Black Bat Collection Coming From Moonstone Books

This post from The Black Bat Facebook page, managed by writer/publisher Ron Fortier, catches us up on Moonstone's plans for the character, specifically the mini series with Domino Lady.

Having bought the Guns mini series already, I'm not wild about paying twice for the same material, but so long as the price is reasonable, I'm still getting four issues worth of new stuff. And it's stuff I've waited several years for, so I'm fairly pleased. Maybe the original books will decorate my secret crime fighting lab.

That said...This is Moonstone. Make yourself comfortable, it could be quite some time before this thing sees the light of day. Not trying to be clever, it's just the way it is.

The Black Bat On Film.

I came across the following comment on Twitter a few weeks ago.

I was a little thrown at first. While the image used was clearly not specific to the film, the reference to a 30s comic book made me believe that Mr. Eastwood and I weren't thinking about the same Black Bat. But I asked and, evidently, we were.

So if it does come to pass it's still far on the horizon but it may be worth keeping an eye on Orlando Eastwood Films regardless.

Now this wouldn't be the first time that The Black Bat has found his way onto screens. Are you familiar with Rise Of The Black Bat?

If you are, then you have my sympathies. This film made me wish I was blind.

And I wanted to like it, obviously. It's my favourite pulp character in a film shot in my home town. I'd met the guy playing the Black Bat; he worked (perhaps still does) at a comics store on Bank Street in Ottawa. Good lad.

But sadly not a good movie, even taking into account budget restraints. I admit that I didn't finish it and for that reason won't pile on with yet another nasty review. You can Google search those quite easily.  I will just say that while some movies are so bad that they are entertaining, I don't believe this one fits that description.

So the bar is set quite low for Eastwood. I wish them all the best, I would love to have a quality film to add to my Black Bat collection.

The Black Bat Part of Pro Se's LEGACY Imprint

Pro Se Productions sent out the press release below earlier today. It wasn't Black Bat specific, I was just stoked to The Black Bat mentioned as one of the "taken" characters.

But first, let's look back at an earlier (and abbreviated) release. It's from April 21st, to be specific.

Known for breathing new life into classic characters from Pulp Fiction, both licensed and in the public domain, Pro Se takes a step into an exciting new avenue for stories, utilizing Pulp characters in the Public Domain in ways to bring them into the modern era, telling tales using the archetypes from yesterday so many know to tell relevant stories set today. Using, at least initially, only Pulp characters in the Public Domain, Pro Se’s LEGACY imprint will be telling these tales. 

... 

The characters utilized in LEGACY works can be written in two ways-either as updates of the original character and his/her supporting cast OR as a character inheriting a legacy left to him or her by the original character. For this, research will be required. If writers cannot acquire the original works, various resources with information exist on the internet and/or a request can be made of Pro Se Productions at submissions@prose-press.com to provide links. 

... 

The first LEGACY volume set for release in late 2017 will be THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE: IGNITION by B. Chris Bell.

And more specific to our masked nemesis of crime...

PRO SE'S NEWLY ANNOUNCED 'LEGACY' IMPRINT HAS ONLY TWO OPENINGS LEFT FOR FIRST YEAR! 

...LEGACY is an imprint that will feature only digest novels (30 thousand words) or full length novels. The lead characters in these works MUST have originated in Pulp Magazines, circa 1896-1954 and MUST currently be in the Public Domain... 

Pro Se Productions opened the LEGACY imprint with the intent to fill 12 slots, enough to produce a book a month beginning in July 2017. When these slots are filled, new proposals will not be take in this imprint until at least January 2018 to fill the second year. As of this announcement, only two of the original twelve slots remain. 

Once an author makes a submission and that submission is accepted, then the character featured in that submission 'belongs' to that author, at least through the publication of the accepted work, if not longer. The update versions of the following characters are now a part of the LEGACY imprint and are off limits for further submissions at this time- 

Dan Fowler, G-Man
The Thunderbolt
Major Lacy and Amusement, Inc.
Secret Agent X
Domino Lady
The Black Bat
The Griffon
Ravenwood, Stepson of Mystery
The Phantom Detective
Dr. Satan

So I guess this means we get new Black Bat material from Pro Se some time between August 2017 and...May 2018! I'm sure the time will just fly by. ;-)

This isn't Pro Se's first go at the character. He was also included in the second of their two-part Sons of Thor story.