Airship 27 Productions and Captain Action Enterprises LLC release new Captain Action

CAPTAIN ACTION # 3
Cry of the Jungle Lord

Airship 27 Productions and Captain Action Enterprises LLC, are thrilled to announce the release of the third volume of Captain Action’s new pulp adventures.

1969 -- Something mysterious is happening in the depths of the Yucatan jungle and Miles Drake, aka Captain Action has been sent to investigate. His superiors believe their main nemesis, the alien criminal known as Dr. Evil, is hunting something called the Sky Rock; a supposed fallen meteor containing strange energies. But as soon as Drake arrives on the site, he’s met with two other unexpected characters that may or may not be involved with Evil’s nefarious plans.

One of these is a beautiful female Mexican agent named Selena Rubio, whereas the other is a strange masked figure woven from local Mayan myths called the Gibbon, the Protector of the Jungle. Whose side are they on and how does Evil’s actual scheme involve the forthcoming Cape Kennedy space rocket launch? The deeper Captain Action delves into the affair, the more dangerous it becomes with death awaiting him at every twist and turn along this deadly verdant path.

Writers Jim Beard and Barry Reese weave a face paced, new pulp thriller filled action galore, exotic locales and larger than life characters to offer up a great new chapter in the exploits of one of the most iconic heroes of the 1960s, Captain Action. Miles Drake is his name but Action is his game!!

“This entire series was writer Jim Beard’s idea,” Airship 27 Production’s Managing Editor Ron Fortier recaps. “It was Jim who initially hooked us up with Ed Catto and Joe Ahearn of Captain Action Enterprise LLC. Generally, most small publishers avoid working with licensors, but in this case our partnership has been a great working relationship for both companies. No doubt because both Ed and Joe, and their new partner, Michael Polis, are still fanboys at heart.”

The original plan was to have Beard write all three books solo but when scheduling conflicts arose, he turned to another popular New Pulp author, Barry Reese, for assistance. A long time fan of Captain Action, Reese was happy to sign on and contributed the bulk of this third original book. Canadian artist Ted Hammond provides the stunning cover and Airship 27 Production’s Award Winning Art Director Rob Davis the interior illustrations as well as book design.

About Captain Action Enterprises
As Retropreneurs, Captain Action Enterprises, LLC specializes in taking old properties and rejuvenating them for a new generation. Captain Action’s appears in comic book series, lithographs, statues, action figures, books, T-shirts, model kits and more. Additional
properties include Lady Action, Captain Action Cat, Dr. Evil, Khem, Destiny Zero and Savage Beauty. For additional information, please contact Ed Catto at ed.catto@bonfireagency.com.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!

Available now from Amazon in both paperback and on Kindle.

Lady Action Spy Thriller Announced

Book to debut at San Diego Comic-Con

New York, N.Y. (January 19, 2015) - Airship 27 Productions, a premier publisher in the New Pulp movement, and Captain Action Enterprises, licensrs of the popular Captain Action line, have joined forces again to announce the first-ever Lady Action spy paperback, to be released July 2015.

This spy thriller features Lady Action in her first full-length prose adventure. The British Bombshell has previously appeared in Captain Action comics, her own comics and one short story. Recently, Lady Action thrilled fans with a collector’s doll from Tonner and a 1/6 scale action figure from Go Hero/Executive Replica.

Ron Fortier, a thirty-seven year veteran comics and fantasy writer and now New Pulp Fiction author and publisher, will be penning this adventure. “I’ve always enjoyed writing strong female characters from Dracula’s Daughter to my four leads in alternate world pulp thriller, The Boston Bombers.  Having the chance to tell the first Lady Action prose adventure was a marvelous opportunity too good to pass up.  I’m hoping fans of Emma Peel and the Girl from U.N.C.L.E. are going to feel right at home with what we have planned for Ms. Sinclair.”  Fortier also created the first female sidekick for the Green Hornet, Mishi Kato.

Captain Action is based on the action figure created in 1966, but Lady Action debuted in comics more recently as a heroine in her own right.  “Overwhelming fan response at comic conventions have encouraged us to develop the character further,” said Joe Ahearn of Captain Action Enterprises. “She’s also a big part of the upcoming animated series.”

Although a cover artist has yet to be selected, but Rob Davis will be designing the paperback. “Some of my greatest creative successes since I became a professional artist have involved female characters from SCIMIDAR with R.A. Jones, ROBYN OF SHERWOOD with Paul Storrie and DAUGHTER OF DRACULA with Ron Fortier. I’m proud to be able to add LADY ACTION to that list of characters and look forward excitedly to bringing the book to visual life. “

Airship 27 will be publishing this thriller, evoking the old spy paperbacks, with a scheduled debut at San Diego Comic-Con, comic shops, bookstores and online in July 2015.

Airship 27 and Captain Action!

CAPTAIN ACTION – PULP HERO!

Airship 27 Productions, one of the premier publishers in the New Pulp movement, and Captain Action Enterprises, licensors of the popular Captain Action toy line, have joined forces to produce the first ever Captain Action pulp novel, “Riddle of the Glowing Men,” by Jim Beard.  The book debuts this Aug. at Pulp Fest in Columbus, Ohio.

“We are tremendously excited to be working with Joe Ahearn and Ed Catto of Captain Action Enterprises,” said Airship 27 Productions’ Managing Editor, Ron Fortier.  “This is the first time we’ve ever put together a title based on a highly popular and successful license.”

Captain Action is based on the action figure created in 1966 by Stan Weston for Ideal Toys. He came equipped with a wardrobe of costumes allowing him to become many different heroes such as Batman, The Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet and many more. In 1967, Captain Action proved so popular that the line was expanded to include a sidekick, Action Boy and a blue skinned alien foe with bug eyes, the nefarious Dr. Evil.  The following year, DC Comics licensed the character from Ideal and published five issues of Captain Action featuring industry luminaries such as Jim Shooter, Wally Wood and Gil Kane.

Since 2005, Captain Action Enterprises, has been producing an array of exciting new collectibles, including statues, toys, comics, trading cards, and apparel.  Still, the one remaining venue the enduring hero had yet to conquer was that of a prose novel.  Enter veteran writer Jim Beard, a life-long fan of the character.  “Jim approached us late last year with this idea for a Captain Action pulp novel,” recalls Catto. “We were immediately intrigued by the possibilities and began seriously exploring the idea.”

It was Beard who then brought Ahearn and Catto to Airship 27 Productions.  “At the time I’d just finished my first book for Airship 27,” Beard elaborates.  “Impressed with their industry leading quality and professionalism, I knew they were the right people to usher Captain Action into the fast-paced world of pulpdom.”

The challenge of doing a licensed property appealed to Fortier and his partner and Art Director, Rob Davis and they signed on.  Their first goal was to assemble the finest art team possible. This was achieved by recruiting the talented cover painter, Nick Runge.  Runge’s work on such IDW titles as Angel & Terminator –Salvation has spotlighted him as being one of the finest new artists in the graphic field today.  Davis himself took on the task of doing the nine interior illustrations while also designing the entire package. 

“Riddle of the Glowing Men,” is set in the sixties where secret agent, Miles Drake, aka, Captain Action, is attacked at A.C.T.I.O.N. headquarters by several assassins whose green skin glows as if radiated.  In the process of learning the identity of these killers and the reason behind their attack, Captain Action teams with a beautiful female Russian agent and their quest leads them to a hidden civilization under the frozen wasteland of Siberia. “Jim Beard has written a terrific, authentic Captain Action adventure,” applauds Fortier. “It perfectly captures the break-neck speed and thrills of the early pulps only with today’s modern sensibilities. This book is sure to appeal to both Captain Action fans and new pulp enthusiasts alike.”

Joe Ahearn and Ed Catto will be hosting a Captain Action panel at this year’s San Diego Comic Con with further details about other exciting plans for the classic hero.  Artist Nick Runge will also be present at his table in Artist Alley.  Fortier, Davis and Beard will be in attendance at Pulp Fest and will announce the book’s actual publication date.

About Captain Action Enterprises

As Retropreneurs, Captain Action Enterprises, LLC specializes in taking old properties and rejuvenating them for a new generation. Captain Action now appears in an on-going comic book series, lithographs, statues, action figures, T-shirts, model kits and an iPhone app. Additional properties include Lady Action, the Zeroids and Savage Beauty. For additional information, contact ed.catto@bonfireagency.com.

About Airship 27 Productions

Begun in 2004 to produce new novels and anthologies featuring classic, public domain pulp heroes of the 30s and 40s, Airship 27 Productions was one of the major factors behind the pulp renaissance which evolved into the New Pulp Movement.  Today they have over fifty titles in their ever expanding catalog, sell both hard copy and digital versions of their books and will soon be launching audio books of their titles. They can be found at airship27hangar.com