The Black Coat
A Call To Arms TPB
Created by Ben Lichius and Francesco Francavilla
Written by Ben Lichius, Adam Cogan
Illustrated by Francesco Francavilla
Inked by Jeremy Colwell
Letters by Chris Studabaker
Ape Entertainment
Cover price: $12.95; Available now

The year is 1775. War between the colonies and Britain is imminent and nowhere is this tension greater than in the streets of New York City, where the British forces conduct all their activities. In the shadows of the city work The Knights Of Liberty, an underground organization of spies and officials that are working toward the independence of the colonies. The mysterious organization is led by an even more mysterious man known only as The Black Coat.

With the return of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Knights’ most important members, from France, the organization is rejuvenated with their efforts to combat the injustices of the Crown. Among the British officers is General Savidge, who in an attempt to finally rid the streets of the rabblerousing Black Coat, joins forces with a secret society that means to keep a firm control over the colonies. Soon the Black Coat finds himself framed for a series of murders and the public turns against him, but he knows who is truly responsible for the murders — a hulking madman sewn back together half a dozen times that seemingly cannot be killed!

Modern-day created superheroes, with few exceptions, can arguably be categorized as uninspired knock-offs, homages, and cookie-cutter versions of the biggest names from Marvel and DC. The Black Coat is by no means an exception, and after a few pages of getting to know the character eerie similarities between him and Batman begin to surface. From the high society secret identity to the quest for justice, from an endless arsenal of weapons to a reliance on keen detective skills, our Black Coat does seem to strike a similar chord to that of The Dark Knight, with but two notable differences. This is not a mirror image of the modern Batman we follow from month to month, but the variant from the 1989 one-shot Gotham By Gaslight, where a 19th century “Bat-Man” comes face-to-face with the crimes of Jack The Ripper. Also, our hero here will not hesitate for a second to permanently dispatch his enemies.

From the creative minds of Ben Lichius and Francesco Francavilla comes a swashbuckling superhero for the 18th century, a masked man topped with a tri-corner hat and armed with a cutlass and pistol, who defends the people of New York City from the increasing tyranny of the British throne. Liberally working with actual events and history, The Black Coat weaves his way through the days following up to the Revolutionary War like a crimefighting Forrest Gump who must do battle with equally ficticious villains. Lichius and Adam Cogan co-write the first issue of this four-issue arc, before Lichius takes over duties as editor and Cogan is given the reins as sole writer for the next three issues. Francavilla provides the art for all four issues contained here, and what a whallop this art is!

The writing here is top-notch, with every page leading the reader on like the Pied Piper, and as the story unfolds the layers of mystery and betrayals, of cloak and dagger intrigue, and of classic adventure become impossible to resist. The Black Coat, along with his allies and adversaries, are given room to breathe and come into their own as strong characters with defined motivations and diabolical treacheries. Just the hint of the fantastical is thrown into the mix to rise the story above historical retelling, with the Black Coat’s host of gadgets and laboratory, and rogues gallery that includes a bandaged man who can disappear and, of course, the madman who refuses to die.

With Francavilla’s black and white artwork, the world of the Black Coat becomes complete. Here, the heavy inks and pencils that are drenched in an array of shadowy blacks and grays provide a vast expanse of panels and pages. Most of the story takes place in dimly lit underground chambers and in the moonlight of the night, but Francavilla keeps all the action easy to follow with the proper balance of whites, and you could not ask for a more suspenseful atmosphere for the intrigue to unfold in. Special care is also given to his character designs, especially The Black Coat who should be destined to become a action figure if there is any justice in the comic book world.

From the first sequence involving a battle aboard a pirate ship to the explosive cliffhanging conclusion, The Black Coat is a classic action-adventure that only Errol Flynn could have properly headlined in would this have been a movie. Best read by candlelight through a monocle with a loaded musket by the door should any Redcoats come around to hassle you, Lichius and Francavilla will restore your faith in the pursuit of liberty, happiness, and a world where brutes don’t go around cutting poor women’s arms off.

Originally released in single issue form in 2005 and 2006, all four issues have been collected in this trade paperback collection with a stunning full-color cover created for this release. Also included in the back is the artwork for the single issue releases, sketch artwork, and pinups.