On Carrie

This week has been very much about introspection for me. I have put a lot of time thinking about where I wanted to go in my writing. I have grand plans still, but I am rethinking where I want my energies to go in the next couple years.

But so much of that was derailed with the news of Carrie Fisher's death.

I am sure I am far from the only person that first had that twinge of how a boy feels about a girl when I watched her in the classic Star Wars trilogy.

Of course, she was so much more than just a princess in a compelling series of movies that in many ways shaped my young childhood. She was a writer, an essayist, a script doctor and a woman unafraid to show the warts of her life. She faced demons and almost certainly those demons in many ways took her away from the world far too young.

But she will always be the world's most famous princess to me. She proved it could be a word that still brought agency with it, She showed a princess could be every bit a fighter as a scoundrel or a heroic space wizard.

Godspeed, princess. I only pray you have finally found a galaxy of peace.

Cosplay Friday: Poison Ivy

Today's Cosplay spreads a little Holiday cheer with a Pamela Isley costume nicknamed Poinsettia Ivy!

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for December 16, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

Cosplay Friday: Christie Monteiro

Indoneasian cosplayer Sora Hua put together this amazing cosplay of Tekken star Christie Monteiro as part of an entire cosplay group. Character owned by Namco.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for December 9, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

Kickstart the Week 47: The Box City Wallops

Even as I seem to give up on more comics than I start these days, I still have a few creators whose work I can never seem to quite get enough of. One of those folks got his start in the halcyon halls of Mirage Studios, working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics just as the series became an epic international phenomenon. Outside Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, no one was more responsible for the greatness of the original incarnation of the Turtles than Jim Lawson.

Lawson's career almost certainly hit a bump when Peter Laird sold the characters to Nickelodeon, effectively ending the Mirage run with the characters. (Laird and Lawson actually finished a few more issues of TMNT after the sale, but the book has been done for years despite Laird retaining rights to continue it if he so chose.)

Since then, Lawson has done a lot of commissions and has tried his hand at Kickstarter success. Though a series drawn by him and written by Secret of the Ooze star Eddie Reyes Jr. sadly never got off the ground, he funded two great books in Dragonfly and A Walk Through Dinosaur Land. Now he's back with his return to weird superheroes however, perhaps his biggest new title since his Turtle days.

The Box City Wallops aren't traditional superheroes, but the alien family certainly have strange powers. It also certainly has some of the weird design work that exemplifies Lawson's always weird worlds.


Unlike his previous projects, this will be a regular comic series instead of a graphic novel. The Kickstarter funds the first two issues with the hope of more possible in the future. And while the Kickstarter has already met its funding goal, it is also the kind of weird book that will need all the financial support it can get. So if you're interested in superheroes, strange comics or just good fun, go give The Box City Wallops your support before the Kickstarter expires on Wednesday morning.

Image credit: Jim Lawson via Kickstarter.

Cosplay Friday: Abraham Lincoln

Even if this week's election disappointed you, I thought it would be pertinent to look back at one of our greatest Presidents—and a famous vampire hunter. Alexandria LaNier brings this epic gender-swapped version of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter to life. (Still not as good as an Ape version of the President though.)

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

Executive F.O.R.C.E. debuts in 2017!

This year's election divided people into three camps: those happy with the winner, those vehemently opposed to the winner and those pretty much depressed no matter who the winner ended up being.

But in 2017, fans will get a chance to see a better world with a new kind of President of the United States. The second volume of F.O.R.C.E. launches in spring with a new name and a new focus: the first term of President Samuel Tanner, a.k.a. Legend. The former leader of the team is now truly the most powerful man in the free world.

How will this change the future of the Quadrant Universe? Stay tuned as more details will come in the days and weeks ahead!

Halloween Review: Stories From the Grave

I am not one to publish a bunch of reviews. But it’s Halloween, so it seems apt to talk about a great horror themed project. Maybe my favorite scary project of the year is a new pen and paper role playing game from my friends at Spectrum Games: Stories From the Grave.

If the cover isn’t a clue, the work is directly inspired by anthology horror comics, movies and television, specifically classic EC style horror like Tales From the Crypt. Hosted by the Grave Hag, the game is designed to emulate the short quick tales of the horror comics of the 50s, 60s and 70s.

With a simple narrative system behind it, the basic premise allows the Grave Keeper (a.k.a. The Gamemaster) and the player(s) to trade control of a tale of horror or suspense. The Grave Keeper starts the basic narrative off, and the player uses his roles to try and take control of the situation. Divided into a three act structure, the goal here isn’t survival like in any other horror RPG. The goal here is great storytelling, so don’t get too attached to any player character.

Of course, PCs aren’t meant to be used more than once in Stories From the Grave. The game is designed for quick stories that allow room for two to three Installments (the game’s term for adventures) per game session. This might mean a bit of extra prep for the Grave Keeper, but with character generation basically set up to take no more than a minute or two, it’s easy to keep a session moving.

With everything included to design and run your own adventures, a low price tag and a simple but effective system, Stories From the Grave is a great one or two session game for anyone interested in a horror-filled diversion from their usual games. Writer Cynthia Celeste Miller clearly set out to emulate the genre as near perfectly as possible and it shows in her attention to detail in the streamlined 48 page package.

Don’t let me forget the art as well. Though the interior features only a few spot illustrations, the work by Bradley K. McDevitt, C. Michael Hall and Nolan Segrest perfectly captures the flair of classic comic horror. Hall’s cover is a great homage to classic EC covers, completed by design work that mimics the logo work of books like Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear and of course, Tales From the Crypt.

I only fooled around with the system a bit, but the collaborative storytelling aspect is incredibly intriguing to me as a writer. I could see using a similar structure if I ever wanted to create a story challenge for multiple authors.

Of course, as a huge fan of EC Comics and the Tales From the Crypt television series, the entire package is tons of fun to me. At only eight bucks, the PDF is worth checking out from DriveThruRPG. Give it a look and put a few scares into you and your friends’ lives!

Horror Heroes 2 on sale!

One of my favorite short works of the last couple years appeared in the second volume of the anthology series Horror Heroes. "The Beach House" played with menacing monster from the deep concept, as I introduced a strange genetic hybrid between man and Gillman.

But I am not one to take normal paths to stories, because if "The Beach House" is anything, it is a story of young love. The tale is narrated by a young woman just out of school, looking to live life for the very first time. She gets far more than she ever expected when she moves into a beach-front property with other young up-and-comers looking for one last summer of freedom.

With touches of 80s teen movies, horror movie tropes and Vanessa Carlton songs, I was super-proud to publish it just before last Halloween.

But this year, the book is on sale for Kindle readers! Anyone can now pick up a copy on discount for just 99 measly cents. They get not only my tale, but also new fiction from Travis Hiltz and Darrin Albert, featuring their own re-imagined horror icons!

Buy your copy of Horror Heroes 2 before the sale ends on November 1st!

Cosplay Friday: Vampirella

Panda Valentine brings this impressive costume of Vampirella to life, or at least undeath, to kick off the Halloween weekend.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

Work-In-Progress Wednesday: October 2016

This month has been all about catching up on what work I can in between way too many days worked at the day job. My main project has been a new short story for the upcoming third volume of the Pen & Cape Society's The Good Fight series. Readers might remember The Good Fight 2: Villains featured my very first "The Second Life of D.B. Cooper" story. Sadly, my co-conspirators at the society didn't choose a subject matter for the second volume that really fit my take on D.B. Cooper.

The new book will be titled The Good Fight 3: Sidekicks. I have only had two characters that have fit the term in my work, but I decided I would feature them both. Readers of A Dangerous Place to Live know Annabelle Montalvo, the new series' lead, but the new story will actually jump ahead in time, to the time period after the upcoming next Freedom Patton novel Long Hot Summer.

My other sidekick character is Backoff, a young hero already dead as the F.O.R.C.E. series started. How can a dead character play a role in a new story set after the events of F.O.R.C.E.? For that, you will have to wait until the story is finished and released as part of the new volume of The Good Fight!

I have been breaking up what little project time I have left between the editing of a long delayed, quite unique new anthology I hope to yet have ready by the end of the year. I also have worked on the last two chapters of F.O.R.C.E. as I hope to wrap that series around the end of the year.

Of course, the last few days of this month are also about Nanowrimo prep. Next month will be all about the fourth book in the Lightweight series, but I'll have to talk about that one more in next month's Work-In-Progress Wednesday!

The image today is of actress and host Francia Raisa. When I first developed Annabelle Montalvo past her earliest appearances, her work on The Secret Life of the American Teenager was still fresh. While she has aged out of ever playing the character now, she still sits as the image of the character in my head.

F.O.R.C.E. Files 8: Chase Hayes

Doc Tesla again takes the lead in the latest chapter of F.O.R.C.E, as she leads Bob Cat and Pirata Magico to Denver to investigate a familiar energy pattern.

But the new story is equally about Chase Hayes, a young millennial facing an uncertain future made far more uncertain by his sudden bonding with an alien intelligence and the source of the energy pattern. Even as the young hero meets the team and seeks to understand his new abilities, he faces his first super powered foe.

But the mystery of The Aviator's death also resurfaces as Chase's new power signature matches the hero killed in the very first F.O.R.C.E. story. This connection reveals a secret dating back to the earliest days of Doc Tesla's continuation of her family legacy.

These plot points also set up the next two chapters that will round out the year and the first series of F.O.R.C.E. But don't worry, even after F.O.R.C.E. 10 (no Alistair MacLean jokes intended), there's still a whole lot more F.O.R.C.E. planned for the months and years ahead!

The announcement of the major change for the future of the series comes on November 8th. Stay tuned for the news on that important day!

Pick up F.O.R.C.E. 8: Doc Tesla at Amazon today!

Influential 8: Two Legends Lost

Last week, two creative minds that have been influences on my writing have left the world. 

First was crime, mystery and western author Ed Gorman. Gorman was a fellow Eastern Iowan, regularly writing novels set in and around the area. But along with Max Allan Collins (another Iowan), he helped me develop a fan for crime fiction. I remember as a young reader always being stuck with straight mysteries and never quite finding them all that interesting. But with more of a focus on criminals and the horrors of crime, both Gorman and Collins drew me in. Unlike Collins however, Gorman also wrote several horror short stories, often with great Tales From the Crypt-esque finishes. His collection The Dark Fantastic still ranks as one of the best collections of horror short stories I've ever read. 

If you've never read anything by him, his novels The Poker Club and Wolf Moon are both amazing places to start. His short novel Cage of Night is currently only 99 cents on Amazon for a low cost look at his work.

Ed had a long and storied career, slowed in recent years as he battled cancer. Eventually it was that cancer that took him and left a massive hole in crime and western fiction. 

He is survived by his wife Carol Gorman, a writer of fiction for children and adults.  

Just over this last weekend, a very different creator disappeared. And though his medium and origins were about as far away from Gorman's as possible, he still left an indelible impression during my formative years.

British comic artist Steve Dillon is a name most people know for his legendary work on Preacher, an epic long running series he drew ever regular issue of. (Several side limited series were drawn by other artists.) He collaborated with Garth Ennis on several other books as well, notably Hellblazer and their revamp of The Punisher. It was actually the first Atom Special. Published in the middle of his John Constantine run, the book immediately made me a fan of his art style which brought a beautiful realism to the unreal world of superhero comics. He used those skills to great effect in Preacher, but it was his run on Wolverine: Origins that was in my opinion, his finest comic work. Despite his years as a critically acclaimed mature readers oriented artist, in recent years he had done more mainstream work like the aforementioned Wolverine stories, issues of X-Men: Legacy, Ultimate Avengers and Thunderbolts. Up until his sudden death over the weekend, he had been working on a new Punisher series with writer Becky Cloonan that I looked forward to seeing in trade. Now that work will go sadly uncollected. 

The obvious starting point for anyone wanting to enjoy his work is Preacher Book One.

Neither creator might be an immediate obvious influence on my writing, but both had an incredible knack for grounding the fantastic in the real. It's a skill I've tried to emulate in my Freedom Patton novels: A Dangerous Place to Live and the upcoming The Long Hot Summer and Champion City. Ultimately, they remain creators I will continue to enjoy and learn from, even if we sadly see nothing more from both legendary creators.

Rest well, good sirs. 

Cosplay Friday: Typhoid Mary

Nothing can bring the pre-Halloween horror like a crazy psychopath obsessed utterly with you. Typhoid Mary fits the bill, and we once again end the week with her craziness, this time brought to life by the always amazing Florencia Sofen.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for October 21, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

Great Art: Cryptkeeper and Vampirella by Steve Mannion

I have a fondness for both these characters and an equal fondness for the amazing art of indie comic dynamo Steve Mannion, a man that has kept his Fearless Dawn series and himself afloat for years now through Kickstarter and original art sales. I am sure I will talk about both Tales From the Crypt and Vampirella in the days ahead here on SPF, but for now just check out the gorgeous art.

Cosplay Monday: Morrigan

Darkstalkers has long been a favorite game franchise of mine, and perhaps no character exemplifies that franchise as well as Morrigan. Street Fighter certainly doesn't have any sexy succubi that will literally suck the soul from your body. Tons of cosplays exist for the character, but Dalin Cosplay certainly ranks among the best of them.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

Kickstart the Week 46: Werewolf Run

Daniel Leister is a great artist that's worked on several books I've enjoyed over the years, like The Sire and Hack/Slash. He's now drawing and writing a new series and he's funding it through Kickstarter. And it just conveniently is Halloween themed!

Check out Werewolf Run and help make it a reality!

Great Art: Rom by Sal Buscema

I've been greatly enjoy Rom's new series by the creative team of Ryall, Gage and Messina. But I absolutely love this Sal Buscema cover for the book. Just great work by one of the last few living legends of comics.

Cosplay Fri... er... Sunday: Venom

A snafu in scheduling kept Friday's post from going up, but here's some great weekend cosplay for your enjoyment! 

I kickoff a month of horror-oriented or monstrous Cosplays, because hey, it's almost Halloween! First up, I take a look at the character that is second only to The Brood in Marvel's answer to creepy tentacle porn. But Venom does make a great body paint cosplay (as we've seen once before). Pantara Lynne brings an equal level of sexy mixed with creepy in this new cosplay for the character.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

Kickstart the Week 45: Eagle Force Returns!

I make no secret that I am a bit of a toy collector. I am not nearly as bad as some folks, but I do spend a few bucks every month on weird and wonderful toys I come across. Most of my collection these days are six inch figures, but when I grew up it was all about a certain team of 3.75 inch military men. Sadly those men barely get any action figure releases these days, but several independent lines have popped up to fill the void.

And now the other 80s line of military men have made their return, at the same size as the 80s era G.I. Joe.


I never collected the Eagle Force line. I only have the barest memory of them in fact. Produced by Mego Toys, they were much like every other line Mego produced in its dying days: a clear answer to what was popular made in a bit cheaper format. Smaller than G.I. Joe figures but with more metal parts, the line was famous for featuring a ton of gold paint.

Now revived by the teams at Fresh Monkey Fiction and Remco Toys (a.k.a. Zica Toys), Eagle Force Returns looks like it has everything in place to be a great new line of military action figures. While not as customizable as the similar Marauder Gun Runners line, these figures come with far more personality. With over a dozen characters in place already for the first line, stretch goals could bring the entire line into the twenties. The team clearly knows what they're doing in designing a great line and also re-using parts and designs.

The entry point for figures is pretty decent as well for an independent toy manufacturer. Give them a look and if you want to see some great military figures back in action, give them your support.

Oh, and what did I buy? I'm in for a Gold Captain Eagle. Who else?

Cosplay Friday: Afro Samurai

Full disclosure: I've never made it all the way through Afro Samurai. Started it, but never finished it. While it seemed alright, it wasn't my cup of tea. That might have been different if the film was live action and Little Wren here was the star.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for September 30, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the articles, books, comics, movies, videos, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

This time around, I have a favorite maxi-series back on the reading pile, a so-so superhero sequel, the latest in a 20 plus book series and more!

F.O.R.C.E. Files 7: Zenith

Like much of her team, Zenith is a character with a long history before and after the one chapter of the ongoing series she leads. Her history ties closely to that of Powerhouse and Legend, but she has her own unique path, the secrets of which will become apparent as her tale is told in F.O.R.C.E. 7.

She's also somewhat unique in my first round of characters as she doesn't have an obvious analog to a superhero stereotype. I can't say I did that with any particular purpose though: Zenith is a character that's floated around my skull since I was thirteen. The concept of living light is fascinating to me, as it opens a ton of unique features and abilities. I have distinct memories of the early 90s iteration of Living Laser as he became a literal living laser and the use of his abilities under the writing of John Byrne, Len Kaminski and Mark Gruenwald are really the only outside influences I can muster when it comes to Zenith and her power set.

The main tale of F.O.R.C.E. 7: Zenith takes Zenith, Doc Tesla and the other female members of the team into Pashtunistan, a Middle Eastern dictatorship. As revealed in the final pages of the last chapter, a group of militant extremists named the Femazons attacked the oppressive regime and literally incapacitated every male in a society where all women are treated as second class citizens. This creates an interesting conundrum for our heroines: who is the lesser evil between the standing government and the Femazon conquerors?

As the first full year of F.O.R.C.E. races to a close in the next month and a half, this chapter also reveals a major plot point that comes to play starting with the next chapter. While an excellent standalone tale, it is also a key plot point in the ongoing saga of the team.

F.O.R.C.E. 7: Zenith is now available for 99 cents at Amazon.

Top 10 action figures overseeing my writing

I have an incredibly tiny desk space in the corner of the bedroom where about 90% of my writing gets done. It isn't the ideal writing spot, but it is an effective area to work. But sometimes I need inspiration or just a bit of a distraction from the regular grind of trying to figure out the next plot point of my current story. And that's where the handy shelf of action figures behind my desk comes in handy.

As part of this week's Pop Culture League, I'm going to take a look at my ten favorite toys on those shelves. And since my current at home camera sucks, I'll use handy stock or review photos for my convenience!

Honorable Mention: WWE Figures

I don't buy many wrestling toys, but a few have a treasured place on my shelves. My currently unopened Samoa Joe will certainly join these four shortly. (Images all from Ringside Collectibles if you didn't figure that out.)


10. Otho

I've seen a lot more love for the Four Horsemen's Mythic Legions line than I've actually felt for the figures. They are pretty solid overall, but I can't help but feel the line is overly expansive without enough variety. Still, I see a few gems in the line and Otho here is one of them.

Image credit: Four Horsemen.

Great Art: A-Force by Thony Silas

While I am not necessarily the biggest fan of Marvel's current line up of titles, I cannot complain about this great art print by the talented Thony Silas featuring various members of the Secret Wars team A-Force. It's gorgeous work from a great talent.

Aliens Among Us! (Pop Culture League)

I have long been fascinated by the concept of alien invaders. Not necessarily in the full scale invasion sense of Independence Day or War of the Worlds. But in the more insidious sense. Aliens living among us, secretly plotting to take control. Creatures that want to rule us, or destroy us, or steal our resources. Maybe, they're secretly benevolent beings, just trying to find a way home.

These kind of stories always fascinate me. Whether its Starman or V, I love the concept of the secret alien that mixes among us.

Heck, I edited an entire anthology of stories in that vein. I even gave it the most simple title I could about the conceit: Aliens Among Us.

I greatly enjoyed assembling the book and stories for Aliens Among Us, as it brought creatures from space to a variety of genres of fiction, with stories inspired by 70s exploitation cinema and westerns among others. I originally planned my own story for the book, but decided as great tale after great tale trickled in to let the works of authors like David Boop, Melvin Hadley and Margaret Karmazin speak for themselves.

While the book definitely has some design sensibilities from a person with five less years of experience than I do now, the contents of the anthology remain some of my favorites of anything I have assembled in a Metahuman Press collection.

But I still have more than one story of aliens among us bouncing around the house of ideas I call my brain. Perhaps someday I will bring a second volume of the series to the world, and this time, my own ideas could slowly work their way into the fabrics of human society.

This post is a challenge from the Pop Culture League, a collection of fascinating posts revolving around one unifying topic every week. Check out some of the other features this week such as Alexis' Universe's rundown of some alien invasion action figures, Mr. Smith's breakdown of the two usual results of alien first contact in fiction, or 20 Years Before the Year 2000 as it looks at the Men in Black franchise. Plus a whole bunch of other great posts at this week's challenge.   

Great Art: Spider-Man vs. The Circus of Crime by Fred Hembeck

I can think of few conceits of comics I love quite as much as the Circus of Crime. It is such a weird comic idea, one used to perfection by Marvel for years. The unit has evolved over the years (check out the late 90s Joe Casey-written Deathlok for an example), but they will always remain a unique favorite of mine, much like the art of Fred Hembeck.

Different Kinds of Super: Moana

Image Credit: Disney's Moana on Facebook.

One of the reasons I dubbed this page Super Powered Fiction is because I wanted to differentiate myself from what's often called "superhero fiction". I think the term superhero is limited, as it immediately draws to mind costumed adventurers in some kind of pseudo-modern setting. But for hundreds of years, stories of super powered beings have floated through every form of entertainment ever. Once in a while, I like to spotlight a piece with a clearly super powered being, even if it doesn't fall into the traditional idea of a superhero.

Disney's latest animated feature definitely fills that category. With a young female lead that is "friends" with the ocean and a super-strong demigod as the leads, the film looks to tell a unique tale with two heroes that must use their abilities to save the day. How is that not a piece of super powered fiction?

Check out the full trailer for the film below:


I'm definitely excited for this one when it releases at the end of November. What do you think of Disney's latest animated feature?

Cosplay Friday: Chun Li

Vanessa Wedge brings the week to a close with her Street Fighter Alpha Chun Li cosplay. Simply amazing work!

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for September 16, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the articles, books, comics, movies, videos, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

Pulpsploitation: On writing Airboy

This article was originally posted on the official Pulpsploitation site.

All three of these characters will play a
part in future Airboy stories.

Why Airboy?

He certainly isn’t a character that went without a revival in the 1980s. Chuck Dixon and Tim Truman created a rather amazing series at Eclipse (now being collected by IDW) with art by the likes of Stan Woch, Ben Dunn, Ron Randall and Tom Lyle.

Flying Dutchman will be the first other Air Fighter to
make an appearance in the new book.

But that series didn’t tell the story of the original Airboy. Instead it focused on Davy Nelson Jr., the son of the original character and his interaction with a mix of the original Air Fighters and new “ripped from the headlines” adventures. Despite being written by well known Republican writer Chuck Dixon, it was even famous for being the anti-Reagan comic. But while it offered great stories, it wasn’t the take on Airboy I wanted to see.

I wanted to go back to the original, I wanted to make him a fish out of water and I wanted to update the Air Fighters in a very different way.

In my initial short story, Misery and the Airtomb play their part in the first story, but they are really a subplot as Airboy finds himself young and alive again in the early 1980s. He’s immediately thrust into a plot to stop the massive super-weapon that nearly killed him once before.

The tale will hopefully kickoff a new series of adventures starring the high-flying adventurer beginning in 2017.

Pulpsploitation is now available at Amazon.

Work-in-progress Wednesday: September 2016

And look, Metahuman Press got itself a new logo
over the weekend! Woohoo!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. I've been busy with the day job, which will only get busier in the next couple weeks. Because of this, most of my time has been devoted to editing. I have been prepping the last few chapters of F.O.R.C.E. while also trying to wrap up another anthology in the wings. I'm hoping to have both out in the next to two months, and those will wrap my releases for the year 2016.

Work is continuing on Walking Shadows as always. I am working towards the end of Book Three now. Most likely that end will bring a hiatus for the serial, but that hiatus might also come with the debut of a new weekly serial in 2017, though I'm not going to share details on that quite yet.

Plans for the next few weeks are to wrap the current edits, write the final chapter of F.O.R.C.E. before it gets a name change (more on that in November) and hopefully wrap the last few pages of that current Walking Shadows volume. Of course with 50 hour work weeks ahead of me for the next month, we will see if I can actually succeed in making that happen.

Time is never a strong commodity around these parts!

Wish me luck!

Great Art: Valkyrie by Bruce Timm

I have to be honest. I've written a lot of public domain characters I want to work on. Whether it be Living Legends, the Pulp Obscura series from Pro Se Press or random short stories like "The Rise of Rulah". I have even started my own take on Hillman Comics' Air Fighters with my Airboy short story in Pulpsploitation.

But I still haven't got to Valkyrie yet. She's near the top of the list of characters I have plans for in the extended Quadrant Universe, but you probably won't see any sign of her until at least late 2017. But for now enjoy this great picture of her battling Misery (a character that does makes a brief appearance in the aforementioned story) by the always amazing Bruce Timm, of DC Animated Universe fame.

Kickstart the Week 44: The Mighty Protectors

The name may be different, but the site makes no secret that The Mighty Protectors is the new name for the third edition of Villains and Vigilantes, one of the first two superhero role playing games ever made. Back in the early days of pen and paper RPGs, it was the game anyone that wanted to play superheroes wanted to play. And while it would eventually be supplanted by Champions and the first Marvel and DC games, it still holds a special place in many gamers' hearts.


Original creator Jeff Dee is back with the new edition and it looks to add a bit of old school gaming back into superheroes, complete with d20s, random character generation and all those things you remember from games of the 80s and 90s.

If any of that intrigues you, make sure to give it a look at Kickstarter.

Cosplay Friday: Miss America Chavez

As we head into a somber fifteenth anniversary weekend, Cosplay Friday brings a little bit of patriotism with a cosplay of Marvel's latest incarnation of Miss America.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for September 9, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)

F.O.R.C.E. Files 6: Pointblank

The new chapter of F.O.R.C.E. which is now available focuses on the past of Legend. But it isn't like the previous chapters of the book. This time Legend sits at death's door, put there by the metahuman assassin known as Pointblank.

Pointblank makes his first full appearance in this chapter as the team goes after the would-be assassin of their leader. But with his meta-enhanced strength and speed, along with a preternatural aim, he may be more than a match for an entire unit of F.O.R.C.E. members. Though I briefly mentioned him in yesterday's Best Character Ever, Pointblank is an important villain in the Quadrant Universe. While he isn't the most powerful nor the most manipulative, he is one of the most successful assassins and agents in the criminal set. His exploits are legendary over a thirty year career, which make him a threat the team take very seriously.

"Death Watch" also looks at the origins of Legend, including the dark secrets of his creation. As Inch and Cyber fight to keep him alive, the past portions of the story reveal the continued legacy of the infamous King family, already on full display in the first two volumes of Lightweight.

Chapter six of F.O.R.C.E. is now available on Amazon.

Best Character Ever 23: Deathstroke

Deathstroke's modern costume by Tony Daniel.

I don't know where exactly I first fell in love with Deathstroke. I started to follow the Titans off and on around 1989 with Secret Origins Annual 3 as my first major exposure to the team. I only rarely picked up issues at that time as eleven year old Nick had limited access to comic shops where New Titans and later Deathstroke were exclusively sold at.

But I knew I was intrigued by Slade Wilson. Just as Nightwing quickly became a favorite DC hero, Deathstroke became my favorite anti-hero. A combination of a traditional Marvel hero and a roguish assassin in the men's adventure vein mixed with a bit of megalomania, he was an intriguing character built around a personal code of honor. He intrigued me as a villain who wasn't quite a villain, but was far from being a hero, especially as he spun off into his own series.

Great Art: Starfire by Tom Grummett

I have been thinking a lot about the Teen Titans of late. I am not quite sure why. I am sure edits on F.O.R.C.E. have definitely influenced me. That series has its own alien out of place in the form of Ophidian, but he is a far cry from the always amazing Starfire.

This image is by one of the most prolific artists of the New Teen Titans / New Titans, Tom Grummett. Though he's probably known better now for Superboy and Robin, he had a fifty+ issue run on the book back in the late 80s, plus a few more fill-ins during the Geoff Johns era. This mock Starfire cover makes me wish he would draw a few more issues.

Cosplay Friday: Ratohnhaketon

Cosplayer Crystal brings this impressive gender swapped cosplay of the Assassin’s Creed character. We use it to ring in an extended Labor Day weekend. Character owned by Ubisoft.

As always, you can check out a lot more great Cosplay pictures over on the Tumblr. And while you are admiring some great cosplay here, don’t forget to check out some of the other great stuff on SuperPoweredFiction.com this week!

What's Up for September 2, 2016

What's Up is a simple post where I give you links to the books, comics, movies, games and/or music I have been enjoying as of late. Feel free to check them out if you would like to enjoy them as well or give your opinions of these works in the comments below (though do try to keep it spoiler free.)