Greetings Loyal Airmen, as we wrap up the year that was 2015, the one overriding thought on the Air Chief’s mind is what a traveling time we had. From the beginning we were hustling all over the country far and wide; starting with the local CSU comic show, then on to the Windy City Pulp & Paper show, the Louisville Kentucky Comic Con, Pulp Fest in Columbus, our first Fort Collins Comic Con, the trip back home to New Hampshire to see the Fall Foliage and then finally wrapping it all up with the Nov. stop in Akron for as yet another comic show (the Air Chief & Rob Davis above.) and through it all, we kept pumping out books and comics non-stop.  Trust me, it was a whirlwind year that just sped by and left us with tons of great new memories we will cherish forever.  Still, here’s hoping 2016 takes things a wee bit slower. Ha.

Well, we finally went to see the new Star Wars movie. If you still haven’t seen it, then you might want to skip the following as we are going to talk about various elements to clarify our thoughts. First of all, it was strange being in a full movie house again. The Air Chief and Valerie have gotten spoiled by attending senior matinees during the week when most people are working and kids are in school. So we love having the theater pretty much to ourselves. Still, there was some energy in having all these Star Wars fans surrounding us. One thing we’ve been saying all along was that the appeal of this film would attract not one or two generations, but actually three. The Air Chief clearly remembers taking his little ones to see the first ever Star Wars, then go back with them to see the release of the 3 prequel films and now then are bringing their children to this one. Now that’s staying power.

So, what did we think of this new entry? We liked it a great deal, but that’s because from the first opening strains of John Williams familiar music score theme, we had this instant feeling that we were about to revisit some old friends we’d met long ago in a galaxy far away and who doesn’t like to catch up with old friends…and along the way meet new ones as well. Which is what The Force Awakens does easily enough. And seeing Han Solo and Chewbaca back in action aboard the Millennium Falcon is a delight, no matter how you slice. The sad twist about his son being the new Dark Sith, Kylo Ren really much of a surprise but it certainly added dramatic weight to the story leading to the tragic death of Solo.  Powerful stuff.

Still, after leaving the theater we couldn’t help but wonder if in focusing so much of his effort in recapturing the “old” Star Wars, writer/director J.J. Abrams didn’t inadvertently make it inaccessible to non-Star Wars fan. Upon reflection, if you had never seen any of the other films, the Air Chief has to believe you’d be totally lost within a few minutes of this movie starting. It depends so much on what has gone before that there is no way it can stand on its own…by itself.  Oh well, for us devoted fans, it  was great reboot and we’ll be most anxious to see Episode VIII and the return of the Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Stay tuned, sci-fi fans.

And finally, the Air Chief is thrilled to announce our 18th and final title of the year, BASS REEVES – FRONTIER MARSHAL, four gun-blazing tales of western action based on the greatest lawman that ever lived, Bass Reeves. That’s a photo of him above. In his 30 yr career as a U.S. Deputy Marshal under Judge Parker in the Oklahoma territories, he brought in over 3,000 felons, was in 14 major shoot-outs and never wounded once. In our collection, writer Gary Phillips, Mel Odom, Andrew Salmon and Derrick Ferguson have offered up for fiction yarns inspired the man himself. Rob Davis provides great interior illustrations and Marco Turini did that amazing cover.  The book is now on sale at Amazon in both hard copy and on Kindle and eventually will become an audio book from Radio Archives. It’s one of those titles the Air Chief is very proud of.  And we think a grand way to close out the year that was.  As ever, thanks to all your Loyal Airmen for your continued loyalty and support. In the end we couldn’t any of this without you.

Happy New Year!!

Ron – Over & Out!