So I knew very little (okay, nothing) about Richard Knight when I was invited to write a story for him for the initial Pulp Obscura book… but after reading several of the original stories, I really like Mr. Knight and his buddy Doyle. Nice humor and pretty well written. My story still doesn’t have a title but I’m enjoying the chance to play with the characters.

If you’re like me and you’re unsure about who Richard Knight is, take a gander at the following from the back cover copy of Altus Press’ The Complete Adventures of Richard Knight Volume One:

“Best known for writing the adventures of Philip Strange, UFO legend Donald E. Keyhoe also wrote another long-running aerial hero for the pages of FLYING ACES: Richard Knight. These wild adventures also mix in elements of lost races, dinosaurs and more!”

I know, it’s not much to go on but it’s actually a pretty good sampling of what you get with Knight and Doyle: all kinds of cool weirdness set alongside a pair of aviator heroes. Fun stuff!

There’s a new Table Talk column up, where Bobby Nash, Mike Bullock and I talk about the perils of research.

I’ll be at Heroes and Villains this Saturday, signing copies of All-Star Pulp Comics # 1!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a few details about the origins of The Claws of the Rook team and yesterday I revealed that Will Meugniot was going to be involved in their upcoming return. For those who are curious about the group, I figured I’d let you know where you could find out the full details:

• Revenant (Sally Pence) first appeared in “Death From the Jungle” in The Rook Volume Four. The story is set in 1943.
• Catalyst (Nathaniel Caine) first appeared in “Catalyst” in The Rook Volume Three. The story is set in 1942.
• Esper (Rachel Winters, later Rachel Caine) first appeared in “Catalyst” in The Rook Volume Three. As stated before, the story is set in ’42.
• Vincent (aka Frankenstein’s Monster) first appeared in “Satan’s Trial” in The Rook Volume Four. This story occurs in late 1943, after “Death From the Jungle.”

The group comes together as The Claws of the Rook in 1944, operating out of a two-story house on Peachtree Street nicknamed The Aerie. The group’s meeting room was in the finished basement and there was an extensive library and armory on the second floor. The team first appeared together in “The Diabolical Mr. Dee” before teaming up with several other pulp heroes in “A Plague of Wicked Men.” Both of those adventures were set in ’44. In 1946, they took part in the missions dubbed “The Devil’s Spear” and “The Ivory Machine.” During the latter story, their ranks swelled with the additions of The Black Terror and his partner Tim, Miss Masque, and The Flame. All of those stories were recorded in The Rook Volume Five.

Nothing is known about the majority of the members past ’46, though in one possible future (“The Four Rooks,” The Rook Volume Four) we see that Catalyst is still alive into the 21st Century, having outlived his wife. Given that everything shown in the series post 2006 is just a potential future, it’s not carved in stone that this is anyone’s ultimate fate, however.

The upcoming return of The Claws team will be set in 1945, revealing what happened during that ‘missing’ year. Given that it takes place well before “The Ivory Machine,” we’ll be dealing with the four founding members of the team.

The image accompanying this post is by Anthony Castrillo and depicts The Rook and Revenant. It appeared in The Rook Volume Five.

Happy Cyber Monday, everyone! While doing your online shopping, be sure to head over to my Amazon author page and stock up on some pulpy goodness! There are some good deals out there — including 28% off on The Adventures of Lazarus Gray.

I’m knee deep in research for my Richard Knight story, part of the new Pulp Obscura line. I hope that everyone is pleased with it in the end. I admit to being unfamiliar with the character initially but after reading several of his stories, I think he’s a fun character to play with.

But what I’m most excited about today is the fact that legendary artist Will Meugniot is going to be doing some work with me! Will’s diverse career has included stints on The DNAgents (co-creator, artist), The Real Ghostbusters (Director/Producer), Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Director) and he’s currently the artist on N.E.D.O.R. Agents! The art accompanying this post is from Caspak: The Land That Time Forgot that Will is doing with author Martin Powell.

Will’s going to be working on a Claws of the Rook project with me, set in the “missing year” of 1945 — longtime Rook fans know that I’ve been teasing ’45 for a long time, as it’s been a year that was skipped over when relating the various adventures of The Rook and his allies. More details to come, obviously.

Working on my Richard Knight story for the Pulp Obscura project – after that, I have a Rook story to do and then another Pulp Obscura project is up.

Someday I will write the third Lazarus Gray for volume 3.

Busy, busy!

The image here is by George Sellas and is from my upcoming novel Die Glocke.

I know, I’m late to the game on this one but I finally watched Captain America: The First Avenger. Great pulp-style adventure! Check it out, if you haven’t already!

Happy Thanksgiving from Lazarus Gray and the rest of the Assistance Unlimited team!

Mike Bullock, Bobby Nash and I talk about the “work” of writing in this week’s episode of Table Talk. Enjoy!