Brabazon Down Under?
#133 - In which I hear a new story about a big plane, reach a Trek milestone, and publish a book.
If you ever see a non-fiction book described as “the definitive account,” it’s not true.
One thing I’ve learned over twenty years of writing non-fiction books is that no matter how much research you do, you never know the complete story. There’s always something else to discover. There will be someone out there who has something new to add to the narrative.
Case in point. I recently heard from a gentleman in Australia who had read last year’s book on the Bristol Brabazon and reached out to let me know about his tires.
He had been at a farm in Victoria, Australia, buying a bunch of WWII surplus tank parts (as you do), and included in the sale were those large, apparently unused aerospace tires.
After some research, he confirmed that they were identical to the ones intended for the Brabazon. How they got to Australia is something of a mystery. However, the accepted theory in Australia is that there were plans for the Brabazon to make a sales trip to Australia to finalize an expected order from Qantas, and that a spare set of tires and even a spare engine were sent on ahead. Despite showing early interest in the Brabazon, including producing a poster featuring the aircraft, the Qantas order never happened, and the aircraft never made it down under.
Despite all my research and digging through archives, I’d never seen any mention of the proposed visit or that spares had been shipped to Australia.
One of the great things about writing non-fiction is that you never stop learning about the things you write about - the story is always evolving.
Alan
Other Stuff
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Word Slinging
Writing focus over the last few weeks has been firmly on the updated and expanded second edition of Star Trek: a comics history.
Especially the expanded part. We have now completed and consolidated all the notes for the chapter on the IDW books up to December 2025 - a total of just over 550 comics. That new chapter came in at over 65,000 words - almost a book in itself!
After I finish working on this newsletter, I’ll be back to compiling the list of collected editions, and then the IDW section will be off to the publishers for them to start working on the layout. With that done, we’ll be turning our attention to the “updated” part of the book, revisiting the existing text and making any necessary changes.
Lemon Hog Publishing
It’s been a significant few weeks for our Lemon Hog Publishing imprint with the eBook release of Jarrod Alberich’s “The Digital 007: A History of James Bond in Video Games,” which can now be found on most major online bookstores, including via our Bookshop.org page.
As well as the eBook, the paperback has been formatted, and we are just waiting on the arrival of the print proof copy before releasing it for sale - hopefully sometime later this month.
Shows Booked in 2026
The list of upcoming events in 2026 where you will be able to find us is now looking something like this:
July 29 - Aug 2 - PulpFest - Pittsburgh, PA
August 8 - Bookfair - Bel Air, MD
NEW August 16 - Moonraker Screening Event - Newtown PA
NEW September 25-27 - ArmadilloCon - Austin TX
September 25-27 - Baltimore ComicCon - Baltimore MD
And we are already starting to get bookings for 2027.
February 5-7 - Farpoint - Towson, MD.
April - Dates TBC - Live and Let Live in LA - Casino Royale screening
May 28-30 - Comicpalooza - Houston, TX
Buy Our Books Direct Online
You can now buy any of our books directly from us via our Forest Comics and Books store on eBay where they are all listed with the same BuyNow prices that we charge at conventions and shows.
Thanks to the folks who have already purchased copies from us over the last few weeks.
Podcast Procrastinations
Since the last newsletter, I posted what will be the final show on my BEFORE THEY WERE BEATLES podcast network for the foreseeable future.
Yes, FINAL.
This was the final planned episode of The Forgotten Beatles series. Over the 19 episodes of that series, we have covered 34 different people who, at one time or another, appeared on stage or in the studio either with or as a part of some incarnation of The Beatles.
But after 5 years, 4 seasons, and 45 episodes covering the Beatles’ early history, I’ve decided to give the Before They Were Beatles podcast project a rest for a while.
But that doesn’t mean I’m stepping away from the world of The Beatles, as there are a couple of other Fab Four related projects developing.
It’s been a fab five years.
Thanks to everyone who gave it a listen.
Books Read in 2026
“Darker Than The Sun: An Atlas of James Bond Movie Locations” by Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury
A beautifully designed and presented coffee table volume that emphasizes what I think is one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the Bond movies - the travel.
Each of the 25 EON Productions 007 movies gets its own section giving some cool insights into its production and locations, while revealing a few secrets where certain films were actually filmed, while fooling you into thinking they were somewhere else. One location from each movie also gets a detailed map showing the relative position of certain scenes, which I enjoyed poring over. I also liked the title page for each movie that tracked Bond’s global travel for that particular adventure.
All of this is accompanied by some stunning location photography as well as some fun behind-the-scenes stuff.
Highly recommended addition to any Bond fan’s library, but I’m sure it would also appeal to those of us who just enjoy traveling.
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Over at our online bookstore at Bookshop.org I’ve now added a new section listing books read so far in 2026, as well as previous years, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores.
You can check it out HERE
Where on the Web is Alan?
You can now find links to all the places you can find me online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on my personal website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this edition of the newsletter, or just my ramblings in general, please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
See you next time
Alan J. Porter
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