The Worlds of Richard C. White: The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special

Rich-New-PicHe’s the bestselling author of the licensed fantasy novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, and a popular writer of fantasy, science fiction, and crime tales, including Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Echoes of Coventry and The Dark Leopard: Mouse Trap. But if you’ve been paying attention to the works of Richard C. White, you’ll notice he’s been building a backlist here at StarWarp Concepts.

Rich has a brand-new title hitting bookshelves next week: For a Few Gold Pieces More, a collection of ten critically acclaimed short stories that star 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.

With Gold Pieces so close to publication, I thought reminding you of his backlist would be a good idea, since all his titles are still very much available for order from the SWC webstore. Last Monday, I told you about his supernatural-superheroes graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings. Today we’ll examine his ode to seafaring adventure.

seadragon_lrg_cov_revThe Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special was Rich’s second SWC release since our 2010 relaunch—a 48-page pirate-fantasy comic created and written by Rich, and drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery). It’s Rich’s love letter of sorts to the classic pirate movies he grew up watching on TV, like The Crimson Pirate, Against All Flags, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk—not to mention it has a certain resonance with the more contemporary Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, of course! (Hey, with a new movie coming out this year, it’s not a bad thing to let Jack Sparrow fans know about Sea Dragon’s availability.)

Sea Dragon originally made its debut in print form, through Rich’s NightWolf Graphics publishing company, and premiered at the 2005 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California (which was also The ’Warp’s final appearance at that West Coast madhouse). The general reaction to the one-shot, which sported cover art by interior artist Bill Bryan, was overwhelmingly positive from fantasy and comic fans at the show, but it was easy to overlook its virtues in a venue that, even in 2005, was catering more and more to the pop-culture crowd and less to comic readers.

Still, I knew that Sea Dragon had potential, which is why I approached Rich in 2012 about reviving the special as an e-comic and releasing it in time for 2013’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day (celebrated every September 19th). For the updated version, I commissioned new cover art from Eliseu Gouveia, the super-talented artist of the SWC projects Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Carmilla, and A Princess of Mars, and had designer Mike Rivilis clean up the interior art scans and lay out the balance of the comic. And, even better for comic fans, we made the digital version available for just 99¢!

In the special you meet Asheera, captain of the Sea Dragon, and his elfin first mate, Safir, as they lead a crew of privateers—soldiers of fortune—on a mission to intercept a supply train during a war between two island kingdoms. But, as you might expect, things don’t exactly work out how they’ve been planned, and the crew of the Sea Dragon soon find themselves sailing some very rough seas—both in and out of the water…

The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is available right now in digital form, so visit its product page for ordering information and sample pages. Pick up a copy today—it’ll give you something to read while you’re waiting for the May release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales!

Next Monday, we’ll wrap things up by taking a look at Rich’s 2015 release, the writer’s guide Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. Be sure to join us!

For a Few Gold Pieces More goes on sale February 14, 2017.

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SWC Horror Bites: White Fell: The Werewolf Now On Sale!

That’s right, horror fans and Women in Horror Month enthusiasts, today is the day that a werewolf helps launch our new line of SWC Horror Bites chapbook releases!

White Fell—The Werewolf, originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, was written by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman, and is regarded by scholars as possibly the first feminist werewolf story. Take a look at the full cover to learn the details!

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White Fell—The Werewolf is on sale right now in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for further information and order it today!

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Have You Heard About The Formidables?

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Created by writer/artist Chris Malgrain—my old creative partner from the one-off comic Stan Lee’s Alexa—and edited by yours truly, The Formidables are a quintet of superheroes battling evil and bigotry in 1950s America, with their first challenge coming in the form of a Communist super-villain…who’s disguised as a white supremacist! It’s a unique take on the genre, with Chris examining topics like race relations and sexual identity in a Cold War setting, with an appropriate amount of punching and explosions mixed in, of course—we are talking superhero comics, after all!

The Formidables #1–2 can be purchased right now in print and digital formats from distributor/printer Indy Planet, so visit Oniric Comics’ product page for ordering information.

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Here Comes Take Your Child to the Library Day 2017!

library-something-wicked-5Hey, book lovers and parents of book lovers! Tomorrow is the sixth annual celebration of Take Your Child to the Library Day. To quote their website:

“Take Your Child to the Library Day (TYCLD) is an international initiative that encourages families everywhere to take their children to their local library. Launched in 2011 right here in Connecticut by librarians Nadine Lipman (Waterford Public Library, retired) and Caitlin Augusta (Stratford Library) with artist Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, TYCLD raises community awareness about the importance of the library in the life of a child, and promotes library services and programs for children and families.”

Before the Internet, libraries were the source for information and reading, and these days they can use our support. So head out tomorrow, introduce your children to that big brick building with all the free books to borrow, update the library card that’s been stuck in the back of your wallet for all these years, and renew your acquaintance with a vital partner in the ongoing literacy campaign.

For more information, including the list of participating libraries, visit the TYCLD website.

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SWC Horror Bites Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STARWARP CONCEPTS OFFERS READERS SOME TASTY “SWC HORROR BITES”

whitefell-werewolf-cvr“Short tales to appease your monstrous hunger for suspense” is how StarWarp Concepts publisher Steven Roman describes SWC Horror Bites, a new chapbook series that the company will launch on February 7, 2017. The series, a mix of new and classic horror stories, will be available in print and e-book formats exclusively from the SWC webstore, and at the conventions that StarWarp Concepts attends.

The SWC Horror Bites debut title is White Fell—The Werewolf. Originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, it was written by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman, 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…

Tales-Sorta-Tremble-CvrThe anthology Tales to Sorta Tremble By, scheduled for release in October and edited by Roman, will be the second Horror Bite. During the 1950s, comic book publishers were required to include text pages in their releases if they wanted their publications to meet U.S. postal requirements as magazines. They solved this problem by running mini prose stories, one to two pages in length, in their comics. Tales to Sorta Tremble By collects thirteen of those stories, with subjects ranging from vampires and werewolves to evil killer plants and mean-tempered zombies.

The third and final Horror Bite for 2017 is Gabriel Grub and the Goblins. Before miserly Ebenezer Scrooge had a run-in with ghosts in the pages of A Christmas Carol, author Charles Dickens wrote The Pickwick Papers, in which he introduced readers to Gabriel Grub, a foul-tempered gravedigger sorely lacking in the Christmas spirit. But all that changes when he draws the attention—and the ire—of the Goblin King, who sets about teaching Grub the error of his ways.

gabriel-grub-cvrWhite Fell—The Werewolf debuts on February 7, 2017, during StarWarp Concepts’ recognition of Women in Horror Month. Tales to Sorta Tremble By rises from the crypt on October 13, 2017 (Friday the 13th). And Gabriel Grub and the Goblins arrives on December 13, 2017.

For more information, please visit www.StarwarpConcepts.com.

About the Books:
White Fell—The Werewolf
by Clemence Annie Housman
Published by StarWarp Concepts
48 pages, chapbook (5.5” x 8.5”)
U.S. $4.00 (print edition) • $1.99 (digital)
On sale February 7, 2017

Tales to Sorta Tremble By
Edited by Steven A. Roman
Published by StarWarp Concepts
52 pages, chapbook (5.5” x 8.5”)
U.S. $4.00 (print edition) • $1.99 (digital)
On sale October 13, 2017

Gabriel Grub and the Goblins
by Charles Dickens
Published by StarWarp Concepts
24 pages, chapbook (5.5” x 8.5”)
U.S. $3.00 (print edition) • $1.50 (digital)
On sale December 13, 2017

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Happy Women in Horror Month 2017!

WiHM8-Logo-Vert-White-MIt’s February, and that means it’s time again for Women in Horror Month, the annual celebration that shines the spotlight on the contributions of all the female creators—writers, artists, movie directors, producers, special makeup artists, special effects experts, etc.—who’ve brought thrills and chills to generations of fans around the world. And the Women in Horror Month website is the place to go to find out all about the events scheduled for this year. To quote the organization’s most recent press release:

Women in Horror Month (WiHM) is an international, grassroots initiative, which encourages supporters to learn about and showcase the underrepresented work of women in the horror industries. Whether they are on the screen, behind the scenes, or contributing in their other various artistic ways, it is clear that women love, appreciate, and contribute to the horror genre.

WiHM celebrates these contributions to horror throughout the year via the official WiHM blog, Ax Wound, The Ax Wound Film Festival, and with the official WiHM event/project database in February. This database—in conjunction with the WiHM social media fan base—actively promotes do-it-yourself annual film screenings, blogs/articles, podcasts, and any other form of creative media with the ultimate goal of helping works by and featuring women reach a wider audience.

This inclusive and positive movement is open to everyone, just as we believe the horror genre should be.

For more information, visit the WiHM site.

We’re also getting involved with the celebration. Next Tuesday, February 7, we’ll be releasing the first entry in our SWC Horror Bites chapbook series: White Fell—The Werewolf, the acclaimed tale of love and lycanthropy by Clemence Annie Housman. It’s a story considered by some literary scholars to be the first feminist werewolf story.

We’ll be running biographical posts about Housman, as well as ones on Ruth Rose, who co-wrote the original King Kong and wrote Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young; Kong’s costar and “love interest,” Ann Darrow; and Fay Wray, the actress who brought Ann to film life. The fact that these last three just happen to tie-in to our upcoming Illustrated Classic e-book edition of the 1932 novelization of King Kong is purely coincidental. 😉

And then there’s the week we’ll be spending celebrating the 145th anniversary of Carmilla, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic vampire tale of love and obsession (which is available through the SWC webstore in print and digital formats).

It’s going to be one busy Women in Horror Month around here—hope you’ll join us for the festivities!

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For a Few Gold Pieces More Press Release

gold-pieces-cvrFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“FOR A FEW GOLD PIECES MORE”…FANTASY READERS CAN BUY A LOT OF ADVENTURE

He’s a Rogue With No Name, and for the right price he’ll get you out of trouble. But cross him, and you’ll never pay enough…

Coming February 14, 2017 is For a Few Gold Pieces More, a collection of ten critically acclaimed short stories by Richard C. White, author of Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Echoes of Coventry, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, and a trio of StarWarp Concepts titles: the writers’ reference book Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; and the pirate-fantasy e-comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special.

In For a Few Gold Pieces More, White introduces readers to an unnamed rogue and mercenary who travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure and seeking revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did). Think J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). Cover art is provided by fantasy painter Shane Braithwaite.

Packaged by NightWolf Graphics, published by StarWarp Concepts, and distributed in print by Ingram Content Group, FOR A FEW GOLD PIECES MORE (ISBN: 978-0-9982361-0-0) goes on sale February 14, 2017, and can be ordered from brick-and-mortar bookstores and online retail sites, as well as from the StarWarp Concepts website. E-book editions will be available for download from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, the iBookstore, and other online retailers.

For more information, please visit www.StarwarpConcepts.com.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR FOR A FEW GOLD PIECES MORE:

“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

“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

“A great read that had the main character learning that he is a better man than what he thinks he is.… It was easy to visualize the characters and find yourself rooting for them. I have no problem recommending this book to those that like this genre.”
Drue’s Random Chatter’s & Reviews

About the Author:
Richard C. White is the bestselling author of the novels Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil and Star Trek S.C.E.: Echoes of Coventry; the writers’ reference book Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; and the digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special. His short fiction has appeared in such anthologies as The Ultimate Hulk and Doctor Who: Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership.

About the Book:
For a Few Gold Pieces More
by Richard C. White
Published by StarWarp Concepts
420 pages, trade paperback (5.5” x 8.5”)
U.S. $14.95 (print edition) • $5.99 (digital)
ISBN: 978-0-9982361-0-0 (trade paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-9982361-1-7 (digital)

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The Worlds of Richard C. White: Troubleshooters, Incorporated

Rich-New-PicHe’s the bestselling author of the licensed fantasy novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, and a popular writer of fantasy, science fiction, and crime tales, including Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Echoes of Coventry and The Dark Leopard: Mouse Trap. But if you’ve been paying attention to the works of Richard C. White, you’ll notice he’s been building a backlist here at StarWarp Concepts.

Rich also has a brand-new title hitting bookshelves in a couple of weeks: For a Few Gold Pieces More, a collection of ten critically acclaimed short stories that star 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.

With Gold Pieces so close to publication, I thought it was time to remind you of the titles in Rich’s backlist, since they’re all still very much available for order from the SWC webstore.

troubleshooters_lrg_coverWe’ll start with Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings, 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 Rich and his wife, Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.

In an earlier form, Troubleshooters was the second title released by SWC, back in the early ’90s when I was publishing digest-sized comics; that’s also where my succubus character, Lorelei, got her start. Rich ordered a copy of one of the Lorelei comics, liked what he saw, and then pitched me on this idea he had for a different sort of superhero team. We eventually worked out a deal and Troubleshooters, Incorporated #1 was published in 1993, with Rich joined by artist and designer Dan Peters (who’s gone on to a career as a digital-effects animator for the “mockbuster” studio The Asylum, for such movies as 2-Headed Shark Attack, San Andreas Quake, and Jurassic City). The positive reaction to that launch led Rich to self-publish a rebooted TSI in 1995 under his NightWolf Graphics company, now joined by penciler Reggie Golden and inkers Bill Lavin and Randy Zimmerman. TSI 2.0 had a three-issue run, but the series then fell victim to the major shakeup in the comic distribution market—during which a trainload of distributors derailed and left just one survivor: Diamond Comics—and TSI faded into the shadows…until SWC revived it in graphic novel form! (For the full behind-the-scenes story, check out Rich’s afterword in the Night Stalkings collection.)

The Troubleshooters consist of: Silver Oak, the team leader and a sorcerer; Yolanda, a sorceress who wants to be a veterinarian; Nightstalker, an intelligent werewolf who was already fighting crime before he joined the team; Lightshow, a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer who built himself a suit of armor with laser blasters and other weapons—think Tony Stark designing an Iron Man suit for the Dazzler, but then keeping it for himself because he thought it looked cool; and Shadow Mist, a blond, female ninja.

Critics took to the group when Night Stalkings was first published, saying it “was ahead of its time, coming before DC Comics’ Justice League Dark” (Horror Talk); and that it’s “a very good spin on the tried and true ‘good-guys-for-hire’ formula” (Word of the Nerd). And who are we to argue with such fantastic opinions? 😉

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is available right now in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information and sample pages.

Next Monday, we’ll take a look at Rich’s pirate-fantasy digital comic, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special. Mark it on your calendar!

For a Few Gold Pieces More goes on sale February 14, 2017.

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The Walking Dead…With a Taste for Sweets!

RE6-PromoBanner

Hey, zombie fans! Today is the U.S. release date for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the sixth and last entry in Sony Pictures’ popular zombie movie franchise based on the even more popular video game series from Capcom. Series star Milla Jovovich returns as Alice, the scientifically created action heroine who’s picking up where she left off in her war against the evil Umbrella Corporation, as chronicled in the previous movie, Resident Evil: Retribution. Like the Underworld series, the Resident Evil movies have been a guilty pleasure around here at ’Warp Central, so you can be certain we’ll be on line this weekend to check out Alice’s final battle.

Speaking of zombies, did you know you can find them in my young adult novel series The Saga of Pandora Zwieback? You bet! 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 an immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named 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. Pan and Annie started their adventures in the novel Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, but it’s in the follow-up that they encounter all-new perils.

Blood-Reign-FinalCvrIn Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2, Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the world’s vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But vampires are only part of the dangers Pan, Annie, and Pan’s boyfriend, Javier Maldonado, have to contend with, as they arrive at a mysterious South Pacific island where monsters dwell.

And one sort of monster they find is the sugar zom: a reanimated corpse that eats flesh but also has an insatiable craving for sweets. Rich desserts, snack cakes, stale pastries—if it’s got a sugar content, these zombies will devour it. And worst of all, they can smell sweets at a distance—as Pan discovers in this excerpt from Blood Reign:

Javi slipped off Pan’s messenger bag and scooted up to the edge of the platform to watch the activity below. When he spoke, he did so quietly to avoid having his voice echo in the chamber. “Y’know, this high up, it kinda reminds me of sitting in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium. You should come to a game and see what it’s like.”

Behind him, Pan stuck out her tongue in distaste. Yankees. Blergh.

She began rummaging through her bag, to reach the junk food that she’d taken from a refrigerated shipping container. “You hungry? I could go for something.”

“Nah. I’m good.”

Her fingers brushed against cellophane wrapped around a pair of familiar round shapes. With a smile she pulled out a package of chocolate-frosted devil’s food cakes. Her favorite brand, too. She slid the food under her jacket to muffle the sound of the cellophane snapping open, pulled out the first cake, and took a whiff of the frosting. Pure heaven.

Javi glanced at the snack, so she held it out. “Want a bite?”

He smiled. “Nah. You enjoy it.”

“Oh, I will,” she replied.

Javi chuckled and turned back to observe the excavation—then started. “What the hell…?”

Pan leaned forward to see what had caught his attention. “What’s going on?”

The crew had stopped working. As one, they tilted back their heads and sniffed the air. The wheezing noise generated by a hundred people snuffling sounded like an inflating bellows with a leaky bladder.

“Oh crap,” Javi whispered. “They are using sugar zoms, like I thought.” His shocked gaze moved from the corpses to the snack cake in Pan’s hand. “And they can smell that.”

Blood Reign is available in print and digital formats. Visit the Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2 product page for ordering information, as well as a sample chapter.

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Got Plans This December? We Sure Do…

Creepmas-Ad1The 13 Days of what?! Creepmas?!

Hey, don’t look so shocked! Would it surprise you to learn that Christmas can be just as disturbing and terrifying as Halloween? No? Then that must make you a horror fan, which makes The 13 Days of Creepmas—an annual event held at only the most distinguished blogs—the perfect holiday celebration for you.

Basically, it’s the horror community’s response/pushback to the over-commercialization of Christmas, whose retail season has steadily crept backward along the calendar to the current point where stores have their Xmas displays up well before Halloween. (Don’t believe me? Did you take a look at the Hallmark cable channel last year? Their Christmas movie marathons started on October 29!)

For the first thirteen days of December I’ll be blogging about Xmas comics, movies, and cartoons over at the Saga of Pandora Zwieback blog—all with a horrific twist, of course.

Mark it on your calendar, and be sure to wear your best/ugliest Christmas sweater!

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