Nighthawk by Ron Fortier Audiobook

Nighthawk by Ron Fortier Audiobook - 4 hours [Download] #RA799D

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Nighthawk Audiobook

by Ron Fortier

Read by Nick Santa Maria

Americans have always had a fascination for flying ever since the Wright Brothers left the ground at Kitty Hawk. They captured the imagination of an entire country and it was a love affair that continued as the science of aviation progressed throughout the coming decades. By the time World War One arrived, the military had found a way to bring combat into the clouds and soon the exploits of such romantic figures as Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, were spreading around the globe.

As with all things, timing is everything, and the war’s ending happen to coincide with the heyday of the pulps. From the 1920s through the 1930s over two hundred magazines were published monthly for an eager audience of ten million readers. These tabloids were printed on cheap paper and explored every category known to fiction; from westerns to mysteries, pirate tales to romances. All produced to satisfy an insatiable appetite for escapist literature.

Naturally pulp publishers sought to exploit the rising interest in flying. Filmmaker Howard Hughes had wowed moviegoers with the 1927 release of Wings and later the 1930 Hell’s Angels, which employed more than a hundred pilots, dozens of aircrafts and made chivalrous heroes of World War One American air aces. Soon dozens of flying themed magazines were appearing on the newsstands. By the end of 1928 there were over forty monthlies labeled the “flying pulps.” Many of these were anthologies written by World War One veterans and included such titles as, Aces, Battle Birds, Wings, Flying Aces, War Aces etc. etc. As exciting as these were, they were never quite as popular as those titles that spotlighted fictional pilots.

Among the best of these Kerry Keene, the Griffon, a Department of Justice agent and the masked pilot of an amphibian plane which incorporated many futuristic elements for the time. Written by Arch Whitehouse, The Griffon’s exploits read pretty like an airborne masked avenger. While writer Donald Keyhoe whipped up two dashing heroes who took to the air to win the war in Europe. There was Captain Strange, an intelligence officer who possessed ESP and other truly weird mental abilities. Not to be outdone was Richard Knight, another gifted aviator who had the ability to see in the dark.

Author and veteran pilot, Robert J. Hogan gave us G-8, and then there was The Phantom Eagle, Dusty Ayers, and Bucky Barnes. The list goes on and on and over the years, many pulp historians have penned hundreds of essays detailing these great characters, their origins and their revered place in pulp history.

As for my introduction to the flying pulps, well that came by way of a comic book character called Baron Hans von Hammer, the Hammer of Hell. He was a German war ace clearly modeled after the Red Baron and created by writer Robert Kanigher and illustrated by Joe Kubert. His exploits first appeared in 1965 in Our Army at War as a back up featured called Enemy Ace. Like the Red Baron, Von Hammer flew a blood red Fokker Dr.1 triplane and his stories were anti-war fables. In them Von Hammer often referred to what he poetically called “the killer skies.” As much as I enjoyed these stories, it was Kubert’s agonizing beautiful illustrations of those classic planes that won me over. Through them I became fascinated with aviation history, especially that of the World War One period and began reading any and all books I could find on the subject.

When I eventually discovered American pulps, it is easy to see why I became instantly enamored of the flying titles. When artist Rob Davis and I launched Airship 27 Productions, we set about creating our own high-flying series such as Lance Star – Sky Ranger, Zeppelin Tales and the recently released Aviation Aces. Still, as much as those books did well for us, I was not content to merely sit on the sidelines as an editor. The itch to jump into the game and invent my own aviation hero was too strong to deny any longer.

This book is my personal tip of the wings to all those wonderful characters who came before and to hope that in some small way, Nighthawk will take his place among them. Thanks and welcome on board.

Nick Santa Maria Nick was born early in life in Brooklyn, NY. His theatrical background is based in Comedy Improv. He was a long standing member of the late lamented Miami based, Mental Floss, where he served as head writer/composer. From there he began his career in commercials, voice-overs, TV, Film, and theatre. He has performed in many roles on the stage including his award winning turn as Nick in Over The River And Through The Woods, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, in The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee as Mr. Panch (3-D Theatricals), Mr. Bromhead in No Sex Please, We’re British at The Norris, and as Pseudolus in, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Norris Theatre. Television: The Buffalo Bill Show, B.J. Stryker, and two Disney Christmas Specials. Off Broadway: Writer/Composer/Performer on Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, Soundtrack on RCA Victor. Broadway: Vince Fontaine in Tommy Tune’s production of Grease. He also appeared in every domestic company of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, understudying everyone from Nathan Lane and Jason Alexander, to Tony Danza and David Hassellhoff. He was the original Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, a Musical Spectacular, soundtrack on Disney Records. Nick is a resident of Los Angeles and is currently writing a book about classic film comedians, Nick’s been a long time film historian, and has written several articles on the topic.

Average Customer Review: Average Customer Review: 5 of 5

5 of 5 Total Reviews: 2 Write a review

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	Saturday, June 25, 2022
Reviewer: Joe Maavich from Rockford, IL United States

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent Narration	Saturday, May 28, 2022
Reviewer: Ron Fortier from Fort Collins, CO United States

Nick Santa Maria does a wonderful job reading this exciting World War One aviation adventure.

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