StarWarp Concepts—I’ll admit it’s not exactly the kind of name you’d expect for a publishing company that mostly specializes in tales of horror and dark urban fantasy, but then we’ve always had that penchant for making unexpected (and sometimes unusual) left-hand turns on the road of life, so why shouldn’t that apply to our science-fictiony-sounding name as well?
After a brief start as a small-press comic house (our titles were digest sized and turned out on photocopiers) in 1989, we launched as a full-size-comics publisher in 1993 (thus making 2023 our 30th anniversary year!) with the release of the comic book Lorelei, Vol. 1 #0, which introduced readers to the world of Laurel Ashley O’Hara, a woman destined to become the soul-stealing succubus called Lorelei. Over the three decades that followed, we’ve grown into a publisher of novels, comic books, graphic novels, sketchbooks, nonfiction books, and classic reprints that are available for sale in brick-and-mortar stores and through online booksellers and distributors (as well as our own webstore, of course).
Currently, our backlist spans the following genres:
Dark urban fantasy: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is a young adult, dark-urban-fantasy novel series written by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!). It stars a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets a shape-shifting monster hunter named Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, in the first novel, Blood Feud, that Pan discovers she’s never been ill—her so-called “monstervision” is actually a supernatural gift that allows her to see into Gothopolis, the not-so-mythical shadow world that exists right alongside the human world. But before Pan can learn more about what she can do, she and her parents are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans that leads into Blood Reign, the second action-packed novel, in which Pan must deal with even greater threats.
Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase is author Richard C. White’s collection of fantasy-noir, pulp-detective tales starring a private eye working the supernatural beat in the city of Calasia. From a sexy chanteuse who literally turns into a beast when the moon is full to a string of pearls that kills its owners, and from the ghost of a dead woman seeking justice to the Grim Reaper’s little girl seeking her stolen chicken, Theron Chase certainly has his hands full—of danger, death, and dames!
Science Fiction: A Princess of Mars, by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, is a science-fantasy adventure about Civil War veteran John Carter, who finds love and adventure on the planet Mars by winning the heart of the beautiful Martian princess Dejah Thoris; as part of our Illustrated Classics line of books, it includes black-and-white illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia.
Nonfiction: Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is perfect for budding authors as well as RPG fans interested in building their own fantasy and science fiction environments. In this how-to book, author Richard C. White takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. It’s become such a popular book that it’s even become part of the syllabus for the Interactive Media Design (i.e., game design) program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by Steven A. Roman, is a nonfiction history of Vampirella that takes an extensive look at her early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983. In addition, you’ll find the tale of Hammer Films’ unproduced film adaptation of the 1970s that was to star Barbara Leigh and Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars); an in-depth guide to all her Warren stories; a checklist of all her Warren appearances; an overview of the six novelizations by pulp sci-fi author Ron Goulart that were published in the 1970s by Warner Books; and a look at the awful 1996 direct-to-cable-TV movie that was made, starring Talisa Soto and Roger Daltrey.
Fantasy adventure: For a Few Gold Pieces More is a collection of stories by Richard C. White that’s like Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), as a Rogue With No Name travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure—and revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did).
Harbinger of Darkness is Rich’s original novel in which a thief named Perrin steals an extremely valuable—and magical—gem from the evil king ruling her home country. With thugs and fellow thieves and the king’s assassins hot on her trail, Perrin finds just staying alive is becoming a full-time occupation, which directly conflict with her secret life—and identity—as a humble bookseller’s daughter. It’s sword-swinging adventure at its finest!
Comic book and graphic novels: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 features stories by author Steven A. Roman and comic writer Sholly Fisch (The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries), with art provided by Eliseu Gouveia (Stargate Universe), Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld). Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa is a three-issue 1990s miniseries “prequel” to Pandora Zwieback that introduced monster hunter Sebastian Mazarin in her “bad-girl comics” days, written by Steven A. Roman, with pencils by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual), Holly Golightly, aka Holly G! (Archie Comics’ Cassie Cloud), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele), and inks by Alan Larsen (Femforce) and “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales).
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel involving a succubus battling a cult of Elder God worshipers, written by Steven A. Roman and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night). Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is an anthology comic containing tales written by Steven A. Roman and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk), with art by Uriel Caton & Chuck Majewski, Lou Manna (Young All-Stars), John Pierard (My Teacher Fried My Brains), and Juan Carlos Abarldes Rendo (Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror). Lorelei: Genesis collects Lori’s original small-press comic appearances from 1989 and 1991, written and drawn by her creator, Steven A. Roman, whose other digital-only title, Heroines and Heroes, collects the superhero comic stories he’s drawn.
Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a graphic novel starring a group of supernatural superheroes for hire on their first mission, written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. and Joni M. White, with art by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman. And The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital-only, 48-page pirate-fantasy adventure by writer Richard C. White and artist Bill Bryan (House of Mystery).
Comic art books: The Bob Larkin Sketchbook is a collection of rarely seen pencil drawings by the acclaimed cover painter for Doc Savage, Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel Comics, Planet of the Apes, Conan the Barbarian, and our own Saga of Pandora Zwieback. Included is a pair of original Doc Savage–related pinups done especially for this book.
Classic literature: Know a reader with a passion for old-school genre literature? They might be interested in our line of Illustrated Classics. Carmilla, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, is a 19th–century paranormal romance between a vampire and her next intended victim—or lover—that contains six black-and-white illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia. King Kong is the 1932 novelization by Delos W. Lovelace that adapts the screen story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper used for the classic monster movie, enhanced by six black-and-white illustrations by Paul Tuma. And Snow White is the timeless Brothers Grimm fairy tale, made even more enchanting by a collection of full-color illustrations first published in 1883.
We also have SWC Horror Bites, a digital-exclusive series of classic tales. White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, is considered the first feminist werewolf story. And Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the Halloween classic about schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and his unfortunate encounter with the terrifying Headless Horseman.
Most of our titles are available in both print and digital formats, so visit their respective product pages for further information. And then get ready for the titles we’ve got lined up for this year!
