Greeting Loyal Airmen, we're hoping many of you have gone out and ordered copies of our just released reprint of Captain Hazzard # 1 Python Men of the Lost City which has that wonderful new Mark Maddox cover.  We're still extremely happy to have that book back in our Airship 27 catalog.  As always, you can shop at our on-line store by simply clicking on to our dirigible logo to the left of this log.  As of now, we have FIFTEEN TITLES available, which range from various genres such a aviation heroes, modern day suspense thrillers, horror, fantasy and of course our bread and butter, new pulp adventures.  So if you haven't visited the store in a while, do yourself, and us, a favor and stop on by.

Well, we've really been keeping things humming writing-wise at our Pulp Fiction Review blog.  We started this on-line column two years ago and the readership has continued to grow into a really huge following.  Last week we were invited to post our reviews on a brand new internet news site called The INDenver Times.  This was formerly the Rocky Mountain newspaper which was forced to closed its doors a little while back.  They, like many newspapers out there today, have made the switch to an all digital operation on-line. Thus, in looking for new content to attract readership, they cast a big net out into the web-sea.  Which is how we were invited aboard, and have accepted happily.  Thus far they've run our last two reviews and if you would like to check them out, and the INDenver Times itself, simply log on to (http://www.indenvertimes.com/)  You'll find our reviews in the Entertainment & Leisure section.

Speaking of entertainment, from time to time Ye Old Airchief has brought to your attention movies which, for whatever insane reasons, were not releases to the theaters and went direc to DVD.  One such movie is a great action piece called, OUTLANDER.

It stars one of our favorite actors, Jim Caviezel as an alien being who crash lands in the Scandanavian wilderness during the Viking era.  When found by a village of Vikings, he warns them that his ship was carrying a hellish beast that caused his crash and it is now loose and poses a threat to all of them.  He of course offers his assitance to the Viking Leader to help hunt down this alien monster and thus, as one reviewer wisely put it, the story takes on a Beowulf meets Predator story.  The action is superb, the action fast and furious and the supporting cast includes John Hurt, Sophia Miles and Ron Perlman.  It's a dandy adventure movie and we are still amazed that it was never released to theaters.  All Loyal Airmen should at least go out and rent OUTLANDER.  You won't be sorry.  And do let us know what you thought of it. 

Sticking with the movie theme, all you Loyal Airmen will recall how we posted enjoying the new J.J.Abrams written and directed STAR TREK movie that has quickly become the biggest box-office hit of this season thus far.  It's a fresh and exciting reimagining of that classic space opera franchise with a talented young cast.  Another of the elements that added to our enjoyment of the movie was the beautiful, thrilling music score by Michael Giacchino.  Ye Old Air Chief loves movie music and has a collection of over 450 disc which we play when writing.  Giacchino has composed a grand old fashion score which uses themes to identify each of the characters and weaves them throughout the score.  It's truly beautiful music from start to finish, capturing the essence of what the adventure was all about. This one is a most welcome addition to that music library.

On the baseball front, the Red Sox swept the Detroit Tigers three games in a row and are on their way back to Fenway for a weekend set against the Texas Rangers.  Having the identical win-loss record as the rival New York Yankees, both teams are sharing the number one spot in the American League East Division.  So all is good there.  Until they can lay claim it alone.  Ha.  And this weekend, our son Scott and grandson Logan, are driving up from their home in Bethel, Conn. to spend a few days with us.  So you know we're looking forward to these next few days with much joy.  Anytime family comes to visit is a cause of celebration in Hangar 27.

That's all for this week, Loyal Airmen.  Next week we'll be gearing up to attend Larry Doherty's Sunday Comic Show.  We'll have all the details for you then. Take care, have a great week,
Ron – Over & Out.

Greeting Loyal Airmen.  We've only a few topics to touch on this week, but both are really near and dear to the Air Chief's heart.  Back in 2006 we made a dream come true by launching our pulp revival company, Airship 27 Productions.  One of the first books we wrote and produced was our re-write of the 1938 pulp adventure, Captain Hazzard – Python Men of the Lost City.  It was the beginning of our all new Captain Hazzard series.  Sadly the original publisher chose to remove all our titles from their catalog and for several years the first two books in the series were unavailable for sale.  Sale, that is, at a decent price.  We've mentioned in the past how unscrupulous book sellers were asking outlandish prices for the two books and promised you we would get them reprinted.  Well, as of today (Friday 29 May 09) the very first book is back in print, this time via our publisher, Cornerstone Book Publishers.

This new re-edited edition sports a new cover by the amazing Mark Maddox and is now available for sale at our on-line store along with all our other fine pulp titles.  Simply click on the dirigible to the left of this column.  And as always, in a few short weeks the book will be available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other fine book store outlets everywhere.  Now, all of you Loyal Airmen who have bought later Captain Hazzard books in our series but had missed out on getting # 1 can do so easily.   As of now, three of the four Captain Hazzard penned by the Air Chief are available.  The still missing title, # 2, Citadel of Fear, will be the focus of our production and with fingers crossed we'll have it ready by the end of the year.  You see, we have to squeeze it in among all the great new titles Airship 27 Productions has in the works like Dan Fowler G-Man and The Green Lama to name only a few.  Stay tuned, lots of pulp goodness on the way.

                     
                              The Air Chief & his Mr.Jigsaw Banner
On the comic front, we are thrilled to unveil our newest promotional tool, a six foot tall Mr.Jigsaw color banner.  Those of you Loyal Airmen who stop by regularly will recall our artist pal, Rob Davis, had had one of these made with our Airship 27 logo for when we attend pulp conventions.  We were so impressed with when we saw at the Windy City Pulp & Paper con last month, we thought it would be fun to have one made up featuring our Man of a Thousand Parts and so followed up with that plan.  Last week it arrived and we couldn't be any happier at how beautiful it came out.  It features the covers of the first three books in our new Mr.Jigsaw comic series. The banner will be on display for the very first time in Lowell, Ma. on Sunday the 14th of June, when we will be the guest of Larry Doherty's comic show.  We hope many of you Loyal Airmen will be able to come down and help us celebrate the official launching of Mr.Jigsaw.

And there you have it for this week, Loyal Airmen.  Thanks as ever for stopping, stay well and do something nice for someone.  Good deeds have a way of making the world better for all of us.

Ron – Over & Out!

Greeting Loyal Airmen.  Well, here it is, Memorial Day weekend and thousands of Americans have packed up the family car and are headed out of town; destination the lake, the beach, the resort, anywhere that is free of work and every day obligations.  Purpose of trips…FUN!  And that's my sincerest wish for all you Loyal Airmen this weekend, as we kick off the Summer season.  Have tons of good, clean fun!!

            
                                   Wayne Reinagel

One of our most creative Pulp Factory members is Wayne Reinagel.  If you'll recall, the Pulp Factory is the Yahoos Group I moderate and many of its members are Airship 27 writers and artists, all Loyal Airmen, every one.  Just about a month ago, Wayne posted on the board that he had just finished his latest pulp project, a detailed pulp hero time-line.  Initially upon reading those words we had no clue exactly what that could be.  Wayne went on to explain he had put together a chart starting in the 1771 and running all the way to 1954.  Then he listed every single major cultural event that could be considered relevant to pulps.  There are well over a thousand entries that cover everything from Edgar Allen Poe's birthday to the arrival of King Kong in New York City!  On this chart you'll find the birthdays of Wild Bill Hickock, Arthur Conan Doyle and….holy smokes…Ye Old Air Chief!!!  Yup, Wayne honored us by including that entry, dated 5 Nov. 1946.  Once all of us at the Pulp Factory realized what it was Wayne had done, we were naturally excited.  This single document is perhaps the greated single pulp reference work ever produced.

            
                         Wayne Reinagel's Definitive Pulp Heroes Time-Line Chart

Above is a photo Ye Old Air Chief standing proudly beside his own copy of this amazing work.  Wayne surprised all his Pulp Factory brothers two weeks ago when he showed up at the Windy City Pulp Con with a poster for each and every one of us.  Now if any of you Loyal Airmen are into pulps, whether as a creator, collector or simply a fan, you have to have this chart.  Wayne sells it at a ridiculously low price on E-Bay and eventually hopes to have copies available at future conventions.  The E-Bay URL is (http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Knightraven-Studios.)  Thanks, Wayne, and job supremely well done!

Another sure sign of the season is Hollywood's unleashing their big, splashy block-buster movies.  Again, a few weeks ago they started the ball rolling with Wolverine.  Which, according to some truly bogus TV ads, they claim is the current box-office champ.  Wrong. That auspicious title goes to Paramount studios and the amazingly entertaining STAR TREK reboot.  I'm sure by now most Loyal Airmen are aware of this film, if they haven't seen it already.  After almost thirty years of Star Trek TV shows and movies, the franchise was given a complete overhaul by writer/director J.J.Abrams.  Abrams is the creative mind behind such successes as TV's ALIAS, LOST and this year's FRINGE.   And we are here to tell you that STAR TREK may be his greatest achievement yet.  It is a roller-coaster ride from the opening sequence to the last.  The young actors chosen to portray figures we've all come to know and love over the decades are simply perfect in every nuance and detail.  Led by Chris Pine as Jim Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, this is an energetic young cast of actors who bring their A game to the movie.  Of course Valerie and the Air Chief have yet to see ANGELS & DEMONS, or TERMINATOR SALVATION, but as we write these words, the movie sitting at the top of the mountain is STAR TREK and we're laying odds it will be the one to beat.  We personally can't wait to see it again.  It's that good.

And there you have it, Loyal Airmen, this week's log.  One final thought before we sign off and one we are sure all of you have already taken to heart.  It's called Memorial Day because Monday is the day we, as a nation of free people, stop and remember those who sacrificed all for our country and our way of life.  It is right for us to celebrate and have a party, America is worth celebrating.  But never ever let us forget the men and women in uniform, past and present, stationed around the globe, guarding our beloved shores day and night from those who would harm us.  God bless every single one of them a hundred fold!

Ron- Over & Out!

                 
                      The Air Chief & Rob Davis with lots of great Airship 27 Pulp Titles.

Greetings Loyal Airmen, as I write this, my head is stuffed up and nose running like a faucet.  It's allergy time in New England again, oh yeah.  So this will be a short Flight Log.  I wanted to add a couple more pictures from the Windy City Pulp & Paper con, as I promised last week.  The one above is Ye Old Air Chief and his pal, Rob Davis, at our table in front of our very cool Airship 27 banner.  One of the big highlights of this show is the Sunday Morning Pulp Factory Breakfast Summit.  This year seven of us who belong to the Pulp Factory were in attendance.

                     
                               Rob  – Andrew  – Doug  – Van  – Ye Old Air Chief – Wayne – Dave

And here is a shot of that breakfast.  Gathered around the table prior to the final day of the convention, were Rob Davis, Andrew Salmon, Doug Klauba, Van Allen Plexico, yours truly, Wayne Reinagel and Dave Flora.  Here's hoping next year there will be even more of us on hand.  Its a fun tradition started three years ago by Rob, Doug and the Air Chief, that everyone looks forward to.

                               
                                    The Air Chief & his little angel, Kristi

Back in 1990 we bought a silver extended cab Toyota pick up truck.  It was a great little vehicle and our first grandchild, Kristi simply loved it.  One of her favorite fun things to do was sit on my lap and pretend to drive it as the photo above shows.  It was a special thing between the two of us.  Of course she kept telling Valerie and me that she wanted that truck one day when she grew all up.  We laughingly promised we would keep it in good shape and do just that.

                   
                                                             Valerie, Kristi & the Air Chief

Last Saturday that little bundle of endless energy attended her junior prom.  Our little angle grew into this beautiful young lady just like that, almost in the blink of an eye.  Where did all those years in between go?  It's moments like these that every family cherishes and ponders as time seems to race along so quickly with each passing year. Oh, and we gave her (& her younger sister) that Toyota truck last year when she got her driving license. A promise we were only too happy to keep.

That's it, got to grab some tissues.  Till next week, Loyal Airmen,
Ron – Over & …Achooo!  Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  Well the 2009 version of the Windy City Pulp & Paper show has come and gone and Ye Old Air Chief is back in Hangar 27 with tons of great memories and a few photos.  We'll spread these out over a couple of weeks so as to overwhelm the Flight Log here.  Windy City is just so much fun and once again Airship 27 Productions was smack dab in the middle of it all.

          
                          Editor/Publisher/Writer Joe Gentile & his Moonstone Books & Comics

Among all the various vendors was our old pal, Joe Gentile with all his great Moonstone pulps. In the past few years, with titles like the Spider, the Avenger and just released Domino Lady, Moonstone has joined the ranks of companies publishing exciting new pulp adventures.  It was great to hook with Joe again and learn some of his plans for the future.  Some which will include Ye Old Air Chief I'm very happy to add.  Stay tuned.

             
                                 The Air Chief and Con Promoter Doug Ellis

No convention materializes out of thin air and that includes Windy City.  It has been the baby of promoter and pulp fan supreme, Doug Ellis.  Doug launched Windy City back in 2001 with Cat Jasper.  After Cat departed for other interest in 2004, he brought on John Gunnison of High Adventure magazine.  Together they've made Windy City the premier pulp show in the country today.  We tip our hats to Doug and John for putting on such a great show year after year.

            
                       Loyal Airman John Bodnar and the Air Chief

Perhaps the biggest reason for attending shows like this is to meet up with old friends, like our Airship 27 writers and artists, and meet new ones. Such was the case this past Saturday afternoon when one of our most Loyal Airmen, John Bodnar, walked up to our table to say hi.  I've exchanged many letters with John and it was a real pleasure for me to finally shake his hand and thank him for his continued support.  Of course we also loved that John was wearing his official Airship 27 baseball cap. That earned him a nice discount on the purchase he made from our offerings.  Those of you unaware of this offer, we'll gladly repeat it here.  Anyone coming to our table at any show wearing any Airship 27 gear gets 50% off any one item on the table.  How do you get this nifty swag as John did?  Simply click on to the dirigible logo to the left of this column. That will take you our on-line book store. Once there simply scroll down to the bottom of that page and you'll find an icon to the Airship 27 merchandise store.  We've got lots of cool items there, so check it out.  And so, thanks John.  You totally made our day and we hope to see you again next year.

          
                 Writer Van Allen Plexico

One of Pulp Factory gang and Airship 27 writers, Van Allen Plexico, was also on hand and for the third year in a row was our con neighbor to our left.  Van has become a really good friend and it was a joy to hang out with him again.  We are very close to releasing Van's first novel for Airship 27 Prod., which you'll see announced right here.

     
                   Writer Andrew Salmon, the Air Chief and Airship 27 Art Director Rob Davis

Before heading out last week, we posted a picture of the gorgeous Airship 27 banner Rob Davis had made up for our con appearances.  And here's a great shot of the three amigos seated before it.  Andrew Salmon is another Airship 27 writer who has done several projects for us, including his fantastic sci-fi thriller, THE LIGHT OF MEN.  Andrew was at our left sharing a table with Van Plexico.   Happily the new banner was a big hit and all during the weekend many attendees commented on how much they liked it and our dirigible logo.  Kudos to Rob for getting this made.  And that's our first Flight Log segment of the pulp con.  Next week we'll roll out a few more pictures of friends and acquaintances that made an appearance at the show.

Meanwhile we are thrilled to announce the release of our third issue of  MR.JIGSAW – Man of a Thousand Parts.  This book is the last reprint issue and contains the three stories that first appeared on the internet.  They have never been in print before.  You can snag a copy of this fun comic by going to our Air Fare page and click on the book's cover.  All stories by the Air Chief, with all art by Gary Kato and design work by Rob Davis.  Remember when comics use to be fun?  Pick up a copy of Mr.Jigsaw and recapture that very fun.

And that's it for this week, Loyal Airmen.  We've lots of great pulp books in the wing, plus other exciting news concerning our Mr.Jigsaw, so keep on coming back to Hangar 27.  Till next week, take care.
Ron – Over & Out!

Greeting Loyal Airmen.  As most of you read this, I'll be winging my way to Chicago for the annual Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, hosted by Doug Ellis and John Gunnison.  This will be the third straight year that Rob Davis and I attend, representing Airship 27 Productions.  As you can see from the photo above taken at the recent PlanetCon in Kansas City, Rob's already publicly displayed our brand spanking new Airship 27 banner.  Doesn't it look sweet standing tall behind that table.  Will be a joy to be sitting in front of this it this weekend.   Hoping many of you Loyal Airmen will be able to come to the show and say hi.   Rob's also bringing his digital camera, so hopefully in next week's log, we'll be able to show you some very pictures taken at the show.

And that wraps up this brief Flight Log, as Ye Old Chief needs to hit the sack and get some sleep. Will be up before sunrise tomorrow morning for the ride to the airport.  Hope lots of you will be visiting your local comic shops this coming Saturday for Free Comic Book Day and have a rocking good time.  We'll see you all back here in seven.  Till then have a great weekend.

Ron – Over & Out!

Greetings, Loyal Airmen.  Well, another busy week has rolled by bringing it with all kinds of super good news. After an horrendous road trip west, the Red Sox returned to Fenway Park to themselves back to their winning ways.  Sweeping the visiting Baltimore Orioles in four and the Minnesota Twins in two, the Sox are now riding a seven game winning streak going into tonight's opening series against their number one rivals, the New York Yankees.  Both teams enjoy the same 9 – 6 record and are tied for second place in the American League East division behind the Toronto Bluejays.  So their destinies are squarely in their hands over the next three days.  Pitching will be a factor, but so will hitting and right now both those elements seem to favor the Sox.  When shortstop Jed Lowrie went on the Disabled List for a sore hand, first basemen Jeff Bailey was called up from Pawtuket to join the team.

         
                               JEFF BAILEY HAPPY TO BE BACK WITH THE SOX!!

Jeff then proceeded to show his team, and the world, that he is clearly major league caliber by hitting a three run homer his first time at bat in Wednesday night game against the Twins.  Welcome back to the majors, big guy.  Here's hoping your stay is a long one.

Well, Valerie is still out in Colorado visiting.  Ye Old Airchief has been keeping himself busy writing and editing and doing a little heavy lifting.  Note the emphasis on “little”, ha.  Our good friend, and comic retailer, Ralph DiBernardo is moving his comic shop, Jetpack Comics, in Rochester, NH, to a new and bigger location just a few blocks downtown. So he put out the word he was looking for help.  I've stopped by several times now to spend a few hours helping him and the gang load hundreds of comic boxes into his van and then unload them at the new store site.  Ye Old Airchief has never seen so many comics in all his life, and that is saying something.  Ralph hopes to have the new store open next week for the festivities of Free Comic Book Day, which, we are going to miss, as that's the same weekend we'll be in Chicago for the Windy City Pulp & Paper show.

A while back we told you that we had made a deal with a new comics publisher, Wild Wolf Entertainment allowing them to publish our graphic novel, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA.  Wild Wolf's owner, Sean Collins, promised us he would get the book out into new markets.  Well, he is certainly fulfilling that promise.  Last week the book went on sale at the popular Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble on-line.

              
                   DAUGHTER OF DRACULA
                     Cover by  Mark Maddox

Artist Rob Davis and I couldn't be happier.  In the year since we self-published this erotic horror novel, we've only been able to sell it a conventions and on-line at our sites.  We are hoping the added exposure will mean a big increase in sales.  Of course as good as these places are to show off our book, the real place we've always wanted to reach were the comic shops.  Well, good old Sean has seen to that as well as he has also made a deal for Haven to carry DAUGHTER OF DRACULA in their new catalog.  What is Haven you ask?  I'm glad you asked.  Haven is a brand new comics distributor that started up a short while ago.  For the past twenty years or so there has only been one such outfit, Diamond.  Last year Diamond took a beating in the stock market and because of this loss has had to tightened their operating procedures to include not carrying books by small, independent companies as they were unable to make a profit on them.  Thus leaving many fine comics to simply disappear as if they had never existed.  Well, Haven is going to see that doesn't happen.  As a new distributor, they are strongly going to be support the smaller comic companies by helping them reach the comic shops of  America.  One of Haven's business managers recently unveiled the cover to their new catalog, COMICS.

            
               HAVEN'S CATALOG FOR COMIC SHOPS

The magazine features a wonderful illustration by comics great, Neal Adams, and is jam packed with over a hundred pages of news, reviews and articles (several by Ye Old Airchief).  Plus, of course, the listings of hundreds of great new comic books you will certainly want to look at.  If your comic shop retailer is unaware of Haven, do them a favor and wise them up.  Tell them, as a comic book fan, you want to get this catalog and order books like DAUGHTER OF DRACULA through them.  By doing this, you'll be helping keep this industry vibrant and alive.  Without the small comic outfits and Haven to help them, your comic shops would soon only be selling you the same old DC and Marvel books.  Is that what anyone of us really want?  Or do you prefer diversity like Ye Old Airchief?  Then go out there and ask for COMICS!

Ric Croxton is a life-long pulp fan who does a weekly podcast from his site the Bookcave.  Last week he spoke with Ye Old Airchief, Airship 27 partner Rob Davis and Loyal Airman Erwin K.Roberts all about our new pulp book, JIM ANTHONY SUPER-DETECTIVE. We also talked about lots of other fun, genre topics. If you'd like to give a listen, then log on at – (http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/).  Thanks Ric, it was a blast.

Finally, the new Mr.Jigsaw series is doing great guns out there.  Thank you to the handful of comic shops who've gone the extra distance in ordering copies from us directly.  Old time Jiggy fans are coming out of the woodwork and writing to tell us how happy they are the character is back.  Believe me, so are we.  We've just seen the artwork for the all new issue # 4 and it's pure comics heaven.  But first we've got to get out # 3.  And then we're going to have another surprise announcement regarding Maine's only living superhero. So be sure to come back and stay tuned to the Flight Log.

All for now, Loyal Airmen. Have a great week, Ron, over and out!

Greetings Loyal Airmen, as you'll recall, last week we announced the release of our then newest pulp title, JAGGER -TIME SERVED by first time novelist, Jared L.Cantin.  We also ended that section of the flight log with saying there was a rather unique story behind that book and how we came to publish it.  And we promised to relate it, so here goes.  My father was one of six boys, his youngest brother was Paul.  When Paul was about 9 yrs old, World War II broke out and he saw four of his older brothers go off to fight, while the fifth, already married with a family, worked at the local Navy shipyard as a welder.  So there was Paul, for almost four years, the anchor that kept my grandparents going while the war raged.  With God's blessings, my father, and his brothers all came home.  They all married and soon started their own families.  Ye Old Chief was born in 1946, one of those post-war babies.  My Uncle Paul would have been 12 or 13 at this time.  This is a good place to tell you that Paul was a gifted artist and as a child, he spent many hours sketching away with pencil and pad.  My Grandfather Fortier was so proud of his pictures, he tacked them to the basement walls where he kept his workshop.  After I was born, my parents moved into the other half of the duplex where my grandparents, and Uncle Paul, resided.  By the time I was six, Paul was off into the navy himself.   After he was gone, I totally remember going down to my grandfather's workshop evenings after dinner to simply watch him do his wood working and that was when I discovered the beautiful pictures on his wall.  It was my first introduction to real art.  When he finished his service obligations, Paul married Madelaine, my lovely Aunt Maddy.  They had four kids, three daughters and a son.  One of those daughters, Melanie, grew up and married a Roger Cantin.  They had several children including a son, Jared.

Last Fall, Valerie and I decided to take a ride to Melanie's home, as she and Roger maintain an apple orchard and we wanted to buy some fresh apples.  Much to my delight, who do we find sitting in the open garage bay but Uncle Paul, who became all excited when he recognized me getting out of the car.  Over the years, Uncle Paul had become aware of my writing career and now wanted to show me a manuscript his grandson had just finished.  He sent my cousin, Melanie, hurrying back into the house to fetch that manuscript. By the time she had returned with it, up from the orchard came Roger and this young man, introduced to me as his son, Jared Cantin, the author of the manuscript now in my hands.  I took it home, read it and realized it was something special and decided Airship 27 Prod. would produce it for publication.  Jared couldn't have been happier.  Then as Christmas rolled along, I learned from him that Uncle Paul had been diagnosed with prostrate cancer and was having a tough go of it.  He is in treatment and it is helping him, but the process is draining and leaves him weak and tired.  Learning of his condition, I contacted everyone on the team; my partner/artist, Rob Davis, our proof reader, John Bruening, cover colorist Shane Evans and of course, our publisher, Michael Poll of Cornerstone Book Publishers.  I explained the situation and asked all of them to go the extra mile in helping get this one book done quick, so that Jared and I could have the satisfaction of presenting the first copy to his grandfather, my Uncle Paul.

    THE AIR CHIEF  – HIS UNCLE PAUL FORTIER  &  HIS GRANDSON JARED L.CANTIN

Last Saturday morning the mail delivered that first copy and I immediately called Jared.  He and his wife, and mother Melanie, joined Val and Ye Old Air Chief for a quick ride to Uncle Paul's home where we presented him with the very first copy of  JAGGER – TIME SERVED.   It was one of the happiest moment's of my life and as you can see by the photo above, Jared and his grandfather were also very, very pleased.    When I first started Airship 27 Prod., I never guessed it would one day allow me to do something nice for a man I've known and loved all my life.  I told you it was a good story.  And Ye Old Air Chief would like to now publicly thank the best book production team in the world, Rob, John, Shane and Mike.  Thank you all for making this happen.  Our family owes you guys big time.

And lest you think we at Airship 27 Prod. are about to rest on our laurels, forget it.  Hot on the heels of that last release comes our newest classic pulp anthology starring one of the greatest old time heroes, JIM ANTHONY – SUPER DETECTIVE.  As the pulpsters use to proclaim, “He's half-Irish, half-Comanche and All American!”  Originally created as a second-string Doc Savage, Jim Anthony had a short lived crime fighting career in his own magazine.  We at Airship 27 Prod. are truly excited about bringing him back in three brand new adventures for today's action hungry audience.  Writers Andrew Salmon, Erwin K.Roberts and B.C.Bell have whipped up three fast paced, thrill-a-minute tales that will have you turning pages faster than you can say…Jim Anthony!!  The book features eleven interior illustrations by Pedro Cruz and a gorgeous cover painting (see above) by the super talented Chad Hardin.  To pick up a copy of this new release, simply click on our dirigible logo to the the left of this log-entry.  Trust me, Loyal Airmen, this is one book you will love cover to cover.

And that's it for another week.  Valerie is in Colorado for the next few weeks visiting our son Alan and his family.  She and I will meet up in Chicago in two more weeks, as I'll be there to attend this year's Windy City Pulp & Paper show, and then fly home together.  On other fronts, our Red Sox got off to an horrendous start this past week on their road trip west and are now back at Fenway to start a home stand.  Here's hoping things change quickly from the lost column to the win side.

Have a great week, Ron, over and out!
 

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  This week we are really happy to announce the release of our latest Airship 27 Prod. pulp title, JAGGER – TIME SERVED by first time writer, Jared L.Cantin.  Many people believe that pulps died out long ago but nothing could be further from the truth.  Rather, they merely evolved into new print formats, ala the drugstore paperbacks.  Heroes like the Shadow and Doc Savage were replaced by the likes of Mack Bolan – The Executioner and Dirk Pitt amongst others.  There are indeed many modern pulps that continue to entertain us with tales of suspense and fast paced action to this very day.

Which is why, when the script to this modern day thriller first fell into my hands, I immediately recognized it for what it was, another modern day pulp.  And so made the decision to publish it via Airship 27 and Cornerstone Book Publishers.  It's a gritty story about a Marine veteran of the war in Iraq who comes home to start a new life only to be sent to prison for a crime he did not commit.  After seven long years in prison, he is paroled.  Shortly thereafter he receives a plea for help from a fellow veteran. A child serial killer is terrorizing a small New England town and the authorities are helpless to stop him. It requires someone with James Jagger's particular skills and training. But to answer this call, he will have to break parole and become a wanted fugitive.  JAGGER – TIME SERVED is a gripping, powerful story that kicks into high gear from the first page and never lets go until the powerful climax.  We sincerely hope all Loyal Airmen will check it out at our on-line Airship 27 store.  Simply go to the dirigible icon to the left of this log and click on to it.  And as always, thank you so much for you continued support.

Next week ye Old Air Chief will provide you with a little extra background history about this particular book and the writer.  Its a good story you won't want to miss.

Other topics of interest around Hanger 27 this week.  Our beloved Red Sox are back in action and after a marvelous opening day victory, they've had a tough go of it.  The Tampa Rays, in Boston for this three games set, handily took games two and three from the Sox, showing the world that their winning the American League Championship last year was not a fluke by any means.  This is a young, talented team and if anything, they've gotten better.  Clearly, the Sox, and other teams in this AL East division are going to have to content with the Rays.  They are winners here to stay.

LOST continues to be our favorite television show ever.  This past week's episode had us wondering just how fast any hour could fly by?  All the questions of the past four seasons are being resolved and the action is unfolding at a very fast clip.  Thumbs way up to creator J.J. Abrams and his writers.  LOST is too much fun.

Finally, we'd like to take a moment to wish all our Loyal Airmen of the Christian and Jewish faiths a truly happy and loving Easter and Passover.  This is the holiest time of the year, a celebration of life over death, through the graces and blessing of a loving God for his people.  May those blessings rain down on you, your loved ones and all the world.

Till next week, Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings Loyal Airmen.  The big news around Hanger 27 this week is the release of our second issue chronicling the adventures of Maine's only living super-hero, Mr.Jigsaw, Man of a Thousand Parts.  Continuing our reprinting of all the Jigsaw stories done in the past twenty-seven years, this issue contains 4 complete stories, each detailing young Charlie Grant's settling into his new life as Portland, Maine's new crime-fighter.  Along with the help of some new friends, he slowly make's the historical port city his home.  Artist Gary Kato and I are extremely excited about getting Mr.Jigsaw back into print and even as I write these words, he is busy drawing our all new issue # 4.  But first there will be one remaining reprint volume, which is now in production by our editor, Rob Davis.  Issue # 3 will bring together the webstrip adventures of this lovable character as they appeared on a now defunct site called Adventure Strips.  You can purchase a copy of this issue, and issue # 1, by simply going over to our Air Fare pages and clicking on the listings you'll find there. All of us here have high hopes for Mr.Jigsaw and with your support, we are going to make those dreams a reality.

The other big comic news this past week was Dynamite Comics announcing they have obtained the rights to produce a brand new Green Hornet comic book series.  This particular character was born on radio back in early 40s on radio station WXYZ out of Detroit.  From there, he was adapted into two cliff-hanger serials and then into comics, like the one pictured above.  He then resurfaced in the early 1960s as a short lived TV show starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet and the late martial artist, Bruce Lee, as his aide, Kato.  It was one of the more popular shows ever viewed.  Then in the early 1980s, ye old Air Chief helped relaunch the character with a brand new comic series at Now Comics.  We wrote the character and most of its first year was drawn by the fantastic Jeff Butler.   Few people know that the Green Hornet was the grand nephew of another famous hero invented at WXYZ Radio, the Lone Ranger.  For the past two years Dynamite has been publishing a Lone Ranger series.  With their acquistion of the Green Hornet, they become the first comics company to feature both of these characters since the old Gold Key comics of the 60s.  No announcement has been made as to when the series will debut or who the creative team on the book will be.  We wish Dynamite all the luck in the world with the Green Hornet.

On the pulp front, Moonstone Books this past week finally announced the released of their new anthology book, the Domino Lady, pulpdom's sexiest avenger.  Ye Old Air Chief was instrumental in getting this project started and has a story in it.  The book itself features two different covers, our favorite being the one shown above by that same Jeff Butler we mentioned eariler.  We think its a gorgeous work, and the design for this version was done by the super talented Anthony Schiavino.  It's been a long time in the making, but worth the effort.

Three more days to Major League Baseball's opening day.  The Red Sox will be taking on the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway on Monday afternoon, April 6th.  Sadly the weather man is predicting rain, but with fingers crossed it will come and go before game time.  Sox have a great line up this year and we're going to be rooting for them to go all the way again, to the World Series.

That about wraps it up for this week, Loyal Airmen.  We'd hoped to show off our latest Airship 27 Prod. pulp title, but it is taking just a bit longer than we had hoped.  Come back next week to check it out.  It's a really great thriller and something new for us, it's modern pulp rather than classic.  You'll see what I mean next week.
Till then, take care and start painting those Easter Eggs. The big day is coming soon!
Ron – Over & Out.