Alternate Cover for Masks 2 #6

I didn't see this cover art when artist Colton Worley posted it on his Twitter account in October and it isn't displayed among the variant covers on dynamite.com, either.

Even though the Black Bat didn't play a huge part in the Masks 2 mini series, I hope this image finds its way into the Masks 2 trade paperback because it's quite striking.

Masks 2, Issue 8 solicitation

I can't say that this series has blown my mind, but the final line of this solicitation is intriguing.

MASKS 2 #8 (OF 8)  

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos 

FINAL ISSUE! 

The masked heroes have been cast through time and twisted into strange versions of themselves. Now, they make one last attempt to set things right... without damaging the time stream any more than they already have. The final confrontation with the Red Death will lead to the emergence of a new masked hero! 

Full color, 32 pages, $3.99

Masks 2, Issue 7 Solicitation

Coming in October:

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos 

In this issue, the machinations of the Red Death have scattered the masked heroes of three eras into the time stream. Now, wildly altered versions of the heroes have reunited for one last campaign to defeat the Red Death and save all of reality.

More "alternate versions" of these characters, including a cyborg Shadow, apparently, judging from the above cover.

Have you heard of "event fatigue"? It's the term used to refer to being punch-drunk from all the line-wide storylines that the comic companies have going, such as DC's recent Convergence books and Marvel's Secret War nonsense.

I believe I have some sort of "alternate version fatigue". While I try to be open-minded to that approach from publishers, there's just a point where you want to read about the character that drew your attention and captured your imagination in the first place. Dynamite seemed poised to provide exactly that in the first volume of Masks, but have since gotten further and further from it (whereas Moonstone is doing the exact opposite, to their credit)

Of course, it may be that writer Cullen Bunn will come up with something clever for his version of The Black Bat. But his treatment of the character so far does not inspire confidence, sorry to say.

Masks 2, Issue 6 solicitation

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos 

Cast though the time stream, the masked heroes of three different eras find themselves face to face with the sinister forces that spawned the Red Death… the menace who has laid waste to the world! 

But wild adventures through time have brought about amazing… and sometimes horrific… changes in the Shadow, Green Hornet, Black Sparrow, and the others. In order to set things right, the league of heroes–(as) you’ve NEVER seen them before–must band together in hopes of saving all of reality.

Black Bat gets in on the action in Masks 2

The third issue of Masks 2 was released today, and The Black Bat makes his grand appearance in the series.

I don't think this falls under the spoiler category. We knew we were getting the modern day version of The Black Bat. We knew that Masks 2 would span three eras. We knew the first two issues of the series focused on the 40's and the 70's. Therefore it stood to reason that Bat would show up in this issue.

Long story short: Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt is fighting a huge bastard on a ship. After Cannon's best shot doesn't seem to be particularly effective, The Black Bat enters the fray:

As has been the case for a while with Dynamite books, this appearance seems to disregard the character's previous material in his own book. They handle(d) The Green Hornet this way. GH's presence in some other Dynamite books (such as Dark Nights with The Shadow, or these Masks books) all seem independent of one another.

Same with The Black Bat in Masks 2. The basics are there: The costume, the guns...But while the ending of the final issue in his series would have prevented him from participating in this story, his presence is not at all explained. And he leaves the scene above in some sort of "Bat Boat". *ahem*.

Ah well. It's early. Let's see where this goes.

Masks 2, Issue 5 solicitation

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos 

The Red Death has sprung a dangerous trap, scattering our masked heroes through time. From the prehistoric era to the post-apocalyptic future, the Shadow, Green Hornet, Peter Cannon, Miss Fury, and others face dinosaurs, murderous masqueraders, and mutants! Along the way, they uncover the terrible truth about the Red Death.

Masks 2, Issue 4 solicitation

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos 

Heroes from across time meet, the bizarre origins of the Red Death are revealed, and an insidious trap springs shut. A dangerous adventure unlike anything you might expect awaits as the masked vigilantes of three different eras! The epic team-up of The Shadow, Black Terror, Miss Fury, Peter Cannon, Green Hornet, The Spider, and more continues, courtesy of Deadpool writer Cullen Bunn.

April 10th Bullet Points

Just a few small points that don't quite inspire a full post.

1. Now we know which Black Bat will participate in Dynamite Entertainment's Masks 2.

There he is in a group shot in the first issue (by The Shadow's right elbow). The image is a vision of sorts; the character doesn't actually appear in-story.

Frankly, when the series was announced I thought the 1940's version from the first volume of Masks was more likely to appear, or a new version based in the present. Judging from the distinctive "bat teeth" chest emblem, it seems to be the same one that had a 12-issue series recently.

Without giving anything away (even though the Black Bat's book has been out for months now), that's actually a little disappointing because the series had a fairly unique, definitive conclusion. I'm concerned that his inclusion will clash with it and trivialize it. We'll see.

2. For all that the various Black Bat projects planned by Moonstone Books, such as Guns of The Black Bat, Danger Coast to Coast and Faces of Fear, were said to be coming out "later this year", the publisher revealed its August solicitations earlier this week and there is still no Black Bat to be seen. So it'll be at least September until any of these are made available. Kind of a drag, but in the meantime...

3. Day of the Destroyers is out!

You may have noticed that Gary Phillips drew our attention to the book's release in a comment to an earlier post (see April 4th). This is appreciated because these things aren't always extremely clear (yet they seem so simple from the outside looking in...).

I knew the book was being released "soon" but that's often a relative term. Amazon (both the ".ca" version for we Canadians and the .com one) displayed different release dates later in the month, no less, complicating matters somewhat. But the Moonstone website's store now includes it in both softcover and limited edition hardcover versions, available for order immediately. If you've been waiting for this book, have at 'er.

I don't know how much of a presence The Black Bat has in Day Of The Destroyers, but its presence enough that he's named in the solicitation as a "guest-star" (along with The Phantom Detective and The Green Lama). The book contains 12 stories told over 276 pages.

Which Bat When?

It was revealed some time ago that Dynamite's second volume of Masks would feature, at least in some cases, different versions of some of its chosen characters over three different eras.

This, of course, raised the questions of which Black Bat we might get. Dynamite had two versions of the character, one from the late 30's who appeared in the first volume of Masks, and one who was based in the present day and modernized. Would either make an appearance, or would we get new versions altogether?

An interview with writer Cullen Bunn from late February, posted on comicvine.com, provides another hint, but may also raise another question or two.

Which masked heroes will be cast as the defenders of each of the three eras? 

“From the 30s, we have the Shadow, Green Hornet, Kato, Miss Fury, Black Sparrow, and Black Terror,” Bunn said. “From the 70s, we see a new Miss Fury and Black Sparrow. From the modern era, we have Peter Cannon and Black Bat. 

And then we have the Spider, Lady Satan, and Green Lama. They’re playing around on the fringes of this story. And as you might guess, that means something really strange is going to happen. Did someone say there are going to be more than three timelines visited?" 

... 

Will we some the same character in different eras—a Golden Age Green Hornet and a modern Green Hornet, for instance? And if so, will the older guys share their crime files with the newer incarnations? 

“We are certainly going to see the Green Hornets of different eras,” Bunn said, “although I’m a little more interested in the Katos of different decades. Playing these characters against each other was one of the things that is most exciting to me about this series.”

So are The Green Hornet and Kato the only two getting this treatment? I suppose if we assume that Fury and Sparrow will also meet their counterparts, the whole thing could get old if it happens to too many characters. As a less-established part of Dynamite's stable, The Black Bat might be out of that equation.

At the end of the day, it appears likely that we may only get one Bat, and it will be a current one. It's just not clear whether it will be the same Black Bat from the earlier Dynamite series.

Can't wait for this book, but...we'll need to for just one more week. The first issue hits shelves on April 1st.

Masks 2, Issue 3 solicitation

Issue one drops on April 1st! No foolin'!

MASKS 2 #3 (OF 8)
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos
Peter Cannon AKA Thunderbolt smashes his way into the struggle against the Red Death! The mysterious villain has plagued the heroes of three different timelines. Her scheming is even more dangerous than anyone could possibly guess, but now the adventures of the masked heroes of the last 80 years are coming together in a way no one could possibly imagine!

Oh dear. Is that The Black Bat on the right? Certainly looks like his kind of scene.

While looking for information about this issue, I happened across a cover to the previous one that I had not seen earlier. I include it below because it features another pulp era favourite of mine, Miss Fury.

Can't wait for this series to start, even if BB's contribution seems limited.

Solicitation: Masks 2, #1 (of 8)

While there doesn't appear to be much Black Bat content in this book, I'll still record the official solicitation here.

Cover A Main: Butch Guice
Cover B Variant: Jae Lee
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Art: Eman Casallos

The Shadow. The Green Hornet and Kato. Black Terror. These are just a few masked vigilantes drawn into a mystery that spans the decades – a plot that threatens our society again and again. With the devastating power to kill thousands of people in a matter of seconds, the Red Death is a villain who may be impossible to stop. It will take more than a dozen masked heroes from three different time periods to stop this madwoman from bringing the world to its knees!

We don't learn much that wasn't already revealed in the press release announcing Casallos as the book's artist, but we do now know that the mini series is eight books long. That's something I guess. With any luck, Dynamite will give us a regular dose of Black Bat throughout the bulk of 2015 starting in April.

Masks 2 from Dynamite coming in April!

I came across this annoucement on First Comics News earlier today on my way to work and have been dying to give it a longer look. Here's an abbreviated version of the release, including a variant cover featuring our former cover girl.

Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce the full creative team for Masks 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to 2012-2013’s pulp hero extravaganza, Masks.

Artist Eman Cassalos (Alice Cooper) joins fan-favorite writer Cullen Bunn (Deadpool) in an epic comic book event uniting such diverse pulp characters as The Shadow, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, Lady Satan, Black Terror, Green Hornet, Zorro, and more.

Slated for release in April 2015, Masks 2 will feature cover artwork by a selection of the industry’s most celebrated artists, including Butch Guice, Jae Lee, Gabriel Hardman, Colton Worley, Sean Chen, and Robert Hack.

...Masks 2 promises to expand the scope dramatically beyond even what the first series presented, while simultaneously serving as an entry point for new, curious readers.

“I’m introducing a new villain called the Red Death who is plaguing the heroes in three different time periods,” says Bunn. “Again and again, she resurfaces, in the ’30s, the ’70s, and the present day. Her agenda is a bit of a mystery… but our heroes will start to see just how dangerous the Red Death can be. Her machinations definitely have the potential to bring all of civilization to ruin.”

The complete Masks 2 roster of pulp heroes, gathered from different periods in time, includes: The Shadow, Green Hornet, Kato, Black Terror, The Spider, Green Lama, Lady Satan, Black Sparrow, Miss Fury, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt, Black Bat, and Zorro. However, readers should expect the unexpected when dealing with these characters. Bunn says, “We’re working with a cast of existing and new characters who span three different timelines. For some characters, like the Green Hornet, we’ll be seeing multiple versions of those characters. We might even be seeing those various versions of those characters interacting with each other! So, the Green Hornet and Kato of the 30s will be meeting their modern day counterparts face-to-face. It’s a very ambitious, wild story. There were moments where, in the middle of writing this beast, I wondered if I’d bitten off way more than I could chew. But it’s come together, and I’m really excited for readers to dig in.”

Interesting take indeed. Full release here.

Specific to the The Black Bat, Dynamite indeed has two versions of the character; the one from the first volume of Masks and the modern-day version that had a 12-issue series between 2013 and 2014. I didn't finish that series (waiting for the Omnibus) so I don't know if he even lived through the end. Even if he did, that Black Bat seemed to be in his own setting (one without characters like The Shadow and The Spider around) so I doubt he would be brought in to Masks 2.

No sense worrying about it too much because it doesn't appear as though The Black Bat will be featured player this time around either. Clicking on the link above to view the release will display some of the covers and interior art, all of which is rather Bat-deficient. If not for his name appearing in the text, you'd be hard-pressed to know that he's included at all. On the cover below, if you squint enough, you can see him in a frame behind the logo. Hooray!!

Still going in with an open mind though. While his part was small in the first volume, he made a good team with Zorro and had an idealogical clash with The Shadow that I was hoping would lead to more. With a different writer involved, I doubt that point will be revisited but I'm eager to see what Bunn does to make him stand out.