To Battle Beyond

by C.J. Henderson, Ron Fortier (Introduction)

Three of the Pulp Era's greatest heroes — The Black Bat, The Domino Lady, and Inspector Legrasse — band together to battle nightmare and ninjas in one of the wildest, most exciting adventure novels of all time!

In the opening days of WWII, the free world sat in dread anticipation as the Axis turned its deadly attention on one country after another. With an eye to invade the United States, the Japanese high command settles on a dark and terrible plan, employing damnable sorcery and horror from beyond to cripple the American colossus. But the USA still has a secret weapon — and The Black Bat, the Domino Lady, and Inspector Legrasse are prepared to strike back for freedom!

This edition also includes "Only an Hour" a new Black Bat solo adventure by C.J. Henderson. Introduction ("Who the Hell Are These Guys") by Ron Fortier.

"If as some argue, the hardboiled private eye mystery story is a literary form on a par with the Japanese haiku or Irish ballad, then Mr. Henderson deserves the mantle of literary master." — New Mystery Magazine

Genres: Adventure

234 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2008

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

CJ Henderson is the creator of both the Jack Hagee hardboiled PI series and the Teddy London supernatural detective series. He is also the author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies, several score novels, plus hundreds of short stories and thousands of non-fiction pieces. In the wonderful world of comics he has written everything from Batman and the Punisher to Archie and Cherry Poptart.

He also writes under the name Robert Morgan.

Reviews

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flawed horror/Golden Age Pulp heroes mishmash. Teaming Ravenwood, Inspector Legrasse, The Domino Lady, & The Black Bat started off very well, cutting back and forth between each hero facing off against an otherworldly horror set off by devastating storms. But once all the heroes were assembled in Ravenwood's apartment, things got awkward, claustrophobic, and over-emotional, almost as if the protagonists were more intent on psychoanalysis than monster fighting. The attempts at witty banter fell painfully flat. The finale was improbable but fun. There were a lot of typos and misspellings. A bonus Black Bat story, "Only an Hour," was much better at mixing Lovecraftian horror with pulp action.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half of a really good book.
On the eve of WW2, a series of odd, devastating storms hits the USA, letting 'Something' loose to wreck havoc. The pulp heroes, the Black Bat, Domino Lady, Ravenwood and Inspector LeGrasse band together to stop this menace.

For a pulp/comic book junkie like me this is a brilliant idea and the first half of the book is full of atmosphere, great action and mystery.
Unfortunately, once all the heroes gather in New York is starts to fall apart. The author doesn't seem to know what to do with Domino Lady so she gets emotional and then develops ninja abilities.
Same problem with Ravenwood, once his mystic powers are used to explain things there's a fairly weak twist used to get him off stage.

The ending has potential, but takes a big turn from the Lovecraftion vibe of the first half and feels more like a summer action movie. Plus, it feels rushed and there's too much modern sensibilities and dialogue. It tends to take you out of the pulp mood and make you over think the story. I mean, would the Domino Lady ever use the phrase 'ass-kicker'?

Great underused characters that I would love to see used more ( the Black Bat was pretty bad ass) and I like the kind of pulp 'League of Extrordinary Gentlemen' feel Henderson was trying for, but he couldn't quite pull it off.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superheroes vs Lovecraftian Horrors. What isn't there to love?