Amazon Reviews Needed for From the Stars…a Vampiress

vampiress_LG_CoverAre you a fan of Vampirella, the outer-space huntress who traveled from a planet of vampires to Earth in 1969 and has been fighting monsters and cultists for the past 50-plus years? Have you read and enjoyed our nonfiction comic history tome From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures?

If so, then we need you to post reviews on Amazon US and Amazon UK!

After all, critics have certainly enjoyed the book:

“This is without a doubt the essential, authoritative reference book for anything related to the Warren-era Vampirella… There are lots of books out there with good information—Empire of Monsters, The Art of Vampirella: The Warren Years, The Art of Jose Gonzalez, etc.—but none offers such a broad, all-encompassing look at the history of this character.”Vampirella of Drakulon

“It’s obvious that the author, Steven A. Roman, is a fan as the book is lovingly written…. If you have ever felt the need to geek out on Vampirella you have everything you need right here.”Ravenous Monster

“Author Steven A Roman clearly has a love for the subject and his writing is conversational in tone, with a bounce to it that makes it very readable…. This is an excellent volume for the Vampirella connoisseur and an education for folks like me, who didn’t know too much and who want to learn.”Taliesin Meets the Vampires

“I expected it would make me want to become a Vampirella fan; however, minus reading the original material, there’s everything I need here to already be one. If those original comics and magazines somehow fail to impress, the guides and checklists offered by Steven A. Roman do not.”Classic Horrors Club

So, how about it, Vampi fans? A few good words might not only help sales (which we’d definitely appreciate) but also let other Vampi-philes know about a new book about their favorite bloodsucker that would be perfect for their own bookshelves. Spread the word—and thanks for the help!

Vampirella #1. Cover painting by  Frank Frazetta.

Vampirella #1. Cover painting by
Frank Frazetta.

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 to telling the tale of Hammer’s unproduced film adaptation that was to star Barbara Leigh and Peter Cushing, I provide 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 and Roger Daltrey. 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, and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman.

From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available right now in print and as a PDF e-book, so visit its product page for ordering information.

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StarWarp Spotlight On: For a Few Gold Pieces More

pieces_gold_large_book_cover2017Welcome back to StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that runs each Monday to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.

This week, we look at a short story collection perfect for fans of fantasy adventures…

For a Few Gold Pieces More presents ten fast-paced adventures by Richard C. White, author of Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, and a growing number of SWC titles: the novel Harbinger of Darkness; the fantasy-noir story collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase; the writer’s aid Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; and the pirate-adventure digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special.

Gold Pieces is about a Thief with No Name on the run for a crime he didn’t commit, and his pursuit of the woman who set him up. While he’s tracking her down, along the way he runs into various monsters and demons, crosses swords with a variety of enemies, gains allies, and even finds romance. Here’s the back cover copy:

For the right price, he’ll get you out of trouble. Cross him, and you’ll never pay enough.

It’s amazing what you learn, living on the run.

Fleeing for my life, convicted on trumped-up charges, and denied the use of my own name, I’ve stayed one step ahead of the Imperial Guard by focusing on one thing: taking care of myself first. So, I don’t know where you heard the ridiculous rumor about me helping people here and there around the Empire. And if, and that’s a big if, it was me, there was something in it for me. Trust me on that.

In the various towns and villages I’ve visited over the years, I’ve seen depravity, cruelty, torture, greed, lust—and that’s just the humans. Trust me—compared to them, the creatures that haunt the edges of the Empire are more honest and trustworthy. At least they’re not trying to slip a knife into your back . . . usually.

Only a few things have been constant while I’ve been on the run. My desire for revenge against the person who framed me all those years ago tops the list. Weird things happening in quiet villages, dark forests, or icy mountains never seem to change. And third?  Well, that would be my luck.

 I can always count on it to be bad.

Critics certainly enjoyed these adventures:

“Richard C. White knows how to spin a yarn. These stories do not disappoint.”Bobby Nash, author of Evil Ways, Domino Lady: Money Shot, and Alexandra Holzer’s Ghost Gal: The Wild Hunt

“Entertaining, old-school sword and sorcery, in the tradition of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.”Jim C. Hines, author of the Magic ex Libris, Jig the Goblin, and The Princesses series

For a Few Gold Pieces More is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information.

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Getting a Head Start On Halloween…

SWC-Sleepy-Hollow-ad

Sure, it’s true that we’re not even into the official start of summer, which happens later this month (on June 21, to be precise), but when you’re a horror fan there’s never really a bad time to start thinking about October—the Spooky Season.

Bad post-title “head” puns aside, if you’re a lover of all things horror and Halloween, it should come as no surprise that what we’re talking about here is the latest addition to our SWC Horror Bites imprint: the classic spookfest The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving!

First published in 1820, in the Irving short story collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., the tale of schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, socialite Katrina Van Tassel, town bully Brom Bones, and the ghostly Hessian soldier who constantly rides in search of a replacement noggin is known around the world and is considered one of the quintessential stories to get you in the right mood for Halloween. It’s inspired countless movies, TV shows, cartoons, comic books, and novels—and this year it celebrates its 200th anniversary!

There’s also a bit of serendipity involved in this selection: Irving lived on an estate in Tarrytown, NY that he named Sunnyside—and the ’Warp Central offices are based in Sunnyside, NY! For the Horseman, why, it’s almost like coming home. (We’ll keep the doors locked, though, should he come by to visit.)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow goes on sale October 13, 2020. Stay tuned for further news!

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the image up top is a photograph I took of a Headless Horseman sculpture at the October 2016 Great Jack-O-Lantern Blaze in upstate New York. Nice work they did, right?)

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StarWarp Spotlight On: Lorelei: Sects and the City

Lorelei: Sects and the CityWelcome back to StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that runs each Monday to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.

This week, we look at our most popular graphic novel…

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, Steven A. Roman (From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy), and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night).

The 152-page graphic novel also features art by a trio of comic-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 one-page history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon (Vampirella, The Grim Ghost). So if you’re an old-school fan of, say, Vampirella, I can definitely say that Lorelei: Sects and the City is right up your alley. Don’t believe me? Then take the word of a couple of experts who agree with me:

“Lorelei, you’ve cast your spell o’er this guy!”Forrest J Ackerman, co-creator of Vampirella and Famous Monsters of Filmland

“You sure do pay Warren Publishing a nice tribute. I wish you good luck and good acceptance. I like the graphics, and the story is exciting!”James Warren, legendary publisher of Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and Famous Monsters of Filmland; co-creator of Vampirella

And critics have certainly enjoyed it:

“What elevates this graphic novel to another level is Roman’s dialogue. The writing is smart and that comes out in the characters.”Horror Talk

“Roman takes the Vampirella mold and runs with it, giving a well-written story some genuine chills and equally nice human moments between the characters.”Severe Magazine

“A great homage to Warren’s Vampirella magazine. Roman has captured the spirit of the black and white Warrens, especially his female star.”Vampirella Revealed

Lorelei: Sects and the City is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information, as well as sample pages.

Be sure to check out the other StarWarp Spotlight titles we’ve featured so far: the writers and gamers creative how-to Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, the nonfiction comic history From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, the classic vampiric love story Carmilla, the young adult dark-fantasy novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, the dark-fantasy noir collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, and the Illustrated Classic King Kong—all available either from the SWC webstore or from online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon UK.

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Vampirella Gets a Warm Drakulonian Welcome

vampiress_LG_CoverTwo reviews in the same week! I’m starting to get the sense this book might be popular with Vampi fans…

At the Vampi-centric fan site Vampirella of Drakulon, host Pendragon takes a look at our latest release, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures. So what’d he think of this in-depth analysis of the history of the queen of comics’ bad girls?

“This is without a doubt the essential, authoritative reference book for anything related to the Warren-era Vampirella… There are lots of books out there with good information – Empire of Monsters, The Art of Vampirella: The Warren Years, The Art of Jose Gonzalez, etc – but none offers such a broad, all encompassing look at the history of this character.”

Read the entire review here.

Written by Steven A. Roman, author of the Pandora Zwieback series and the tales of the Vampi-inspired succubus Lorelei, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is an extensive look at Vampi’s early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983.

Created by comics publisher James Warren and writer/editor Forrest J Ackerman, Vampirella—the half-naked vampire from outer space who fights monsters while wearing nothing but a one-piece swimsuit and a pair of go-go boots—celebrated her 50th anniversary last year with the launch of a new series by her current rights owner, Dynamite Entertainment.

In From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures you’ll find a wealth of information in its chapters:

The Vampire Who Fell to Earth: It’s the story of the life of Vampirella at Warren Publishing: her 1969 development by cocreators James Warren and Forrest J Ackerman, with the assistance of artists Frank Frazetta and Trina Robbins; the adventures she went on via the writing and artistic talents of such visionaries as Archie Goodwin, Bill DuBay, Jose Gonzalez, Enrich, Gonzalo Mayo, and many others; and the cancellation of her series in 1982 when the company collapsed. It also features probably the most you’ll ever see reported about four Vampi writers who were just as talented but not as well known: Mike Butterworth, who wrote under the pseudonym Flaxman Loew; T. Casey Brennan; Rich Margopoulos; and Gerry Boudreau.

The Vampirella Episode Guide: The largest section of the book, it examines every story starring Vampirella during the Warren Era: over 100 entries, some with little known behind-the-scenes details. Plus stories behind some of Vampi’s unpublished adventures!

Barbara-Leigh-VampiVampi Goes to Hollywood: In 1975, Hammer Films announced the development of a Vampirella movie starring model/actress Barbara Leigh and the legendary Peter Cushing (later known the world over as Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars). The project crashed in spectacular fashion, but the details have always been murky. I try to clear up the confusion surrounding it, detailing the production from its launch to its unfortunate ending. And then I take a critical look at the awful Vampirella movie that was made in 1996, starring Talisa Soto and rock god Roger Daltrey of the Who—and probably shouldn’t have been!

The Literary Vampiress: From 1975 to 1976, Warner Books published a series of Vampirellanovelizations by sci-fi author Ron Goulart. I take a look at each novel, and explain why they’re worth tracking down…if you can find copies!

The Vampirella Warren Era Checklist: A list of every Warren Vampi story! Every reprint volume from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment! Plus little known trivia!

From the Stars also features: A foreword by Sean Fernald, the Official Vampirella Historian! A peek at Peter Cushing’s personal copy of the 1976 Vampirella screenplay! A frontispiece by legendary artist Bob Larkin, who painted covers for Warren’s VampirellaThe Rook, Eerie, and Famous Monsters of Filmland! Photos of Barbara Leigh in costume as Vampirella at the 1975 Famous Monsters Convention, held in New York! If there’s only one Vampirella history book you pick up, then be sure to add it to your collection!

From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available right now in print and as a PDF e-book, so visit its product page for ordering information. The print edition can be purchased from us as well as through your usual reailer outlets like Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble; the e-book is available through the SWC webstore and DriveThru Fiction.

This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Dynamite Entertainment or any of its licensees. Vampirella is a trademark of Dynamite Entertainment.

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CT Horrorfest 2020 Canceled

CT-Horrorfest-2019-posterWell, here’s a bit of a down note on which to end the week. With the coronavirus outbreak wreaking havoc in the convention industry, and given how impossible it is to enforce social distancing guidelines in a gathering place often packed to capacity, it’s disappointing but no surprise that the Connecticut-based CT Horrorfest, which was scheduled for this September, has announced its cancellation, with a replacement date of September 18, 2021. A wise decision, from our perspective.

Well, you might not be able to come see us at CT Horrorfest, but you can still have the convention experience by buying yourself one (or all!) of our awesome books. From the dark urban fantasy adventures of The Saga of Pandora Zwieback and Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase to Illustrated Classics like Carmilla and King Kong, and from the graphic novel terrors of Lorelei: Sects and the City to the Brothers Grimm’s dark fairy tale Snow White, StarWarp Concepts has a lot to offer horror fans!

Stay safe, stay well, and hopefully we’ll see you next year!

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Vampirella Gains Admittance to the Classic Horrors Club

vampiress_LG_CoverIt’s review time again! At the site Classic Horrors Club, host Jeff Owens gives his opinion on our latest release, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures. He sure seems to like what he read:

“I expected it would make me want to become a Vampirella fan; however, minus reading the original material, there’s everything I need here to already be one. If those original comics and magazines somehow fail to impress, the guides and checklists offered by Steven A. Roman do not.”

Read the entire review here.

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 to telling the tale of Hammer’s unproduced film adaptation that was to star Barbara Leigh and Peter Cushing, I provide 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 and Roger Daltrey. 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, and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman.

From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available right now in print and as a PDF e-book, so visit its product page for ordering information.

This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Dynamite Entertainment or any of its licensees. Vampirella is a trademark of Dynamite Entertainment.

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StarWarp Spotlight On: King Kong

King_Kong_LG_CoverWelcome back to StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that runs each week to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.

Normally, we do this on Mondays, but with this past Monday having been Memorial Day—a holiday in the United States, so we closed ’Warp Central so everyone could enjoy a nice three-day weekend for the unofficial start of summer—and yesterday being what would have been the 107th birthday of horror acting icon Peter Cushing (who figures prominently in our nonfiction comic-history tome From the Stars…a Vampiress: An unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures), we shifted this week’s Spotlight to today.

So now that that’s explained, this time around we look at another of our Illustrated Classics—a dark-fantasy novel known to generations of monster kids and monster fans around the world, about a supersized ape who’s getting ready to return to the big screen this fall…

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 of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

kingkong33-wray-armstrong-cabotNot 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…

It’s a story that not only inspired a host of knockoffs and remakes over Kong’s 87-year history—from Konga and Queen Kong to Mighty Joe Young and Peter Jackon’s King Kong—but the big guy’s popularity was reinvigorated with the 2017 release of Kong: Skull Island, which set the stage for this year’s big-screen monster clash, Godzilla vs. Kong, coming in November. (Not a remake of, or to be confused with, Toho Studios’ fairly comedic King Kong vs. Godzilla from 1962.)

Not only that, but critics have enjoyed Lovelace’s approach to the original movie:

“Lovelace was given a script and told to have at it. And that’s what makes this book so fun. It’s a testament to what the original Kong was both supposed to have been and what might have been.”The Thunder Child

“Lovelace’s novelization is an interesting read and moves with a breezy pace. Fascinating for fans of the film.”Library Thing

“Recommended for hard-core Kongites.”Sci-Fi Dimensions

King Kong is a digital exclusive available directly from the SWC webstore, so visit its product page for ordering information.

Be sure to check out the other StarWarp Spotlight titles we’ve featured so far: the writers and gamers creative how-to Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, the nonfiction comic history From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, the classic vampiric love story Carmilla, the young adult dark-fantasy novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, and the dark-fantasy noir collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase—all available from the SWC webstore and online retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon UK.

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Happy Birthday, Horror Legend Peter Cushing!

Peter-CushingYes, horror fans, it was on this day in 1913 that Peter Cushing was born, which means this would have been his 107th birthday.

Born in Kenley, England, Peter Wilton Cushing began his acting career on the stage in 1935, as a member of the Worthing Repertory Company, but in 1939 he journeyed to Hollywood, where he made his screen debut in a bit part in that year’s release of The Man in the Iron Mask, directed by James Whale—best known to horror fans as the director of Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein.

He returned to the stage in England in the 1940s, and in 1956, Hammer Films cast him as Baron Victor Frankenstein in the studio’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It was also his first Hammer collaboration with old friend Christopher Lee; together, they would create horror-movie magic in the studio’s series of Dracula films—beginning in 1958 with Dracula (aka Horror of Dracula)—with Lee as the titular count and Cushing as his vampire-slaying nemesis, Van Helsing.

Peter-Cushing-TarkinBeyond Hammer, Cushing became a science fiction icon with his appearances as the eccentric time traveler Dr. Who in the 1960s films Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.—loose adaptations of serialized stories that first appeared as episodes of the long-running British TV series Doctor Who—and as the villainous Grand Moff Tarkin, commander of the Death Star and Darth Vader’s boss, in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (a role he later “returned to” through the magic of CGI in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).

And then, there was a film he was with involved that never got past its preproduction period, but whose behind-the-scenes story has intrigued horror fans for decades: Vampirella, an adaptation of the Warren Publishing series about an outer space vampire living on Earth. Announced by Hammer Films in 1975, the production was to star b-movie actress and Playboy model Barbara Leigh as Vampirella and Peter Cushing as her sidekick, the often inebriated stage magician Pendragon. By 1976, however, the project was dead.

vampiress_LG_CoverIt’s a story told in full detail in From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), 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 to telling the tale of Hammer’s unproduced film, I provide 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 and Roger Daltrey. 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, and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman.

From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available right now in print and as a PDF e-book, so visit its product page for ordering information.

Happy birthday, Mr. Cushing, and thanks for the great movie memories!

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Summertime 2020 Is Just About (Unofficially) Here!

sweeney-by-the-sea

Next Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day in the United States—a time when the country takes a moment to recognize the sacrifices of the members of our armed forces who’ve given their lives to protect our, and the world’s freedoms.

Generally, it’s meant to be a solemn occasion, but Memorial Day weekend is also considered the unofficial start of the summer season (which officially falls on June 21, and ends September 23). For many Americans who may or may not have made vacation plans (depending on where you’re located in these virus days), that means tomorrow is the start of a four-day weekend—which around here calls for a goth-style trip to the beach (at a socially safe distance, of course)!

And you know what would make for perfect beach reading this summer? Some fine horror titles from our awesome backlist, of course!

Blood FeudBlood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed, character-driven young adult novel by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) is the beginning of teenaged Goth girl Pan Zwieback’s adventures, explaining her troubled past as someone who had been diagnosed with a mental illness because she thought she could see monsters, only to learn it’s an actual supernatural power that she possesses. And who explained it to her? None other than an immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie! But before she can make sense of that revelation, 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 they’re following goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father!

CarmillaCarmilla 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. Our edition contains six original illustrations done especially for StarWarp Concepts by the super-talented Eliseu Gouveia.

white_fell_large_book_cover2017White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, was originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, and is regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area?He may come to regret being so inquisitive…

King_Kong_LG_CoverKing Kong is StarWarp Concepts’ e-book-exclusive Illustrated Classics edition of the official novelization of the renowned motion picture, originally published in 1932, just a few months before Kong made his big-screen debut. 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 ofThe Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.

troubleshooters_lrg_coverTroubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings: Perfect for superhero fans, this graphic novel is about a supernatural team of superfolk-for-hire, consisting of a wizard, a sorceress, a female ninja, a high-tech-armor-wearing rock concert lighting designer, anda werewolf. Not every superhero team has Tony Stark’s billions to play with, you understand, and the Troubleshooters are just looking to earn a living while fighting the monsters that have always lurked in the shadows. Makes sense, right? Of course it does! Written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. White (For a Few Gold Pieces More, Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, Night Stalkings presents the TSI members on their first mission: protecting a multimillionaire from a trio of Middle Eastern demons out to raise a little hell!

Blood Feud, Carmilla, and Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings are available in both print and digital formats. White Fell: The Werewolf and King Kong are digital exclusives. Visit each of their product pages for more information, including sample pages and sample chapters.

Have a (creepily) safe and fun summer!

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