black Bat Omnibus volumes was their release rate. Even if Altus doesn't quite meet their self-imposed standard stated above, it will still be a huge a improvement.

Altus relaunched its own Twitter account with the new year so if you're also on Twitter and want to keep up with their releases, follow them at @altuspress.

Hot Money For Canada

A few minutes ago, I treated myself to a neat little collectible.

I spent a good part of the afternoon yesterday tracking down covers to the German Black Bat novels that came out in the 60's and 70's.

Schwarze Fledermaus is the undeniable authority on the subject. Unfortunately it appears to be the only resource to speak of. My concern is that if the website is done away with, for whatever reason, all that information will be lost. That includes hundreds of cover scans that are otherwise quite hard to come by.

Now I don't want to copy the data displayed on SF. I want to complement and, frankly, better it where I can.

Perhaps I was just luckier than during past attempts, but I was able to score a number of these covers from ebay.de. And in doing so, I decided to pick up one of the books for my little collection.

"Hot Money For Canada" caught my eye because I'm, well, Canadian.  Mind you, I doubt that Canada figures prominently in the story as such. It's probably more about a scheme to transport items across the border illegally or something.

That's not particularly important, to tell the truth. The book was inexpensive (about $10 American, shipping included) and just happened to have a theme that interested me.

Is this a good time to mention that I don't speak or read German? This is going to be the slowest read for me in some time. Still, I want to be able to comment on these books with some first-hand knowledge so this will make for a good introduction.

As for the couple of dozen cover images I managed to locate to this point, I've begun building a page from which to display them. It is, of course, included under the banner up top. I've added translations of cover text where I've been able to make (relative) sense of it.

Since they were lifted from ebay listings, I take no credit for the original scan. However, all images have been resized, cropped, straightened, sharpened and/or submitted to colour adjustments. That's not in an effort to take credit, it is simply to make the graphic more appealing.

You may have noticed a new page for Moonstone Books covers as well. That's also in the building stages now that Moonstone has several Black Bat irons in the fire.

Good way to start the new year!