Greetings loyal airmen.  Well here we go into Memorial Day weekend, with Americans across our great land all ready to celebrate and kick off the official start of the summer season.   And hopefully, somewhere in all that partying, we take a few minutes to remember the brave men and women who gave up their lives so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we hold so dear.

What with the warm weather finally here, I found myself out mowing my yard for the first time this past week  This has always been a Zen like chore for me, as I really enjoy being outside (allergies not withstanding) and pushing that little machine back and forth across the grass in a set pattern.  All too often my mind begins to wander and I get reflective.  What with Memorial Day coming, my thoughts centered around our current world situation and the war in Iraq.  A war foisted upon us by Islmatic fanatics who desire nothing less than our complete subjugation.  I am constantly befuddled when I hear Americans denouncing the war and demanding our withdrawal.  Have I missed something?  I mean, we did not ask for this conflict.  We have no grudges against these people.  But they certainly do against us.  They desire nothing less than the complete and utter destruction of our society and way of life.  They don't even try to hide these goals, but preach them whenever they are given a platform to do so.  They oppose freedom of speech and religion.  Islamic terrorists have only one goal and that is a world ruled by fundamental Islamic law.  Women would become no more that slaves, and all of us would have to bow down to the Ayatollahs as semi-gods.  Certainly not a world I want to live in.

And yet, again, there are those among us who think by simply getting out of Iraq, these madmen will be placated and leave us alone.  Duh?  Sheer naivete.   Let me assure you, if we pull out of Iraq without the people there able to self-govern themselves, then the fighting will continue…here on America's streets.  And the people being bombed and butchered will be our women and children.  Yet people like TV personality, John Stewart rants about how sick he is being accused of giving aid and support to the enemy when he criticizes the war.  I'm sorry he's so sensitive, but again, Islamic terrorist don't see our peace-marchers and protests as signs of America's strength.  Remember, they have no concept of a true democracy.  They see our protests as a lack of will on our part.  They are resolved to destroying us.  That our own people rail against our President and actively campaign against his policies of defending our shores certainly bolsters their cause and determination.  So, yes, John Stewart, protesting the war publicly does indeed give comfort to those madmen.  It lets them think they can win.

I'm also sick to death of TV anchors who night after night continue the falsehood that all Americans oppose the President and this war.  Another lie.  There are hundreds, nay, thousands of us, who do not want to see these battles fought on US soil and we continue to pray and support both our beleagured President and our armed forces.   I just have a hard time understanding people who just don't get it.  To which my wife, in her wisdom, one day answered my quandry with, “They've never worn the uniform, nor taken the oath.”  And she was right.  Every young man and woman who joins the armed forces, raises his right hand and swears an oath of fidelity to America and her constiution.  They make a sacred promise to fight, and if need be, die for what America stands for.  And I don't know one single soldier, marine, sailor or airmen who has ever taken that oath lightly.

This weekend we honor the memory of men and woman who honored that oath to the end.  They were more than just citizens, they were patriots.  John Steward may be a citizen of the USA, and I respect him for that status, but he will never be a patriot nor have a clue what it is to be one.   My father served in World War II, I was in Vietnam and my son spent six years with the Army Reserve.   We know what that word means, and when we sing the national anthem, “..home of the brave and the land of the free.” will always tug at our hearts.
God bless America.

Ron – over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  Seems like once again Mother Nature had chosen to withhold the warmth of Spring from our faces.  After what appeared to be a few short weeks of warmth and sunshine, we are once more waking up daily to gray skies and dark clouds.  Rain falls steadily and the word gloom seems to pervade every single aspect of our daily routine.  In a nutshell, airmen, it's just plain depressing and takes every ounce of energy to maintain some kind of positive attitude these days.

Yesterday morning, seated by our big bay window that looks down over the yard, the street, then to the copse of pine trees to the river at the bottom of the gulley, I was simply comtemplating as yet another gloomy day.   At which point, out of the scrub and brush, almost directly opposite our driveway, a deer materialized.  It was a female, a doe, and a very good sized creature she was.   She stood for a few seconds, her back to the trees and river, looking up and around.  Thankfully there was no traffic on the road and she began to sniff the air.  By now I was sitting up and taking notice of her with all the attention I could focus.  Deer are beautiful animals and she was no exception, with a mottled fur of light brown over her back, on tall, thin legs, she made her way along the dirt apron beside the roadway, staying near the tree line all the while.  Then when she was directly across from me, she turned and casually walked back into the forest and dissappeared.

In the almost twenty five years we have lived out here, on the outskirts of town, along the river, Valerie and I have seen a managerie of woodland creatures from the usual assortment of squirrel, groundhogs, beavers and skunks, to the more exotic foxes, wild turkeys.  One time a huge, bull moose, appeared at that same bay window, standing
eye to eye with Valerie when she opened the curtains that morning and got the shook of her life.   All in all it is truly part of the charm of living out from the center of town, this ability to enjoy and marvel at nature's creatures in their own, unfettered domain.   They remind us, as did the deer yesterday, that we do not inhabit this world alone and that these magnificent creatures are also the work of the Divine Creator, for us to respect, admire and care for.  Seeing that beautiful doe turned my day into a happy one, despite the gray skies.  Which only goes to prove, there is always something to lift your spirits, if you stay awake to see it.

Finally, just so you don't think I've been completely lazy these past few weeks, I thought I'd post a few preliminary pencils from the new childrens book Valerie and I have been putting together with artist Gary Kato.  It is almost completed and will be published to help support a brand new childrens park being built out in Colorado, where our son, Alan, lives.  More on all of this, and where and how to purchase a copy, when the book is completed.  Hang in there.

                

The above are a couple of rough sketches of the cover and some of the characters..   Not to worry, it will be in full color when done.  It's a fun project and we are so anxious to have it done and out there.

And that's it for another week from Hanger 27, airman.  Take care, Ron.  Over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  Well, last week at this time I was in a plane flying to Chicago where I would attend the Windy City Paper & Pulp Convention.  It was my first time at this particular convention and I didn't know what to expect.  I'm very happy to report it was one of the most enjoyable weekends I have ever experienced.  My good of some twenty-five years, artist, Rob Davis, was decent enough to pick me up at Midway Airport.  We would be sharing a room during the show.  It was the first time Rob and I had ever met face to face, and it truly was as if we've known each other all our lives.  He's a great guy and terrific roomate.

Once we were registered in our hotel, we headed for the Sheraton where the convention was being held.  This all taking place in a suburb known as Arlington Heights.  It is truly a beautiful area.   Once at the show, we again signed, received our badges and went to set up our table.  I don't know for a fact exactly how many vendors were at the show, but I would guess betweeen 80 and 100.  It was just a colorful gathering of pulp and comic collectors ala Moonstone's truly amazing booth (above) manned by their Publisher/Managing Editor, Joe Gentile.  Joe was another one of those people I'd spoken with over the phone over the years and was now putting a face on that voice.  He's a really fun guy and happily part of the weekend was our opportunity to discuss a project that he wants to publish.  I'm very excited about this will divulge more as I am able.

The gentlemen above is artist Doug Klauba, one of the most talented painters I've even encountered.  Doug did the cover for the SPIDER CHRONICLES that Moonstone published a few weeks ago and that I had a story in.  I got Doug to sign my copy on the cover with silver ink.  It looks so cool.

Looking at Doug's table above, if you moved to the right of it, you would come to writer Van Plexico's table.  Van was our con neighbor above and he is the author of several exciting Science Fiction novel, which I picked up from him the first day we met and were setting up.  Van, Rob, Doug and I are all members of an interent club known as The Pulp Factory and this get together was really fun for all of us.  Of course you can't tell from the angle, but that is a Pulp Factory sweatshirt I am wearing.   Rob, who snapped these pictures with his digital camera sat to my right with his comics and he actually did sketches for several people at the show.  Whereas you can see that stack of my own pulps in front of me.  Well I came to the show with 40 copies of my stuff and by the time we packed up Sunday to noon, I only had 8 books!!  It was by far one of the most successful shows I've ever gone to.  We met so many cool fans.

And before heading out, I managed to get all of us together in front of Joe's booth for this group shop.  Left to right, Van Plexico, Rob Davis, yours truly, Joe Gentile and Doug Klauba.   A wilder bunch of fun loving amigos you won't find anywhere.   As Rob was driving me back to the airport, we were both in awe had just how fast the weekend had flown by.  But then again, that's what always happens when you are having such a good time.  I hope to return to Windy City Con next year and many after that.   And let me publicly tip my fedora to the two gentlemen who produced this con, Doug Ellis and John Gunnison.  Gentlemen, take a bow…and thanks.

Okay, so I'm home again.  Battling allergies and trying to get back to a writing routine.  Here's hoping all of you remember your mothers on Sunday, not so much with a gift, but with a hug and heartfelt thank you.  Mothers are the true angels of our world.

Ron – Over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  I'm jotting this down early Thursday evening, as by the time you read this entry, I'll be winging my way to Chicago to attend the Windy City Pulp Con.  This is the first time I attend this particular show and I'm really excited.  It will be the first time I meet artist Rob Davis, though we've been correspondence pals for almost twenty-five years.  I'll also get to meet Moonstone Publisher, Joe Gentile, another wonderful industry professional I've talked with over the phone on many occassions.   Moonstone is the publisher of the excellent new SPIDER CHRONICLES anthology that is currently on sale and features one of my stories.  Joe and I hope to get together and discuss a very special pulp project we are doing together.  More on all that as it develops.  I also hope to meet other Pulp Factory members like writer Van Plexico, editor Howard Jones and artist Doug Klauba.  It really looks to be a fun weekend.  And knock on wood, Mother Nature seems to want to cooperate at long last.

Aside from the excitement of this trip, things have been rather routine around the old Hangar 27.  The one major event was my finally buying a new suit after almost twenty-four years.   The old green one is still in pretty decent shape but Valerie wouldn't take no for answer this time.  I've a niece getting married in Cambridge in July and Val put her foot down that it was time to wear something else.   Obviously the reason the old suit lasted so well is that I rarely wore it, save for the special family occassions ala weddings or funerals.  I do lector in church on a regular basis, but often can get away with dress slacks, a shirt and tie and my comfortable cardigan sweater.  On special church services I'd pull out the green suit.

Try to understand, I went to a Catholic High School where I had to wear and tie and suit coat five days a week for four years.  Now my normal attire is jeans and a sweatshirt, in the winter, a tee-shirt in the summer.  And of course sneakers.  Anyway, I now on a brand new, really nice, dark suit which is at the present being tailored for me.   While shopping for the suit, I started thinking about how very little men's attire has changed since the days of the 1930s and 40s.  Look at the above illustration from an old Sears catalogue and you'll see what I mean.  I'd guess you could dress anyone in those outfits today and they could easily get away with looking modern.  Simply because the basic suit, tie, coat and pants, have not really changed all that much.  In fact looking at this picture you can easily point the only true fashion evolution of the last 75 years, the extinction of the headwear.   Men, and most women, just do not wear hats any more.  Growing up in the 50s, I never ever saw my father or uncles go out socially without wearing a hat, mostly fedoras.  But then somewhere in the 60s, our generation decided long hair needed air to breathe and we stopped buying hats.  Habadashers went out of business across the land.   By the time I was an adult, you rarely ever saw a chapeau of style on a man's head.   Of course when Harrison Ford arrived on the big screen in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ART wearing a battered brown, wide brimmed fedora, I wondered if this might reverse the trend and bring back hats.  Alas, it wasn' to be.

Oddly enough, after several decades of not wearing anything, it seemed like overnight I had once again changed my habits and was donning a baseball cap daily.   For whatever reason, these long billed, comfortable pieces of clothing found a life outside the sports arena and today they come in every shape, color and price…most having absolutely nothing to do with any particular ball club.  Interesting.  What it signifies socially, I haven't a clue, but then again, this is a just an essay on what happened, not why.   And if on the subject of baseball caps, you have to know my favorite, of the many I own, is my Boston Red Sox cap with the big red B.  The Sox are doing great this year and I'm very encouraged, barring any serious injuries to key players, they have a real shot at making it to the play-offs.   Hope does spring eternal, and to that I'll tip my hat.

Have a great week, Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  As the past week moved along, I began wondering what my theme would be for this entry. Very often, like this week, I go to the last minute before something pops up idea-wise.  Then two events  ocurred back to back that had me itching to tell you about them.  And as luck would have it, there was a very real thread connecting both experiences.  
                      
Once upon a time, I was an avid comic book buyer/collector.   Over the years I've found myself buying less and less of the current new titles on the market.   Maybe this happens with every generation, but still there is a part of me, acquired via my own career in the business, that believes the quality of stories and art in today's comics just doesn't measure up to what I was reading twenty years ago.  Oh, don't get me wrong.  There are still classics being produced by some very super talented people, and I do still collect a handful of titles religiously, but for the most part, the bulk of stuff out there today is just fair to really awful.

So imagine my surprise when I tripped over an issue of DC's TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED and found a true comic gem in the back of the book.   You see, since this title doesn't focus on any particular DC hero, it harkens back to the old anthology books of the late 1050s which filled newstands racks by the dozens.   Most of these books would have a featured series in the first half and then what was appropriately called a back-up story.  The thing was, much to readers' delights, many of those back-up series were just as much as the featured strip.  And that is very much the case with the current incarnation of TOFT.  The starring strip is a very bland Specter story that I forgot two minutes after reading it…sorry DC.   But when I got to the second story, one starring a really long forgotten B hero named DOCTOR 13, I was immediately bowled over by the gorgeous artwork.  Then I  began to take note of the bizarre collection of characters in the adventure; a vampire, a caveboy frozen in ice, a pirate helming a floating Spanish galleon and talking Gorilla Nazis!!!   Well, I read through these pages so fast and immediately wanted more…much more.  Thankfully a friend of my was collecting the title and allowed me to read the previous chapters I'd missed.

DOCTOR 13, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiang, is one of the most imaginative, beautifully illustrated comics I've encountered in the past ten years.   That it is the back-up feature in this title is the real crime here and I for one, am begging DC, once the story runs it course, to please collect all these chapters into a collected edition.  And then, give us more of Doctor 13!!  A whole lot more.  Thank you.

Now lets jump from B comic book heroes to yet another class of underrated, unappreciated folks, the hundreds of actors who perform on both televsion and films as “extras.”   I'm sure, if you watch televsion dramatic shows on a regular basis, you've at one time or another, wondered exactly who all those other people are on the sets.  For example, if you are watching the current medical winner, GRAY'S ANATOMY, and your favorite starring actors are walking down a hospital corridor, just who exactly are all those “other” people walking past them…to fill up the frame and add credibility to the shot?  They are EXTRAS, people from all walks of life who moonlight by filling these crucial elements.  Most of them are non-speaking gigs, but that in no way lessens their importance to the entire process.

One such extra is my colleague, and good friend, writer Andrew Salmon of Vancouver, British Columbia.  That's Andrew above in costume for his most recent televsion appearance.  I'll get to it in a second.   When we became friends via my pulp work on the internet, Andrew informed me that beside his writing, he also did a lot of acting work.   Canadian labor is cheaper than the American film unions, so for years Hollywood companies have been traveling north to produce both movies and televisions shows.  Andrew was in the very popular comic book movie, FANTASTIC FOUR, last year, and appears on camera in a street scene behind Michael Chiklis as the Thing and Jessica Alba as the Invisible Girl.    About a month ago he wrote to tell me he'd just finished a very good role on WB's weekly action thriller, SUPERNATURAL, wherein he played a prison guard who roughs up the two stars when they are imprisoned while on an assignment.  Of course at the start of the show, which aired last night, we are told this is all taking place in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Ha.  It was all filmed in Vancouver.  And ture to his word, Andrew had a really terrific role and was on camera quite often, to include one really great close up.  It was such a blast to be watching a nationally syndicate TV show and be able to say, “That guy is a friend of mine.”  Hell, I even passed up watching the Red Sox game to catch Andrew's performance.  And it was worth it.

He's a great guy and I would be remiss if I didn't take a second to plug his science fiction novel, THE DARK LAND.  The book is still on sale at (www.Lulu.com) and I recommend it highly.   He's one gifted writer…and extra.   Oh, and his next small screen appearance will be in a forthcoming episode of the Anne Heche show, MEN IN TREES.   Now that you've seen a picture of Andrew, keep a sharp eye for him.  He tells me he appears in the church scene, cheering on the minister.   Of course I'll be watching like a hawk, and Hollywood, start dusting of an Emmy.  This guy can act.

Take care, airmen, have a great week.
Ron – over and out!
                      

Greetings loyal airmen.  It certainly has been a terrible week, including what many of my colleauges have dubbed Black Monday in reference to the awful events that happened at Virginia Tech, leaving 33 students and teachers dead and 26 others wounded.  Sheer horror, as one survivor quotes, “I saw the face of the devil and he is real.”  At the same time, the North East was blanketed by some of the worst flooding to hit this area in decades.  It left behind millions of dollars in property damage and took several lives.  Two of these were a local woman and her four year old granddaughter.  Trapped in their car as waters suddenly rose over the street they were traveling, the brave woman attempted to flee the stalled auto, only to have the rushing waters sweep them both away down  river.  By the time rescuers found them, the woman still clinging desperately to the little girl, they had suffered hypothermia and would both succumb shortly after reaching a neary hospital.  It was such a blow to the entire  community.

Amidst all this tragedy, it is difficult to find a ray of hope.  Yet that is exactly what happened the following day.  Our oldest granddaughter has been battling a stomach malady for the past four months and doctors had been  unable to cure her.   She had to drop out of sports and her grades, she is a high school freshmen, began to suffer.  All because she is in a constant state of nausea.  Well, two days ago, our daughter and son-in-law finally got her in to see a specialist and this doctor put her through a series of tests.  By the end of the day, they had finally discovered the cause of her illness and now have her on a remedy program.  It is a small miracle for all of us who have been praying for her all along.  Hopefully by the time I write next week's log entry, our beloved granddaughter will be pitching in her next softball game and her life will be back to normal.

Good and bad, the roller coaster of life.  None of us ever escape it.  All we can do is our best, deal with the bad times with prayer and support from our friends and family, and truly enjoy and appreciate the good times.  There are no guarantees and every day should be cherished as the true wonderous treasure it is.  God bless all of you reading these words today.

Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  It's Wednesday and in a few hours we are off to Rochester, NY for the big family wedding this coming weekend.  But I didn't want to leave without alerting all you great folks about a fantastic, fun, amazing new pulp book that just came out.  EPISODES FROM THE ZERO HOUR is the brain child of designer Anthony Sciavino and features four terrific stories about ex-boxer-turned-tough-guy, Tommy “Knuckles” McNichols; created and written by the talented Jason Butkowski.  These stories are just pure pulp fun.  The volume sports a gorgeous cover by Doug Klauba, who did the Spider cover for Moonstone, and the interiors by Rob Davis and Jared Araujo are pulp-perfect.   You can order a copy of this book by going to
(www.Lulu.com) and plugging in the title.  If you like fiction with a twist, this is your cup of tea.

Yesterday was Opening Day at Fenway and our beloved Red Sox pounded the Seattle Mariners to a 14 to 3 victory, including new guy, J.D.Drew's first homer on home turf.   Pitcher Josh Beckett was showing the stuff we all knew he had. It was a grand day for all New England sports fans.

That's it.  Short and sweet.  See you all soon, take care and keep praying for warm weather.  Ha.
Ron, over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  My week long trip to Florida was much fun and the sun never let us down the entire seven days we were there.  It was all of 83 degrees when we left Orlando Monday morning and a cold, rainy 44 when we landed in Manchester, NH three hours later.  Oh yeah, welcome back to New England.  Then to add insult  to injury, it started snowing Wednesday afternoon.  The weather forecasters kept saying it wouldn't amount too much but what they failed to take into account was that warm air from the south began to mix in with the snow overnight. At two-thirty in the morning, heavy, wet white stuff started bringing down powerlines all over southern New Hampshire and we woke up Thursday morning with no electricty and a good six inches of packed snow.
               

The shot above is our backyard looking like an alien landscape.  Note how the limbs of the pine trees are bowed over by the heavy snow accumulation.   Trees were down all over our neighborhood.  What a mess!  By eight oclock, I'd bundled up (having to go to the basement closet and once more dig out the winter gear Valerie had stored away two weeks earlier).   My only compensation, I still had gas for the snowblower.
   
      

That's a shot of yours truly attacking the snow one more time, while mumbling “I was on a beach two days ago!  Aaghh.” An hour later I walked into the kitchen, sweat drenching all my clothes, and unable to take a shower because we had no hot water.   Today I have the sniffles.  Hmm, wonder why?  Talk about an endless winter.  Come on, Mother Nature, enough is enough!

      Of course the one ray of light that entire day was the power came back on twelve hours later, in time for us to watch the Red Sox's new pitcher, Daisuke Matsuzaka take out the Kansas City Royals by a score of 4 to 1.  This 26 year old kid has got an arsenal of pitchers that worked extremely well and you could see the confusion on the faces of the ten batters he struck out.   One more and he would have tied a rookie strike-out record for the Sox.  Of course Curt Schilling was horrible on opening day and lost that one, whereas Josh Beckett came out in game two and won that one, though he did struggle.   So it is still way early in the season, but Daisuke's first outing was a true ray of sunshine in an otherwise very dismal, gray day.

On as yet another sad note, Hard Case Crime publisher, Charles Ardai, informed me just a few days ago of the passing of writer, Donald Hamilton.   Hamilton was as yet another one of my favorite writers that I enjoyed so much growing up as a teenager in the 1960s.   At the height of the James Bond craze in America, Hamilton created an American operative who was tougher, grittier and a hell of a lot more believable than Fleming's playboy agent.   Matt Helm burst on the scene in a series of Gold Medal paperbacks, starting with 1960s DEATH OF A CITIZEN and ending with 1993's THE DAMAGERS.  The books were amazing, writting in a very tight, economic fashion that left little time for anything but tough, in-your-face action prose.  I loved them.  Two years ago, while browsing through a second-hand book store, I found beat of copies of two books from the series and bought them for 25 cents each.  Re-reading them was like a time travel trip to my high school days.  Nobody did it better than Hamilton.   According to Ardai, he died in Sweden, where he originally came from, at the age of 90.  He was living with his son, Gordon.   Hamilton now becomes the fourth of writers that I cherished to have passed.  He follows Ed McBain, Mickey Spillane and Richard Prather.   It's been a truly rough year for crime/mystery lovers.   A final story about Hamilton that I think you'll appreciate.   Upon the success of  the Matt Helm series, Hollywood came knocking.  They gave him lots and lots of money for the rights to the books and turned them into spy-spooks starring Dean Martin.  I believe four were filmed.   I was very dissappointed after seeing the first, as I, and many other fans, was upset at how much Hollywood had changed our cold-blooded hero into a buffoon.  A few months later, in a trade journal, I came across an interview with Hamilton wherein the reporter asked him if he was angered how his character had been changed on film.   Hamilton's wry reply,  “Oh, yeah.  I cried all the way to the bank!”   Rest in peace, tough guy.

While I was in Florida, Moonstones fantastic new anthology THE SPIDER CHRONICLES finally went on sale in book stores and comic shops everywhere.  My copies were waiting for me when we go home.  It is a great book and a tip of the fedora to edtior/publisher, Joe Gentile, for this awesome collection.  My story is called THE INVISIBLE GANG and I hope all of you will check it out.  One note, for whatever reason, one of the assigned writers was dropped and the above ad is incorrect.  The volume contains 19 stories, as is reflected on the actual cover.   The book retails at $16.95, a bargain for 19 fast paced, pulp tales of the mysterious Master of Men.  Don't miss this one!

And there we have it for another week.  Today is Good Friday and I sincerely want to wish all of you a very joyous and blessed HAPPY EASTER.    For those of you of the jewish faith, HAPPY PASSOVER.  Looks like we will be missing as yet another update next Friday.  Couldn't be helped.  Val and I are driving to Rochester N.Y. to attend our nephew Scott's wedding.  So, once again, airmen, take care, have a pleasant week, and please, pray for Spring Weather.

Ron, over and out.

                                          
Greetings loyal airmen.  I've got lots of fun things to talk about this week here at the old Hangar 27.  But before I get into those subjects, a quick notice.  There will be no log entry next Friday, the 30th, as we will be on vacation in sunny Florida all week.  Just surf, sun and sand.  Oh yeah, and maybe a Red Sox Spring Training game while we are at it.  Ha.  Looks to be a fun, get-away for us.

Now most of you know during my 35 plus years writing comics, my most popular work was the Green Hornet series I wrote for the late Now Comics out of Chicago.  The above is one of the covers to the many books I wrote for them, art by the amazing Jeff Butler.  Well, yesterday all the newspapers across the country were carrying the press release that Sony Pictures, through Columbia, had just acquired the rights to do a big-budget Green Hornet movie.  It's obvious Columbia, which struck gold with their SPIDERMAN franchise, is hoping to do the same thing with the Hornet.

For the past few years those rights were owned by Disney-Miramax and at one time, popular writer/director, Kevin Smith actually wrote a Green Hornet script for his boss, Harvey Weinstein.  Now knowing Smith is an avowed comic fanatic, all of us were truly anxious to see what kind of movie this would be.  Alas, after writing it, Smith realized he was not cut out to be a big-action-movie director.  As is clear by those small films he's earned his success on, CLERKS and CHASING AMY, Smith likes small, intimate stories.  Ergo he pulled out of the project and the script went on the shelves to collect dust.   And now that Miramax has lost the license, none of us will ever see that story.  My only disappointment in all this.  As for the Sony-Columbia deal, my response to all my colleague's enthusiam has been, don't start applauding yet.  Getting a license and making the actual movie are two different things.  No director or cast has been chosen.  No script has been approved. And much more importantly, no money has been raised to make the darn thing.  Hollywood is really Hype City and they love nothing better than announced all kinds of things.  The sad truth is very few of these ever get made.  We'll keep you posted.

All of you who visit here know I am an avid Red Sox fan.  Well yesterday the club finally announced their closer for the coming season will be…Jonathan Papelbon!!  Yup, the very same, hard hurling right handed wizard, who wowed all of baseball with his performance in this role last season.   But one has to believe it was an issue of math.  Because with Papelbon coming out of the starters ranks, that meant the Sox had to fill in that open position and they have elected the less-than-stellar Julian Tavarez to be their #5 starter.  News I wasn't all that thrilled aboutt.  But here's the bottom line.  The Sox must be thinking the number of games Papelbon can win for them is far above the number of games Tavarez is going to lose.  See what I mean about it being a math thing.  Ah, you gotta love baseball.

And if you do, let me recommend a truly wonderful animated movie that was released on DVD this week.

EVERYBODY'S HERO is the story of a young Yankees fan in the Depression circa 1930s, who must make his way from New York to Chicago to bring Babe Ruth his favorite bat for the World Series against the Cubs.  The bat was stolen by a rival who wants the Yanks to lose.  This movie is beautiful and the story of never-ever giving up even when the odds are stacked against you, is for everyone, young and old.  Major thumbs up on this one.

And that loyal airmen, is it for another week.  See you back here in two weeks.  Enjoy the Spring.
Ron – over and out.

Greetings loyal airmen.  Well once again Hollywood seems to be mining the comic book world for movies.  I'm sure all of you who enjoy films noticed that after Marvel's superhero, GHOST RIDER, reigned number 1 at the box office for two consecutive weeks, it was then replaced by another comic book movie.   300, which had the biggest March opening ever in film history, is a stupendous, graphic, wonderful adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same title.  It tells of the amazing battle between a mere 300 Spartans, led by their king, Leonidas, against an army of thousands of Persian invaders.  True to the events, it relates how the Greeks were not convinced of the threat and would not listen to Leonidas call to arms.  Realizing that he cannot hope to defeat such a superior force, Leonidas then chooses 300 of his bravest warriors and sets out to fight a delaying action in hopes their ultimate sacrafice will allow the rest of the nation to awaken to the danger that faces them and rally a true defensives force.

Which is exactly how history records the events played out.   Leonidas and his brave 300 find a narrow gap through the mountains, which will empede the enemy's progress and offer his small force the ideal fighting ground to sustain a delaying action.  Thus for three days, while the rest of Greece was oblivious to the threat on their border, these few men held off an entire invading force.   The movie is magnificent in capturing the savagery and brutality of warfare but at the same time strikes a very powerful chord with its theme of bravery and patriotism.
Leonidas' love of Greece and the personal freedoms it expoused rings true to any American today.  Freedom, as the film poetic details, is never free.  It is always paid for in the blood of the brave.  Don't miss 300, it is by far the best movie of the year, and Gerard Butler as Leonidas is just amazing.  This is a film I plan on seeing again and again.

Now of course Hollywood doesn't always hit a bulls-eye every time it takes on a comic book property.   DAREDEVIL is a clear indication of such a misfire.   On the other hand, the folks in Tinsel Town every now then will surprise your old air crew chief, as is the case with a little known, and little viewed, gem based on a highly popular British comic strip.

Modesty Blaise is a female spy created by British writer Peter O'Donnell back in the mid-60s during the heyday of the James Bond craze etc.   Although she really isn't anything at all like Bond.   Modesty, and her sidekick muscle-guy, Willie Garvin, are ex-smugglers who, on occassion, work for the British Secret Service when their unique criminal backgrounds offer them an edge over the more conservative agents.  The strip has been a fan with comic readers since its debut and has been brought to screen once before with disastrous results.  In the 1970s a major studio obtained the license to the property and then set about completely changing the character for the movies.  MODESTY BLAISE starred Italian actress Monica Vitti as Modesty and Terence Stamp at Willie Garvin.  It was played for campy laughs and all the Blaise fans I know won't ever speak of it.   A decade later one of the big TV networks did a one hour pilot as a series proposal, making both Modesty & Willie American in the process.  I'm told it wasn't a bad show, just not the character.

So jump ahead a few more decades and we discover that the rights to a big-budget Modesty Blaise movie are now in the hands of Harvey Weinstein and Miramax pictures.  But nobody in their stables can produce any kind of a decent script for them to produce a feature from.  Weinstein wisely passes all such attempts by his young protege director, Quentin Tarantino, an avowed Blaise fanatic.  And he keeps giving these multiple scripts thumb down.  Lo and behold, 2002 rolls around and Miramax' option is about to expire.   Unless they make a movie, they will lose all rights to the property.  It is decided to rethink their strategy and rather than go full out on a blockbuster project, they will instead make a very small-bugeted, direct-to-video movie that will allow them to legally entend their option for a few more years, in which time, hopefully the big movie can be launched.

Writers Lee and Janet Batchler write a script which, rather than relate a current adventure of our daring Ms.Blaise, opt to tell the very private story of her beginnings.  An origin story, if you will.   Miramax makes a deal with a Rumanian company headed by Producer Ted Nicolau and green-lights the project with a minimal budget and all of 18 days shooting schedule.   It should be noted that somewhere along all of this 11th hour movie madness, Tarantino read the script and much to his surprise, loved it!   He called Weinstein to applaud it and in the course of their conversation, the studio chief suggested they hire Tarantino's friend, Scott Spiegel, to direct.
Two days later, Spiegel is on a plane to Europe reading the script while in flight.

The movie was made, on budget and on time and released direct to video in 2004.   I recently picked up a copy from a DVD retailer on-line, after hearing lots of good things about it.   Having now watched it, I am here to add my own enthusiastic thumbs up for this very real, little gem of a movie.  As indicated, the story is intimate, but excellently told and the cast superb.   Alexandra Staden, whom I'd never heard of before, is really terrific as a young Modesty starting out in the criminal world and Nicolaj Coster-Waldau as the sadistic villain, Mykolos,
holds the stage toe-to-toe with her, building suspense that never lags.  This is really a great comic book movie that is 100% true to the source material.   I'm told when Peter O'Donnell finally saw the picture, he gave it a big thumbs up.  That's no surprise, this is his Modesty brought to life.  The movie is called….MY NAME IS MODESTY.   It's relatively cheap at most internet DVD sites.   Check out my link to Deep Discount on the links page.  If you are a Modesty Blaise fan, do not pass this one up.

And that's it for another week at the old Airship 27 Hangar, airmen.  Take care until next Friday.
Ron, over and out.