G-8 and His Battle Aces #8: The Invisible Staffel

Ghost planes terrified the Front. Strange ships of death, all men could see were their dim outlines. Sky showed through their fuselages — their wings were transparent air — yet from their invisible guns death bullets spouted, nailing Yank pilots into murder cockpits. What were these weird ships? How could G-8 and his pals dare fight an invisible staffel? In the late 1920s, Pulp magazines of all kinds were in the hands of millions of readers. With the country tightly in the grip of the Depression, people of all sorts were seeking some way to escape and Pulp magazines were cheap and widely available in nearly every genre imaginable. One specific type of story blazed to popularity and, oddly enough, this particular genre took a look back at the past, at aviation during World War One. Amidst a flurry of flight themed magazines in the late 1920s into the early 1930s, Popular Publications’ President Harry Steeger looked to throw his company into the mix of highflying heroes, hero being a key word there. Thanks to the popularity of such characters as Doc Savage and The Shadow, Steeger wanted to create a pilot character that stood out from the other flyboys in Pulp, one that was as much over the top hero as he was a flyer. From that desire and discussions primarily with author Robert J. Hogan, G-8 and His Battle Aces was born. G-8 changed the face of Aviation Pulp forever. Steeger allowed Hogan to not only put him in the fictional skies, but also to create spectacular, even supernatural enemies for the Battle Aces to protect the world against. 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 Invisible Staffel. Originally published in the May, 1934 issue of G-8 and His Battle Aces magazine.