Today is the launch day for New York Comic Con 2021, a combination of their virtual comic fest introduced last year due to the pandemic and a live, in-person show being held at NYCC’s usual home, the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
The ’Warp Crew won’t be part of it—we haven’t attended NYCC since 2012 because it’s just too expensive to exhibit there (did you know a 10×10 small-press booth costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500 now, and you still have to provide your own table and chairs?)—but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience SWC’s sort of scaled-down 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; full-color-comics; and book samples.
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 (Untold Tales of Spider-Man), Frank Thorne (Red Sonja), Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella), Dave Simon (Ghost Rider), Bill Ward (Torchy), and Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn/Vampirella)!
There are also the personal websites, DeviantArt pages, and Comic Art Fans collections of SWC’s incredible talents:
Richard C. White (author of Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, Harbinger of Darkness, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings)
Bob Larkin (The Bob Larkin Sketchbook; cover painter of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1and Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2; legendary cover artist for Doc Savage, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dazzler, Spider-Man, and X-Men—among many others)
Esteban Maroto (cover artist of Lorelei: Sects and the City; artist of Vampirella, Red Sonja, Zatanna: Come Together, Lady Rawhide: Other People’s Blood, Lovecraft: The Myth of Cthulhu)
Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia (artist of Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Carmilla, A Princess of Mars; indie artist of Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate Universe, Hell High, Miss Vicky and Her Cutie Commandos, and Beware the Witch’s Shadow)
Steve Geiger (artist of Lorelei: Sects and the City; mainstream artist of Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Going Gray, Bloodshot, Web of Spider-Man, and Spitfire and the Troubleshooters)
Neil Vokes (artist of Lorelei: Sects and the City; mainstream artist of Untold Tales of Spider-Man and Superman Adventures; indie artist of Fright Night, Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Flesh and Blood, Blood of Dracula, Ninjak, and Adventures of The Mask)
Chris Malgrain (contributing artist to 13 Days of Pan-demonium; indie owner/publisher of Oniric Comics, and writer/creator/artist of the superhero comics Sideral: The Last Earthman and The Formidables; artist of Stan Lee’s Alexa)
Elizabeth Watasin (contributing artist to The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1; indie writer/artist/creator of Charm School and author of the Dark Victorian Penny Dread novels)
Henar Torinos (cover artist of The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1; award-winning indie creator of Mala Estrella, and artist of Entre tu y Tu)
Shane Braithwaite (cover painter of Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, For a Few Gold Pieces More)
Lou Manna (artist of “All in Color for a Crime” in Lorelei Presents: House Macabre; mainstream artist of Young All-Stars, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents)
Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (artist of “Requiem for Bravo 6” in Lorelei Presents: House Macabre; indie artist of Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror)
And while we don’t have online panels, we do have links to interviews with authors Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) and Richard C. White:
There’s my appearance on the YouTube series Indy Comics Explained, hosted by J.D. Calderon, in which I discuss my history as a writer, editor, and publisher, touch on my work for fellow indie house Oniric Comics, and promote SWC’s projects.
As for Rich, he was a moderator and guest this year for Shore Leave 41.6, the online iteration of the annual Shore Leave sci-fi and fantasy convention, and you can check out both of the author panels he appeared on, courtesy of Shore Leave’s YouTube channel: “The Movies/Shows That Influenced Us,” with fellow Star Trek scribes Greg Cox and Robert Greenberger; and “How Did I Get in This Mess?,” with Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christopher D. Abbott, Robert Greenberger, and Joshua Palmatier, and moderated by Howard Weinstein.
(Rich also slyly worked in a plug for his nonfiction writers guide, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination—now available in hardcover!—which has become extremely popular with roleplaying gamers and gamemasters, and is currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts.)
So even though the StarWarp Concepts crew is working from home these days, at least you can have a con-like experience in the meantime from the virus-free safety of your home. And with luck (and science), hopefully we’ll see you live on the convention floor real soon!
Stay safe, and stay well!
