The Black Bat fronts The Gangbusters!

The Black Bat Mego style action figure released earlier this year by Nemo Publishing was, I thought, cause for excitement. Yes, it committed the (unforgivable to some) crime of including ears on the cowl, much like a similarly-themed DC comics character, but let's face it: ANY Black Bat action figure is progress. I know not everyone agrees with that assessment (I have a similar opinion about The Green Hornet movie) but here's the thing: you're wrong and I'm right. ;-)

Writer / artist Jay Piscopo's appreciation of, and fondness for, pulp and/or public domain characters is quite evident to anyone who follows his art page on Facebook. He has his own versions of several of those characters and a tendency to group them in teams around a theme, sometimes including his own creations. The Black Bat, in this case, is included in a group called The Gangbusters.

Nemo Publishing has a couple of books available for purchase already including a Captain Midnight special drawn by Piscopo and written by Bryan Augustyn, also carried by Moonstone.

I have no idea whether Mr. Piscopo plans on publishing comics involving The Black Bat to some degree, but I would certainly be interested if he did. Even if his Black Bat has ears.

"Stand by for adventure with a special Nemo Publishing action figure sale: Celebrates the release of the new Black Bat figure"

The text below is from a press release issued yesterday.

Six years ago, Nemo Publishing released its first limited edition Mego-style action figure of the retro hero Commander X. Today, the Nemo collection has grown to include 14 action figures, including the new Black Bat and the exciting new Sea Ghost figure which will ship in January.

In celebration of this popular action figure series and the release of the new Black Bat, Nemo Publishing announces a special online sale exclusively at http://www.captneli.com. From now through Friday, February 16, all action figures (except for Sea Ghost) will be available at a special price of $15.00 (regular price $19.95).

These eight-inch collectible “maker” action figures are created in a retro-style reminiscent of those made by the Mego Corporation in the 1970s. Creator Jay Piscopo worked with Paul Clarke, known as “Dr. Mego,” to create this collection.

The Black Bat action figure is a reworking of the classic 1939 hero and was designed by Jay Piscopo and assembled with the help of Paul Clarke.

...

“I'm huge fan of the Black Bat,” said Piscopo. “He is an interesting character and has a fascinating place in pop culture history with Batman and Daredevil. It's exciting to have him included on the Nemo Toys roster. His look translates into the new Mego style extremely well. I’m looking forward to offering more pulp and golden age characters like him in the future.”

Of course I had a bunch of the Mego action figures as a kid, most of which ended up with busted legs at some point. I never thought I'd see a Black Bat one though.

I was debating whether I wanted one for my little Black Bat corner but the decision was made for me.  Apparently, they don't ship to Canada. Ah well.