Greetings Loyal Airmen.  While attending the gigantic New Comic Con way-way back in Feb. of this year, we had the good fortune to meet a talented young writer named Adam Garcia.  Our meeting let to Adam signing on to write pulps for Airship 27 Productions and the character he asked to write was none other than the Green Lama, one of the coolest, most fondly remembered pulp heroes of them all.  As it happened, one of our veteran writers, Kevin Olson had been asking me to do this character as well for several years.  Now that we had two writers on board, we officially launched the project, and sought out one more writer to complete the package. Within a week of all this, writer Peter Miller wrote and said he wanted in.  Voila, we had our writers and the book started to happen.  Of course the next big step at Airship 27 is finding the art team to do the interiors and the cover.  We hit a gold mine in that department, thanks to my friendship with Maine artist supreme, and all around nice guy, Jay Piscopo.

When Jay learned we were going to be doing a Green Lama book, he whipped up the above, very, very cool pin-up of that mystic avenger.  We were immediately blown away and signed Jay on to handle the twelve black and white interior illustrations that grace the volume.  And don't fret, Loyal Airmen, we never ever waste a gorgeous piece of art.  The above colored piece is part of our back cover.  Okay, so we had the illustrations taken care of, but who to do the painted cover.  It was Jay again to rescue in that months earlier he had introduced us, via the internet, to British artist, Mike Fyles.  Mike has an unabashed love for pulp covers and is an expert of creating aged-looking pulp covers that appear to have come from someone's attic box.  We wrote Mike and offered him the gig, if he could do the cover in traditional oil/acrylic paints.  Mike responded instantly a big fat, YES.  And so we were off and running.

Somewhere in Kevin's adventure story, the Green Lama and a young boy are confronted by a fericious snow leopard while trekking through the mountains of Tibet.  Jay had done this scene as a black and white illustration for us and we thought it might also make for a really great, dramatic pulp cover.  We explained the scene to Mike and he composed the above on his computer and sent it in.  The cat was great but we needed the Lama and the boy to be further in the picture, with their backs against a cliff's edge to added even more drama.

                
This pen and ink-wash progression was much in keeping with our vision.  Yet it too still had problems.  One being the cat's head was way too close to the Lama.  Plus the Lama's posture, though protecting the boy, just didn't seem to work right.  We suggested to Mike that he have the Lama's hands up weaving some mystical signs to ward of the cat.

With each new step, the picture was evolving into what we had imagined, and a truly great pulp cover.  The cat had become a lot more menacing, there was the narrow cliff's edge at our characters' backs and now the Lama looked to being doing his mystic thing and warding off the threat.  One single element needed to be altered, and that was the tiny Tibetan monastery in the background.  Airship 27 Art Director did a little photo-shop magic on it and expanded it into a complex type affair to show Mike what we needed.  Now it was time for color.

When we saw this rendering we were thrilled.  The cover was almost 100%.  But the one nagging element was the boy's white tunic.  We felt there was already so much white with the snow and all, that it just caused our eyes to look away from the rest of the scene, in particular our hero.  We asked Mike to make the boy's clothing all one color.  He did so happily and we knew we had a solid, stunning pulp cover.  Mike's amazing contribution was finished.  Now it was up to Rob to do his design magic.

And above you have the completed cover to Airship 27 Productions 18th pulp title, THE GREEN LAMA Vol One.  The book is now available for sale at our on-line store.  Simply click on the dirigible logo to the left of the column.  We hope it is only the first in a long running series.

We hope you Loyal Airmen have enjoyed seeing how this book came together and as always we thank you from the heart for you continued support of all our efforts.  A special Air Chief salute goes out to Adam Garcia, Kevin Olson, Peter Miller, Jay Piscopo, Mike Fyles, Michael Poll and my good pal and partner, Rob Davis. Thanks all for your great work on this super cool book.

Ron – Over & Out

Greetings Loyal Airmen. Well, we're back in Hangar 27 and slowly getting back down to the normal routine of things. What with the grand kids here for three weeks and then last weekend flying off to Columbus, Ohio for the premier of Pulp Fest, Ye Old Chief has been on the go.  And let me tell you, Loyal Airmen, Pulp Fest was truly the best pulp convention we've ever attended.  From Friday to Saturday it was simply non-stop fun, as lots of our Loyal Airmen and Pulp Factory amigos went out of their way to come to the show and join us, making those three days super special to both the Air Chief and his partner, Rob Davis.

        
                                       Rob Davis Holding Down The Airship 27 Hangar

Rob picked me up at the airport and happily the con hotel was only fifteen minutes away. Once registered into our room, we went back to his truck, took out the boxes with our books and comics and made it to the convention hall to sign in.  By 12:30 PM, Friday, we just getting situated. As the image above indicated, there were lots of other vendors who had yet to arrive.  By 2 PM, everyone seemed at their tables and the show really start hopping.

       
                            Pulp Writer and Con Neighbor William Maynard

Now when going to a  new show there always seems to be one book out there that the Air Chief is on the hunt for.  This time I was going to be looking for the brand new Dr. Fu Manchu novel that's been creating a stir on the internet circles, THE TERROR OF FU MANCHU by some fellow named William Maynard.  Well, as luck would have it, and clearly a terrific omen for the whole show, as Rob and me were setting up, I looked over at this fellow whose own table was backed up to ours and was totally surprised to see that very book I was after.  And as there were lots of them, I put two and two together, looked at the fellow and said, “William Maynard?” He, we shook hands, and the Air Chief had made a new friend.  I wasted no time grabbing a copy of his book and had him autograph it for me, thus making his first sale.  By the time we closed up Sunday afternoon most of Bill's copies would be gone.  Likewise for our Airship 27 titles.  This really was a super show in all ways.

        
                                 Pulp Writer & Loyal Airman Greg Gick

So here we are, Rob and the Air Chief just sitting there getting to know Bill when up walks this gentlemen and introduces himself as one of our long time Airship 27 pulp writers, Greg Gick.  Greg wrote a Secret Agent X story for our very first volume of that series and recently turned in a new tale for our forthcoming space opera book, Mars McCoy – Space Ranger.  We had not idea Greg was going to be at the show and his presence was such a great surprise.  He drove up just to meet with us and we thank him so much for that.  Happily the hall wasn't crowded yet and we had a really nice, long chat.  It is so much fun getting to meet such talented and wonderful people.  Greg, if you are reading this, we sent you an official invite to join the Pulp Factory. Hope you received it alright.

As the afternoon wore on, more and more pulp fans started entering the hall and very shortly Rob and I were doing a brisk business meeting with them and selling our books.  Usually most Fridays are slow at cons, but not this one.  It was off to a flying start.  And then several other Loyal Airmen arrived to include our good pal John Bruening, one of our proof-readers.  Soon after, cover artist Mark Maddox arrived and my old pulp amigos
Mark Halegua and David Walker.  When they closed the doors at 5 PM, four of us got together and went off to dinner at a super Italian place called the Spaghetti Warehouse.  Food was great and so was the company. By the time Rob and the Air Chief made it back to our room, both of us had been up almost eighteen hours.  We fell onto our beds and slept like babies.

          
                Bill Gladman, his daughter Raichel, Mark Maddox, Air Chief, John Bruening

Now Saturdays are traditionally the biggest day of a three day show and this one proved no exception. After a nice breakfast in the hotel restaurant, we once again headed for the con floor.  Knowing that several other Loyal Airmen would be arriving later.  The first to do so were Bill “G-Man” Gladman and his lovely daughter, Raichel.  Bill and I belong to Chuck Moore's amazing comic book site, Comic Related' and we've exchanged hundreds of posts over the past year, plus co-anchored a podcast together for the site.  He's a terrific guy and it was so great to finally meet him and Raichel, who loves comics as much as he does.  Valerie had let me bring her digital camera to the show and soon we were all snapping away, like the group shot above.  Of course that meant taking lots of zingers for why the Air Chief's camera case was pink!

             
                                        Writer Steve Bennett & Ye Old Air Chief

Way back when we first launched our comic writing carers, we made friends with an Ohio writer named Steve Bennett.  That was twenty-sever years ago and he remains, to this day, one of the Air Chief's dearest pals. Aside for all his work for the old Malibu Comics, Steve is also a reviewer for the Comic Buyer's Guide, an industry standard.  The guy has a charming sense of humor and getting together with him is always a treat.  We just don't do it often enough. Thanks for coming up, Steve, and for bringing your friend, Ann, along.

          
                     Mark Maddox and the complete Daughter of Dracula painting.

When Mark Maddox told us he would be joining us at Pulp Fest, Rob suggested he do up prints of some of his wonderful cover paintings for us.  We offered to put them on our table and sell them for him.  Mark was delighted and took his advice. The prints were gorgeous.  At the end of the show, he gracious made a gift of several to us.  Mark also had his portfolio to show off some of his other amazing artwork to include the Daughter of Dracula painting he did for our graphic novel.  You'll note, the comic book crops the woman's face at the bridge of her nose, so fans of our book were thrilled to view this rarely seen “complete” picture.

       
                         Loyal Airman Chuck Moore & the Air Chief

We mentioned Comic Related's Chuck Moore and as promised he too arrived Saturday midday.  Chuck's is a great guy and will go out of his way to support his friends.  At 1:30 PM on that afternoon, we did a dramatic reading from our latest Captain Hazzard novel, CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK, and not only were Chuck and the rest of the CR crew on hand to offer moral support, but Chuck also taped the entire session and it is now available to download and listen to at (www.ComicRelated.com).  Check it out if you get the chance.

                
                                     The Air Chief reading from CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK

That reading, again thanks our Loyal Airmen went really well and we enjoyed it a great deal.  Enough to volunteer to do another at next year's show.  To all of you who attended, thanks so much for being there.  We are extremely grateful to all of you.

                     
                                         Rob Davis and the Air Chief  cutting up.

We posted the above photo to truly show all of you just how much fun was had at Pulp Fest.  This is not just hype.  Every minute we were there with our pals and all the great fans we met was just pure, unadulterated fun.  Something we just don't get enough of in our day to day lives.  Not so in Columbus. And if laughter is the best medecine, then all of us left a whole lot healthier.

                      
                                     John Bruening  – Mark Maddox – Chris Yates – Rob Davis

Another con tradition we cooked up back when attending our first Windy City Pulp & Paper show three years ago was the Sunday Morning Pulp Factory Breakfast Summit.  Seeing that we had established this so well, it was only natural to start a Pulp Fest version and five of us did just that.  John, Mark, Chris, Rob and the Air Chief invaded a local Starbucks and sat down over coffee pastries to talk pulp.  As the saying goes, a good time was had by all.  And Mr.Chris Yates was officially invited into the Pulp Factory, which he joined a few days ago.

                  
                                 Air Chief accepts copy of pulp Argosy from writer David Walker

After breakfast, we all headed back to the con for the final hours of the show.  Sunday mornings are usually when things slow down, but not at Pulp Fest.  We still met new fans and actually sold more books.  Amazing.  My good buddy, writer David Walker, surprised me with a gift of the fiction pulp mag, Argosy. This issue has an original Zorro story in.  Can't wait to dig into it. Thanks Dave, this was the perfect way to cap the show.

By two o'clock, folks were starting to pack it up and head out and Airship 27 joined the sad exodus.  We had had so much fun in such a short period of time, it was really sad to end it all.  Rob and the Air Chief would like to give our sincere thanks to all the promoters of Pulp Fest, from Ed Hulse, Jack Cullers, Mike Chomko, Chris Kalb and any others we may have forgotten.  This was by far the best pulp show we've ever attended and we owe it all to you and your superb planning and organization.  Thanks so much and rest assured, Airship 27 Prod. will be at next year's show.  After this one, you couldn't keep us away.

Take care, Loyal Airmen.  See you next week.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greeting Loyal Airmen. We're posting a day early this week because at this time tomorrow Ye Old Air Chief will be flying to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the first Pulp Fest Convention.  Rob Davis and I will be there with lots and lots of Airship 27 pulps, and on Sat. afternoon, at 1:30 PM, Ye Old Air Chief will be giving a chapter reading from the latest Captain Hazzard novel, CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK.  We really hope lots of you Loyal Airmen can make the trip and join us for this fun weekend.

Meanwhile early Tuesday morning Alex and Cora flew back home to Colorado, accompanied by Valerie. Their wonderful three weeks visit to New England seemingly over in the blink of an eye.  What follows are just some of the photos we took their third and last week here.  Enjoy.

         
                                         Alex & his Uncle Chris and a real Maine lobster.

The lobster bake at Michelle & Chris' was truly one of the highlights of their visit.  Alex had never tackled eating a Maine lobster out of the shell and his Uncle Chris was only too happy to show him how it was done.  There was also lots of other good eats that night to include grilled chicken and corn-on-the-cob plus a super creamy desert Michelle whipped up that clearly added extra pounds to all of us.

       
                           Ye Old Air Chief,   Taryn,  Cora & Alex at York Beach.

Being that it was their remaining few days, we asked Cora and Alex what they wanted to do.  They answered immediately, “Go back to the beach!”  So for the third time during their stay, we packed  up the car and headed for York Beach, Me.  Happily our son, Scott, was up for the weekend with his two kids, Taryn and Logan, and they joined us for the day.  It was another fun filled romp.  By mid-afternoon, tired of the crowds, we headed back home and continued the party in our pool.

         
                                   Scott, Logan, Taryn, Ye Old Air Chief, Alex & Cora

After a good hour of splashing, diving, jumping around and just plain acting crazy, Valerie snapped the above photo.  One of the real joys of this trip, and we thank Scott so much for driving up from Conn. to join us, was the fact that Cora & Alex at long last did get to meet all their cousins.  That was truly special.  For all of us.  Thanks, Scott.  You're not only a super dad, but your also a terrific uncle.

             
                                   Cora & Val overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.

What with the weather being iffy all the time they were with us, we sadly did not get to travel too far north during their visit.  Still, considering they live at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, that was never a priority.  Still one day we managed to drive up to the lakes region.  We went to Weirs Beach and took the two and half hour cruise of the New Hampshire's big lake, Winnipesaukee, aboard the Mount Washington.

           
                              Mount Washington cruise ship docked at Weirs Beach, N.H.

This is an amazing cruise that covers most of the lake's 13 miles, and is filled with lots of interesting history about the lake and the people who first discovered and eventually settled the area.  The kids were truly impressed and
had a great time.  Although it was cloudy and overcast when we left dockside, by the time we were coming back, the sun had broken through and it was a really beautiful, scenic trip.

         
                              Valerie & the Air Chief aboard the Mount Washington.

In looking over all the hundreds of pictures we, and they, took during these past three weeks, I was hoping to find the perfect one to end this entire series.  A photo that we would look at in years to come and fondly remember all the fun we had with these two truly wonderful youngsters.  And here it is, as if they are looking out over the majestic waters and saying a fond farewell to New Hampshire.

              
                                            Alex & Cora aboard the Mt. Washington

The afternoon after they flew home, we returned to Hangar 27 and it was sadly very, very quiet.  It had been a long-long time since Ye Old Airchief and Val hosted kids…and we loved every single minute of it.  When hugging and kissing them goodbye at the airport, we let them know how much we had loved their visit and thanked them for making this one of the best summers of our lives.  Hopefully they'll be back next year too.

On another sad but happy note, our daughter Heather, is moving this weekend.  After living her entire life in Maine and New Hampshire, she's picking up her roots and moving to Chicago, the Windy City, for a new and fresh start.  We think was she is doing is extremely exciting and wonderful (and brave) and wish her all the best in the world.  And Heather, we'll be visiting before you know it.  Good luck, Sweetheart, and God bless you every step of the way.

That's it, Loyal Airmen.  I've got a few more last minute errands to run before shutting up Hangar 27 for the weekend.  Again, if you are anywhere near Columbus this weekend, do stop by and say hi. The greatest fun of any con is meeting you Loyal Airmen in person.  That's it till next week.

Ron – Over & Out.         

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  Grand kids, Cora & Alex are finishing their second full week here in New England.

            
                                           Cora, Chelsea, Valerie, Alex & Kristi

Last weekend the LeClerc family went down to Westford, Ma. to attend a softball tournament.  Our son-in-law Chris is the coach of the team and granddaughter Chelsea a member.  So they packed up the camper and invited Val, Cora and Alex to tag along for the weekend.  This is a shot of them in front of the camper before they headed out from Lebanon, Me. on Friday morning.

             
                                                           Alex & Cora

Once there, they rented a spot at a wooded camp ground near the location of the tournament and the kids were soon off into the woods exploring.  Thankfully Mother Nature cooperated it was a really nice weekend for them.

              
                 Cora & Alex watching a softball game.  Figure over Alex's cap is his Uncle Chris.

From the phone updates sent to Ye Old Airchief, who was manning Hangar 27, the team did extremely well, winning their first four games in a row.  Coach Chris was proud of his girls in a big, big way.  They all came home Sunday afternoon tired, but having a had a great time.  Monday morning came and we headed off to the theaters to see the new Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, which we all loved.  Later we went to see TRANSFORMER II, a fun, action filled blockbuster.

          
                                         Cora, Alex & Aunt Heather  (eating m & m candies)

One night, our daughter Heather stopped by to meet Alex & Cora for the very first time and joined us for dinner.  When she learned they had just gotten new I-pods and were have some difficulties learning how to use all their functions, she jumped right in and starting tutoring them, as she just acquired one for herself a short while ago.  Heather is in the final stages of her big move to Chicago, coming at the end of the month.  Ye Old Air Chief is going to miss her terribly, especially our regular Sunday breakfast get-togethers, but as Valerie is quick to point out, once she's settled, we'll be visiting, and often.

The big news this past week is the release of MR.JIGSAW # 4, the first of the all new stories by yours truly and artist Gary Kato.  This issue takes Jiggy and his friend, Amy “Buck” Boucher to Hollywood to solve the mystery of The Phantom of Studio B and the cover was rendered by the super talented Nick Runge.  Nick is a regular cover artist for IDW Comics and recently did their covers for their Terminator – Salvation series.  He's a great guy and a wonderful friend with an amazing future ahead of him in this business.  As for all you Loyal Airmen now itching to get a hold of a copy, all you have to go is go to our Air Fare page and click on the cover.   

And while there, you might want to check out our Mr.Jigsaw merchandising store where you can get all kinds of very cool Jiggy apparel and other stuff, like ….

               
                                        Alex modeling his new Mr.Jigsaw baseball shirt.

 We've several different shirts, coffee cups and other neat gear there.  So check out when you get the chance.  This weekend is the big San Diego Comic Con and several of our pals are there right now soaking it all up. In another five days, Alex & Cora head back to Colorado, so we here at Hanger 27 are going all out to make these last few days really special. Thanks for stopping by to share them with us, and here's hoping all you Loyal Airmen and your families are have a super summer too.

Ron – Over & Out.

Greeting Loyal Airmen.  We reported last week that our grand kids, Cora and Alex, were here for three weeks. Well, that first one has flown by, just as all of us knew it would.  Valerie and Ye Old Air Chief have been doing our best to show these wonderful kids a good time in New Hampshire and Maine.  We've been on the go every single day of their stay.

                  
                                 Cora, Ye Old Air Chief, Kristi, Chelsea & Alex

We got the week kicked off with a trip to Water Country, a water park with all kinds of crazy water slides and as the photo above can attest, all of us had a blast.  Cousins Kristi and Chelsea, joined us for the day.  The four of them met for the very first time last Thanksgiving holiday when Valerie took our daughter Michelle, and her two girls out to Colorado to meet Cora & Alex.  So this visit from the Colorado cousins was a super reunion for all of them.

             
             The Air Chief, Valerie, Alex, Cora & Chelsea in back.

Next up was a Sunday afternoon trip to Portland, Me., again with Michelle and her family to see a Portland Sea Dogs game.  The Sea Dogs are the Double A minor league team for the Boston Red Sox.  This was a huge treat for all of us, and our thanks to Michelle and son-in-law Chris, who footed the bill this truly fun outing.

       
              Ye Old Air Chief, Valerie, Alex, Cora and Chelsea

There are no bad seats at Hadlock Field and all of us really had a great time.  Although the home team lost resoundingly to the visiting rivals, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays.  Let us also note that it was an extremely hot day and the sun beat down on us all afternoon.  By the time we returned home, all of us were ready for a plunge in the pool.

         
                                        Cora & Chelsea at Short Sands York Beach Me.

Of course being residents of a land-locked state, one of the kids' big request while out here was to see, and swim in the ocean.  So the day after the ball game, we packed up the car and headed out to York Beach, Me. and let them take a cold plunge in the good and cold Atlantic Ocean.

        
                                                Alex & Ye Old Air Chief

And that bit about it being cold was no understatement.  The temperature of the water was FREEZING!!  But that didn't deter Alex from getting in there and riding the waves.  And of course Ye Old Air Chief wasn't about to let him have all the fun.

            
                          Cora & Alex in front of the Goldenrod Restaurant

And there's no way you can visit York Beach without stopping at the famous Goldenrod restaurant and candy shop where they make their own salt-water taffy.  Very few kids don't have a sweet tooth and Cora & Alex were no exception and we left with a box of taffy kisses and home made fudge, flavors of their choosing.  Since that trip, we have returned to the beach a second time and had just as much fun.  One of the joys of living only eighteen miles away from the seacoast.  We will be returning again several more times in the next two weeks, count on it. And expect to see more photos of their New England adventures in the next few Flight Logs.

Finally, least you think we've totally abandoned our pulp factory operations here at Hanger 27, heaven forbid, we are very happy to announce the release of our 17th title, a science fiction adventure, LUCIAN : Dark God's Homecoming, by Van Allen Plexico, with art by Ingrid Hardy.  This terrific adventure is available at our on-line shop by clicking on our flying dirigible symbol to the left of this panel.  Or you can go to Amazon.com and any other major book distributor to order a copy.  As always, thanks for your continued support.

And that' wraps up another week, Loyal Airmen.  As you can see, Ye Old Air Chief and Valerie are having the time of our lives with our grand kids.  We truly hope all of you are having as much fun during this summer season.
Till next week,
Ron – Over & Out.

Well, Loyal Airmen, the wait is over.  Two days ago our two of our six grandchildren, Cora and Alex, flew in from Denver. Colorado, to spend the next three weeks with Ye Old Air Chief and Valerie.
 
           
                             Alex & Cora After Long Day of Traveling

Tuesday afternoon they landed at the Manchester,NH, airport where Valerie and our daughter Michelle, and granddaughter Chelsea were waiting to welcome them for the very first time to New England.  Of course the lousy rainy weather we'd been having was in full force still.

           
                            Alex, Val and Cora by the pool in pouring rain.

When they awoke late the following day, the rain was still coming down in buckets.  As they sat on our porch eating breakfast, both of them were looking into the backyard at our swimming pool and simply longing to take a plunge.  Finally, looking to Val, they stated they very much wanted to go swimming, rain or no rain.  So she relented and handed me her digital camera.  It was so funny, both of them shivering as they jumped in and out of the water.  Ye Old Air Chief only wishes he had that much energy to spare.

              
                              Alex, Cora, cousin Chelsea & the Air Chief down by the river.

Finally, the sun returned today on what turned out to be a truly gorgeous morning.  It seemed like the kid's vacation was finally getting off on the right track after all.  After breakfast, we thought it would be fun to show them the surrounding area where our home sits.  Down the hill is the Salmon Falls river which separates the town of Somersworth,NH with Berwick, Maine.  There's a well work footpath along the river and we all took a little hike down to check it out.  What with the constant rain for the month or so, you can imagine the water was high and really up to the banks.  It was impressive to say the least.

Later Ye Old Air Chief took out the grill and we had hot dogs for lunch.  Then it was back in the pool for them. So the visit has started and Valerie has three weeks worth of fun day trips planned out.  We hope to take them up into the White Mountains and show them some attractions, then of course hit the beaches along the Maine coast and Sunday we'll be attending a Sea Dogs baseball came in Portland.  Going to make tons of wonderful memories for them while they are here and we know the next three weeks will fly by.

But family is everything in the world, so we sign off wishing all you Loyal Airmen the same summer fun.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen and a truly Happy 4th of July to all of you.  A few days ago it was Canada Day in the wonderful republic to our north.  Now it's our turn to celebrate the birthday of the United States of America. We live in a truly great county, second to none for it's devotion to justice and liberty for all mankind.  So let's wave the red, white and blue of Old Glory and feel rightly proud to be Americans.  And let's take a second to say a prayer for all the brave men and women in uniform who serve her around the world, protecting those very liberties we hold dear.

Several days ago my granddaughters, Kristi and Chelsea, took me to see Pixar's newest computer animated feature, UP.   Now Ye Old Air Chief is a huge fan of this company's work and I have loved all their previous releases.  What we were not prepared for was the aviation themes that permeate a great deal of this terrific movie.  Carl Henderickson, perfectly voiced by actor Ed Asner, is a widower seeking to live out one last adventure in his lonely life.  He does so by floating his house to South America in search of a magic waterfall.  Along the way he encounters a long lost adventurer and a magnificent dirigible named The Spirit of America.  Well, Loyal Airmen, you have to know Ye Old Air Chief was really in his glory by then.

There is a lot more to this movie than just that tale of fantastic high flying adventure.  It is also a story about love and fidelity and Carl learns that no matter how strong any of us think we are, we still need people in our lives; friend, family and loved ones to make this is adventure called life worthwhile.  If you haven't seen UP as yet, do so now.  It's a true gem.

And speaking of high flying fun, we at Airship 27 Prod. are putting together a very special new book.  Way back when we first kicked off our pulp producing venture, the very first anthology we put out was LANCE STAR -SKY RANGER.  That first volume contained four fast paced stories based on the long forgotten Canadian pulp hero, as written by Frank Dirscherl, Bobby Nash, Win Scott Eckert and Bill Spangler.  It remains one of our best sellers to this date.  (You can find it at our on-line store by clicking the dirigible logo to the left of this column.)  Over the two years since the book's debut, we've been asked time and time again when would a we be doing Volume Two.  Well, the answer at question is now!  But there is going to be a slight shift in format with this new collection of aviation tales.  Rather than giving you only Lance Star, we've decided to make the book a true treasure package of several classic pulp flying heroes.  Thus LANCE STAR – SKY RANGER Vol Two. is going to have a brand new Lance Star tale by Bobby Nash. After all the book is named after him.  Followed by a Griffon story by Van Allen Plexico, then a Captain Midnight yarn by David Walker and two (not one) short stories featuring the World War One flying squad, the Three Mosquitoes, by Aaron Smith.

           
Even as we write this Log Entry, our partner Rob Davis is busy drawing the interior illustrations that will grace this new volume such as the one above, which is for the new Lance Star entry.  To say we are excited about doing this book would be a mild understatement.  Ye Old Air Chief has a soft spot in his heart for aviation stories and we believe so do many of you Loyal Airmen, so make sure to keep visiting the Airship 27 Hangar for further updates.

Speaking of warm spots in our heart, Valerie and the Air Chief are truly psyched about our grand kids from Colorado flying here to spend three weeks with us.  It will be the first time Cora (14) and Alex (11) have ever been to New Hampshire and we're all revved up to show them both our state and neighboring Maine.  We're keeping our fingers crossed they will also bring with them some of that sunny weather they've been having out west, and once and for all lift this curtain of wet that's been smothering New England for over a month now.
Enough is enough, we need the sun.  Badly.

And that's a wrap for this time around.  Again, a joyous 4th of July to all you Loyal Airmen and as always,
God Bless America!!

Ron – Over & out!

Greeting Loyal Airmen.  We got so caught up in showing off pictures of our visit to Larry's Comic Con last week, we completely forgot to wish all of you dads out there a Happy Father's Day.  Here's hoping all of you dads and granddads had a super day with your families.  My own was a truly wonderful man and my hero to this day. Every day Ye Old Air Chief tries to live up to the example he set while he was with us.

Another major event for Airship 27 Prod. last weekend was the released of our fifth pulp anthology for the year, and perhaps our most high profile to date.  SHERLOCK HOLMES – CONSULTING DETECTIVE features five brand new tales of mystery starring perhaps the greatest fictional character ever created.

The book is a real beauty, featuring a cover by artist Mark Maddox that wowed all of us in Hangar 27 when he delivered it.  Mark not only painted this beautiful piece, but he also designed the cover as well, created that nifty new “retro airship 27” logo.  If you'll recall, we previewed it here last week.  We hope to use it on all our future volumes of Sherlock Holmes – Consulting Detective and other other books that fall into that historical category.  One such is SEASON OF MADNESS, a new book by writer Aaron Smith that stars Dr.Watson as the hero.  It's a great tale and should be available within another two or three months.  Meanwhile, if you would like to grab a copy of this new book, simply click on to the dirigible logo at the left of this column to be taken to our on-line store where you can purchase a copy at a discount price that will save you 25% off the retail price.  In a few weeks the book will be available through all major booksellers ala Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

As you probably already know, Airship 27 Prod. will be at the debut of the all new Pulp Fest Convention in Columbus, Ohio, the weekend starting 31st July.  Note, Rob and ye Old Air Chief are now deciding which Airship 27 titles to pack and bring to the show.  If you are planning on attending this really fun gathering and there is a particular Airship 27 title you'd like to pick up while there, please, drop me a line and let me know and the Air Chief will make sure we have a copy for you.  And of course any Loyal Airmen who comes to our table at this or any other show wearing Airship 27 apparel will automatically get 50% off any one book on the table. That's our way of saying thanks for supporting our efforts.  We truly appreciate it.

Also, another piece of news regarding Pulp Fest.  Four writers have agreed to do readings at the show, and Ye Old Air Chief is one of them.  At 1:30 PM on Sat, 1st May, I'll give a chapter reading from my latest Captain Hazzard novel, CAVEMEN OF NEW YORK.  We are hoping lots of you Loyal Airmen will be in attendance to support our humble attempts in this new venue.  Writing is one thing, reading aloud to an audience is something else altogether.  We enjoy it, but it certainly is more fun when friends are out their cheering us on.

Finally, we're going to end this week with some more good news, this time involving our comic comedy superhero Mr.Jigsaw, Man of a Thousand Parts.  As most of you know, Rob and I have been producing the individual books via the self-publish outfit, Ka-Blam and all of our current issues are on sale at their on-line store, Indy Planet.  (Simply go to our Air Fare page and click on the covers there.)   Sales have been good and steady since we launched the series, but we know several of you prefer to order books via outfits like Amazon etc.etc.  So, to make our comic stories accessible to you, Redbud Studios has partnered with Wild Wolf Entertainment and they have collected the first three issues of Jiggy into one volume called THE ADVENTURES OF MR.JIGSAW and that book is now on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.

The book features a brand new cover by Gary Kato and all you need to do is go to the Air Fare page and click on the cover itself.  And let me add, our adult graphic novel, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA is now also available at these outlets thanks to Wild Wolf Entertainment.  Wild Wolf is owned and operated by our good pal, Sean Collins, and we're thrilled to have these comics out there where lots more fans can find them.  In regards to the all new Mr.Jigsaw # 4, that should be out in just another week or two.  Comics Buyer's Guide columnist/reviewer Tony Isabella gave Mr.Jigsaw his highest rating in a just published review and we thank him sincerely for the gracious words about our break-apart hero.

And there you have if for this week, Loyal Airmen.  After a long, long period of dismal, rainy weather, the tide seems to have changed and today we had wonderful sunshine.  It's a good sign.  We hope all of you are enjoying summer to max.  Take care and be careful while out there.  We'll see you here next week.
Ron- Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  Well last week we told you we were heading south to Westford, Ma., and Larry's Comic Show.  Sunday morning arrived along with more rain, which is all we seem to be getting these days.  This has clearly been one of the wettest Springs on record for the month of June.  Sometimes Ye Old Air Chief thinks this is what it must be like to live in England.  Or Seattle.

           
                                               Valerie & Ye Old Air Chief & the Jiggy Banner

Valerie brought along her along her digital camera and she did manage to snap a few photos.  The one above was taken by our pal, Jarrod Courtemanche.  We're sitting in front of our six foot tall Mr.Jigsaw banner.  And if you look sharp, Valerie's wearing one of the two remaining Mr.Jigsaw tee-shirts she kept stored away.  When we first introduced Jiggy twenty-seven years ago we decided to have a hundred tee-shirts made up to help promote the comic.  Valerie wisely stashed two of them away for safe keeping and on Sunday morning dug one up to wear, God Bless Her.  Sadly Ye Old Air Chief has put on a few “extra” pounds in the intervening years and there was no way I could fit into the other.  So I opted to wear my Airship 27 baseball shirt.  Only to spill half my cup of coffee on it while balancing a box of books through the hotel doorway.  Valerie was not too happy.  Happily the stain came out completely in the laundry after we got home.  Call me Captain Klutz.  Of course if any of you Loyal Airmen would like some Jiggy merchandise, simply click on our Air Fare page and find the link to our on-line shop where you can get tee-shirts and baseball shirts featuring our break-apart hero.
 
        
                                      Ye Old Air Chief  &  Kris Carter

Our con neighbor all day was my good friend, artist Kris Carter.  Kris is a great guy and wonderful new talent whose first professional comic series, LEPRECHAUN has just been launched by Bluewater Comics.  He's also got a great and wacky sense of humor and is one of the driving forces behind the weekly Couch Gang podcast broadcast live ever Wednesday afternoon from Larry's Comic shop in Lowell, Ma.  God willing, I hope to some day do a project with Kris.  That would be much fun.

          
                        Patrick Moreau  –    Dennis Roy  –   Jarrod Courtemanche

Speaking of the Couch Gang, three of their group made a point of stopping by our table to visit and talk shop.  I've known Patrick for many years having met him at many New England conventions in that time.  Denny, the oldest member of the group (who was kind enough to buy a copy of Domino Lady from me) and I met in New York at the Big Con back in Feb. of this year.  And the third fellow is my good pal, Jarrod, with whom I shared a room at that convention.  Jarrod is also one of our dynamite pulp writers for Airship 27 Prod. and contributed a great Secret Agent X story for the third book in that anthology series.  I'm happy to report he's working on a second for us and I can't wait to read it.  Jarrod's also an independent filmmaker and has written and produced several short films and a feature in the past six years.  Talk about a talented guy.  It was great having these Three Musketeers of Larry's Comic Shop stop by.

           
                                      Larry Doherty & Ye Old Air Chief

And speaking of Larry, here's a super pix of the two of us together.  We've known Larry ever since he opened his shop in Lowell, about twenty-sever years ago and had the distinct honor of being his first ever guest at his first convention.  Larry's a great guy and it is always a joy to do one of his shows.  Hopefully he'll get another planned soon.  The new locale, the Westford Regency Inn was a great venue and provided Larry with one huge room and two smaller ones.  Plenty of room for the vendors, the guests and the fans.  All in all the show as a great success.
Of course driving home in the same pouring rain we'd faced going down, was a pain in the you-know-what,but you can't control the weather.

On other fronts, our second-cousin, and Airship 27 writer, Jared Cantin, and his wife became parents for the first time last week, as Leigh gave birth to a beautiful baby girl they have named Kinsley.  Ye Old Air Chief tends to get sentimental when these miraculous events occur, having the feeling that every time a new baby is born, it's as if God is saying He still hasn't given up on us.  So welcome to the world, Ms.Knsely Cantin, you've already made it a better place simply by your presence in it.

Red Sox have been on a winning streak of late, relegating the Yankees to second place.  All of which is cause for celebration throughout Red Sox Nation.  On the creative front, we at Airship 27 Prod. are just about to announce the release of our newest title, hopefully at the start of the next week.  You'll read all about it right here next week for sure.  In the meanwhile, here's a little sneak-peek regarding that new title.  It's a retro-look at our beloved logo.  And that's all we'll say for now.  But it's something big!!

                                  
Have a great week, see you back here in seven days.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen, this week we're wound for sound about Larry Doherty's one day comic show happening this coming Sunday, 14th June, in Westford, Ma.
 
                    

We had the good fortune of knowing Larry for over twenty-five years now and were honored to be the first guest at his very first comic book show when he was just starting out in the business. This time Larry's going to have several comic book creator guests, to include the fellow who did the Spider-Man meets Barack Obama comic.  Also on hand, Massachusetts comic artist Kris Carter, who will be signing copies of the first issue of his new LEPRECHAUN series from Bluewater Comics.  We've known Kris for several years and it has always been his dream to be a professional comic book artist.  We are so happy for Kris and anxious to pick up a copy of this book and have him it autograph it for us.

As for Ye Old Air Chief, we are thrilled to be using this show as our Official Relaunch for MR.JIGSAW – Man of a Thousand Parts.  Valerie will be accompanying the Air Chief to the show, bringing her digital camera hopefully.  We are going to have lots of copies of issues 1, 2 & 3 for sale plus be displaying that wonderful six foot Jiggy banner we had made up a few weeks ago and previewed in this log.  So for all you Loyal Airmen living the New England area, the show will be at –
Westford Regency Inn – 219 Littleton Rd. – Westford, MA 01886  Show is from 9 AM to 3 PM.

If all you Loyal Airmen ordered a copy of Mr.Jigsaw # 3, you would have seen this above illustration on the last page of that issue.  It previews the brand new story appearing in the forthcoming issue # 4.  Our amigo, editor, Rob Davis, sent the pages of this issue off to the printers last weekend and we are anxiously awaiting word that the book is finished and available for sale.  Trust me, the second we know, we'll be shouting it over the rooftops.  Ye Old Air Chief is on Facebook and will gladly connect with any Loyal Airmen, so feel free to send me a Friend Request if you are a member.  Keep in mind, issue # 4 sports an amazing cover by artist Nick Runge which we've been purposely keeping under wraps until the book is ready.  Take my word for it, you are all going to love it.

We finally got to see the comic book movie, WOLVERINE, this past week and enjoyed it a great deal.  We thought the plot was overly complicated in the second half, when the young mutants were introduced and wished the writers would have kept the movie focused on Wolverine alone, but that's a minor quibble.  It was really was a fun, action packed flick.  Next we're hoping to eventually catch Pixar's UP, for which we are hearing nothing but raves.

On the pulp front, we're hard at work on our first Sherlock Holmes anthology and hope to have it out sometime next month.  All you Loyal Airmen who love this character are in for a treat.  And finally, there's no way we can end this week's Flight Log without a huge shout out to Red Sox with their amazing three consecutive wins against their fierce division rivals, the New York Yankees.  Three nights in a row, through cold, rainy weather even, the Sox battled fiercely and came out on top.  All we can says is, thanks for some awesome baseball and …GO SOX!!!

Ron – Over & Out!