The Black Bat's ASPC Streak to Resume!

Airship 27's 55th podcast, released earlier today (on YouTube at least) dropped a little bit of good Black Bat news.

Airship 27 publishes novels and anthologies, but Redbud Studio is comics-focused. they have published, among many other books, four volumes of All-Star Pulp Comics, the first three of which included Black Bat stories.

Unfortunately, the character's streak ended after issue #3 but he appears set to start a new one.

Ron Fortier: John Helmer, The Publisher of Lucky Comics...this is according to Mark Davis...supposedly has a new 8-page Black Bat script that he wants to offer us for this volume.

This is somewhat surprising because Lucky Comics has its own Black Bat book in Black Bat Tales. They have two, in fact, if we consider the modern-day version of the character, The Bat.

Now the stories set in the 1930s (Tales) are written by Lou Mougin so perhaps Mr. Helmer preferred to not interfere with that process and/or to ship his own story out because it didn't quite fit into the plans. Regardless, cooperation between publishers is rarely (never?) a bad thing.

Rob Davis warns that there is no set release date for this book so let's not sit on the Redbud website and refresh our browsers repeatedly, but it's good to hear the Black Bat mentioned on an Airship 27 podcast in any case.

Here's the cover to the book which contained the Black Bat's last appearance. Hey, being that he's been a part of most of these books, maybe he's due for cover treatment?

Other stories will include the Crimson Mask and a Purple Scar / Secret Agent - X team-up. You can listen to the show here but the ASPC portion in particular is at the 15:30 mark or so.

The Black Bat Swoops Into All-Star Pulp Comics #3!

A pleasant surprise turned in the press release announcing All-Star Pulp Comics #3 from Redbud Studio / Airship 27.

Airship 27 Productions in conjunction with Redbud Studios is thrilled to announce the release of ALL STAR PULP COMICS # 3. 

“We’re thrilled to offer up another great collection,” says Airship 27 Managing Editor Ron Fortier, “comic strip adventures of classic pulp heroes. The contents in this third volume is really eclectic representing a wide variety of pulp genres by some of the finest writers and artists in the graphic world.” 

The eight featured stories include : 

“Sinbad and the Isle of Stone”
Scott “Doc” Vaughn   

The Black Bat in “Blind Justice”
Ron Fortier & Eric Johns 

The Purple Scar in “Breaking Point”
Percival Constantine & Carl Yonder  

Lance Star Sky Ranger in “Gods of the Molten Sea”
Bobby Nash & Rock Baker & Jeff Austin  

Mars McCoy Space Ranger in “Crazy Horse”
Mike Baron (with Ron Fortier) & Eric Hurley & Warren Montgomery  

The Crimson Mask in “Killing Rain”
Aaron Smith & David Nehaus  

The Moon Man in “Dance of the Black Flamingo”
Michael Leonard & James Lyle & Greg Keyzer  

The book has a cover by Rob Davis with colors by Warren Montgomery and features the Moon Man battling side-by-side by Lt. Betty 12 from the Mars McCoy Space Ranger pulp series. 

The book is now available from...Amazon.

Several of these stories had been talked about while the book was in production, with no mention of the Black Bat. I'd believed he was not included but there he is, making a clean sweep of a all three ASPC books. Hope it becomes tradition.

Another Option for a Shootout

Long-time and prolific pulp writer Ron Fortier recently pointed out on his Facebook page that one of his stories was appearing in an anthology book. In doing so, he also drew attention to the fact that a previously-published Black Bat story is now available in a different publication, and in a different format.

Originally included in the 2nd issue of Redbud Studio's Airship 27 Presents: All-Star Pulp Comics (whew...mouthful...), a tale called "Shootout At The Dry Martini" is reprinted in issue number four of Wicked Awesome Tales by Wicked Wolf Comics. That book is available digitally through Comixology as of July 29th.

MONSTER VERSUS MACHINE! THE BLACK BAT STRIKES! THE STARCROSSER GETS AMBUSHED AND AN INMATE RELIVES THE WORST DAY OF HIS LIFE

I wasn't able to find out much about Wicked Wolf, but being that the majority of the stories in the WAT series appear to be written by Todd Jones (including Shootout), I suspect that it is his own publishing platform.

The art is by Lee Oaks and if you want a preview, well...Look up. The art in the banner for this blog is a panel from that story. For a letter-free look, head on over to Lee's blog.

The first issue of All-Star Pulp also included a brief Black Bat story but there is nothing to suggest that it has been, or will be, reissued by Wicked Wolf.

And speaking of All-Star Pulp, while work on a third issue continues, it looks as though The Black Bat will be shut out of this one. The following information was shared on the Redbud's own Facebook group (while I generally detest Facebook, I admit it can be handy for the purpose of staying up to date on these projects).

Heads up pulp and comic fans, we've started work on assembling Airship 27 Productions presents ALL STAR PULP COMICS volume 3. Some of the characters lined up for this issue will be Ki-Gor Jungle Lord, the Crimson Mask, the Moon Man, the Purple Scar and Sinbad the Sailor. 

Ah well. That's only "some" of the characters, not all of them, and the first two issues featured seven stories so there's some space still unaccounted for.

Finally, the ASPC Black Bat has arrived!

Late last week, I received the two volumes of the Airship 27 / Redbud Studio All-Star Pulp Comics I'd ordered some time back and read through them this past Saturday.  As expected, the Black Bat content was small, but entertaining nonetheless.

The story in volume one is written by C. William Russette and drawn by Wayne Beeman. The Black Bat's detective skills are on display here as Russette uses the bulk of the few pages he has to show us how the character approaches a mystery.

It's difficult to elaborate without giving anything away.  The book was released in 2011 but who knows how many people may just now be buying it (hell, *I* just did!).  I'll only say that I thought it was well done on that level and leave it at that.

The second's volume takes a broader look at the pulp era.  Many pulp-inspired stories take place in an urban setting but volume two, for the most part, utilizes a number of different locations and eras.  We get jungle tales, air aces, a little Robin Hood...But the big city backdrop returns for "Shootout at the Dry Martini", a Black Bat story by Todd Jones and artist Lee Oaks.

As the title might give away, there is a fair amount of action in these eight pages.  And I find the art completely, appropriately beautiful.  Here are a couple of (non-consecutive and non-lettered) pages.

Scarring around the eyes.  I'm a sucker for the eye scarring.

I believe work is underway for a third volume of All-Star Pulp Comics, though whether The Black Bat will be included is unknown to me.  The only other character to appear in both books (15 stories in total) is Domino Lady so there seems to be some attempt at variety, including some pulp-inspired original creations.  However a page of art by Redbud Studio's Rob Davis recently posted on the Black Bat Facebook group is certain cause for optimism.

Maybe The Black Bat even gets his own book from Redbud?  Let's see what happens.

New Black Bat Material on the Way: Possibly, Eventually and Literally.

After a quiet spell, there has been a bit of news on the Black Bat / Miss Fury front in the last day or two.

Let's start with "possibly", because it's arguably the biggest one. It's not a huge surprise, but it was kind of a long time coming.

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that comic book writer Cullen Bunn (Deadpool, Magneto) will tackle their wide cast of company-owned and licensed pulp heroes in Masks II. Following upon the success of the bestselling 2012 Masks miniseries, Masks II will unite iconic crime-fighters of singular purpose (if not diverse ideologies and techniques) in an epic miniseries event designed to appeal to both longtime fans and fresh newcomers. Dynamite plans to launch Masks II in late 2014. 

"I couldn't be more excited to be working on Masks II," says Bunn. "I've always loved these great classic characters that I will have the privilege of working with, and I'm striving to keep the tone of the pulps that have always been a big inspiration for me. I'll admit, this project is a little intimidating, because I've put together a very ambitious team-up story that readers will have to see to believe!" 

The original Masks series launched in 2012 with industry fanfare, with its #1 issue ranking among the bestselling independent comic books of the year and selling over 70,000 copies. Drawn to the premise by the work of superstar painter Alex Ross, writer Chris Roberson, and artist Dennis Calero, readers thrilled to an adventure that united classic characters like The Shadow, The Spider, The Green Hornet, and Kato against a cadre of corrupt politicians and their fascist police state. Masks II promises to follow the themes established within that first series, but in a way that's perfect for new readers. 

The presence of The Black Bat or Miss Fury's is not guaranteed but you'd think at least the latter would be included.  Neither character had a huge role in the first volume, but Fury has appeared in the Noir mini and had a digital-first mini in addition to her own book.  She seems to have Dynamite's support.

Over to "eventually".  The following wall message appeared on the Black Bat Facebook page yesterday.

Some very exciting Black Bat news on the way, BB fans. Stay tuned.

That page tends to focus on the work done by Airship 27 and Moonstone Books.  We already know about The Black Bat's team up with Domino Lady being prepared for Moonstone.  My guess then (and that's all it is) is that there'll be either a 3rd edition of Black Bat Mystery (and being that the first two are among Airship 27's best sellers, it's kind of a no-brainer) or a comic book specific to him from Redbud Studio.

Which leads me to "literally".  I ordered both volumes of Airship 27 / RedBud Studio' All Star Pulp Comics from IndyPlanet yesterday.  As mentioned in an earlier post, each book has a healthy page count (58 for volume one, 64 for volume two) but also feature several characters from the pulp era.  So the Black Bat content might be kind of light, but I'll enjoy the other stories and save the Bat for last.

I'll display a page or two from those books when they arrive, and I'll gleefully share the news referred to on Facebook when it's made public.  Looking forward to being able to do both!

The Black Bat in All-Star Pulp Comics

I wish I was able to say more about this book.

I have long been unable to order from Indyplanet and at the moment, this is the only place from which Redbud Studios' All Star Pulp Comics can be had, either in print or digital form.

Here is a partial solicitation.

Standard Sized Trade Paperback
Black & White
Page Count: 58

Written and Illustrated by •Green Lama by Adam Garcia & Mike Fyles • Jim Anthony by Erwin K. Roberts & Pedro Cruz • Black Bat by C. William Russette & Wayne Beeman • The Blue Lady by Sean Taylor & James Ritchey III • The Rook by Barry Reese & Craig Wilson • Secret Agent “X” by Bobby Nash & Jeremy McHugh • Domino Lady by Percival Constantine, Rock Baker & Jeff Austin • Cover by Jeff Butler

There is a second issue as well. It also includes a Black Bat story but the solicitation does not indicate which writer tackled which character.  The writers of the Black Bat story in the first issue are not named in the credits to the second so evidently someone different handled the character.

If you're interested in the character and actually able to order from Indyplanet, then you may want to check these out.  Let me know what you think.  :-/