Warbirds of Mars: Stories of The Fight!

by Scott P. Vaughn (editor)

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 stories from the following authors:
Sean Ellis
Ron Fortier
Kane Gilmour
Stephen M. Irwin
J. H. Ivanov
David Lindblad
Jeffrey J. Mariotte
Alex Ness
Chris Samson
Megan E. Vaughn
Scott P. Vaughn


Illustrations by the following artists:
Jean Arrow
Andy Carreon
Mike DeBalfo
Bill Farmer
Matthew Goodall
Christian Guldager
Robert Hack
Rob Hicks
John Lucas
Paul Roman Martinez
Nathan Morris
Dan Parsons
Nik Poliwko
Richard Serrao
Doc Vaughn
Jason Worthington

Genres: Pulp

476 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 2013

About the author

Scott P. 'Doc' Vaughn is a Phoenix-based Illustrator, Comic Artist, Writer, and Author originally hailing from Wisconsin. When he's not hard at work on commissions, he's trying to catch up on drawing his Web-Comic creation, WARBIRDS OF MARS. He also co-edited (with Kane Gilmour) and contributed two short stories to his 2014 New Pulp Awards-nominated prose anthology, Warbirds of Mars: Stories of the Fight! Some of Doc's fantasy pen & ink art was featured in A Life of Ravens: Epic Poetry and Narrative and Lancelot: Poems about the Man and Legend, both by Alex Ness, and in The Crypt of Dracula by Kane Gilmour. Among Doc's interests are classic illustrations and movie genres, vintage clothes and cars, pulp magazines, and a severe predilection for 'Doctor Who' since the age of eight. He lives in a very classic house with a cat.
paperstreetent.com
vaughn-media.com

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warbirds of Mars: Stories of the Fight! is not what I expected. I bought this book to support a friend but after reading it I am so glad I did! Although the book is made up of a bunch of short stories, they blend together beautifully to create an engaging and entertaining overall story. Couple that with the beautiful artwork and you can't go wrong.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so fun to read, each of the short stories brings something new and different but you still feel like it is one complete novel. Very talented group of authors and artists. The illustrations are simply amazing. If you haven't yet, give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

[Derrick Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here’s the thing; I love The Internet. I truly do. Yes, there’s a lot crap out there that gets in the way of the good stuff but the good stuff is there. It just sometimes takes me a while to get around it. Take for instance the webcomic WARBIRDS OF MARS that has been around for a goodish amount of time now. I, however have been woefully ignorant of it until I was made aware of the anthology WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT and while it’s a hefty introduction to the situation and principal characters at the heart of the series it is one well worth reading due to the interesting mix of talent involved.

The set-up is fairly easy to get hold of: Invaders from outer space attack The Earth while it’s engaged in World War II. The alien invaders actually aren’t Martians but what the hey, WARBIRDS OF MARS is a great title so let’s not spoil it with minor details. The Martians have chosen this time to invade as for years they’ve had agents on Earth, half-alien/half-human fifth columnists that have been working behind the scenes to make the invasion easier. And with the world powers fragmented and not able to work together it’s not long before many major cities and nations are conquered and under control of the invaders. But there’s still hope: human resistance forces are fighting back with every weapon and resource at their command to take back the planet.

The core characters of WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! are an elite cadre of resistance fighters known as The Martian Killers. The leader is Hunter Noir, a fedora wearing, trenchcoated man of mystery who keeps his face bandaged. Jack Paris is your typical wisecracking, two-fisted pilot/adventurer. Josie Taylor is the team’s femme fatale and Mr. Mask is a human/alien hybrid who has joined the resistance, proving to be a valuable asset to the the team due to his having been trained by a samurai master.
These characters all get plenty of time to strut their stuff both in solo stories and in stories where they all work together but WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! also takes the opportunity to show what is going on with other people trying to survive in this hellish brave new world in various locations around the globe and through the eyes of characters both human and alien.

“Hunter Noir” by Scott P. Vaughn leads off the anthology with the origin of the leader of The Martin Killers and how the invasion began. It’s a good origin story with the only bump in it for me is the sudden decision by the protagonist to become a masked man of mystery while being hunted by the enemy and whipping up a costume and new name for himself in no time flat but y’know what? That’s just me. It’s that kind of story and you either go along with it or not. It wasn’t enough to make me stop reading the story and that’s the main thing.

“In The World Today” by Megan E. Vaughn is one of my favorite stories in the anthology as it concerns a small-town movie date and the effects the Martian Invasion has on it. It’s a short slice of small town American life kind of story but it doesn’t skimp on the characterization.

I love the weird western comic book “Desperadoes” written by Jeff Mariotte so it’s no surprise that I loved “Southern Cross” even though it wasn’t set in the Southwestern United States as I might have expected. (Ron Fortier takes care of that part of the country…we’ll get to it soon…be patient) No, Jeff takes us out to the South China Sea for this one as Jack Paris gets involved in Oriental skullduggery.

“The Deadly Triad” by Alex Ness is a nifty little look into what’s going on with the Chinese and Japanese and I greatly appreciated the break from the slam bang adventure of the previous story to take the time out to see what was going on elsewhere in the beleaguered world.

Sean Ellis has long been one of my favorite writers who never fails to disappoint and he doesn’t do so with “The Farmboy’s Adventure” which has an ending that I truly did not see coming and when it did I immediately went back to the beginning of the story to see if there were any clues that I had missed. I’m betting you’ll do the same.

“The Bitter Edge” is by Kane Gilmore and is another origin story. This one concerning Mr. Mask, so called because he wears a German gas mask constantly. He’s a lot of fun to read about as I kinda get the idea that Kane’s inspiration for the character was G.I. Joe’s Snake Eyes. But with Mr. Mask being a Martian/Human hybrid training how to be a samurai warrior brings an added dimension to the character that moves the story into an exploration of identity and self-respect that lifts it a notch above just another action/adventure entry.

As promised, Ron Fortier serves up a wild west romp with “The Monsters of Adobe Wells” which takes The Monster Killers way out west to team up with Sioux warrior Charlie Three-Feathers, a character I wouldn’t mind seeing more of if there are future WARBIRDS OF MARS anthology. And again, the changeup in setting provides readers with another aspect of the war against the invaders. The international aspect of this anthology is one of the best things about it and a western story fits in here just fine.
Megan E. Vaughn returns for “The Skull of Lazarus” which is a story that makes me wonder if Megan is a “Thunderbirds” fan as her Lady Doyle and Jerry reminded me strongly of Lady Penelope Creighton and her bodyguard/chauffeur Parker. This is an adventure built for nothing but sheer thrills and like Ron’s Charlie Three-Feathers, I hope to see more of Lady Doyle.

“Red Sky Phoenix: The Rise of Free Russia” is another snapshot from Alex Ness as to what’s going on in yet another part of the world. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have even more of these prose postcards in future anthologies (you think they’ve gotten the hint yet?)

“Human Guile” by Chris Samson is where I finally hit a major bump. I’ve read this story twice and still can’t quite wrap my head around what the story is about. It just seemed to me like there was way too much plot and way too many characters doing things I just didn’t understand why they were doing them. For me, motivation is a Big Deal in my fiction. It’s not necessary for me to like or dislike the characters but I do demand that the writer establish why they’re doing what they’re doing and I simply didn’t get that here.

“Surprise” by Stephen M. Irvin is indeed that as I didn’t expect to find a hard-boiled noir story in here but I as I continued reading more and more into this anthology it soon became apparent to me that this concept could and did support a variety of genre stories very well indeed such as J.H. Ivanov’s “The Road Out of Antioch” and “Shipwrecked” by David Lindblad, both of which are out-and-out horror stories with “The Road Out of Antioch” approaching Lovecraftian proportions of cosmic dread. It’s that good, trust me.

“Refined Elegance” by Scott P. Vaughn takes us home and if I had to make a choice between this one and “Hunter Noir” I’d have to go with this one, much as I liked “Hunter Noir.” It’s told from the point of view of Josie Taylor. The Martian Killers have been doing that for quite a while now, the war appears to have no end in sight and Josie is starting to ask herself and her teammates some hard questions the dangerous missions they routinely go on.

The stories are complimented by strong, solid artwork from Jean Arrow, Adriano Carreon, Mike DeBalfo, Bill Farmer, Matt Goodall, Christian Guldager, Robert Hack, Rob Hicks, John Lucas, Paul Roman Martinez, Nathan Morris, Dan Parsons, Nik Poliwko, Richard Serrao and Jason Worthington that serve the needs of the stories they were drawn for, successfully evoking the mood and tone of the prose.

So should you read WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT? I certainly think so. One of my concerns about New Pulp is that it not fall into a rut. Masked avengers of the night and scientific adventurers are cool as hell, no doubt about it. But New Pulp can’t survive on a steady diet of those. Stories such as the ones in WARBIRDS OF MARS: STORIES OF THE FIGHT! that gives us mashups of war stories mixed with science fiction, horror, day in the life, hard-boiled noir and other genres provide a refreshing new dish for the palate of our imagination to taste and savor. It’s a solid package as you get a lot of story and art for your money and time. Enjoy.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Warbirds of Mars: Stories of the Fight without knowing exactly what to expect.  It's a collection of short stories that are all set in the same world, each written by a different talented author.  Additionally, the book contains some outstanding original artwork that was inspired by each story.  Together they make for a unique and engaging experience.  And while I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started reading this nearly 500 page novel, it was a book that surpassed even my wildest expectation.

Warbirds of Mars began as a web comic.  Stories of the Fight marks a substantial change in format for the content, but one that serves the story at least as well as any comic.  Warbirds of Mars takes place in a world where an alien force invaded Earth in the middle of World War II.  At that point, history as we know is shifts from all that we know to have been true.  Nazis side with the alien invading force while much of the free world struggles to remain free from enslavement or outright extermination.  Along the way, a resistance force rises up to bring the battle to both the Martians and the fascist regime.  They call themselves the Martian Killers— a larger than life, comic book like group of resistance fighters who champion mankind's rebellion against an enemy equipped with superior technology and manpower.

What makes this book particularly interesting is the collaboration of a group of disparate and talented authors and artists.  Each one bringing his or her own style and flair to subject matter.  As a result, every chapter of the book is unique in content and tone.  For fans of genre fiction, this is nothing less than a unique and thrilling experience.  No single author could've created a story with such scope and diversity.  Some of the perspectives chosen by the authors border on brilliant.  Some stories offer seat of your pants action and thrills, others offer chills, while at least one will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye.

If you're not familiar with the Warbirds of Mars web comic, don't worry.  Prior to reading this book, I had only seen a few issues in passing.  The good news is that this book is standalone and entirely self-contained.  A reader can pick it up without any familiarity with the subject matter.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What we have here is a collection of stories rooted in the pulp world of the thirties and forties. The creators, Scott P. Vaughn(art) and Kane Gilmour(words), in separate introductions, talk about the various influences that came together in this work. Warbirds of Mars is a webzine with newspaper style strips telling the stories. Two books have gathered the early strips into comic book style collections. They even do radio style broadcasts of stories.

http://www.bombshelterzine.com/warbir...

Love of all things 1940s, the pulps, superhero comics of the eighties/nineties.

The set-up is Martians invaded Earth in 1944 bringing a halt to WWII. In the strip, it's 1948 and the world has coalesced into new alliances. Germany and Japan went with the invaders, most of the rest of the world against them.

In the States, New York and everything northeast is a free state, as is California. The Midwest is controlled by the invaders and Germany, the Southwest a constant battleground. Florida is known these days as the "Glowing Keys," which should tell you what happened.

The main resistance players are known as the Martian Killers:

Hunter Noir, bandaged head, eyes only visible, fedora, trenchcoat, and two pistols, a Mauser and a Colt .45, is the leader

Jack "Bomber" Paris, pilot and former captain of the Wild Hare bomber squadron in the war.

Josie Taylor, lounge singer and girl friend of Paris, she's a pilot in training and expert with weapons.

Mr. Mask, the result of genetic cross-breeding, half Martian, half human. He wears a gas mask and carries a samurai sword made by himself, and trained in the arts by the blind sensei, Ojiisama, giving a sense of worth and a name.

The team operates out of a base under Coney Island and go all across the country wherever they're needed.

The way this collection came about is similar to others. Other writers and artists stood on the borders watching this new playground and wanting to get in to have their own fun. Thankfully the two men allowed it and we get this first volume.

Ready for more.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of the great Sci-Fi movies of the 50's and 60's or fans of classic pulp style serials will absolutely love this anthology. WWII has been raging and aliens invade Earth...you can take your imagination and head from there. All of the authors blend different stories of the invasion and the resistance to the invasion seemelssly. The reader can enjoy different writing styles without feeling as though the whole story is disrupted in any way. Casual fans of Sci Fi should enjoy this anthology. Comic fans can get stoked that the collection is merely background for an ongoing webcomic of the same name and one in which I may acutally invest in myself just for the artwork alone...and speaking of artwork, each story is preluded by a fantastic piece of comic art from some very talented people. If you want some fun escapism and some action packed reading that will make you feel like a kid again then this is your kind of book!

[Dan Barbier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that 30's and 40's Pulp fiction is really not my cup of tea. I'm a lover if good fiction, whatever genre it may be, so I'm not gunning for Sci-Fi or Fantasy or in this case, Pulp, but when it falls in my lap, I give it a chance. Boy, did this one deserve it. I loved the description of the middle 40's era and the colorful character. Hunter Noir, The Mask and their band of Martian Killers are delightful to watch, as they fight against three eyed alien invaders. Lovers of Pulp fiction like The Shadow, Doc Savage and the Paul Malmont series, grab this one and go back in a time when heroes were two guns swingings, women were sexy and alluring and monsters were waiting in a dark alley.

[Rian Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until reading this book I had never read any pulp fiction, though I did enjoy movies of the genre. This was a fun read with some very enjoyable stories, though I do wish there was a little bit more cross over between the stories. My favorite story was The Bitter Edge by Kane Gilmour. In the midst of chaos and war, here is an amazingly beautiful story of friendship, acceptance and peace.

[FictionFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warbirds of Mars is a sweet, pulpy anthology with an awesome alternate reality. I enjoyed it very much. If you like pulpy Martians vs human resistance kind of stories- check this book out. Yes, it's better than that stupid "V" show! Go get it and check out the web comics if you want more!

[Scott P. Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My own creation and universe, I co-edited this anthology and wrote two stories (and contributed cover and interior art).

[Alexis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the comic series of the same name, these short stories add to the pulpy fun and unique premise of Warbirds of Mars. I recommend checking out the series first, then reading all these delightful tales brought to life by an array of talented authors!