Mirror, Mirror Revisited

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Steven

Snow WhiteHey, fantasy fans! As you probably know, today’s the release date for The Huntsman: Winter’s War, the prequel to the 2012 box office sensation Snow White and the Huntsman. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor, Avengers), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus), Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), and Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak), it tells the tale of the Ice Queen (Blunt) teaming up with Theron’s evil queen to cause all sorts of trouble for the huntsman and his new female costar. If you have plans to see it this weekend, perhaps you might be interested in the fairy tale that started it all…

Snow White is the classic story by the Brothers Grimm, and one of the titles in our Illustrated Classics line. Featuring full-color illustrations first published in 1883 (and they really are beautiful drawings), this digital-exclusive title is available for immediate download for the wickedly low price of just 99¢! Visit the Snow White product page for more information, including sales links and sample pages.

Along with Snow White, our Illustrated Classics line includes Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars and J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla. They’re all great reads, with some spectacular illustrations, so visit each of the books’ product pages for more information.

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Gold Key: Alliance Review at Comics for Sinners

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Steven

GKAlliance01-CovNow at the news site Comics for Sinners, you can read my review of Gold Key: Alliance #1, currently available from Dynamite Entertainment. Written by Phil Hester (Green Arrow) and illustrated by Brent Peeples (Legenderry: Green Hornet), it’s the start of a five-issue miniseries that teams up Dynamite’s latest rebooted versions of classic Gold Key Comics characters: Magnus, Robot Fighter; Turok, Son of Stone; Doctor Spektor; Doctor Solar, now a Woman of the Atom; and The Mighty Samson. There’s an odd, time-travel aspect to the storyline that might have old-school fans of the characters scratching their heads, but that’s no doubt Hester’s intent as he sets the Gold Keyers on the path to forming a superteam. Head on over to C4S to read all about it.

Speaking of superteams, are you familiar with SWC’s very own team, Troubleshooters, Incorporated? No? Then allow me to introduce you…

troubleshooters_lrg_coverPerfect for superhero fans, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a graphic novel 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, and a 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 (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, with cover art by Richard Dominguez, 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!

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

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Roman Interview Concludes at Pandora Zwieback Site

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Steven

SWCOver at the Pandora Zwieback website today, you’ll find the conclusion of the “lost” four-part interview that I did at the now-defunct site Write a Revolution last year. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at not just the creative process, but at some of the work that goes into putting together SWC’s critically acclaimed releases. Today I discuss how I work with book designers and e-book formatters, and whether or not the process of publishing is a difficult one.

You’ll find part one, part two, and part three of that interview at the Pan site, as well. Go give ’em a read!

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The Return of the King

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Steven

KING_KONGNo, I’m not talking about the third novel in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings trilogy, or even Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of it, I’m talking about another monarch of the silver screen that Jackson has a history with—the Eighth Wonder of the World: King Kong!

Today is the Netflix debut of their new animated series, Kong: King of the Apes, which attempts to revive the classic movie monster for an all-new generation of young horror fans. Set in the year 2050, it finds Kong on the run from an evil mastermind who commands an army of giant, laser-beam-firing robot dinosaurs. Let the binge-watching begin!

Does this mean King Kong will become the Next Big Thing? Who knows. But considering there’s Kong: Skull Island—a big-budget film starring Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peaks, High Rise), Academy Award winner Brie Larson (Room), Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel’s The Avengers), and John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane)—coming out from Legendary Pictures in March 2017, which in turn will lead to the already announced crossover film, 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong, there’s a chance that movie audiences will want to give Kong another chance, and finally put to rest memories of that bad Peter Jackson remake from 2005.

But, you ask, why am I doing all this talking about King Kong on the SWC blog? Well, it must be because we’ve got something planned for Kong ourselves, wouldn’t you think? And you’d be absolutely right!

Coming from StarWarp Concepts in January 2017 is King Kong, a reprint of the 1932 novelization of the original motion picture and the latest addition to our Illustrated Classics line of books, joining J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars, and the Brothers Grimm’s Snow White. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, the SWC edition will feature brand-new illustrations by pulp-comics artist Kevin Tuma (Tales of the Green Hornet, The Twilight Avenger), the novelization expands on the world inhabited by this famous monster of filmland and includes scenes that didn’t appear in the movie’s final cut. The most notorious of those is the terrifying “spider pit” sequence, in which a group of sailors in pursuit of Kong falls into a chasm infested with giant, man-eating arachnids. (Peter Jackson’s remake includes this scene, with outright nightmare-inducing results.)

More details to follow as we get closer to the book’s release—which, by the way, is just two short months before Kong: Skull Island hits movie theaters. Why, you’d almost think we’d planned that intentionally…

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A Book Bundle for a Worthy Cause

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Steven

RAINN-buttonA few weeks ago, I got this message from e-book distributor DriveThru Fiction, which sells digital editions of StarWarp Concepts’ titles:

April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and once again, we’re going to be putting together some exciting digital Bundles on DriveThruRPG, DriveThruComics, and DriveThruFiction to help raise funds for a great cause. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation’s largest anti–sexual violence organization and was named one of “America’s 100 Best Charities” by Worth magazine. Last year’s RAINN Bundle was a huge success and we’d like to try to reach even more donations and spread the word about this cause even further in 2016.

Blood FeudI’ve known about RAINN for a while—its biggest promoter is World Wrestling Entertainment’s legendary Mick Foley (aka Mankind and Cactus Jack)—so I immediately offered Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 as a title to be included in the bundle. And now that bundle is on sale!

If you head on over to the RAINN 2016 Fiction Bundle page at DriveThru Fiction, you’ll find Pan’s first adventure is just one of more than a dozen titles you can purchase, all at once—an $80 bundle for just $15! Do it, and help support a worthy cause.

And for more information about Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, visit the RAINN website.

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Roman Talks Book Promotions at Pandora Zwieback Site

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Steven

SWCOver at the Pandora Zwieback website today, you’ll find part three of the “lost” four-part interview that I did at the now-defunct site Write a Revolution last year. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at not just the creative process, but at some of the work that goes into putting together SWC’s critically acclaimed releases. Today I talk about methods for promoting books—what works and what doesn’t.

You’ll find part one and part two of that interview at the Pan site, as well. Go give ’em a read!

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Roman Talks SWC at Pandora Zwieback Site

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Steven

SWCOver at the Pandora Zwieback website today, you’ll find part two of the “lost” four-part interview that I did at the now-defunct site Write a Revolution last year, to promote SWC’s titles, particularly my dark-urban-fantasy novel Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at not just the creative process, but at some of the work that goes into putting together SWC’s critically acclaimed releases. Today we get into some of the particulars involved in choosing a title for release.

You’ll find part one of that interview at the Pan site, as well.

Go give ’em a read!

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A “Lost” Interview with SWC Publisher Steven A. Roman

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Steven

Blood-Reign-FinalCvrIn August 2015, StarWarp Concepts’ owner, publisher, and main writer Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) did an interview with the writer-centric website Write a Revolution to promote SWC’s titles, particularly my dark-urban-fantasy novel Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2. But as I recently discovered, both the interview and WaR’s website have disappeared from the Internet!

But fear not, ’Warp fans! If you head over to the Pandora Zwieback website right now, you can read part one of that four-part interview; parts two and three are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday of this week, respectively, with the conclusion appearing next Monday. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at not just the creative process, but at some of the work that goes into putting together SWC’s critically acclaimed releases. Go give it a read!

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Satan’s Hollow Review at Comics for Sinners

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Steven

SatansHollow01-cvrNow at the news site Comics for Sinners, you can read my review of Satan’s Hollow #1, currently available from Zenescope Entertainment. Written by Joe Brusha (Grimm Fairy Tales) and illustrated by Allan Otero (Salem’s Daughter: The Haunting), it’s the start of a six-issue Mature Readers miniseries about an Ohio town with a notorious reputation for being the home of devil-worshipping cults and a Slenderman-like creature of urban legend called the Shadow Man. If you’re into the sort of horror story that might be the perfect vehicle for a low-budget movie, then Satan’s Hollow might be just the comic for you. Head on over to C4S to read all about it.

 Speaking of Mature Readers horror comics involving demonic cults, have you met Lorelei, StarWarp Concepts’ resident soul-stealing succubus? Making her comics debut in 1993, Lori has remained SWC’s first leading lady of horror, and currently stars in a critically acclaimed Mature Readers graphic novel:

Lorelei: Sects and the CityLorelei: Sects and the City finds Lori battling 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 (Stan Lee’s Alexa, X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy), and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Vengeance of the Mummy, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night). It also features 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 one-page history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon (Vampirella, The Grim Ghost).

“I can honestly say that I enjoyed the hell out of this book…. The art is solid, the story is full of lots of things that make the horror genre so great, and the overall quality of the book is top notch.”—Die-Screaming

“Kudos to Roman for capturing the essence of 1970s fare like Vampirella. Filled with ghouls, chicks, and some strong artwork, this is a title that might’ve piqued Hammer Studios’ interest back in the day.”—Dread Central

“A satisfying romp and one that feels like it would have made an excellent seventies horror film (especially one made by Hammer)…. The story is funny at times, graphic at times, and horrific at others, and it’s always delivering its stuff at full volume.”—Strange Amusements

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.

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The Doorman Review at Comics for Sinners

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Steven

doorman1cvrNow at the news site Comics for Sinners, you can read my review of The Doorman #1, currently available from Heavy Metal magazine’s comic-book division. Written by Eliot Rahal (The Paybacks) and Daniel Kibblesmith (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) and illustrated by Kendall Goode (Death Saves), it’s the start of a five-issue miniseries about Henry Clay Waters, a human whose job is to man the dimensional portal—or doorway—that links Earth to numerous worlds. It’s his last day on the job and he’s ready to retire—so of course that’s when everything goes to hell, and he’s plunged into a wild adventure that takes him across the stars. It reads like an enjoyable mash-up of Doctor Who, Sliders, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, so you sci-fi action fans might want to check it out. Head on over to C4S to learn more.

Short_Trips_FarewellsSpeaking of Doctor Who, if you’re a regular visitor to this blog you know I’m a major Whovian, especially when it comes to the Fourth Doctor, whose portrayal by actor Tom Baker remains as popular today as when he played the character in the 1970s, and which continues in the contemporary “Fourth Doctor Adventures” produced by audio-drama company Big Finish. And if you read this post and this other post from 2013, in celebration of the show’s 50th anniversary, you can find out about the time I wrote a Fourth Doctor short story for the Big Finish anthology Doctor Who: Short Trips: Farewells. My story, “Into the Silent Land,” was a character-driven tale (what else would you expect from me?) of the Doctor examining his mortality and the unwanted regeneration looming in his future. And it was well received by critics upon publication, from Doctor Who Magazine (“a compelling story”) to Sci-Fi Online (“a beautifully written tale”).

DW12th-Vol1And that’s not all! I’ve also reviewed a few DW comics for Comics for Sinners, so give these a read:

Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor #1: Written by Gordon Rennie and Emma Beeby, art by Brian Williamson

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor, Vol. 1: Terrorformer: Written by Robbie Morrison, art by Dave Taylor

Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor: The 2015 Holiday Special: Written by George Mann and Cavan Scott, art by Mariano LaClaustra

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