Hey, everybody, it’s party time! Over at the news site Comics for Sinners, you can now read my latest review—my fiftieth, in total! Fifty! Who would have ever expected that when I wrote my first review for C4S, back in June 2014, to give my opinion on Dynamite Entertainment’s relaunched Vampirella series, it would lead to my becoming the site’s main reviewer? Not me, I can tell you! But C4S site owner (and longtime Lorelei fan) Richard Boom liked what he saw and asked if I’d be interested in doing more. Sure, I thought—after all, there can’t be that many bad-girl comics out there in these increasingly politically correct days. Boy, was I ever wrong! Oh sure, occasionally I’ve broken with C4S’s focus on curvy action heroines—as in the case of my reviews for Scooby-Doo Team-Up, Afterlife with Archie, and Star Trek: Harlan Ellison’s The City on the Edge of Forever—but ever since that first Vampi review, publishers have been keeping me well supplied with bad-girl titles to write about. Which brings me to the subject of my newest review…
Frank Thorne’s Red Sonja Art Edition, Vol. 3, currently on sale from Dynamite Entertainment, is the final volume in a three-book collection of Thorne’s classic Sonja art from the 1970s, reproduced at its original 11”x17” size, in stories by Roy Thomas (Avengers, Conan the Barbarian) and Clare Noto. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know how much of a Thorne fan I am, but just in case you’re a new visitor, check out this June 2014 post that I wrote to celebrate his 84th birthday. It’s nice to see the maestro of bad-girl art get some attention even though, at $150 each, these giant hardcovers are incredibly expensive. But if you’re a comic artist or fan interested in studying the work of a master, or a fan in general of the She-Devil With a Sword, and you’ve got the money to spend, they’re worth the price of admission. Head on over to C4S to read all about this concluding volume.
Speaking of redheaded she-devils, have you been introduced to 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 two critically acclaimed projects:
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lori battles 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) and a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night).
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s debut as the hostess of a horror anthology comic. Behind that eye-catching cover by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella/Lady Death), you’ll find stories by Steven A. Roman (yep, me again) and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man). Art is provided by Uriel Caton & “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), Lou Manna (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics), and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo.
Both titles are available in print and digital formats, so visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
