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.

Legenderry: Vampirella #4 solicitation

Here's an eye-catcher from the Steampunk version of Vampirella currently being published by Dynamite:

Legenderry #4 (of 5) 

Writer: David Avallone 

Art: David Cabrera

Page Count: 32 pages 

ON SALE DATE: May 20 

Moreau makes a monster, Kurtz stirs the masses, and Toomey gets lucky in the most unlucky way possible. Vampirella kisses a boy, storms the Council and fights a Bat-Man. 

Sex, violence, and everyone is wearing goggles for some reason.

That's written kind of strangely...Here's the cover:

When Dynamite published the first volume of Legenderry recently, warping a number of their current characters into Steampunk versions, I was curious as to The Black Bat would get the same treatment. I envisioned someone with artifical steampunk "technology" eyes. Does that make any sense? Probably not, but I'm not the writer so it's not my problem. ;-)

But it was not to be. There were steampunk versions of The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, Red Sonja...But no Bat.

Until now. Well...Until May 2015, rather. Here's an excerpt from a Bleeding Cool interview with Legenderry: Vampirella writer David Avallone:

BB: Tell us more about this “Bat-Man” that Vampi meets this issue, if you dare! 

DA: The idea came organically (no pun intended): I’ve got Doctor Moreau as one of my villains. In the Wells book and our series, he creates human-animal hybrids. Well, how would a human/vampire (human/Draculon) hybrid turn out? It seemed like an opportunity to engage in a little cheap satire of certain famous caped crusaders. Additionally… as established by Bill Willingham, the Legenderry universe tries to bring all the Dynamite characters together in one continuum, so this is my twisted steampulp version of the Black Bat.

Hmmm...Not quite what I had in mind. I was thinking more of a Victorian era style of Black Bat, not a half-vampire creature like DC Comics' Man-Bat or Marvel's Morbius. We'll keep an ear to the ground but right at the moment there is little cause for optimism. Let's see what comes out of it.

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.

Guns of The Black Bat

Not the upcoming comic series from Moonstone. This is a two-story novel by Wayne Skiver.

First things first. I want to throw some flowers Tom Johnson's way. I contacted him in regards to Double Danger Tales recently, specifically about whether the first volume of DDT was still available for purchase. Not only did Mr. Johnson respond quickly, he provided me with a list of Black Bat stories from various authors, published in a number of different books. It's a great resource for this obsessive collector and the gesture was very much appreciated.

This helped me to avoid duplication. Double Danger Tales has two Black Bat stories and two Dr. Satan stories. I'm not terribly interested in the latter two and I can get the Bat stories elsewhere with additional content so...why wouldn't I do that?

One of those other options is Guns Of The Black Bat, available by print-on-demand from lulu.com.

The Dark Detective of the Pulps returns in two exciting new mysteries! 

In "Death Smiles Back" Tony Quinn (AKA The Black Bat) must figure out the connection between two warring crimelords, and a strange string of murders.  Hindering his investigation is a diabolical frame up which paints the Bat as a Cop killer! 

Next up The Dark Detective squares off against the world's weirdest criminal, Doctor Satan in a deadly concert of Bullets and Brimstone.  Can the Bat survive the "Symphony in Shadows"?

As I understand it, Symphony in Shadows was originally a Doctor Satan story which was modified to include The Black Bat as the protagonist instead of the usual character filling that role, Ascott Keane. It'll be interesting to see if the Bat still feels authentic being that he's serving as a replacement.

Death Smiles Back, meanwhile, was one of the stories that I'd intended to get from DDT vol. 1. The other story in that book, Murder Under The Big Top, is included in Pulp Detectives by Altus Press (yep, those guys again...).

Every story in this book is written by Mr. Johnson. A second Black Bat story appears in addition to "Big Top", called Guns of Vengeance. I'm aware (now that Mr, Johnson has made his compilation of Bat stories available to me) of an older story that appeared in the original version of Double Danger Tales called The Black Bat's Vengeance but do not know if there's a connection between the two or if they just happen to have similar titles.

And so I dive into Death Smiles Back tomorrow morning. One thing I already know; the text is very small, yet the top quarter of every page is unused, for some reason. The layout is unusual and if small print is difficult for you to deal with, you may prefer to purchase the digital version and read it on a computer or an electronic device on which you can enlarge the text. Just a small heads up.

Black Bat Fact Sheet from Moonstone

The page below is lifted from Moonstone's Black Bat/Death Angel double shot  from a few years ago (2010, I believe). Most of the information provided in the "casefile" is based on the original character from Black Book Detective but Moonstone's additions are included to make the distinction.

So Anthony Quinn was fine, but his alter ego was schizophrenic. O...kay...And apparently he had developed a type of radar sense based on air pressure. Interesting concept, though perhaps a little too superheroic for this particular character.

I don't recall anything about Langston Rockwell, named among the allies. In an interview with First Comics News from 2010, writer Mike Bullock refers to him only as someone with a past he'd like to forget. There wasn't enough material issued using this version of the character to find out more, that I can recall and with Ron Fortier's apparently far more traditional material coming, it's doubtful that there will be, unless Bullock decides to revive his own version elsewhere one day.

Artist Needed for Black Bat / Domino Lady: Danger Coast to Coast

Interesting call sent out by writer Ron Fortier on Facebook earlier today:

The Black Bat - Domino Lady - Danger Coast to Coast I'm writing for Moonstone Comics is in need of an artist. If you have the skills and would like to work on a pulp era series like this, then now would be the time to get your samples off to Joe Gentile at Moonstone Comics. Please, DO NOT send such to me.

Too bad I suck. I'd kill for that gig.

I believe I heard earlier that the artists were determined for the first and second issues of the book. Hopefully this is for the 3rd and/or beyond and not an indication that one of the artists has backed out.

So if you don't suck and are interested, you'd probably be best to contact Gentile through his Facebook page, or by using the Moonstone website contact page.

The above image, which was included with Facebook posting, does not display any Domino Lady I've ever seen. The best guess is that's actually from the team-up with The Purple Scar, (Faces of Fear) but probably indicative of what Moonstone is looking for. Unless the guy in the background is just some thug, or Silk/Butch.

In any event, it's cool as all hell. Credit to whomever drew it.

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!

Dynamite's Black Bat Omnibus drops on Wednesday!

One of the reasons I'm grateful for the arrival of this book is that tracking it has been a chore.

Writer: Brian Buccellato
Art: Ronan Cliquet
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 336 pages 

The classic pulp vigilante, reimagined for a new generation!

Tony Quinn is a brash defense attorney to the mob who compromises his ethics for financial gain. When he refuses to cross the line and commit murder, he is tortured and blinded by his gangster employers. When a fortuitous meeting with a covert agency gives him a chance to make amends, Quinn transforms into the Black Bat and embarks on a redemptive quest to right the wrongs of his past. 

The complete 12-chapter epic, written by Brian Buccellato (of DC Comics' Flash) and collected into one massive omnibus!

Dynamite at one point advertised a "volume 1" of The Black Bat. Perhaps prompted by the book's cancellation at its 12th issue, an omnibus collecting all 12 issues was later solicited. I thought at first the plan was to have it out by the end of last year. Next thing I knew Amazon had a release date of July 2015, yet here it is, sporting a release date of February 18th, 2015.

Dynamite's website, by the way, includes the book under its "Black Bat Hardcovers" category while the solicitation clearly labels it as a softcover. Based on price, I assume the solicitation is accurate.

Now as to the book itself, it'll drive purists absolutely nuts (much like Dynamite did to fans of The Phantom and The Green Hornet). But understanding it was a "reimagined", modernized version, I went in with an open mind. And loved the book.

To the extent that I read it, anyway. When the book was cancelled, I stopped getting individual (digital) issues in anticipation of buying trade paperbacks for the cover galleries. Essentially, I'm paying for issues nine through twelve or so, the gallery and better packaging.

And hopefully a better cover. What I hated about the Moonstone version of the The Black Bat from a couple of years ago is that he came off like nothing more than psychotic thug. Making a character schizophrenic does not modernize him, in my opinion. The Black Bat was a cerebral character, not just a gunslinger and making him mentally unstable strips away a portion of his appeal for me.

The cover above is one of very few from Dynamite (and there must have been in the range of 40 covers created for the 12 issues, not counting black and white versions and so on) that gives off that Moonstone vibe. That said, Dynamite's page does not display a cover at the moment, so perhaps we'll be lucky and the omnibus will feature a different one, or a new one altogether.

I should probably mention that the "Dynamite covers" page under the banner is about 95% complete. They should all be on the display aside from an occasional virgin art version or black and white variety or some such. I may need to work on the spacing but the eye candy itself should be all there. Enjoy!

Masks 2, issue 2 solicitation

The Pulp Coming Attractions page posted the solicitation for Masks 2, due to come out in May, though damned if I know where they got it from.

MASKS 2 #2 (OF 8)
Covers: Butch Guice and Jae Lee
Writer: Cullen Bunn Art: Eman Casallos
The influence of the fiendish Red Death spans history. In the 30s, she stood against the Shadow, the Green Hornet, and Black Terror. In the 70s, the Red Death resurfaced to challenge two surprising heroes–the new Black Sparrow and Miss Fury!

Looks like the Black Bat is the seven of hearts! Unless that's a character I'm not thinking of.

It still doesn't appear as though our hero will be very prominent in this series but the solicitation does make me curious about one thing: If they're introducing a "new" Black Sparrow in the 70's (I assume they mean that part of the solicitation literally) then it's certainly possible that they could do the same for The Black Bat. It doesn't seem like they have any intention of revisiting their modern day version of the character any time soon, but they could choose to create a new one, as well as one based in the 70's.

A significant role in the book is probably too much to expect, but at this point I would settle for a pleasant surprise that sets the stage for future projects.

Here's the other cover that has been revealed. No Bat, but still pretty cool.

The Black Bat's War

In order to fill the time while waiting for new Black Bat material to come down the pike, I recently bought the kindle version of The Black Bat's War by Tom Johnson.

I'd seen the story mentioned in a few places but being that its title is consistent with many of the Black Book Detective tales from 1940 and 1941 (such as The Black Bat's Crusade and The Black Bat's Justice), I mistakenly thought "War" was a reprint from that era. Crediting G. Wayman Jones, the house name used back in the 40's in lieu of Norman Daniels and the various writers that contributed to Bat stories for Black Book Detective, on the cover for Triple Detective did little to convince me otherwise.

In fact, the story was written by Tom Johnson. Johnson has a fair amount of history with the character. His is the most prominent name on the Black Bat Companion book by Altus Press, as it should be since he's responsible for the bulk of its content.

And unless I'm mistaken, Johnson published and edited Double Danger Tales from the late 90's to the early 00's. DDT magazine promised "your favorite pulp heroes in exciting new adventures as well as the adventures of all new heroes in the classic pulp tradition."

And several of those adventures were Black Bat adventures. I haven't finished reading The Black Bat's War yet but Johnson's appreciation for, and knowledge of, the character is quite evident. Extra points for heavy usage of the supporting cast, including Commissioner Warner.

Here's the pitch for 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?

Unfortunately, a few typos and errors have found their way into the tale. A number of times, the number "1" replaces either a capital "I" or a small "L". For example, "Very Important Person" is abbreviated to "V1P" as opposed to "VIP". A very minor thing, but distracting when it happens. I suspect that a font change during reproduction made those instances more glaring than they were in the original document.

Johnson also adds (I believe) a specific behavioural trait to The Black Bat. I won't say what it is so that it doesn't stick out if people read the story after reading this post about it. It's something I don't recall The Black Bat doing in the Black Book Detective stories I've read, but he does it a few times in this story. It seems a touch out of place as a result, but I acknowledge that it could very well be something he came to do regularly and I just haven't gotten far enough in his adventures to know.

Neither of the above points should be viewed as major criticisms. The story is quite enjoyable and a welcome addition to the collection. It reads very much like an original Bat story.

You can order the above book from Altus Press by clicking on the cover image, or download the kindle version from this page. Some of the other Black Bat stories that have appeared in Double Danger Tales are included in volumes one through three of Tales of Mask and Mayhem.

Johnson recently released another story involving The Black Bat. It probably won't be long until I purchase that one as well and I'll discuss it further at that time but it was a nice surprise to stumble into.