Greetings loyal, airmen.  Last Sunday saw the first ever Fortier Comics Creators Pool Party.  As you can see by the photos attached, we had a very good turn out and Valerie and I were delighted.    We got to spend a hot, summer afternoon with lots of good food and drink and much more lively conversations with old and new friends.

From left to right is Thomas Young, his dad, writer Larry Young and daughter Annika.  Then my better half, Valerie, next to artist Michael “Mitch” Mitchell, his son Brandon, yours turly in the Hulk shirt, Kyle Mitchell and his mom, the gracious Laurie.   Larry and I have known each other for more years than I can count and he is one terrific writer.  Whereas Mitch and I only hooked up a short few weeks ago and with this first ever meeting, are now good pals.  Have some fun pulp projects lined with Mitch.

Also showing up to get into the fun were several of guys we met during the Paperback Bazaar Comic School Rich Woodall and I gave over the winter.  In this shot are artists Adam DeGagne and Tom Bonello. Tom is the fellow I'm currently doing the BULLDOZER comic with. Check out our gallery for images of his great work.

And this happy trio is made up of Green Landern super fan, and cartoonist max, Alex Eggleston, with humor writer Josh Florence and his girl friend Christine.  Alex, Josh and I are involved with a cartoon strip called ROBOT-GUY which sooner or later you are going to see on the web.  All these young men abound in talent and truly helped make the afternoon a fun event.  Enough so that you can expect to see this become an annual event at the Fortier Homebase.  Thanks one and all for coming down and making it a blast.

Oh, and yes, some of the guys did take a plunge into the pool.  Although the truth, Larry's two, Thomas and Annika didn't get out longer than five minutes all afternoon and lovely Annika looked like a happy prune when she finally did get out.  I also gave tours of the Batcave (my new den and office) to those few visitors who had yet to revel in the experience.  Ha.

On to comics stuff.  Back in the 1930s, after Bela Lugosi's big hit with the film DRACULA, Universal begged him to come back and do a sequel.  Alas, Lugosi had already done the Count numerous times on American stages and with the completion of the movie version, he was finished with the part.  He adamantly refused to do a sequel.  But Universal was not to be put off doing another vampire tale, as DRACULA had made lots of money and as we all know, Hollywood thrives on sequels to big hits.  Thus they went and made a sequel called
DRACULA'S DAUGHTER, starring actress Gloria Holden; a bit player, this would be her only starring feature. The story picks up where DRACULA ends, with the Count's beautiful daughter Marya, coming to London to see to the remains of his body.  Once in England, she enters high society and attempts, through pyschology to cure her lust for blood.  Of course it doesn't work and soon she has her manservant prowling the night time streets of London to bring her victims; one of these is a lovely blonde lass.  DRACULA'S DAUGHTER is considered one of those lost and forgotten classics among horror fans and is critically a better produced film.
It's blatant erotic overtones certainly make it a more adult movie.    I saw it long ago and never forgot it; it is now a treasured part of my DVD collection.   Over the years I dreamed of rewriting my own version and eventually got around to doing so.  But not wanting to be accused of merely copying Universal's story, mine is called.THE DAUGHTER OF DRACULA…and is an original drama from start to finish.   I initially wrote it as a 108 graphic novel and then later rewrote it as a film script.

A little over two years ago, while surfing the web one night, I found an old comic artist pal, Rob Davis.  Rob and I had communicated back in the 80s when both of us had full-fledged careers in the industry.  We had hoped to do something together, but it never happened, much to both our regrets.   So here we were getting reacquainted and in the course of exchaning lots of e-mails, I mentioned DAUGHTER OF DRACULA to Rob and asked if he'd be interested in doing it?  You'll never know how tight my fingers were crossed while I awaited his reply.
Rob wisely asked to read the script.  I sent it off.  Crossed those digits again. Ha. At last he said yes, but with the proviso that he could only do one page a week.  108 weeks!  That's what he was telling me it would take him to do this comic, if I agreed.  But here's the thing, airmen, Rob was going to do it all…pencils..inks..and letters!! Up to that point the script had been sitting my filing cabinet going nowhere.  Of course I said yes, happily.  Well, last weekend, Rob turned in page # 108!!!  The book is finished!!!.  Then only two short days later handed in his pencils for the cover (see a portion of those pencils above).  The piece will now be colored by Freddy Lopez, who works magic with digital coloring.  It is going to blow you away when completed.

Earlier this week Rob posted his own account of this two year project at his web-site (see my links page) and I urge all of you to drop by and read it.  It's insightful and will tell you much more about this amazing artist who has become a truly good friend and partner.   Rob will be at the Chicago Comic Con next week with some pages from DAUGHTER OF DRACULA.  Any of you lucky to be going, please seek him out. His floor table number is 3320 A.   As to what the future holds for this graphic novel, Rob and I do have plans for that and a particular comic publisher in mind.  But it is too early to talk about that now.  I'll keep you posted. Of course my dream is to see the graphic novel become a huge success for both of us, then drop into somebody's lap in Hollywood and become what it was always intended to be, a feature film.  If you are going to dream, airmen, dream big!

And there you have it for this week.   I am off to Dayton, Ohio, next Wed with Wild Cat Books publisher, Ron Hanna, to attend Pulp Con.  If I have time, I might post something here next Tues.  If not, I'll see you back here in two weeks. 

Till then, stay cool, Ron over and out.

Mickey Spillane started writing for the pulps and comics back in the 1930s. When World War II broke out, he entered the serivce and served with distinguishent.  Upon being discharged in 1945, Mickey started his writing career again, this time targeting the new, burgeoning paperback market.  In 1946 his masterpiece of crime fiction, I, THE JURY, was published.  It was the start of a fantastic career and the birth of the toughest private-eye hero of them all, Mike Hammer.  If it can be argued that Dashiel Hammett was the father of the modern day private-eye genre, then Spillane was his rightful heir, or more fittingly  bastard son.  Unlike Sam Spade, Mike Hammer didn't think too much about anything and his way of solving a problem was to attack it, pretty much like the tool he was named for.  He was tough as nails and unsympethetic.  Men envied him, dames lusted for him.  He truly was an American original.  I was born the same year this book was published.  I would find a dog-earred copy of it in a barber shop 14 years later, read it and become a fan instantly.

Earlier this week, at his South Caroline home, Mickey Spillane died at the age of 88.  There won't ever be another like him.  He was the last of the tough guys and rather than mushy sentimentally, we should grab a brew and lift our mugs to the Mick.  Rest in piece, Mick, we are going to miss the hell out of you, pal.

Of course with Spillane's passing, lots of my colleagues have been discussing his body of work and all the movies, good and bad, made from them.  In regards especially to all the actors who've portrayed Mike Hammer.  I never cared for Stacy Keach's TV interpretation and there were only two Hammer's I liked.  The first was Ralph Meeker in the 50s version of KISS ME DEADLY and the second was the 80s take on I,THE JURY with Armand Assante.  Sure, the movie had its flaws, but the pacing and action were great and Assante, in his prime at the time, made a dynamic, edgy, Hammer as I always imagined him.  Now if this ever comes out on DVD, somebody please give me a holler.

This past week has seen lots of activity on the Captain Hazzard front.  Those of you wondering when the comic book version of Python Men of the Lost City is ever going to come out, rest easy.  Most of the art team on this book has been straight out on the project and these people do have full-time jobs and obligations.  Penciller Craig Shepard and inker, Chuck Bordell turned in pages 17 & 18 this week and they are great.  To see both of them in the whole, check out our Gallery section.  With fingers crossed this will wrap early winter.

On the pulp end of things, I've started writing my third Captain Hazzard novel; CURSE OF THE RED MAGGOT.  This one is similar to my efforts on the first book, PYTHON MEN OF THE LOST CITY, where I took the original pulp novel and re-wrote it start to finish.  Whereas this one is a bit trickier.  You see, when Captain Hazzard was cancelled back in 1938, after only one issue, the publisher actually had a second script ready to go.  When the mag folded, the script was rewritten as a Secret Agent X adventure and appeared months later in that particular series as, The Curse of the Red Maggot.  When it was first made known that I was going to be doing new Captain Hazzard books, a pulp fan sent me a xerox copy of that entire Secret Agent X magazine and asked if I'd consider reworking it back into a Hazzard story?   Talk about a challenge. So this week, with Curse of the Red Maggot on my desk beside my PC, I've been slowly rewriting the book and doing my best to revamp it into a bonafide Captain Hazzard adventure.   So far it's been a blast.  I'll keep you posted on when the book is done and ready for publication.

And finally, just in time for the big San Diego Comic Convention now in full swing, the U.S.Post Office has released a series of DC Superhero postage stamps. These things are just too cool, featuring most of the big guns from DC Comics.  Let's hope they do Marvel next.

That's about it for another week, loyal airmen.  Weather here in southern NH is still hot and sticky.  In two days Valerie and I host a Comics Creators Pool Party.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and make being outdoors fun, instead of miserable.  Fingers crossed.   The Red Sox, after taking a drubbing by the Oakland A's are back on their winning ways, still atop the AL East.  But still a lot of season left to go.  They need a new starting pitcher in the worst way.  Let's hope they get one.

Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen, hope all of you had a great 4th of July vacation and are enjoying this glorious summer. As promised, I finally got to see SUPERMAN RETURNS last Friday and I liked it a whole lot.  Enough to give it a big thumbs up and recommend it to you.  Now I fully realize half of you are not in agreement with me on this and that's fine.  Art, more than anything else in this world is subjective and it truly becomes a matter of taste in the end.  If I may use a food analogy; two people can sit down and have the exact same dish and walk away with totally different reactions; one thinking it's the best meal they ever ate, the other thinking it's the worst.  And that's been the feelings of most viewers to this particular film.

I don't feel I have to justify or defend my liking the movie, but since several of you, whose opinion I do value, made a point of telling me why you didn't like this film, well, now it's my turn.   First up I think the action was top-notch. The opening plane/space shuttle sequence is one of the most intense I've ever seen up on that big silver screen.  For the most part the action stuff was extremely well handled.   Acting-wise, I was totally impressed with Brandon Routh's Superman/Clark Kent and thought he played both exactly as had the late Christopher Reeve.  And since this movie was intended from the very start to be a continuation of Reeve's first two outings, I thought this interpretation was perfect.   Kevin Spacey was by far the scariest Lex Luthor I have ever seen.  Now I did like Gene Hackman's comedic take, which Spacey aped beautifully, but he took the pyscho factor up a notch, which is what was always missing from Hackman's version.  I truly saw Spacey's Luthor as a sociopath capable of killing thousands of people and not shedding a tear.   I liked Frank Langella's Perry White and the cameo's by Jack Larson and Noel Neil were precious.   And lastly, I loved John Ottman's continuation of the John Williams score.  Hearing that opening fanfare in the theater was like welcoming back lots of great memories.  It told me I was about to see old friends again and it didn't lie.

Of course there are things wrong with the movie. That can be said for every single movie ever made. My most annoying moment was the ridiculous lapse of common sense on Lois's part when she goes out to investigate wrong doing and brings her child along.  What kind of Mom is she?  For a woman who supposedly won a Pulitzer, she's not all that bright where her child's safety is concerned.  Duh.  And the entire rebirth of Krypton real-estate plot was muddled a best.  Then again hard science has never been a strong factor in comic book based stories, ha.

Lastly, one more food analogy before we leave this subject.  If you go to somebody's house and they are having a frosted cake for desert and you ask them, “Gee, what flavor is it?”  And they reply, “Vanilla.”  And you don't like vanilla, then cutting into that cake, take a bite and then yelling foul is totally not fair.  Why the analogy?  Because director Bryan Singer has been telling the world that he was making a Richard Donner Superman continuation movie right from the start.  That was no secret.  Yet, of all the criticisms leveled at this movie, this one continually comes up and it drives me nuts!!  Oh, I didn't like it being a Donner/Superman movie people say as if it was a surprise to them.  To which I reply, if you didn't want to see a Donner/Superman take, then why did you bother to go see the movie in the first place?  Did you think Singer was just making this up?  That is an unfair critique on anybody's part.  In the end, those people who love this character and were dissapointed by the movie, I sincerely feel for them.  I do.  I don't like knowing my friends were let down and dissappointed.  But I wasn't.  I was entertained.   This time around I was the lucky one.  Maybe next movie it will be your turn.

On other fronts, this past week I, and my writing partner, Martin Powell, wrapped up our new Captain Hazzard novel, CITADEL OF FEAR.  It is now off to my publisher, Wild Cat Books.  Rob Davis has nine spot illustrations to add, as well as our old amigo, Tom Floyd providing a brand new painted cover.  Once published, hopefully within the next couple of months, it will be the very first all new Captain Hazzard adventure in nearly 70 years!!  Now that's something worth shouting about.  Ha.

Finally, I've been enjoying the new BLADE TV series based on the hit Marvel movies.  It's a new cast, but the same all vampire action that made the films popular.  It runs on Spike TV at 10 PM on Wednesday nights and is really worth catching.  I'm very impressed with the movie-like-level of action in this series and hope it keeps up.

That's it for another week, loyal airmen.  Thanks as ever for stopping my.  I truly appreciate it.  Ron, over and out.

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!