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ALL PULP Introduces Powerful New Feature-BEHIND THE VEIL

  • News
  • April 5, 2011

Sometimes great minds think alike and even simultaneously.   Two noted modern pulp writers within hours of each other sent ALL PULP an email, one asking to do an interview, the other wanting to submit an essay.  Each of these writers wanted to use these vehicles to dig deeper into their own creative processes, to pull back the shade and show where some of the influences for their characters and some of the reasons behind creative decisions they made came from.  The writer who requested the interview was Mike Bullock and that interview was posted yesterday on MOONSTONE MONDAY.  The writer who’d written the essay is ALL PULP’s very own Barry Reese and it will be posted below to officially kick off BEHIND THE VEIL.

In the coming weeks, Perry Constantine, ALL PULP guest columnist will be contacting some pulp creators with a list of interview questions, not the basic questions, but some real get tough and deep type questions about relationships these writers have with particular characters they have created or have written.   If you prefer, however, to do an essay as Barry did, then please do so and send that to allpulp@yahoo.com  Both interviews and essays will be featured in BEHIND THE VEIL.

Behind the Veil: The Rook & Me
by Barry Reese
I was very young when my parents divorced. As a result, most of my memories of my father are ones where he was either drunk or making my mother cry, or both. He did get me on some weekends, though, and there are two very fond memories that I have of him: on Friday nights, he would let me stay up far too late to watch one of those B-Movie shows at midnight; and he always had those Bantam pulp reprints of Doc Savage and The Avenger lying around. From the former, I think I gained my appreciation of bad cinema and from the latter, I gained a lifelong appreciation for heroes that many of my peers had never heard of. While I could speak comfortably to them about the nuances of Batman, Spider-Man or Nova, I was always conversant in the more obscure realms of Doc Savage, The Shadow, Justice, Inc. and Conan the Barbarian.
Eventually, my father moved to Florida and his appearances in my life became more infrequent.  In 1985 (when I was 13 years old), he showed up unannounced at the house I lived in with my mother and stepfather (the man whom I always think of as my “real” father). He brought me a huge supply of paperback books and spent a couple of hours with me. He made an off-color joke about a girl in my class that I mentioned having a crush on and then he hugged me and said he’d see me again soon.
It’s 2011 and he’s yet to keep that promise.
I grew up, suffered through the typical high school angst, found my future wife and a career as a librarian. Eventually, I kind of stumbled into a career as a writer. One of my creations, the one that I’m most known for, was a pulp-style hero known as The Rook. In this series, young Max Davies loses his father when he’s a young boy and grows up thinking that he has to somehow ensure that others won’t suffer the pain that he did. Eventually, he discovers that his father has controlled his growth, even from beyond the grave, transforming him into the man that he becomes. He’s tormented by conflicting feelings upon encountering his father’s ghost: does he hate this man who has shaped him or does he desperately want his approval? In the fictional world, their relationship heats and cools repeatedly before they finally bury the hatchet as his father is symbolically killed by the son and vanishes into the afterlife, finally at peace.
I never saw The Rook as any reflection upon my life until a reporter doing a story on me kept going back to my relationship with my own father. And then I wondered: did this man who hasn’t seen me in over 25 years still control me? Is The Rook some sort of grotesque parody of my own personal relationship with a man who in some ways is dead to me?
I sent my father a few of my books and he emailed me back, saying he loved them and that he appreciated how I used some of the heroes he used to admire. He also said he loved me. I thanked him for the comments on the books but I’ve never said I love you back.
Just as in The Rook, the grave isn’t always the end. Shortly after my stepfather passed away, my genetic father re-entered my life, through the magic of the Internet and Facebook.   He sometimes posts on my wall and tells me how proud he is of me.
I sometime wonder if it’ll take his death for me to put all the complex issues to rest.
If he does die, will I attend his funeral? Seems strange not to but at the same time, I haven’t seen him in 26 years… how do you vanish from your child’s life for so long? Now that I’m a father, I (like Max in The Rook series) can’t imagine turning my back on my own flesh and blood. I’d gladly die for him… and can’t fathom simply walking away from him.
Sometimes I want to reach out to my father and embrace him but then I think that maybe I just miss my stepfather.
Sometimes I don’t know what I want.

ALL PULP NEWSSTAND BULLDOG EDITION 4/5/11

  • News
  • April 5, 2011
ALL PULP NEWSSTAND
BULLDOG EDITION
4/5/11
PULPWORK PRESS MAKES THE WEST EVEN WEIRDER!
From Pulpwork Press’s site-http://www.pulpwork.com/2011/04/weird-in-west.html?spref=fb

WEIRD IN THE WEST

The TOC for How the West was Weird 2 looks to have been finalized, with ALL of the stories now in editor Russ Anderson’s hands. Included among the roster of contributing authors are Ron Fortier, Tommy Hancock, and Barry Reese, as well as Derrick Ferguson and Joel Jenkins! And with TWENTY-ONE tall tales of western weirdness, this volume doubles the fun of the previous one.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL 1
Be sure to check back soon for a sneak peek of the cover, as well as a look at the stories inside! Too, there’ll be an awesome little pre-order incentive coming in the next month or so, so make ready to crack your wallets wide, weird western fans, because it’ll be a hum-dinger!
Oh, and How the West was Weird 2 has a release date of July 1st, so you have plenty of time to order yourself a copy of How the West was Weird 1 in order to wet your whistle for what’s coming.
 OLD TIME RADIO GOODNESS FOR PULP FANS!
From Tom Johnson-
For those of you that remember the AFRN, and the nights they would play Old Time Radio programs, Don Leary of Seymour has set up a website that you can listen to daily. There is a listing on the Main Page for the weekly schedule (program only, not the title of the episode). The same episode will play in three different  time periods. The hours are listed (Central Standard Time – Texas). There are buttons at the top of the screen for the listening format. Right now, Don doesn’t have it set up for you to download the shows. Some other programs are THE LONE RANGER, JOHNNY DOLLAR, X MINUS ONE, GUNSMOKE, SHERLOCK HOLMES, SUSPENSE, DIMENSION X, and so many more! http://theiotrs.com/ Check out the schedule.

FLYING GLORY-THE LATEST FROM KPSB!

FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY
Special Issue 0 Page 2
You, um, missed the fireworks about that… Debra runs off to tell her band members in the Hounds of Glory the news, only to find something else has happened. What’s going on? Find out in the next page of the prelude story, “Generational Glory,” at http://www.flying-glory.com/ !

 

MOONSTONE MONDAY-BULLOCK GOES INTO THE BLACK BAT!

  • News
  • April 4, 2011

MIKE BULLOCK, Writer/Creator

AP:  Mike, welcome back to ALL PULP.

Mike Bullock: Thanks! [looks at the new blinds] I love what you’ve
done with the place.

AP: Ha! Catch everyone up on what you’ve been up to and what you’re working on.

MB: Well, I have a lot of irons in the fire, but the ones that AP’s
readers are most likely interested in include putting the finishing
touches on the first Black Bat/Death Angel graphic novel, which heads
to the printer this week.

AP:  You’ve been involved heavily in Moonstone’s pulp comic line,
including bringing your own character, Death Angel into the mix as
well as working with well known characters from Pulp’s Golden Age. In
general, what appeals to you about these types of characters as a
creator?

MB: Since the first moment I saw the Michael Whelan cover on A
Princess of Mars back in the ‘70s, I’ve been a pulp fan. There’s just
something about speculative fiction created in the early 20th century
that’s always captivated my imagination. I think it has something to
do with the sheer sense of wonder many of those tales possess. Those
stories were also more clear-cut, in that you always knew the hero,
always knew the villain and were never bogged down in the “shades of
grey” trends and anti-hero shtick that’s so prevalent these days. I’ve
since become greatly intrigued by the creation process many pulp
writers went through back then and how they combined elements from the
real world with what we now call “fringe science,” melding both into a
bubbling concoction of imaginative zeal.

AP:  Let’s narrow the scope here. You are the writer behind
Moonstone’s BLACK BAT. This iconic character is credited for being the
inspiration for many heroes that followed him, most notably Batman and
Daredevil. Who/what is THE BLACK BAT?

MB: He is a DA, a hero, a man who burns with a desire to use
everything at his disposal to bring the guilty to justice. In his
pre-Bat life, Anthony Quinn was nearly single-minded in his pursuit of justice through the legal system. I’ve often found that those who truly excel at what they do share this trait, and sometimes it takes them to heights those of us who tend to multi-task can never hope to achieve. That was true of Anthony Quinn, which put him directly in the crosshairs of organized crime. After an attempt to destroy evidence
goes horribly wrong, blinding Quinn in the courtroom that was his battlefield, he learns to adapt, (with that same single-mindedness) and move outside the confines of the system he so diligently defends by taking on the persona of the Black Bat.

AP:  When you were given the BLACK BAT to write, what sort of feelings
went through your head, how did you feel about taking on a character
that, although not well known, had a definite established history,
personality, and a loyal fan base?

MB: Whether I like it or not, I’m no stranger to dealing with a
character with a decades-old, passionate, vocal fan-base. I mean, you
can’t write a character like The Phantom and not have that ghost
hanging over you every time you work on a story. So, that part of
taking on Black Bat didn’t faze me much. I’m cognizant of the fact
that some people will love what I’ve done, some will hate it and some
will find themselves indifferent. The only group I really fret over is
the last one.

AP:  What’s the creative process you used when you started working on
BLACK BAT?  Any special techniques, rituals, etc. that you go through
when writing a character for the first time and/or when developing a
story line?

MB: First, I dig around and read as much as I can about the character
such as past stories, online bios, information by knowledgeable fans,
etc. Then I sit down and try to imagine what was going through the
original creator’s mind when coming at the character for the first
time. Once I have a handle on how I feel the character will react to
certain situations and themes, I then turn around and try to concoct a
series of events I can transform into a story based on how the
character will interact with them.

AP:  As you considered the directions you might go with the character, what stood out to you the most from the BLACK BAT’s story? What aspects hooked you as a fan that you then wanted to bring out to the readers?

MB: As I mentioned upstream, it’s the single-mindedness of Quinn. I’ve been fascinated with people many consider “game changers” for years
now, studying how they approach things. One commonality I’ve seen in such people, from sports icons, to filmmakers, to inventors, is their
single-mindedness. Men such as Robert E. Howard, Bruce Lee, Dale Earnhardt, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan and George Lucas all embody this
trait and it’s something that jumped out at me about Black Bat; a laser-like focus on the task at hand. While none of these men are striving to be the absolute best at what they do as an end game, their dedication to the craft brings that about as a by-product.

AP: A major discussion that goes on all the time in various media, but
particularly it seems where pulp characters are concerned, is why
modern creators change the classic characters in some way when they
write them. Did you come to BLACK BAT intending to change it, to
update it, to make it fit with modern stories? Or was that more of an
organic process, change happening as you put the idea together?

MB: I certainly didn’t set out to do that, but somewhere along the
line I think I did re-imagine him to a certain extent, or possibly a
more accurate way to say it would be ‘re-create’ him. My fascination
with the old pulp writers, combined with the study of game-changing
men made me stop and take a hard look at just what I thought a man
like Norman Daniels might do with Black Bat were he to create the
character now instead of the 1930s. He’d have the backdrop of the
early 21st century mindset to work from, with our lessened societal
moral code: what was considered “R” rated in the 20th century is “PG”
these days. He’d also have a solid working knowledge of post-traumatic
stress disorder and how it can ‘cause personality fragmentation. He’d
know how personality fragmentation works and how it manifests. He’d
also know that rarely is a man who is so driven justified with what
most consider normal.

All those factors lead to a perfect storm of sorts, ignited by the
acid that hit Quinn in the face and brought the genesis of the Black
Bat.

AP: One change, subtle to some, glaring to others, is that your BLACK
BAT is a killer. Even though BLACK BAT did sometimes use maximum force in the original stories, your take on Tony Quinn is definitely more savage, more ruthless. What was the motivation behind this? Was it because these types of characters sell or was it more to do with the character itself?

MB: I don’t do anything because I think it will sell, because honestly
I have no clue what will or won’t sell. If I did know, I wouldn’t need
to write anymore, except to sign my name to royalty checks at the bank [laughing]. The decision to go there with this incarnation of Black Bat was nothing more than the logical progression of what I mentioned above: A single-minded, traumatized, fractured man who views criminals as a disease that needs to be cured. Or, maybe it’s all part of a larger campaign to strike fear in the powerful men behind those Black Bat encounters? Since the original Black Bat vowed to use fear as a weapon, it makes sense that he would communicate that fear in a language his adversaries speak. In the interests of not spoiling what’s to come, I don’t want to say which way it’s really going…

AP:  Is your version of BLACK BAT more relevant today than the
original version? Does relevance even matter?

MB: I have no idea. Relevance is in the eye of the beholder. Some
might only find it relevant if I adhere exactly to what’s come before,
others might see it as me doing something that fits into modern times,
others might only consider it relevant if they’re entertained. That’s
another one of those questions, like “what sells” that I’m just not
smart enough to answer.

AP: One of the arguments many of the pulp purists have when discussing
changing existing characters is “If you want to make him different
than what he was, give him a different name and create a new
character!” What are your thoughts on that? Why are creators looking
at these old, largely forgotten properties and tweaking and changing
them instead of creating whole new characters from top to bottom?

MB: I couldn’t speak for why anyone else does that other than creators create, it’s in our DNA. For me, I acknowledge that no one will ever write a Black Bat story as good as the ones already in print written by the Bat’s creator. No one will ever write Conan as well as Howard, no one will ever write Doc Savage as well as Lester Dent and I never wrote a Phantom story that measures up to one from Lee Falk. So, instead of trying to do the impossible, I felt led to try and sit in Daniels’ seat, think inside his parameters, but include what we know these days in regards to the psychology of fear.

All the old tales, and all the news ones as well, always have a
certain degree of social commentary, a certain amount of the writer’s
worldview and life experience built into them, sometimes overtly, but
more often than not subconsciously. I think we have to acknowledge the
age old adage: Life imitates art. It’s hard to imitate certain aspects
of a life we’ve never led, while striving to remove aspects of the one
we do lead.

There’s also the real possibility I’m simply off my rocker…

And, to touch on the other point, I did create my own pulp character
from top to bottom with Death Angel.

AP: To follow that tangent, tell us about that. What makes Death Angel
fit into the pulp world?

MB: Death Angel is a combination of unquenchable drive, righteous anger and fringe science all balled into one package of “night stalking” vigilante. ‘Angel is my tip of the hat to the great writers who heralded the golden age of speculative fiction from the 20th century. My chance to create my own take, do with it as I want, and tell the sorts of stories that have no place in my other creator-owned properties like Lions, Tigers and Bears or Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel. So far, reader feedback has been very positive, so I think I’m doing something right… for once [laughing]

AP:  All right, soapbox time. You have as long as you want to pitch
BLACK BAT to the purists, to the readers and fans who feel like you should have left BLACK BAT as is. Why should they read what you’re doing with the character? What will they find that they can connect to in your take on this character?

MB: All I’d ask is that everyone waits for the story to unfold before jumping to any conclusions. I know it falls under the “not your Father’s” cliché, but I love the character and really tried to imbue that into the stories. I really want to show people who never read
Black Bat stories why he’s such a great character, and hopefully, that
will lead them back to the source material. Unlike some people who
have taken on older characters of late, I truly love the pulp “genre”,
truly love the characters and want them to regain the spotlight they
deserve. If you disagree, then by all means, speak your mind, but I’d
ask that you give it a fair shake before deciding it is or isn’t for
you. That’s all I can ask.

AP:  What else do you have cooking, pulp wise and beyond, in the future?

MB: Well, I’m looking forward to doing more with Black Bat and Death Angel, as well as Captain Future and a few other things. Joe Gentile and I are slowly laying the ground work for a Return of the Originals: Battle for LA sequel, of sorts (not really a continuation of what CJ Henderson wrote, but just another epic tale featuring a multitude of pulp heroes). On the pulp event-horizon you’ll find Savage Beauty, our new jungle girl book, and Air Vixens, featuring a new tale with Bald Eagle, Black Angel and Jasmine LaForge of Iron Ace fame.

I’m working on another “brought back to life” property that I can’t
talk about just yet, but I can say the last time the character was in
comics, he was one of the five most popular comic characters on Earth.

For anyone into all-ages comics, my own Lions, Tigers and Bears is
roaring back into book stores in May, with the debut of volume III,
followed soon thereafter by re-issues of volume I & II. I also have
another all-ages property I’m creating right now that will hopefully
hit stores in 2012.

AP:  Thanks, Mike!

  • News
  • April 4, 2011

MIKE BULLOCK, Writer/Creator

AP:  Mike, welcome back to ALL PULP.

Mike Bullock: Thanks! [looks at the new blinds] I love what you’ve
done with the place.

AP: Ha! Catch everyone up on what you’ve been up to and what you’re working on.

MB: Well, I have a lot of irons in the fire, but the ones that AP’s
readers are most likely interested in include putting the finishing
touches on the first Black Bat/Death Angel graphic novel, which heads
to the printer this week.

AP:  You’ve been involved heavily in Moonstone’s pulp comic line,
including bringing your own character, Death Angel into the mix as
well as working with well known characters from Pulp’s Golden Age. In
general, what appeals to you about these types of characters as a
creator?

MB: Since the first moment I saw the Michael Whelan cover on A
Princess of Mars back in the ‘70s, I’ve been a pulp fan. There’s just
something about speculative fiction created in the early 20th century
that’s always captivated my imagination. I think it has something to
do with the sheer sense of wonder many of those tales possess. Those
stories were also more clear-cut, in that you always knew the hero,
always knew the villain and were never bogged down in the “shades of
grey” trends and anti-hero shtick that’s so prevalent these days. I’ve
since become greatly intrigued by the creation process many pulp
writers went through back then and how they combined elements from the
real world with what we now call “fringe science,” melding both into a
bubbling concoction of imaginative zeal.

AP:  Let’s narrow the scope here. You are the writer behind
Moonstone’s BLACK BAT. This iconic character is credited for being the
inspiration for many heroes that followed him, most notably Batman and
Daredevil. Who/what is THE BLACK BAT?

MB: He is a DA, a hero, a man who burns with a desire to use
everything at his disposal to bring the guilty to justice. In his
pre-Bat life, Anthony Quinn was nearly single-minded in his pursuit of
justice through the legal system. I’ve often found that those who
truly excel at what they do share this trait, and sometimes it takes
them to heights those of us who tend to multi-task can never hope to
achieve. That was true of Anthony Quinn, which put him directly in the
crosshairs of organized crime. After an attempt to destroy evidence
goes horribly wrong, blinding Quinn in the courtroom that was his
battlefield, he learns to adapt, (with that same single-mindedness)
and move outside the confines of the system he so diligently defends
by taking on the persona of the Black Bat.

AP:  When you were given the BLACK BAT to write, what sort of feelings
went through your head, how did you feel about taking on a character
that, although not well known, had a definite established history,
personality, and a loyal fan base?

MB: Whether I like it or not, I’m no stranger to dealing with a
character with a decades-old, passionate, vocal fan-base. I mean, you
can’t write a character like The Phantom and not have that ghost
hanging over you every time you work on a story. So, that part of
taking on Black Bat didn’t faze me much. I’m cognizant of the fact
that some people will love what I’ve done, some will hate it and some
will find themselves indifferent. The only group I really fret over is
the last one.

AP:  What’s the creative process you used when you started working on
BLACK BAT?  Any special techniques, rituals, etc. that you go through
when writing a character for the first time and/or when developing a
story line?

MB: First, I dig around and read as much as I can about the character
such as past stories, online bios, information by knowledgeable fans,
etc. Then I sit down and try to imagine what was going through the
original creator’s mind when coming at the character for the first
time. Once I have a handle on how I feel the character will react to
certain situations and themes, I then turn around and try to concoct a
series of events I can transform into a story based on how the
character will interact with them.

AP:  As you considered the directions you might go with the character,
what stood out to you the most from the BLACK BAT’s story? What
aspects hooked you as a fan that you then wanted to bring out to the
readers?

MB: As I mentioned upstream, it’s the single-mindedness of Quinn. I’ve
been fascinated with people many consider “game changers” for years
now, studying how they approach things. One commonality I’ve seen in
such people, from sports icons, to filmmakers, to inventors, is their
single-mindedness. Men such as Robert E. Howard, Bruce Lee, Dale
Earnhardt, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan and George Lucas all embody this
trait and it’s something that jumped out at me about Black Bat; a
laser-like focus on the task at hand. While none of these men are
striving to be the absolute best at what they do as an end game, their
dedication to the craft brings that about as a by-product.

AP: A major discussion that goes on all the time in various media, but
particularly it seems where pulp characters are concerned, is why
modern creators change the classic characters in some way when they
write them. Did you come to BLACK BAT intending to change it, to
update it, to make it fit with modern stories? Or was that more of an
organic process, change happening as you put the idea together?

MB: I certainly didn’t set out to do that, but somewhere along the
line I think I did re-imagine him to a certain extent, or possibly a
more accurate way to say it would be ‘re-create’ him. My fascination
with the old pulp writers, combined with the study of game-changing
men made me stop and take a hard look at just what I thought a man
like Norman Daniels might do with Black Bat were he to create the
character now instead of the 1930s. He’d have the backdrop of the
early 21st century mindset to work from, with our lessened societal
moral code: what was considered “R” rated in the 20th century is “PG”
these days. He’d also have a solid working knowledge of post-traumatic
stress disorder and how it can ‘cause personality fragmentation. He’d
know how personality fragmentation works and how it manifests. He’d
also know that rarely is a man who is so driven justified with what
most consider normal.

All those factors lead to a perfect storm of sorts, ignited by the
acid that hit Quinn in the face and brought the genesis of the Black
Bat.

AP: One change, subtle to some, glaring to others, is that your BLACK
BAT is a killer. Even though BLACK BAT did sometimes use maximum force
in the original stories, your take on Tony Quinn is definitely more
savage, more ruthless. What was the motivation behind this? Was it
because these types of characters sell or was it more to do with the
character itself?

MB: I don’t do anything because I think it will sell, because honestly
I have no clue what will or won’t sell. If I did know, I wouldn’t need
to write anymore, except to sign my name to royalty checks at the bank
[laughing]. The decision to go there with this incarnation of Black
Bat was nothing more than the logical progression of what I mentioned
above: A single-minded, traumatized, fractured man who views criminals
as a disease that needs to be cured. Or, maybe it’s all part of a
larger campaign to strike fear in the powerful men behind those Black
Bat encounters? Since the original Black Bat vowed to use fear as a
weapon, it makes sense that he would communicate that fear in a
language his adversaries speak. In the interests of not spoiling
what’s to come, I don’t want to say which way it’s really going…

AP:  Is your version of BLACK BAT more relevant today than the
original version? Does relevance even matter?

MB: I have no idea. Relevance is in the eye of the beholder. Some
might only find it relevant if I adhere exactly to what’s come before,
others might see it as me doing something that fits into modern times,
others might only consider it relevant if they’re entertained. That’s
another one of those questions, like “what sells” that I’m just not
smart enough to answer.

AP: One of the arguments many of the pulp purists have when discussing
changing existing characters is “If you want to make him different
than what he was, give him a different name and create a new
character!” What are your thoughts on that? Why are creators looking
at these old, largely forgotten properties and tweaking and changing
them instead of creating whole new characters from top to bottom?

MB: I couldn’t speak for why anyone else does that other than creators
create, it’s in our DNA. For me, I acknowledge that no one will ever
write a Black Bat story as good as the ones already in print written
by the Bat’s creator. No one will ever write Conan as well as Howard,
no one will ever write Doc Savage as well as Lester Dent and I never
wrote a Phantom story that measures up to one from Lee Falk. So,
instead of trying to do the impossible, I felt led to try and sit in
Daniels’ seat, think inside his parameters, but include what we know
these days in regards to the psychology of fear.

All the old tales, and all the news ones as well, always have a
certain degree of social commentary, a certain amount of the writer’s
worldview and life experience built into them, sometimes overtly, but
more often than not subconsciously. I think we have to acknowledge the
age old adage: Life imitates art. It’s hard to imitate certain aspects
of a life we’ve never led, while striving to remove aspects of the one
we do lead.

There’s also the real possibility I’m simply off my rocker…

And, to touch on the other point, I did create my own pulp character
from top to bottom with Death Angel.

AP: To follow that tangent, tell us about that. What makes Death Angel
fit into the pulp world?

MB: Death Angel is a combination of unquenchable drive, righteous
anger and fringe science all balled into one package of “night
stalking” vigilante. ‘Angel is my tip of the hat to the great writers
who heralded the golden age of speculative fiction from the 20th
century. My chance to create my own take, do with it as I want, and
tell the sorts of stories that have no place in my other creator-owned
properties like Lions, Tigers and Bears or Timothy and the
Transgalactic Towel. So far, reader feedback has been very positive,
so I think I’m doing something right… for once [laughing]

AP:  All right, soapbox time. You have as long as you want to pitch
BLACK BAT to the purists, to the readers and fans who feel like you
should have left BLACK BAT as is. Why should they read what you’re
doing with the character? What will they find that they can connect to
in your take on this character?

MB: All I’d ask is that everyone waits for the story to unfold before
jumping to any conclusions. I know it falls under the “not your
Father’s” cliché, but I love the character and really tried to imbue
that into the stories. I really want to show people who never read
Black Bat stories why he’s such a great character, and hopefully, that
will lead them back to the source material. Unlike some people who
have taken on older characters of late, I truly love the pulp “genre”,
truly love the characters and want them to regain the spotlight they
deserve. If you disagree, then by all means, speak your mind, but I’d
ask that you give it a fair shake before deciding it is or isn’t for
you. That’s all I can ask.

AP:  What else do you have cooking, pulp wise and beyond, in the future?

MB: Well, I’m looking forward to doing more with Black Bat and Death
Angel, as well as Captain Future and a few other things. Joe Gentile
and I are slowly laying the ground work for a Return of the Originals:
Battle for LA sequel, of sorts (not really a continuation of what CJ
Henderson wrote, but just another epic tale featuring a multitude of
pulp heroes). On the pulp event-horizon you’ll find Savage Beauty, our
new jungle girl book, and Air Vixens, featuring a new tale with Bald
Eagle, Black Angel and Jasmine LaForge of Iron Ace fame.

I’m working on another “brought back to life” property that I can’t
talk about just yet, but I can say the last time the character was in
comics, he was one of the five most popular comic characters on Earth.

For anyone into all-ages comics, my own Lions, Tigers and Bears is
roaring back into book stores in May, with the debut of volume III,
followed soon thereafter by re-issues of volume I & II. I also have
another all-ages property I’m creating right now that will hopefully
hit stores in 2012.

AP:  Thanks, Mike!

Yes, Steve Rogers Returns As Captain America

  • News
  • April 4, 2011

In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Marvel Entertainment has announced Captain America #1, the first issue of an all new ongoing series premiering in July from writer Ed Brubaker (Death of Captain America) and artist Steve McNiven (Civil War) just in time for the release of the new Captain America movie starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, and Hugo Weaving.

Steve Rogers is back as Captain America but when a mysterious figure from his past returns with the Sentinel of Liberty in his crosshairs, deadly secrets will surface—and send shockwaves through the lives of everyone Steve holds dear. An all-new, high octane Captain America series begins here, just in time for the First Avenger’s highly anticipated feature film from Marvel Studios.

(more…)

New ‘Green Lantern’ Footage

  • News
  • April 4, 2011

The effects are getting closer to being ready, and so new footage is appearing. Warner Bros. showed four minutes of Green Lantern footage to the movie trade on Thursday and to the public at WonderCon this weekend, so people are finally getting a handle on how this movie is shaping up.

And from everything we’ve heard, Ryan Reynolds owned WonderCon. There are worse people to have as the front man for superheroes to the non-fan audience.

What do you think?

Review: Black Swan

  • News
  • April 4, 2011

We have fallen in love with Natalie Portman again and again. Beginning with her debut in [[[The Professional]]], we have seen her take on a wide variety of dramatic roles that demonstrates a young woman with acting gifts. Even in the wretched [[[Star Wars]]] trilogy, she brought a gravity to Princess Amidala that went far beyond the meager scripts.  All of this seems to have prepared her for the Academy Award winning rile in [[[Black Swan]]]. At 29, she has achieved a level of depth in her work that few peers can match.

Most of her work, such as roles in Closer, Cold Mountain, and even V for Vendetta, show a somber side to Portman, almost as cold and controlled as her Nina in this film, now out on disc from 20th Century Home Entertainment. The Darren Aronofsky-directed film is a visual treat and the psycho-sexual assault on the sense that one comes to expect from him.

Nina is a technically-perfect but emotionally cold ballerina who wins the role of the Swan Queen. Much of the film chronicles Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassell) and his attempts to unlock Nina’s emotions. He does this by seducing her by degrees and telling her to seduce herself. Nina, though, can’t let go, largely because she has been raised by Erica (Barbara Hershey), who stopped dancing when she gave birth to Nina and has lived through her ever since. Nina has had issues in the past that manifest themselves anew as the pressure mounts in the weeks leading up to her premier performance.

She sees threats, she watches her body change in unimaginable ways, and even has a real or imaginary one-night stand with her perceived rival, Lilly (Mila Kunis). Her descent into madness or elevation to a higher plane of existence is masterfully portrayed by Aronofsky.

Portman makes this her signature role and despite the current kerfuffle over how much of the dancing she actually did, that’s secondary to the character she brought to life. Dancing doubles have been a fact of filmmaking for decades and this is just another tempest in a teapot. Jennifer Beals made us believe in [[[Flashdance]]] as Portman does here and that’s really what matters.

The movie looks fabulous in high definition with strong sound, which fits the subject matter. You might notice a grainy quality to some of the film that you may not have noticed on the silver screen. That has to do with Aronofsky’s choice to shoot the movie by blending 16mm Arriflex cameras and two Canon 1080p video-capable DSLRs.  It all meshes quite well, adding to the unusual feel of the story.

The Blu-ray disc is packed with several extras, beginning with “Black Swan Metamorphosis” (48:50) is the detailed production process. Bringing the dancers and characters to life is carefully explained during the three-parts, complete with plenty of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. You also get “Ten Years in the Making”, a shorter piece on the lengthy development process as told by director and star; along with a useless look at Ballet (2:33), Production Design (4:00). Star and directed each get roughly three minute profiles and short snippets on “Preparing for the Role” and “Dancing with the Camera”. There are also five cast profiles; all culled from featurettes that originally ran on Fox Movie Channel.

The harrowing viewing experience that is at turns titillating, exciting, terrifying, and moving, shows moviemaking at its finest. An original concept, well-handled, can entertain and enlighten. This one is well worth your time and attention whether or not you like ballet.

MOONSTONE MONDAY-Preview of AIRBOY PRESENTS: AIR VIXENS!

  • News
  • April 4, 2011
FROM MOONSTONE IN MAY!
Airboy Presents: AIR VIXENS #1

Written by Mike Bullock

Art: Ben Hansen
Cover:Franchesco!
32 pages, Black and White

More story pages than ever before!

From the pages of Air Fighters comes the first issue of Air Vixens starring Black Angel, Bald Eagle and Valkyrie. When Der Furher sent Valkyrie to smuggle secret weapons and intelligence across Europe in a zeppelin, he didn’t expect Black Angel and Bald Eagle to crash the party, and neither did they.

Tune in for the first issue featuring the high flying femme fatales of the Air Fighters in this oversized, bombastic first issue!

EIGHT PAGE PREVIEW OF AIRBOY PRESENTS: AIR VIXENS #1
 FROM MOONSTONE!

ComicMix Six: Stories We Thought Were April Fool’s Jokes But Weren’t

  • News
  • April 3, 2011

comicmixsix600-4733803

Another April Fool’s Day has come and gone, leaving in its wake a trail of confusion as comics news sites posted fake news article after fake news article in an attempt to hoax their audiences into believing things that couldn’t possibly be true.

Naturally, ComicMixcondemnsallsuchshenanigansasjuvenileandunworthy.

All the same, now that we’ve had a day or two to process, there have been six recent happenings in the comics world that stood out as so weird, so unlikely, that we were completely floored when they turned out to be true. But don’t take our word for it, take a look below.

governator-stan-lee_320-7363030Stan Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger are teaming up for The Governator, a comic and TV show detailing the adventures of the ex-Governor of California, ex-King of Aquilonia as he teams up with a precocious pre-teen hacker to fight crime. This is a thing that’s going to happen. Not a joke. We couldn’t believe it either. You’d think after Peter Paul and the Clintons Stan would stay clear of politicians.

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