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.