Purple Aces by Robert J. Hogan

Purple Aces by Robert J. Hogan
Copyright 1933
Berkley X1746, May 1970

“G-8 and His Battle Aces” was an aviation pulp hero and from 1933 to 1944, he was featured in his own magazine. There were over 100 adventures that the WWI ace carried out, and his German enemies threw everything at him, in the air and on land. To keep his identity a secret, America’s flying spy was given the code name G-8. Along with his two wingmen, Nippy Weston and Bull Martin, many of the stories dove into the realm of science fiction, with evil German scientists working on the Kaiser’s orders to develop wicked ways to gain an edge during the Great War. In 1970, Berkley started reprinting these pulp adventures in paperback and I remember grabbing them off the drugstore rack.

In “Purple Aces,” captured American pilots are being converted into zombie-like flying warriors for the enemy. Induced by a chemical, it starts with them receiving a purple “ace of spades” birthmark on their forehead and quickly spreads the hideous color over the entire face. In turn, a demonic force controls the minds of the “reborn” pilots and they are programmed to execute suicide missions against American fliers. G-8 and his men are sent to uncover the source of this menace. Being an all-American hero, G-8 wastes no time engaging in dogfights and slipping behind enemy lines to get answers. Solving the mystery, which takes him through the halls of an ancient castle, G-8 meets again the mad Herr Doktor Krueger (a frequent enemy in many G-8 adventures) and a mind controlling genius scientist called Zwantag. Their final diabolical plan is in motion, time is running out, and both evil men must be stopped.

This is pulp at its best. It’s a highly adventurous tale, but what makes it stand out is that it is also a complete horror story. Hogan was a master of creating a mysterious lurking atmosphere, that takes the reader into lead-filled skies, dark dungeon enemy hideouts, and rat infested swamps. In fact the scenes in the swamp are some of the best I’ve read in any pulp story. Enhanced by mesmerizing dialogue and amazing air battles, “Purple Aces” is an adventure novel that can appeal to all ages. (Though like most of these stories, geared to the male reader) Whenever I read these pulp stories of yesteryear, I envision the early readers in the 30s and how in awe they must have been to be the first to escape in the adventure and the terror each story took them on.

Robert J. Hogan was an exceptional pulp writer and I forgot how much I enjoyed his tales until I recently revisited them. His pulp stories are full of mystery, adventure and horror; and if Berkley didn’t reissue them, I would probably never had discovered Hogan’s work. I believe eight “G-8 and His Battle Aces” novels were published in 1970/71, and the first three have covers by Jim Steranko.

1. The Bat Staffel
2. Purple Aces
3. Ace of the White Death
4. Bombs from the Murder Wolves
5. Vultures of the White Death
6. Flight from the Grave
7. Fangs of the Sky Leopard
8. The Mark of the Vultures

They are like a time capsule, from an era that seems to be fading away...

The exploits of “G-8 and His Battle Aces” are still being reissued. You can find them at Adventure House, along with Robert J. Hogan's other pulps, "Mysterious Wu Fang" and "The Secret 6."

The Long Riders by Dan Cushman

The Long Riders by Dan Cushman
Gold Medal d1733, Copyright 1967

I’ve been reading a lot of westerns this summer. I don't know why, but sitting out on the patio and sweating with a western paperback stuck to my fingers seems to appeal to me lately. Dan Cushman was a versatile writer, who started in the pulp short story days and later turned over many quality adventure, mystery, and western novels. In "The Long Riders", we have a cattle drive story- where a few powerful men suppress an inferior group, until someone helps them take a stand.

He dived for the gun and got hold of it, and Broadbaker, waiting half a second, jumped and came down on his forearm with both feet. He had his arm under the high insteps of his boots, pinning it to the ground. And he turned grinding, bearing down with all his weight. He felt the bones crack. It was a good feeling.

Leo Glass and partner Old Dad receive a proposition from Kid Maybee. The Kid has a checkered past and is laid up after taking a vicious beating, that included a bullet in his chest. The Kid has 400 head of cattle that need to be moved and he offers Glass and Old Dad a cut if they take them to Montana. The cattle are part of a larger drive that is run by Andy “man-eater” Broadbaker. Broadbaker is moving his stock further west to claim grazing land that the government has secured for the Indians. By taking a group of poor homesteaders with him, along with some political pull, Broadbaker has plans to be the big land baron in the new territory. Along with Broadbaker, are a bunch of experienced cowboys and gunhand Billy Grand. (whose “pistols were swifter than weasels in a henhouse”) Also included in Broadbaker's group is Polly, part of the influential Arbogast family, who Broadbaker expects to marry. Knowing that Leo Glass and the homesteaders plan to cut north halfway through the drive, Broadbaker schemes ways to force them westward with him. He needs the whole group to insure he has the numbers to take over the grazing land promised to the Indians. The homesteaders, treated no better than the cattle, turn to Leo Glass for leadership. After learning that Billy Grand shot a boy in the back, Glass confronts the gunslinger, outdrawing and killing him. Broadbaker suspects that Polly has taken a liking to Leo, and roughs her up for disrespecting him. Realizing that Glass has become the major obstacle for Broadbaker and his plans, he sets out to eliminate him. The time comes for Leo Glass to move his group north and Broadbaker makes his final violent attempt to stop them. The two men, without weapons, meet to settle all scores.

"You bitch!" he said through his teeth. "You little ungrateful bitch. You'd choose him, the long rider." He back-handed her across the face.

"The Long Riders" is written in a pulp style, and has everything that made those westerns admirable; a good-ole cowboy, the opposing powerful one, a rotten gunslinger, a girl who both men want, and the young kid who looks up to Leo Glass and is taken under his wing. Even the titles of each short chapter have a pulp ring to them, “The Girl with the Whip,” “Plan for a Showdown,” “Kid Maybee’s Story” are examples. I really enjoyed the Kid Maybee character, too bad he was only in the story briefly; but gunhand Billy Grand and Leo Glass made up for that. You sense the confrontation building within them as you are flipping pages. And the reader is not disappointed when they meet in a gunslappin' showdown.

The echoes of the gunshot were gone, and the trail of smoke from Glass’ pistol. Nobody moved as the cattle came on. A horsefly lit on the back of Grand’s neck and crawled leisurely, drinking his sweat.

Dan Cushman tries to spice up the girl interest (Polly) in the story, but I found it average. That said, everything else makes this a worthy story. The relationship between Glass and the boy Will Pattison is quite touching, and should be appealing for younger readers. The final battle between Broadbaker and Glass is exceptional. They meet hand-to-hand using their gun belts, lashing each other raw “Spanish–quirt style” with the buckles. If you like western stories written in the pulp style of the 30s/40s, this one is good. I can take them as long as I don’t knock off too many in a row.

In the late 40s, Dan Cushman wrote short stories featuring the western pulp hero -The Pecos Kid. These were quite popular and the stories were headlined in the magazine called “The Pecos
Kid Western,” which was published in 1950/51.

Reprints of these stories are easily available. I have seen them in local dollar stores. (Leisure Books published them)

The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Mucker by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
ACE Edition 1974 Copyright 1914

To many ERB aficionados, "The Mucker" is regarded to be Burroughs' best work. So, when I saw it in the used book store discount bin for a dime, I grabbed it. Could of been the best dime I spent.

Eighteen chapters of high adventure, which was originally published serially in 1914 by All-Story Cavalier Weekly. Each chapter a story in itself. Billy Byrne is a tough, slum-punk, hoodlum from Chicago. Far from the ERB hero type, he ends up kidnapped aboard a ship and fighting everything from pirates, samurai, headhunters, thugs, etc... As Byrne goes on his violent adventure, the good that is in him slowly evolves. He realizes the needs of others and uses his brawn to help them. We see Byrne's development through the girl (Barbara Harding) in the story, who first sees Byrne as vulgar and vile, and at the end- loyal, brave and honorable.

To me it wasn't the best ERB novel, my personal favorite is "Tarzan and the Leopard Men," but it is definitely up there. A fun read, that is packed with action and adventure as these serialized stories were intended to be. After almost 100 years, Edgar Rice Burroughs and "The Mucker" can still entertain readers today.

Note: Besides the fine story, the dime was worth it for the Frank Frazetta cover. There is a second book, "The Return of The Mucker" with another Frazetta cover. I'll keep a dime in my pocket for that one.