The adventures of Captain Hawklin

An interesting New Pulp hero is Captain Steven Hawklin, which are set in the 1930s and written by Charles F. Millhouse. Hawklin is an adventure character, inspired by cliffhanger serials and pulps of the 1930s and ’40s. So the stories are heroes and villains, and wild adventures.

The novels so far are:

• Captain Hawklin and the Skyhook Pirates, which takes place in 1938 (2012)
• Captain Hawklin and the Underwater Menace, which takes place in 1934 (2014)
• Captain Hawklin and the Subterranean Empire, which takes place in 1932 (2015)
• Captain Hawklin and the Secrets of Monster Island, which takes place in 1930 (2017)
• Captain Hawklin and the Jade Dragon, which takes place in 1933 (2018)
• Captain Hawklin and the Shadow Men, which takes place in 1937 (2019)
• Captain Hawklin and the Lost Land, which takes place in 1935 (2020)
• Captain Hawklin and the Ghost Army, which takes place in 1936 (upcoming 2020)
• Captain Hawklin and the Invisible Enemy, which takes place in 1931 (upcoming 2021)

There will also be two stories in the upcoming Pulp Reality, a New Pulp magazine also from Stormgate Press and edited by Millhouse. One of those stories is written by Bobby Nash, who will be teaming Captain Hawklin up with his character Lance Star and will be set the story in the early 1940s (later than any of the current stories). The second adventure is by Brian K. Morris, who will be writing “a tale of his own design.”

I recently obtained the first two published novels, Skyhook Pirates and Underwater Menace. I thought it interesting that the time setting for each novel is clearly stated, even on the spine. But that the books were not published in order of this internal chronology. I’ve noted those dates in the above list. Reading both novels, it was a little strange to read references to past adventures that wouldn’t be written about for several years.

Captain Hawklin is a veteran fighter pilot from World War I, now an inventor and adventurer, rich from his inventions. He lives and works in Crown City, located on the Western coast of the U.S. His headquarters is located in the main tower of the Hampton Bridge, which he designed and built. At the local airport is a private hanger holding his aircraft, and his “clandestine wing” of fighter pilots who fly planes designed by Hawklin. For me, he is more like the aviation pulp adventurers Bill Barnes and the like than Doc Savage.

He is assisted by Hardy Regan Miller and Oscar (Oz) Lyman. While it may seem they form a Ham-Monk dynamic, not so. Hardy has been with Hawklin since the war, and is a pilot and mechanic. Described as tall and neat, there are hints at encounters with criminals in the past. Oz is short and stout, and a pacifist and used to work for Frank Buck. But there is not the bickering or joking we see with other aides.

As noted, I read the first two published works, The Skyhook Pirates and Underwater Menace. Skyhook Pirates, of all the works, is set the latest chronologically in June 1938. Crown City is attacked by a group of air pirates using rocketpacks, called Projectile Men, operating out of a large zepplin and lead by a mysterious character called Skyhook. There are hints of some past meeting with Hawklin. Skyhook has connections with the Nazis, organized crime, corrupt politians, and corrupt FBI agents. He is looking for the Amulet of Horus, with which to power a super weapon. But for what purpose? To sell it, or take over the world? Can Hawklin and his men unmask him and put a stop to him? We learn quite a bit about Hawklin and his men, but there are other items only hinted at.

Next up was The Underwater Menace, set in 1934, but not the earliest of the works chronologically. Here we have Hawklin and Hardy heading to Casablanca first to deal with a matter from a prior adventure, thanks to the assistance of an old associate of Hawklin’s named Zane Carrington, who will be involved later in this adventure.

After that wraps up, they head to London after learning an old friend and mentor of Hawklin’s has been murdered. They soon realize there is more to it when they are attacked with his widow, Desa. More so when his factory is destroyed by a freak earthquake. They soon figure out that a WWI German commander is behind it all, trying to take revenge against the allies. But stopping him and his associates will be the tricky part. Also in this story, we also learn more about his clandestine wing of fighter pilots and get hints about Hawklin’s father, a former defense contractor, as well as more on his background.

Overall, this is a good series. The design and artwork of the books is good, though I would recommend against using the logo on the spines, as it’s hard to read. I was bothered by the number of mispellings and bad punctuation in both works. I hope they can fix those. Having some folks do proofreading woud help. I’ll be getting more of this series in the future, as I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far. This is another good New Pulp character.