NEW ROADS TO HELL is finally here!

Airship 27 Productions is excited to debut the first of a new line of pulp-superhero books with, SHADOW LEGION – New Roads to Hell as written and created by Thomas Deja.
“Thomas proposed this idea to me last year,” explains Airship 27 Managing Editor Ron Fortier, “and I thought it contained fascinating perspectives on the whole idea of supernatural beings.”

“Every sci-fi, pulp fan knows comic book superheroes evolved from the pulps heroes,” Fortier goes on to say. “The idea of turning the tables and doing prose stories of superheroes isn’t anything new and there have been several publishers who have explored that hybrid world recently. We didn’t want to copy what others had done; which is why SHADOW LEGION appealed to me in the first place.  In creating the city of Nocturne and its unique characters, Thomas has put a decidedly fresh spin on this genre and we think our readers are really going to enjoy these adventures.”

There has always been something strange about Nocturne, Florida; the City That Lives by Night.  It is an entertainment nexus luring tourist from around the world to its night clubs, music venues and other, more adult entertainment venues. But there is a darker side to which these carefree revelers never see; one of dark doings, violence and eldritch evil.

Now a new sinister force threatens Nocturne and only a handful of unique, gifted beings can protect the city’s innocent.

Nightbreaker; a radio star turned vigilante, he exist in a strange limbo world.

The beautiful Dreamcatcher who bends all magic to her will.

The mysterious Ferryman, a living conduit to the world beyond!

And their leader, Black Talon, the embodiment of the unfettered fury of the African Veldt...stalking a jungle of concrete and glass!

Together they are The Shadow Legion, a secret alliance of mystery men and women who battle the fantastic threats that can tear apart the metropolis they call home!

Their saga begins here in New Roads To Hell, a gripping novel by Thomas Deja that reveals the secret origins of Nightbreaker and Ferrymen, and features the menace of Rose Red, a crimson haired devil with a talent for murder!  The book features interior illustrations by Chris Kemple and a cover by Pulp Factory Award winning artist, Mike Fyles with designs by Rob Davis, another PFA art winner.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – New Pulp Fiction for a New Generation!

Now available at Amazon.com & on Kindle.

The Shadow Legion's New Artist!

For those of you who have been waiting for The Shadow Legion: New Roads To Hell, I do have some good news for you--namely, that Captain Ron Fortier has finally signed Chris Kemple to join cover artist Mike Fyles in bringing the world of Nocturne to life!  Kemple will be providing the interior illustrations for the book, adding his visual flair to our quartet of crusaders....oh, and our very, very wicked bad girl.

(Incidentally, it seems that those people who have gotten a glimpse of the Legion have been really taken with Our Murderous Fairy Tale Princess....so much so, I'm beginning to wonder if she should play a bigger part in what is going to be our second full-length novel, The Shadow Legion: The Devil's Toybox!)

Chris is working hard on those illustrations and I hope to share with you some goodies from him--maybe even have him sit down with me here at the Agency--once we're done and we move closer to the release!  Stay tuned!

What Makes Our Heroes Great!

Here's some really early concept art, featuring the first version of
New Roads To Hell Rose Red and two versions of Dreamcatcher...

So here I am in limbo, New Roads To Hell in the hands of Captain Ron of Airship 27, and I'm already working on the next book in the Shadow Legion series, The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One: Four For Danger.

(I'm also working on The Adventures of Tao Jones, but that's a story for another blog entry...)

What that means is I've got four different files, one for each of our initial heroes, that I've been hopping between. Sometimes all I write is a single sentence in one story, then switch to a second story to write a whole scene, then off to a third to write a paragraph. It's a heady experience doing all these very different stories that are still unified in some way, and I am enjoying it.

And one of the reasons I'm enjoying it so much is that I get to create some new villains.

And let's be honest--our heroes would be nothing without villains just as colorful as they are. Used correctly, Villains help draw the hero into sharper relief--how can we understand the selflessness and dedication to protecting other of Superman if we didn't have the venality and self-interest of Lex Luthor to contrast it with? How can we appreciate the discipline and relentlessness of Batman without the chaotic nature of The Joker to play against it? Villains can be more than just colorful excuses for our heroes to save lives, do the right thing and...well, act heroic.

Now I'm pretty confident that Rose Red is a bad girl on a scale big enough to give the initial quartet that comprise The Shadow Legion fits in New Roads To Hell (and trust me when I tell you she'll be back in future books)....but the idea of the next book is to create four epic short stories showcasing each of my original heroes at different points in the twenty five years between New Roads and the next novel, The Devil's Toybox. The earliest takes place partially concurrent to New Roads and in the weeks immediately after; the latest will take place at the dawn of the 60's, when culturally and intellectually the country expanded its boundaries--sometimes into darker territories.

But the cool thing is I can now create some villains who are specific to our individual Legionaires--and that's proving to be very fun. You see, I can indulge in a little more creativity when it comes to these guys. With Rose Red and the villains you'll meet in The Devil's Toybox, I have to think in broad strokes. My bad guys there have to be huge, massive threats that can occupy all four of my heroes. But because of the nature of the Casebooks (Think of them as the equivalent of those bags of comics that used to be sold at Toys R' Us and Walmat with four random issues of the individual Legionaires whereas the novels are graphic novels collections gathering up a complete story arc), I can now do smaller villains, the type of characters that will provide the same contrast to my heroes as Lex Luthor provides to Superman and The Jokes does for Batman.

And because each of these baddies is only for one hero, I can create a wider variety of villains. Unless things change, I'm going to have a dark mirror of one of my heroes who confronts him with questions on how he will deal with his burgeoning powers; a wild visionary whose idea of Nocturne's future is at odds with another of my heroes; and a otherworldly creature that will help a third discover new abilities. I may even have a peculiar comedic one that will provide a bit of relief from the darkness of the Shadow Legion series as a whole.

I can't wait for you all to meet these characters (and I'll be honest; one of these is proving to be so fun I'm looking for a way to work him into one of the future novels)....but then, I love my bad guys as a whole, no matter how nasty they can be.

　

Some Updates

Since my planned update this weekend for The Agency--another 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' where I talk Jack Kirby, world building and writing the opposite sex with Ian A. Watson--is going to be delayed until Monday for reasons that will become apparant when you read it, I wanted to update you on the progress of The Shadow Legion and other things.

The manuscript for New Roads To Hell has been delivered and edited, and it's now being enhanced with ten new illustration by my partner on this journey, Michelle Scuito. A new teaser for the book has started to surface on blogs around the internet....to wit:

There has always been something strange about Nocturne, Florida.

Built over some of the most dangerous swamp land in the 18th century, Nocturne has become known as The City That Lives By Night due to its multitude of night clubs, music venues and other sources of entertainment. But it has another reputation, one spoke of whispers in places the revelers and tourists don't go. That reputation is one of dark doings, of violence and hate and eldritch evil.

Luckily, The City That Lives By Night....has a darker shade of protector.

Nightbreaker

He spent his life hiding who he was...and now he fights to prove that he exists!

Dreamcatcher

There is magic all around us....and she can bend it all to her will!

Ferryman

He's the conduit to the other side...and its instrument of revenge!

Black Talon

He is the embodiment of the unfettered fury of the African Veldt...stalking a jungle of concrete and glass!

Together they are The Shadow Legion, a secret alliance of mystery men who battle the fantastic threats that can tear apart the metropolis they call home--and beyond!

The saga of The Shadow Legion begins with New Roads To Hell, which reveals the secret origins of Nightbreaker and Ferrymen, and features the menace of Rose Red, the crimson tressed devil with a magical talent for murder--available soon from Airship 27 (airship27.com) and the mind of Thomas Deja!

For further information, including exclusive artwork from Michelle Scuito (character designer for the series) please visit the Nocturne Travel Agency at welcometonocturne.blogspot.com.

Now New Roads is not the end of The Shadow Legion's story. I'm already over a third of the way done with "The Tick Tock Men," a Nightbreaker story that will appear in a future volume of Airship 27's Mystery Men And Women. The present plan is for this story to act as one fourth of a collection I'm working on. Each story will showcase each of our initial quartet of Legionnaires, helping to fill in more about each character and serve as the bridge between New Roads and Book Two, The Devil's Toybox.

In addition to the Shadow Legion stuff, there are two other items I'm involved with for Airship 27. The script for Bad Faith Healer, the Domino Lady comic book adventure destined for All Star Pulp Comics #2, has been turned in...and I've been asked to work on a new adventure for the Greatest Sailor Of All--no, not Popeye, but Sinbad--for an upcoming volume of Sinbad: The New Voyages.

As all these projects continue to progress, I will let you know. Until then, join me in a few days for my talk with Ian Watson!

　

Meet The Shadow Legion Part One: Rose Red

I'm presently finishing up the final polish/rewrite to The Shadow Legion: New Roads To Hell before handing it over to Captain Ron Fortier at Airship 27 (and also working on 'The Tick Tock Men,' a short story featuring The Nightbreaker that will serve as a linking story between this novel and the next one, The Shadow Legion: The Devil's Toybox). As I'm doing this, I'm going to start sharing with you some of the excellent character designs my partner on this project, Michelle Scuito, came up with. It'll also be an excuse to tell you a little about the people you're about to meet...

Yep, it's teaser time.

We're going to begin with Michelle's favorite character...who happens to be the biggest, baddest (she) wolf in this woods....Rose Red.

And the fairy tale references is very much intended. After all, our sexy lil' Red Killing Hood wished upon an evil star--and got her wish. Unfortunately, her wish was to rise above her terminal illness and live forever as a princess who can draw the eyes of every man in the room. And the inhuman creature who grants her wish does so by giving her a mystical incentive to murder.

Our little Rose lives on the blood of others. She feeds on death, converting her victim's life force into her own...and not only can she use it to exist forever, she can channel it to enhance her own phyiscal abilities. Utilizing that surplus energy makes her faster, or stronger, or nigh invulnerable. Is it any wonder that Rose Red thirsts for the kind of grand gesture of gore that will turn the streets of Nocturne crimson?

Why with that sort of massive event, a girl could live forever, couldn't she?

Rose is front and center in New Roads To Hell, as we follow her rise from a sickly, wallflower wasting away from the inside to the leader of a veritable army, ready to tear apart Nocturne's underworld in an effort to make The City That Lives By Night her own private slaughterhouse.

It's fortunate that Nocturne its own band of protectors to stop her...and we'll learn about them in the coming months.

Be sure to check out more of Michelle's art at her deviant art page!