Publication history
Bat Lash first appeared in 1968, in a house ad running in Superman DC Comics. It featured a gangly figure, in silhouette, stalking toward the reader, with the tagline: "Bat Lash. Will he save the West, or ruin it?".
The character's first published story appeared in Showcase #76.[5] It featured a devil-may-care character, a peaceful, violence-hating man who attracts trouble wherever he goes. Dialoguer Denny O'Neil summarized that, "he was a charming anti-hero, 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 [Aragonés] and 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" [emphasis in original].[4]
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 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.[4] 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.[6][7]
Bat Lash made several other appearances after his cancellation in issues of Weird Western Tales and other titles. He had a story in DC Special Series #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 and Justin Gray wrote Lash into Jonah Hex #3. For Halloween in 2007 Bat Lash works with Jonah Hex to save Lazarus Lane 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 and covers by Walt Simonson. It was reprinted in trade paperback as Bat Lash: Guns and Roses in 2008.
In Blackest Night, Bat Lash is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern alongside Jonah Hex 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.[8]
