If you live in a big city, you know how dangerous trick-or-treating can sometimes be, with dodging speeding cars and trucks while you’re trying to make the rounds of your favorite candy-giving haunts—even in the daytime!
Last year, New York City took steps to try and make trick-or-treating a much safer event, by instituting “Trick or Streets,” an expansion of its “Open Streets” initiative that closes certain streets to vehicular traffic so that NYC residents can walk and bike on them without fear of injury. (It’s a popular program that started in May 2021 as a result of the pandemic lockdown, so that people could finally get out of their homes and apartments to enjoy fresh air.) And now it’s back for its second year!
On Halloween, certain streets will be closed off in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, allowing you and yours to hit the pavement and fill those goody bags. (Weather forecasts indicate chilly temperatures, cloudy skies, and possible showers during those hours, so be sure to bring along an umbrella.)
For more information on the city’s Halloween plans and a list of family-friendly events being held, head over to the Trick or Streets website.
When the spooks have a midnight jamboree They break it up with fiendish glee Ghosts are bad, but the one that’s cursed Is the Headless Horseman, he’s the worst —“The Headless Horseman,” from Ichabod and Mr. Toad Sung by Bing Crosby
Halloween is just five days away, so the timing couldn’t be better for fans of the Spooky Season than right now to familiarize themselves with a classic story that’s an entry in our SWC Horror Bites line: Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow!
The tale of schoolteacher Ichabod Crane’s terrifying encounter with the Headless Horseman has captivated readers ever since its first publication in 1820, in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., and in the 200-plus years since, it’s become the quintessential Halloween story. It’s also been the basis for countless movies, TV shows, comic books, and other pop-culture adaptations (and knock-offs), but if you’ve never read the original source material, then there’s no time like the present!
Here’s the back-cover copy:
Getting Ahead in This Town Can be Murder…
Sleepy Hollow, New York, appears to be the perfect peaceful location for newly arrived schoolteacher Ichabod Crane, whose nerves always seem a little on edge. The people are nice enough—with the exception of the town bully, Bram Bones—the meals they serve are even better, and most appealing of all is the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of one of the town’s wealthiest families.
But lurking behind Sleepy Hollow’s peaceful setting is a terrifying secret: a murderer stalks the countryside—specifically, the ghost of a Hessian soldier whose head was blown off by a cannonball during the American Revolution. Ever since his grisly death, the dreaded Headless Horseman has been searching for a replacement…
…and Ichabod Crane’s noggin looks to be just the right size…
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a digital-exclusive chapbook available from the SWC webstore. Visit its product page for ordering information.
Hey, Monster Kids! The celebration of King Kong’s 90th anniversary this year continues in our Kong-related feature Hail to the King (Kong), a series of occasional posts in which we spotlight images related to the god-emperor of Skull Island—some you might recognize; some might be completely new to you.
Our latest entry is from comic-art legend Jose Gonzalez, who is best known to horror-comic fans worldwide as the artist who made Vampirella, the vampiress from outer space, the sensation she became during her original run at Warren Publishing during the 1970s and early ’80s. It’s Gonzalez’s rendition of the character that immediately comes to mind whenever longtime fans think of Vampirella, and remains the gold standard even today, as she gets ready to celebrate her 55th anniversary next year.
But Vampirella wasn’t the only subject Gonzalez excelled at drawing. Beyond his love for Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood beauties, including Fay Wray, he wasn’t too shabby when it came to illustrating Wray’s monstrous costar, King Kong, as seen in this piece that appeared on the Heritage Auctions site a number of years ago:
And while we’re on the subject of the big ape, in case you’re unfamiliar with the story of Kong and his obsession with struggling Depression-era actress Anne Darrow, the Beauty to his Beast, it just so happens that your friendly fiends here at ’Warp Central have the perfect book for you…
King Kong is a digital-exclusive 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 work has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Zone, Paul Kupperberg’s Secret Romances, and Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror.
King Kong is available for download right now, so visit its product page for ordering information.
According to the site National Today, the National Day on Writing was started in 2010 by the National Council of Teachers of English, “built on the premise that writing is critical to literacy but needs greater attention and celebration.”
Well, at ’Warp Central we definitely believe in celebrating writing (we area book and comic publishing company, after all), so if you’re interested in honing your skills as a writer, we’ve got just the book to help with your craftmaking!
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (For a Few Gold Pieces More, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings) 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.
What you’ll find in its pages is information that’s vital for just about any writer, especially when it comes to world building, and Rich shows you how to do it:
Avoiding the pitfalls of naming characters, regions, and countries
Applying the technique of “outside in” to develop and then refine ideas for your world
Creating a world your readers can relate to, regardless of its technological levels
Identify how to create backstories and conflict by observing how your world comes together
Adding details to make your story richer without overwhelming your readers
Identifying useful resources for research
From its first publication, the book has been a hit with not just fantasy writers, but role-playing gamers as well. If you’re a writer or gamer, you might just want to check it out. In fact, it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media Design (i.e., game design) program at Becker College in Worchester, Massachusetts!
“I think Terra Incognito is a solid introduction to the subject of world building. The book succeeds in helping the aspiring writer in creating a skeletal framework for which to hang the moving parts required of a believable fictional setting.”—The Gaming Gang
It’s time to celebrate the Spooky Season—with e-books and digital comics! E-book distributors DriveThru Comics and DriveThru Fiction—along with sister site DriveThru RPG—have kicked off their annual Halloween sale, during which you can purchase thousands of horror-themed digital books and comics and roleplaying games at special prices! It runs until November 1—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.
Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can get select titles at lower prices. (To be honest, I’m never sure which titles are involved until the sale happens, as DTC never sends out notifications and they’re kind of loosey-goosey with their choices.)
Again, the Halloween sale runs through November 1 (the Day of the Dead!), so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at DriveThru Comics and start shopping!
Hey, Monster Kids! The celebration of King Kong’s 90th anniversary this year continues with the return of our Kong-related feature Hail to the King (Kong), a series of occasional posts in which we spotlight images related to the god-emperor of Skull Island—some you might recognize; some might be completely new to you.
Our latest entry is from comic-art legend Gray Morrow (Creepy, Zatanna, Chilling Adventures in Sorcery), who provided this spectacular front-page illustration for The Monster Times #1, cover dated January 26, 1972. TMT was a horror-magazine competitor of the more well-known Famous Monsters of Filmland, originally published on a biweekly schedule, and always printed in the format of a tabloid newspaper like The New York Times—the front cover was “above the fold,” the back cover “below the fold.” Plus every issue had a foldout centerfold poster! (In all honesty, TMT was the first monster mag I became aware of as a horror fan, not encountering Famous Monsters until I was in the middle of my Star Wars fandom in the late 1970s, when they put R2D2 on the cover of an issue.)
The Monster Times ran for 48 issues (plus three specials, two of them devoted to Star Trek), ending its run in July 1976, but it was never far from the memories of its Monster Kid readership. And its spirit lived on a bit in a magazine that followed in the 1990s, The Phantom of the Movies’ Videoscope, from former TMT editor Joe Kane (aka the Phantom).
But it was Kong who got the ball rolling, with that striking Gray Morrow illustration for the first issue (not to mention a Bernie Wrightson Frankenstein poster as the centerfold). Kong: the King of Monster Mags!
And while we’re on the subject of the big ape, in case you’re unfamiliar with the story of Kong and his obsession with struggling Depression-era actress Anne Darrow, the Beauty to his Beast, it just so happens that your friendly fiends here at ’Warp Central have the perfect book for you…
King Kong is a digital-exclusive 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 work has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Zone, Paul Kupperberg’s Secret Romances, and Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror.
King Kong is available for download right now, so visit its product page for ordering information.
As pop culture and comic fans know, today is the opening day for New York Comic Con 2023—which, if it runs true to form, will be an absolute madhouse this weekend!
Unfortunately, StarWarp Concepts won’t be part of the festivities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t experience a sort of scaled-down SWC version of the big show right here!
You want vendors? Our webstore is open 24/7, so at any time you can order our amazing titles that range from comics and graphic novels to fantasy and dark fantasy novels, and from Illustrated Classics to nonfiction books about gaming and comics history. Not to mention Pandora Zwieback T-shirts and art prints!
Convention giveaways? Our Downloads page has a bunch of free stuff—Pandora Zwieback wallpapers for your smartphone and computer, and book samples. We also have free digital comics:
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 is a full-color introduction to the young adult novel series of the same name, hosted by Pan herself. Pan is a 16-year-old New York City Goth who’s not only a horror fangirl but someone with the rare ability to see the for-real monsters that regular humans can’t (she calls it her “monstervision”), and with the help of a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter named Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, she’s learning how to protect her family, her friends, and the world from the supernatural dangers out there—and maybe even have some fun while doing it. This 16-page comic features a seven-page story written by me, with art and color by my ofttimes collaborator Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Legend of Calamity Jane: The Devil Herself), and includes two sample chapters from Blood Feud, the first Pan novel.
Hearstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa #1–3: Before she became Pandora Zwieback’s monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin made her debut in this short-lived, 1990s Mature Readers series from Millennium Publications. A nefarious heavy metal band has arrived in New York City, and its lead singer is more than just a sex magnet for his female fans—he’s a soul-stealing incubus! Will Annie put an end to his plans for worldwide chaos, or fall prey to his supernatural charms?
Written by me (of course), issue 1 is drawn by Pan and Annie co-creator Uriel Caton (JSA Annual) and inker Alan Larsen (Femforce); issue 2 is penciled by Uriel, Holly Golightly (School Bites), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele) and inked by Larsen; and issue 3 is penciled by Holly, with four pages of inks by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales). As a special bonus, issue 3 includes a brief look at the never-published Heartstopper/Trollords, a crossover special that would have had Annie meet Harry, Larry, and Jerry, the Three Stooges–inspired trolls created by Scott Beaderstadt and Paul Fricke for their popular comic series of the 1980s. H/T was to be written by me with pencils by Holly and Scott and inks by Bill Lavin (Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings), but unfortunately it just never got past the starting gate.
And Heroines & Heroes is a collection of comic stories and pinups all drawn by 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 Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn story 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 (long story short, it didn’t work out). The WW/Harley matchup is 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 1990s indie superheroine The Blonde Avenger.
Artists Alley? Our Gallery area—think of it as an online artists’ alley—features two sections, The 13 Days of Pan-demonium and Visions of Lorelei, both containing original renderings of our two best-known characters by a host of artists from indie and mainstream comics, including such notables as Mike Mignola (Hellboy, Cosmic Odyssey), Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), Teri S. Wood (Wandering Star), Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night), Frank Thorne (Red Sonja), Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella), Dave Simon (Ghost Rider), Bill Ward (Torchy), and Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn/Vampirella)!
So the StarWarp Concepts crew might not be hanging out at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center over in Manhattan, but at least you can have a con-like experience from the comfort of your home!
Concluding the history of StarWarp Concepts, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
For all the promotion Pandora Zwieback got at New York Comic Con 2010, it was The Bob Larkin Sketchbook that became StarWarp Concepts’ first book release, in May 2011: a collection of pencil drawings (that later became paintings) by the legendary cover painter for Marvel, DC, Warren Publishing, and many other publishing houses and movie studios.
It was followed in June by a two-fer: Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, with the much-hyped teen Goth monster fighter making her literary debut behind a Bob Larkin cover painting; and Carmilla, a reprint of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century female-vampire novella that was the first entry in our SWC Illustrated Classics line.
The mesmerizing cover image for Carmilla was provided by Marc Witz, a professional photographer whose work you would have seen in DC Comics at that time—it was his pictures of various DC licensed products (action figures, statues, etc.) that appeared in the company’s in-house ads. Marc later provided an equally impressive photo for our second Illustrated Classic, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars, published in 2012, in time for the book’s 100th anniversary.
There was one hiccup, though. Carmilla’s interior artist was originally announced as Louis Small, Jr., who had built up a legion of fans from his work in the 1990s for Harris Comics on their various Vampirella comic books; Louis had also provided cover art for my own Lorelei, Vol. 1 #0–1 in 1993. For reasons I can’t remember Louis became unavailable (I think it was he just dropped out of touch), and I had to scramble to find a replacement.
Luckily, I had already been working with Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia on what would become the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City (published in 2012), and he was happy to jump in and deliver what turned out to be his first (but certainly not last!) spectacular job for SWC. It just meant I had to slap a sticker in every copy of the recently printed 2011 catalog explaining that Zeu was the new artist. (He then went on to illustrate A Princess of Marsas well.)
As the years progressed, we entered into a deal with my friend Richard C. White—whose small-press version of Troubleshooters, Incorporated I’d published in the early ’90s—to publish his book projects, including the graphic novel version of TSI; introduced print and digital comics to our growing list; and launched the SWC Horror Bites line of digital-exclusive short tales of terror.
As one might expect, there have been ups and downs in the dozen years that have passed since those first releases—in particular, the COVID lockdown in 2020 played absolute havoc with the promotion of my Vampirella history book, From the Stars…a Vampiress, which came out the week before we all had to shelter in place. But through the good times and the bad we’ve stayed positive, and look forward to the projects we’ve got in the works, including Lorelei: Sweet Soul Music, her first full-color comic adventure, and Lester del Rey’s Time Ring, our first licensed comic adaptation.
And so we come to the end of StarWarp Concepts’ history…so far. But as the title card says just before the closing credits of 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture:
Continuing the history of StarWarp Concepts, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Last time, I was telling you about the creation of our resident Goth girl, Pandora Zwieback, and how she was going to lead a revived ’Warp out of comics and into book publishing. All I needed was a way to get folks’ attention…
I’d decided that the 2010 New York Comic Con would be the launch stage for the company’s return to publishing—certainly the right venue at which to get attention from genre fans. Now the preparations began in earnest.
Steve Roman and artist Bob Larkin (far right) pose with fans at NYCC 2010. Photo by Frank Roman.
I had catalogs printed up, as well as two-sided bookmarks—Pan on one side, and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampiress Carmilla on the other (to promote the first entry in the SWC Illustrated Classics line of books). I hired longtime friend and comic-art legend Bob Larkin (Doc Savage, Dazzler, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Motion Picture) to paint three Pan book covers and then had a banner designed that incorporated the art; it would be the booth’s backdrop. And then I dreamed up the major bait to draw attendees to the booth:
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback#0—a free, full-color comic book that would introduce Pan and preview the first novel, Blood Feud. Not exactly a small investment on my part—I planned on printing 3,000 copies to give away—but I felt it was a necessary expense in order to make an impression.
I contacted artist Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia—whom I’d been working with on what would become the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City—and explained the project. He enthusiastically signed on to draw and color it, I sent him the comic script, and before you knew it—thanks to designer and letterer Mike Rivilis, and the folks at Brenner Printing—we had a finished comic. (And one you can still download for free here.)
NYCC 2010 became StarWarp Concepts’ first convention appearance in five years, and I went full-bore on the setup: an indie publisher booth (about $1,000 for the spot, but I had to bring my own table and chairs); full-color comics, bookmarks, and digest-size catalogs to give away; and an appearance by Larkin, who didn’t do a lot of conventions.
The reaction from con-goers was even more startling than I expected. People flooded in to learn about the company’s upcoming releases—Pan’s, in particular—and to meet Larkin (who was equally shocked to discover he had so many young fans). Bob and I did an interview with the cable show Sci-Fi Ninja Theater (an episode that, to my knowledge, never aired). And a lot of Pan #0 copies got handed out.
So the initial response was overwhelmingly positive. Now all I needed to do was start releasing the titles I’d been at NYCC to promote…
Got a favorite book? Well, odds are good there’s someone out there in the United States who’d liked to see it censored or made completely unavailable—an unfortunate phenomenon that seems to grow larger with each passing year.
According to a March 23rd Publishers Weekly article, the American Library Association “tracked a stunning 1,269 ‘demands to censor library books and resources’ in 2022.” That’s a huge jump from previous years: 319 in 2019, 681 in 2020, and 729 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 “Let Freedom Read,” which, according to an ALA press release, “captures what’s at stake for our democracy: that the safety of our right to speak and think freely is directly in proportion to our right to read. ALA encourages libraries in every context to mark Banned Books Week by inviting other groups within their communities to celebrate and take action to protect our freedom to read all year long.”
And if you’re a resident of Queens, NY (home to ’Warp’s Central), there are events being held all this week at public libraries across the borough to mark the occassion. Check out this article at QNS.com for further info.
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