I’ve often spoken of discovering comics when my mother gave me an issue of Superman (or maybe Action) when I was six. In short order, I began devouring larger-than-life heroes in earnest. Thankfully, DC and Marvel were able to keep up with my growing appetite and it wasn’t long before my father convinced me to add actual books to the diet.
By the time I got to summer camp, I was 10 or so, and had been told of these earlier heroes – Doc Savage, The Shadow, and Conan among them – who lived in dime magazines called the pulps. Somewhere along the way, I began buying Lancer’s set of Robert E, Howard’s adventures, fronted with those gorgeous Frank Frazetta covers. Soon after, Pyramid began releasing reprints of Maxwell Grant’s The Shadow (with those great Jim Steranko covers).
A local radio station ran a different old time radio drama at 7 p.m. on weeknights and X Minus One Saturday nights. I got to thrill to the exploits of The Shadow, the Lone Ranger, and other series.
Ever
Everyone I mentioned it to was very eager to jump in and then, an old pal, Will Murray, keeper of the pulp flame with his pastiches, offered me an unpublished Lester Dent story. Dent, creator of Doc Savage, was a prolific author and here was a World War I aviator tale that would allow me to directly connect my anthology with the era being honored.
The problem was, the Dent Estate needed to be paid. I decided that was enough of a reason to go the Kickstarter route. I could then afford the Dent story, a proper cover, a new logo, and bring on a few other authors. Thanks to Mike Friedman, who has had multiple Kickstarter successes, I learned the ropes and he helped set everything up.
And tonight, we launch. Between now and February 19, I and my peers will be shouting from our social media mountaintops, hoping to entice enough backers to make this a success. Go check out the story here and consider being a part of the fun. Thanks in advance for your support.