Return of the Originals: Battle For L.A.
Moonstone Entertainment (2011)
WRITER: C.J. Henderson ARTIST: Mark Sparacio EDITOR: Joe Gentile BOOK DESIGN: Simian Brothers CreativeIt should be noted that this isn’t actually a comic, but an illustrated prose periodical. The story is set during World War II and uses characters from that time, some public domain and some Moonstone gained the license for.
When Special Agent X is wounded uncovering a Japanese plot in New York costumed crimefighter the Black Bat seeks the help of another master of disguise, the Phantom Detective, to learn what their enemy is planning. The duo later teams with the Domino Lady and flying ace G-8 when they learn that the invader are using the occult to bring down America and win the war.
I met the writer at a local convention last year but the main reason I picked this up was because I wanted to see this characters that were famous in the old days, some of which I never heard of. They appeared in pulp novels and comics of the day, before the term “superhero” was ever used. It’s a period piece rather than reintroducing them or descendants/namesakes in modern times. Thus the Japanese are the bad guys (they may be our friends today but they weren’t back then) and the heroes opinions are rooted in the time period. That may not be “politically correct” but it is “historically correct” and I approve.
I was disappointed that this wasn’t a comic book, but rather an illustrated periodical. As such, the art is very good and I wouldn’t mind seeing the artist actually draw these characters in sequential art of a comic book. The story is good, drawing you into the Black Bat and Phantom Detective’s adventures, introducing other characters only as their needed. (Although we still learn enough about the supporting heroes to accept them into the story.)
Overall, if you like a short prose set with the “mystery men” of World War 2 and can handle the “Jap” enemy stories without hating your grandparents, I can very easily recommend this story.
Up Next: Best Scene of the Week in Sunday’s Weekly Wrap-Up
BW Media Spotlight 
[…] booklet, and I’m not against that necessarily. Moonstone put out some good ones like Return Of The Originals: Battle For LA in this form. The same format will be used next issue, when they attempted to relaunch the story […]
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[…] This is the second time this week I won’t be doing a normal review, but for different reasons. Lucky Comics uses Golden Age pulp and comic heroes, or their relatives if you’re in Dan Garret’s family, since they’re in public domain, giving the characters new life and potentially a new audience. The comic story in this issue is only four pages, a sample from The Bat #1 since DC has used the Black Bat name recently in their Gotham heroes, most notably a new identity for Cassandra Cain I don’t think she’s using at the moment. Last I heard she was going by Orphan, a slap in daddy’s face really. Although, Moonstone used Black Bat for their take on the character. […]
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