Robert J. Hogan
Robert J. Hogan was an American writer born in 1897, who initially served as an aviator during World War I, although he did not engage in combat. Following the war and the onset of the Great Depression, Hogan shifted his career from aviation to writing, driven by his dissatisfaction with existing aviation fiction. He gained prominence for his pulp series, "G-8 and His Battle Aces," which uniquely blended military action with supernatural and horror elements, featuring a hero pilot battling not only enemies but also fantastical creatures like zombies and aliens. The series, which began with "The Bat Staffel" in 1933, comprised 110 issues and concluded in 1944. Hogan was notable for publishing under his own name in a genre where many authors used pseudonyms. Besides "G-8," he also created other series, including "The Secret Six" and "The Mysterious Wu Fang." Later in his writing career, he contributed to more mainstream publications such as Argosy and The Saturday Evening Post. Hogan passed away in 1963, leaving a legacy in the pulp fiction genre.
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Robert J. Hogan
Writer
- Born: 1897
- Died: 1963
Biography
Robert J. Hogan was born in 1897 and served as an aviator during World War I, though he never saw combat. After the war, he worked in the aircraft business until the stock market crashed in 1929, and the Great Depression brought the aviation industry to a standstill. Hogan decided to try his hand at writing after becoming disappointed by what he read in the fiction aviation market. He sold his first short story to Wings magazine shortly after for sixty-five dollars, and started a new career.
Hogan is best known for his pulp series, G-8 and His Battle Aces, which was released by Henry Steeger’s Popular Publications. In this series, Hogan combined traditional military action adventure with supernatural and horror elements. Not only did his hero pilots battle enemy soldiers, they also fought zombies, mutants, and aliens (among others), all summoned to help Germany win the war. The first one, The Bat Staffel, was published in 1933. G-8, the code name for his hero (whose real name was never revealed), was known as “America’s WWI Flying Spy.” Hogan received a quarter-penny per word, and was one of the few writers in the genre who published under his own name, rather than writing anonymously under a house pseudonym. There were 110 issues in all, with the final episode being released in 1944.
Hogan also created two other popular series, The Secret Six and The Mysterious Wu Fang. His writing appeared in other markets, such as sports and western, but the bulk of his fiction was aviation action adventure. Later in his career, Hogan’s work began appearing in more mainstream publications, such as Argosy and The Saturday Evening Post. He died in 1963.