Today is the release date for Doctor Strange, the latest in Marvel Films’ ever-growing cinematic universe. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek: Into Darkness) stars as the Master of the Mystic Arts, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Martian) as Baron Mordo, Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as the villainous Kaecilius, and Tilda Swinton (Constantine) as The Ancient One. After the successful revamp of writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko’s first creation, the ever-Amazing Spider-Man, in this summer’s blockbuster movie, Captain America: Civil War, audiences have been eagerly looking forward to Stephen Strange’s magical debut on screen.
And that reminds me of this post I wrote back on November 2, 2015, to celebrate the 88th birthday of Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko, whom I once got to talk to in relation to a Marvel-related project. Okay, it wasn’t Doctor Strange, it was the Incredible Hulk—but still, I got to talk to Steve Ditko. Then check out this post from December 28, 2015, which celebrated the 93rd birthday of Ditko’s DS collaborator, Stan “The Man” Lee and detailed my contacts with him.
You know who else is associated with Stephen Strange? SWC friend and painting legend Bob Larkin! Bob’s painted Strange covers and trading cards in the past—including a magazine cover that teamed up Strange with Captain America and Star Wars’ C-3PO as a backup band for ’70s singer Linda Ronstadt! You can see those images by popping over to the StarWarp Concepts Facebook page.
Speaking of the talented Mr. Larkin, have you seen SWC’s The Bob Larkin Sketchbook? If not, you’re missing out on spectacular pencil drawings of femme fatales, pulp adventurers, superheroes—including Doctor Strange—and a host of other characters by Bob, whose cover paintings graced such Marvel Comics titles as Dazzler, The Hulk!, Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian, Haunt of Horror, and Tomb of Dracula, not to mention his renowned work as a cover painter for Bantam Books’ Doc Savage pulp novel reprints. It’s 24 pages of artistic goodness, available exclusively from the StarWarp Concepts webstore. Visit the Bob Larkin Sketchbook product page for all the ordering information, as well as sample pages.
Over at Comics for Sinners you’ll find my review of 
Over at Comics for Sinners you’ll find my review of 
Happy Halloween! All Hallows’ Eve is our favorite holiday here at ’Warp Central, so in keeping with the fine tradition of handing out free treats to boils and ghouls everywhere, we have some digital-comic offerings for you!
Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa #1–3
Hey, fright fans! Over at the Pandora Zwieback blog, I’ve taken a look at all the horror TV shows and movies (both classic and contemporary) that are scheduled for certain U.S. cable television stations as they celebrate Halloween 2016. There are some good ones to watch, like Vincent Price in The Tingler (the poster for which you see here), about a killer parasite that can only be stopped if its victims scream—scream for their lives! Head over to the Pan site and give the four-part post a read!
Over at the news site Comics for Sinners you’ll find my review of 
Do you remember the days when superhero comics used to be fun and not contests to see which publisher could come up with the grimmest and grittiest antihero? When heroes fought villains and not one another? When Marvel Comics actually acknowledged the existence of the Fantastic Four? 😉
Teen Read Week 2016 is happening right now, October 9–15. What is it? Well, to quote the event’s website:
Got a favorite book? Well, odds are good there’s someone out there in the United States who’d liked to see it censored. And 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:
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