“They Had What It Takes – Part 10: Major Al Williams†by Alden McWilliams
In the late thirties Flying Aces ran Alden McWilliams’ monthly illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation which was called “They Had What it Takesâ€. In the November 1937 issue they featured the aerobatic genius, Major Al Williams.
Next week McWilliams looks at Richard E. Byrd, the conqueror of the poles.
“T.N.T. Transport” by Arch Whitehouse
Secret Service agent and flying reporter Buzz Benson approached Sunkist Airport in his slick speedy Corsair for the worst assignment he ever had. Ten days before, three gigantic Boeing transports had vanished from the sky—never to appear again. Was it another Jap plot or something more mysterious?
“They Had What It Takes – Part 9: Ernst Lehmann†by Alden McWilliams
Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation was called “They Had What it Takesâ€, and this week we bring you the 9th installment, which appeared in the October 1937 Flying Aces. It features the German zeppelin ace Captain Ernst Lehmann, whose last command was the ill-fated Hindenburg.
Next week, in Part 10, we will feature Major Al Williams who was considered the greatest aerobatic flier of his time.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 8: Igor Sikorsky†by Alden McWilliams
This week we bring you Part 8 of Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation. He called it “They Had What it Takes†and this installment appeared in the September 1937 Flying Aces. It features aircraft developer Igor Sikorsky. Among Sikorsky’s many innovations was the first multi-motored plane.
Next week look for McWilliams’ feature on zeppelin ace Captain Ernst Lehmann, whose last command was the ill-fated Hindenburg.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 7: Amelia Earhart†by Alden McWilliams
This week we bring you the seventh installment of Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation. He called it “They Had What it Takes†and this one appeared in the August 1937 Flying Aces. It features Amelia Earhart, “The First Lady of the Air”.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 6: Jimmy Doolittle†by Alden McWilliams
In the late thirties Flying Aces ran Alden McWilliams’ monthly illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation which was called “They Had What it Takesâ€. In the July 1937 issue they featured Jimmy Doolittle who, between WWI and WWII, was considered to be America’s greatest airman.
“String ‘Em Back Alive” by Joe Archibald
Major Garrity had an idea. It involved sending Phineas Pinkham back to training school in his stolen Fokker to teach rookies to fight. Phineas had an idea, too. It involved taking that stolen Fokker across the lines to teach the Mad Butcher not to fight. Lay your bets, gentlemen!
“They Had What It Takes – Part 5: Howard Hughes” by Alden McWilliams
This week we bring you the fifth installment of Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation which he called “They Had What it Takesâ€. Appearing in the June 1937 Flying Aces, it features Howard Hughes, who McWilliams called “The Scientist of Speed”. Next week we bring you Part Six, which tells the story of Jimmy Doolittle, who between WWI and WWII was generally considered to be America’s best pilot.
“The Sky Devil’s Son” by Harold F. Cruickshank
Lieutenant Dan Marsh was a flying hellion, but he had a problem to solve that demanded more than flaming victories over master pilots of the Hun. He was the son of the Sky Devil, the famous Hellcat from number 10 Squadron, and the old man had made it clear that the Sky Devil’s son was not welcome there. While this is a Sky Devil story by Harold F. Cruickshank, it has no connection to Cruickshank’s stories featured in our Age of Aces book “The Sky Devil: Hell’s Skipper”.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 4: Captain Frank Hawks” by Alden McWilliams
Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation was called “They Had What it Takesâ€, and this week we bring you the fourth installment, which appeared in the May 1937 Flying Aces. It features the record smashing exploits of Captain Frank Hawks. Next week’s part five is McWilliams’ piece on Howard Hughes, who he called “The Scientist of Speed”.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 3: Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith” by Alden McWilliams
This week we bring you the third installment of Alden McWilliams’ illustrated tribute to the pioneer fliers of the early days of aviation. He called it “They Had What it Takes†and this one appeared in the April 1937 Flying Aces. It features Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, the Australian pilot renowned for his trans-Pacific exploits. Look for part 4 next week which chronicles the record smashing speed flying of Captain Frank Hawks.
Recognition for The Empire State!
We are proud to announce that The Spider Vs. The Empire State: The Complete Black Police Trilogy is the recipient of two National Indie Excellence® Awards for 2010! The Age of Aces release has been named the winner in both the Cover Fiction and Book Interior Design categories. See the full list of finalists and winners here.
As the designer of The Empire State, I wanted to bring a more mainstream sensibility to the “pulp reprint book” and it’s exciting to see this strategy rewarded with a little mainstream attention. The feedback we’ve gotten from pulp fans over the last nine months has been terrific, but it’s gratifying to see that the book holds up outside pulp’s mean streets as well. As reprint publishers I believe we should always have our eyes on expanding the market for the fiction we love, while pleasing the faithful. If you haven’t seen this (ahem) award-winning design, check out our Empire State gallery page.
But as proud as I am of the design, people really need to pick up this book for the epic fascist parable contained within. No doubt if these stories were new, Norvell Page would be racking up awards too. Well, he’ll have to settle for accolades, like this post from Greg Hatcher at Comic Book Resources:
The book’s still got all the things that made the Spider such a great pulp series — the action and the heroics and the hell-for-leather pacing are all there in spades, the suspense never lets up for a second — but this time, it feels important, it’s really about something this time. As a result, it’s easily the most compelling Spider story I’ve ever read. For that matter, I’d go so far as to say that it may be the most compelling piece of pulp fiction I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot of it.
Agreed! The Spider Vs. The Empire State is available now at Amazon.com.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 2: Wiley Post” by Alden McWilliams
Starting with the February 1937 issue of Flying Aces, Alden McWilliams began his illustrated tribute to the pioneer aviators of that era. He called it “They Had What it Takesâ€. It appeared in each issue of Flying Aces until June 1940. Each week we will make a new installment available for download.
From March ‘37,  part 2 features Wiley Post, who flew around the world solo.
“The Complete Adventures of Coffin Kirk” by Arch Whitehouse
 The six adventures of Arch Whitehouse’s “Coffin Kirk” appeared in Flying Aces from October 1937 to June 1941. They featured Brian “Coffin” Kirk’s battles against the evil Circle of Death. Kirk is ably assisted by his simian sidekick Tank. All of these stories have been available for dowload on our site, but we have decided to put them together in one PDF so that our loyal readers can access them more easily.
“They Had What It Takes – Part 1: Charles Lindbergh” by Alden McWilliams
Starting with the February 1937 issue of Flying Aces, Alden McWilliams began his illustrated tribute to the pioneer aviators of that era. He called it “They Had What it Takes”. It appeared in each issue of Flying Aces until June 1940. Each week we will make a new installment available for download.
Part 1 features the greatest legend of them all, Charles Lindbergh.
