Darrell Schweitzer 
Fighting the Zeppelin Gang 

As a child, Matthew’s father regaled him with elaborate tales of battling the nefarious Black Scorpion and his Zeppelin Gang to save the world. Though Matthew dismissed these stories as delusions, his father’s insistence on involving him in clandestine training missions and nighttime escapades never ceased. Years later, Matthew receives a cryptic summons to meet his long-lost father atop the Empire State Building for one final encounter. Still unable to deter his father from perpetuating this elaborate fantasy world, Matthew must confront difficult truths about family, perception, and his own complicity in maintaining his father’s delicate hold on reality. Told in vivid flashbacks, this imaginative coming-of-age story explores the complexities of father-son relationships and the thin line between visionary and madness.