Sleuth Comics #1

sleuth comics #1 by Christopher Mills
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Can The Black-Owl stop The Scream of the Silent Skull!

I've been seeing the Atomic Pulp books floating around for a while now and dismissed them. I was afraid they were of the "I only like what I liked when I was 17" brand of nostalgia. I was wrong and Sleuth Comics #1 is pretty great.

The Black Owl is a retooled public domain character. I can't say that he was a Batman knockoff since I've only read one of his stories in an issue of Golden Age Men of Mystery. Anyway, the Atomic Pulp Black Owl is the son of the first, a millionaire with a bullet in the sleep center of his brain, the same bullet that killed his fiance. His Alfred, Athena, is the twin sister of his dead fiancé.

Don Secrease, whom I've never heard of, provides pencils and Rick Burchett, whom I HAVE heard of, sets the mood with the inks.

This is an homage of 1970s Batman and it wears its influences on its sleeve. Black Owl is much more like detective Batman than modern "beat anyone with prep time" Batman. He even smiles and drops an occasional funny line.

After a swerve with another villain, The Silent Skull emerges as the threat of the tale, a ghoul with mind control powers. In the end, Black Owl saves the day, of course. A lot of worldbuilding is done in this issue but not in an obnoxious way.

The book features '70s style trade dress. There's even a letter page and a snack cake ad in the back. A Who's Who style profile for Black Owl is also featured.

I had a ton of fun with this and I'll probably be picking up more of Atomic Pulp's offerings in the future. Sleuth Comis #1 is the best 1970s style Batman story to come out in years. 4 out of 5 stars.

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