Greetings Loyal Airmen.  We had promised to both show you more of our Chicago photos and some graphic art this time around and we will be sticking to one half of that plan. Some truly good news has come our way and we've opted to hold off on the Chicago shots a little longer to bring you all up to speed on this wonderful “other” event.

                    
Almost nine years ago, a small community theater group called the Sanford Maine Stage company staged my three act play, WHERE LOVE TAKES YOU.  It is a romantic comedy based on the true story of how my father, George Fortier, met and fell in love with my mother, Gabrielle Richer just prior to World War II.  When the SMS performed it, we actually filled the hall with family, both the Richers and Fortiers, and it was a truly magical night for all of us.  A great cast brought my grandparents and father back to all of us for a few hours and it was nothing short of a miracle.

Since that long ago weekend, we've tried to get the play published but alas, to no success and had honestly given up any thought of ever seeing it staged again.  Then out of the blue, last week, the two directors who put this on, Mary Stair & David Goodwin, wrote me an e-mail inquiring to see if it would be okay for them to produce it again this summer.  We were pretty much in shock those first few seconds of reading their offer. Then we wasted no time in replying affirmatively. Next week, auditions will be held May 26 & 27 at the theater and we hope by then they will have set an actual play date.  As you can well imagine, the Air Chief was wound for sound all week, especially in telling the news to my mother and the rest of the family.  Everyone is thrilled at seeing it done again.  We'll keep you posted once the production and rehearsals get underway.

          
As for comics, check out the gorgeous illustration above announcing the arrival of a new webstrip to be called CHIVALRY, INC.  Created and written by yours truly with art by Canadian artist Olivier Raymond.  This is still months away, but I truly wanted to show off Olivier's beautiful work.  The strip is about a Montreal police detective named Valerie Chevalier, who quits the force to start her own Private Investigation Agency.  There's a whole lot more to the story, but we'll save that for later.  Don't want to give it all away now.

             
And finally, on the pulp front, Airship 27 Productions writer Adam Lance Garcia has finished writing a brand new Green Lama novel entitled GREEN LAMA UNBOUND.  We are in the process of putting it together now, and it will feature a cover by British artist supreme, Mike Fyles.  To help promote the book, Adam and Mike got the idea to do up a special Green Lama Unboud bookmark.  See above.  Pretty neat, huh?  Once made up, they will be giving these away at conventions.  Fingers crossed, the book should be out some time next month or shortly thereafter.

So there you have it, Loyal Airmen.  Starting to get real busy around the old Hanger 27.  But then again, that's always a good thing.  Heck, even the Red Sox have won their last three games.  May not be anything spectacular, but it sure is better than losing three in a row.  All for now.

Ron-Over & Out!

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  Well we've been super busy here at the Airship 27 Hangar with lots of great new pulp titles in the work.  We just finished editing a brand new Green Lama novel by writer Adam Garcia and today started work on a new Dr.Watson adventure by Erwin K.Roberts.  Plus we've many of our Airship 27 artists also hard at work on illustrations for these wonderful books.  We'll post some soon.  For right now we've still got lots of pictures taken from our whirlwind three day Chicago tour that our daughter Heather led us on.  Chicago is truly a great city.

        
                      The Air Chief & daughter Heather in front of the Navy Pier.
Seeing the famous Navy Pier was high on Valerie's list of things to do and Heather was only too happy to oblige us.  All three days of our visit were sunny and so getting around this wonderful metropolis proved to be easy and fun.  Note the famous Ferris Wheel designed and constructed by George Ferris Jr. for the World's Exposition of 1893.  The pier jets out into mighty Lake Michigan and has lots of eateries and fun exhibitions for the entire family.  In the warm months it is clearly a favorite spot of both residents and tourists alike.

         
                               Val and the Air Chief with dazzling Chicago as a backdrop.
Heather snapped the photo near the end of the pier to get this marvelous shot of the downtown Chicago skyline in the background.

                         The Chicago Field Museum of Science
Another must stop on our grand tour was the Field Museum. One of the most elaborate and marvelous such museums in the world, it is the home of several fantastic exhibitions we were anxious to see with our own eyes. This was a real treat for us.

         
                            Looking Down From Second Floor of the Museum
The place is enormous and it would be impossible for the museum to show all of its collection at one time.  The majority are stored in the basement levels and rotated on a set schedule.  All of them speak to another era and time when America was coming of age and the museum's explorers traveled the globe in search of scientific knowledge.

         
                                     Sue the T-Rex
One of the major attractions of the Field Museum is Sue, the most complete skeletal remains ever unearthed of a a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  The archeologist who dug her up whimsically called her Sue.  She is truly a marvel to behold and standing beside her, it took only a wee bit of imagination to envision her tromping through prehistoric Earth in search of prey.  She is a most impressive old girl.

       
                                                 The Man Eaters of Tsavo
Several years ago we saw a gripping adventure movie called The Ghost & The Darkness starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.  It tells the true story of a British engineer named Patterson sent to Africa at the turn of the century to build a railroad and how his entire operation was shut down when the work camp was terrorized by two man-eating lions.  By the time they were finally hunted and destroyed, the twin beasts had slain over thirty men.  Patterson later wrote about his experiences in a book he called The Man Eaters of Tsavo, which then became the basis for the movie.  At the end of the movie, the narrator explains that the story just viewed was true and anyone wishing to see the actual lions had simply to visit the Field Museum of Science in Chicago where they are permanently on display.  Ever since seeing that movie, Val and the Air Chief have hoped to one day do just that…and we did.  And let me assure you, standing in front of that diorama, looking through the glass at the remains of these animals was a very unique experience.  It was all too easy to understand the terror they instilled and the horror they inflicted on those poor African rail workers.

And that's our Chicago pictures for this week. Still a few more and we'll parcel those out next week, especially our trip to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs in action.  Meanwhile, what with our traveling behind us, Val and the Air Chief have been busy with all sorts of activities.  Not the least of which is finally getting our house on the real estate market.  Yes, indeed, after 27 wonderful years here, we have put it up for sale and hope to be moving out west before year's end.  We'll keep you posted.

                                          Noble High Students & the Air Chief

Finally this past week, Ye Old Air Chief was invited, along with 45 other professional people, to participate in an Opportunity Fair at nearby Noble High School, in North Berwick, Me.  Basically, we, and the other presenters, got to talk with students from all four grades about our careers and the satisfaction of making our individual dreams come true.  Naturally we brought a bunch of comics and pulps we had written and told them of our own life's journey in becoming a writer of the fantastic.  The kids were great and we had a blast spending time with them.  Our congratulations to the students and faculty who put on this truly marvelous event.

And there you have it, Loyal Airmen.  Another week come and gone. Hope you are enjoying Spring as much as we are and we'll see you back here next Friday.
Ron-Over & Out

Greeting Loyal Airmen. Last week we reported on the great time Ye Old Air Chief and Valerie had at this year's Windy City Pulp & Paper Con and we promised to show you lots more pictures of that fun three day event. So here we go.
                 
In this shot, taken Friday afternoon, we were just setting up.  At far-far left if Wayne Reinagel, standing with hands on hips is Van Plexico, then we have Mark Maddox, Ye Old Air Chief (hiding Val who is seating behind him) and Rob Davis.  Man oh man, the Airship 27 Productions was chocked full of goodies this year, half which sold before we left Sunday morning.

            
Wayne Reinagel getting his table filled with all his pulp goodies.  Wayne had his new mega book THE KHAN DYNASTY on sale at the show.  Plus his amazing Pulp History Poster.

               
  Pulp writer, B.C. Bell and his charming wife Darlene Yurkis.  We had so much fun with this couple, they are really great people.  Chris has just finished a brand new pulp novel for Airship 27 Productions that will be coming out soon.

             
First night of the Con, Friday, the Pulp Factory group headed out to a dinner of humburgers.  Here's the assembled group.  Standing left to right are Wayne Reinagel, Van Plexico, Mark Halegua, and Rob Davis. Seated, Ye Old Air Chief, Val, Mark Maddox, Chris and Darlene.  Van's lovely wife, Ami, took the shot and sadly is not in the pix. Thanks, Ami.

            
After Ye Old Air Chief presented the first Pulp Factory Awards, our band of merry pulpsters headed for the Con's courtesy room where we celebrated Mark & Rob's victories.  Left to right, B.C. Bell, Van Plexico, Mark Maddox (Best Pulp Cover), Rob David (Best Interior Art) and Ye Old Air Chief. 

          
A happy Van Allen Plexico after setting up his White Rocket Books table.  Van writes the popular, best selling sci-fi superhero series, The Sentinels. If you like super heroes, you should be reading these books. They are terrific.  Oh, there's Mark Maddox to his right and Val behind Mark.

          
And finally here's Van making a sales pitch to long-time Robert E.Howard fan, English teacher Frank Coffman. Always great to see Frank at the show.

This was Windy City's 10th year and it was truly a wonderful time for all who attended.  Hope we see all you Loyal Airmen there next year.  Earlier this evening the Air Chief was a guest on Ric Croxton's pulp podcast, the Bookcave, where he talked with Ric and pulp historian, Art Sippo, all about the con and the Pulp Factory Awards.  The show should go up on line next week.  We will be sure to post the link then.

Thank as always for stopping by. Next week we'll share pictures of our trip around the beautiful city of Chicago. Till then, have a great week.
Ron – Over & Out!
         

Greetings Loyal Airmen, well, as expected, our fourth trip to the Windy City Pulp & Paper Con was a terrific good time.  We got caught up with lots of old friends and fans and met many more new ones.  Our congratulations to Doug Ellis who has put this show on for ten years now and it continues to get better with each new year.
 
   
      From Left – Wayne Reinagle, Van Plexico, Mark Maddox, the Air Chief & Rob Davis

Happily over ten members of our internet group, the Pulp Factory were also on hand to help us celebrate the fun of pulps.  Note, our Airship 27 Productions table was chock full of great titles. When Rob and the Air Chief first  came to Windy City we only had five or six titles on our table.  Now our catalog offers twenty-six pulp books. At this show we sold half our stock.

Of course one of the highlights of this particular show was the awarding of the first ever Pulp Factory Awards for new pulp fiction and art.  Just prior to the 8 PM Auction, on Friday night, the Air Chief announced the winners and handed out two of the four awards.  These awards were all for work published in 2009.

Massachusetts based writer, Thomas E.Sniegoski won Best Pulp Novel, LOBSTER JOHNSON – THE SATAN FACTORY published by Dark Horse Press.  The hero is a character created from Mike Mignola's best selling HELLBOY comic book series.

Then our very own SHERLOCK HOLMES – CONSULTING DETECTIVE Vol.One walked off with the remaining three awards.  A really wonderful achievement.

     
                     Writer Andrew Salmon at a show in Vancouver, Canada

Airship 27 Productions writer Andrew Salmon won Best Pulp Short Story for “The Adventure of the Locked Room” from this anthology.  Note he has a copy of the book, plus several others he has penned for us. Way to go, Andrew.

      
       Mark Maddox & Rob Davis

Best Pulp Cover went to Mark Maddox for this same Sherlock Holmes collection, while our very own art director, Rob Davis, took home the Best Pulp Interior Art for the same volume.  All in all a wonderful achievement for our talented crew and one we soundly applaud.  If you haven't picked up either of these two books, Loyal Airmen, you really should do so. They are truly memorable reading experiences.

In the weeks ahead we will be posting lots more photos from the show highlight lots of the Airship 27 crew.  After the con, Val and the Air Chief then spent an additional three days in Chicago with our daughter Heather, who gave us the grand tour of that marvelous city.  Quite honestly, we never thought we would ever enjoy a big metropolitan city and Chicago proved us wrong in so many enjoyable ways.  It truly is a terrific place to live.

There you have it Loyal Airmen.  Another show come and gone. In two days, Ye Old Air Chief will be at the Knights of Columbus hall in downtown Rochester, NH as part of the Jetpack Comic Shop Free Comic Book Day, a fun all-day event for the entire family.  If you are in the area, please, stop on by.  We'll have lots of copies of MR.JIGSAW and our new BOSTON BOMBERS graphic novel. Hope to see many of you there.

Till next Friday, take care.  Ron, Over & Out!

Greetings Loyal Airmen. It's now late Thursday afternoon and we are writing this early because by the time most of you read these words, Valerie and I will be winging our way to Chicago for the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention.  There we will be joining our Airship 27 Productions partner, Rob Davis, and many, many Loyal Airmen and other pals from the Yahoo Pulp Factory Group.  One of the biggest events of this weekend happens tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Chicago time, where Ye Old Air Chief will announce and present the first ever Pulp Factory Awards for new pulp fiction and art.

        
There is an award for Best Pulp Novel 2009, Best Pulp Short Story 2009, Best Pulp Cover 2009 and Best Interior Illustrations 2009.  Members of the Pulp Factory voted on these four categories between the months of Feb. & March.  The trophy itself was designed  by Rob and then sculptured by Phil Dutcher.  Rob then painted them and mounted them on the bases you see above, with the plates naming the winners.  Next week we'll be here to list them, but I'm sure many of you will have learned who won soon as word spreads throughout the internet.  Once these awards have been presented, then Ye Old Air Chief can sit down and enjoy the convention as he always does. It will be special having Val along for the ride.  Our plan is to stay in Chicago till Wed. to visit with our daughter Heather, who moved there last summer.  She's eager to show us her new home and give us a tour of the Windy City. We've even got tickets to the Cubs game on Monday night when they take on the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.  Should be a blast.

Oh, and before leaving this subject, do keep in mind, as always, any Loyal Airmen who comes to any show wearing official Airship 27 gear, be it a tee-shirt, baseball cop, sweater or whatever, they get 50% off any book on the table automatically. It's our small way of saying thanks for your continued support.  And where can you get this cool looking clothing, by going to our on-line Cafe shop.  Click on the dirigible logo to the left of this column, which brings you to our on-line book catalog.  Scroll all the way to the bottom where you'll find the link to the Cafe Shop and there you go.  Some really cool stuff awaits your perusal.

After several long months of collecting pages and putting everything together, the Air Chief is thrilled to announce the release of THE BOSTON BOMBERS, a 174 pg graphic novel that he wrote as a six issue mini-series in the early 80s for Caliber Press.  Long, long out of print, it is here collected for the very first time and can be read as intended.  BOMBERS is an alternate world pulp adventure that supposes what would have happened if Jesus had been female, if the Roman Empire had not died out but survived in South Africa and the League of Nation became a strong world power that prevented a World War II from ever happening.  Into this social/economic what if scenario, we created a group of female adventurers led by the mysterious Indra Devine.
Think Doc Savage as a girl and you'll have some small idea of what this book is all about.  Believe me when I say it is wall to wall pulp action and one of the most original comics project we ever created. Having it back and available is a true dream come true.  A special thanks to Rob for putting it all together and doing that great new cover you see here.

Now you can order a copy of THE BOSTON BOMBERS by simply going to our Air Fare page and there you'll find the link to it.  An important note.  Rob and the Air Chief will have copies of THE BOSTON BOMBERS for sale at our table at Windy City and we'll be selling it there for $15 a copy.  That is $3 off the normal price for the book. Because of this, Rob thought it would be a grand idea to lower the on-line price as well, but only for this particular weekend.  So, for the next three days (Fri-Sat-Sun) if you log on to the link, you'll too will be able to get this Con-Sale price.  But remember, come Monday it reverts back to $17.95 –  As ever, thanks so much for you support.

And there you have it Loyal Airmen.  The bags are packed and we're ready for some convention fun.  Truly hope to see lots of you there. Till next week, take care and enjoy the gorgeous Spring weather.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen, it has been one busy week around Hangar 27 and we've a full cargo of goodies to share with all of you, so let's jump right into it.

First up, our son Kevin was married last Saturday in a lovely, and humorous, ceremony at York Beach, Me.  His fiancee, and our newest daughter, Melanie, was beautiful.  Along with both families and friends, present was the couple's handsome bulldog, Zeke.  Unbeknown to Kevin, Melanie had two cakes made up for the event.  One was a three-layered traditional wedding cake, the other…well, that was something special, as the photo below will attest to.

             
                         ZEKE  the Cake
Mel had a baker make up a cake version of Zeke.  It was came out fabulous, right down to the color patterns on his short, stout body.  This is truly their lovable Zeke and by far the coolest cake the Air Chief has ever laid eyes on .  Kevin was totally blown away by it.

           
                 Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Fortier in Hawaii
Kevin and Melanie then left the next day for their week long vacation in that paradise we know as Hawaii.  A fun side-bar, Kev, like his father, is a huge fan of the TV show LOST, and Mel booked them an island tour that visits eleven of the locales on the island of Oahu where the show was filmed.  Told Kev to bring me back pictures.  The new Mrs.Fortier posted the shot above over on Facebook yesterday. It would seem their honeymoon is off to an excellent start.

         
On other fronts, two very special books made their debuts this past week and we'd like to showcase them to all you Loyal Airmen who like a good read.  The first is an anthology from Padwolf Press called BAD COP…NO DONUT and was edited by John L.French.  It's about cops behaving badly and Ye Old Air Chief has a story in it called “Last Day on the Job.”  The book is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.etc.  We hope you'll check it out.  Among the other writers included are Gary Lovisi, Jim Chambers and C.J Henderson.  It's a grand collection and we honestly think its a winner.

         
The second book we introduce to you is Airship 27 Productions 26th title, JIM ANTHONY SUPER DETECTIVE Vol Two – THE HUNTERS by Josh Reynolds & Micah S.Harris.  It's a novel in two parts and pits this classic pulp hero against Yeti's in Manhattan and dinosaurs on a lost South Sea island.  It's thrilling, non stop pulp action as you've come to expect from Airship 27 Productions.  As always the book is now available at our on-line store (click the dirigible logo to the left of this column) at a reduced price and in a week will be out at all the regular book outlets.  It features a stunning cover by painter Chris Sears and nine interior illustrations by
Pulp Factory Award Nominee Pedro Cruz.  This one was tons of fun to edit and produce.  Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Finally, speaking of pulps, Val and the Air Chief are packing up this weekend for our trip next Friday to Chicago and the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention.  This will be Airship 27 Productions fourth consecutive year in attending.  My partner, Rob Davis, and Ye Old Air Chief will have over 64 books featuring 12 different titles to offer pulp fans, some for the very first time.  We truly hope to see many of our old friends and to make lots of new ones.  We will also be giving out the very first Pulp Factory Awards on the first Friday evening of the convention, just prior to that night's auction. Should be really exciting.

So there you have it, Loyal Airmen.  Lots of cool things past, present and to look forward to.  Now if only the Red Sox would start getting their act together.  The season is only a few weeks old and they are already demonstrating some serious weaknesses.  Sigh.

(EXTRA!!!  We just learned today that Lulu, the company that prints all our Airship 27 pulp titles is offering FREE shipping between now and the 1st of May.  Simply write in the code FREEMAIL305 when ordering.  This is a good deal, Loyal Airmen.  Hope you'll take advantage of it.)

Ron – Over & Out!

Greeting Loyal Airmen in what is turning out to be one of the warmest Springs we've ever experience here in good old Southern New Hampshire.  Yesterday temps climbed to the 80s, grass is turning green and birds of every variety are flocking back to neighboring trees to start building their nests.  Not that we are complaining mind you, we're just not use to it. 

Life around Hangar 27 has been anything but dull.  Val's Mom is now in a rehab facility, as local doctors have been unable to come up with a diagnosis as to why, without warning, her body is suddenly drained of all energy and she is unable to move her limbs.  These bouts of weakness may last five to ten minutes, then pass and she returns to her usual self once more. All manner of tests were performed to check her heart, organs, brain etc. and all came up empty.  And so she's in rehab and we are here to tell you HOUSE is just a TV show.  Doctors still don't know all there is to know.  The human body is still a vast mystery, as we are discovering.

On a happier note, son Kevin and his lovely fiancee, Melanie, will be married Saturday at York Beach, Me. Our daughter Heather is flying in from Chicago to be his “best man.”  Yup, that's what we said.  She and her brother have been pals ever since they were little and she never hesitated a second in saying yes to his request that she stand up for him. And if you wonder what his bride-to-be thinks of this arrangement, well she is one of Heather's dearest friends and it was Heather who introduced them years ago.  Should be a wonderful family day and looks like the weather is going to cooperate.  Kevin will be the fourth of our five children to wed. 

On to other fun things.  In the past three weeks our Mr.Jigsaw Man of a Thousand Parts # 6 has been out and selling quite well, thanks to all of you.  Shortly after we'd finished that particular script and turned it into artist, Gary Kato, we found ourselves coming up blank for what to write next.  Ideas are strange animals that exist in one's imagination and sometimes they are quite active and continuously emerge at the slightest stimulus while at other times they disappear altogether leaving us quite frustrated.  Such was the case here.  For several weeks, after finishing book # 6, we simply could not come up with what a decent idea for issue # 7.  Then one day, artist Scott Simmons sent us a digital pin-up of Mr.Jigsaw he had done at our request.  We are going to be combining issues 4 – 5 – 6 in another The Adventures of Mr.Jigsaw collection from Wild Wolf Entertainment (mostly like due out in summer) and wanted to add some special pin-ups to this project.  Scott was one of four artists who volunteered to do one.

The second we saw Scott's picture of Jiggy skiing down a treacherous slope being chased by helicopters filled with bad guys a truly wonderful and zany idea popped in our mind.  This scenario was so outlandish for our small time hero, trying to come up with a logical reason as to why he would be in such a pickle was all we needed to fire up our imagination and voila, we had the basic plot idea for issue # 7.  In no time at all we were writing it up and two weeks ago sent it off to Gary.  We also notified Scott as to what his marvelous pin-up had done for us and asked if we could use it, in full color, for that very issue.  Scott happily agreed and then surprised us with a request of his own.

              
                            Artist Scott Simmons Working On His Mr.Jigsaw Pin-Up

It seems a local museum in his area was presenting an exhibition of graphic art storytelling and had come to Scott and five other comic artists to display their work.  Scott asked if he could use the completed Mr.Jigsaw pin-up as part of his section in that showing.  We were only too thrilled and honored to give him that permission.  That show runs all month and it's wild to think the public will be seeing our Jiggy in such an august setting.  Life truly is strange and wonderful.

And there you have it for this week, Loyal Airmen.  See you back here next week.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen, after all the hoopla and book releases of the past couple of weeks, I thought we'd tone down things this week.  After all it is Holy Week, what with Good Friday recalling the death of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection on Easter morning.

Things around here have been a bit hectic on a family level.  Val's mother had some health issues that seemed to mystify the local doctors for the past few weeks causing all of us a great deal of worry and concern. The worst of it seems to have passed a we're happy to say she is now in a wonderful rehabilitation facility. With some around-the-clock care and a little more rigorous physical therapy, we're hoping to eventually get her well again.  That's where our thoughts and prayers are this week special and holy weekend.

We also want to wish all Loyal Airmen of Christian faith a truly wonderful Easter and all of you of the Jewish tradition, a memorable and blessed Passover.  The majority of the world shares the same core beliefs in a God of love mercy, love and forgiveness. That alone, in this world that sometimes seems chaotic and pointless, is a remarkable and comforting thought.  Let us all this weekend give a little more thought to ideal of true brotherly love.  For sure the world could sure use a whole lot more of it.

Thanks as always for stopping by and we'll be back next week with more of the usual fun stuff.
Ron – Over & Out. 

Greetings Loyal Airmen, last week we focused on our latest pulp and comics release, promising when we returned this week we would address our thoughts on Dynamite Comic's premier issue of their new Green Hornet series and we shall do just that.  After this bit of truly exciting news.  Airship 27 Productions has released its twenty-fifth title and the third for this month alone.  Talk about being on a roll.  And it stars as yet another hero who wears green.

ROBIN HOOD – King of Sherwood is a brand new full length novel by British writer Ian Watson.  Ian had written several Sherlock Holmes stories for Airship 27 Productions last year and after those were submitted he brought up his idea of doing a Robin Hood novel, one set against an authentic historical background that would give the old legend a fresh new twist while at the same time keeping all the icon elements.  When we read through the manuscript for this book we were blown away.  Our partner at Airship 27 Productions, artist Rob Davis, had the exact same excitement and agreed this was a truly special book.  To that end we went after a wonderful artist named Mike Manley and recruited him to do our painted cover.  What he delivered knocked our socks off!!!  This by far one of the most beautiful books Airship 27 Productions has ever produced and we sincerely hope all you adventure/action fans out there who love a rousing good story will give it a try.  Simply click on the dirigible logo to the left of the column to link to our on-line store.  Note, the book will be available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other major booksellers.  Trust me, Loyal Airmen, this one is a winner start to finish.

You know, it did feel kind of funny for the Air Chief to be picking up a new Green Hornet comic book after all these years.  It is almost exactly twenty years since we wrote the GH series for Now Comics.  Now Dynamite Comics has the license and are going to be doing several books featuring the character, another starring his sidekick, Kato and even a future GH title is in the works.  But rather than get lost all over the place, let's keep this about the six-issue limited mini-series here as written by Kevin Smith and illustrated by Jonathan Lau.  Most fans by now are aware that over ten years ago Smith wrote a GH movie script that he hoped to direct for Miramax Films.  After finishing the script, he opted not to direct it and the script was shelved and ultimately another studio acquired the movie rights to character.  What Smith and Dynamite have done here has taken Smith's movie script and translated it to a comic series.  Which is why when reading it, you should keep that in mind and realize it will be paced a whole lot different than something that was originally meant for graphics.  This opening issue is perhaps the first twenty minutes of what you would have seen on the big screen.  It features the old TV Green Hornet and Kato, only they've been brought to the 1990s.  This is their last case and at the start of the story we see them retiring so that by the end we are introduced to Britt Reid's (the Green Hornet) son, Britt Junior, now in college who will of course become the new GH before our tale is done.  We truly liked the story, we have always been fans of generational sagas and are delighted this series will feature a new female Kato, something artist Jeff Butler and the Air Chief first introduced to the world back in our Now series.  So we're giving this thumbs up and hope you'll check it out.

        
            Art by Ruben Procopio
We would also remind you that come this summer, Moonstone Books will be releasing the first of the its five new prose anthologies starring these characters, THE GREEN HORNET CHRONICLES.  Each book will feature approximately twenty brand new GH short stories as written by some of the best action and mystery writers today.  Ye old Air Chief has a story in the very first volume called THE EYES OF THE MADONNA, and above is the very cool spot illustration done for that story by my good friend, artist Ruben Procopio.  Ruben is doing all the interior pieces for this book and one of the two alternate covers.  Again, look for this in June some time.

And there you have it for this week, loyal airmen.  Spring is here officially and Easter only a few weeks away.  A glorious time of the year. We hope you're all enjoying it to the max.

Ron – Over & Out.

Greeting Loyal Airmen. We were going to talk to you this week about Dynamite's brand new Green Hornet comic series but a couple of new releases have pushed that topic back another week.  It isn't often that we're lucky enough to have both a new comic and a new pulp book come out the same week. So we really wanted to put the spotlight on these projects, both of which we are really happy about.

There were hundreds of various western pulps long ago during those golden days of pulps. And for the longest time, we at Airship 27 Productions have wanted to pay homage to them by releasing one.  So we spotlighted one of the more popular classic western heroes, the Masked Rider with our first volume of  THE MASKED RIDER – Tales of the Wild West.  This terrific book features three gun-blazing tales of action and adventure.  The first is a Masked Rider yarn by Eric Jones.  The second is a story about Virgil Earp by Tommy Hancock and we wrap it all up with a tale starring Wild Bill Hickok by Aaron Smith.  The book has twelve black and white illustrations by Nick Miller and rip-roaring cover by Rob Davis and Shane Evans.  It is now available for sale at our on-line Airship 27 store (simply click on the dirigible logo to the left of this column) where all our titles are on sale at a 25% discount off retail.  In a week or two the book will be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other well known distributors.  So if you are like the Air Chief and you have a fondness for cowboy stories, ramble on over and check out a copy. 

On the comic book front, our newest issue of MR.JIGSAW – Man of a Thousand Parts # 6 is finally out.  It can be purchased by going to (www.IndyPlanet.com) along with the first five books in this on-going series.  This issue sports a guest cover by artist Terry Tidwell and features a story called “American Sidekicks.”  When the good citizens of Portland, Me. decide to have an American Idol type contest show to choose a sidekick for our lovable hero, you can imagine how quickly things go awry.  Hope you'll check it out.

And there you have it.  Next week we'll talk about the new Green Hornet comic and we'll have a sneak-peek at my own latest Green Hornet story which will be appearing later this summer in Moonstone Books' THE GREEN HORNET CHRONICLES.  Hope to see you in seven days.

Ron- Over & Out!