The Black Bat Companion

[Revised Review]Altus Press has added another volume to their "Companion" series of handbooks on classic pulp series. This one is on the Black Bat, Thrilling's long running pulp hero, and one of the very few to last into the 50s. Tom Johnson is the main author of this work, and its an updating and expansion of the volume he did on the Black Bat that was published by Howard Hopkin's Golden Peril Press back in 1990.We get list of all the Black Bat stories, plus an index/overview of each story, with small black and white photos of each cover.We get information on the main characters, and some comments on the the works by some of the other authors of the series. There is a brief article on the German Black Bat series, which added several hundred additional stories to the series, as well as the Batman-Black Bat controversy, as the two characters came out so close together.As part of the 'settlement' with DC Comics, Thrilling promised not to publish a Black Bat comic series in their Nedor Comics line. But in fact they did, but called him "The Mask", which ran for 20 stories. 9 of them are reprinted here, and the first one (his original) is based on the origin of the Black Bat.Toward the end of the run, there were some unpublished Black Bat stories. What happened to them? Well, we learn in this volume. One, by "Stewert Sterling" was most likely recycled into another story. One chapter looks at several possible candidates. Another Black Bat story by "Stewart Sterling", which also was revamped into another character, is reprinted here in its final format. Also, an overview of what was probably Norman Daniel's last Black Bat story that was rewritten into a paperback novel with the characters again renamed.There is also several articles on main Black Bat author Norman Daniels, including a list of all his pulp works, which clears up the authorship of some other hero pulps he worked on.While this is a great book, there are a few problems I saw. I saw a few typos, including a glaring one on a chapter name. I've done some proofreading for Altus and keep hoping to be asked again, so was disappointed to see these. Also, there are some inconsistencies between some of the material. The listing of the series at the beginning gives all the authors, but this doesn't quite jib with a the later overview of the series nor the article on Norvel Page and Lawrence Daniels writing Black Bat stories.Also confusing for some readers is that "Stewart Sterling" is pseudonym for Prentice Winchell, but Winchell is only given in the list at the beginning (and credited on the chapter list), but no mention of this fact is given in the index/overview or in the inclusion of his unpublished story. "Steward Sterling" is given as if its the author's real name rather then his pseudonym. This is really confusing, and I wish this had be made clearer. For myself, I prefer using an author's real name, but citing the published pseudonym(s).I always look forward to Altus Press' work, and will look forward to their next work.

I own several of Tom Johnson's pulp histories and this one is every bit as good any of the others I have read. Published by Altus Press,it is a detailed history of the Black Bat character as he appeared in Standard Magazine's Black Bat Detective magazine from 1939 through 1953.The book runs over three hundred pages and contains a lot of information. There are synopses of the main characters, detailed entries for every American published issue (including cover photos), interviews and histories of creator Norm Daniels and lots of information on the little known German Black Bat series. The book also contains a lot more info than I have listed. If you're a fan of the Black Bat or have any interest in Pulp writing or publishing this is a must have.It is a little steep pricewise but well worth the money if you're serious about your Pulp history. Highly recommended.