Moonstone

Moonstone's work with The Black Bat character began with their "Return Of The Originals" event in late 2010. The intent was for the graphic novel below to serve as a launch pad for a handful of monthly books and limited series, Black Bat included, of connected pulp and/or public domain characters.

Before horn-head, before the crusader with a cape, before the guy who wears a skull on his chest, before the crawler of walls, there was…THE ORIGINALS! 
Moonstone Entertainment, Inc, known for breathing new life into classic characters does it once again with RETURN OF THE ORIGINALS: BATTLE FOR L.A.!  This graphic novel, story by CJ Henderson and art by Mark Sparacio, relates a story based on a true historical event that has been classified...until now! A tale that brought the greatest heroes of the Pulp era together in a high action, fast paced attempt to save Los Angeles and the very world. 
In Feb, 1945, an object (or objects) appeared in the night sky above Los Angeles. The US anti-aircraft artillery opened fire, and over 1000 shells were fired at this object(s), but to no avail, nothing was brought down 
What this object was remains a mystery...until now! Moonstone has unearthed the classified government documents that show the real truth!  Documents that reveal just what occurred over LA in 1945 and chronicles the exploits of the heroes that teamed up to eliminate this threat! 
The idea, as fine as it sounds, failed to gain traction for the most part (Domino Lady has done quite all right for herself). The Black Bat did see a graphic novel released in June 2011 mind you, shared with a new character named Death Angel, but to my knowledge issues #2 and #3 of the series were never released. The solicitation text is included below anyway.

Black Bat Double Shot : Black Death #1 
Written by: Mike Bullock
Art: Michael Metcalf,
Colors: Jason Jensen
Cover: Tom Grindberg 
Before the caped crusader patrolled the streets, before horn head prowled the back alleys, the original dark avenger hunted evil men. The Black Bat is back, and hell’s coming with him! 
*A “Return of the Originals” event! 
DA Anthony Quinn is sick of watching criminals slip through his fingers due to legal technicalities. When a mobster’s attempt to destroy evidence goes horribly wrong, Quinn finds himself blinded by acid and hopelessly broken. Now sightless, Quinn sharpens his other four senses to near superhuman levels and develops a sixth ‘radar’ sense. He vows to work outside the law to do whatever it takes to bring criminals to justice.   
The second feature stars Death Angel, the avenging hand of justice. The critically acclaimed new pulp character co-stars in this gritty, noir battle of good versus evil on the mean streets and in the darkest recesses of the human mind. 
Written by Mike Bullock
Art by Michael Metcalf
Cover A by: Tom Grinberg
32pgs, color, $3.50 
An army of junkies threatens the projects and only Black Bat has the fix they need.
Meanwhile, Death Angel investigates what would turn a man from spurned lover to homicidal spree killer.  
Before the caped crusader patrolled the streets, before horn head prowled the back alleys, the original dark avenger hunted evil men. The Black Bat is back and hell’s coming with him!
Story: Mike Bullock*
Art: Michael Metcalf*
Cover: Shawn Van Briesen
32pgs, b/w, $3.50 
A Moonstone “Return of the Originals” event! 
Two heroes are on a collision course with a psychotic army of killers as the lives of the city’s street population hangs in the balance. The criminal mastermind is revealed but Black Bat and Death Angel may not live to tell about it.  
Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion of Black Death, same black time, same death channel! Before the caped crusader patrolled the streets, before horn head prowled the back alleys, the original dark avenger hunted evil men. The Black Bat is back and hell’s coming with him!
While issues two and three never saw the light of day, The Black Bat was featured in the first issue of a Return Of The Monsters events in  November 2011, a book in which he scrapped with Dracula.


A more traditional version of The Black Bat appeared in some of Moonstone's prose offerings (though not the cover) in following years until he became a leading man once again at the beginning of 2016.

The images below are from the softcover and hardcover versions of the book respectively. It is followed by the cover to his team-up with The Purple Scar, released in late 2017. A revised edition called New Pulp Fiction was later released with additional material.






Moonstone has also brought back The Black Bat in comic book form. The cover to the three issues of the series appears below, as well as a retailer incentive versions for the first two.








In late November 2020, Moonstone released a book which collects the three issues above plus includes a compilation of a mini series with Domino Lady which had been in the works for years. The cover for that book is displayed below.


In 2021, Moonstone also began publishing books which include either two or three short stories, the former called "Double Shot" and the latter "Triple Threat". The Black Bat found his way into a Triple Threat book scheduled for June 2022 release.   


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