A couple of weeks back,
Barry Reese proposed a number of Team-Ups between New Pulp characters that he would like to
see. Dillon was mentioned in his list as Barry suggested that it might be
interesting and a lot of fun to have Dillon visit the
Dire Planet created by
Joel Jenkins. That naturally set me to
thinking as to what Team-Ups I’d like to see Dillon participate in. I’m leaving out the Dillon/Jim Anthony
team-up as that one is actually happening and now that I’m finally finished
with
Dillon and The Pirates of Xonira and a couple of
Airship 27 projects,
The Vril Agenda is back on as my Number #1 project.
So let’s get to the Team-Ups, shall we?
Dillon
and The Rook: This is one I get asked about quite a bit to be honest. Both Dillon and
The Rook have achieved a
level of popularity that I think qualifies them as superstars in New Pulp. A team-up would appear to be a no-brainer. Barry and I have been friends for years and we’ve
actually written stories together before back when Barry and I were actively
writing DC fan fiction. So why hasn’t it happened? Well, I don’t presume to speak for Barry, of
course but I think it’s simply because the both of us are extraordinarily
busy. We’ve both got our own projects we’re
working on and we’ve never sat down and said; “Okay, let’s do this,” although
we have said to each other from time to time; “We oughta have our guys meet up
one of these days.” I’m fairly certain
that one day this is going to happen.
Dillon
and Damballa: In 2011,
Sword-and-Soul Grandmaster
Charles Saunders created an authentic 1930’s
African-American pulp hero, one worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with
characters such as The Shadow, The Avenger and The Spider. Using both African based science and
mysticism in his battle against crime and injustice in his role as protector of
Harlem,
Damballa made such an impression
on readers and fans of New Pulp that his debut novel won The Pulp Factory Award
for Best Pulp Novel of 2011. Charles
Saunders has long been one of my inspirations and Dillon meeting up with
Damballa would absolutely send me into orbit.
In “The Vril Agenda” I establish that Dillon spent some time looking up
great pulp heroes of the 1930’s and 40’s and receiving some training from them
which is how he ends up working with Jim Anthony in that book. I see no reason why Dillon couldn’t receive
some post-graduate education in battling the forces of evil from an aged but
still active Damballa.
Dillon
and Challenger Storm: Don Gates is another writer whose New Pulp hero
Challenger Storm also tore the roof off the sucker in his debut novel
Challenger Storm-The Isle of Blood helped along by not only a rip-snorter of an adventure
but also the illustrations of the legendary Michael Kaluta. Since Dillon is a pilot and has his own
private plane I thought it would be a gas if I dropped a reference to
Challenger Storm’s Miami Aerodrome Research & Development Laboratories in
one of my Dillon stories. Don graciously gave his consent. Don himself also suggested that since MARDL
is apparently doing quite well in the modern age, it’s not beyond the realm of
possibility that a son/daughter or grandchildren of Challenger Storm are
carrying on in his footsteps. I know I’d
certainly like the opportunity to find out.
Dillon
and Elisa Hill: Like Barry Reese, I’ve
known
Percival Constantine for a loooooong time, our association having roots
in our mutual love and participation in fan fiction. It’s been a pleasure to watch him grow and
develop as a writer. And a team-up
between his girl and my guy would be a no brainer as Dillon has had some
experience hunting down myths himself.
Not as much as
Elisa Hill, but just enough to make their partnership quite
interesting.
Dillon
and Fortune McCall Before he ended up in 1936,
Fortune McCall actually was
set in modern day so my proposed team-up between him and Dillon is just
returning him to his original time period. But this Fortune McCall isn’t the
original. It’s his grandson who decides
to take up the life his granddad had, sailing around the world having
adventures on a luxurious cruise ship that might as well be a floating hotel. I’ve already got the plot for this one,
thanks to
Josh Reynolds who was gracious enough to suggest it. And if I can twist Tommy Hancock’s arm
enough, I’d also like to have The Pulptress in on the action, thereby getting
two team-ups in there for the price of one. It's been shown in "Black Mask, Big City" that Dillon and
The Pulptress know each other quite well as he's apparently trained her in some forms of martial arts. I've always wanted to write a story detailing how they first met and I've got a nice way of including her in the story. Expect “Dillon and The Devil’s
Bounty” in 2014. And don’t give me that
look. It’s not that far away. We’re already halfway through this year!
So there’s the team-ups I myself
would like to see. If you’d like to see
any of ‘em, you know what to do.
