Posted By mikeclr on 28 Aug 2011 03:28 PM


I've been a subscriber to their Reader Service since I first received a comp proof copy of Executioner #39 in the mail months before it even hit the stands thanks to being on a list of fans who had corresponded with Don Pendleton.


As a consumer I can't afford to drop a dime on recycled crap, let alone 44 bucks a shipment. 

Very cool! Is the cover of that copy the same as the regular one?


And 44 bucks a shipment? Are they giving you a subscriber discount at all, or maybe charging you shipping? It shouldn't be that much, even with the raised prices.

If I remember correctly the copy I was sent was like a xeroxed copy with two pages per sheet. It had a xerox of the cover on the first page.

They actually sent me a copy of what would turn out to be the first SOBs too, but at the time I think it had a different title...maybe Eagle Squad? Eagle Force? Maybe AP would know...

The sad part...I held onto them for years but threw them out sometime after college for some reason. Doh!

I did hold onto the comp early proof copies of the first Able Team and Phoenix Force they sent me. They were regular paperback sized with plain red and white covers with just the title of the book printed, no illustrations.

They are packed away but when I ever take them out again I'll scan them and post the pics at mackbolan.com

Yes, 44 bucks is right for the complete package...two Executioners, one (or two) Super Bolan, one Stony Man, one DL, one OL, and one Rogue Angel. I think that is about a buck off cover price.

Mike,
Don't remember for sure whether SOBs was called something else initially, but I think you might be right. I came aboard after the first book was published. It hadn't sold very well (just 17K copies, I think). I got the numbers up to around 140K with the next two books. I would've liked to have had full control of the series, written all the books, actually felt I deserved that privilege after resurrecting it from the dead (ask me what I think of Mark Howell), but GE never wanted any of the early writers-for-hire to have that kind of power.

Funny you should mention those red and white pre-publication copies of AT and PF. I have a pair stashed away in plastic in my garage rafters somewhere. Thought they might be worth something someday. Silly me.
AP

P.S.: I once tried to set alight some of my old SOBs. FYI: they don't burn for shit.

I always enjoyed the Nile Barrabas character. Loved the artwork and wish I had an original--though the model was one scary-looking dude.

W-r,
Back in the day I took 35mm color photos of some of the covers and had them enlarged, then framed them. They turned out fine. The one from Gulag War is 20 x 14 and is just Barrabas's head and shoulders (no SOBs logo or cover copy) in fur hooded snow parka.
AP

Posted By AP on 30 Aug 2011 05:16 PM
Eva was (is, I hope) a great person. I still regret that she and I lost touch after she got the Golden Parachute.

I think it was more like the Golden Knife between the shoulderblades.

Because she was the first editor I engaged with at Harlequin, I always consider her the "real" Gold Eagle editor. She was very interactive, had a lot of great suggestions, appreciated that writing these books on the schedule in which they were written was not the same as data entry and understood that the writers couldn't be treated like they were interchangeable day labor from a temp agency...

At least not if you wanted a final product approaching anything like quality.

Keep in mind that it was after she was forced out that DL became a breeding ground for water beetle people, rut farms, gasoline powered mat-trans gateway units and thinly disguised pedophiliac fantasies.

Mark,
You're right. Eva's firing was worse than unfair. It was punishment for doing a excellent job, and not keeping quiet when higher-ups in the food chain poached her ideas and gave her no credit. But as I recall she also got a settlement from the backstabbers--that's what I meant by "Golden Parachute." I didn't mean to imply it made up for what had been done to her. Just a fact. 

Eva was the closest thing to a real editor I ever had at GE. Not that she ever "edited" anything of mine, but when I talked to her on the phone, which I did quite a bit, I felt like she had my back--as much as she could given her own precarious position in the pecking order.
AP

Eva was also a published poet, very well-read and had a keen intellect. It was a pleasure to work with her.

W-r,
If you have any current info on her (e-mail or snail mail addies), please e-mail it to me via the normal addy.
AP

We lost touch, unfortunately.

I'll check my address books for her email address...we stayed in touch up until four or so years ago.

Mark,
Thanks so much for doing that. Awesome! If you find it please send it to my gmail addy or PM me with it here.
AP

Posted By mikeclr on 31 Aug 2011 08:26 AM
They actually sent me a copy of what would turn out to be the first SOBs too, but at the time I think it had a different title...maybe Eagle Squad? Eagle Force? Maybe AP would know...

Oddly, there's nothing on Wikipedia about the series or its author, Jack Hild, despite it being an Executioner spinoff - I had to use Google to find any info, and that was sparse at best. My dad used to read those books when I was a kid, and I seem to recall something about Eagles too, but I can't remember the actual name. Course, it could be that we're both confusing it with Phoenix Force...

Posted By AP on 31 Aug 2011 09:01 AM
Mike,
Don't remember for sure whether SOBs was called something else initially, but I think you might be right. I came aboard after the first book was published. It hadn't sold very well (just 17K copies, I think). I got the numbers up to around 140K with the next two books. I would've liked to have had full control of the series, written all the books, actually felt I deserved that privilege after resurrecting it from the dead (ask me what I think of Mark Howell), but GE never wanted any of the early writers-for-hire to have that kind of power.

I bet GE would love to have those numbers today...

Alan, did you have any communication with the other SOBs writer, Robin Hardy, as you were writing that series?

The Phantom,
I had some contact with Robin Hardy in 1990, but only after he left the series and became executive editor of Cloverdale Press in New York. It was just a brief exchange of "hi, how are ya?" letters. He wrote that he always loved the "eat the rat" scene in Butchers of Eden. Sadly, Robin died in a freak mountain climbing accident--at least that's what I remember hearing from someone at GE.

AP

Man. It would be nice to hear some reviews for this book!
Im really siked to hear if its any good or not.
Not trying to be pushy. Just want to know if i should buy
It or not.thanks ja forum.

When the book comes out, I'm sure plenty of folks will be talking about it. I have yet to see it at the local Barnes & Noble.

i got mine a few days back and just started it today. there are sum mistakes with the guns like dean has a browning high power that it says is a 38 its not and then a bit later it says he loads his browning with 9mm which it is. it also seys that ryan has been followed by the monster thing for a full day but jb eats some fish from doc that they got from a barron the day before wen they were in a vill. too many silly mistakes in the first 40 pages. who rote it?

Posted By Harry Whittleberry 2 on 16 Sep 2011 03:32 AM
i got mine a few days back and just started it today. there are sum mistakes with the guns like dean has a browning high power that it says is a 38 its not and then a bit later it says he loads his browning with 9mm which it is. it also seys that ryan has been followed by the monster thing for a full day but jb eats some fish from doc that they got from a barron the day before wen they were in a vill. too many silly mistakes in the first 40 pages. who rote it?

Apart from the silly mistakes is it any good? Amazon just been in touch to tell me i wont get my copy till the 23rd now-NOT IMPRESSED!!!!!!
Same thing happened with the last two books

Yes, it's very good. Not the best ever, but still very good. And it turns Dean into a worthwhile and more mature character, instead of the annoying kid he used to be.