Takeaways From the March 16th's Art's Reviews

Earlier this month, Arthur Sippo hosted five of the writers involved in the "The Black Bat Returns" anthology book from Moonstone. The interview lasts over an hour, but here are the most noteworthy (in my opinion, of course) points touched upon.

1) Most of the stories are re-writes of Spider stories that Moonstone could no longer publish.

This is the lump of coal gift to Spider fans that keeps on giving to Bat fans. If not for the folks holding The Spider's license yanking the character away from Moonstone, we would not have the Black Bat / Domino Lady comic that is (presumably still) coming soon and perhaps not even this book.

Most of the writers explain that they had planned to contribute to a Spider anthology only to find out that they could not, so their respective tales were adapted for the Black Bat. Honestly, there is little evidence of this as one reads the stories. The transition from one character to another is rather seamless.

2) Green Lama fans really should get this book. 

Writer Adam Lance Garcia explains that his story is his take on the Green Lama's return to New York from the Tibet (?) and essentially the character's first adventure under that name.

So while The Green Lama appears in only one of the nine stories, it's a rather important one for the character. And that's because...

3) Moonstone may be working towards a true shared universe.

This wasn't the first "first" mentioned during the interview. Black Bat Returns also features the first encounter between our hero and Domino Lady (and The Golden Amazon, for that matter).

I don't know how tight the continuity might become but there is a fair amount of discussion around trying to get all the various projects somewhat connected.  Whether this is something the writers are taking on themselves or a Moonstone-driven initiative, at the end of the day they want to build a certain consistency so that the Domino Lady that you read about in one book is the same in every book, for example.

Pay attention, DC Comics.

4) We have quite a few more "qualified" writers now.

A couple of the writers admit to knowing precious little about the character prior to writing (or adapting) about him but having since developed a fondness for him. Nice to have the talent pool get a little deeper as a result of this book's publication.

5) McGrath doesn't have a first name. 

Well, son of a bitch. And here I thought I was just unable to find it.

I wish this interview had taken place months ago, it would have saved me a bunch of time. If I ever do come across one when I'm further along in the original stories I'll be sure to make a big deal out of it.


While those might be the key points, a lengthy round-table style interview such as this one naturally has far more to offer. I would suggest listening in regardless to hear each writer detail his inspiration for his specific story or for more discussion about Domino Lady, Honey West and a slew of upcoming projects from the cast.

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.

The Black Bat Returns!

Credit to First Comics News for breaking this because NO ONE else seems to have it.

Cover art: Mike Fyles 

6” x 9”, sc, 270pgs, $13.95 

The original Black Bat returns in this thrilling collection of all NEW action-crime stories! 

Read the character that was created at the SAME TIME as Batman! 

Ex-District Attorney Tony Quinn is blinded in a courtroom assault! 

He now seeks justice outside of the law as the relentless hero who can see in the dark: The Black Bat! 

Guest-starring: The Green Lama, Domino Lady, and Golden Amazon! 

Stories by Ron Fortier, Bobby Nash, Adam L. Garcia, Colin B. Harvey, Sean Taylor, James Palmer, David Boop, David White, and Josh Vogt!

The publisher is not named, and FCN uses a Dynamite banner in the announcement, but the book's logo appears to be the Moonstone logo. It seems clear that this is the anthology book that Ron Fortier has talked about a few times in recent months and that the character will be be done far more traditionally than Moonstone's earlier version. I assume this is an October solicitation.

I absolutely LOVE that cover and I need to get my hands on a bigger version. Check out some of Mike Fyles other work on his Facebook page.

Edit: Moonstone posted about it on their seldom-used Facebook group. It is actually a November solicitation, not October.

Another edit: Ron Fortier stated on Facebook that his Black Bat story involving Dr. Satan is included in this book.

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.

Day of The Destroyers: Jimmie Flint, Agent X-11, must save America

Moonstone continues to give The Black Bat the attention that Dynamite fails to provide (wish they'd do the same for Miss Fury) although I admit I'm unsure as to whether I'll get this book.  It seems as though The Black Bat's contribution may be relatively small.  Still, it might make for a good introduction to some other characters from the era.

Authors: Ron Fortier, Adam Lance Garcia, Gary Phillips, Paul Bishop, Eric Fein, Tommy Hancock, Aaron Shaps, & Joe Gentile 

Cover: Fernando Ferreiro 

6” x 9”, Softcover, 276pgs, $13.95
6” x 9”, Hardcover, 276pgs, $23.95

Based on a real historical event during the Roosevelt administration! 

Guest starring pulp heroes The Green Lama, The Phantom Detective, and The Black Bat! 

Day of the Destroyers is an all-original linked prose anthology – each story is part of a larger arc wherein Jimmie Flint, Secret Agent X-11 of the Intelligence Service Command, battles to prevent the seditionist Medusa Council from engineering a bloody coup overthrowing our democracy. 

Agent X-11 fights across the country preventing an aerial assault on Chicago’s rail lines, destroying a secret factory of gas meant to enthrall millions in New Mexico, racing to stop a machine of fantastic destruction in Manhattan, and so much more! 

Written by pulp fictioneers: Ron Fortier, Adam Lance Garcia, Gary Phillips, Paul Bishop, Eric Fein, Tommy Hancock, Aaron Shaps, & Joe Gentile. 

Introduction by pulp historian and award-winning author Robert Weinberg! 

The book is scheduled for release in March of 2015 so I have some time to think about it but I gather that pathetic hoarder that I am, I'll likely end up getting it as long as the Black Bat that appears is a more traditional one.  I didn't care for the version that Moonstone introduced a few years ago, but they seem to be drifting away from that one.