UPDATE TO THIS LOG ENTRY. SADLY MY APPEARANCE ON SCI-FI SAT. THIS EVENING WAS CANCELLED AS THEY RAN OUT OF TIME TO SQUEEZE ME IN. HOPEFULLY I WILL BE ON NEXT WEEK. THAT’S SHOW
BIZ! HA!

Tomorrow night, July 16th, I will be a guest on Sci-Fi Saturday Night; a radio program hosted by AM 610-WGIR out of Manchester,NH. Its a terrific show,hosted by the mysterious Mr.K, and his loyal assistants, the Dome and Krianna the Anime Princess. They sent me an invitation a few weeks back and I was thrilled. It’s a fun show and I’m told, my segment will start somewhere between 8 & 8:30 PM. So if any of you are within range of this station, tune your dials to AM 610 and listen up. Should be a ton of fun.

Been a very productive work writing-wise. I’m in the middle of a brand new, 4 issue MASK OF THE GARGOYLE mini-series, having wrapped script #2 this week. Entitled HELLSTRUM, this project is still a ways off, as artist Dario Carrasco won’t get to it until Feb.2006. Talk about far out scheduling. Ha.

Another project moving along quite nicely is
the new CAPTAIN HAZZARD pulp novel series I’m
launching with fellow-scribe, Martin Powell. Sometime later this year, Wild Cat Press will release my re-write version of the original, 1935 CAPTAIN HAZZARD adventure, PYTHON MEN OF LOST CITY. There was ever only one issue of this magazine. Mostly due to the fact it was badly written. The writer, using a pen-name, clearly did not invest a whole lot of thought and time into its production. Thus it has remained a pulp oddity throughout the years. Now, Martin and I will be bringing it back, with, as stated above, all new adventures. We are into the first new book and I’m very, very excited about this entire project. More as it develops.

When I was 13 years old, Marvel Comics was born with the debut of the FANTASTIC 4 title.
It was a cheesy, rough-around-the-edges book
competing against the much slicker superhero line from DC Comics, then the dominating publisher in the field. It was this dorkiness,
awkward underdog feel about the FF that I loved
and would find in all the wild new books soon
to be unleased by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and the entire staff of the Mighty Marvel Marching Society. Lo these many years later, and Columbia has just released a big-budget cinema version of that comic. The critics panned it soundly. Whereas I, and the millions of movie-going fans across the country, loved it!
Hoorah! This movie is the most successful box-office entry of the summer thus far! It exceeded indusrty predictions for its opening weekend by nearly 15 million dollars. I’m thrilled. The comic I loved as a kid is up there on that big silver screen, in a glorious, over-the-top,fun and action filled adaptation. Give yourselves a treat and catch it at a theater near you. With its resounding
success, we are very likely guaranteed sequels.
I couldn’t be happier.

Whereas if I really need doom and gloom, I need look no further than Fenway Park and the dismal performance of the World Champion Red Sox as they kicked of the second half of the baseball season. Last night their rivals, the New York Yankees, pretty much demoralized their
entire pitching roster and the highly anticipated Curt Schilling-as-a-closer expirement was a disastrous boondoggle, as the once mighty and confident Schilling gave up a two-run homer that put the Yankees on top. Then their closer, Mariano Raviera, came in and shut us down, one, two, three. Look, I love the Red Sox and am as loyal as the next guy. But here’s the bottom line, they are not going back to the World Series this year with this pitching squad. Epstein and company either have to get us some new blood or else we kiss a second trophy good-bye now.

Finally, HARRY POTTER Book #6 is on sale tomorrow and I’m so anxious to get my copy. I’ve enjoyed this series tremendously ever since my grand-daugther, Kristi, started reading them and got me hooked. And speaking of books, I hope you are all following my Pulp Fiction reviews over at the Paperback Bazaar website. (See link above this log.) They have started an on-line store making it possible for folks to actually buy the books I review in my bi-weekly column. So check them out, if you’re hunting up good reading fare.

For another week, over and out, Ron.