Roberson and Dynamite Crossover Pulp Heroes in "Masks"

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

[MichaelPaytonMZ]

[shingi70]

Wait so not all of these characters books take place in the 1940s. Seems like a waste when they could use this to jump start their own superhero uni Erse. Just throw in miss masque from Project superpowers wince that seems to be dead.

[Mr. Holmes]

I really dislike the idea of throwing all these guys in a shared universe.

[bobbyhamilton]

I am so in. :-)

[Michael24]

Wait so not all of these characters books take place in the 1940s.

I can't speak about the others, but The Shadow is set in '40s and The Spider is set contemporary.

[HasbroSlayer84]

I really dislike the idea of throwing all these guys in a shared universe.

They aren't in a shared universe in their own respective comics, its just in this limited series which isn't set within their own continuity. Think "PROPHECY" but within the realm of the pulp characters.

[EMeadow]

Wow! This sounds awesome. Doesn't Dynamite also have a Phantom series? I wonder if he'll be included as well.

They do have Phantom and he certainly would be a good fit with this story. But odds are they're didn't think of using him just because right now, Phantom's more or less in the Flash Gordon/King Features family so they wouldn't meld it with the others.

[RockyBanks]

Perhaps I overlooked this in the article, but will this be a limited series or an ongoing? (I'm assuming limited series, since that's kinda DE's thing.)

[md62]

Perhaps I overlooked this in the article, but will this be a limited series or an ongoing? (I'm assuming limited series, since that's kinda DE's thing.)

8 issue mini series.

[emb021]

Good call. From the little I know about pulps, Operator 5 was known for the longest, most detailed invasion stories. As a bonus, he with a full network of 99 former Secret Service agents, instead of a handful of people. You'd really need that kind of group to fight a group that took over an entire country.

Not quite.

Yes, many of the Operator #5 stories dealt with foreign invasions. Its most well known for the "Purple Invasion" series that ran 13 issues, a rarity in pulps, as the hero pulps by and large did NOT do serialized stories. Each novel was stand alone. The Spider had a couple of trilogies, and the Dusty Ayres series had the concept of the world conquered by a single menace, and the US stood along against him for the whole series. The last few issues of Operator #5 had the Yellow Vulture invasion that was left undone.

HOWEVER, he had no "full network of 99 former Secret Service agents". It was pretty much him and a couple of aides (a twin sister, a kid, and a few others).

More on Operator #5: http://www.vintagelibrary.com/pulpfi.../Operator5.php

[emb021]

I can't speak about the others, but The Shadow is set in '40s and The Spider is set contemporary.

the current comics from Dynamite are so set.

But the original pulps ran from the 1930s thru the early 50s.

The Shadow ran from 1931-49.
The Spider ran from 1933-43

(the Shadow is considered the first pulp hero, whereas the last published was the Phantom Detective & Black Bat in 1953)

[Jimmy Bond]

I've been disappointed by both Shadow and Spider. But I did like some of Chris Roberson's work. He made Grounded readable and iZombie was fun. I'm looking forward to this.

[muppet1962]

Just finished reading The Shadow #1-2 and enjoyed them both. I agree with the other posters who would like to see The Spider with his "traditional" look, but I understand that with both he and The Shadow in the same book, it's probably better to keep them as distinctive as possible. It's going to be AWESOME to have The Shadow and Green Hornet together in the same book! Not to mention Kato and Zorro! Very excited.

[Ed Love]

I've been disappointed by both Shadow and Spider. But I did like some of Chris Roberson's work. He made Grounded readable and iZombie was fun. I'm looking forward to this.

I feel that way with Dynamite as a whole. I feel like I should love their comics, but usually they all feel off due to reinventing the wheel with the characters and with inconsistent artwork depending on overcoloring to cover up shortcomings.

While I've not knowingly read any of Roberson's work, the interview for once hit all the right chords so I'm cautiously optimistic. A big part will be who they get to do the artwork beyond the first issue. It's ridiculous that a mini-series should have more than one artist.