Warbirds of Mars: Stories of the Fight! Read online

  It’s 1948 and WWII never ended!

  Instead, Earth was invaded by creatures from the stars!

  One small group of resistance fighters has banded together to hold the line…at all costs!

  WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT!

  Bomber pilot Jack Paris. Lounge singer Josie Taylor. Bandaged avenger Hunter Noir. Mysterious hybrid Mr. Mask. Together they will stop at nothing to undermine the Martian occupation of Earth. From daring action in the South China Sea to explosive chaos on the frozen glaciers of Greenland. Watch a man transformed into a vigilante hero, as the world he knows crumbles around him. See an alien-human abomination discover self-worth in the death of a man who extends him kindness. What are the resistance plans for combating the Martian threat? Discover an awakening as two young boys journey from distant farms to the big city, to get in on the life of battle. Just what are the creeping monsters threatening the small southwestern town of Adobe Wells?

  Scott P. Vaughn’s vision of a world ruled by three-eyed invaders from the popular webcomic comes to life in this anthology, with fourteen tales of intrigue, horror, and desperate action. The stories run the gamut from the air war, to the horseback of the wild west and the nocturnal alleys of battle-torn 1940s urban America. Brought to you by some of the best names in the horror, action & adventure, supernatural thriller, and comics genres. Relive the glory of the Pulp era with these stories of the fight.

  With illustrations by Mike DeBalfo, Bill Farmer, Robert Hack, John Lucas, Dan Parsons, Doc Vaughn & more!

  WARBIRDS OF MARS:

  STORIES OF THE FIGHT!

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FOREWORD

  by Scott P. Vaughn

  Illustration

  by Jean Arrow

  INTRODUCTION

  by Kane Gilmour

  Illustration

  by Robert Hack

  HUNTER NOIR

  by Scott P. Vaughn

  Illustration

  by Nik Poliwko

  IN THE WORLD TODAY

  by Megan E. Vaughn

  Illustration

  by Christian Guldager

  SOUTHERN CROSS

  by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

  Illustration

  by John Lucas

  THE DEADLY TRIAD

  by Alex Ness

  Illustration

  by Richard Serrao

  THE FARMBOY’S

  ADVENTURE

  by Sean Ellis

  Illustration

  by Dan Parsons

  THE BITTER EDGE

  by Kane Gilmour

  Illustration

  by Jason Worthington

  THE MONSTERS OF

  ADOBE WELLS

  by Ron Fortier

  Illustration

  by Rob Hicks

  THE SKULL OF LAZARUS

  by Megan E. Vaughn

  Illustration

  by Mike DeBalfo

  RED SKY PHOENIX:

  THE RISE OF

  FREE RUSSIA

  by Alex Ness

  Illustration

  by Paul Roman

  Martinez

  HUMAN GUILE

  by Chris Samson

  Illustration

  by Matthew Goodall

  SURPRISE

  by Stephen M. Irwin

  Illustration

  by Nathan Morris

  THE ROAD OUT OF

  ANTIOCH

  by J. H. Ivanov

  Illustration

  by Bill Farmer

  SHIPWRECKED

  by David Lindblad

  Illustration

  by Andy Carreon

  REFINED ELEGANCE

  by Scott P. Vaughn

  Illustration

  by Scott P. Vaughn

  A Note from the Editors

  About the Authors

  About the Artists

  Acknowledgments

  Bonus Content

  Also by the Editors

  For Dr. Clayton Forrester

  and Dr. Harrison Blackwood,

  and for the indefatigable

  Lamont Cranston.

  FOREWORD

  For those of you new to this saga, Warbirds of Mars is—among other things—a continuing webcomic marketed as ‘Neo-pulp’ and ‘Retro-sci-fi’, perhaps better described as an excuse to draw girls in garters and heroes in fedoras battling invaders from another, equally design-inspired world. This 1940s set Sunday Comic-strip style adventure has been my hand-drawn creation for a few years now, with the writing talents (and most of the better ideas) handled admirably by my comrade Kane Gilmour. Its main characters include pilots, half-breed assassins, and ‘Hunter Noir’, an individual whose name hints at yet another of the influences on the comic’s creation. In the modern era’s need to create pop-culture mash-ups of genres and tropes, I fashioned my own group of pulp heroes and gave it all a catchy title. Somehow, over the last year, the words “We should do an anthology” led to the recent flooding of my inbox with fantastic fiction by authors I respect and admire, as well as dramatic illustrations by artists I adore. And it’s all set in a world I created. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

  Our earliest pop-culture influences in life can lead us to some strange, distant, and sometimes very rewarding places. While I’ve always considered myself an Old Soul, I cannot convincingly say that my first genre loves—Star Wars, Doctor Who, and classic adventure films such as Tarzan and His Mate—did not directly influence my artistic endeavors. Somehow each path of fandom and discovery led deeper and deeper into the origins of science fiction adventure and the romance of its earliest illustrative forms. So when it came time to start my own webcomic, doing homage to the tales and art of the 1930s and 1940s was a no-brainer. Warbirds of Mars is the result, though the reasons why I began it, pitched it to Kane, or why it has been honored with an expanded universe by the authors and artists within these pages are something that I shall try to describe here.

  With luck, it won’t all end up sounding like an Oscar acceptance speech.

  Have you ever been to an air show? My dad took me to some of the biggest as a kid, and for whatever reasons, the Spitfires, Corsairs, and Mustangs fascinated me more than the jets in those days. The old ‘Warbirds’ sat on the tarmac as living, flying legacies to a time long gone and a war that saved the world. And what a great word, ‘Warbirds’; coupled with ‘Mars’ I felt sure it would get across a certain feeling of the sci-fi of yesteryear. ‘Martians’ (whether the titular invaders of the story actually come from the red planet or not) were, in my mind, how people of the pre-space race era referred to all creatures from another world. Or at least, that’s what B-movies, bubblegum cards, and pinball games taught me. And so the invaders of H. G. Wells’s novel (and the various celluloid versions of War of the Worlds) became the natural villains for the concept of a drawing featuring all of the above elements jumbled to meet my pulp-fictiony drawing desires (complete with damsels, of course). I drew it and filed it away under ‘ideas to eventually flesh out when I have more time.’

  Now, for reasons too various and boring to mention here, eight or ten years after that drawing, I decided to create my own webcomic. Warbirds of Mars was the creation that got pulled out of the file—partly because my taste for mid-century fashion, culture, and art has only increased, but also because so much of that world already existed, meaning there would be (theoretically) less to create. At this point, I could say that in my infinite wisdom, I decided to pitch this particular concept to my college chum and up-and-coming author friend Kane Gilmour, expressly knowing that it would be his infusion as scriptwriter that would elevate the material from mere pastiche to glowing homage. I could also say that I
felt it was finally a chance to work together on a comic project that would serve us both as a sort of creative discipline and future lucrative property. There’s truth to much of that (and at this point I’m happy to take as much of the credit as I can). But it wasn’t Kane’s writing and my art, so much as it was the material that influenced it, that led to so many amazing talents choosing to indulge themselves within these pages.

  In my own sincere attempts to somehow carry on the traditions, look, and feel of days gone by, Warbirds of Mars itself has brought the amazing writers and artists published within these pages together to put their own spin on that culture. If the influences on the contributing talents that have assembled to bring you Stories of the Fight! Are anything like what I grew up discovering, then they’ve enjoyed the likes of the original King Kong, Island of Lost Souls, and Casablanca, or perhaps later films such as Indiana Jones, Sky Captain, or The Rocketeer. Conceivably, they too enjoyed pulp magazines the likes of The Shadow, Weird Tales, G-8, and Doc Savage, each with their lurid cover art and fantastic tales by authors such as Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, or Norvell Page. Just as possibly, the contributors followed the line of modern comic book and genre talent back down the line from the likes of Mark Schultz, Al Williamson, and Dave Stevens to Frazetta and Wood, or the pulp art of Norman Saunders, Frank R. Paul, Margaret Brundage, or the incomparable Alex Raymond and his Flash Gordon Sunday Strips. These people and their creations have left indelible marks on the whole of pop culture, and I know Warbirds can only hope to hoist the torch that they lit for the next generation to discover.

  Thanks to all of them and those they inspired, perhaps the past isn’t quite so lost after all.

  Best,

  Scott P. ‘Doc’ Vaughn

  April, 2013

  INTRODUCTION

  When Scott ‘Doc’ Vaughn first asked me to take a look at his concept for a world in which Earth was invaded by Martians before the end of World War II, it was with the understanding that if I liked it, I might write some scripts for him to illustrate. He was feeling itchy to try his hand at a new concept, but wanted someone else to handle the writing. If I’m honest, I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic at the time. I’ve known Doc for many years, and I know him to have excellent taste and a great swath of knowledge about story. However, the premise sounded straight sci-fi and didn’t really appeal to my more adventure-centered tastes. I needn’t have worried.

  As it turned out, his vision was a little more all-encompassing. He wanted to incorporate adventure, noir, pulp-style avenging, and air war tales, and throw in a healthy dose of cheesecake for him to draw. His ideas stretched from legitimate reasons why the Martians might actually invade a planet like Earth, to background on the weapons the core team of human resistance fighters might use. He had everything from a fully fleshed-out history of where the world might have been and where it was going, to little in-jokes he wanted to plant. I was massively impressed. The scope of the concept was epic, and would allow for stories of all kinds, from back-alley nocturnal avengers like in the old pulps to tales of derring-do in the skies above war-torn Europe. Together, we could tell stories of horror as the Martians tried to crossbreed with human women, and we could examine their genetic offspring and experiments gone awry. We could work in romance, and sea stories, and madcap adventure, and parodies of scenes from Where Eagles Dare.

  I signed on enthusiastically, thinking it would be a fun exercise for me to keep thinking of new ideas for what was envisioned as a weekly webcomic. Soon, though, the weekly webcomic became an irregularly produced, but well-respected, affair. And I had fun! Especially when I would give Doc hardship assignments like: “Here, draw a B-24 Liberator in flight—as a cross section, showing where all the crew are!”

  As we went on, I enjoyed myself, but I didn’t think we were heading anywhere in particular. Once again, Doc knew better. We started getting noticed and receiving praise for our efforts on the comic. People across the fields of horror, comics, New Pulp, and thrillers took notice and gave us great feedback. When I started receiving praise for getting the ‘pulp feel’ right though, I felt like a phony. After all, the main concepts were Doc’s, and I wasn’t even really a fan of pulp. Or so I thought.

  I had been interested in comics in the 1980s and 1990s, but my interests had run to strictly the popular superhero fare of the day. I was aware, of course, of the old pulp heroes like The Shadow and Doc Savage, but I had never really read those characters, and often shied away from them. By 2010, when we posted the cover of the Warbirds of Mars webcomic, my tastes had changed significantly. I found myself appreciating films and books I had been aware of or had seen years earlier, like The Rocketeer, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and more. But I still didn’t really feel like I ‘knew’, or even fully understood, the pulp era. My love for that era grew over the time we worked on the webcomic, even to the point where I discovered the New Pulp movement and the great works coming out under that umbrella. So as I wrote, I was rediscovering the roots of my love for all things pulp, regardless of the fact that most of them were themselves homages to that era, rather than the genuine articles.

  For Doc, luckily, this wasn’t a problem. Doc is a man of great taste, and his taste runs very strongly toward the ’50s and earlier. He knew the era and had long been a fan of film and popular literature of the first half of the twentieth century. He was my constant source of information for what was and wasn’t period as we began. The concept was all his and the characters were all his designs and backgrounds. I felt like a fraud when I got praise for the writing, because I knew I didn’t know the period like he did, and I was really just playing with Doc’s toys. But the more the praise came in, the more I realized that it wasn’t so much that I wasn’t as familiar with the period as the fact that I was playing. I was having a great time, and throwing in every ludicrous idea I could think of, like Martians liking French cheese, and Hitler on a leash like a dog. I was exercising every crazy notion I could think of that fit the period, and working in gag after gag, like the name of Lady Doyle’s boat being the Kantanga Wind from Raiders of the Lost Ark and a variation on the ‘no ticket’ gag from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. (I was on a Harrison Ford kick after getting inspiration from the excellent aerial scenes in Hannover Street.)

  After a while, I felt less like an imposter and more like the luckiest guy in the world. Doc was drawing up a storm, handling every challenge I threw at him from the shattered Golden Gate bridge and pirates versus Martians, to dogfights over Long Island and a secret base under Coney Island, with a yawning entrance for planes to a secret runway under the beach. He even worked in his own gags, like including many of his friends in the bar scene at the Double R (yours truly is the bartender).

  Eventually, Doc started hearing from some pros that liked the comic, and who expressed an interest in playing in our little world. I pressed Doc to pin them down on short stories, and over time, the concept for an anthology was born.

  It was only right that Doc should start us off in ‘Hunter Noir’, with both an origin tale for our bandaged avenger and an introduction to the invasion of Earth itself. That’s an area we haven’t yet touched in the comic, because the invasion happened in our world in 1944, but the present timeline in the comic is 1948, where the human populace is no longer dealing with an invasion so much as an occupation. ‘Hunter Noir’ gives us a glimpse of the horror 1940s America faced, and also reveals what happened to Florida. (Keen readers of the comic will know that in 1948, it’s referred to simply as ‘The Glowing Keys’.)

  Doc’s sister, Megan E. Vaughn, is also a talented author in her own right. She’s working on some YA and fantasy novels, but she took the time to give us a great little tale of everyday Americans encountering the alien menace for the first time with ‘In The World Today’. The tale evokes the 1940s we all know from science fiction and war films to a ‘T’. Small town, teenage hijinks, and the eternal struggle of the lovesick nerd versus the loudmouthed jock. But amidst this tapestr
y of Americana, a threat from beyond the stars has the power to bring humans together. Megan also gives us ‘The Skull of Lazarus’, a more straightforward pulpy tale, with a new heroine in our series: Lady Eva Doyle. Doyle is one part Lara Croft and one part River Song, and Megan captures her blasé approach to Nazi-bashing adventure with aplomb and style, even working in a scene with Doyle manning a Vickers machine gun in aerial combat!

  When I first met Jeff Mariotte in the mid ’90s, I knew of him only as an editor at Image Comics. It was at a comic book trade show attempting to be the first Arizona comic book convention. He was pleasant and down to earth, and while he was a comics pro and I was just a minimum-wage employee at a comic book store’s stall, he still took the time to chat. After a long day, and him speaking to over a thousand people, all wanting to pitch him their stories and art so they could be the next Jim Lee, he came by my table again—and he still remembered my name. I was impressed and never forgot it. Years later, in a different state, at a different comic shop, a good friend recommended I read Desperadoes, a comic written by Jeff. I loved the book and instantly recognized Jeff’s name. It was the first time I realized Jeff was an author as well as an editor, and I made it a point to seek out his work from then on. I was delighted to find out Doc had gotten Jeff on board for the anthology.

  I knew Jeff wrote southwestern horror tales, so I expected him to want to go in that direction, but he surprised me with ‘Southern Cross’ by bringing the action to the South China Sea, and working the whole ‘yellow peril’ aspect of the pulps into a fantastic action-adventure story. Jeff gets extra props from me for being the only contributor to work the word ‘frogman’ into his story, which for some strange reason filled me with childish cheer. By happy coincidence, we unintentionally reunited Jeff with talented artist John Lucas. John drew a one-shot issue of Desperadoes—that same comic that introduced me to Jeff’s writing. Serendipity abounded on this project.