Two More Sanctum Reprints Coming Soon!

Good to see The Black Bat still in Sanctum's plans! It seems like forever since I'd heard about one of their reprints being released but that seems to be simply because I missed the announcement.

Volumes 9 and 10 continue to follow the format of previous volumes; two stories and a comic reprint. There's a twist though, when you get to the solicitation text to #10. Read on:

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels writing as "G. Wayman Jones."

First, the Masked Avenger of Crime rips aside the veil of secrecy that shrouds a mob leader’s murderous activities in “The Black Bat’s Invisible Enemy.”   

Then, the Black Bat pursues “The Voice of Doom," a human scourge who attacks the underworld and upperworld alike!

GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS BONUS: The Mask returns in another illustrated adventure from Nedor's EXCITING COMICS! This instant collector's item showcases the original cover paintings by Rudolph Belarski and interior illustrations by V. E. Pyles, with historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.

The above volume is expected to be available next month, and I've been able to track down a release date of November 29th for volume 10.

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels writing as "G. Wayman Jones."

First, the Black Bat risks his own eyes to aid victims deprived of their sight in “The Eyes of the Blind.”

Then, Tony Quinn battles a monstrous killer as “The Blackout Murders" panic the nation!

GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS BONUS: The origin of the Black Terror from Nedor's EXCITING COMICS #9 by Richard Hughes and David Gabrielsen! 

This instant collector's item showcases the original covers and interior illustrations by V. E. Pyles, with historical commentary by Will Murray and Anthony Tollin.

The Black Terror? I know there are only so many stories of The Mask to reprint, but what does Black Terror have to do with anything? Now I'll be curious to know who they feature next. Green Lama? Miss Masque?

Not that The Black Bat and The Black Terror wouldn't make a good team, mind you...Get on that, Dynamite!

The Black Bat Will Always Punch Nazis

The near future may appear bleak in terms of new tales of The Black Bat but we found out yesterday that before longthe masked nemesis of crime will be punching Nazis right between their beady eyes.

The news came courtesy of writer Gordon Dymowski on Twitter.



I'm proud to say that I solved that mystery in a matter of minutes!

The anthology in question is in comic book form and while it is still in the planning stages, each story should run somewhere between 4-8 pages. The original Black Bat's stories were first published between 1939 and 1951 and therefore the character is no stranger to Nazis. Gordon Dymowski is likewise familiar with the Black Bat, having contributed the story "The Magnificent Anderson" to Airship 27's third volume of Black Bat Mystery.

It appears that Erik Franklin will be handling art duties. Erik also contributed a story to volume three of Black Bat Mystery entitled The Dark Magician and has seen his work included in anthologies for Sherlock Holmes and The Purple Scar as well, among others. I don't know of any published work as an artist, however.

It seems that interest among creators is such that there may already be enough material for a second issue. They do want to get the first one out there quickly though so it should not be long until we...

The Black Bat in Superhero 2044

We are deep in the middle of a dry spell when it comes to Black Bat material. No doubt Lucky Comics are continuing to work on both of their versions (1930s and modern day) of the character, and Altus Press will announce the next volume of their reprints before too long, but right at the moment, we have little to look forward to.

Unexpectedly, the next time we see the character might be in a format in which he's never appeared, that I know of. The Black Bat will be among the playable character in a role-playing game called Superhero 2044.

Now my role-playing game days are in my distant past but I can't help but find this one interesting if only for the number of public domain characters that it features. In a press release from this past May (about Checker BPG acquiring the rights to the game), Superhero 2044 was described as follows:

...the first commercially available superhero-themed role playing game at the dawn of the industry appearing in 1977 shortly after the explosive launch of early games like Dungeons and Dragons and Runequest. Innovative for the time period it featured such specific rules as classifications for differing types of super heroes, melee rules unique to super heroes, a ranged combat system,  point based character construction, and eventually a comprehensive defined list of super powers.

And now it is being updated and upgraded. Starting on Wednesday, August 16th, a Kickstarter campaign will launch to help fund the new version. Checker will also create a collectible card game.

Let's have a look at the cast of playable characters.

A partial roster of playable HEROES:
Domino Lady, The Heap, Arrow, Arsene Lupin, Purple Zombie, Thor, Golden Age Daredevil,  Uncle Sam, The Spider, Fantomah, The Black Terror, Hercules, The Black Bat, Mister Monster, Silver Streak, Hugo Danner, Circe, Isis, The Werewolf, Atom Master, The Face, Target, The Ghost, Ms. Fury, The Flame,  Cheshire Cat,  Black Orchid,  Lady Justice,  Fantomas, Man O’ War, The Moth, Avenger, Dr. Nemesis, The Grim Reaper, Miss Masque,  Black Angel, Magno, Tesla, Kid Frankenstein, Perseus, Hydroman, Sinbad,  G-8 and His Battledrones,  Birdman, Hang-Man, Black Panther, John Henry, Monkey King, and more…

Very cool to see not only the Black Bat but a common team-up partner in Domino Lady and this site's former co-star, Ms Fury.

So we'll look in later this week, assuming plans to launch the Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday have not changed, and see if they offer some character-specific perks. Some of the art displayed on the Checker website is phenomenal but unfortunately, I have yet to see their interpretation of The Black Bat.

They also have mini figurines which might be of interest. What appears to be a work-in-progress Domino Lady is displayed below. The opportunity to create a little pulp team-up in my office, with the Black Bat front and center, might be too good to pass up if it comes to pass!