Out of the night comes a menacing winged figure! Blind district attorney Tony Quinn takes his battle for justice from the courtrooms to the streets, battling evil as The Black Bat!
Doomed to darkness by a murder monger, The Black Bat makes darkness his weapon — and a Mysterious Avenger is born! The foul, ruthless rule of a Lord of Crime, striking terror to a city, calls for the daring and swift justice of Tony Quinn.
By 1938, a singular concept had taken a firm hold on its readers, beginning with The Shadow’s debut in 1931. The Pulp Hero, Leo Margulies, editor for Thrilling Publications, took steps in late 1938 to add a different twist to this archetype and went to his go to author to do so.
Norman A. Daniels had proven himself as a pulp workhorse for Thrilling’s line of magazines, including a fair share of the stories for Thrilling’s leading Pulp Hero, the Phantom Detective. When Margulies decided it was time to add another hero to Thrilling’s stable, Daniels was an obvious choice for creating something both familiar and just new enough to capture readers’ attentions.
In July 1939, Daniels introduced the world to The Black Bat in the marginally successful Black Book Detective Magazine. Although others had worn masks and capes and even used the night to battle crime, The Black Bat brought his own level of uniqueness to being a Pulp Hero. First, he was a man who found his way to being a hero from tragedy, acid thrown in his face by a criminal he was prosecuting. Thanks to a miraculous operation, former District Attorney Tony Quinn regains his sight, but also something else happens. Quinn can now see clearly in the dark, as if it were daylight. This introduced something that remained rare with Pulp Heroes but would catch on with comic books. The Black Bat, in essence, had a super power.
Thrill to Brand Of The Black Bat, originally published in Black Book Detective July 1939 and read with two fisted excitement by award winning voice actor Milton Bagby.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Visit By Night
Chapter 2: Searing Acid
Chapter 3: Girl Of Mystery
Chapter 4: The Light Again
Chapter 5: Voice On The Wire
Chapter 6: Brand of The Black Bat
Chapter 7: The Test
Chapter 8: Bank Robbery
Chapter 9: The Trap
Chapter 10: New Recruits
Chapter 11: The Commissioner's Visitor
Chapter 12: Night Battle
Chapter 13: The Disappearing Truck
Chapter 14: Butch Finds Trouble
Chapter 15: The Bat's Dilemma
Chapter 16: Three Prisoners
Chapter 17: The Truck Double
Chapter 18: The Bat Takes A Ride
Chapter 19: Master Of Crime
Chapter 20: The Bat Explains