The Black Bat Part of Pro Se's LEGACY Imprint

Pro Se Productions sent out the press release below earlier today. It wasn't Black Bat specific, I was just stoked to The Black Bat mentioned as one of the "taken" characters.

But first, let's look back at an earlier (and abbreviated) release. It's from April 21st, to be specific.

Known for breathing new life into classic characters from Pulp Fiction, both licensed and in the public domain, Pro Se takes a step into an exciting new avenue for stories, utilizing Pulp characters in the Public Domain in ways to bring them into the modern era, telling tales using the archetypes from yesterday so many know to tell relevant stories set today. Using, at least initially, only Pulp characters in the Public Domain, Pro Se’s LEGACY imprint will be telling these tales. 

... 

The characters utilized in LEGACY works can be written in two ways-either as updates of the original character and his/her supporting cast OR as a character inheriting a legacy left to him or her by the original character. For this, research will be required. If writers cannot acquire the original works, various resources with information exist on the internet and/or a request can be made of Pro Se Productions at submissions@prose-press.com to provide links. 

... 

The first LEGACY volume set for release in late 2017 will be THE PHANTOM DETECTIVE: IGNITION by B. Chris Bell.

And more specific to our masked nemesis of crime...

PRO SE'S NEWLY ANNOUNCED 'LEGACY' IMPRINT HAS ONLY TWO OPENINGS LEFT FOR FIRST YEAR! 

...LEGACY is an imprint that will feature only digest novels (30 thousand words) or full length novels. The lead characters in these works MUST have originated in Pulp Magazines, circa 1896-1954 and MUST currently be in the Public Domain... 

Pro Se Productions opened the LEGACY imprint with the intent to fill 12 slots, enough to produce a book a month beginning in July 2017. When these slots are filled, new proposals will not be take in this imprint until at least January 2018 to fill the second year. As of this announcement, only two of the original twelve slots remain. 

Once an author makes a submission and that submission is accepted, then the character featured in that submission 'belongs' to that author, at least through the publication of the accepted work, if not longer. The update versions of the following characters are now a part of the LEGACY imprint and are off limits for further submissions at this time- 

Dan Fowler, G-Man
The Thunderbolt
Major Lacy and Amusement, Inc.
Secret Agent X
Domino Lady
The Black Bat
The Griffon
Ravenwood, Stepson of Mystery
The Phantom Detective
Dr. Satan

So I guess this means we get new Black Bat material from Pro Se some time between August 2017 and...May 2018! I'm sure the time will just fly by. ;-)

This isn't Pro Se's first go at the character. He was also included in the second of their two-part Sons of Thor story.

The Black Bat in Behind The Mask, Volume 2

Coming soon from Fading Shadows. Contains four stories: Satan’s Minions, a Phantom Detective story, The Star of Africa, a Funny Face story, Guns of Vengeance featuring The Black Bat, and Seven Men of Greed featuring The Man In Purple. Kindle edition only for now.

Guns Of Vengeance guest-stars The Phantom Detective and his entourage.

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.

Guns Of The Black Bat #3 solicitation

Writer: Ron Fortier
Art: Silvestre Szilagyi
Cover: Michael Stribling 

32pgs, grayscale, $3.50 

UPC: 685239899108 

Domino Lady and the Phantom Detective travel to the Congo to find a life-saving plant as the Black Bat and the rest of his team continue to battle prehistoric humans and animals on the streets of Manhattan..

Might have me a new banner picture coming soon...

Edit: In response to a question asked by a fan on Facebook, writer Ron Fortier identifies the two men on either side as I.V. Frost and Jim Anthony. And Ki-Gor in the middle, but most people probably figured that part out based on past solicitation material.

Guns Of The Black Bat #2 Solicitation

From Moonstone's June 2016 solicitations:

GUNS OF THE BLACK BAT # 2 

Writer: Ron Fortier
Art: Silvestre Szilagyi
Cover: Michael Stribling
32pgs, grayscale, $3.50 

UPC: 685239899085
UPC (variant): 685239899092 

Someone has poisoned Manhattan’s water supply and is turning both humans and animals in to de-evolved monsters and beasts. Only the Black Bat and his assembled team, Phantom Detective, Domino Lady, I.V. Frost and Nighthawk, can hope to stem the nightmare tide and save their city before it is too late. 

RETAILER INCENTIVE: If you purchase 3 or more of Guns of the Black Bat #2, you can purchase a variant…AND you get one variant free!

We'd seen the regular cover quite some time ago (though I believe at the time it was said to be the cover for the third issue) but it looks great with the header. And the variant follows the close-up style used for the first issue.

Sons of Thor!

Pro Se Productions seemed like a sure bet for Black Bat material when I first became aware of their existence a couple of years ago. A longer look failed to reveal any such but a post on the Pulp Super Fan blog from earlier this week showed me I was wrong to believe that at the time.

PSF was reviewing the publisher's first compilation of "Pro Se Presents", a monthly series of pulp stories. In doing so, the writer mentioned the following issues:

#9, April 2012 and #10, May 2012 comprise a two-part series called “The Sons of Thor.” This story teams up several pulp heroes, including the Phantom Detective and the Black Bat in fighting a menace to the United States during WWII.

Ah! Pro Se seems more focused towards new pulp-style characters but evidently they do, on occasion, turn to the classics as well.

Each part's "pitch" is copied below. The cover displayed is that of the first book.

PRO SE PRESENTS, Puttin' The Monthly Back Into Pulp, brings you the first part of a TWO ISSUE EVENT! They believed that they were the chosen of the old Norse Gods. They believed they would rule first all of Europe, then the entire world. Many believed the sect gone forever. They were wrong. The Sons of Thor Live! Heaven Help the Foolish Few Who Dare to Challenge Them! THE SONS OF THOR written by Erwin K. Roberts is a fast paced New Pulp Adventure featuring nearly indomitable foes up against some of the best Pulp Heroes in the Public Domain today! Two fisted thrills, faster than lightning intrigue, and more heroes than you can shake a hammer at! Available now in its first part in PRO SE PRESENTS NUMBER NINE! From Pro Se Productions! 

Freedom Fights! The Sons of Thor Move Toward Destiny! As nations focus on the growing conflict with Nazi Germany, a devastating mission begins that threatens to unleash a horror that could lay waste to the world. As the Sons of Thor begin their final gambit, is there anyone who can stand against them in the face of certain doom? Find out in the Thrilling Conclusion to THE SONS OF THOR by Erwin K. Roberts featured in Pro Se Presents 10!

So...Not even the merest mention of The Phantom Detective or The Black Bat? It would seem that drawing attention to their presence might have been a logical way to promote the books.

For that reason, I admit that even if The Black Bat was mentioned in the Pulp Super Fan review, I was unsure about picking up the books. I wanted to avoid buying a story for a mere cameo appearance.

Then I saw the back cover of the second book on Pro Se's website...

All right, well...Perhaps The Black Bat plays a significant role after all! That cover is evidence enough to roll the dice. And so even though I believe The Black Bat only appears in the second part, I've downloaded the first book and will begin reading it this weekend to set up what I hope is a good addition to the collection.

City of Phantoms

At the conclusion of my post about Tom Johnson's The Black Bat's War on  February 11th, I mentioned picking up another story written by Mr. Johnson author before long.

I followed through this past weekend. The story in question is called City of Phantoms and is a team-up with The Phantom Detective.

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!

Based on the cover, I was a bit concerned that The Black Bat's role might be limited. That wasn't the case at all. In fact, you could argue the opposite point. There were occasions I thought Phantom Detective fans might have been disappointed while The Black Bat dominated the story. But as a Bat fan, that worked for me just fine.

And it isn't just the Bat. I knew from the solicitation that Carol was involved, but Silk and Butch get plenty of "face time" as well.

Not that Phantom fans are shut out by any stretch. I am not familiar with The Phantom Detective (though judging by how often he's paired with The Black Bat, I guess I will be before long) but it seemed as though he had similar treatment in this story. The antagonist has ties to PD's past and a number of the supporting characters are clearly "regulars" in his adventures, not unlike Carol, Silk, etc.

Again risking that people far more knowledgeable about these characters than I am will read this and conclude that I'm a simpleton, I should point out that the story also appears in a Triple Detective volume (#4) by Altus Press. Except that it is credited to one Robert Wallace.

Now Robert Wallace is simply a pseudonym for Mr Johnson. I've found out that many original Phantom Detective stories were credited to the house name Robert Wallace. I'm not sure I see the point in Tom Johnson doing this, aside from the obvious; attempting to be faithful to the material as though it was published in 1956, as the cover suggests. I suppose what throws me off is that Johnson had another story published in the same book anyway, under his actual name.

Having only recently read The Black Bat's War, I can easily state that City of Phantoms is near identical in style, so there would be little question that Mr. Johnson did write it anyway. And again, his fondness for the characters and their history shines through.

Now then...In a bit of fortuitous timing, I've just received my copy of the Black Bat story from Pulpsploitation earlier this week and started reading it this morning. I'm not far enough into it to comment much yet, but it takes place in 1977 and seems like an interesting take on the character. It's certainly an unusual take, so I look forward to diving in further.

But while I'm working through that, I'll see if I can find a way of getting my hands on a copy of Double Danger Tales, volume one.

DOUBLE DANGER TALES, Vol. 1 

DR. SATAN & THE BLACK BAT return in 4 All-New Exciting Tales of Mystery, Magic, and Adventure! Pulp Fiction at its finest! 

Includes: DR. SATAN starring in "Symphony in Death Minor" by Wayne Skiver, and "The Prisoner" by Sean Ellis.   

THE BLACK BAT features "Death Smiles Back" by Wayne Skiver, and "Murder Under the Big Top" by Tom Johnson. 

Cover Art & Interior illustrations are by Rich Woodall. 

Join us in these Thrilling and Chilling set of stories featuring 2 Heroes & Villains, in 2 stories each... DOUBLE DANGER TALES!

I need to check to confirm, but I believe that would cover all original Black Bat material from Double Danger Tales. Frankly, I would prefer a compilation of that material in one volume but that I know of, that's not happening. DDT used to be available on lulu.com but that doesn't appear to be the case any longer, so acquiring this one might be a challenge. Wish me luck!

Guns of The Black Bat cover

Well ain't this a thing of beauty (lifted from the Black Bat Facebook page)!

Coming later this year from Moonstone Comics - GUNS OF THE BLACK BAT from writer Ron Fortier. This cover is by artist Michael Stribling.

"Later this year" is more vague than I'd like (by necessity, no doubt) but seeing a cover for it makes it feel a little more real. This may be the project I'm most looking forward to in 2015. Seeing my favourite pulp character be the straw that stirs the drink, as it were, is an exciting prospect. Bring it on, Mr. Fortier and Moonstone.

Highlights of Ron Fortier's appearance on the Art's Reviews podcast

This is a rare two-post day on this blog, but I take that as additional proof that 2015 will be the year of the Bat.

Airship 27's Ron Fortier was a guest on Art's Reviews podcast yesterday and talked about the huge amount of projects occupying his time over the next few months. The bulk of the first half of the conversation was about Sherlock Holmes projects (past and future) but at about the 30 minute mark, the attention turns to The Black Bat for a few minutes.

I attempted to capture the information as best as I could, starting with a project that I'm hearing about for the first time. All quotes are by Mr. Fortier (host Art Sippo may as well have not been involved, he contributed very little besides the occasions "wow").

"Last year I wrote a long Black Bat vs. Doctor Satan story which will be appearing in a new Black Bat anthology from Moonstone."

Fantastic! I was getting tired of The Black Bat appearing in one story in anthologies for Domino Lady, The Spider, and so on. About time the tables were turned in that regard. I knew little about Doctor Satan but have done a little research and this could be quite cool. More on him later.

We are also given a bit more information about the team-up with The Purple Scar.

"Basically it's a novelette...It will have ten interior illustrations by none other than Rob Davis."

Onwards from prose books to comic book projects. The image below is several months old, but for those who may not have seen it yet, you could probably guess that it is meant to be the cover to the Black Bat / Domino Lady book. The art is by Mike Dorman.

"I've taken over writing two series for Moonstone. One of them is called 'Black Bat and Domino Lady: Danger Coast to Coast'...

What I've done is, every two issues we tell a complete story. In the first storyline, the Black Bat story is the 'A' story whereas interspersed between it is the 'B' story of Ellen Patrick out in Los Angeles.

When you get to issue #3, it reverses. The A story becomes the Domino Lady story, in between some of those pages you're going to find the continuation of the Black Bat saga but it's the B story now."

"And then as if that wasn't enough to fill my plate, he (Moonstone's Joe Gentile) turns around and had another comic project in the works that for whatever reason, the gentleman who was writing it took a hike...And it was going to be a pulp team book, much like a pulp version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but with The Black Bat as the primary, central force collecting these pulp heroes...The series itself is going to be called Guns of The Black Bat".

"Any public domain character that you can possibly imagine is sooner or later going to pop up in this series. In the first two issues we've got...Domino Lady is there, The Phantom Detective, Air Boy, I.V. Frost, Ki-Gor The Jungle Lord, Jim Anthony Super Detective and...I got to throw in my own character Nighthawk (sp?), is going to appear there, in comic book form."

So basically, in terms of Black Bat content, the exact opposite of Mask and Masks 2. Where he appears to be a bit part player in those books, he will be the hub character in Guns.

There was also a brief reference to a third volume of Black Bat Mystery. So all very good news, aside from the fact that we don't have a release date for any of them yet.

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.

The Men of Bronze Black Bat, by way of Moonstone Books

You'll have to pardon any inaccuracies on my part. Most of the sites from which I did my research were written in Spanish and I don't have a good grasp of that language.

I located the image below from the Men of Bronze Studios Facebook page.  "Los Hombres De Bronze" describe themselves as...

...a group of new talent artists (pencillers, inkers, colorist...) with the goal of working -mainly- for the american comic book industry. 

I believe that both pencils and inks are by Antonio Rojo and that colours are by Christian Castellanos.

This is basically the Moonstone Books version of the The Black Bat.  I didn't think much of it initially, assuming that the artists simply appreciated that version of the character.  However, looking through the albums on the Facebook page and finding complete pages gave me a bit of a charge.

For a moment I believed that we were finally going to get something solid out of the "Originals" event that Moonstone hyped years ago.  It did lead to a few books, mostly featuring Domino Lady, but by and large the whole thing fizzled, unfortunately.

Closer inspection revealed it to be little more than a page in someone's submission portfolio, but if Men of Bronze ever decide to publish their own books involving The Black Bat, I'll be happy to support it.