Behind The Mask by Tom Johnson

According to Pulp Coming Attractions...

An anthology series by Tom Johnson returns in Kindle format in early February with Volume One. Right now only four issues are planned between February and July.

Behind The Mask was an anthology series that ran from the late 80's to about 2005, I believe. It reprinted pulp stories from the genre's heyday.

That is not quite the case with this edition, at least not with this first issue.  Murder Under The Big Top, unless Mr. Johnson used the exact name twice for some reason, is a Black Bat story of his that has found its way into a number of anthology books.

If you're into detective books, I probably don't have to announce which pulp character appears in The Masked Detective's Deadly Trail story (here's a clue, just in case: He's a detective and he wears a mask).

The Skull Killer is a Purple Scar story, while Fangs Of Death and The Legend are short stories. It is difficult to comment on Fangs without ruining it a bit so I won't, and I believe The Legend is a Tom Johnson original creation.

Might there be more material of interest to Black Bat fans in future releases? Absolutely. Tom Johnson has written several stories featuring The Black Bat. Mind you, he's written many stories NOT featuring the Black Bat, too, so perhaps the masked nemesis of crime gets bumped so I guess there are no guarantees. But we'll be watching.

Here's what we might get (and most, if not all of them, have been covered here to some degree):

The Black Bat's War: In the trenches of war-torn Germany, soldiers were dying from the medicines they received for their wounds. The Army generals blamed America for the bad drugs, yet nothing could be done until the source of the deadly medicine was uncovered and replaced with good drugs. While investigators are stymied, The Black Bat and his team of crime fighters take up the challenge in New York, uncovering a giant plot by a master criminal. But would they be in time to save brave young soldiers dying of their wounds in a far off No-Man’s Land? 

City Of Phantoms / Guns Of Vengeance: When an old case resurfaces, the world's greatest detective is pulled back into a new battle with a deadly enemy, while ex-fighting district attorney Tony Quinn's lovely secretary, Carol Baldwin is kidnapped by a vicious mob, hoping to force the prosecution to drop its case against their boss. Two champions of justice meet in a race against time!

There are a couple of other Black Bat stories by Tom Johnson for which I need clarification. They are The Black Bat's Crisis (1995) and Crimson Harvest (1999).

Some of these stories have changed names since being written. The Black Bat's War above, for example, was originally known as Drugs Of Destruction. So it may be that I've already read them under a different name without knowing it. If not, I hope the second coming of BTM provides the opportunity.