Here’s some good news to start the week! The vampire-related blog Taliesin Meets the Vampires has put in a few kind words for Carmilla, our first illustrated classic. They especially liked the illustrations by Pandora Zwieback and Lorelei artist Eliseu Gouveia!
“…I was rather taken by the illustrations, as they gave the volume a period feel, reminding me very much of books I used to leaf through as a child.”
You can check it out here.
Today’s the day the new Conan the Barbarian movie hits theaters, and in honor of the occasion we present a trio of classic Conan covers by our friend (and Pandora Zwieback cover painter) Bob Larkin! Next to Doc Savage and the Incredible Hulk, Robert E. Howard’s Cimmerian hero is one of Bob’s most famous painted subjects.
FYI 1: The late actor Steve Holland, star of the 1950s TV version of Flash Gordon, was not only Bob’s Doc Savage photo model—as he was for James Bama before Larkin—but he also posed for Bob’s Conan, Hulk, and Tomb of Dracula paintings, among many others.
FYI 2: That guy Steve Holland-as-Conan is strangling on the Savage Sword of Conan cover? That’s Carmilla cover photographer Marc Witz. Now there’s a guy who really suffers for his art! 😉
Speaking of the legendary Mr. L, you do know we’ve published his BOB LARKIN SKETCHBOOK, right? Well, you should! It’s 24 pages of his pencil wizardry, featuring superheroes, pulp adventurers, and a wrestling star or two. Just one look, and you’ll see why artists like Alex Ross and Joe Jusko consider Bob to be their gold standard of excellence.
By Crom, you’ll buy a copy once we’ve got the webstore up and running—or else we’ll be forced to crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentation of their women! And you wouldn’t want to be on that enemies list, would you…?
It’s day 8 of “The 13 Days of Pan-demonium”—our celebration of Blood Feud’s publication—over at the Pandora Zwieback Web site, and we here at The ’Warp couldn’t be happier that the spotlight is on Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia, our resident Pan and Lorelei artist!
Based in Portugal, Zeu has been wowing comic-book-reading audiences for years with his amazing work on such projects as the graphic novels Cloudburst and Charlatan: Preludes, and comics like The Phantom and his own superhero team book, Infiniteens:
“The action-packed artwork of Zeu makes the clashing swords and beautiful damsels a joy to experience.”—Comics Bulletin on The Phantom
“Gouveia has a great imagination and comes up with some very cool designs for alien technology and architecture.”—Comic Book Resources on Charlatan: Preludes
“Zeu certainly knows how to draw some very flashy superhero action, bringing to the page some incredible character designs…and his writing style is optimistic and playful, which works as dynamic contrast to the harsh world he has created.”—Geeks of Doom on Infiniteens
And now he’s brought his artistic magic to SWC! Currently it’s on display in his illustrations for Carmilla and Blood Feud, in The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0—the downloadable comic available from the Pan site—and soon in the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City.
Head on over to the Pan site to see Zeu’s contribution to the “13 Days”—but don’t forget to check out the incredible work of the other artists involved. It’s worth the visit!
What’re you talking about, ancient comic book cover? Of course the Dynamic Duo knows where they are—and so do I! They’ve been hanging around the Pandora Zwieback Web site, enjoying “The 13 Days of Pan-demonium”! 😀
Not even Batman and Robin can pass up the chance to enjoy the artistic celebration we’re having for the recent publication of BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, BOOK 1. And neither should you, SWC blog readers! So just head over to the Pan site now and see the fantastic Pan-related drawings we’ve been posting.
Today’s featured artist is CAANAN GRALL. If you’re a fan of his webcomic “Max Overacts” or his contributions to Comic Book Resources’ regular feature “The Line, It Is Drawn,” then you’re sure to enjoy his unique take on the Pan-iverse.
Just chill, Gotham City. If you can hang on until next Tuesday, when the celebration ends, I promise the Dark Knight and the Boy Wonder will be back on duty, ready to battle bad guys. In the meantime, can’t you get Batgirl to answer the Bat-signal?
Oh, wait. I just saw her over at the Pan site, too. Never mind!
“The 13 Days of Pan-demonium” continue at the Pandora Zwieback Web site, and today’s featured artist is ELIZABETH WATASIN, writer/artist of A-Girl and Charm School, and author of the forthcoming novel Wit’s World: Never Was!
“The 13 Days of Pan-demonium” is a promotional event celebrating the publication of my dark-urban-fantasy novel BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, BOOK 1. A 16-year-old Goth who can see monsters teams up with a 400-year-old shape-shifting huntress, just in time to get caught in the middle of a war among rival vampire clans seeking the key to an ultimate weapon.
The book’s available for order through brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as online sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, WH Smith (in the UK), and Angus & Robertson (in Australia).
So, waddaya waiting for? Go check out the Pan site for the latest artwork, and then buy a copy of the book!
Have you dropped by the Pandora Zwieback Web site in the last few days? No? Then you’re missing out on the artistic celebration for the recent publication of BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, BOOK 1.
The event is called “The 13 Days of Pan-demonium,” in which 12 artists (plus me) provide unique interpretations of my Goth-girl adventure heroine, with a new pinup posted each day.
So far we’ve had amazing work from HENAR TORINOS DE LA TORRE; small-press comics creator JIM COON; RESA CHALLENDER, writer/artist of the comic book Wandering Star; and DAVE HOOVER, artist of Marvel’s Invaders and Zenoscope’s Charmed. (That’s Dave’s art you see featured here.)
And today you’ll find “The Pan-tom of the Opera!” It’s a pinup of Pan dressed as…well, take a guess. 😉 And who’s responsible for it? None other than bad-girl artist supreme LOUIS SMALL JR., of Vampirella fame!
Head over there right now and check it out, and then visit the site each day to see another fantastic piece of Pan-related art; the celebration runs through August 23rd.
BLOOD FEUD is available for order through brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as online sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, WH Smith (in the UK), and Angus & Robertson (in Australia). Pick up your copy today!
I hate to break the news to you, LORELEI, but even though you’ve been Starwarp Concepts’ flagship character since the company launched in 1993, you’re not the only star around here at the ’Warp offices. We still love you, though!
Folks, don’t let the foul mood of our resident succubus scare you away from joining us next week for a special celebration in honor of the release of my first dark urban-fantasy novel, BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, Book 1.
Starting this Thursday, August 11th, over at our (little) sister site, PandoraZwieback.com, THE 13 DAYS OF PAN-DEMONIUM features 13 comic book artists presenting their unique interpretations of our favorite monster-hunting Goth.
We’ve got contributions from Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella), Dave Hoover (Charmed), Neil Vokes (Doctor Strange: From the Marvel Vault), Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, and Pan’s co-creator), Chris Malgrain (Stan Lee’s Alexa), Henar Torinos de la Torre (Mala Estrella), Jim Coon (X-Ray Nancy), Teresa Challender (Wandering Star), Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), Caanan Grall (Celadore), Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City—that’s his Lori sketch at the top of this post), and Ciaran Lucas. Be sure to check it out.
And don’t worry about Lori. The spotlight will be on her soon enough, when her graphic novel LORELEI: SECTS AND THE CITY makes its debut. Then she’ll have all the attention she could ever want!
Have you visited our (little) sister site, PandoraZwieback.com, recently? Well, you should, because we’ve relaunched it with a brand-new design and all sorts of interesting stuff to check out.
Downloads! An animated book trailer for BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, BOOK 1! And starting next week we’ll be launching a special event over there called THE 13 DAYS OF PAN-DEMONIUM. What could that be about? Find out on Monday!
Major thanks go out to Web designer Dave De Mond, who put in many long hours to redesign the Pan site to reach its current level of greatness—as he did for the SWC site.
Nice job, Dave!
So, have you heard about Disney’s forthcoming film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic science-fantasy novel A PRINCESS OF MARS? Sure you have! You just might not know it, however, considering the movie’s new title: JOHN CARTER. In fact, its teaser trailer recently debuted on the ’Net. Check it out:
So, you ask, why would we here at The ’Warp be shilling for a big-budget Hollywood movie? Well, because we’re publishing our own edition of Burroughs’s first “John Carter of Mars” novel, in time for the movie’s release–and the novel’s 100th anniversary!
A PRINCESS OF MARS made its debut in February 1912, and tells the story of John Carter, a former Confederate army officer who collapses in an Arizona cave–only to awake on the planet Mars (called Barsoom by its inhabitants). There he meets the giant, savage, green-skinned Tharks…and the beautiful Dejah Thoris, princess of the city of Helium. It’s love at first sight for them both, and they’ll risk the dangers of a world at war to be together, in the kind of fantastic adventure you’d expect from the creator of Tarzan.
Our edition of A PRINCESS OF MARS features gorgeous black-and-white illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia–who provided similarly fantastic artwork for our first classic re-release, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s CARMILLA–and a beautiful portrait of Dejah Thoris, courtesy of photographer Marc Witz (who also provided the cover photo for Carmilla).
JOHN CARTER debuts in theaters on March 9, 2012.
A PRINCESS OF MARS (the Starwarp Concepts edition) will be on sale February 7, 2012.
The only difference between us and Disney? We don’t have Peter Gabriel singing a cover version of Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is a Cage.” But if you like, you can always hum the tune while you’re reading the book! 😉
As a follow-up to my last entry, extolling the virtues of small-press comics, I thought I’d tell you about this item I came across in my Web travels:
What you’ve got right there is a copy of the Lorelei #1 digest-size comic that I wrote, drew, and published back in 1991, with a cover by the late, great horror-comics artist Tom Sutton.
Lorelei #1 was a follow-up to the one-shot comic I published in 1989 (see the small-press blog post for that cover), and the last Lori comic I drew, as I eventually decided that I was a better writer than I’ll ever be a great (or even fast) artist. And yes, the cover you see here is hand-colored, in markers and pencils (and, I think, a little crayon, too). Thank God I only did that awful coloring on a photocopy!
(FYI, the unscrewed-with, original black-and-white Sutton art will be making its publishing return, this time as the frontispiece for the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City. Wait until you see the detail in that art—nobody could draw dead guys and creepy maggots like Tom Sutton!)
Finding the above listing on eBay was certainly a big surprise—almost as much as realizing that the seller wanted $20.00 for it! I guess he was trying to lure Sutton art completists.
Jeez, does seeing that old thing take me back. Makes me wonder what other ancient Lorelei stuff is out there on the ’Net…
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