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.