The Vampire Staffel

Across all of Allied France the dread word flew. “Plague spread by enemy planes”... Men died by the thousands — death stalked the world —Yanks were dying by the thousands of a strange disease no one had been able to diagnose. Death stalked the world as G-8 and his two companions faced its phantom wings, daring to follow its blood-choked sky trail to the terror den of the Vampire Ace! Robert J. Hogan, the author of all 110 G-8 pulp adventures, found his inspiration for the character’s name in his own childhood experience with flying. Spending time in his youth at the G-8 Ranch in Colorado, Hogan took his first flight to get there. He then had a fascination with flying, one that carried him into the rather new air corps during World War One. Hogan received training that would later prove invaluable to his career in Pulp aviation fiction, but he never saw battle overseas. Hogan found work following the war as a demonstration flyer and supporter of some of the fledgling airplane manufacturers. Left jobless, though, due to the 1929 Stock Market Crash, Hogan turned to writing Pulp fiction, having read some of the Aviation stories that were increasingly popular and believing if anyone could write such tales, he could. Submitting his first story to Wings Magazine, Robert Hogan started down his path as a writer, one that brought him to Harry Steeger’s attention in 1933. President of Popular Publications, Steeger was looking for just the right author to create Pulp’s next great aviation hero. Thankfully for millions of fans, Hogan was that man. Nick Santa Maria brings G-8, Nippy and Bull to thrilling life in their desperate struggle to defeat a strange nemesis unlike anything they have ever before encountered in The Vampire Staffel. Originally published in the February, 1934 issue of G-8 and His Battle Aces magazine.