Greeting loyal airmen.  I've a lot of different things to talk about and several of them have me really wound for sound.  First up, just in time for Halloween, I will be doing a book store signing in nearby Dover, NH on Sat. 27th Oct. to promote my new novel with Ardath Mayhar, WITCHFIRE.   The store host a very fun event called the Zombie Walk, wherein lots of locals show up dressed like ghouls, then together proceed to march up and down Central Avenue causing tons of commotion, all quite harmless and thoroughly in the spirit of the season. The people of Dover love it.  Anyway, I'll be getting to the shop, located at the top of the square, across the street from the Coffee Shop, around 3 PM, just when the Zombie Walk kicks.  Beside copies of WITCHFIRE, I'll have lots of my other pulp titles and a few comic books so I hope to can join me there.  Looks to be tons of fun.

UPDATE – Monday 22 Oct.  Final arrangements.  The signing will be at Nellie Woe's Comics 'N Such located at 493 Central Ave, Dover, NH.  Phone number 603-750-0056 and I will be there from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM and the Zombie Walk will kick off at 4 PM.  Hope to see lots of you there this coming Sat. afternoon.

And getting completely into the spirit of Halloween, there's a really terrific book I want to recommend to all of you.  It was given to me as a gift last year and I finally got around to reading it.  It's called THE APOCALYPSE PARABLE : A CONSPIRACY OF WEEDS and was written by Brian Kaufman.  My full review of this excellent book is avaible at my Pulp Fiction Reviews blog (link above).  Generally that's as far as I'll go promoting books, except, again, when I think the title is something truly unique and worthy of your attention.  This is such a title.  Copies can be obtained at Amazon.com.  Trust me, this is a rare find.

Valerie flies home this coming Tuesday night and my days as Bachelor Ron are finished once again. And I couldn't be happier.  As most of you know, she spends several weeks a year out in Colorado with our son, Alan, and his family.  Two days ago she was there to help our granddaughter Cora celebrate her 13th birthday.  They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and I've come to believe that due to these regular separations we go through.  Not that I'd ever recommend it as a way to rekindle one's lost romance, ha.  A little too severe for that. On the other hand, I love knowing she's out there with them and that makes me happy too.  And of course we have all those wonderful homecomings to look forward to.  Tuesday night can't get here soon enough.

And finally, I am going to bore you with reprinting a picture I posted here only two short weeks ago.  Why?  Well because it deserves to be reposted.  THE RED SOX ARE STILL ALIVE!!!!!

And its all because of this fire breather above!  JOSH BECKETT..BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL!!!!  Last night, full of passion, talent and heart, this warrior went out in Jakes Field in Cleveland and shut down the Indians, who were dreaming of glory a little too soon.  Now the series comes back to Boston and Fenway Park for Game 6.  Can the Sox pull it off?  I don't know, but part of me is willing to accept they may not after watching Beckett's two incredible games here.  That was totally worth the price of admission.

UPDATE – Monday 22 Oct.  RED SOX WIN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT IN GAME  7 BEATING THE CLEVELAND INDIANS 11-2.   FIRST GAME OF WORLD SERIES WED NIGHT AT FENWAY PARK.  BRING ON THE COLORADO ROCKIES!!!!

There you have airmen, another Fall week.  Go out there and rake some leaves.  Ha.
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  As most of you are well aware, for the past two and a half years I have been both writing and producing brand new pulp books for Wildcat Books.  Most of these are listed for sale on my Air Fare page, with current links that take you to Wildcat's Lulu store sites where you can buy the books directly.  You can also go to the bigger houses like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to purchase these volumes.  But only up until 1 Jan 2008.

A few weeks ago, I was informed by Wildcat Books owner, Ron Hanna, that he was going to be dropping all of these titles from his Lulu store catalog come the first of next year.  That means if you have ever entertained the idea of buying and of these books, BROTHER GRIM, THE HOUNDS OF HELL, and the three CAPTAIN HAZZARD adventures, then you'd best get the lead out.  Come 1 Jan 08 and they will be gone, both from Lulu and all those other outlets.  Once he deletes the files, they are no longer carried.

But not forever.  Nope.  Part of Hanna's action was to hand over to me all publishing rights to these books.  That being the case, my art director and partner, Rob Davis, are definately making plans to reprint these titles as soon as is humanly possible.  The thing is, we are not simply going to remove the WCB info and logo, slap on our own and re-post them.  We are looking at this as a perfect opportunity to go over each of these books and make some much needed corrections and alterations.  We'll be able to fix typos that got away from us, re-do old introductions and eliminate ads that are no longer valid.  Some titles will have major revisions done to them, while others will seem unchanged upon first inspection.  But there will be differences.  The biggest of all will be addition of our new company logo, Airship 27 Productions.

                              
This snazzy logo will be appear on all our covers.  The reprinted volumes will have the added words…NEW EDITION – RE-EDITED & UPDATED wrapped around the top part of the logo to signify the book is a reprint edition.  All new titles will simply have the logo as seen here.   So, come 1 Jan 08, all those WCB book listings on the Air Fare page will disappear.  Then, as Rob and I get the revisions done, they'll be coming back better than ever.

And speaking of these new operations, the true first new Airship 27 Prod. book is in fact WITCHFIRE, which was published by Cornerstone Books a week ago.  Publisher Michael Poll informs us that the book seems to have hit the ground running and is selling extremely well.  I'm guessing a big part of this quick success is the name of Ardath Mayhar, my co-author.  Ardath's been writing sci-fi and fantasy since the late 70s and has over 57 novels to her credit. She one of the most amazing writers ever to set pen to paper.  So please, the book is up at Amazon and you really should check it out.

Moving right along.  The Red Sox start their American League Pennant contest with Cleveland Indians this weekend with two games (Fri & Sat) at Fenway Park in Boston.   Now the Indians won their place in these play-offs by defeating the New York Yankess in 3 out of 4 games first round series.  If you were watching their last game in Cleveland, when all those crazy insects invaded the field during the last few innings, I'm sure you must have been as surprised as the rest of us.  Many of those players found themselves struggling to keep those annoying pests out of their eyes while still playing the game. No one had more difficulty than the Yankees new young pitching ace, Joba Chamberlain, who clearly was flummoxed completely by the hundreds of bugs swarming over him.

Well, recently it has come to light that a professional entomologist (people who study insects) and he was able, using a telephoto lens to capture a close-up shot of one of these bugs.

                  
                                             MYSTERY SOLVED…HAHAHAHA.

And with that note, I say, Go Red Sox!  Take care, amigos and have a great week.

Ron- Over and Out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  Glad to be back home, after a great trip to Colorado.  What a difference a week and a half make.  While Val and I were out there, we kept up with the end of the regular baseball season and watched the Red Sox claim the American League East Division title for the first time since 1995, beating out the Yankees, who in turn slid into the play-offs as the Wild Card entry.  It's been a crazy, wild year for baseball.  If you're a fan, you'll know what I'm talking about, as other teams to make the post-season include the long-suffering Chicago Cubs who haven't won a World Series in 99 years!  And while in Colorado, we got caught up in the Rockies amazing 13 inning winning of a play-off game against the San Diego Padres. And now the Rockies have taken their winning streak into the play-offs having beat the Phillies soundly in their two first outings.  One more and the Phillies are kaput.

Meanwhile the Red Sox took on the Los Angeles Angels the other night in Fenway and their ace, Josh Beckett, was overwhelming as he pitched 8 fantastic innings of shut-out baseball.  Final score 4 to 0, Red Sox all the way.  Beckett was on the only 20 game winner in all of the MBL this year and I'm sick to death of hearing other pitchers being discussed as Cy Young Winners.  THE ONLY 20 GAME WINNER PEOPLE!!!  Don't give me no BS about Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia, he only won 19.  Likewise Chien Ming Wang of the Yankees, 19.  Period.  Beckett is the clear cut best pitcher in baseball today.  If you don't believe that, keep watching. There are some mighty great games coming.  Bring em on!

Before leaving last week, I did a lot of drum beating for our lastest new book from Airship 27 Productions.  Well the book is now out and that happy, handsome fellow above is none other than Rob Davis, the artist and designer of this beautiful volume.  So come on folks, if you haven't orderd a copy yet, get the lead out.  This is one of the finest books Rob and I have done to date.  It is also our first project with Cornerstone Books, a terrific publisher that deserves your support.  Again, go to the Air Fare page and click on the link.

Okay, all for this week.  Halloween in just around the corner and I'll be doing a special book signing on 27th.  More on that as we get closer.  Thanks as always for stopping by and have a great Columbus Day weekend.
Ron – Over & out.

So here we go, the last addition to this long-long log entry. Ha.  First up, I am very happy to report that I've become a regular part of an exciting new on-line pulp mag.  ASTONISHING ADVENTURES MAGAZINE.  These guys guys know pulp and their magazine is very much worthy of your time and attention if you love slam bang, imaginative tales of purple prose.  When I saw that AAM was doing book reviews, I offered them my entries at Pulp Fiction Reviews and they were thrilled to have to them.  I've added a link to their site on the Link Page (its the Monkey in the fedora!) and urge you to go check them out.  They've got some exciting projects in the works.

Secondly, Michael Poll of Cornerstone Books has officially put WITCHFIRE up on his website and a sample chapter as well.  So if you're a wee bit curious and haven't ordered a copy yet, then go to our Airfare Page, click on to his link and read Chapter One for free.  Now how's that for savvy marketing?

There you have it, airmen.  Tomorrow we're off to Colorado.  Our Red Sox have made the play-offs, since I wrote parts 1 & 2 and are entering the last regular week of the season.   I should be home just in time to cheer them on as they finals crank up.  See you all back here Friday 5th Oct.  Until then, stay safe and happy.
Ron – Over & Out
                                                               (PART 2)

Greetings loyal airmen, and here it is Friday and Part 2 of this post.  Our ups and down with the DAUGHTER OF DRACULA files seem to have been resolved, fingers crossed.  There was some kind of glitch between Rob sending Ka-Blam the files and their being able to download them.  Last night Rob contacted Ka-Blam owner, Barry Gregory, and they worked out a process that solved our problem.  Hopefully by the time I get back from Colorado, the book will be getting printed. 

As for the above mentioned trip, Tues. 25 Sept, we are once again flying off to Ft.Collins, CO. to visit with our son, Alan, and his family.  I'll be coming home the following Tues, 2 Oct, with Val staying on for a longer stay.  Ergo there will be no Log Entry next week.  Which really works well, as it allows me to leave up this goregous cover to WITCHFIRE by Rob.   You've ordered your copy, right?  No?  Well, gee, what are you waiting for?  As I state below, it makes great reading for Halloween, but at the same time it is a romance too, so you ladies out there would enjoy it as well.  And just so you know, I've dreams of it one day being sold to Hallmark and being turned into a made-for-TV-movie.  But for that to happen, I need you loyal airmen to pick up a copy.  And as always, thanks so much, each and every one of you who have supported my efforts in the past.

Finally, before signing off today, I have add the following movie review.  Val and I went to see the hyperactive action flick SHOOT EM UP with Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Monica Belucci.  The movie is a rocket ship ride of non-stop, way-over-the-top action straight out of a Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoon.  Sure its bloody and violent, but again, cartoon violence that no sane person could ever take for reality.  So a big thumbs up to SHOOT EM UP.  It's just too much fun.  That's it for Part 2.  Come back in a few days to see Part three, which I hope to log in Monday night. 

Ron Over and Out.

                                                                 (PART 1)

As you would expect, loyal airmen, the simple plans of mice and men often go awry.  Don't know who said that, but it certainly sums up the past few days at the old Hanger 27.  Okay, per last Friday's Log Entry, Rob and I have put the comic graphic novel files up at Ka-Blam, the internet publishing site, but alas it looks like it is going to take longer to get up and loaded than we had anticipated.  So hang in there, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA is coming.  On the other hand I heard from Cornerstone Publisher Michael Poll telling me that our new novel, WITCHFIRE, written by yours truly and Ardath Mayhar, will be out by the 8th October.  This coming Friday, Michael is going to start taking orders at his Cornerstone Books site. All of which has prompted me to do something I've never done here before.

This is a terrific adventure about a young woman living in a modern metropolis who just happens to be a white witch.  Her name is Morgan Rein and she uses her arcane skills to help others.  What she doesn't know is that her long lost brother, an evil warlock who dissappeared years before, has returned and now wants to destroy her.   What ensues is a powerful battle between good and evil, with our heroine finding aid and support from a motorcycle riding physics professor named Dancer McCoy.  The cover and nine new interior illustrations are provided by the amazing Rob Davis. If you like fast paced action with colorful, human characters set against the backdrop of magic, please consider picking up a copy.  It is the perfect Halloween read.  And….

      I AM TAKING ADVANCED ORDERS FOR THIS BOOK NOW!!  The book will retail for $18.95 – that is the price you will find when it appears at the publisher's site on Friday.  I will eventually put a link up on our regular Air Fare page.  But for now, as a Halloween treat for all you loyal airmen, here's the offer.  If you order a book from me before Halloween, I will autograph it for you.

Anyone interested in buying a copy can send me a check (made out to Ron Fortier) for $20.  The extra buck will defray the cost of shipping.   Send your check to –
Ron Fortier
89 Buffumsville Rd.
Somersworth, NH 03878-3010

I also have a Pay-Pal account so you can pay me via that route.  My only request is should you pay for a book via Pay-Pay, please be sure to E-mail me with your mailing address so I'll know where to send the autographed copy.  Finally, on the 25th of Sept., Valerie and I are off to Colorado again to visit our son, Alan, and his family.  I will be gone a full week, so there will be no new Log Entry that week.  But I am hoping to add to this one later this week…ergo the Part 1 title.  Please, stop by Friday, there should be a Part 2 added.

As always, thanks so much for you support,
Ron – Over and Out

Good day, loyal airmen.  This week allow me to rant a bit about one of my favorite pet peeves, television commercials.  Don't me get me wrong, I watch as much TV as the next guy, although mostly the sci-fi and cartoon networks, and of course Red Sox baseball.  Still even with this limited exposure, I am swamped every evening with dozens of mindless, illogical, idiotic messages urging me to BUY! BUY! BUY!  Let's look at some of the worst offenders.

Many years ago, please don't ask me how they did it, but active consumers convinced the American public, and congress, that cigarettes were so bad for us, it was nothing short of criminal that we allowed the tobacoo companies to advertise them on the Boob Tube.  And lo and behold, one day the Marlboro man was gone and no one was lighting up a Lucky in front us anymore.  Obviously that's a good thing, right?  Maybe, but this is what I'd like to get resolved.  If smoking was so bad for the American public, why is it we still allow ads to sell alcohol?   Please, nobody can convince me that drinking beer every single day of your life is good for you.  I know people who do that and they are called alcoholics.  Some of them even drive cars after getting drunk and kill and maim hundreds of innocent lives. Yet I don't remember once, in our hallowed campaign to rub out cigarette advertising where one person related a story ala, “Yeah, Frank had smoked too much that night, almost a whole pack.  Then he got in his car and ran over a little old lady.”  Come on!  Give me a break!  And don't start yelling about the dangers of second hand smoke.  I'd much rather be in a room with three smokers than on the road with one drunk driver.

But hey, it's okay to sell booze on TV.  Never mind that most of the beer commercials are obviously aimed at the moronic males who would prefer to drink than do anything else in their lives.  I'm reminded of the idiot standing in front of his fridge waiting for the beer bottle to get cold, which is supposedly more important to him then his wife learning she is pregnant.  And we're suppose to think this is a “funny” commercial.  Personally I feel sorry for the new baby who is going to have this jerk for a father.   Ouch.

Okay, enough about the beer and alcohol crowd.  Let's see what else is being shoved down our throats daily.  I don't know about you, but when I was growing up I didn't have a clue what drugs were out there or what they could or could not do for me.  Thus, when I got sick, I did something very radical, I went to a licensed doctor and let him take care of me.  To include prescribe what meds I should be taking.  And you know what, it was a very good and sound system that worked extremely well.   The only problem with it today is that it doesn't afford the poor (chuckle) pharmaceutical companies to make their ludicrous profits, which they so avidly crave.   How do I know this, because I watch TV!   Yup, every single night I'm informed off all these maladies I might possibly be suffering from and the solution is this amazing new drug and that I should call my doctor immediately (..hey, who cares if it's Sunday night and the guy is at home relaxing?) and …ASK HIM ABOUT IT!!!

Not only are our airwaves being used for irresponsible marketing to garner the drug folks more cash in their coffers, but at the same time they are cleverly brainwashing an entire generation of hypochondriacs who are convinced they have every sickness ever recorded since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden.  Where will it stop?  I mean how many pills are we suppose to be taking?  Most doctors will tell you the fewer the better.  But what do doctors know?  I mean, if we have to ASK THEM! 

And let's not forget the real irony here in regards to crass commercialism.  Should you take drugs that have serious side affects that leave you paralyzed, don't worry, your spouse can hire any one of the bazillion personal injury lawyers on the Boob Tube and sue those awful drug people!   You just got to love free enterprise.  Personally, and sincerely, I think both alcohol and drug ads are immoral and should follow the way of the cigarette ads.  The one true victim in this media bliz is we, the consumer.  The people who make these commercials, for the drug and alcohol companies, think we're stupid.  Please, let's not prove them right.

                                        
Finally, Rob Davis and I are only days away from releasing our 108 pg erotic horror graphic novel, DAUGHTER OF DRACULA.  The wonderful illo above (by Rob) is the inside front cover of the book.  I am holding off showing the color cover until the book is actually available for sale.  I promise you, it will knock your socks off, it is so beautiful..and sexy.  Please, for the first time since I've started this weekly log, I am encouraging you to come by daily.  For as soon as the book is out, I am going to post that cover here…and I am NOT waiting until next Friday to do so.  It's that gorgeous.  So there you go.  Come back soon.

And as always, thanks for stopping by, it is always appreciated,
Ron – Over & Out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  At the risk of sounding too melancholy, I'm going to jump around this week and discuss a few things that have been on my mind this past week.   Last week-end, Labor Day, we closed up the pool once again.  Now when looking out the kitchen window to the back yard we no longer see the clear reflective rays off the sun off the shimmering water, but rather a long, drab gray piece of canvas locked down to the patio as if burying some unwanted family secret.   An all too short season having come to a close again.

Now we enter that undecided period where you could wake up to cool morning and think a false frost was on the way and then by noon time be sweltering in hot, dog-days September weather.  Lots of state fairs popping up all over the region these days.  Veggies unpicked in gardens are starting to turn overly ripe and in danger of spoiling on the vines.  And if those tomatoes haven't turned red yet, most likely they never will.  Time for a little fried GREEN tomatoes.  Another big change are the return of those noisy, cumbersme yellow school buses roving our streets in the wee hours of the morning collecting their raucous, energetic and often times sour faced riders.  Yup, school is back in session, oh joy, oh joy.  If you're Mom & Dad, you are probably dancing a jig about now.  If you're Junior and Sissy, you are wondering where the hell summer went to and how can a teacher be so heartless as to give out homework assignments on the FIRST DAY BACK!!  That's just wrong!

Of course with the return of school, so too come the afternoon soccer games.  Both our granddaughters, Krisit and Chelsea play and we try to make as many of their games as we can.  Kristi started her sophomore year of high school the other day, Chelsea entered seventh grade.  It is obviously clear that they are not little girls anymore and overnight, or so it seems to Val and I, they have morphed into beautiful young ladies.  Kristi even has a steady beau! Watching her march off the soccer field the other night, surrounded by her laughing and giggling girlfriends, another much more serious thought crossed my mind.   Kristi is learning to drive now, as are most of her peers.  Soon she will be applying for and taking her driver's test.  And that does scare me.  Oh, not because I think she is unprepared or irresponsible.  Quite the opposite.  But unfortunately she is not every teenage girl and boy getting their licenses this year.  And it seems, by all accounts and recorded data, more and more of these wonderful, innocent young adults are getting into tragic accidents resulting in the loss of life.  I'm sure all of you airmen, from wherever part of the country you reside in, are familiar with dozens of stories of young people dying in such collisions, the promise of their lives cut short in one frightful moment of recklessness.

Automobiles are not toys.  Driving them requires care and concentration at all times.  And it is the responsiblity of every parent out there to teach that to their young teenagers before they get the keys to the family car.  Sadly in a world where most adult drivers don't practice good driving habits (…ah..the cell phone to the ear while trying to navigate at high speeds through a traffic jam).  Those are the kinds of examples we give our kids.  Shame on us. All of us. If you have a son or daughter, niece or nephew, grand kids, getting their licenses this year, please, take a moment with them to explain the severity of what they are about to take on.  Teach them not only to be good drivers, but to always, always look out for the other guy.  That's all any of us can do.  Then maybe we'll be attending lots more soccer games and graduations as we should, with happy hearts and not tears.

I'm off to the dentist once again in a few hours.  A couple of old fillings need replacing.  Wish they could come up with some kind of “stuff” that was permanent.  Now wouldn't that be something?  Oh, and before I leave you all. Two really cool new movies are out today.  One is a cartoony shoot'em up called…SHOOT'EM UP.  What else?  Looks like pure escapist fun for all us action junkies.  The other is a remake of a classic western, 3:10 TO YUMA, that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and was based on an Elmore Leonard story.  I plan on seeing this new, action heavy remake, but would urge you to find the original if you've never seen it.  It really is a classic. I hope the remake lives up to it.

Have a great week, Ron, Over and Out.

Well loyal airmen, here we are.  The Labor Day weekend is here and with it the unofficial end of summer.  In fact we are closing up the pool tomorrow afternoon.  Much to our annual frowns, groans and moans that the season, at least here in New England, really is too short.  You no sooner start getting a steady diet of nice, warm weather and then zap, it's over.  September rushes kids back to school and within a month, all the leaves will change color and fall to the earth.  Bare bones, skeletal limbs will reach outward welcoming the first cold frost of winter,  Sorry to be waxing poetic, but it's simply that we do enjoy those short summer weeks so much.  Then again maybe their brevity is the why of that appreciation.  Oh well, it's the weather.  What can you do?

                             
One of the most enduring comic strip heroes is the Ghost Who Walks, THE PHANTOM.  Created in 1936 by writer/artist Lee Falk, he was not the first strip super hero, but he was the first to wear a skin-tight outfit and not show his eyes through his mask slots.  Both of which have become comic book standards.  Falk did both write and draw the black and white daily strip for the for two weeks of its existence and then he was assigned an artist by the syndicate.  Since those days, the Phantom has gone on to thrill fans in pratically every entertainment venue you can name.  There was a 40s cliffhanger serial with Tom Tyler that was wonderful.  And most recently the big budget actioner that starred Billy Zane.  Although it did not do well here in the states, it was a big success overseas where the character is still highly popular.  Note, the above sketch of the Phantom and his wolf, Devil, was rendered by my good friend, Tom Floyd.  If you would like to know more about this purple clad hero, go to the internet's own Wikipedia.  The entry there is very complete and fun to read.

I bring this all up because my latest published fiction is a Phantom short story.  You see, Mooonstone Publishing, which puts out the Phantom comic books, has just released the first ever Phantom prose anthology with 17 brand new adventures of the Ghost Who Walks.  Besides your humble air crew chief, this beautiful volume features tales by Martin Powell, Steven Grant and other well known writers of the fantastic.  Again the book is now available in books stores, comic shops and on-line, so if you like fast paced action starring a truly classic American hero.  Please, go out and pick up a copy.  Then drop me a line and let me know how you liked it?  Feedback on any of my books is always most welcome.

Lastly, after watching it for three weeks in a row, I am throwing in the towel on the Sci-Fi channels new Flash Gordon series.  It is so cheaply done and ill conceived, it is actually painful to watch.  Flash Gordon, much like the Phantom had his roots in the newspaper strips of the 30s.  He was the creation of writer/artist Alex Raymond.  And like the Phantom, was later translated into all kinds of media.  Buster Crabbe portrayed him to perfection in three amazing serials from Universal that are still fun to watch.  At least they had imagination, something completely lacking in this new series.  When I first learned the show would not have any spaceships or ray blasters, I knew things did not bode well for this iconic hero.  Sure enough, the episodes come across as cheap rip-offs of SLIDERS, whereas Flash and company go from one planet to another via these silly warp holes in the air.  No intergalactic space travel…NO ROCKET SHIPS!!!   Look, I do understand that it costs lots and lots of money to produce a TV series, but even a budget minded show should have good stories.  Ironically Sci-Fi has slated the turkey right after another cheaply produced hour show, only one that has so much imagination, as a viewer I simply laugh off the cheap FXs.  That show is the new DOCTOR WHO and it is one of the best shows on TV today.  The people responsible for Flash Gordon should take a serious look at that program.  Maybe they could learn a thing or two.  But for a later time.  Right now I just want this awful mess gone.  The sooner the better.

There you have it, airmen.  I hope all of you will have a fantastic Labor Day weekend and send off the summer of 2007 with a bang.  Ron, over and out.

Greeting loyal airmen.  Here we are watching August roll by and all too soon summer will be over and just another memory to add to the collection of life.  Been doing a lot of that this past week, remembering various things because of events or situations that have arisen.  The past, for most of us is a foundation and no matter how much we grow and rise in the world, it remains the constant taht supports us.  Or, if you want to be whimsical, it's the anchor you simply cannot shake free off.  Here's a couple of examples of that.

As a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s, we did not have the luxury of today's sophisitcated entertainment toys. I still remember life without television, of sitting around on Saturday afternoons and my parents read comic books (westerns for him and romance for her) and listened to the big old wooden radio in the living room corner.  When that first black and white Zenith arrived, we all thought we'd died and gone to heaven, so overwhelmingly outrageous was the invention of TV.  But I digress, back to my tale.

We did have a stereo phonograph and my mother bought lots of albums, in particular those of Broadway musicals that featured the original casts.  One of her favorites, which she played over and over was Roger and Hammerstein's classic, SOUTH PACIFIC.  For the rookies out there, this wonderful musical play was based on two short stories in writer James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize winning collection, TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC.  The musical tells the story, in truly wonderful songs, of a Navy nurse who falls in love with a French plantation owner and must come to grips with her inbred prejudices, all set against the backdrop of a cruel war in paradise like world.  Songs like SOME ENCHANTED EVENING, BALI HAI, and YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME, have since become standards recognized all over the globe.  Never mind that, I was hearing these tunes almost daily during my formative teen years and can actually remember riding the bus my freshmen year of high school humming them to myself.  Heaven forbid my pals would have heard me sing show tunes! 

Now jump ahead an entire lifetime and Valerie informs me last week and the Hackmatack theater, a real country barn turned into a theater for summer stock located in the nearby community of  North Berwick, Me., is doing SOUTH PACIFIC.   She then proceeded to call and reserve four tickets to the second matinee and we invited both our mothers to attend with us.  The show was yesterday afternoon and it was absolutely fantastic.  The cast was extremely talented, in fine voice, all of them, and I could see my mom was having the time of her life.  Never mind that she, yours truly, and 90% of the audience were mouthing the lyrics with each and every song.  It was such a fun experience.  Small summer stock theaters like this one operate all around the country and are fine teaching venues for these talented actors and musicians.  If there is one near you, I hope you'll take the time to see a show and support them.  This would be such a sadder world without live theater.

                                       
My second trip into the past deals with my association with the Green Hornet comic book series.  It is the one comic series I am most remembered for and I'm quite proud of my work on it.  Over the past month or so there is has been lots of media attention focused on the character because a new movie is supposedly in the works to star comic actor Seth Grogen.  I personally hope it never gets made.  Grogen is a comedian and …well, I really just hope this dissappears fast.  Meanwhile I was contacted several days ago by a young writer who is putting together what he says will be the definitive history of the character, from his birth on WXYZ Radio in Detroit in the 1930s, to his film and TV appearances and finally his comic career.  To that end this fellow is hoping to pick my brain on all the whens and hows of our particular comic series.  And once again I'm digging into the vault of memories and mentally reliving some truly wonderful times in my life.  I'll keep you posted on this project as it develops.  The above illo is by my good friend, Blake Wilkie.

Finally a few more tid-bits to wrap up this week's entry.  Last week I mentioned we were going to see the new sword and sandal film THE LAST LEGION.  Well we did and it gets a big thumbs up.  Sadly the studio behind this feature is not giving it any real support, so I suspect it won't be out long.  If you like great action with a smidgen of fantasy, I strongly urge you to see THE LAST LEGION before it's gone. 

This week's Pulp Fiction Review features my comments on the first ever Ms. Tree novel by her creator, Max Allan Collins.  Comic fans will know this was one of the most original comic characters ever done in the past twenty years and at long last she has her own book.  Check out my link above for the full review.

And lastly, I would like to offer my condolences to the family of the late comic artist, Mike Wieringo, who died suddenly last week.  Mike was a relatively young man, in his mid-40s I believe, who drew with a unique style that was both beautiful and fun.  His work was a breath of fresh air in a media that is all too often rife with the same old stuff.  But not Mike, his art was just gorgeous..and again that word, FUN.  His passing was a shock to all of us who love comics and he will be sorely missed.

That's it for another week, airmen.  Here's hoping you all get out there and enjoy the last of summer with abandon fun.  Go make some new memories.  Ron – Over and Out.

Greetings loyal airman. This is going to be a fast Log Entry, as we hope to go out later this morning and catch a matinee movie.  I'll be discussing that movie shortly.  But first up, take a look at my latest piece of pulp action.
                                      
                                       

Father Michael Ryan was a marine chaplain during the Pacific Campaign in World War II.  Upon his return home to Federal City, he finds his old neighborhood under siege by a new enemy, organized crime.  With a bat in one hand and a rosary in the other, this battling padre is going to fight the good fight and clean up the streets.  This new chapter book is now on sale and I hope you'll check it out  I've posted it on our Air Fare page with a link to the store site.  The book was produced and designed by my pal Anthony Schiavino, and the gorgeous art throughout is by the talented Dave Flora.  I think its a winner and hope you'll agree.

I have always been fascinated by the King Arthur legend and over the years have collected many books, both historical and fictional dealing with this magnificent King of Brittania and the stories of the Knights of the Round Table.  I also have many movies on the theme, some great, others so-so.  Above is a statue we found during one of our vacation trips to Florida years ago. Arthur getting ready to free the magic sword Excalibur from the stone in which it was imprisoned, awaiting the rightful king.  It's a beautiful piece and I marvel at it every time I look it.  So why this discussion?  Several months ago I discovered a new book which you might say is a prelude to the entire legend.  Every wonder exactly where Excalibur came from and how it ended up in that stone?

That's the plot of THE LAST LEGION by italian writer, Valerio Massimo Manfredi.  It is an exciting, wonderful adventure book that starts in Italy during the last days of the Roman Empire.  I've written a complete review if you are interested, and its posted at my Pulp Fiction Review site (see link above).   No sooner had I started reading this fun book when I learned Hollywood had actually made a film loosely based on it.   And that is the movie Valerie and I hope to be seeing in the next few hours.  I hope all of you will also have a terrific weekend.
See you back here in seven days.

Ron – Over and Out.

Greetings loyal airman.  Looks like I'm going to be a few minutes later posting this week.  Was a very hectic morning for your old Air Chief.  I had an early dentist appointment.  Simply a regular cleaning, but you have to know you can never get out of a dentist's office so easy.  Nope, amidst all the plaque scraping and whatever, my dentist discovered two old fillings that need replacing.  Oh joy, oh joy.  Schedule another visit at this fun emporium.  Sorry, gang, but I am too old to think of dentist offices as anything but a torture chamber.  Call it a generational thing, but that's how I'm wired.

Meanwhile, as I sat in that chair, my feet pointing to ceiling and my mouth full of someone else's hands, one of the receptionist entered the room and said I'd just gotten a call from home to stop at my mother's house after leaving.  Of course I immediately knew 83 year old Mom was going to be sending me off other errands.  By the time I finally left the dentist, ran Mom's errands, and a few of our own, it was past 11 AM and I still hadn't had anything to eat all morning.  Came home to find Val had made one of my favorites, chili, and I didn't waste any time having an early lunch.  Now noon is only ten minutes away and I here I jot this week's Flight Log.  This one is about how some movies are very much like a good wine and the last book by a true great pulp writer.

Way back in 1987, Tri-Star pictures released a wonderful little horror gem called THE MONSTER SQUAD.  It was co-written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black, directed by Dekker.  Dekker had been a long time fan of the classic horror-comedy, ABBOT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, the Universal black and white movie wherein that classic comedy duo meet all the three top horror monsters, Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman.  Dekker's idea was what would happen if the same monsters were to meet up with a group of kids much like the old LITTLE RASCALS gang.   And thus was THE MONSTER SQUAD born, made and released, Dekker even threw in the Mummy and the Creature From the Black Lagoon for good measure.  Sadly what Dekker didn't take into account was  the studio wouldn't know how to market the finished movie.  Sure enough, upon seeing the trailers (previews) with all those scary monsters, parents opted to keep their children away from this movie.  Couldn't have the little ones having nightmares now, could we?  And so Dekker's briliiant, funny film came and went and was relegated to the video afterlife.

And that's where things started to take a turn for the better.  You see, once released on video tape, sales did well as now parents could actually view the movie before their kids.  Once they realized it was pretty much harmless fun, the kids got to see it.  As for those of us who never saw the tape, well, God bless cable TV because, good or bad, that's where all movies do end up.  Which is where I first saw THE MONSTER SQUAD and I remember liking it a whole lot.  I love the story about how the classic monsters invade a small town in the USA and the only ones who are aware of their presence is a group of imaginative, fun loving kids.  It is up to them to battle the monsters and save the day.  I also liked that the classic monsters were extremely well respected in this outing and it was clear to see in every scene that Dekker and his crew truly wanted to make something special.
And they did.  It just took us a little longer to find it.

And find it we did, all us lovers of wonky, monster movies.  Twenty years rolled by and an entire generation of tykes grew up loving this long forgotten movie.  Of course Dekker, his crew and his cast had absolutely no idea what a cult following their efforts had garnered.  Then a few years ago Dekker was called by people putting on a monster convention and asked if he and some of the cast might like to be guests.  He and a few of the actors accepted believing they would show up, meet a few dozen fans and that would be it.  What they found instead was a long – long line of devoted, fanatical people who had grown up loving their movie!  Suddenly, after twenty years, THE MONSTER SQUAD was a hit!  Honestly, and its popularity continues to swell.  After that first convention, Dekker and company attended several others, each one bigger and better.  Finally two weeks ago, Liongates Film released a 2 Disc- Anniversary DVD of the film.  It sold out everywhere, from the shelves of the big chain stores like Best Buy, Circuit City and Wal-Mart, to all the on-line DVD sellers.  Deep Discount for two weeks ranked it as its number one seller, and within the first few days of its release had sold out their stock and was hurriedly doing re-orders.  I'm imagining right now someone at Lionsgate is both stunned and delirously happy.  They have a classic on their hands.

Perhaps the most popular sleeper movie of all time was Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.  To an refutable part of the Christmas season, the movie actual was a flop when it was released in 1946.  A complete dud at the box office.  But once it landed on TV many years later, it would build and find a receptive audience that understood what the movie goers had missed.  Very much like THE MONSTER SQUAD today.  Ergo, my thoughts on how a really good wine is one that sits in a cellar for decades before it is opened.  The aging process being a vital part of the ultimate taste experience.  So too certain movie masterpieces that somehow slip by as at the movie hall, only to ferment on the cable channel for years on end until we, the jaded audience, are ready to come around appreciate their delight.  Bravo Fred Dekker and MONSTER SQUAD FOREVER!!

                                
Finally, as most of you know my second web home is my Pulp Fiction Review column.  See the link above this entry.  I love doing these reviews and am pleased to tell you I have a very loyal core of readers.  Recently among the latest batch of books to arrive at the old Hangar 27 was the very last mystery thriller by the late Mickey Spillane, DEAD CITY.  Spillane, who died last year, was one of the finest American writers to ever spin a tale.  This final book, produced after his death by his protege, mystery writer Max Alan Collins, is a steerling effort by a master who was at the top of his game to the end.  For my full review, clink on to the lin above.

And that, loyal airmen, wraps up another week.  Thanks as ever for stopping by,
Ron – Over and out.