While mowing the lawn Sunday, I had a vision: a comic-book cover depicting The Black Wing. He was just at the exact moment of touching down after parachuting from his crashing plane Lillith, which could be seen plummeting to earth in the background. His costume/uniform torn and ripped in spots, The Black Wing clutched a .45 pistol as he gazed upon the strange land he’d just found himself stranded in… a jungle vista with a volcano looming in the distance… and a pteranodon soaring overhead!

The vision assured me of a doubt that had been lingering since the creation of my characters: once started, would The Black Wing continue on after he had rooted out and crushed the saboteurs within Sky Patrol (see character notes here)? I wasn’t sure, but that “lost world” vision… it was too good not to use. So yes, TBW will continue his fight against spies and the enemies of the free world. But in what capacity? I’m envisioning TBW continuing the good fight under employment of the government as a “secret weapon”, a flying commando, who would probably be the first of my heroes to go up against the Nazi menace. Time will tell if this happens, though…

to be continued

Amazingly, I got a whole chapter written yesterday- at work, no less. There were a few changes to be made as it was word-processed, but it wasn’t bad. What I wrote manages to squeeze some chases (in car and on foot), some Miami atmosphere, and some rapid combat into one 11 (note) page chapter. So far so good…

P.S. Happy Anniversary, Annie!!

Well, the prologue to “Isle Of Blood” is finished, it’s “in the can” (in Hollywood-speak, not as in “on the toilet”). It only took a week of note-taking and scribbling at lunch and breaks at work, then dictation to my wife who typed it into the computer this weekend (in classic pulp-style double columns, no less). The whole process is a lot of fun, and I find myself not wanting to stop, even for sleep, sometimes. Thankfully, I’m not seeing little balls of sunshine in a bag yet.

In the meantime, I’m still thinking ahead… about The Cipher (the first two stories are shaping up slowly), the next Challenger Storm story, and a long term “what if?”: a team-up of the two characters in a storyline titled “Apocalypse”. (Black Wing, I haven’t forgotten about you! I’m really shooting to make you a comic of some kind.)

In the meantime, keep your coffee strong and your cuban sandwiches pressed right, and your secret decoders set to “B-2″. This is Don, signing off…

That title above is not quite the first line, but it’s close.

The first half of the prologue of the first “Challenger Storm” story has been written. While I can’t reveal the story details to anyone but my trusted M.A.R.D.L. team scientists (and my wife), I can reveal the probable title:

CHALLENGER STORM: ISLE OF BLOOD

(Sorry for the dramatics, but it sounds like it needs to be in bold and italicized letters.)

On June 27, 2007, I sent the details to my team concerning Cipher characters. This was done with some trepidation: I worry sometimes that I might be “writing over my head” with this idea…

The “transmission” read as follows:

Discussing The Cipher with my wife (who so far has declined MARDL membership, preferring to stay “an independent advisor”), I began to think that maybe the characters had very little realistic motivation for banding together to solve and crush crimes. Vigilantes are a rare breed of person, finding a group of outraged, like minded individuals would be extremely tough. In the classic pulps, the urge to do the right thing was all a hero (or heroes) needed to be heroic and to just do it. While creating characters myself, it just didn’t “pop” for me. I needed them to have a motivation.

And so we hammered out some characters with a purpose behind their vendetta.

Also, I expanded the cast a bit. Sorry, Retro. I just couldn’t pare them down to just three, try as I might.

So, without further ado…
_______________________________________________________________________________

MIAMI AERODROME: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LABORATORIES

TRANSMISSION 4

_______________________________________________________________________________
(anybody tired of the dramatics, yet )

A refresher:

“They were a secret commando squad from the Great War (WWI, of course) who, in the course of one particular mission, came into possession of a large treasure they “liberated” from the Kaiser’s forces. After the war, they reformed in New York, to take on a new war… the war on organized crime. Their appropriated treasure funds their efforts to destroy criminals.

To instill fear in the criminal heart, they devised a single identity they could unite behind, a figurehead that would disguise them and create the illusion of a powerful single foe. And so, all four highly skilled former soldiers can wear the disguise of The Cipher, and he can seem to be in multiple places at once to the unwitting.”

-The Cipher team members

*Joseph Novak- Orphaned at the age of 8 by a violent gangland shootout, Joseph quickly found himself alone in the world. He lived in the orphanage until legal age, then joined the Army to serve in the “Great War”. During the war, he became part of the elite “Hand Of God” commando unit. His role in that unit was that of sniper or “sharpshooter”. Upon returning to his life in the US, he went to law school so that he could defend the innocent. Finding the justice system an imperfect machine, he was the first to suggest the banding together of his comrades under a single identity to wage a war on the underworld.

*Sydney Pelatier- A society girl and model, Sydney was the wife of the recon man in the Hand Of God unit, Steven Pelatier. The happy couple was torn apart when Steven witnessed a hold-up and rushed in to stop it, only to be shot dead in the process. Remaining close to Steven’s comrades, Sydney is inducted into the group as the socialite (along with Joe Novak) can infiltrate wealthy circles. Sydney doesn’t have any military training like the others, but is proficient with a pistol and has the drive to wage her war just like others have theirs.

*Frank Pagonis- Born into one of the most powerful mafia families in the country, Frank Pagonis was the “white sheep” in a family of criminals. He loves his relatives deeply, even looks up to them in some ways… but cannot bring himself to join their ranks. In the unit, Frank was the demolitions expert.

*Raymond Krajacik- A family man, Raymond owned a successful grocery store. During the war, he was the Hand Of God unit’s assassin, a specialist in stealth and close-quarters combat(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Quarters_Combat). After returning from the war, Raymond was looking forward to the good life the appropriated wealth would provide for his family… but was his life was shattered when they were killed in a bombing following his refusal to participate in a mob “protection racket”. Raymond is possibly the most dangerous of all the team members as he feels he has “nothing to lose”, and his combat skills are put to frighteningly effective use as The Cipher.

*Paul Ramsey- A radio-interception specialist during the war (http://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00012.cfm), Paul is a brilliant chemist and electrical engineer who worked closely with the unit. After returning to civilian life, he began to work for several industrial and engineering firms. The only member not touched by personal tragedy and crime, Paul is nonetheless dedicated to using his skills in the team, not just as the communications and coordination center, but also as the designer and builder of the mask, weapons, and tools used by The Cipher.
______________________________________________________

Tom Floyd was the first to send his feedback:

OK, at first I didn’t know what to think of this idea, but the more it is fleshed out it is my favorite. The reasons to tightly band together seem
greater than the typical ‘lets all get together and adventure’ Doc Savage kind of idea. I like that these people, except for the woman, were part of the commando unit before. It gives them a common ground. As a veteran I know what that is like. I also like the main idea of them being able to appear in many places at once, what a great secret identity. Like some of the serials, Masked Marvel comes to mind - where there was a group of guys who put on the mask, but not until the last chapter did the audience or
the bad guys know which of the group was the hero. But, I like this idea much better with many people dressed alike running around. Visually and plot wise I think it would be a gas! With questions like which one did this or that?….cool.

Bravo - I like this one alot.

I also looked up the term ‘commando’. I thought that it was more of a WW2 term, but found mentions of the word as early as the Boer War which was in the late 1800’s so the term was around, just don’t know much about the soldiers who were commandos then. It has always been one of my favorite military terms…….as in the serial the ’secret code’ with the black commando…..or the reissue of Capt. Midnight on tv as Jet Jackson the flying commando!

Bravo!

My reply (besides grinning like an idiot) was:

Thanks again for the kind words of encouragement. I’m glad you like the reason for the team to band together. That was my wife’s idea, and once again, it makes all the difference in the world. I think that the shared combat experience and the tragedy many of the characters have been put through adds a certain “weight” to it all.

As far as the Masked Marvel similarities go, I had no idea. LOL

And yes, I was surprised too that commandos existed before WWII. It was my original idea that these “commandos” weren’t called as such, it was just a special covert group. Research often supplies unexpected surprises, though!

Gabriel rang in with the short and sweet:

So far so good Don! Hermano, I’m consistently amazed and pleased. Once we get our respective projects off the ground, it’s going to be freaking badass to get our 2 heros teamed up

In total agreeance:

Glad you like it, Gabe! Crossovers in the future are definitely going to be a fun possibility!

From Dave Flora:

Oh yes indeed!

Ok Don, this moves to my #1 position of the stories just because it is so incredibly true to the pulps, but has a very interesting twist with several people adopting the same persona. I love the war background and that they are all specialists…with their own strengths and weaknesses to bring. A nemesis mastermind might note interesting discrepancies in how Cypher works in different cases….which might lead to a discovery of who they might be.

I’m interested in knowing more about the “Hand of God” group….particularly their leader. Maybe he could tie into the first story….even as a villain?

Bravo!

Aw, shucks!

Thanks Dave!

This idea is moving up fast in the ranks! I regret that I won’t be writing this one first, though. Have to work my way up to it!

As far as a villain goes, I actually had a short dream about The Cipher the other night. It sounds weird, but I glimpsed a big-time villain in the dream, a criminal mastermind that dresses in a tux, top-hat, white gloves and wears a “Hannya” noh mask (http://www.city.kanazawa.ishikawa.jp/dentou_e/theater/noh/beauty/magnify/jpg/hannya.jpg)

Don’t know who he is yet, but he’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure.

As of yet, The Retropolitan has yet to respond. I’ve heard from him and he’s kind of busy, but his response will, of course, warrant a new posting. Stay tuned!