Keep Track of Heroes in the Night!!!

Hello, my friends, Tea Krulos here. As you might have noticed, this blog has not had a new post in months. I am just too busy with other stuff. My book, Heroes in the Night, was released a little more than a year ago. I am continuing to promote when the opportunity arises (I was recently a guest on Ingrid's Inspirational Hour and next week I will be hosting a panel of RLSH at Fantasticon here in Milwaukee) but I'm also working on other projects.

Here's how you can keep in touch.

The Heroes in the Night Facebook Page is still active. I post updates on what I'm doing and share links to RLSH stories (and other random things I think are related) on a regular basis. It sometimes gets some entertaining commentary, too. I also have a Tea Krulos author Facebook page where I give updates on what I'm working on.

I'm on Twitter.

My personal site and blog has information on past, current, and future things I am writing.

I'm on Goodreads.

And if you haven't yet, please buy a copy of Heroes in the Night. Several links are below.

See ya around!
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Researching RLSH Finds More "Early Prototypes"

Knight-Hood Writes About El Murcielago

Hello, my friends! It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I've been VERY busy wrapping up travel, research, and writing for my next book. It's about the lives of paranormal investigators and will be out in 2015 from Chicago Review Press.

Knight-Hood is an RLSH from Saint Petersburg, Florida (you can read an interview I did for him for Pop Mythology HERE) who has done a lot of research into early comic book history, as well as the history of the RLSH movement. Recently, he has written on Clayton Moore, the actor who portrayed the Lone Ranger and who wore the costume and did good deeds off camera. He also wrote on luchador El Santo and wrote the following on El Murcielago, the bat themed luchador that was stepping into the ring a year before Batman was created.

Here is Knight-Hood's write up on this interesting character:

THE REAL LIFE BATMAN

El Murcielago, which translates as "The Bat" was a Mexican wrestler whose debut match was April 3rd, 1938, a full year before Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman in Detective Comics #27 and also before Norman Daniels aka G. Wyman Jones introduced his pulp fiction hero the Black Bat in July of 1939. 

Bob Kane maintained until his death that the only Bat character he knew of prior to creating Batman was the villain in the 1930 film "The Bat Whispers", but what of Bill Finger? Could Finger perhaps have seen a photo of El Murcielago prior to drawing Batman? As you can see in the photo the full length cape, black boots and trunks are all there but as an artist myself, I was particularly struck by El Murcialago's thigh muscles which bear a strong resemblance to those drawn by Finger of Batman's in Detective #27. A coincidence? It's possible. After all Batman and the Black Bat only came one month apart in 1939 and were created independently. 

Even though his influence on American comic books is debatable, El Murcialago aka Jesus Valazquez was one of the original wrestlers who helped create the world of lucha libre or "free wrestling" as it translates. He was one of the first, if not the first to wear a mask in the ring and would be followed by thousands to come. These masked characters were far more to their Mexican fans than mere wrestlers, but are considered true folk heroes. Many like the famous "El Santo" appeared in comics, and multiple films in character as well as personal appearances.

This culminated in 1996 with Super Barrio, one of the first of the RLSH community, who uses his image to organize labor rallies, protests and file petitions for better living conditions for the poor. Super Barrio is joined by other luchadors who battle corruption, animal rights, pollution and poverty. So there is little doubt that El Murcielago, "The Bat" is definitely one of the precursors to the real life superhero movement.

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Heroes in the Night: April Events

Crusader Prime, one of the C2E2 panelists. Photo from Chicago Tribune.

Hello, my friends, it has been awhile since I posted on my blog here. I’ve been extremely busy working on my next book, doing final interviews, transcribing, research, a million and one little details. It’s going well and I can kind of see the forest from the trees on this project now. 

I have two events going on later this month that I’m real happy, real excited about. 

First, I’ll be talking about Heroes in the Night at the next MKE Comic Book Meet-up, April 22. This is a cool group in Milwaukee that meets up on a regular basis to discuss comic books. The them for the next one is "Social Issues in Comics” and they kindly asked me to be part of it. The first part of the evening will be a discussion from 6:30-7:45pm about comics that have tackled social issues. People are encouraged to bring comics they’d like to talk about. 

I will be talking about Heroes in the Night afterward from 7:45-9pm, particularly focusing on how the subject of the book (Real Life Superheroes) reflect their comic book counterparts. I’ll be showing some slides and I will have copies of the book available for a flat $16. This is going to be a fun time at Anodyne Coffee in Walker's Point, a nice, casual environment. 

Info: Tuesday, April 22, Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co., 224 W. Bruce St., Milwaukee 53204. Comic discussion 6:30-7:45pm, Presentation by Tea Krulos 7:45-9pm. Free, copies of Heroes in the Night available for $16.
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/292877017537427/

Next, how cool is this– I’ll be hosting a panel at this year’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2)!

The panel is titled “You Can be a ‘Real Life Superhero!’” I’ll be moderating special guests Razorhawk, the Watchman, Crusader Prime, Crimson Catalyst, and Night Vision. We will also have a couple surprise guests appearing via video message. I will be showing some slides and we will be talking about what this Real Life Superhero business is all about. We also will have a Q & A session with the audience. Hulk Hogan will be at C2E2, but I can’t speculate if he’ll show up for the panel. 

This will take place Sunday, April 27 2:30-3:30pm Room S401ab. Afterwards, I will be signing copies of Heroes in the Night at the Chicago Review Press booth from 4-4:45pm.

Besides the panel members, several other RLSH will be attending the con and my inside sources tell me the assembled RLSH will be joining forces and patrolling Chicago, handing out supplies to homeless people as they go. Good work, my super friends, good work!

Info: The panel takes place at C2E2 (South Building at McCormick Place) Sunday, April 27 2:30-3:30pm, book signing follows 4-4:45pm at the Chicago Review Press booth. 

Here is the panel listing on C2E2′s site: http://c2e214.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=18ADCB

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Kitty Genovese Day 2014

Today is the anniversary of the death of Kitty Genovese. Some Real Life Superheroes (as discussed in further detail in Heroes in the Night) treat this day as a sort of memorial holiday, making sure they are out on patrol. Some hand out flyers about the incident (in which Genovese was murdered while bystanders ignored it) and for others, the date marks the first time they patrolled.

RLSH say their hope is to prevent another Kitty Genovese story from happening. Be safe out there!

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HEROES IN THE NIGHT TO BE FEATURED AT C2E2!

We've got a flashy red carpet announcement to make here...
Ladies and gentlemen, Tea Krulos will be moderating a panel of Real Life Superheroes at this year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. The panel is titled "You Can Be a Real Life Superhero!" and will take place Sunday, April 27, 2:30-3:30PM in Room S401AB.

The panelists include Razorhawk, the Watchman, Crusader Prime, Crimson Catalyst, and Night Vision. They will discuss the "trade secrets" of being an RLSH and the session will include a Q & A with the audience. There will also be some short video messages from a few surprise guests.

Afterwards, Tea Krulos and members of the panel will be hanging around the Chicago Review Press booth where you'll be able to buy a copy of Heroes in the Night and get it signed by the author and the RLSH.

Please help spread the word and hope to see you at C2E2!

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Michigan Protectors Split

Before the break up: Michigan Protectors. Bee Sting is in black and yellow in the middle, Petoskey Batman is at far right. Photo: Brian Mitchell/ Detroit News

The simply named Super Hero, a veteran RLSH of Clearwater, Florida refers to the Michigan Protectors as the "Washington Generals of the RLSH community," comparing them to the long suffering and inept opponents of the Harlem Globetrotters. 

The group is visited briefly in my book Heroes in the Night, where I relay what I still think is one of the biggest RLSH fails: the April 2012 arrest of Michigan Protectors leader Bee Sting. Bee Sting was doing surveillance on a trailer park, carrying a shotgun with him, when he got into a scuffle over a loud motorcycle. He began to fight the noise violator and the shotgun discharged in the skirmish. Bee Sting was arrested and spent some time in jail. 

Another Michigan Protectors member, the Petoskey Batman, has also ran afoul of the law and was cited for trespassing on rooftops, where we can assume he was brooding like his Dark Knight namesake. 

Bee Sting and Petoskey Batman decided to join forces and became the most infamous members of their team. But now, according to a report by Francis X. Donnelly for the Detroit News, the team has split in half because of a feud between the two RLSH. 

Among the flying accusations between the bee and the bat are claims of infidelity, fraud, probation violation, and general bad taste.

You can read the full article HERE.

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Phoenix Jones Lit on Fire at Superbowl Street Riot

Phoenix Jones on the streets of Seattle on the night of Superbowl Sunday.

--Seattle

Phoenix Jones was on patrol with his team, the Rain City Superhero Movement, on the streets of Seattle after last night's Super Bowl.

According to an update on his Facebook page, Phoenix Jones and his team mates Midnight Jack and the Shade encountered fans celebrating the Seattle Seahawk's victory by starting bonfires in the street. The team tried to extinguish the fire, leading to a reveler trying to punch Midnight Jack and a piece of burning couch thrown at Phoenix Jones, who posted a picture showing fire damage to his "supersuit."

Jones reports (unedited):

"ONCE I SAW THE FIRE I DREW TASER ON THE SUSPECT HE TOOK OFF RUNNING. I PROCEEDED TO USE COOLING GEL FROM MY UTILITY BELT. ONCE THE FIRE WAS OUT A POLICE OFFER ASKED US TO LEAVE THE SCENE BECAUSE THERE COMING IN TO SHUT IT DOWN." 

Phoenix Jones displays fire damage to his suit.

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HERO PROFILE #19: Crusader Prime

Photo: Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune

Operates out of: Chicago area

Team affiliation: P.A.T.C.H.

Activities: Patrols, hand outs

Author's notes: The Chicago Tribune featured a front page article on Chicagoland RLSH on Saturday. The article had several quotes about Heroes in the Night and features a sidebar article about early prototype The Fox. The online version has a short video of the Chicago guys in action. Some great press to chase the winters blahs away!

You can find it all here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-real-life-superheroes-met-20140118,0,366960,full.story

Side note: David Beyer, Jr., who did several pages of art in Heroes in the Night, will be tabling with signed copies of the book this weekend at Wizard World Portland, table D40 in the artist's alley.---------
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HERO PROFILE #18: The Human Fly

Operated out of: Montreal

Active: Mid- late 1970s

Activities: Costumed, charitable stuntman

Status: Unknown

Author's notes: In my book, Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement, I have a chapter titled "Early Prototypes." One of the real life precursors to the RLSH movement that I briefly talk about is the story of a mysterious stuntman known as the Human Fly. After a little digging, I found more on the story thanks to a filmmaker who has been exploring the Fly's story for quite sometime.

I was able to funnel this info into a more in-depth look at the story in an article recently posted at Pop Mythology, which you can read here:

Pretty Fly for a Daredevil Guy: the Return of the Human Fly 

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Happy Holidays from Heroes in the Night!

2013 was a great year for Heroes in the Night-- we saw publication, some great reviews, and some fun in-person events. We've got more of the same planned for 2014, but now it's time for a holiday break.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Author Tea Krulos with local Real Life Superhero team The Challengers at their annual charity toy drive.

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PHANTOM PATRIOT REPORT 2013

If you've read my book Heroes in the Night, then you'll probably recall a story in the "Early Prototypes" chapter about a man named Richard McCaslin aka the Phantom Patriot.

McCaslin now lives outside of Las Vegas and is still active as the Phantom Patriot. He compiled the video below which has reports on his activities over the last year (and also includes a shout out spot to Heroes in the Night!)

Presented without further comment:



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Challengers Christmas Toy Drive a Huge Hit!

Local Milwaukee RLSH team the Challengers do a charity toy drive every year and this is the fourth year I've done a small part in helping them with their mission. At this annual event the team asks for in-person donations of toys and art supplies for two charities. Gingerbread House donates toys to low income families in Washington County. Meta House is a rehab program in my neighborhood (Riverwest) for women and their families. They incorporate a lot of art therapy into their programs.

This year, we set up the RLSH appearance at Dryhootch, a non-profit benefit coffee house that helps veterans and their families with a variety of issues.

It was a cold and snowy day, but that didn't prevent the Challengers from showing up in force. The Watchman, Blackbird, Night Vision, the towering Skyscraper, and the Junior Challengers--Wonder Boy, Badger Boy, and Guardian Girl-- were all there.

Overall, the toy drive was a huge success. Our friends at comic book store Lost World of Wonders hosted a show earlier in the week and offered free admission with a toy donation, and donated generously themselves. The Junior Challengers even pooled some of their own money to buy donations. Good work!

FOX 6 stopped by to shoot some footage for last night's News at 10. Here's the clip:


Pretty cool, huh?

When I returned home and checked in on Facebook, I realized the Challengers weren't the only ones try to do some good out there this weekend.

For example, Crusader Prime reports that he and fellow Chicago RLSH handed out supplies-- gloves, blankets, shirts, socks, hand warmers, and food-- to the homeless yesterday in the area around lower Wacker Drive yesterday. He says they ran into a lot of people in need and handed out the amount of supplies they usually spend all night distributing in about an hour and twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, on in the West, teams were participating in a quarterly RLSH outreach program called S.I.G.N.S. of HOPE. In San Francisco, the California Initiative handed out supplies including water, first aid kits, cookies and 240 homemade burritos (!) yesterday in the Mission District. Also, in Seattle, members of the Washington Initiative and other Seattle superheroes teamed up to do a similar hand out of supplies and food.

WAI members will discuss S.I.G.N.S of HOPE tonight (9PM EST) on the Initiative hosted Tribe Radio:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tribetalk/2013/12/16/5-of-7-neighborhood-heroes--tips-training-and-tales-ft-the-wai

Tune in!

Heroes in the Night Answers Your Cyber Monday Questions

-What formats is the book available in?
Paperback and also a few different types of e-books.

-Do I need to be a comic book geek to understand this book?
No! I was careful to write the book to be accessible to people without comic book knowledge. If you're into comic books, a lot of references will be familiar terrain. If not, you'll still be able to follow along and will pick up some comic book history along the way. The book also appeals to anyone interested in contemporary sub-cultures and unique social movements. Heroes in the Night is listed under social studies/pop culture, and sometimes placed in cultural studies or true crime. 

-Will my Uncle Joe like it?
Yes. Probably.

-Do you have any reviews of the book I can read?
Yes. Here's a great one from Pop Mythology:
http://www.popmythology.com/heroes-in-the-night-review/#

-Where can I find copies of the book online?
Here's a list of links to places that sell it online:
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS GROUP
BOSWELL BOOK COMPANY
BARNES & NOBLE
AMAZON
POWELL'S
INDIEBOUND
iTUNES
MICROCOSM

Happy Cyber Monday Shopping!

Hollywood HEROES and Holiday Shopping

Tea Krulos signing stock at a recent Barnes & Noble appearance.

Hello! I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. Here's a treat for Heroes in the Night-- we were featured on the blog My Book, the Movie, in which authors are asked to pick out the perfect cast for a Hollywood adaptation. I went in trying not to over think it, I went with a lot of my immediate thoughts. Some I think are serious candidates, others are just a dose of humorous vision.

My dream casting can be found HERE. Someone get Hollywood on the line!

The post was also linked by related blog Campaign for the American Reader.

Also, today is the shopping holiday known as Black Friday. I, personally, am not a fan of the crowds and the ugly sweaters, but I know it is a tradition for many people. Have fun and be careful out there!

And consider a gift of Heroes in the Night, perfect for anyone interested in superheroes, social movements, pop culture, social science, true crime, or high adventure.

You can find it at a variety of independent and big box stores (or ask them to order a copy) as well as online at the links below. Have a wonderful day!

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RAIN CITY BLUES

The author with Purple Reign and Phoenix Jones in Seattle. Photo by Lucien Knuteson

THINGS NOT-SO-SUPER IN SEATTLE FOR PHOENIX JONES AS PURPLE REIGN, EL CABALLERO QUIT RAIN CITY SUPERHERO MOVEMENT

Phoenix Jones was riding high at the beginning of the month with another win by his MMA fighting alter ego, a unanimous decision victory on November 2. But recent public revelations show that Jones's team, the RCSM, is also facing a knock out.

A Facebook status update by El Caballero followed by an article yesterday with the Seattle Weekly reveals that the luchador mask wearing RCSM member has quit the team and will be doing his own thing. In the article, "Cabby" (as some call him) alleges that Jones stole his "class 3 military helmet" and that four other undisclosed RCSM members have issue with Jones not providing armor ordered or giving a refund.

Even more damning, today Jones's significant other Purple Reign posted the following status on her public Facebook page:

"I feel it is time to make a public statement announcing that Phoenix Jones and I are no longer together and will not be working together on any future projects. I have always conducted myself in a professional and respectable manner and do not wish to list the details of our separation.

I also do not have information about any of the allegations made against him, so please do not inquire. I do need to make it clear that I am not affiliated with him or the Rain City Superhero Movement, however, I will continue to help those in need as Purple Reign. I wish Phoenix and the RCSM the best of luck in their future endeavors."

I met Phoenix, Purple, and other members of the RCSM and wrote about them quite a bit in Heroes in the Night. My best wishes go out to everyone. What will be the results of this Seattle Shakedown? We'll have to wait and see.

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