Greetings loyal airmen.  Well, time does march on, as I discovered this past week when Jerry Edwards wrote to tell me one of the earliers comic characters I ever worked on was officially 25 years old this year.  Which really got me to thinking.  The truth is, Mr.Jigsaw, Man of a Thousand years is around 29 actually.  But let me explain.   Way, way back, almost 30 years ago now, artist Gary Kato and I submitted a short sci-fi comic strip to Charlton Comics (now long gone) for a try-out mag they were calling Charlton Bullseye.   They accepted the strip and then surprised us by asking for more.  That's when Gary informed me he wanted to do a comedy super-hero.  One who could dismember himself at will, and then by that very will, control those body parts.  From that I envisioned and wrote Mr.Jigsaw, a not too swift young fellow from the backwoods of Maine who ends up coming to Portland to begin his career as a super-hero.

By the time Gary finished illustrating that first, origin story, the Bullseyes project had been cancelled and we really thought we'd never see Jiggy in print.  Lo and behold the editors looked at the pages, loved them and promsied to run the strip somewhere in their line of books.  Sure enough the following year, Mr.Jigsaw appeared on the cover of Scary Tales #38.  Where he was promptly seen by…ten people, maybe.  Just kidding.  Whatever the number, one of them was writer-columnist, Tony Isabella.  Tony took a shine to Jiggy and went as far as to flag the late Don Thompson about our Maine based hero.  Thompson in turn listed our story as one of the Top Twenty of that year.  Amazing.

Jerry, by the way is Mr.Jigsaw's biggest fan and has been around since the start when he wrote me a wonderful letter after having read that first story in Scary Tales #38.  In fact, to celebrate the anniverary of Jiggy's birth, Jerry is putting together a fanzine of sorts that will be an official check-list of all Jiggy's appearance, and a detailed account of his history.  Since the comic stuff, Gary and I have done several website adventures with Jiggy and he is now currently found at Brian Meredith's excellent site, Modern Pulp.  The beat, as they say, goes on.

A few months ago, my daughter Heather gave me a copy of WICKED by Gregory Maguire.  It is a humorous,  retelling of the story behind the famous L.Frank Baum WIZARD OF OZ tale.  Whereas in this story, Maguire gives us the biography of the Elphaba, the witch herself, and the story he spins is a far cry from what was seen up on the silver screen.  You see, Maguire, wants to add some depth to the witch.   After the movie became a classic, a lot of focus came to Margaret Hamilton, the wonderful actress who played the Witch.  It was especially poignant when it was learned she was once a grade school teacher who always loved children.  It's my gut hunch that Maguire tried to infuse that kind of goodness in his portrayal. WICKED is a terrific book filled with imagination and heartache.  Pick it up, you'll enjoy it.

Finally, before sending this week's log to the presses, a warm hello two new airmen from across the big waters. Kaan is an artist from France, and Joaquin Agreda, a writer of the fantastic from Spain. Thanks for stopping by the Hangar, amigos.  And more importantly for writing to say hi.  I'm thrilled to have you on board.

And that loyal airmen wraps up another week in the hangar.  Am closing up shot early this afternoon, as Valerie and I are off to catch SUPERMAN RETURNS at the local movie house.  I'll let you know my thoughts, good or not so good..next time.

Have a great week, Ron, over and out.

Greetings airmen. Am sorry to have to start this week's flight log with some sad news. The comic/book store that has been a staple here in the town of Somersworth for over twenty years is closing its doors. Financial problems just became too much for them to maintain a decent profit margin. This is going to come as really awful news to their loyal customers who stopped by every week to pick up their comics and chat with Jim the owner, and Ralph, the manager. I spent lots of hours in there myself, especially the last few years when the shop sponsored the Comic School Rich Woodall and I put together. Take care, Jim and Ralph, and good luck in the future. The PBBZ, as it was affectionately known, is going to be missed greatly.

Speaking of comic things, one of my favorite comic series of recent times was writer/artists Darwin Cooke's NEW FRONTIER mini for DC Comics. I loved it because Cooke retold the history of the 1950s through the comic book heroes I grew up reading back then. He captured all the feelings and thrills of what we call the Silver Age of Comics. Well, jump for joy, I was just informed that Warner Brothers Animation has okayed a direct-to-video animated movie based on that series to be written by Justice League Unlimited vetrean Stan Berkowitz. The producer is the man most responsible for all the great comic book series WB has put out in the last ten years, Mr.Bruce Timm. There had been some concern after JLU wrapped up earlier this year what Timm would do next. The recently released DVD SUPERMAN – BRANIAC ATTACKS – which Timm was not involved with, has been panned soundly by animation devotees as being sub-par for a WB feature. So it is good to know Timm is behind this NEW FRONTIER project.

I saw Pixar's CARS last week and I loved it!!! Pixar has never made a bad movie. What an incredible track record. And as usual the story has something for both kids and adults. The back story of how the town of Radiator Springs was left behind, when the old Route 66 was abandoned by the cross-country super highways says a lot about how, we as a society, have forgotten it's not only where we are going that counts, but we shouldn't forget to enjoy the trip along the way. My favorite character was the old Hudson Hornet, deftly voiced by Paul Newman. If you haven't seen it. What are you waiting for?

My new series of pulp anthologies for Wild Cat Books is really shaping up. I'm hoping to launch next month, with our book on the flying hero from the 1930s, the identity of which I'm keeping under wraps till then. Don't want to spoil the surprise. After which we will be doing a book on SECRET AGNET X. Lined up for this volume are writers Brian Meredith, Mark Justice, Stephen Atkins and Kevin Noel Olsen, with artist Rob Davis handling the art chores. Secret Agnet X was known as the Man with a Thousand Faces, diguises being his expertise in combating criminal masterminds. It's shaping up to be a very dynamic book. It will be followed by THE DOMINO LADY and KI-GOR JUNGLE LORD. Oh yeah, lots of big pulp plans in the future.

Less anyone think I'm shirking comics, this past week I began writing book #2 of my BULLDOZER series. Tom Bonello and Kenny McFarlane are doing great on the art and this one is going to be a winner.

And as unbelievable as it sounds, the Boston Red Sox have won their last six games and are now two full games ahead of the Yankees in the American Leagues East. Of course the won these six games by sweeping both the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals. Wish we played National Leagues teams all the time. Truth is, I think the guys got embarrased after the debacle in Minnesota, when the Twins ran all over them. They arrived in Atlanta a much meaner team, i.e. the bats are hitting at long last. Keep it up boys, it's starting to look like a good summer after all.

On that note, have a great week, Ron over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen, it’s been
one hectic and crazy week around the Hangar and
I’ve got so many things to tell you this week,
I’m sure I’ll forget several. But stick with me
and let’s see how many I can share, without the
old brain-pan burning up.

First up, this coming Sunday is Father’s Day
and always a time when I reflect on what it truly means to be a dad. Mine was the greatest guy in the world and our family lost him way too soon. It’s been over thirty years since God called him home, and we all miss him every single day. I’ve always used him as my model and guidepost in being a father to Scott, Kevin and Heather, as well as Michelle and Alan. Seeing how they all turned out, and I take no
credit for that, I’m just so proud of all of them, it is an honor to be their father.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t wish Scott,
Alan and my son-in-law, Chris, a Happy Father’s Day. The three of them are great dads, all you have to do is meet my happy grand kids to know that. Finally, to all you Airmen Dads out there, God bless everyone of you, and keep up the good work. Being a parent is the most important job in the world.

Okay,now on to all this comics, pulps and writing stuff that has kept me hopping this past week. First up, artist Rob Davis has turned in
page 102 of our graphic novel, THE DAUGHTER OF DRACULA. He has only 6 more to go and it is finished!! The sketch above is something he did way back when starting this long running gig.
It is of Marya von Dracula, the protagonist.
Rob also wrapped up his spot illustration for
my Spider story, THE INVISIBLE GANG. Both the tale and his art will be seen in the forthcoming Spider Anthology from Moonstone. I’ll let you all know when it is available. Hopefully before the end of summer.

And while on the subject of vampires, I am so happy to report that New Hampshire filmmaker, Rob Fitz has had great reception with marketing our comic book tie-in, FRANK NG-HIRED GUN. So far Rob has given out 100 copies of the book to promote his movie, GOD OF VAMPIRES, and I’m told he’s just ordered another 100! He tells me people love it. Great news indeed.
Remember, you can still pick up a copy of this
black and white little thriller by going to the
Air Fare page and clicking on it.

As many of you will recall, back at the start of May, comic shops all around the country celebrated Free Comic Book Day. Lots of these shops invited local writers and artists to come in and meet their customers. Well, Craig
Shepard, the penciller on our Captain Hazzard comic book series, had a small sample comic made up of the first few pages of our book. These are called ashcans, and he had them printed up and
distributed to the folks who stopped by at his
local comic shop that day. He finally got around to sending me a copy and above I’ve opened it up to show you the covers. It came out super, what with our coloris, Bishop Bowie, taking those pages and removing the color, then adding grayscaling to a wonderful effect. Way to Craig and Bishop. This has been a long project, but all of us are committed to seeing
finished and out there.

And while speaking of Captain Hazzard, no sooner does my pulp rewrite, CAPTAIN HAZZARD –
Python Men of the Lost City, land at Amazon
on-line, then the sales skyrocket. This book
is really selling well and I’m getting all kinds
of feedback from happy readers who want more
Captain Hazzard adventures. Well, keep your hats on, airmen, because just this past week
I wrapped up the newest Hazzard novel, CITADEL OF FEAR. My co-writer on this book, Martin Powell, is adding a final epilogue and then it
gets shipped off to Wild Cat Books. I am very, very excited about this book. It will be the first new Captain Hazzard book in nearly 70 years. Now that’s say something.

Also, this past week, Martin finally convinced me to join an on-line group of pulp
fans called Flea Run. In only one short week I’ve met some of the nicest people ever who share my love and passion for pulps. Thanks, Martin, you were right all along.

Meanwhile, artist Tom Bonello has finished the pencils for BULLDOZER #1 (see the pictures in our gallery section). It looks great and
inker Kenny McFarlane is busy putting the finishing touches on it, while I have to get moving and crank out script #2. Don’t want my art team sitting idle, ha. Busy, busy, busy.

As if all the above wasn’t enough to keep any sane man happy, I’ve still got a few extra balls juggling over my head. One of these is a childrens book that I have written for my son, Alan. Alan and other community leaders in Ft.Collins, CO. are going to use the sale of the book to maintain a new childrens park currenlty under construction there. The book deals with a group of elves (see illo above) who come to the aid of the town in making the park accessible to handicap children. The real park is being contructed in such a fashion and will be a place of fun for all the kids of Ft.Collins. Artist
Gary Kato, myself and book designer, Matty Ryan,
are so proud to be a part of this effort. Note the sketch above is a preliminary piece, the actual book will of course be in full color.
And again, I’ll let you all know when it’s finished and available.

Finally..yes, there’s a littel bit more.
Two things really. First, I’ve finally had the
opportunity to see two of the summer blockbusters out there. THE DIVINCI CODE and
X-MEN – THE LAST STAND. As a practising Catholic, I found the former a very interesting
movie and enjoyed a lot. You see, I’m am one of those rebel church members who believes it was never Jesus’s intentions for the Chruch to be
a good-old-boys-club. Sooner or later that hypocrisy is going to be dealt with and women will be ordained as priest. This movie dealt with some of those issues rather well. As for
X-MEN 3, what can I say but tons of mindless, rollicking action fun. A popcorn movie that delivered on what it promised. What more can you ask for of any movie? Next on my list, CARS and SUPERMAN RETURNS. Sadly, I missed MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3, but hey, that’s why they have DVDs.

And for real, my last thoughts of the week. Dear Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox, your bullpen SUCKS TO HIGH HEAVEN!!! And guys like Foulkes, Seanez and Tavarez need to be gotten rid of before they lose us any more games!! Watching them lose this past week was torture!

Take care airmen, I hope your summer is fun and way lots more relaxed tham mine thus far, ha. Till next week, Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen. This week, because of serious events in both the private and public theater, we are going to discuss a little philosophy. This is about the death of two men. One was good, the other was evil.

When John Baptist Fortier and his wife Rose were married, they dreamed of a big, old fashion family. They got one in six, big strapping boys. The first of these was named Raymond and he grew up to be quite the man. Married just prior to World War II, when America got into the fray, Ray wasn’t allowed to sign up with his brothers George (my dad) and Richard. You see he was a spot welder at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and his occupation was very vital to the war effort. So Ray spent the war years building the mighty battle ships that helped win back the Pacific. He also became a father for the first time, with a daughter they named Doris. She would be followed by Raymond Jr., Donald, David and Nancy. They lived next door to us and as we grew up, my brother, George Jr. and I, often spent as much time at Uncle Ray’s house as we did our own.

Although we were never particularly close, there were two things I truly admired about Uncle Ray. The first was his over-the-top sense of humor. He could tell a joke at the drop of a hat and often took center stage at many Fortier Family gatherings. The second thing about him was his voracious appetite to read. Almost every single time I ever set foot in their home, at the end of the work day, I would find Uncle Ray stretched out on his sofa, shoes off, TV on to some ballgame, and a paperback crime thriller in his hands. He devoured those potboilers by the dozens. No lie. It seemed he read one a day. And these were those great old tough guy mysteries by the likes of Mickey Spillane and Mike Shayne. Private eye thrillers with the sexy, gun-toting molls on the garish covers. Yup, Uncle Ray never knew it, but he provided my first ever introduction to the pulps.

After he and Aunt Winnie (short for Winnifred) retired, they moved down the Florida where they’ve lived for the past 30 years. They watched their five kids grow up, marry and make them grandparents; then great-grandparents.
Earlier this week, at the age of 90, Ray passed away in a nursing home. Winnie was at his side,
holding his hand and praying for his soul as he slipped away into that other world. They had been married for over 65 years! When the news reached us here in New England, it was a sad day, but not depressing. Ray Fortier had lived a truly good life and the people he met along the way, he touched in a positive way.
In the end, he left this world a better place for his having been in it. A fitting testimony to a husband, father, grandfather, good neighbor and friend. We were blessed to have known him.

Two days later the world news was bombarded with the news that the El Quaida
boss in Iraq, Al-Zarqawi had finally been hunted down and killed by U.S. bombs. At long last this monster’s reign of terror was over. During the remainder of the day I found myself pondering the leagues of differences between these two men and the lives they had led. One, a humble, hard working guy from New Hampshire, the other a cruel, sadistic murderer willing to kill hundreds of innocent people, most of his own faith, in the name of his perverted beliefs.
Talk about good and evil. I have no clue as to what Al-Zarqawi’s childhood was like. Frankly I don’t give a damn. Whatever it might have been, it could never excuse the cruelty and pain he inflicted on the world in the name of religion; a religion mind you, that at its core, has a philosophy of love for all men and women. Al-Zarqawi wasn’t a disciple of Islam, he was a zealot butcher out for himself and himself alone. And thus the end of these two men. One a few hundred people will have ever have known and now mourn. The other was recognized by millions. But here’s the rub, folks. Millions knew of Al-Zarqawi and millions are happy he’s dead!

Okay, on a much lighter note. After a harrowing three game battle with the Evil Empire
(the Yankees to non-sports fans) the Red Sox left the Bronx with one victory under their belts. Yet, being the optimist I am, there is usually a silver lining somewhere in even the gloomiest conditions. In this case it was the magnificent pitching performance given us by
the new kid from Double A Portland, David Pauley. This young pitcher was called up last week to take on the Toronto Bluejays. They
beat him up pretty bad and he made it through only five innings. Well two nights ago, after watching the Sox’s ace, Josh Beckett give up 8 runs in the second inning of his dismal outing the previous evening, this youngster came out and threw six amazing innings against one of the best teams in the Major Leagues, only giving up one run. It was a fantastic show of guts, heart and skill. In the seventh, he missed a grounder and ended up loading the bases before he was taken out. But that in no way diminishes the beautiful performance he put on out there on the mound in Yankee Stadium. This kid is the real deal and I for one am going to be watching him closely from now on.

Rain continues to hammer the New Hampshire
and there are fears of a second round of floods which we really cannot afford. I know the native Americans use to have rain dances. I’m wondering if there was a sun dance. We sure could use it now.

Oh, and as promised a few weeks back, my latest pulp book, CAPTAIN HAZZARD, is now on sale over at Amazon. For those of you who like to shop there. Check it out.

Another week, airmen. Have a great weekend.
Ron, over and out.

Greetings airmen. This week I want to discuss two truly entertaining stories that I think you airmen will both enjoy and appreciate. One is a childrens book that deals with comic books and the other is a foreign movie set against the history of World War II and has some very unique connections to a very popular American comic book series of that era. Intrigued? I hope so. Read on.

My two granddaughters from Lebaon, Maine, are both avid readers. Something we, and our daughter Michelle, have instilled in them since birth. When Kristi and Chelsea were just toddlers I would spend hours playing with them and making up tall-tales to amuse them. Ergo, they both took to reading like fish to water and now one of my routine questions to either of them upon meeting is always, “So, what are you reading now?” Kristi is 14 and going into high school next years. And of course making us grand parents feel way-way too old. Ha. Whereas Chelsea is finishing up 5th grade in Middle School. It was she, who during our Easter visit, told me all about this new writer she had recenlty discovered named Andrew Clements and his books. One in particular she thought I would love and she let me borrow it. And she was 100% right, enough so that I’ve since recommended it to two middle school teachers I know that are both involved with using comics in the classroom. You see, LUNCH MONEY deals with the adventures of young Greg Kenton and his constant desire to make money. This kid is born with an entrepeneur’s soul. Reminds me a lot of my son, Alan. By the time Greg reaches middle school he has come up with a plan to make his own mini comic books and sell them in the cafeteria during lunch time. As well written and lively as this book is, what completely charmed me was just how accurate Clements is about comics and the actual process of making them, both creatively and physically. If you know any young children who would like this kind of delightful information, please, direct them to this wonderful book. The plot deals with how Greg has to make peace with his chief business rival,his next door neighbor, Maura Shaw and together win the approval of the School Board to sell their mini-comics in school. I can’t thank Chelsea enough for putting this book in my hands and I’m keeping my fingers crossed its popularity will continue to grow. I would so love to see a movie made from this.

Speaking of movies, I’ve always had a strong fascination for war movies. Nothing defines a character’s true identity more intensely than the danger of dying. Combat is a magnification at times of what is the best and the worst of human nature. I am particularly
enamored of those movies dealing with aerial warfare and as some of your regular visitors are aware, I am currently editing a new pulp anthology featuring a classic flying hero from the 1930s. So bottom line, I’m hooked on movies that depict dogfights. DARK BLUE WORLD came out in 2002 and is one of the finest such films ever made. During the early years of the war, many pilots from the countries Hitler invaded, Poland, Hungry, Czechoslovakia, etc., fled to Great Britain where they joined the R.A.F. so they could continue fighting and ultimately return to their rescued homelands. Now you savvy comic book fans will know that very concept of European nationals forming a flying squadron to fight alongside the allies was the concept of the popular BLACKHAWK series that debut during the war years. This movie is about as close to that terrific series as we airmen will ever find the big screen. Directed and co-written by Jan Sverak, it tells the story of
two Czeh pilots, the senior Franta Slama and
his young protege Karel Vojitsek, and their breath-taking adventures in the skies over Europe. They form a special Czeh squadron of the R.A.F. and hurl themselves bravely against the onslaught of the attacking Blitzkreig.
The scenes of air combat are just fantastic and harrowing at the same time. The tragedy of this
film is the revelation of what happened to these patriots after the war ended. They returned to
a Communist ruled land and were immediately imprisoned as criminals. The Communist were afraid they would continue to fight for freedom.
Those who did not die in the labor camps were eventually released, some after twenty years of captivity. This film is a tribute to their sacrifices and courage. If you like high-flying adventure, DARK BLUE WORLD is a must see. Note, I picked up my copy for peanuts over at Deep Discount – see my links page.

One of the true joys of having a website is all the nice folks who drop by and become new
friends almost overnight. Seems like every week I’m getting some new hellos and adding to the ranks of loyal airmen. This week I’d like to
officially say welcome to four of these. Joe
Kenworthy, Jim Bryant, E.J.Morges and Michael Mitchell. Mitch has a fantastic blog site where he has started something called Coffee Break Comics which is just plain fun to the max.
mitchellcomics.blogspot.com Check it
out.

That’s it for another week, crew. Ron, over and out.

Greetings airmen. Well the official summer season is kicking off this weekend with
Memorial Day upon us. And we here in New England are enjoying some beautiful, sunny weather. Valerie and I are off to a family wedding tomorrow morning to be held on a pier at York Beach, Maine. Should be a beautiful event and we are looking foward to it.

Last week I discussed a little bit about the
popularity of my first pulp book, BROTHER GRIM, and I thought this week I’d showcase one of the unsung heroes of my three pulp efforts. When most people buy a book, they are aware of the author and the story itself, after all, that’s why most of us buy a book in the first place. Now if we are a bit more creative than the average reader (something I consider all you loyal airmen), then we also appreciate the artwork on the cover. When people come across a book with an eye-appealing cover, they are likely to purchase it despite the author being unknown to them. That is the power of visuals in the market place. So I’d guess most of you are well aware of that contribution.
But there is a second, less heralded, and appreciated, art mechanic to book publishing.
And that is the actual design of the book itself. An art designer takes the cover and then chooses the appropriate fonts and colors that will enhance that image to the max. It is a job that requires both technical and creative skills in equal measure. Happily all three of
my Wild Cat Books have been designed by the amazing Vincent Sneed. Now all of you could jump right over to the AIR FARE section and look at his work on those three covers, but I thought I’d showcase his efforts on a back cover to prove my point. Above is Vincent’s back cover of
CAPTAIN HAZZARD – PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY.
If you look very, very closely, you can see that he used a washed out version of the actual cover as his background, then added the text..and that
beautiful colored reproduction of the original
pulp mag. All in a very eye-friendly layout that is clean and easy to read. Totally professional and as artistic as the cover. One of the reasons our books have sold so well has been Vincent’s designs. Take a bow, amigo!

And as we are discussing those pulp books, it is a good time to mention the fact that the first, BROTHER GRIM (portrayed above by artist Rob Davis) is still selling great guns. I was made aware of this yesterday when I received a very nice fan letter from Eric Hebert of Quebec, Canada. Eric explained he’d just found BROTHER GRIM over at Lulu.com, purchased it and loved it. I was delighted. This book has been on sale for over a year now.
On a whim, I logged on to Lulu.com to check our sales standing. You see, Lulu post where in the sales ranks each book is on a daily basis.
Now Lulu publishes thousands of titles. When BROTHER GRIM debut, it was listted somewhere in
the 3,000 range. After about six months, I learned it was at about the 1,500 mark. Again, this is not the quantity of sales, but where in the sales ranking of all Lulu books.
So, after getting Eric’s letter, I wanted to see just how well we were doing. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw the three digit figure of 468!!! Of the thousands of books
being sold by this outfit, BROTHER GRIM has climbed to that high a level…and is obviously continuing to sell. I couldn’t be happier.
Folks who’ve never picked up a pulp adventure in their life are finding it, and buying it. I’m just thrilled and pray, with fingers crossed that will continue. I’d love to see us break the 100 mark. So thank you, loyal airmen, not only for buying my books, but obviously for spreading the word throughout the internet. That means a great deal. I owe all of you. You’re easily the best fans in the world.

Well, this past Wed. night television viewers were treated to the bombastic, wild, puzzling
two hour season finale of LOST. My son, Kevin,
and daughter, Heather stopped by with pizza to
watch it with me. Val just isn’t into the show, prefering stories that don’t give people headaches. Ha. Anyways, at the end of the two hours we were giddy with questions and satisfied that the writers had delieverd on their pledge to make it a powerful, cliff-hanger ending. Now we have to wait till next fall to see what happens next. I love it!

Tis the season of blockbuster movies. Haven’t seen MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 or THE DAVINCI CODE yet, but am hoping to catch up eventually.
The big two for me are X-MEN 3 and SUPERMAN RETURNS. Will of course give you my take after I’ve viewed them.

All for now, airmen. Here’s wishing all of you a great Memorial Day weekend. Have fun,
drive carefully and if you’re going to drink,
give someone else the car keys. We all you want you here next week, safe and sound.

Ron, over and out!

Greetings airmen. Well, unless you’ve been living on a deserted island the past week, you are aware of the relentess bad weather that recently covered New England. All kinds of
rainfall statistics were shattered as most of
New Hampshire, parts of Massachusetts and southern Maine were unindated. Rivers crested their banks and widespread flooding caused millions of dollars of damage both to private property and public roads. And at least one drowning fatality was credited to the flood waters.

The town of Somersworth was founded on the shores of the Salmon Falls river, a natural boundry between New Hampshire and the state of Maine. Sixteen years ago, when Valerie and I bought our home, situated on a hill overlooking the river, we appreciated the peace and quiet of living away from the hubbub of the town center. We gave no second thought to the house being on a very steep hill nor the problems that would pose when winter rolled around. After the first time it iced up and we couldn’t get up our own driveway, we knew what we were in for. Note, and since that first winter, every vehicle we’ve ever owned has to have 4-wheel drive. It isn’t a luxury. Anyways, over the past 16 years I’ve had many opportunities, when dredging up and down this driveway with my snowblower, to curse its steepness. Why couldn’t I have bought a house on a flat piece of real estate, I often pondered.

This past week the Salmon Falls River crested its banks and the area just below us down the river became lost under all that rushing water. It was unbelievable just how high the river rose. Valerie and I took a walk down and snapped several pictures, ala the one above. On our hike back up the road and to our
home, both of us were actually thanking God that we had a house high up on a hill. Oh, yeah,
a real life lesson learned here.

On other fronts, I’m told we’ve sold 22 copies of CAPTAIN HAZZARD – PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY in the two weeks since its debut at
Lulu.com – Which probably doesn’t sound like a whole lot to most of you, but when you understand that’s ten more than BROTHER GRIM had sold by the same time, you can understand our
optimism. Books from small, on-demand publishers such as Wild Cat Books don’t generally sell beyond a few hundred copies..and those are the most successful titles. Thing is,
we get an average of 300 visitors a week here at Hangar 27. I’d like to think most of you
are regulars who come by every week to see what’s going on. If that’s the case, it would be so wonderful if just a third of you would
pick up a copy of the book. 100 sales is a wee bit better than 22, don’t you think? Of course I’d be euphoric if all 300 of you grabbed a copy, but hey, one dream at a time. And let me leave those of you who haven’t decided yet with this thought. Buying the book at Lulu (see our
Air Fare link) will get you the cheapest possible price. In a few weeks the book will be available at both Amazon and Barnes & Nobles on line. Of course, once they begin offering it,
they jack up the cost to cover their own expenses and profit margins. So, loyal airmen,
go to Lulu and save yourselves a few hard earned bucks. As always, heartfelt thanks for your support.

Till next week, Ron, over and out.

Greetings, airmen. Well New England has been in lost under gloomy gray skies all week, with rain on and off just making things rather depressing. Of course once the old sun returns, I fully expect my backyard to become an instant jungle. Which is really okay,
as I actually like mowing the grass. There’s a zen thing about it, being outdoors, breathing fresh air (okay we’ll not discuss pollen allergies) with the hum of the mower, locked into some deep, reflective mental state.

One of the truly bright spots of the past week was last Saturday’s annual Free Comic Book Day. I got to hang out at the Paperback Bazaar with JOHNNY RAYGUN’s own Rich Woodall and Matt Talbot. At the same time, I also had the real pleasure presening to the comic community two
really talented young artists for the ver first time. Both are graduates from the Comic School
Rich and I run out of the shop. Above is a shot of the three of us at our table. To my right is
Alex Eggleston with whom I am about to launch a brand new web cartoon strip called THE ADVENTURES OF ROBOT GUY. More on that as things develop. Seated on my left is Tom Bonello, the middle school art teacher who is my partner on
the comic book BULLDOZER. I’ve previewed pin-ups here in the past. Tom’s a gifted dude
and his pages awed the comic fans who stopped by. Don’t have a real head count, but I would guess we saw well over two hundred fans, both kids and adults. It was a fun day.

Towards the afternoon, when things were starting to slow down, lo and behold another one of our former students showed up to
say hi and visit for a while. Artis Adam DeGagne brought along his portfolio to show us all the great new stuff he’s working on. At the same time he presented me with this very cool illo of the TERMINATOR. I love those red eyes.

I had the opportunity to sign lots of Gargoyle comics from Digital Webbing and to
tell the fans all about the new FRANK NG-HIRED GUN title and the GOD OF VAMPIRES movie. In fact that’s what is painted all over the black t-shirt I’m wearing. Looks like filmmaker Rob Fitz and I are going to be doing several store signing in the New England area soon. All good news.

Finally, I’ve spent the last couple of days hard at work on a brand new book that is going to thrill pulp fans. Somehow manage to
get my hands on an old forgotten hero and much
like my CAPTAIN HAZZARD book, will be reintroducing him to the reading public in the very near future. Even tracked down the license holder and obtained their permission to do the book. Sorry to be so mysterious, but that’s half the fun. Book might even be out by the end of June, with fingers crossed. Keep reading these entries.

That’s it for another week, airmen. Take care, and remember, high gas prices needn’t be
totally negative. If you ever needed an excuse to walk more or take out your bike, now’s the time to do it. Get healthy and turn that negative into a positive.

Ron, over and out.

Two years ago, while attending my first Dragon Con in Atlanta, GA, I had the good fortune to meet Rob Fitz. Rob is a filmmaker from Derry, NH. Yeah, go figure, two creative guys who live only a few hours apart have to go all the way down south to finally hook up. Hey, the fates work like that. And who am I to complain, because that momentous meeting has led to a super friendship and several amazing things. One of which is a brand new Ron Fortier comic book.

Upon meeting Rob and hearing all about his super horror flick, GOD OF VAMPIRES, I started pitching the idea of producing a comic book tie-in. Rob was gracious enough to send me a copy of his shooting script and from that I was able to write an 18 page thriller that would detail the exploits of the movie’s anti-hero, hitman Frank Ng, days before the action in the movie begins. Ergo, a prequel story introducing the character. Rob loved the idea and with the help of the Leagues of Talent Studio, we got the book done.

FRANK NG-HIRED GUN was put together by a truly international team. From Florida, Johnny Atomic did the cover and Javier Lugo the pencils. Out of Mexico, Juan Jesues Castro Brusila added inks and from England, S.A.Finch the lettering. Then Matty Ryan, from Atlanta, whipped it all into shape as our production designer. All of us are very, very proud of the end result. 18 pages of action and a 2 page interview with Rob make a really neat package.
The book is ONLY available from ComiXpress on-line, and of course, wherever you might find the six of us doing store signings.

There’s a new link to it on the Air Fare page. It’s only a $1.35 -how can you go wrong?

At the same time Johnny was working on our stunning cover for the comic, he also did up the official poster for GOD OF VAMPIRES. Rob is in the last stages of editing and with fingers crossed, hopes to have it at the Sundance Film Festival later this year. We wish him all the luck in the world. The guy has put his heart and soul into this movie and deserves nothing but the best.

Lastly, as I’m sure all you airmen are aware, tomorrow, 6th May, is Free Comic Book Day across America. I’ll be hanging my hat at the Somersworth, Paperback Bazaar most of the day with friends and fans. If you are in the area, please stop on by. Hey, it’s FREE COMICS! What more could you want?

Have a great week, Ron, over and out.

Attention loyal airmen, a truly serious threat to the internet is now worming its way through Congress. It is a new bill sponsored by the big telecom companies (AT&T, Comcast among others) that would allowed them to control your access to the internet. They are making the argument that since they are the providers, they should be able to dictate such policies of restraint to their customers. Kiss the free internet good-bye should that be allowed to become law.

I’m not blind to the smut and filth that permeates much of the internet, but I am also aware of the good this information highway has done to our world. Much like the freedom to read whatever you desire, the freedom to go wherever you desire, as adult, on the net should be a guaranteed right. Fortunately a Democrat Governor named Markey has added an amendment to this telecom bill that would guarantee the neutrality of the internet. What it stipulates is, although free to regulate prices to their customers, these companies would be forbidden to
infringe on their internet surfing choices. Airmen, I don’t normally like to get involved with politics, but this goes beyond mere politics to the heart of what a democratic society is all about. We all need to write out
respective representatives and tell them in no uncertain terms to support and vote for the Markey Amendment.

There is a petition site for this at www.thepetitionsite.com.  I urge all of you to log on and sign it. Their goal is 20,000 signature. I’d like to think freedom of expression is a cherished standard in this country and they’ll gather way more than that figure by the time word gets out on this issue.

About a month ago I mentioned I’d been recruited to write a new Spider story for the new Moonstone Anthology being edited by Joe Gentile and that I’d keep you all posted. Well last week we writers were all given a big thumbs up on our plot proposals. Thus the green light to start writing our pulp adventures featuring the Master of Men. Happily my artist amigo, the fantastic Rob Davis has signed on to do the spot illustration for my tale. Above is his take on the this classic pulp figure. I just love it.
Rob’s work never fails to excite me. And if you’d like to see this illo in its pencil stage go over to the gallery section. I’ve posted both of them side by side. Oh, and our deadline for submitting our stories is the end of June.
Of course I’m already half finished mine. Ha.
No way was I going to wait for the last minute on this. It’s too much fun.

Hey, airmen, you’ve all gone out and ordered a copy of our latest pulp novel,
CAPTAIN HAZZARD – PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY, right? No? Aw, what do I have to do to convince you it’s a great read and bargain at the same time? Check out the Air Fare section
and pick up a copy. Meanwhile, all the buzz on the pulp’s release last week re-inspired my gang doing the comic book version and new pages are just flying into hanger headquarters. Above is a small sample panel of Craig Shepard’s work as inked by Chuck Bordell. Chuck’s a new addition to the team and a very welcome one. Hopefully we’ll be seeing this done and out by the end of summer.

Finally my apologies. I was hoping to have the cover and link up to my newest comic release, FRANK NG-HIRED GUN, but alas, ComiXpress doesn’t post new titles on their store site till the first of each month. In this case that will be Monday. So, if all goes well, next week that should finally be here for your inspection.

Another week under out belts. The Red Sox have once again fallen on their old habits of breaking our hearts. Airmen, it’s just painful.
See you in seven.

Ron, over and out.