To Battle Beyond

by C.J. Henderson

In the opening days of WWII, the free world sat in dread anticipation as the Axis turned its deadly attentions on one country after another. With an ocean to protect her on either side, the United States hoped to be spared participation in the apocalyptic confrontation to come. But such was not to be. Knowing their only chance was a sneak attack, the Japanese hight command settled on a dark and terrible plan, one involving damnable sorceries and horrors from beyond to cripple the American colossus. Obscenely cruel, if unstopped it would mean the death of millions. Join us as three of the Pulp Era's greatest heroes--primary Batman inspiration, The Black Bat; The Domino Lady, greatest of the girl detectives; and H.P. Lovecraft's immortal creation, Inspector Legrasse--band together to battle nightmare and ninjas in one of the wildest, most exciting adventure novels of all time! Author C.J. Henderson has created new adventures for the likes of Kolchak, The Night Stalker, The Phantom, The ghost who walks, Mr. Moto, Batman, The Punisher, The Spider--master of men, Lin Carter's Anton Zarnak; the Avenger and a score of others. Known around the world for his ability to infuse characters with a startling and electric dynamism, he is the man who New Mystery Magazine said; 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.; Also;Who the Hell Are These Guys?; an introduction by Ron Fortier, and; Only an Hour; a new Black Bat solo adventure!

Genres: Adventure

248 pages, Paperback

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?