Bartholomew "Bat" Alouysius Lash is a fictional
WesternThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
character in the
DC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Bat Lash's adventures have been published by
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
since 1968.
In 1968,
Carmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2000.-Early life and career:...
, newly installed Editorial Director of DC Comics, and his editor,
Joe OrlandoJoseph Orlando was an illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist. He was the vice president of DC Comics for many years and also the associate publisher of Mad.-Early life:...
, were looking for something new. Western movies were popular at the moment, with the
spaghetti westernSpaghetti Western, also known in some countries in mainland Europe as the Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by Italians, usually in co-production with a Spanish partner.The typical team...
s of
Clint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and five People's Choice Awards—including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.Eastwood is...
breathing new life into a genre that had fallen into disrepute. Western heroes were few in comic books at the time, it was felt they could be revived.
Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino 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 MayerSheldon Mayer was an American comic book writer, artist and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics work for the company that would become known as DC Comics.He is credited with rescuing the...
(former DC editor and creator of
Sugar and SpikeSugar and Spike is the name of a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1956 through 1992, and the names of the main protagonists. Sugar and Spike was created, written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer.-Publication history:...
) and
Sergio AragonésSergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
to further flesh out the concept.
Bartholomew "Bat" Alouysius Lash is a fictional
WesternThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
character in the
DC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
. Bat Lash's adventures have been published by
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
since 1968.
Character origin
In 1968,
Carmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2000.-Early life and career:...
, newly installed Editorial Director of DC Comics, and his editor,
Joe OrlandoJoseph Orlando was an illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist. He was the vice president of DC Comics for many years and also the associate publisher of Mad.-Early life:...
, were looking for something new. Western movies were popular at the moment, with the
spaghetti westernSpaghetti Western, also known in some countries in mainland Europe as the Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by Italians, usually in co-production with a Spanish partner.The typical team...
s of
Clint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American actor, film director, film producer and composer. He has received five Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award and five People's Choice Awards—including one for Favorite All-Time Motion Picture Star.Eastwood is...
breathing new life into a genre that had fallen into disrepute. Western heroes were few in comic books at the time, it was felt they could be revived.
Joe Orlando and Carmine Infantino 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 MayerSheldon Mayer was an American comic book writer, artist and editor. One of the earliest employees of Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's National Allied Publications, Mayer produced almost all of his comics work for the company that would become known as DC Comics.He is credited with rescuing the...
(former DC editor and creator of
Sugar and SpikeSugar and Spike is the name of a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1956 through 1992, and the names of the main protagonists. Sugar and Spike was created, written and drawn by Sheldon Mayer.-Publication history:...
) and
Sergio AragonésSergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
to further flesh out the concept. Shelly Mayer would write the first appearance (
Showcase #76). Infantino claimed to have greatly rewritten it. The assignment was then handed to Aragonés, with Denny O'Neil doing the dialog over Aragonés' plots, and
Nick CardyNick Cardy , a.k.a. Nick Cardi, is an American comic book artist best known for his DC Comics work on Aquaman, the Teen Titans and other major characters, and for his highly attractive rendering of female characters referred to by fans as "Cardy Babes"...
providing the art.
Publication history
Bat Lash first appeared in 1968, in a house ad running in
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
. It featured a gangly figure, in silhouette, stalking toward the reader, with the legend, "Bat Lash. Will he save the West, or RUIN it?".
The character's first published story appeared in
Showcase #76. It featured a devil-may-care character, a peaceful, violence hating man who attracted trouble wherever he went. He wanted to be left alone ... with the exception of the many females that crossed his path.
Bat Lash the book possessed a sense of humor that has often been compared by fans to the TV series
MaverickMaverick is a comedy-western television series created by Roy Huggins that ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and featured James Garner, Jack Kelly, Roger Moore, and Robert Colbert as the poker-playing traveling Mavericks...
, starring
James GarnerJames Garner is an American film and television actor.He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
.
Bat Lash's own series only lasted seven issues. Even though Editorial Director (later Publisher) Infantino claimed it sold well in Europe, sales in the States were not enough to sustain a run of the title. 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 TalesWeird Western Tales is a Western genre comic book title published by DC Comics which ran from June-July 1972 to August 1980. It is perhaps best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 when the character was promoted to his own eponymous series...
and other titles. He appears in an alternate time-line in
Justice League Europe Annual #2, written in 1991. An older
Crimson FoxCrimson Fox is a fictional character, a French comic book superhero from the DC Comics universe. Identical twins Vivian and Constance D'Aramis shared the role of Crimson Fox to allow each something of a normal life, although Vivian was much more enthusiastic about their superheroic life...
, 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 hasn't seen Bat in months.
In 2006, writers
Jimmy PalmiottiJames "Jimmy" Palmiotti is an American writer of various comic books, games and film.-Biography:Palmiotti is of Italian descent. He is a graduate of the High School of Art and Design in New York City...
and Justin Gray wrote Lash into
Jonah HexJonah Woodson Hex is a fictional character, a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. The right side of his face is horribly scarred. He was an officer for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, fought at Gettysburg and...
#3.
For Halloween 2007 Bat Lash rides with Jonah Hex to save Lazarus Lane
the host Body of
El DiabloEl Diablo is a name shared by several fictional characters published by DC Comics. Lazarus Lane the first El Diablo debuted in All-Star Western #2 , and was created by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow.-Publication history:...
in
Jonah Hex #24.
In 2008, Bat Lash appeared in a new self-titled, six issue mini-series from DC, written by Sergio, with dialog by acclaimed western novelist
Peter BrandvoldPeter Brandvold is an American western fiction author, who has written more than thirty published novels.Born and raised in North Dakota, Peter Brandvold spent much of his early life riding horses, reading western novels, and watching western movies....
, art by
John SeverinJohn Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive artwork with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, and for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics...
and covers by
Walt SimonsonWalter "Walt" Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist. After studying geology at Amherst College, he transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating in 1972. His thesis project there was The Star Slammers, which was published as a black and white promotional comic book...
.
Other media
Bat Lash has appeared in
Justice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American 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, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
voiced by
Ben BrowderRobert Benedic "Ben" Browder is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as John Crichton in Farscape and Cameron Mitchell in Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
. In the episode "The Once and Future Thing", he teamed up with
Pow Wow SmithOhiyesa "Pow-Wow" Smith is a fictional Western hero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Don Cameron and penciler Carmine Infantino, he is a Sioux who is the sheriff of a small Western town, where he is known as a master detective...
,
El DiabloEl Diablo is a name shared by several fictional characters published by DC Comics. Lazarus Lane the first El Diablo debuted in All-Star Western #2 , and was created by Robert Kanigher and Gray Morrow.-Publication history:...
,
Jonah HexJonah Woodson Hex is a fictional character, a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. The right side of his face is horribly scarred. He was an officer for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, fought at Gettysburg and...
,
Wonder WomanWonder Woman is a DC Comics superhero created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 , she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception .Wonder Woman is a member of an all-female tribe of Amazons...
,
BatmanThe Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics...
, and
Green LanternGreen Lantern is the name of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 ....
(
John StewartJohn Stewart is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 , and was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams.-Publication history:...
) to stop
Tobias ManningTerra-Man is a fictional character and supervillain who appears in Superman stories published by DC Comics. Terra-Man first appeared in Superman #249, March 1972.-Pre-Crisis:...
. He is portrayed as easy going and good mannered. He says Manning cheats at cards. 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
MaverickMaverick is a comedy-western television series created by Roy Huggins that ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and featured James Garner, Jack Kelly, Roger Moore, and Robert Colbert as the poker-playing traveling Mavericks...
, the light-hearted Western series which, like
Justice League Unlimited, was produced by
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.—the shortened form of the former official, sometimes still used, formal corporate name: Warner Brothers
Other sources