Mona, Santa & Mom

Greetings Loyal Airmen and a continued Happy Holidays to all of you.  Never let it be said that the Air Chief's Mom doesn't know how to get into the Spirit of Christmas.  This past week the Wentworth Home held it's annual Christmas party for all its residents, to include Mrs.Gabrielle Fortier.  Sure enough, the following day the Social Director sent us this snapshop showing Mom (on the right) and her best friend, Mona, meeting with Old Saint Nick.  Upon seeing the photo, we gave her a call to confirm the situation.  Laughingly she swore she is sitting on the chair's armrest and not the Big Red Elf's lap.  If you say so, Mom.

As Val continues to clean out cabinets, we are uncovering lots and lots of things we didn't even know we had.  Like this drawing of the Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes, done for us by our granddaughter Chelsea a very long time ago.  Discovering that her Pepere (grandfather) was a huge Holmes fan, she whipped out her crayons and magic markers and drew this truly wonderful illustration that we promptly filed away for safe keeping.  We wonder when she sees it here, if she'll remember doing it.  She's a freshmen in high school days, and enjoying the experience of being a teenager to the max.

Amongst tons of comics and magazines, Val also dug up comic company fliers.  These are smaller comics or periodicals done up specifically to help promote a special event.  The above come from such a mag from the now long forgotten Tekno Comics out of Florida.  Between 1994 and 1996, we wrote Gene Roddenberry's Lost Universe for this outfit, and towards the end of our service with them, we were given the job of writing their first (and only) company wide-crossover.  This was one story that would run as four page chapters in the back of all their titles and thus feature all their characters in one adventure.  It was a challenge, but then again afforded me to the honor of being the only writer in the company's short history to write every single one of their characters.  Like a lot of comic companies of this time, they came on the scene with a big bang and then disappeared just as quickly.  Still, it was a blast while it lasted.

Another outfit promo was this page above highlighting The Boston Bombers, an alternate world series that I created and sold to Caliber Comics.  It was to be a six issue mini-series.  It ended up being a black and white offering and was canceled after only four issues because the artist on the book was immature and couldn't meet his deadlines.  Still it was one of the most original concepts we had ever come up with.  Our idea was to do a female version of the pulp hero, Doc Savage, in Indra Devine.  And as Savage had a team of five male aides, we gave Indra three unique women as her adventuring squad.  Once we had the characters, we then opted to put them in an alternate 1970s, one in which Jesus had been female, was accepted as the true Messiah by the Jews; where the Roman Empire survived in South Africa and where a powerful League of Nation prevented World War II from happening.  Against this background we created the Boston Bombers, a group of high flying female aviators who are secretly agents of the female Pope, caught in the middle between the cold war-like tensions existing between Christian Europe and Pagan Rome.

Years after those four issues were done, we still had comic fans coming to us at conventions asking the fate of the Boston Bombers.  Then, some ten years later, we managed to get those final two books completed and Caliber did print them together as a one shot special edition.  Best guess, few people ever got to see it.  If reading all this has got you curious, hang in there Loyal Airmen, because Ye Old Air Chief has an idea that may salvage the Bombers.  There may exist a way to collect the entire six issues and reprint them as a complete graphic novel.  It is something we are working on for next year.  Stay tuned.  It's something that truly needs doing.

Finally, we wrap up this week's entry with some fun and exciting news.   Moonstone Books has begun releasing more information on its new Green Hornet prose anthologies, the first of which is slated for next June.  Besides the Air Chief, the first volume will contain stories by James Van Hise, Harlan Ellison and James Van Hise, and others.  It will also feature a forward by actor Van Williams who played the Hornet in the 60s TV series along with martial arts star, Bruce Lee.  Moonstone will have two covers for this volume.

                       
                               Cover by Glen Orbik

One will be by the talented Glen Orbik whose work has appeared on many paperback covers in the past few years.  This is a project we're extremely excited about and hope you are too.

And that wraps up this week, Loyal Airmen.  Again, we hope this season of giving has all of you in a happy, festive mood.  Till next week, be well.
Ron – Over & out!