So now that you’ve had four days of behind-the-scenes talk of StarWarp Concepts here at the SWC blog, it’s time to look at what readers and potential book buyers are interested in when they peruse all we have to offer. Because while it’s true that your friendly fiends at ’Warp Central haven’t released a new project in a while, that doesn’t mean we didn’t have books to sell in 2022, what with our extensive backlist of fiction and nonfiction titles.
So let’s take a look at the top three titles that best grabbed readers’ attention in the past year, based on our 2022 sales figures.
Coming in at number 1 is From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), 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 (plus the publications from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment that reprinted her Warren adventures); 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 (Mortal Kombat) and rock-god Roger Daltrey (lead singer of the Who). There’s also a peek at Mr. Cushing’s personal copy of the ’70s Vampirella screenplay; a foreword by Official Vampirella Historian Sean Fernald, a frontispiece by Warren artist Bob Larkin (Vampirella, Creepy, Eerie), and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman, co-creator of Vampirella and editor/creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.
The number two spot belongs to Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. In this how-to book for writers and role-playing gamemasters, bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons. Originally intended as a writer’s guide, it very quickly became popular with RPGers who use it as a sort of instruction manual for setting up their campaigns. In fact, the book—available in trade paperback, hardcover, and ebook forms—is so useful to them that it’s currently an assigned textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
And coming in at number three is the Illustrated Classic A Princess of Mars, the first in the “John Carter of Mars” ten-novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of the pulp-fiction jungle lord, Tarzan. Unlike Tarzan’s African adventures, Princess is the story of a post–Civil War era American who suddenly finds himself transported to the Red Planet, where he must constantly fight to stay alive against all sorts of alien threats—and where he falls in love with Dejah Thoris, the titular Martian princess. It served as the basis for Disney’s 2012 film adaptation, John Carter, and inspired a century’s worth of SF works, including Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and James Cameron’s Avatar. The StarWarp Concepts edition features six incredible illustrations by SWC artist supreme Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1), and an introduction by Mars-fiction expert John Gosling, author of Waging the War of the Worlds.
All titles are available in print and digital formats. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
