Tagged: Black Bat

AIRSHIP 27 LETS FLY WITH ‘BLACK BAT MYSTERY VOLUME 2’!

  • News
  • August 31, 2012

THE BAT IS BACK!

Airship 27 Productions is super thrilled to announce the release of BLACK BAT MYSTERY, Vol Two. This is the second in their anthology series featuring all brand new adventures of one of pulpdom’s most loved heroes, the Black Bat!
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Crusading Attorney Anthony Quinn believed his career was over when a criminal threw acid into his face blinding him. Months later, desperate to regain his sight, Quinn underwent a unique transplant operation which gave him the eyes of a slain lawman. Not only did the procedure work, but it also gave Quinn the ability to see in the dark.  Using this fantastic gift, he created the Black Bat, a justice seeking vigilante able to battle those villains beyond the reach of the law. Aided by his team of loyal crime-fighters, Carol Baldwin, Silk Kerby and Butch O’Leary, the Black Bat is once again on the prowl, his target, the depraved and evil denizens of his beloved city.
“This new collection of stories are so much fun,” stated Managing Editor, Ron Fortier.  “We knew after the success of Volume One, we needed to really find other unique and original stories that our readers would appreciate.”  New pulp writers, Aaron Smith, Joshua Reynolds, Jim Beard and Frank Byrns offer up a deadly quartet of fast pace action thrills.  There are traditional pulp themed plots that pit the Black Bat against super human Nazis monsters and mysterious aircrafts terrorizing a small town.  But at the same time there is Frank Byrn’s yarn about corrupt politicians involved with Major League Baseball.  “The idea of using a 1930s baseball background for a Black Bat adventure was extremely exciting for us,” Fortier continued.  “And then there’s Reynolds story that has him teaming up with another classic pulp legend, Jim Anthony the Super Detective.  Now who doesn’t love a good pulp team-up?”
The book features a stunning cover by Ingrid Hardy and Rob Davis based on Byrn’s story and has gorgeous interior illustrations by Andres Labrada.  BLACK BAT MYSTERY Vol. Two is another great pulp collection from the high flying Airship 27 Productions you won’t want to miss.
AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!
Available At
At regular Amazon a week later.
Airship 27 Hangar as $3 Digital Download
And in two weeks at (http://indyplanet.com/) as a POD.

NEW PULP AT WIZARD CON AUSTIN!

  • News
  • November 11, 2011

New Pulp Authors at Wizard World Austin This Weekend!

Wizard World Austin, premiere pop culture convention for the state of Texas is
happening this weekend, Friday November 11th through Sunday the 13th.

On hand to represent the New Pulp
movement are authors Alan J. Porter and Mike
Bullock, both with tables in the creator section,
better known as Artist Alley.

Alan J. Porter is best known for his work
on JAMES BOND: The History of the Illustrated 007
and BATMAN: The Unofficial Collectors Guide
as well as the creator of the New Pulp character The 
Raven. Alan is currently writing the New Pulp column
Pulp Perusals that runs monthly on
www.newpulpfiction.com.

New Pulp fans and others interested in meeting
Alan can do so by going to table #1809.

Mike Bullock is best known in Pulp circles as
the longest tenured comic book writer of The Phantom.
Bullock wrote over forty original Phantom stories for
Moonstone Books, edited dozens more and helped
guide The Ghost Who Walks as the Phantom Group
Editor for Moonstone for much of the last decade.

Currently, Bullock is writing the exploits of the
Black Bat, Captain Future, Death Angel, The 
Runemaster and Xander: Guardian of Worlds. In
addition to his pulp work, Bullock is the creator and
writer behind the all-ages hit series Lions, Tigers and 
Bears, as well as Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel.
Bullock is participating in the Wizard World Kids
Adventure Passport program on Sunday as well. You
can find Bullock at table #1709 in the front section
of Artist’s Alley.

For more information on Wizard World Austin,
navigate to:
http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/home-tx.html

WILL MURRAY’S PULP CLASSICS AT RADIOARCHIVES.COM! AND MORE!

  • News
  • November 4, 2011

RadioArchives.com Newsletter

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November 4, 2011

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NEW Radio Set: Box Thirteen, Volume 2

“Adventure wanted. Will go anyplace, do anything. Box Thirteen.” This want ad, placed by reporter turned mystery writer Dan Holiday in the Star-Times serves as the centerpiece of ‘Box Thirteen’, a classic mystery adventure program starring screen legend Alan Ladd.
 
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Alan Ladd found his way to Hollywood, California by his high school years. Finding work initially on the radio, landing roles such as ‘The Richfield Reporter,” Ladd also began appearing in several films, taking the small roles he could get. The part that would change Ladd’s life forever and cement him as a movie tough guy came in 1942. Playing Raven, a conscientious murderer for hire, in ‘This Gun For Hire,’ Ladd gained fame for being able to play hard-boiled characters with at least some heart.
 
Now a leading man, Ladd played his hard bitten world wearied warrior with a soul in films now considered classics – including the role he’s most known for, Shane. With the creation of his own production company, Mayfair in 1948, Ladd found yet another way to turn the skills he’d become famous for into a program that radio listeners would thrill to decades after its original run.
 
In “Box Thirteen,” Ladd played Dan Holiday, a journalist who was now an author of mystery fiction. Interested in writing the most successful and thrilling stories possible, Holiday placed an ad in the paper he worked for – the Star-Times. Apparently prospering as a mystery writer, Holiday rarely charged a fee to any of the colorful clients that crossed his path, most of whom needed his assistance in one way or another.
 
Even on a rail thin budget, “Box Thirteen” was a fairly high-quality program. Writer Russell Hughes supplied the show with witty, engaging scripts and many of radio’s acting professionals, including Betty Lou Gerson, Lurene Tuttle, Alan Reed, Joseph Kearns, Frank Lovejoy, John Beal, and others, lent their talents to ‘Box Thirteen’ throughout its run.
 
“Box Thirteen” clearly showcased Alan Ladd at his best. Known largely for tough guy roles in film, this series allowed Ladd to take his charisma and stoic presence from the screen and apply it to a good guy character in a different medium. The show’s format also guaranteed that each week, something new and exciting awaited Holiday and the show’s listeners. This second volume of twelve episodes restored to the highest quality continues Holiday’s adventures into the mystery and unknown that he discovered every week when he checked ‘Box Thirteen.’ Available today on CD for $17.98 and as a digital download for $11.98!

 
by Tommy Hancock
 

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Adapting a story from one medium to another is never an easy task. Difficulty increases when the tale being adapted is a classic work first written hundreds of years ago and those adapting it have to figure out a way to make it work for their intended audience. So many things can go wrong with this process; too much can be cut out of the story, making it something else entirely; too much of the original work gets included, adding unnecessary weight and exposition to the new product; or the sensibilities of the intended consumers isn’t considered enough and what is produced seems boring and tepid to said consumers. So it’s a hard journey, this road of adaptation, sometimes.
 
Fortunately for Old Time Radio enthusiasts today, this trip was a successful one for the people behind The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1. Written originally in 1300, this seminal work, part adventure tale and part exotic travelogue, not only told a wonderfully exciting tale of world travels and of a wayward boy growing into a legendary explorer, but it also set the standard for both future volumes of this sort as well as for the men those volumes would be about. Many explorers from the 1300s into the modern day cite one of their earliest inspirations to breach the unknown around them, being the thrill of reading about Polo and the Kublai Khan and the wondrous things Polo encountered on his journeys. This appeal over the centuries is just one factor that likely led to George Edwards, a noted Australian radio performer and producer, to adapting the book into a radio serial in the 1940s.
 
The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1, is a great OTR collection for several reasons. As already stated, the material was suited for adaptation due to both its popularity and its content. Also, the assembled cast and staff behind its production speak volumes for quality. Edwards, known as much for his ability to mimic hundreds if not more voices as he is for the shows he produced, lends his incredible talent to this production. Filling the roles of many of the characters, the most intriguing task Edwards takes on is playing both Marco Polo and the Kublai Khan. It’s truly a treat listening to this show and knowing when these two distinct sounding characters are having a conversation, it’s Edwards talking to himself!
 
If you’re looking for dialogue laden completely character driven audio, The Adventures of Marco Polo may not be your bag. That’s not really a negative with this show, though. The narrative moves the story along at a pretty quick clip at the slowest moments and at a nearly breakneck speed in the action scenes. In this program, narration and dialogue comfortably compliment each other, making what might have seemed dry to some readers in school actually exciting and vibrant to the listener.
 
Another aspect of this program that is done extremely well is how it’s handled as a serial. Serialization, like adaptation, is as much art as it is work. Building the tension in small snippets of story just right to leave the listener wanting more is no easy chore. The Adventures of Marco Polo is a well paced, finely crafted serial, its cliffhangers and surprise twists of which there are a few are written and delivered in a manner that hooks the listener for the rest of the ride.
 
The Adventures of Marco Polo, Volume 1 from Radio Archives is a wonderful program for those interested in serial adventures and/or history period. Combine the pacing, the performance, and the production quality with the fact that it has been restored by Radio Archives to the finest sound quality possible and this collection is a must have for fans of Old Time Radio, history, serials, or just those who like a well told tale. Only $20.98 for the Seven hour CD set or $13.98 for the Digital Download version.

 

 
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Radio Archives, known as a leading producer of quality Audio collections as well as a popular purveyor of Pulp Fiction announces the blending of the two in its latest product line. Not only is Radio Archives adding twelve new audiobooks to its future lineup, it is doing so with the direction of perhaps the best known Pulp expert and author of the modern era. Acting as series producer, historian/author Will Murray lends his name to Radio Archive’s newest line of audiobooks. Will Murray’s Pulp Classics are now available from Radio Archives and take both Pulp and audio to a whole new level!
 
Murray’s involvement with past Radio Archives projects led to this new innovation in sharing Pulp classics with today’s audience. “Like everything about my association with RadioArchives.com,” stated Murray, “it was like being struck by lightning. They had just released the first two Doc Savage audiobooks and were preparing The Spider and Secret Agent X, which I had recommended to them, when Tom Brown suggested expanding the line under the umbrella of Will Murray’s Pulp Classics.”
 
With the success of the Doc Savage audiobooks, based on Murray’s Doc novels, and the early indicators that The Spider audiobook was a hit, discussion of this project turned toward what other classic characters would get the Will Murray’s Pulp Classic treatment. “We already had a full Spider program planned, and the first Secret Agent X novel, The Torture Trust, mapped out,” Murray explained, “so Tom and I hashed out a number of titles that would both compliment and contrast those. As a kind of pulp alternate-reality version of Batman, the Black Bat was a natural. Since Zombies are all the rage, who better than the past master of the undead, Dr. Death? With the legions of weird menaces like mad scientists, vampires and—yes, more Zombies—that he fought, G-8 and His Battles Aces, made sense. And for a dose of Untouchables-style reality, George Fielding-Eliot’s hard-fighting G-Man, Dan Fowler. In almost every case, we’re launching each character with his inaugural exploit.”
 
Although the stories used in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics first appeared in print during the heyday of the Pulp magazines, Murray sees the transition of these tales to audiobooks as a good and logical one. “Pulp fiction endures because in contrast to the bloated novels modern publishers insist on foisting upon the reading public, vintage pulp fiction tells a fast-moving, never-flagging, riveting narrative that holds you in your seat until you careen to The End. Audiobooks demand that the reader’s attention be held tightly. Whether it’s Doc Savage, the Spider or Dan Fowler, pulp novels are a perfect fit. I’ve had several of my Destroyer novels adapted as audiobooks in years past, but this is the first time I’d been hands-on in this medium since I worked with Roger Rittner on the Adventures of Doc Savage radio series.”
 
Murray looks forward to the future of the Pulp Classics line and sees the customers and listeners as a vital part of it. “For the first year, we’re going to be introducing our top heroes. The buying public will tell us whether they want more G-8, Dr. Death or the Spider. And I’m sure that same audience will make suggestions. I’d like to do some horror and fantasy pulp writers, like A. Merritt and William Hodgson, a few exceptional Westerns, and high adventures in the Talbot Mundy vein. But pulp fans prefer heroes, so we’ll see if, for example, we can find a Dan Turner detective story that works as an audiobook. Ultimately, I hope we can mine all the major pulp genres. We expect involved and excited listeners will be the ones to surprise us, not vice versa.”
 
The first two entries in Will Murray’s Pulp Classics are now available from Radio Archives.

 
 

If Batman ever had a brother, he would be the pulp hero called the Black Bat.
 
Both bat-caped heroes debuted in the same year, 1939. It was a strange coincidence. Blame The Shadow for that. He was in his eighth year fighting crime in the pages of his celebrated pulp magazine, and Orson Welles was bringing him to life on radio, when two different publishers decided the time was perfect to copy The Shadow.
 
Batman was the creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. He debuted in Detective Comics #37, dated March, 1939, in “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” which was freely adapted from the 1936 Shadow mystery, Partners of Peril.
 
At virtually the same time, over at the Thrilling Group pulp house, editor in chief Leo Margulies asked prolific writer Norman A. Daniels to create a new hero for Black Book Detective magazine. Daniels came up with a character he called the Tiger. Margulies liked his idea, but decided the new hero should be more mysterioso, like The Shadow, and renamed him the Black Bat. The new nemesis of criminals was first published in the July, 1939 Black Book Detective.
 
As they appeared on the covers of their respective magazines, Batman and the Black Bat were strikingly similar. While the Black Bat lacked Batman’s signature spread-winged chest emblem and bat-ears on his cowl, both had similar finned gauntlets. 
 
The similarities did not go much beyond their ebony costumes. The Black Bat was a district attorney named Anthony Quinn—this was long before the actor of that name made the scene. Blinded by a cowardly criminal, Quinn lost his sight, his face acid-scarred around the eyes. No longer able to practice law, Quinn retired. But a miracle eye transplant restored his sight, and more. Quinn discovered that he could see in the dark. This gave him inspiration.
 
Gathering together a small band of assistants—reformed conman “Silk” Kirby and muscleman “Butch” O’Leary—Quinn decided to wage an unrelenting secret war on the criminal element. Joining him is lovely Carol Baldwin. It was the corneas of her dying policeman father which were grafted into Tony’s own eyes, restoring his sight.
 
The first Black Bat adventure, Brand of the Black Bat, relates all that. It’s a stirring story of crime and corruption, and of a courageous avenger determined to track down the vicious gangster who robbed him of his brilliant career, all the while thwarting Captain MacGrath of the N.Y.P.D., who suspects Quinn and the Black Bat are one and the same. For like The Shadow, but unlike Batman, The Bat carries a brace of .45 automatics and the will to use them. This does not make the cloaked vigilante popular with the police.
 
There has never been a media crossover for this long-running pulp hero. No radio show, no movie serial, no comic books. So it is with justifiable pride that RadioArchives.com lures the Black Bat out of the shadows of his original era and into the 21st century with his first audiobook, read with impeccable skill and fidelity by the accomplished Michael McConnohie.  Brand of the Black Bat is available now from Radio Archives for $14.98 for Audio CDs and $9.98 for the Digital Download!

 
 

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Prince of the Red Looters, the first audio adventure of The Spider and the first of Will Murray’s Pulp Classics, packs mile-a-minute thrills as Richard Wentworth races to discover the identity of The Fly, one of the Spider’s most fiendish foes. A master of the blade who can anticipate The Spider’s every move, The Fly is bent on The Spider’s destruction, leaving The Fly’s criminal organization free to loot, maim, and kill.
 
Producer/Director Roger Rittner says, “Prince of the Red Looters is an astounding accomplishment, wedding dynamic narration from two unique stars of stage and screen, specially selected sound effects, and a complete period music score.”
 
Prince of the Red Looters is available now in a six-CD set, priced at $19.98, with original cover art and special bonus features. The audiobook is also available as an MP3 Digital Download, including the special bonus feature, at just $13.98.
 
Also, RadioArchives.com first two Doc Savage audiobooks, Will Murray’s Python Isle and White Eyes continue to garner accolades from Doc fans as well as those just discovering the greatest adventure hero of the 1930s.
 
Python Isle, narrated by Michael McConnohie, and White Eyes, narrated by Richard Epcar, are available in impressive CD sets and as digital downloads. Python Isle and White Eyes are also available in special Signed Director’s Editions.
 
Like your audiobooks Adventure filled and Pulpy? Then RadioArchives.com is the right place for you!

 

Yesteryear or Today, Pulp Fiction is where readers find adventure, suspense, justice, and thrills a minute! And The Pulp Book Store is where the finest of Pulp can be found! Whether you’re seeking Classic Pulp tales from legendary authors or you’re looking for new tales of derring do by today’s writers, all of it and more is right here for you in The Pulp Book Store!

Find these and more in the Pulp Book Store!
 
The Dark Avenger and Harry Vincent share center stage in two thrilling tales of lost treasure by Walter Gibson writing as “Maxwell Grant.” First, The Shadow and his ablest agent journey to Michigan timber country in The Golden Quest, a thrilling tale of deadly avarice, betrayal and a forgotten gold mine. Then, a supercrook preys upon aristocratic refugees from the Spanish civil war, leading The Shadow into a deadly dual with The Masked Headsman. This instant collector’s item showcases both classic pulp covers by George Rozen, the original interior illustrations by Tom Lovell, commentary by popular-culture historian Will Murray plus “The Shadow Around the World.” Enjoy these tales and extra features for only $14.95 from Sanctum Press in The Pulp Book Store!
 

Triple-novel World War II Special: The Man of Bronze battles America’s enemies in three World War II thrillers by Lester Dent writing as “Kenneth Robeson.” First, Doc Savage has only two days to unmask the disguised Adolf Hitler, who has fled a collapsing Nazi Germany! Then, the Man of Bronze is framed for murder as he hunts an undercover Gestapo officer. Finally, after Johnny Littlejohn vanishes on a secret mission for Army Intelligence, Doc goes on a rescue mission to the Far East. Can he unmask a murderous fugitive from Nazi Germany in time to save his aide? This classic pulp reprint features the original color pulp covers by Modest Stein, Paul Orban’s classic interior illustrations and historical commentary by Will Murray, writer of eight Doc Savage novels. All of this and more available now for $14.95 from Sanctum Press from The Pulp Book Store!
 
First, The Spider sets out to stop wholesale slaughter that turns the dead green as he squares off with The Corpse Broker! Next, The Spider encounters deadly plague germs used against the nation and, stricken himself, battles the Volunteer Corpse Brigade! All of this available from Girasol Collectables for $14.95 in the Pulp Book Store!
 

In 1939, author Paul Ernst gave Pulp fiction a frozen faced force of Justice. Now the greatest crime-fighter of the 40s returns in a stunning collection from Moonstone of original action-packed tales of adventure, intrigue and revenge written by leading names in Pulp today, including the first and only time The Avenger meets the uncompromising relentless justice of The Spider! From Moonstone Books, available in the Pulp Book Store for $18.95!
 
The only survivor of a doomed starship, stranded in his spacesuit, leaves a frantic message about a strange alien “talent”. Classic sci-fi by Peter Baily, from Astounding Science Fiction magazine, February 1959. A full cast audio play adapted from a Pulp magazine of the late 1950s. Specially dramatized and produced in dimensional sound with professional cast, stereo sound effects, and period music. Starring Terwilliger Rhinehart. From Roger Rittner Productions! Only $4.95 in The Pulp Book Store!
 
Fighting the aerial forces of evil for nearly ten years in the pages of Flying Aces, Kerry Keen AKA The Griffon returns to print! This edition begins a complete reprinting of the entire series. Volume 1 contains his first six stories, all from 1935, including the debut story-“Guns of the Griffon”: Meet Kerry Keen sky sleuth in this new series of modern thrillers! Also included is an article by series author, Arch Whitehouse. From Altus Press and only $19.95 in the Pulp Book Store!
 
The Pulp Book Store – The Place to get the Pulp You Need.
 
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Review of “The Genghis Khan” from Doc Savage, Volume 1

By Dr. Art Sippo
 

The Man of Bronze confronts his greatest enemy in The Devil Genghis, reprinted in Doc Savage, Volume 1! From the Arctic to the French Riviera, men begin to go mad and lash out at invisible opponents until they are either exhausted or physically restrained. Then Doc Savage on his way to play the violin and the clarinet in a charity concert is kidnapped! He escapes but discovers that whoever ordered the kidnapping wanted to bring him to Europe. Doc and his aides set sail for Europe to find out what was behind the plot to capture the Man of Bronze. Along the way they encounter danger and Renny falls victim to the invisible enemy madness. Meanwhile, the stunning and resourceful woman, Toni Lash joins up with Doc and his crew to solve the mystery. She is an exceptional woman and even Doc takes notice.
 
The trail leads to the Arctic and to the unthinkable. Is John Sunlight still alive? It was believed that he had been devoured by a polar bear months before. But unmistakably, Sunlight is alive and well and he is plotting again to conquer the world. Now under the title of “The Devil Genghis” he plans to create a world empire under his absolute rule. But this time instead of fighting Doc Savage, Sunlight will offer him a Faustian bargain. Can even Doc Savage refuse an offer to share dominion over the entire world?
 
John Sunlight is the greatest villain the Man of Bronze has ever faced. No other enemy had ever survived to confront Doc a second time. Sunlight is a man of great physical and mental powers with the indomitable will to survive death itself. Has Doc Savage finally met his match? Find all the answers to these troubling questions for $12.95 in Doc Savage, Volume 1 from Radio Archives!
 

 
Deal of the Day

High quality Audio, Pulp, and Classic DVDs! And at a fantastic price! That’s the Radio Archives Deal of the Day! The Deal of the Day is actually several great deals at all times. No limits! Simply Great Products at Unbelievable Prices!
 
Look for the yellow ‘Deal Of The Day’ price tag on the right side of the home page and click it for a great deal every Single Day from RadioArchives.com!
 
 

 
Comments From Our Customers!
 
Ken Bosworth writes:
I can’t wait to get Volume 2 of “Afloat with Henry Morgan” My wife and I found the first volume to be totally enjoyable, very good radio drama. We really look forward to listening to the rest of the story. We had intended to listen to one disc each evening, but ended up listening to the entire 7-disc series in one evening and the next morning because we just could not tear ourselves away from the story. Thanks again.
 
Randall F Miller Jr., Society of Broadcast Engineers:
I just want to tell you that your program selection is excellent, and the quality is superb. As a broadcast engineer with over 30 years experience, I certainly appreciate good quality and yours is the best. Keep up the good work, and keep adding to the digital downloads. They are the best way to get my old time radio fix.
 
Solid Gold Reviews comments on “The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”:
Complete with musical transition, multiple actors with background sounds, and excellent story-play, Sherlock Holmes has everything the audiobook enthusiast seeks. Holmes addicts, or just those looking for a quick suspenseful mystery, will greatly enjoy this audio broadcast. This audio selection is perfect for those who want to enjoy the original Holmes, sans image, or find themselves on a vehicle trek in need of background storytelling at its finest.
 

Steve Sher:
“Listening to Old Time Radio shows from Radio Archives has actually slowed down my highway driving (the faster I go, the harder it is to hear the shows clearly because of road noise) which has resulted in fewer speeding tickets! Excellent by product of my love affair with the many shows I’ve ordered from Radio Archives!”
 
Barney McCasland:
I’m really liking the new pulp audiobooks. Looking forward to many more. Thanks!

 
If you’d like to share a comment with us or if you have a question or a suggestion send an email to Service@RadioArchives.com. We’d love to hear from you!
 
The products you’ve read about in this newsletter are just a small fraction of what you’ll find waiting for you at RadioArchives.com. Whether it’s the sparkling audio fidelity of our classic radio collections, the excitement of our new line of audiobooks, or the timeless novels of the pulp heroes, you’ll find hundreds of intriguing items at RadioArchives.com.
 
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter, or if this newsletter has been sent to you in error, please reply to this e-mail with the subject line UNSUBSCRIBE and your name will immediately be removed from our mailing list.
 

Mike Bullock-TAKING ON NEW PULP WITH A VENGEANCE

  • News
  • August 22, 2011

Mike Bullock is fast becoming one of the most prolific New Pulp writers today. His work has ranged from comics like the Phantom and Black Bat to prose stories like Death Angel. All Pulp spoke to Mike on what is currently going on with his comics, his prose and to talk about his influences in general.

ALL PULP: Have you always wanted to write pulp stories?


Mike Bullock: Yes and no, I guess. I’ve wanted to write since I was four years old. I discovered pulps when I was ten or eleven when I walked into a book store and saw Michael Whelan’s cover for “A Princess of Mars.” That cover captivated my senses and to this day it’s one of my favorite pieces of sci-fi/fantasy artwork. I’d already been a comic book junkie for as long as I could remember at that point and pulps seemed, to me at least, a natural progression of that love. Action-packed, speculative fiction where imagination was the only limitation to where the story could take the hero and that really spoke to me. It wasn’t much later when I realized people actually wrote for a living and that’s when the proverbial light bulb went off over my head.

AP: What writers have influenced your work?

MB: There’s quite a few, but the ones that immediately come to mind are Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Bill Mantlo, Roy Thomas, Alan Dean Foster, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lee Falk, Ron Marz and JM DeMatteis. I was also heavily influenced by the original Star Wars trilogy, and by default Joseph Campbell.

AP: Will we ever see you do the Phantom again? I enjoyed the run, and I’d love to see you tackle a one shot or special again.

MB: I certainly hope so. I felt like I was just hitting my stride when I found out Moonstone wasn’t going to renew the license. I still have a pile of Phantom story ideas sitting on my hard drive and rattling around in my head and each one I read through sparks new ideas. I certainly wasn’t done kickin’ it in the Skull Cave and God willing the opportunity to go back will present itself in the future. Thankfully, Phantom artist Silvestre Szilagyi and I are working on another pitch together, so I’ll get to work with Sil again if nothing else.

AP: Looking back on your Phantom run, which story are you most proud of? Are there any dangling threads you wished you could have finished?

MB: I don’t know that I’m necessarily proud of any of it, but the one that brings the closest thing to satisfaction is the “Checkmate” arc. If I hadn’t had to abridge the final arc in Ghost Who Walks, that might be my favorite. Looking back, “Final Roar”, which oddly enough ended up being the last Phantom story printed by Moonstone, is the one I believe is the best Phantom tale I wrote, though. I also miss working with Silvestre and Fernando on Phantom tales, but thankfully, Fernando and I are doing Joe Palooka together now. As for dangling threads, there’re quite a few. My original goal with the Ghost Who Walks series was to hit issue 75 before I’d step down from it, so I was laying a lot of ground work for things to come throughout the twelve issues of that series.

AP: You have four prose books coming next year. Does that mean you won’t be doing any more comics for the time being? Why the emphasis on prose?

MB: Well, I actually have several comics/graphic novels coming out over the next eighteen months as well including all three “Lions, Tigers and Bears” graphic novels (volume III for the first time and vI and II for the first time in the new format). The focus on prose is something that’s been coming for a long time. I was writing prose and poetry long before I was fortunate enough to do comic books, so going back to that just seems to make sense. I do hope that I can take these prose novels and have them adapted to comics, however. I think “Runemaster” especially would make a great comic series. And, Death Angel debuted as a New Pulp hero in comic books, so it’s not like I view the two formats as mutually exclusive.

AP: Can you tell me something about Lions, Tigers and Bears vol. 3 that hasn’t been said elsewhere?

MB: It’s the coolest book you’ll ever buy in your life. In fact, it’s so cool, you should buy dozens of copies and pass them out to random strangers to increase your own personal happiness quota as doing so prevents cancer and immunizes you from chronic frowning. Don’t know if that’s true, but I don’t think it’s been said elsewhere. On a more serious note, it has some truly amazing art from Michael Metcalf, Adam Van Wyk and Dan Hipp inside. That’s worth the price of admission alone, if you ask me.

AP: Any other graphic novels/comics you can tell me about?

MB: I’m not sure if I mentioned Joe Palooka and Fiefdom of Angels upstream, but expect to see those coming as comics and graphic novels beginning with Fiefdom of Angels #0 debuting in September.

AP: Fiefdom of Angels. Sounds cool. What’s it about?

MB: The first war. Ever. Brought to life from a story created by Grammy Award Winner Kevin Max by myself and artists Tyler “Dungeons & Dragons” Walpole, Peter Mohrbacher and Rob Schwager.

AP: Let’s talk about your books. First off, The Runemaster. I read the premise and am intrigued. Who is he? And what is the novel about?

MB: The Runemaster is his tribe’s leader and holy man of sorts; the character given that designation is Skarl Kirwall, a young man preparing to take over the mantle of Runemaster from his father. Mere weeks before the responsibilities are passed down to him, he’s betrayed by a fellow clansman and exiled while his father is away at a summit of all the northern clans. Skarl seeks a meeting with the clan elders to allow him back in to the Kirwall village on the day his father is to return. But, when he arrives that morning Skarl discovers the entire village has been ransacked, his father murdered and his love taken to be sacrificed to a demon worshiped by the hated Yslings. Now, it’s up to Skarl to save her and avenge his clan.

The novel is the first in a projected series from Airship 27 that will hopefully feed the hunger of those looking for New Pulp sword and sorcery adventures.

AP: Cool book. I can’t wait to read it. Now describe Janus: Guardian of Worlds.

MB: Janus is a legacy hero of sorts coming from Pro Se Press. The character is always two people, the ghost of the grandfather acting as mentor and sidekick to the living grandson. Armed with a totem staff and armband that provides them with the ability to draw on an ancient arcane power source, they’re charged with guarding our world against invasions from those beyond.

Unlike Runemaster, the Janus novel takes place in the early 20th century. However, there has been a Guardian of Worlds in their family line since 2012 BC, so future tales may take place in the past. While the cover artist for Runemaster has yet to be determined, Manny Trembley has signed on to do covers for the “Janus: Guardian of Worlds novel series.”

AP: The third book I saw forthcoming was Death Angel. I saw that the first prose story I could find for it was on iPulpfiction.com. Explain a bit about Death Angel and how it came to be?

MB: Death Angel is an evolution of a character I created a long time ago called Revenant. After creating that character to tell some street-level super hero tales, I discovered there was several other characters named Revenant in comics and I didn’t want to just toss one more onto the pile. So, I set it aside for awhile, then when Joe Gentile over at Moonstone Books and I first dreamed up the Moonstone Pulp universe, I dusted off the old Revenant character and injected it with a whole new life, new origin, new name and new set of motivations. Michael Metcalf came aboard to handle the art chores and he really brought the image of Death Angel to fruition with his more experimental style that those who are familiar with his all-ages work never saw coming.

After Death Angel debuted in the pages of “Phantom: KGB Noir”, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive which led to doing more and more with the character, including the tales that saw the light of day in the first Black Bat graphic novel. Once I discovered iPulpfiction, the desire to do something of a serial nature infiltrated my mind and Death Angel seemed like the right character to explore that. I turned in the second story to iPulpfiction a few days ago and it should be available on the site in August some time.

AP: Did doing books like the Phantom and Savage Beauty teach you anything with how to develop your own properties in the sense of world building?

MB: Not really [Laughs] I’m not that smart. I built the Savage Beauty world from the ground up and did inject some of what Lee Falk did in Phantom, but I’m not sure it was a learning experience, per se. It was a lot of fun, however. The most gratifying thing about the world building is watching others take the ball and run with it, like artists Dave Hoover, Mark Wheatley, Thomas Yeates, Paul Gulacy and Jose Massaroli. It’s one thing to rattle all these ideas and images around in your mind, it’s a whole new level of ‘kid at Christmas time’ to see high caliber artists bring those ideas to vivid, living color.

AP: What do you prefer, working with older properties like Black Bat or The Phantom, or your own creations?

MB: That depends on the time of day [laughs]. It’s nice to be able to switch back and forth as the muse guides me. Ultimately, I’d rather work strictly with my own creations, but there’s a great deal of joy to be had playing with other people’s toys. When I wrote the Phantom for all those years, I didn’t need to wrestle with the world-building, as Lee Falk had already done that, and done it masterfully, for me.

There’s something to be said about running with the excitement that other writers ignite in your heart. For instance, I’d love to write Moon Knight or Conan and I greatly enjoyed penning Phantom tales for seven years. But, if I had to choose, I’d stick with my own stuff.

AP: This is the last question of the interview. Say anything you want here.

MB: I’ll resist the urge to say “anything you want here” as that joke’s ship has sailed. I would like to encourage people to invest in imagination. Yours, your family’s, friend’s, anyone you encounter. Imagination is the key that unlocks a bold new future, so don’t lose it, leave it behind or forget to use it every chance you get.

Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese Looks at The Black Bat Graphic Novel

  • News
  • August 18, 2011



The Black Bat

Written by Mike Bullock

Art by Michael Metcalf and Fernando Peniche

Letters by Josh Aitken

Moonstone Books

ISBN 978-1-933076-96-6

$8.99

Longtime readers of my review column know that I’m a big fan of Mike Bullock’s run on The Phantom. So when Moonstone announced their “Return of the Originals” projects, I was intrigued to see Bullock’s name on both a revival (The Black Bat) and a new creation (Death Angel). This collection collects stories of both characters, though the cover is a bit misleading — it prominently features The Black Bat, with a relatively small “Also Starring Death Angel” logo on the lower right. There aren’t enough Black Bat pages to make it a graphic novel on its own so I understand the inclusion of Death Angel but I would have preferred a title that made it clearer that this was, in fact, a book with equal amounts of both heroes.

The front and back covers are by Tom Grindberg and are absolutely gorgeous. I really, really liked both images and I think the cover will definitely help sell a few copies. Super stuff.

Inside the book we get alternating Black Bat & Death Angel stories (both comic and prose), with one short teaming the two. In both cases, the heroes are tracking down drug pushers and the like. I was a little confused about the era these stories were set in — some things in the Black Bat stories definitely made me think this was set in the 1930s (fashion, the language used, etc.) but Death Angel seemed more modern, both in design and in terms of her hi-tech nano-fiber tachyon-shooting power suit. The two characters interact, so obviously they are in the same era, whenever that may be.

Let’s tackle The Black Bat first. This is not your father’s Black Bat. As in the original stories, this is District Attorney Anthony Quinn. Blinded by a criminal’s attack, Quinn later gets his vision restored and takes to the night as a vigilante. But in this version, The Black Bat suffers from multiple personality disorder and is as bloodthirsty as The Spider. While interrogating criminals, he uses various legal terms to question them, all the while arguing with himself for leading the witness, etc. It’s an interesting take on the character but purists will feel that this is not The Black Bat and perhaps should have been a new character instead. I’m okay with updating characters and this one retains enough of the original for me to recognize him but his willingness to kill (and kill graphically) was shocking. I wish there had been more time to show The Black Bat in his civilian identity, though. The profile that’s included implies that he’s relatively normal in his day-to-day affairs and that it’s only as The Black Bat that his mental instability comes to light. I’m curious how that would have played out. There were places in the story – and I’m not sure if the fault lies with the script or the art, or both — where things felt very, very disjointed and the scene jumps made me pause and flip back a few page to see if I’d missed something. It kinda felt like I was reading the Cliff note’s version of much cooler stories.

From an art standpoint… Hmm. Michael Metcalf does all but one of the Black Bat stories (Fernando Peniche does the one that teams The Black Bat with Death Angel) and I have to admit… I did not like it. The art is far too scratchy and actually looked unfinished in places. It detracted from the story. There were individual panels that looked kind of cool but overall, the story was not served well by this. The Peniche art was a step up and I liked it much better.

Death Angel is a far stronger package overall — perhaps because the burdens of our past expectations are not challenged here. With The Black Bat, pulp fans are constantly comparing and contrasting this version to the original — but Death Angel is a new character and is free from that. Strangely, Michael Metcalf does the art on these sections, as well, but the art looks much, much better. I can only assume that Metcalf deliberately used a different style on The Black Bat stories — this artwork is much stronger.

As with The Black Bat, Death Angel is a vicious character. Her stories all revolve around two things: drugs and sexual abuse. This latter plays well off her origin but I would have liked to have seen a little more variety in the threats she faces here. I found the Death Angel stories to be more interesting and would definitely like to see more.

The overall package… I will say that taken as a whole, this is probably my least favorite of Bullock’s works to date. If I separated out the character arcs, I’d give much higher marks to the Death Angel portions of the book.

Do I think it’s worth your time and money? If you’re looking for the classic Black Bat or if you like your heroes to be of the “don’t kill, but bring the bad guys in for justice” variety… No. If you’re looking for bloodthirsty vigilante types or want to sample a genuinely interesting New Pulp hero in Death Angel, I’d say yes.

I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

MOONSTONE MONDAY-BULLOCK ANNOUNCES ORIGINAL NOVEL

MIKE BULLOCK-NEW PULP AUTHOR/CREATOR
AP:  Mike, Welcome once more to ALL PULP.  Catch us up on what you’ve been doing since the last time you sat in the interview chair.
Mike Bullock: Hi, thanks for having me back. Let’s see, since last time we met I’ve pitched four New Pulp ideas and I can thank God that all four have been accepted by the publishers I pitched ‘em too. That ‘depths of the gut’ feeling I get when waiting for a publisher to reply to a pitch really sucks… even more so when they don’t come back with a “yes”. One pitch I was even able to blow wide open and turn it into four new books, by yours truly and three other writers far more talented than myself, that will pit some enduring pulp heroes against some equally enduring monsters in this Octobers RETURN OF THE MONSTERS from Moonstone Books. I’ve also plotted out four short stories for my original New Pulp character Totem’s new anthology coming in 2012 from Pro Se and written the first five thousand-ish words for my first full-length novel, coming in 2012 from Airship 27 featuring my original New Pulp hero Runemaster. Somewhere in all that, I’ve proofed the first Black Bat graphic novel (yes, it’s the first of many to come, never fear!), worked on my all-ages series Lions, Tigers and Bears and a few other comic projects I have going. Somewhere in all that, I’ve found time to hang with my beautiful wife and awesome son as we prepare to move cross country once again in June.
AP:  You have a very special project coming up for Moonstone that deals with one of your original characters.  What is that?
MB: One of the aforementioned pitches was for the first ever full-length Death Angel novel, coming in the new Moonstone Books New Pulp novel line. I plotted out the story a few weeks back and just ironed out the agreement with Moonstone last week. Hopefully, this time next year, I’ll have three prose books featuring Runemaster, Totem and Death Angel sitting on my bookshelf… and hopefully on your bookshelf, too.
AP:  For readers who don’t know, can you share some background on Death Angel, who she is, what inspired you, the whole kit and caboodle?
MB: Death Angel is my take on the dark vigilante type, with a twist. Years ago I developed a slightly different character I’d dubbed Revenant. He was pretty much just a vehicle for me to tell stories I would rather tell while writing Moon Knight comics, I’m ashamed to admit. Sadly, doing that meant Revenant wasn’t really fully-fleshed out as his own man, so to speak. I worked with an artist to try to pitch some Revenant comics, but it just didn’t work out. I shelved the character for a bit, then brought him back to insert into a team of heroes I was commissioned to develop for an upstart comic publisher in 2005 that never got off the ground. Once again, Revenant was put back on the shelf.
Then, when I’d convinced Moonstone to roll with the pulp stuff, I revisited Revenant, scrapped just about everything I’d developed about him except the mask, belt and cape and reinvented him as Death Angel. However, Death Angel was anything but a Moon Knight clone, as I found myself in one of those writing modes where I could barely type fast enough to keep up with all the ideas for the character that sprang up from a show I watched on science fiction technology and some recent world news I’d read. I gave DA a suit that enhanced strength, based on technology first dreamed up in the 1940s and finally proven to work in the early years of the 21st century. Then, I spent some time studying photon and aural pulse effects and how they could create hypnotic states in living things – another “fringe science” thing brought up by a sci-fi writer in the early 20th century and proven to work at the end of the millennia.
Once I had all that worked out, Rebekah Killian came to life, battered soul and all. Revenant had gone from a two-dimensional guy beating up goons in a dark alley to a fully fleshed out female bringer of vengeance striking terror into the entire underworld.
Death Angel debuted in the back of Phantom: KGB Noir #1 and the fan response was overwhelming. The amount of comments I received stating people wanted more of Death Angel actually outweighed the amount of feedback I received for the Phantom part of that issue, which blew me away.
That’s when Moonstone agreed to let Death Angel be the flip-side of the Black Bat coin in the Return of the Originals books. I wrote a five-part story, the first four parts from each hero’s point of view and the fifth, the story’s climax, would bring the two together. The first three chapters in that saga appear in the Black Bat graphic novel #1 with the remaining chapters coming in #2.
But, all that is just a build-up to putting Death Angel in a spotlight all her own, which is the goal of the new novel.
AP:  Death Angel has graced the pages of both comics as well as some text/image based widevision fiction, but what made you want to bring her to life in a novel?  What about that medium compliments the character and her story?
MB: Well, the New Pulp movement has really excited me. I’ve been reading pulps since I was an adolescent and that style of story-telling has always cranked up my adrenaline levels. Several people I know, most notably my lovely wife, have been pushing me for years to concentrate more on writing prose than comics. The people who know me best think I’m better suited to write prose than comics, so the thought has intrigued me. I dabbled in prose with a handful of Phantom stories, then I did the wide-vision tales for the Pulp Fiction magazine starring Black Bat, Captain Future and Death Angel. It seemed a natural progression from there to start doing novels. I’ve ghost written a few so far and I really wanted to sit down, now that I have the confidence I can do it, and write my own characters in my own stories. I’m feeling really honored that Airship 27, Pro Se and Moonstone all have the confidence in my ability to let me write these tales, too.
AP:  Does the fact that Death Angel is a female underneath all the costume and weapons change how you approach writing her?
MB: Absolutely. I mean, anyone who writes a female character the same way they write a male character shouldn’t be writing. Rebekah Killian is a tough woman, but underneath the wings, fangs and claws of Death Angel is a battered young girl who drives all of Angel’s decisions and actions. She is at once a mother tigress, defending her young and an intelligent woman seeking to make the world a safer place for those she cares about. Unfortunately (for the bad guys at least), somewhere in there is a little mental instability brought on by years of child abuse.


AP:  You’re obviously a writer and creator influenced by the whole ‘Pulp’ style.  What aspects of that style have had the most impact on you, maybe favorite authors and/or characters from the classic days of Pulp?
MB: I’m an adrenalin junkie. Period. Always have been. Princess of Mars from Edgar Rice Burroughs, all the Conan tales from Robert E. Howard, the original Phantom, Black Bat and Captain Future stories and all the rest are all adrenalin charged story-telling at its best. A roller coaster never lets up until the ride is over and the same can be said for just about every pulp tale I’ve ever read. Once I hit the words “The End” I’m a little worn out, but in a good way. If a story can actually make me feel a little physical exhaustion when I’m finished with it, then it sticks with me. A well written pulp scene leaves me with clenched shoulder muscles and a quickened pulse. Those are the kinds of stories I aspire to write, the kind that make the reader respond on levels much deeper than surface consciousness. I realize I still have a really long way to go before I can write something at the elevation of the John Carter or Black Bat or Conan tales, but I’m having fun trying.
AP:  Noting the influences of classic Pulp on you, You’re also one of the movers and shakers behind what has recently become termed The New Pulp Movement.   What, in your view, does that term actually mean and why are you throwing your hat into the movement concept?
MB: For me, New Pulp is just modern day talent creating stories with the same adrenalin-charged story telling that the original pulps exuded. I feel honored to be named alongside guys like Ron Fortier, Barry Reese, Scott Eckert, Martin Powell and so many other extremely talented minds and that feeling brings with it a sense of responsibility to hold up my end. So, it only seems like the right thing to do to toss my hat full in and do whatever I can to push this thing up the hill. I’ve always been an all or nothing kinda guy, and pulp has been “all-in” in me since I was watching black and white Flash Gordon serials on Saturday afternoon when I was five. It’s just who I am…
AP:  Some may have concern that New Pulp’s intent is to change the basic structure and classic ways Pulp is written.  It’s been made clear by others that that isn’t the case at all.  What is your thought on this and if not change, what does New Pulp bring to the table that can’t be found in reprints of old pulp magazines?
MB: To me, if what’s created veers from the basic structure, it’s no longer pulp. I mean, if I write a heavily character development laden romance story that has zero action and takes place entirely within the confines of a bedroom, then I call it New Pulp, I’m only fooling myself. I can’t create something that’s not pulp and make it pulp anymore than I can write a horror story and call it a comedy. It just won’t happen and I’ll look delusional when I’m done. That being said, if men like Burroughs, Doc Smith and Howard never wrote anything, instead satisfying themselves with re-reading The Curse of Capistrano forever, we wouldn’t have John Carter and Conan. The same can be said for authors from Lester Dent and Edmond Hamilton to Barry Reese and Van Allen Pelixco. I love the old stuff, but there’s only so many times I can ride the same ride before I know it so well it loses a little luster and I start wanting to take a new ride. But, that new ride has to thrill me the same way the old one did, or it just isn’t worth it.
AP:  You are a very religious man.  How, if at all, do your beliefs influence your creative process and most notably, how did your religious convictions influence your creation of Death Angel?
MB: I’m not religious at all. Religion is a set of rules and edicts created by men to control one another. I do, however, firmly believe in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God Almighty. I have a personal relationship with them that no amount of rules and regulations can equal. One thing that boils my blood is supposed religious people doing acts of evil under the guise of religion, as we’ve seen in growing frequency lately, most notably the number of priests found guilty of child abuse. To me, that’s a whole new form of evil that’s not just plain wrong, but duplicitous and deceitful, bringing harm to far more than just the immediate victims and their families. When religion goes wrong, bad things happen every time without fail.
Death Angel is a product of religion gone wrong. A young girl raised in a religious orphanage, under the auspices of being protected by pious men and women who actually took advantage of the children in every way imaginable, and some unimaginable. The disconnect between Rebekah’s spiritual belief and her childhood experiences is what birthed Death Angel. While the character in no way is meant as a vehicle to voice socio-political views, those views do shape who she is and where she’s going.


AP:  What does the future hold for Mike Bullock? More than one Death Angel novel?  Anything else?
MB: Well, Eric Johns is already turning in some pretty sweet pages for the RETURN OF THE MONSTERS tale starring Black Bat and Death Angel versus Dracula entitled ANGELS AND THE UNDEAD. I’m also working on the Runemaster novel, a new comic book series that should be announced real soon with Fernando “KGB Noir” Peniche doing the line art and three novels at once. I found out the other day that Doug Klauba will be painting the cover for the Death Angel novel, which really excites me as not only am I huge fan of Doug’s work, but I consider him to be one of my indispensably great friends. Going forward, I have a handful of other New Pulp and comic works coming including a Black Bat/Spider crossover from Moonstone I just finished up last week. Next month brings the release of Black Bat graphic novel #1 and Lions, Tigers and Bears volume III. Oh, and in all that I’m also penning a Black Bat novel for Moonstone that I don’t think has been announced yet, so there’s the All Pulp exclusive for the day. And, I’m also in talks to take the writing lead on an massive story created by a popular musician that can only be described as utterly epic in scale. Look for news on that in July.
AP: Mike, it’s been a pleasure as always!
MB: Right back atcha!

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