Happy Buy Indie Comics Day 2022!

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Steven

New York Comic Con 2022 might be opening its doors in the Big Apple this coming Thursday, but there’s no reason not to celebrate our favorite art form early—not when it’s time again for the annual celebration of Buy Indie Comics Day! 

To quote the founding organization’s mission statement:

Buy Indie Comics Day [was founded] so indie, small press, and local creators around the globe could synergize on a single day designed to celebrate their work. It’s our hope that retailers across the globe will take this chance to stock up on Indie Comics, that consumers will take a risk on new comics and creators they’ve never heard of, and that creators have an event to push their project on. 

Speaking of indie comics you should buy (what? You thought there wasn’t an ulterior motive behind my promotion of this celebration? Hah!), we here at StarWarp Concepts have some comic and graphic novel titles that would be perfect for reading today!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a 56-page, full-color comic special that features cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella) and contains three original stories. In “Song of the Siren,” by writer Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) and artist Eliseu Gouveia (Stargate Universe, Lady Death), the teenaged Goth adventuress matches wits with a man-stealing enchantress who’s set her sights on Pan’s boyfriend, Javier. It’s followed by “After Hours,” by writer Sholly Fisch (Mad Balls vs. Garbage Pail Kids), and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), in which a demon walks into a bar to unwind after a long day of scarifying. And rounding out the issue is “Shopping Maul,” a short story by Roman with title-page art by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), in which Pan and Annie, along with Javier and Pan’s best friend, Sheena, run into a group of Gothic Lolita vampires out to do more than a little window shopping.

Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which a soul-stealing succubus battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Son of Satan, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, Steve Geiger (Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Going Gray), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). It also features contributions from a trio of comic-art legends: a cover painting by Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna: Come Together, Lady Rawhide), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon.

Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s debut as the hostess of a horror anthology comic. Behind an eye-catching cover by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella Strikes, Vampirella/Lady Death), you’ll find stories by me and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk,Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man). Art is provided by Uriel Caton & “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), Lou Manna (Infinity Inc., Young All-Stars, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics), and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Tomb of Terror).

Lorelei: Genesis is a 24-page, one-shot digital-exclusive comic that collects the original small-press Lori stories that I wrote and drew back in the late eighties and early nineties. Behind a brand-new cover drawing by yours truly (and colored by Eliseu Gouveia), you’ll find a pair of stories: “Lorelei” is an 8-pager from 1991 in which Lori journeys through the streets of New York on an important mission: to pick up her dry-cleaning! It’s followed by “In the Midnight Hour,” the 1989 story that introduced horror-comic fans to our favorite redheaded succubus, who steps in to rescue a couple being menaced by a street gang. If you’re curious about Lori’s early days as a horror heroine, then be sure to order yourself a copy!

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or Justice League—they’re more like superpowered Ghostbusters—but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness, Chasing Danger) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.

And The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital-exclusive pirate-fantasy comic created and written by Richard C. White. Drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and featuring cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia, it’s 48 pages of high-seas adventure perfect for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, as well as classics like The Crimson Pirate, Against All Flags, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk—and it’s available for download for just 99¢!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual, Lorelei: Sects and the City, Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, and Troubleshooters Incorporated are available in print and digital formats. Lorelei: Genesis and The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages. 

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It’s National Comic Book Day 2022!

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Steven

Today is National Comic Book Day, an unofficial “holiday” that’s celebrated every year on this date…although no one seems to know why that is, or who exactly started the tradition. Nevertheless, if you’re thinking that the friendly fiends at StarWarp Concepts must have some illustrated fiction that would be perfect for this occasion—you’re absolutely right! 

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 is a free, downloadable comic that serves as an introduction to the adventures of Pandora Zwieback and her monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, with an 8-page story written by Steven A. Roman (that’s me) and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Hell High, Beware the Witch’s Shadow), and a preview of Pan’s first novel, Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1. Pan is 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 Annie 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.    

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a 56-page, full-color comic special that features cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella) and contains three original stories. In “Song of the Siren,” by writer Steven A. Roman and artist Eliseu Gouveia, the teenaged Goth adventuress matches wits with a man-stealing enchantress who’s set her sights on Pan’s boyfriend, Javier. It’s followed by “After Hours,” by writer Sholly Fisch (Batman’s Mystery Casebook), and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), in which a demon walks into a bar to unwind after a long day of scarifying. And rounding out the issue is “Shopping Maul,” a short story by Roman with title-page art by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), in which Pan and Annie, along with Javier and Pan’s best friend, Sheena, run into a group of Gothic Lolita vampires out to do more than a little window shopping.

Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa. Long before she met Pan, Annie was the star of this short-lived “bad girl” comic book miniseries published in the 1990s. Here you’ll find Annie doing a bit of research for an article about gentlemen’s clubs in Times Square—research that includes actually performing as an exotic dancer (I did say it was a ’90s comic, didn’t I?). It’s that part-time gig that brings her into contact with Corum de Sade, a heavy metal singer with a deadly secret: he’s a soul-devouring incubus! All three issues—written by me, with art by cocreator Uriel Caton (JSA Annual), Holly Golightly (School Bites), and David C. Matthews—are available for free from this very website.

Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lori battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Satana the Devil’s Daughter, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Vengeance of the Mummy, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Going Gray), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). It also features work by three Warren Publishing greats: a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Lady Rawhide), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon.

Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s debut as the hostess of a horror anthology comic. Behind an eye-catching cover by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella Strikes, Vampirella/Lady Death), you’ll find stories by me and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk,Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man). Art is provided by Uriel Caton & “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), Lou Manna (Infinity Inc., Young All-Stars,T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics), and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Tomb of Terror).

Lorelei: Genesis is a 24-page, one-shot digital-exclusive comic that collects the original small-press Lori stories that I wrote and drew back in the late eighties and early nineties. Behind a brand-new cover drawing by yours truly (and colored by Eliseu Gouveia), you’ll find a pair of stories: “Lorelei” is an 8-pager from 1991 in which Lori journeys through the streets of New York on an important mission: to pick up her dry-cleaning! It’s followed by “In the Midnight Hour,” the 1989 story that introduced horror-comic fans to our favorite redheaded succubus, who steps in to rescue a couple being menaced by a street gang. If you’re curious about Lori’s early days as a horror heroine, then be sure to order yourself a copy.

Heroines and Heroes is another free digital comic book. It’s a collection of stories (and a few pinups) that I’ve drawn over the years, featuring mainstream and indie comic characters that include the superheroic Blonde Avenger, the anthropomorphic Motorbike Puppies, the half-human/half-rabbit superspy Snowbuni, and my “legendary” Wonder Woman-meets-Harley Quinn three-page tale that was meant to be my entrée to fame and fortune as a DC Comics artist (it didn’t work out, though). 

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or Justice League of America—they’re more like superpowered Ghostbusters—but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.

And The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital pirate-fantasy comic created and written by Richard C. White, coauthor of SWC’s supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings. Drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and featuring cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia (SWC’s The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual), it’s 48 pages of high-seas adventure perfect for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, as well as classics like The Crimson Pirate, Against All Flags, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk—and it’s available for download for just 99¢!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual, Lorelei: Sects and the City, Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, and Troubleshooters Incorporated are available in print and digital formats. Pandora Zwieback #0, Lorelei: Genesis, Heartstopper, Heroines and Heroes, and Chronicles of the Sea Dragon are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages.

Posted in Comic Books, Dark Urban Fantasy, Digital Comics, Events, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, heartstopper, Horror, Publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s National Comic Book Day 2022!

Ahoy! It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2022!

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Steven

Listen well, me hearties! Whether ye be a fan o’ the Pirates o’ the Caribbean movie franchise, or classic films like Captain Blood, The Crimson Pirate, and The Sea Hawk, ’tis time again to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day—and speakin’ o’ swashbuckling adventures, this very vessel, StarWarp Concepts, has its own pirate-fantasy comic for ye to enjoy! Yaarrrr!

The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a one-shot digital comic created and written by Richard C. White, author of the fantasies For a Few Gold Pieces More and Harbinger of Darkness, the noir-fantasy collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, and the popular writers’ and game masters’ world-building guide, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. It’s drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and sports cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual#1).

Best of all, it’s 48 pages of high-seas adventure for just 99¢!

“There seems to be a fair amount of deviousness amongst the crew of the Sea Dragon, but I was greatly pleased to see the heroes using their smarts as well as their swords. Lots of high adventure and old-school artwork make this a fun read for those of us that grew up on Sinbad movies.”—Nth Degree

The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital exclusive. Visit its product page for more information, including sample pages.

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It’s Banned Books Week 2022

Posted on September 18, 2022 by Steven

Got a favorite book? Well, odds are good there’s someone out there in the United States who’d liked to see it censored. According to a recent Publishers Weekly article, the American Library Association “reported 681 documented attempts to ban or restrict library resources in schools, universities, and public libraries through the first eight months of 2022, on pace to shatter the 729 challenges ALA tracked in 2021.”

That’s where Banned Books Week comes in—an annual celebration of literacy in which the spotlight is shone on the problem of censorship in U.S. libraries and bookstores. To quote the Banned Books Week website:

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries…. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

This year’s theme is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us,” and with local politicians across the United States challenging the existence of certain books, seeking to ban them outright in libraries and bookstores, and, in a few cases, expressing a desire to burn them, the issue of censorship in the U.S. hasn’t been this threatening in decades.

Banned Books Week 2022 is happening right now, September 18–24, so visit the BBW website for more information, including a list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2021 that they’re celebrating this year.

Bonus: If you live in Queens, New York (the ’Warp’s home borough), head on over to the Queens Public Library site and read all about “QPL’s 100 Most Popular Banned Books,” all available to check out in book, ebook, and audiobook formats.

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Happy Batman Day 2022!

Posted on September 17, 2022 by Steven

Held the 3rd Saturday in September since 2015, Batman Day is an annual celebration of one of DC Comics’ most iconic superheroes, the Darknight Detective who made his debut in Detective Comics #29 in 1939. 

Created by Bob Kane in collaboration with writer Bill Finger and artist Jerry Robinson, the world of Batman has remained popular with fans around the globe for over 80 years through comics, novels, TV shows, and movies, as demonstrated by the success of director Todd Phillips’s 2019’s megahit Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, and this year’s The Batman, from director Matt Reaves, starring Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, and Zoe Kravitz.

Well, if you’re a fan of the Caped Crusader, then perhaps you’d be interested in checking out a couple of bat-adjacent projects from your friends at StarWarp Concepts…

In 2012, author Richard C. White interviewed New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) for Rich’s how-to book for writers and RPG gamemasters, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. In addition to the ins and outs of proper world building for fantasy and science fiction projects, they also discussed what was then Hickman’s latest novel: Wayne of Gotham, in which Bruce Wayne traces his family history to discover whether there was more to the murder of his parents when he was a boy—the traumatic event that led to his becoming Batman—than a simple robbery gone wrong. 

“When approaching an iconic character like Batman, you walk a really fine line. My first reaction after we proposed this story and they accepted it was, ‘Oh man, I get to write Batman.’ And then the second reaction was, ‘What have I done? I have to write Batman!’ Because everyone has an idea of who Batman is.”

However, since the topic had nothing to do with Terra Incognito’s focus on world building, I cut it from the book during the editing process. But there’s no reason why you can’t read it now, given today’s celebration of all things Batman.

So head on over right now to the Richard C. White blog and celebrate Batman Day by reading all about Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham!

To read the rest of Rich’s interview with Hickman—which includes a discussion of Hickman’s creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons—pick up a copy of Rich’s Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, which takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. In fact, it’s a book that’s become so popular with gamers that it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!

And then there’s Heroines and Heroes, a digital-comic collection of comic stories and pinups written and drawn by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), dating back to my days in the early 1990s small-press movement—that age of dinosaurs in which creators like me used to make our comics by printing them out on photocopiers and then stapling them by hand. In H&H you’ll find mainstream heroes and small-press heroines, and even a couple of anthropomorphic bikers. 

Leading off is “V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N (in the Summertime),” a three-page story starring Wonder Woman and Batman enemy Harley Quinn that I wrote and drew in the late ’90s as a sample for a DC Comics editor who thought I’d be a good fit for their Batman: The Animated Series comic (spoiler warning: it didn’t work out). It’s followed by an adventure of small-presser Jeff Wood’s rabbit-eared superspy, Snowbuni; three pages from the long-canceled indie comic Motorbike Puppies; and an adventure of the indie superheroine The Blonde Avenger. 

Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is available in hardcover, trade paperback, and digital editions. Visit its product page for more information.

Heroines and Heroes is a free digital exclusive comic. Visit its product page for ordering information, as well as sample pages.

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Happy Buy a Book Day 2022!

Posted on September 7, 2022 by Steven

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s National Read a Book Day, today is National Buy a Book Day, which, according to the calendar site Happy Days 365, “was formed in 2012 to educate people about the significance of books to our culture and civilization as a whole.” But wouldn’t it make more sense to have the holidays switched, so you buy a book and then read it?

Anyway, we like to think our books are significant in relation to civilization’s continued existence—I mean, have you seen the outstanding reviews we’ve amassed?—so how can you celebrate this special occasion? Well, we recommend purchasing at least one of our amazing titles!

The best way to do that is by taking a look at our StarWarp Spotlight blog-post series, in which we shine a spotlight on each of our horror, dark urban fantasy, fantasy adventure, and nonfiction books, not to mention our comic books and graphic novels. 

From the young-adult thrills of the Pandora Zwieback novels and comics, the writers/gamers reference book Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, and the comic-book history From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures to the Lovecraftian chills of Lorelei: Sects and the City, the noir-fantasy thrills of Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, and the swashbuckling sci-fi adventure A Princess of Mars, StarWarp Concepts has a book that makes every day perfect for buying—and reading—a book!

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Happy Read a Book Day 2022!

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Steven

Today is National Read a Book Day, which has been celebrated every September 6th since…well, nobody seems to know precisely when this “holiday” began, or who started it, but it’s a celebration of reading, so it’s all good, right? And if you’re looking for the right book on this special day, here are a few StarWarp Concepts titles you might want to consider:

Dark Urban Fantasy
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is a young adult novel by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) that’s perfect for lovers of dark urban fantasy. It introduces readers to Pandora Zwieback, 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 professional monster hunter Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin 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. In Blood Feud, Pan, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father.

Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, by bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil), is a pulp-fiction-styled collection of noir-fantasy novellas 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!

Fantasy Adventure
For a Few Gold Pieces More: This collection of ten critically acclaimed short stories by author Richard C. White stars a Rogue With No Name who 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). Think Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), with a healthy dose of monsters, magic, and swordplay mixed in. 

Harbinger of Darkness: Richard C. White’s first original novel for SWC stars a thief named Perrin who 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!

Classic Science Fiction
A Princess of Mars: Originally published in 1912, this is the first in author Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “John Carter of Mars” ten-novel series about a post–Civil War era American who suddenly finds himself on the Red Planet, battling to stay alive against all sorts of alien threats while falling in love with a beautiful 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 special StarWarp Concepts edition features six incredible illustrations by SWC artist supreme Eliseu Gouveia (Carmilla, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Lorelei: Sects and the City), and a special introduction by Mars-fiction expert John Gosling, author of Waging the War of the Worlds.

Classic Horror
Carmilla is J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century classic vampiric tale of love gone wrong. Laura is so desperate for a friend that when a young woman named Carmilla practically turns up on the doorstep of the castle owned by Laura’s father, she thinks her prayers for companionship have been answered. But as she comes to realize, Carmilla isn’t as interested in making friends as she is in spilling blood. Regarded as the one of the earliest female vampire tales—if not the first—Carmilla was an influence on author Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in his seminal novel, Dracula, and remains a popular character in fiction to this day. Just like with A Princess of Mars, our edition contains six original illustrations done especially for StarWarp Concepts by the super-talented Eliseu Gouveia.

King Kong is our e-book-exclusive Illustrated Classics edition of the 1932 novelization of the renowned motion picture, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary next year. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, the SWC edition of King Kong features scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. What makes our version special is that it contains six exclusive, original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

Nonfiction
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is Steven A. Roman’s nonfiction history of the queen of the comic book bad girls. In its pages you’ll find a breakdown of every Vampirella story that appeared during her Warren Publishing days from July 1969 to December 1982 (plus a list of the modern-day books that reprinted them); a checklist of every Warren Era appearance she made; a look at the six-book novelization series written by sci-fi and pulp-adventure author Ron Goulart and published by Warner Books in the 1970s; an examination of the awful 1996 movie that starred Talisa Soto of the Mortal Kombat movies as Vampi and featured a scenery-gulping performance from rock-god Roger Daltrey as Dracula; and a pretty extensive look at the history of Hammer Films’ Vampirella movie, announced in 1975 with model/actress Barbara Leigh and Hammer legend Peter Cushing as its stars, but which was never produced. Plus little-seen photos and other material pulled straight from the vaults of the Ackermonster by the Official Vampirella Historian, Sean Fernald, who also wrote the foreword. If you’re a Vampi fan, this will definitely be a book you need to pick up!

Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which 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. 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.

Blood Feud, Chasing Danger, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness, A Princess of Mars, Carmilla, From the Stars…a Vampiress, and Terra Incognito are available in print and digital formats. King Kong is a digital exclusive. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information.

Happy reading!

Posted in Carmilla, Classic Fiction, Dark Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Holidays, Illustrated Classics, Nonfiction, Pandora Zwieback, Princess of Mars, Reading, Science Fiction, Vampires, Writing Reference Books, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Happy Read a Book Day 2022!

Happy Read Comics in Public Day 2022!

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Steven

Like the header says, today is the annual celebration of International Read Comics in Public Day, launched in 2010 by Brian Heater and Sarah Morean as an appreciation of folks not afraid to celebrate their comic and graphic novel reading choices by taking them out in public. 

And if you’re thinking that we here at ’Warp Central must have some illustrated fiction that would be perfect for this occasion—you’re absolutely right! 

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a 56-page, full-color comic special that features cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella) and contains three original stories. Pandora Zwieback is 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 an immortal monster hunter named Annie (in the 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. 

In the leadoff story, “Song of the Siren,” by writer Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) and artist Eliseu Gouveia (Vengeance of the Mummy, Stargate Universe), the teenaged Goth adventuress uses that special sight of hers to match wits with a man-stealing enchantress who’s set her sights on Pan’s boyfriend, Javier. It’s followed by “After Hours,” by writer Sholly Fisch (The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries, Madballs vs. Garbage Pail Kids), and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Beetlejuice, Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld), in which a demon walks into a bar to unwind after a long day of scarifying mortals. And rounding out the issue is “Shopping Maul,” a short story by Roman with title-page art by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), in which Pan and Annie, along with Javier and Pan’s best friend, Sheena, run into a group of Gothic Lolita vampires out to do more than a little window shopping.

Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which a soul-stealing succubus battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Satana the Devil’s Daughter, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, Steve Geiger (Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Going Gray), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). It also features work by three Warren Publishing art legends: a cover painting by Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Lady Rawhide), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon.

Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s debut as the hostess of a horror anthology comic. Behind an eye-catching cover by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella Strikes, Vampirella/Lady Death), you’ll find stories by me and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk, Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man). Art is provided by Uriel Caton & “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), Lou Manna (Young All-Stars, Infinity Inc.), John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics), and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Tomb of Terror).

Lorelei: Genesis is a 24-page, one-shot digital-exclusive comic that collects the original small-press Lori stories that I wrote and drew back in the late eighties and early nineties. Behind a brand-new cover drawing by yours truly (and colored by Eliseu Gouveia), you’ll find a pair of stories: “Lorelei” is an 8-pager from 1991 in which Lori journeys through the streets of New York on an important mission: to pick up her dry-cleaning! It’s followed by “In the Midnight Hour,” the 1989 story that introduced horror-comic fans to our favorite redheaded succubus, who steps in to rescue a couple being menaced by a street gang. If you’re curious about Lori’s early days as a horror heroine, then be sure to order yourself a copy!

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or the Justice League, but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, Chasing Danger) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman. Cover art is by Richard Dominguez (El Gato Negro).

And The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital pirate-fantasy comic created and written by Richard C. White. Drawn by Bill Bryan (Caliber Press’ Dark Oz, DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and featuring cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia, it’s 48 pages of high-seas adventure perfect for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, as well as classics like The Crimson Pirate, Against All Flags, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk—and it’s available for download for just 99¢!

How about comics you can download for free? We’ve got those, too!

Heroines and Heroes is a collection of stories (and a few pinups) that I’ve drawn over the years, featuring mainstream and indie comic characters that include the superheroic Blonde Avenger, the anthropomorphic Motorbike Puppies, the half-human/half-rabbit superspy Snowbuni, and my “legendary” Wonder Woman-meets-Harley Quinn three-page tale that was meant to be my entrée to fame and fortune as a DC Comics artist (it didn’t work out, though). 

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 serves as an introduction to the adventures of Pandora Zwieback and her monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, with an 8-page story written by me and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, and a preview of Pan’s first novel, Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1.   

And then there’s Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa. Long before she met Pan, Annie was the star of this short-lived “bad girl” comic book miniseries published in the 1990s. Here you’ll find Annie doing a bit of research for an article about gentlemen’s clubs in Times Square—research that includes actually performing as an exotic dancer (I did say it was a ’90s comic, didn’t I?). It’s that part-time gig that brings her into contact with Corum de Sade, a heavy metal singer with a deadly secret: he’s a soul-devouring incubus! All three issues—written by me, with art by pencilers Uriel Caton (JSA Annual), Holly Golightly (School Bites), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele), and inkers Alan Larsen (Femforce) and “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales), and colors by Dan Peters and Zeea Adams. As a bonus, the third issue includes the story behind, and sample artwork from, the never-completed Heartstopper/Trollords crossover comic that would have seen Annie team-up with a trio of comical trolls attacking as chaperones for Annie’s very special date with a longtime admirer—Death himself!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual, Lorelei: Sects and the City, Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, and Troubleshooters Incorporated are available in print and digital formats. Pandora Zwieback #0, Heartstopper, Heroines and Heroes, and the Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages. 

And then get out there and start reading them in public!

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Prepare for the Rise of the Kong Multiverse With SWC’s King Kong the Illustrated Classic!

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Steven

For a monster who’s preparing to celebrate his 90th anniversary in March 2023, the big boss of Skull Island, King Kong, shows no signs of slowing down these days—in fact, for a nonagenarian who died in his first screen appearance, he seems to be experiencing a brand-new major boost in popularity that will keep him even busier in the years ahead. 

After his return to cinematic stardom in Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island in 2017, he went head-to-head with the king of the monsters in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, the latest entry in Legendary’s “Monsterverse,” which includes 2014’s reboot of Godzilla, and 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters (which brought us rebooted versions of King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra). 

Then in late 2020, Netflix announced that production had begun on Skull Island, an animated series that will probably be set between the events of K:SI and GvK (given the former was set in the early 1970s and the latter was contemporary). That was followed by the news that Legendary had greenlit a follow-up to GvK (under the working title of Godzilla vs. Kong 2) and was developing for Apple TV Godzilla and the Titans, a series set after the 2014 film.

And now yesterday, Disney announced their own project: a King Kong series for the Disney+ streaming service that will be produced by James Wan (director of Aquaman, Saw, and The Conjuring) in partnership with the Merian C. Cooper Estate, based on the licensed Kong novels created by artist Joe DeVito.

The creation of movie producer Merian C. Cooper and author Edgar Wallace, the original King Kong was brought to stop-motion life in 1933 by effects master Willis O’Brien and went on to become a worldwide cultural icon that inspired generations of Monster Kids who grew up to be directors, writers, and special-effects creators. 

It also inspired all of us at StarWarp Concepts—here comes the shameless plug—to add the story of the king of the simian monsters to our line of Illustrated Classics!

King Kong is an e-book-only republication of the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. Our version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages ofThe Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

Not familiar with the beauty-and-the-beast story of Kong and his “love interest,” Ann Darrow (who was played in the 1933 original by the queen of the scream queens, Fay Wray)? Well, here’s our edition’s back-cover copy to bring you up-to-date:

Ann Darrow was a down-on-her-luck actress struggling to survive in Depression-era New York when she met moviemaker Carl Denham. He offered her the starring role in his latest film: a documentary about a long-lost island—and the godlike ape named Kong rumored to live there. Denham needed a beauty as a counterpart to the beast he hoped to find, and Ann was the answer to his prayers.

Mystery, romance, a chance to turn her life around, even the possibility of stardom—to Ann, it sounded like the adventure of a lifetime! But what she didn’t count on were the horrific dangers that awaited her on Skull Island—including the affections of a love-struck monster…

King Kong (the 1932 novelization) is available directly from the SWC webstore, so visit its product page for ordering information.

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A New Comic Series from SWC Friend Sholly Fisch!

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Steven

We don’t often promote other publishers’ releases, but when we do it’s usually to shine the spotlight on one of our creative friends—as it is in this case with writer Sholly Fisch, who’s probably best known as the scripter of such DC Comics as Scooby-Doo Team-Up, Batman: The Brave & the Bold, and, most recently, The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries (recently renewed for another “season”).

Sholly has a new comic series that just launched from Dynamite Entertainment: Madballs vs. Garbage Pail Kids, a crossover event in which “the heavyweights of gross have combined forces in a massive merchandising blitz that pits the Madballs against the Garbage Pail Kids—winner take all!” Basically, it’s a clash of two of the 1980s’ most popular gross-out kids’ properties, AmToys’ Madballs foam toys and Topps’ wacky sticker trading card series Garbage Pail Kids (a parody of the then-popular Cabbage Patch Dolls).

Madballs vs. Garbage Pail Kids #1 is available right now from physical and online comic retailers, so if you’re nostalgic for the eighties, or are a fan of Sholly’s work, then be sure to pick up a copy!

And don’t forget, you can check out Sholly’s contribution to StarWarp Concepts’ backlist of comics by purchasing The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, a spinoff from the young-adult novel series. This 56-page, full-color comic special finds the teenaged Goth adventuress battling vampires and a jealous, man-stealing siren. 

In addition to the lead story, “Song of the Siren,” a Pan adventure written by yours truly and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0) in which she confronts a boyfriend-stealing mythological siren, and my short story “Shopping Maul” (title page illustration by Charm School’s Elizabeth Watasin), in which Pan and her friends deal with Gothic & Lolita vampires at a shopping mall, it features “After Hours,” an offbeat tale by Sholly and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld) about a demon who walks into a bar, looking to unwind after a long day of scarifying.

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is available in print and digital formats. Visit its product page for ordering information, as well as sample pages.

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