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.

Volumes 3 and 4 of Sanctum Reprints Coming Soon!

Sanctum Books' plans to reprint the original Black Bat stories appear to be proceeding nicely although there is an odd aspect to the two next releases.

Much of the information below is lifted from the Pulp Coming Attractions page.

THE BLACK BAT  Volume 4: "Black Bat's Crusade" & The Black Bat's Flame Trail" 

The Nemesis of Crime returns in classic pulp novels by Norman A. Daniels and The Spider's Norvell Page.

First, voodoo drums sound in cities across the nation as a wave of mysterious murders fueled by ancient magic takes a terrifying toll in "The Black Bat's Crusade," edited by future Batman editors Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff!

Then, "The Black Bat's Flame Trail" leads to a sinister arsonist who wields a deadly torch of terror as New York tenements burn.

Plus, The Mask returns in an illustrated adventure from Nedor's Exciting Comics #4. 

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W    $14.95 

THE BLACK BAT  Volume 3: "Captains of Death" & The Black Bat's Spy Trail" 

Sanctum Books presents two espionage thrillers showcasing the cowled superhero written by Norman A. Daniels!

First, with the outbreak of World War II, foreign spies flood the United States to challenge the Nemesis of Crime in "The Black Bat's Spy Trail," edited by future Batman editors Mort Weisinger and Jack Schiff!

Then, a rogue Nazi agent offers former District Attorney Tony Quinn a deal he can't refuse in "Captains of Death."

Plus, The Mask returns in a rare 1940 illustrated classic from Nedor's Exciting Comics #3. 

Softcover, 7x10, 128 pages, B&W    $14.95

The peculiar thing is that Pulp Coming Attractions displays a tentative release period for #4 of "late April", but #3 is said to be "coming soon". Odd that they'd have a clearer picture of the release timing of the second of their next two issues. I assume PCA got the information from Sanctum directly.

Whatever. Sanctum's schedule appears to be more or less monthly so it's probably safe to assume that #3 will hit shelves around the middle or end of March.

Altus still leads the reprint race 12-8. ;-)

Guns Of The Black Bat #2 Solicitation

From Moonstone's June 2016 solicitations:

GUNS OF THE BLACK BAT # 2 

Writer: Ron Fortier
Art: Silvestre Szilagyi
Cover: Michael Stribling
32pgs, grayscale, $3.50 

UPC: 685239899085
UPC (variant): 685239899092 

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. 

RETAILER INCENTIVE: If you purchase 3 or more of Guns of the Black Bat #2, you can purchase a variant…AND you get one variant free!

We'd seen the regular cover quite some time ago (though I believe at the time it was said to be the cover for the third issue) but it looks great with the header. And the variant follows the close-up style used for the first issue.

"Ready for some more Moonstone Black Bat?"

Moonstone Books' monthly newsletter was issued earlier today. Since Moonstone has had a number of Black Bat projects in the works, there's always a sense of anticipation when it arrives.

The February newsletter did mention The Black Bat a fair bit, but unfortunately it was a little light on details. It made reference to two hardcover books; the recently-released The Black Bat Returns and a reprint of the "Return Of The Originals" version. All right.

Then the "Moonstone News" section displays four headlines, two of which involve The Black Bat.

The second issue of The Guns of the Black Bat by Ron Fortier & Silvestre Szilagyi in PREVIEWS magazine! 

The BLACK BAT & PURPLE SCAR

original graphic novel by Ron Fortier & Rob Davis

Great! But...That's it. No images, no release date...One assumes that both are scheduled for May since one of the other books mentioned in this section (Domino Lady: Threesome) was also said to appear in Previews magazine. Presumably Moonstone is referring to the same issue of Previews.

But in the meantime, the following image appeared on the Black Bat Facebook page:

"Ready for some more Moonstone Black Bat?"

Uhm...yes.

Still nothing on the Black Bat / Domino Lady book but that may not be a terrible thing. Much like Dynamite went a bit overboard when they began publishing The Green Hornet books, you don't want to release a boatload of series at the same time and compete against yourself for dollars.

So if Moonstone wants to average a Black Bat book a month or so, between Guns, Purple Scar, Domino Lady and the occasional prose project, we'll take it.

Over to you, Dynamite.

Recent Page Updates

No specific news about Black Bat appearances to report at this time, just some updates to a couple of pages that regular visitors (if such a thing exists for this blog) may have missed.

Originally, I was hopeful of finding a couple of dozen covers or so to display from the German Black Bat novels that were published in the 60s and 70s.

I have been far more successful than anticipated. As I write this, there are 38 uploaded onto the "German version" page located under the banner and I have more than 50 more squirreled away on my hard drive waiting to be cleaned up and added.

If nothing else, It's interesting to see the styles change over the years. The first few are very colourful and flamboyant. They get darker over time and for a while, many included only an outline of the Bat's face over the scene of a crime. You can get a feel for that even from the small sample size currently posted.

There quite a few on which the Black Bat doesn't appear at all, making me question if he's even the subject of the story. Even if he is, I may not bother including those ones. Or if they are included, they'll be among the last ones posted.

I also finished the Moonstone Covers page, including solicitation material for books that were never released.

Though disappointing at the time, I think it can now be considered a blessing in disguise. Moonstone's first attempt at publishing new Black Bat material was rather poor. Their take on the character bore little resemblance to the source material. He wasn't particularly likeable on any level. But the various projects that Moonstone has planned for 2016, both prose and comic format, seem to be on the right track.

El Murciélago Negro

So I want to learn Spanish. My sister married a gentleman from Cuba and while his English is very good, I want to be better able to communicate with members of his family who don't speak English at all.

My first language is actually French. I began to learn the English language around the age of nine and reading comics was a big part of accomplishing that. I plan to apply the same method to Spanish and doing so with...The Black Bat!

The image at right is lifted from the Proyecto Pulp blog. It has a page specific to a fan fiction project called the "Liga De Los Hombres Misteriosos".

Aside from our favourite masked nemesis of crime, the story (apparently entitled "The Enemy Within") also includes The Green Lama, Ki-Gor, Captain Future and Secret Agent X. Covers to subsequent volumes also display The Spider.

If those covers are to be trusted, The Black Bat seems to be active throughout most of the volumes. I was able to locate the first one on Wattpad. It is only 20 pages long but that's quite all right since it will be a slow process to make my way through it. And assuming The Bat continues to have a prominent role throughout the rest of the volumes, I'll take those in as well.

The cover to volume one was drawn by Carlos Rios. The images below are the work of one Jose Bai Xau Li and were also used as covers for La Liga (issues five and seven respectively, I believe). You can view more of his work on his deviantart page.

Hey, Look Who's Back!

For the first time in quite a while, Dynamite Entertainment solicitations actually look like the Dynamite Entertainment that I enjoyed so much a few years ago. No knock on whomever happens to enjoy books about Grumpy Cat and Bob's Burgers but it ain't my deal and it certainly is not what I'd grown to expect from Dynamite.

Today felt more like "old times" though when I stumbled into the following among Dynamite's upcoming books for April:

MISS FURY VOL. 2 #1 (OF 6)
(W) Corinna Bechko (A) Jonathan Lau
(CA) Tula Lotay, Jonathan Lau 

The Golden Age heroine returns! New York during the Second World War is a place of mystery and intrigue, but with all our boys fighting in Europe, who will stand up to the forces of darkness at home? 

Miss Fury is ready to step into the breach, but even she doesn’t understand the shadow she carries within herself. Is it a force of good or of evil? And can she learn to control it in time to stop the deadly attack that threatens to destroy the Big Apple?

I didn't expect to see this blog's former co-star any time soon, unless it was in a team-up book similar to Noir or Masks. It raises hope that Dynamite may, one day, give The Black Bat another try. 

Spring Comes Early Thanks to Altus!

Altus Press continues to impress.

A week ago, they announced that they would speed up their release schedule of Black Bat Omnibus volumes, starting with number 4, "hopefully in the spring". Good news on its own!

Earlier today they announced that volume was now available.

Damn. If only spring could come that fast!

So this book will feature the character's tenth to twelfth published stories that originally appeared in early 1941, being The Black Bat’s Dragon Trail, The Black Bat’s Justice and The Black Bat and the Red Menace.

As was the case for the third volume, the first story was written by someone other than regular writer Norman A. Daniels. This time, Norvell W. Page pitches in. Page is better known for his extensive work on The Spider in the 30s and early 40s.

For that matter, The fifth volume will start the same way. The Black Bat's Summons was also written by Page and it should kick off the next book. I guess we'll see later this year!

Domino Lady's Threesome

While I wait for Moonstone's Return Of The Black Bat to arrive (tomorrow!), I shall shine my small spotlight onto another Moonstone project scheduled to be available in May because the primary character is one that has been teamed with The Black Bat on a number of occasions in recent years, and will be again.

DOMINO LADY THREESOME #1
Story: Nancy Holder, Bobby Nash
Art: Marco Santiago
Cover: Glen Fernandez 

Trouble Times Three! It’s Coast to Coast action, adventure, romance, and intrigue as Pulp’s #1 Adventuress, Domino Lady teams up with the Golden Amazon and The Veil to thwart a killer, stop a nefarious Nazi plot, and uncover mysterious happenings on big Hollywood movie set. When just one hero isn’t enough, Domino Lady and her companions come together to get the job done.

A little guesswork is required here. The name of the series seemed familiar and it should. Moonstone released a title by that very name in 2012. Solicitation below:

A Return of the Originals Event!  

Story: Nancy Holder, Bobby Nash
Art: Marco Santiago
Cover: Glen Fernandez

When young women vanish at a sleazy burlesque club, three beautiful heroines slip undercover and out of their clothes to investigate - and wind up confronting a kidnapper who just might be out of this world. 

Featuring the delicious Domino Lady, the first appearance of the deadly Golden Amazon in 70 years and introducing the voluptuous new pulp crime-fighter, The Veil!

Return Of The Originals was an ambitious project through which Moonstone had planned several ongoing and limited series featuring pulp characters. Most of the material was never released and/or projects were aborted. The Black Bat himself is a good example; his "ongoing" series consisted of a graphic novel shared with a character named Death Angel.

I suspect that the upcoming Threesome is a rework of sorts of the one published in 2012. The latter was probably intended to run longer than the single issue which was released.

It feels as though Moonstone has a quiet relaunch and reorganization of its comics line going on.  We know Guns of The Black Bat is on the way in April (though the second issue is not solicited in May) and that it will also include, at least short term, Domino Lady and The Golden Amazon among others. The Black Bat featured in that book seems to be far more faithful to the original than Moonstone's first attempt.

I'm curious to know whether this will be a "structured universe" where events in one book are recognized in another.  I doubt it, but we'll need to wait until the spring to find out.