Bartholomew "Bat" Aloysius Lash is a fictional
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
superhero character in the
DC Universe
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...
. A self-professed pacifist, self-professed ladies' man, and gambler, Bat Lash's adventures have been published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
since 1968.
Character origin
In 1968,
Carmine Infantino, newly installed editorial director of DC Comics, and his editor,
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...
, came up with the name and basic premise of the loner whose family had been wiped out by murderous thugs, and then brought in
Sheldon Mayer
Sheldon Mayer (; April 1, 1917 – December 21, 1991) was an American comics artist, writer, and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics wor ...
(former DC editor and creator of ''
Sugar and Spike'') and
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born September 6, 1937) is a Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to '' Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book '' Groo the Wanderer''.
Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is ...
(an artist best known for his comedic illustrations for ''
Mad'' magazine) to further flesh out the concept.
Mayer wrote the first appearance (''Showcase'' #76, August 1968). Infantino claimed to have greatly rewritten it. The assignment was then handed to Aragonés, with
Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
doing the dialog over Aragonés' plots, and
Nick Cardy
Nicholas Viscardi (October 20, 1920 – November 3, 2013), known professionally as Nick Cardy and Nick Cardi, was an American comics artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters. Cardy was induct ...
providing the art.
Issues were produced in a variation of the
full script
A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a television program teleplay or a film screenplay.
In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and is almost ...
method. First, Aragonés would create a plot in
thumbnail
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures or videos, used to help in recognizing and organizing them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. In the age of digital images, visual search engines and imag ...
sketch form, then O'Neil would write the dialog, and last came Cardy's finished art.
Publication history
Bat Lash first appeared in 1968, in a house ad running in
Superman DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. It featured a
gangly figure, in silhouette, stalking toward the reader, with the
tagline
In entertainment, a tagline (alternatively spelled tag line) is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, s ...
: "Bat Lash. Will he save the West, or ruin it?".
The character's first published story appeared in ''
Showcase
Showcase or vitrine may refer to:
*Cabinet (furniture)
*Display case
Music
* ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961
* ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964
* ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...
'' #76.
It featured a devil-may-care character, a peaceful, violence hating man who attracts trouble wherever he goes. Dialoguer
Denny O'Neil
Dennis Joseph O'Neil (May 3, 1939 – June 11, 2020) was an American comic book writer and editor, principally for Marvel Comics and DC Comics from the 1960s through the 1990s, and Group Editor for the Batman family of titles until his retir ...
summarized that, "he was a charming
anti-hero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...
, or as close to a charming anti-hero as comics ever came—at least as we did him. In subsequent handlings Bat Lash became a ''churlish'' anti-hero. Sergio
ragonésand I tried to make him in the tradition of the charming rogue. Bat had a conscience represented by the flower in his hat which he inevitably threw away whenever he was doing something ratty"
mphasis in original
Bat Lash's own series only lasted seven issues. Even though editorial director
Carmine Infantino claimed it sold well in Europe, sales in the States were not enough to sustain a run of the title. O'Neil has questioned this, remarking that low sales was "always" the reason given for cancellation in those days, and that he had reason to believe that this was not the case with ''Bat Lash''.
The character and the series bearing his name have been recognized in the industry, including the 1968 and 1969
Alley Awards for Best Western Titles.
Bat Lash made several other appearances after his cancellation in issues of ''
Weird Western Tales
''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to hi ...
'' and other titles. He had a story in ''
DC Special Series
''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...
'' #16 and a brief backup series in ''Jonah Hex'' #49 & 51–52 in 1981. In the 1989/90 miniseries ''Time Masters'' Bat Lash makes a brief appearance along with Jonah Hex. He appears in an alternate time-line in ''Justice League Europe'' Annual #2, written in 1991. An older
Crimson Fox, through a time travel accident, appears in the middle of a card game, allowing Bat Lash the opportunity to save himself (and her) from Bat's own cheating. During the chase, Bat encounters one "Miss Sally", who is sad that she has not seen Bat in months.
A 1998 miniseries, "Guns of the Dragon" set in 1927 China, teams an elderly Bat Lash with Biff Bradley and
Enemy Ace on an adventure that sends them to
Dinosaur Island.
In 2006, writers
Jimmy Palmiotti
James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film.
Early life
Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City.
Career
Palmiotti sta ...
and
Justin Gray
Justin Gray is an American comic book writer working mostly for DC Comics.
Career
Gray has often collaborated with fellow writer Jimmy Palmiotti on series such as ''Hawkman'', '' Jonah Hex'', '' Power Girl'', ''21 Down'', ''Uncle Sam and the F ...
wrote Lash into ''
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...
'' #3. For Halloween in 2007 Bat Lash rides with Jonah Hex to save Lazarus Lane, the host Body of
El Diablo, in ''Jonah Hex'' #24. He also appears in ''Jonah Hex'' #70.
In 2008, Bat Lash appeared in a self-titled, six issue miniseries from DC, written by Aragones, with dialog by acclaimed western novelist
Peter Brandvold, art by
John Severin
John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics ''Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, ...
and covers by
Walt Simonson
Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...
. It was reprinted in trade paperback as ''Bat Lash: Guns and Roses'' in 2008.
In the ''Weird Western Tales'' #71 tie-in to the ''
Blackest Night
"Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackest Ni ...
'' crossover, Bat Lash was reanimated as a member of the
Black Lantern along with Black Lantern
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...
and
Scalphunter.
Bat Lash is one of six DC heroes featured in Walt Simonson's 2012 graphic novel, ''The Judas Coin''.
During the "
Dark Nights: Death Metal" storyline, Bat Lash is among the superheroes revived by Batman using a Black Lantern ring.
In other media
* Bat Lash has appeared in the ''
Justice League Unlimited
''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe ...
'' episode "The Once and Future Thing", voiced by
Ben Browder
Robert Benedict Browder (born December 11, 1962) is an American actor, writer and film director, known for his roles as John Crichton in ''Farscape'' and Cameron Mitchell in '' Stargate SG-1''.
Early life
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Browder ...
. He teamed up with
Pow Wow Smith,
El Diablo,
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the r ...
,
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
,
Batman, and
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
(
John Stewart) to stop
Tobias Manning. He is portrayed as easy-going and good-mannered, though still maintaining a mischievous streak. In this incarnation, Lash's dialogue is sprinkled liberally with sage quotes from his father ("My pappy always said...") which, along with his gambling skills and laid-back attitude, refer directly to ''
Maverick
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Burea ...
'', the light-hearted Western series which, like ''Justice League Unlimited'', was produced by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
* During the segment on ''
Conan'',
Conan O'Brien discussed with Peter Girardi (Creative Director of
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...
) about characters from DC that "sucked". One of the characters discussed was Bat Lash.
* In ''Westerner'', a 2012 song by electro-rock band Judge Rock, Bat Lash appears along with Jonah Hex and other characters from ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. He is depicted as a "dandy womanizer, a crack shot, gentleman loner" attending the coming of the aliens, as in issue three of the comic book.
References
Further reading
* Interview:
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born September 6, 1937) is a Spanish/Mexican cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to '' Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book '' Groo the Wanderer''.
Among his peers and fans, Aragonés is ...
, ''Comic Book Artist'' #1
*
Carmine Infantino, ''Amazing World of Carmine Infantino''
External links
Bat Lashat
Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on August 27, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lash, Bat
1968 comics debuts
Characters created by Carmine Infantino
Characters created by Joe Orlando
Comics characters introduced in 1968
DC Comics Western (genre) characters
DC Comics male characters
DC Comics titles
Fictional gamblers
Humor comics
Western (genre) comics characters
Western (genre) comics
Western (genre) heroes and heroines