Just in time for All Hallows’ Eve, it’s a sexy witch, courtesy of our pal, Bob Larkin (from the SQP Inc. pinup collection, Spellbound: Black Magic Women). BTW, have you checked out the Bob Larkin Sketchbook that we’ve published? It’s the perfect gift for all those older trick-or-treaters stopping by your house!
Wrapping up my report on this year’s NYCC…
Day 3: “I Know That Name…”
How best to describe Saturday, always the busiest day of any convention…?
Yeah, this. Thanks, Chuck.
The Chinese publisher’s cattle run was in full effect, with people racing back and forth, a lot of them in costume. I saw multiple Zatannas and Wonder Women, a pair of Leeloos from The Fifth Element, a couple of Dazzlers, a platoon of Spider-Men and Imperial storm troopers, a quartet of Supergirls (including one in Kara’s 1970s baggy blouse and hot pants look), and a boatload of manga and anime characters I could never identify.
Not too many people stopped to chat during the first few hours—except for one gothy girl who slowed as she passed the booth. Her eyes lit up as she pointed at my name badge.
“I know that name!” she said excitedly, and leaned forward to stare harder at the badge. Then she pulled back. “Oh, wait. I was thinking of Roman Dirge. Sorry.” And off she went.
Lenore™ & © Roman Dirge
Roman Dirge, by the way, is the creator of Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl. And unlike Tom Savini, we look nothing alike. Hey, but it beats the days when I’m mistaken at cons for Dave Roman (creator of the small-press comic Teen Boat) or Steve Remen (creator of Him from Lethargic Comics); at least this time I was in the same genre as the other guy.
Still, there was better news as the day progressed. Sales of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 jumped, a woman who’d bought a Pan T-shirt dropped by to show she was wearing it, and Saturday came to a close with a teenage girl who’d purchased Blood Feud the day before returning to point an accusatory finger at me.
“What did you do to me?” she yelled with a smile. “I just bought it yesterday, and I’m already halfway through the book!”
“Yeah,” said the female friend accompanying her. “And she won’t let me near it until she’s done.”
But then the girl bought her friend her own copy, and all was right with the world again.
Day 4: “That Chick is HOT!”
So, you hear a comment like that and immediately think, “Well, of course a guy would say that about Pan when he sees the cover of Blood Feud. The lipstick, the eye makeup, the dyed hair and attitude—what guy wouldn’t be attracted to her?” Only you’d be wrong. I get that remark exclusively from women!
It started last October, at the 2010 New York Comic Con, and continued this year as well. This time, a twentysomething, gothy/punk-rocky woman walked over, attracted by the Pan banner high above the SWC booth (I saw her staring at it for a few seconds and mouthing the title), and stopped in front of the prints of Bob Larkin’s cover painting for Blood Feud.
She pointed at Pan. “Wow. That chick is hot!”
I laughed. “That chick is sixteen.”
She shrugged. “Whatever. She’s hot.” I gave her my sales pitch and handed her the giveaway Pan comic. “I’m definitely gonna go check this out,” she said, then happily strolled away.
Not too long after, another young woman came to a halt at the booth—honestly, next to shouting out “Free comic?” at passersby, that banner has turned out to be one of the smartest ideas I’ve ever had!
I gave the woman my regular Pan sales pitch: “It’s the story of a 16-year-old Goth who meets a 400-year-old monster hunter. The first two novels [that’s Blood Feud and Blood Reign, FYI] are about a vampire war; the third involves a werewolf stalking an author he hates.” Pause. “It’s like Ellen Page and Salma Hayek in a Hellboy movie.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Oh, my God, if you could get them together for real, you’d make so many lesbians happy!”
“Yeah,” I said. “And then I could go on the Jezebel Web site and count the number of girl-crushes!”
Her eyes got even wider—no doubt surprised that I even knew that Jezebel existed—and she laughed. And then she added her name to the mailing list.
After that, things began to quiet down, especially once I ran out of the freebie Pan comics. A few people stopped by long enough for me to make my pitch, but book sales were pretty much over for the show. Some folks even added their names to the mailing list because they were so intrigued by Pan’s story—including one gentleman who laughed uproariously at the pitch before heading off with his family. I happened to glance down at the sheet after he’d been swallowed by the crowd.
Paris Cullins?! Yes, longtime comic fans, the same Paris Cullins who used to draw the superhero comics Blue Beetle and Blue Devil for DC Comics has signed on to get the latest ’Warp news. Well, welcome aboard the Fun Hearse, Mr. Cullins!
Rich and I finished out the last day with a visit from Louis Small Jr.—a fantastic good-girl artist I’ve known since his days as Harris Comics’ top-level penciler of Vampirella and its countless spinoffs—and his son, Brandon. Louis had been at publisher meetings during the show, preparing to get back into the comics game after a too-long absence, and it looks like he’s got some projects lined up. I already know I’ll be buying them!
And then it was time to pack up and head home. NYCC 2011 was done—but who knows what 2012 will bring…?
Another year past, another pop-culture Thunderdome survived! So, what happened during The ’Warp’s return to NYCC, this time with actual printed books to sell, instead of promotional handouts to give away? Read on!
Day 1: “Are You Somebody?”
Thursday morning found my brother Frank, Mat Postawa—designer of Blood Feud and The Bob Larkin Sketchbook—and me driving to the Javits Center for the move-in. Setting up the booth didn’t take long, and after Frank headed off to work, Mat and I wandered the show floor.
After Mat left, my buddy Richard C. White arrived on the scene, fresh off the train from Baltimore. Rich helped me deal with Preview Night, which was open to the press and ticketholders who’d paid for the entire con run.
Traffic was certainly busy, but there was one major problem in the aisle where The ’Warp’s booth was located: a Chinese publishing company had installed the same eight linked booths that they use for Book Expo America (a bookseller and publisher gathering held the last few years at the Javits Center). This created a “cattle run”: a narrow corridor down which congoers were funneled, the end result being that, as they came out the end near the SWC booth, they just kept going.
It was even worse for the guys next to me from ComixTribe. The end of the cattle run put them up against one of the publisher’s booth walls, shoving them into a corner that nobody could see from the aisle unless you approached from the opposite direction. Eventually, they were forced to step out from behind their table to try and get some attention.
On the plus side, I was reacquainted with Red Stylo Media’s Enrica Jang, whom I hadn’t seen since the Big Apple Con in May. Enrica was promoting the second print issue and third online issue of Azteca, the comic she writes, about a vigilante serial killer trying to prevent the long-prophesied 2012 apocalypse from happening. (I bet she’s got my pitch committed to memory after hearing it all weekend, too!) 🙂
With an hour left in Preview Night, a man in his late fifties came to a halt as he was passing by, and stared at me. Hard. Like he was trying to figure out if I was the guy who’d stolen his lunch money once, or something.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed. “Are you somebody?”
Nice.
I smiled. “Well, I like to think so.”
Photo © Tom Savini
Again with the staring! Then his eyes widened. “Tom Savini!”
Yeah, no. But I guess there might be a slight resemblance. You know how it is—all us guys with goatees look alike.
The rest of Preview Night passed rather uneventfully until just near the end, when a young couple stopped to hear my pitch for the Pan series. The woman seemed very interested, the guy less so, but no one was buying Blood Feud so they wandered away—until five minutes later, when the man came jogging back to purchase a copy. Seems that if he got the book for his lady, he was… er, going to get lucky that night.
My first sale of the show, and a great way to close out the day—thanks to the power of true love (or an acceptable substitute).
Day 2: Ashcans and E-books
Friday started with Matt McElroy, head of DriveThru Comics (where Blood Feud and Carmilla are sold as PDF e-books in StarWarp Concepts’ DriveThru Store), stopping by to chat with Rich and me. I showed him The ’Warp’s 2012 publishing catalog (which you can download if you look over to the right-hand sidebar).
Matt’s eyes lit up when he saw I was reprinting Edgar Rice Burroughs’s science-fiction novel A Princess of Mars—with brand-new illustrations by Carmilla and Pandora Zwieback artist Eliseu Gouveia—in time for the March release of Disney’s big-screen adaptation, John Carter. We talked about running a promotion on the DriveThru site for that, as well as a smaller one for the reprint of The Brothers Grimm’s Snow White—The ’Warp’s version will contain full-color illustrations first published in 1883.
(I’ll have more news on those projects in the coming weeks.)
Sales were better than Thursday’s (I even sold some Pandora Zwieback T-shirts!), although I can’t remember the last time I had to work so hard to give away a free comic. Lots of shaking heads and timid smiles and outright brush-offs. Whatever. On the other hand, I met some librarians on the lookout for young adult material, and Blood Feud was right up their alley. They all bought copies, so hopefully that will translate into orders for their respective libraries.
The day ended with a visit from Dezi Sienty, a talented small-press artist with whom I used to work at publishing house ibooks, inc., back when he was an art department intern and I was editor-in-chief. Dezi gave me an ashcan copy of his latest comic, One Last Step, a fully painted, touching story of dealing with loss. Well done, Dezi!
And then it was time to prepare for Saturday Madness…
To be continued!
What better way to celebrate this post–New York Comic Con 2011 week than with more great reactions to the arrival of our favorite Goth girl on the monster-hunting scene?
First off, the prestigious Midwest Book Review has posted their review for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1:
“Blood Feud is a fun and very much recommended read that shouldn’t be overlooked.”
Read the entire review here.
Then, over at the pop-culture site The Sexy Armpit, journalist Jay Amabile gives his thoughts about the Pan Zwieback introductory comic that he picked up at the StarWarp Concepts booth, during Comic Con:
“Cooler than Buffy, tougher than the emo wimps in Twilight, Pandora is a teenage goth girl fighting off ghouls and monsters in New York City.”
Read the rest of his super-positive recommendation of Pan in part 1 of his NYCC 2011 report.
I might be in the middle of attending New York Comic Con this weekend, but that doesn’t keep the good news from continuing for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1!
Lillian Hawkins of the Goth-culture site Gothic Blend has posted a great review:
“This modern day, urban Goth horror will have readers turning the pages to discover how Pandora comes to terms with a very old problem . . . encountering the monsters among us!”
Read the entire review here.
New York Comic Con 2011—being held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here in New York City—is this week, October 13–16. I’ll be manning the StarWarp Concepts location: BOOTH 2539 in the Small Press Publishers Area.
Helping me out at the booth (as he did last year) will be my good friend Richard C. White—bestselling author of the fantasy novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Book 1: Paths of Evil and the e-book Star Trek: Echoes of Coventry.
We’re located in Level 3, Hall 3A, near Artists Alley—and against the wall of the construction area that’s slowly been moving across the building since last year. Those of you who attended the 2010 show may remember that the construction site breaks the show’s main exhibition hall into two parts: the larger, more mainstream exhibitors on one side, the smaller publishers on the other. So please don’t forget that we’re on the other side of that wall!
Here’s a map so it’ll be easier to find us:
On sale will be:
• Copies of BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, Book 1, CARMILLA, and THE BOB LARKIN SKETCHBOOK
• 11″ x 17″ full-color prints of Bob Larkin’s cover art for Blood Feud. It’s a limited-edition print, though, so be sure to pick up one while supplies last.
• THE OFFICIAL PANDORA ZWIEBACK T-SHIRT! Now you can dress like our favorite Goth girl, and proudly show off your monster-hunting skills while wearing the same T that Pan models on the cover of Blood Feud. The shirt makes its debut at NYCC; after the con, it’ll be available exclusively through the StarWarp Concepts webstore.
I’ll also be handing out free print copies of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 promotional comic book and Pandora Zwieback bookmarks—while supplies last, of course. (And that comic supply is getting pretty thin.)
And wait until you see the one-of-a-kind, not-for-sale Pan Zwieback leather jacket that we’ll have on display—painted by Bob, who’ll be on hand Saturday to sign the sketchbook and prints, as well as copies of his much-sought-after art book, The Savage Art of Bob Larkin.
You’ll find it all at booth 2539—just look for the Pandora Zwieback and StarWarp Concepts banners. So spread the word:
Of course, that depends on whether I can still get Hell a ticket this close to the show…
Ever read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? How about To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, or Brave New World by Aldous Huxley? Well, now’s your chance to catch up on your reading and strike a blow for free expression!
To quote the Banned Books Week Web site:
During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events.
The 2011 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 24 through October 1.
Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,000 books have been challenged since 1982.
Contemporary Young Adult entries include Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games trilogy (sex and violence), Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian (sex education and violence—and sex!), Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series (more sex and violence!), and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books (’cause they endorse the occult, don’cha know).
Gee, that’s some fairly prestigious company you’ve got there. Maybe I need to get on that list… 😉
For more information, just click on the poster.
So, just when I think we’re overdue for another positive review of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1—’cause really, how could there be any other kind? ;-)—along comes my buddy, author J. D. Calderon, to step up to the plate!
Over at The Oswald Chronicles, J. D.—writer/creator of that webcomic, as well as author of the fantasy novels The Stone Egg, Dream Weavers: The Trinity Saga, and Dofon: An Imperfect Mantle—reviews Blood Feud in episode 7 of his podcast, Talking to the Scribe.
Click the Oswald logo above to visit the site, and then give the podcast a listen. And don’t forget to check out the Oswald webcomic, of course!
Brooklyn Book Festival 2011! An outdoor event apparently held this year in a wind tunnel, which often required you to grab hold of the open-air tent surrounding your booth and pray you didn’t get carried off to Oz as you fought to keep a roof over your head.
So, how did it go otherwise? Read on!
Chapter 1: A Chilly Reception
It was my first time visiting this now six-year-old publishing event that continues to grow in popularity (and attendance size). Since my experience up to this point has exclusively been comic-book conventions, I was curious to see how the book-buying public would react to the arrival of a dark-fantasy publishing house in a living, breathing New York Times Book Review filled with highbrow bestsellers and the self-described “literati.”
Okay, that I wasn’t expecting. I must’ve just missed the angry townsfolk with the torches and pitchforks… 😉
All right, no big deal. So my exhibitor’s tent has been turned into trash by the 20-mph “breezes” the weathercasters had said would be blowing through the tri-state area. I can figure this out. (A note to all TV weather forecasters: a 20-mph gust is not a breeze, it’s a mini tornado. It’s like saying tomorrow will be “a little chilly” when it’s 20° F outside. Stop it, dumbasses, you’re not being witty.)
Typical New Yorker. Even Christopher freakin’ Columbus looks the other way, instead of lending a hand! But after my brother Frank jumped in to help right the ship, and a festival worker roped down a few well-placed cinder-block weights…
Okay, now we’re in business! Unfortunately these are the only photos I’ve got—Frank had work to do, and my buddy J.D. wasn’t able to attend, so there was no one around to work the camera. But I do have some amusing anecdotes for you…
Chapter 2: My First Sale
“Papi, you have to buy this for me!” the girl insisted, pointing at the Blood Feud cover.
It was about two hours into the show and I’d just explained to this girl, her friend, her dad, and her grandmother what the Pan series was about. She looked to be about 11 years old, so I wasn’t exactly sure she should be getting it—it’s marketed as being for 14 and up, and the word “asshole” pops up a few times—but Dad merely shrugged.
“She’s into horror big time, now,” he said. “She was watching Hellboy the other night.” (I’d used my patented “Ellen Page and Salma Hayek in a Hellboy movie” high-concept description, which definitely got the girl’s attention.)
“I love Hellboy!” the girl said. “Oh! And Van Helsing!”
Seriously? Well, okay, some points lost for enjoying that crapfest—I mean, Van Helsing really is a terrible movie—but every kid needs an introduction to horror, and the family-friendlier it is, the better. For me, it was the original King Kong on TV; for her, Van Helsing. She’s young; she’ll learn.
And she finally did browbeat Dad into buying copies of the book for her and her friend—even though it was Grandma who paid for them. 😀
Chapter 3: “Hey, Isn’t This Like…?”
“So what’s this about?” asked the young woman, after thumbing through a copy of Blood Feud.
“It’s a series about a sixteen-year-old girl who can see monsters, teaming up with a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter. The first two books are about a vampire war that they get caught in.” (Hang around my booth long enough, and you’ll hear that word-for-word description—or slight variations on it—every time.)
“Hey, that sounds like that other thing!”
“What?” I waited for the inevitable comparison to Buffy the Vampire Slayer—which, in most circles, has become pop-culture shorthand for anything that involves a contemporary urban setting, the supernatural, and teens, or any combination thereof. Hell, a succubus character I created was once described by a comic-book reviewer as a cross between Buffy and her vampire boyfriend Angel—even though my character had been created in 1988.
“That thing where they fight vampires and…”
Okay, here it comes. Go ahead. Tell me Pan is just like Buffy. I’m used to it.
“Oh, no, wait. I was thinking of Twilight. It sounds like that.”
Gak. The sparkly emo-vampire thing? Blood Feud sounds like that?
“Er…thanks?”
Chapter 4: “Books for Boys!”
So this old bid— er, woman slowed down in front of the tent, and her gaze moved across the table, taking in the book covers. She didn’t look pleased by what she saw—more like disgusted.
I smiled and gestured to the stack of Pandora Zwieback #0 comics. “Free comic?”
She snarled and pointed to the three titles. “Books for boys!” she practically spat out.
“Actually, they’re for girls,” I said, still being polite. Y’know, there’s just never an 11-year-old horror fangirl around when you need one to plead your case…
Not that it would have made any difference. The woman snorted angrily and moved on.
Interesting. I guess for her, girls are supposed to read only romance books. Maybe Twilight? (Y’know, my book has been compared to it.) But an action-adventure series with a Gothed-out female lead? Apparently something to be scoffed at.
Okay, lady, no free comic for you.
And then it was time to pack up and head home.
Epilogue
So overall, how was the Brooklyn Book Festival? Fairly entertaining, the many, many people I talked to were great (especially the librarians and the folks who purchased books—thanks!), and business did pick up as the day went on, but at this point a return trip next year is a question. I’ve already started making plans to attend next year’s Baltimore Comic Con, which is being held September 8–9, and the book festival may overlap that weekend. We’ll have to see.
On the other hand, if you’re a book lover then you should definitely stop by next year’s show. Admission is free, and it’s easy to get to. For more information, head over to the Brooklyn Book Festival Web site.
Spread the word: The Brooklyn Book Festival is being held this Sunday, September 18th, at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza—and StarWarp Concepts will be in attendance!
BOOTH # 115 is where you’ll find me hawking all the Starwarp Concepts titles, accompanied by my buddy J. D. Calderon, author of the fantasy webcomics The Oswald Chronicles and Tall Tails. (J.D.’s just there to hang out, but that shouldn’t stop you from checking out his site.) It’ll be a good time for you to purchase copies of Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, Carmilla, and The Bob Larkin Sketchbook in case you’ve had any trouble tracking them down.
Swing by and pick up a free copy of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic book (print version) and Pan bookmarks—while supplies last, of course.
BOOTH #115 is located right in front of the Columbus Statue Garden, in the shadow of the Kings County Courthouse—and steps away from the Borough Hall subway entrance. You couldn’t ask for a more convenient location. Hope to see you there!
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