Greetings loyal airmen and welcome to our last log entry of 2005. As the image of that 1930s Sikorsky S-38 above beautifully displays, we are all set to gear up, rev our props and go flying into 2006! As we do, we hope and pray it will be a fantastic new year for all of you, filled with new challenges and potential.

It certainly has been a rambunctious year, old 2005, so full of the ups and downs that life is. On the grand scale, I will always remember it as the year Mother Nature turned deadly. Although the tsunami in the Indian Ocean actually happened a day of Christmas, 2004, it really wasn’t until several weeks into 2005 that the rest of the world began to grasp the enormity of the tragedy and the overwhelmingly staggering death count. None of us alive today had ever experienced such loss of life in such numbers before and it took the world a long to time come to grips with the reality of it all. Eventually global aid would appear and begin to help the survivors reclaim some semblance of their lives but it will still be many years before that corner of the world is anywhere near properly healed.

Then, no sooner had we accepted the horrors dealth by the tsunami when Pakistan was wracked with several major earthquakes and once again we witnessed a tremendous loss of life occuring within a matter of a few fear-wrenching hours. I’ve experienced one earthquake in my life and it was nothing as devastating as what happened in Pakistan. Still, it was frightening enough that I don’t ever want to be anywhere near another. Thus, once again, the international community of man was called upon to bring aid and comfort to the destitute of that far off land. Had the tsunami and the earthquake been all, it would still have been too much. But Mother Nature wasn’t through with us yet and along came Hurricaine Season in America!

Hurracaine Katrina was the final knock out blow, as she drove into the Gulf Coast and ravaged countless low-lying communities and pretty much destroyed New Orleans while the rest of us watched it all during the 6 O’Clock News at our dinner tables. And although the real loss of life was not as cataclysmic as it had been overseas, the loss of property and the economic blow to thousands of the survivors was heart-wrenching and for many of them the suffering and isolation continues. These people lost everything..but their lives!

What annoyed me the most during the flooding of New Orleans and its aftermath was the sheer stupid pettiness of Washington politicos from both sides who used the suffering of others to point fingers at each other. Insanity. As if the hurracaine had actually been the fault of any politcal party? I am constantly amazed at the tremendous ego of humans, even in the face of Mother Nature’s might, some people still think something could have been done to prevent it. Impossible. Now the reaction by government agencies, both local and national were less than stellar during the days after the disaster and there will be plenty of time to review those matters at a later time. For right now, all our energies should be put into help our fellow Americans in any way we can, no matter how small. Whatever you can do..do. In the end big efforts are made up of little acts.

Were I a religious fundementalist, I might think this year’s worth of natural maladies pointed to some kind of Godly wrath on mankind.
And I have heard some folks speak like that. Thing is, I don’t buy that. Not for a second. Rather, my Christian sensibility tells me, when bad things happen to good people, it is in reality an opportunity given me to step up and help my brothers and sisters. Those kind of opportunities are what we’ve been given as a people,as a country. It is my fervent prayer when historians look back on 2005, they will note those calamitous events and then will add that people of all countries and faiths pulled together and acted humanely towards one another.
Then, truly out these great times of pain and suffering, a very real good will have emerged.
Let’s pray that happens.

On a more personal level, 2005 saw my own ups and downs with health issues. Those of you who are regular visitors will recall that I started the year with having found mysterious spots on both my lungs and for a while it looked like I
might be dealing with cancer. Thankfully that was not the case and although those two spots are still there, they seem completely benign and inactive. So I breathed a huge sigh of relief and got on with living my life. It was a good year for us all around. My two pulp novels were published to very good reviews and Digital Webbing Presents put out my two Gargoyle comic strips. Add to this some 18 Pulp Fiction columns and yeah, a very good year writing-wsie. But wait until next year, airmen.

Early next year will see the publication of my new pulp venture, my rewrite of the classic CAPTAIN HAZZARD – PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY. Above is Tom Floyd’s new painting for the cover and I can’t wait to see what designer Chris Mills does with it when he adds our new Captain Hazzard logo. Meanwhile Martin Powell and I are still hard at work writing the first new Cap adventure in 67 years,
CITADEL OF FEAR. And with fingers crossed I’ll finally find a publisher for the comics version. Wish me luck.

Spekaing of comics, I hope to have FRANK NG-HIRED GUN ready to go to the printers by the start of Feb. A big heartfelt thanks to penciller Javier Lugo, inker Juan Castro and letterer Steven Finch for their outstanding work on this book. And to my pals Johnny Atomic, for his cover, and Blake Wilkie for bringing me this amazing team. Also, I’m hoping to see several other comic projects get out there as well. One of these is a new 48 pg. Brother Grim graphic novel by yours truly and Chris Mills, along with artist John Polacek. You are going to love this one!

Finally, before closing the hangar for the last time this year, I want to recommend a new book to all of you. IT’S SUPERMAN was written by Tom Dehaven and is a very wonderful retelling of the Superman story told against the backdrop of the 1930s Great Depression in America. It is by far the most insightful and warm-hearted version of this hero’s tale I have ever read. Do yourself a big favor and pick this up, you’ll be so glad you did.

That’s it. Next time we get together, it will be 2006. Thanks for all your support this, our first year on the flight line. Each and every one of you made this site a whopping success. Thanks always and see yah all next year. Keep ’em flying, airmen. Ron, over and out.