New York is about to lose the Hotel Pennsylvania. Demolition of the 103-year-old Beaux-Arts structure designed by McKim, Mead & White began last week in earnest.—Max Scott, “At NYC’s Hotel Pennsylvania, Interior Demolition Has Begun,” untapped new york
First it was the closing of the Roosevelt Hotel, where many comic book and science fiction conventions were held from the 1960s to the 1980s, as I reported back in December 2020. Now the time has come for another comic-con gathering place to meet its end: the Hotel Pennsylvania, located at Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, on New York City’s West Side.
Opened in 1919, the 2,200-room Hotel Pennsylvania was designed as a companion piece to the Victorian-toned Pennsylvania Station right across the street—both designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. And despite its name changes over the deacdes—from the Hotel Statler to the Statler Hotel to the New York Statler to the Penta Hotel to the Ramada Hotel, and then back to the Hotel Pennsylvania—it was an impressive reminder of Old New York…at least from the outside. Inside, unfortunately, it didn’t look as awesome.
Now, the hotel’s current owner, Vornado Realty Trust, is in the process of tearing down the place. The interior is being gutted, to be followed by its Old New York exterior, to make way for a some modern “upgrade.” It’s all part of the Empire Station Complex, a plan put into play by former governor Andrew Cuomo to “revitalize” midtown Manhattan by tearing down all those dreadfully outdated buildings around Madison Square Garden—you can see what’s on the chopping block here.
I attended Fred Greenberg’s Great Eastern Conventions there in the early 1990s (back in the Ramada Hotel days); Big Apple Con and its offshoot, New York Comic Book Marketplace, on and off over the years; and one Wizard World. SWC’s last appearance at BAC was in 2016 (you can read my con report here). It used to be a good location, back when Great Eastern was using the ballrooms on the upper floors, but when Big Apple Con wound up downstairs in the dreaded Penn Plaza Pavilion, a crappy space that later became a short-lived sneaker store, it outright sucked, with all the support pillars making it impossible to see down an aisle to scope out exhibitors. BAC eventually packed its bags and moved over to the New Yorker hotel one block west in 2019, and that was the end of the Hotel Pennsylvania’s relationship with comic books.
So, farewell, Hotel Pennsylvania and the work of McKim, Mead & White. You had a good, long run, but in a city always willing to toss aside its history in favor of building shiny new things, it was only a matter of time before you joined the original, majestic Penn Stationacross the street (now the site of Madison Square Garden) in being replaced by yet another soulless New York “improvement.”
With this past Saturday having been the annual celebration of Take Your Child to the Library Day, I’m always reminded of a conversation I once had with Richard C. White, author of SWC’s fantasy-adventure titles For a Few Gold Pieces More and Harbinger of Darkness, and the popular how-to book for writers, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination.
Rich had been a guest at a science fiction convention and had spoken with some school librarians who were interested in adding Terra Incognito to their lists of e-book titles. But how, they asked, would they be able to obtain it? As librarians, they’re required to order books from distributors, not from publishers; that applies to e-books as well.
Well, it just so happens that one of The ’Warp’s digital distributors, Smashwords, makes our titles available to libraries through Baker & Taylor’s Axis360 and OverDrive e-book programs. To quote from Smashword’s arrangement with the programs:
“Library patrons are able to check out only one copy at a time. The books are wrapped in DRM so they time out after a specific period of time. The library can purchase multiple copies if they decide demand warrants multiple simultaneous checkouts. Otherwise, the library purchases a single copy and allows only one copy at a time to be lent out. If a library patron wishes to obtain a book that’s already checked out, the patron is sometimes given the option to purchase a copy through a retailer.”
In the case of OverDrive, “If a library patron wishes to obtain a book that’s already checked out, the patron is sometimes given the option to purchase a copy direct through OverDrive (for libraries that utilize OverDrive’s ‘Buy it Now’ feature).”
Smashwords has also made our titles available through their Library Direct program, which is “available to libraries that host and manage their own ebook checkout systems”—in other words, libraries can order directly from Smashwords.
Via Smashwords, the following titles can be ordered for your libraries:
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons. In fact, the book is so popular that it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
“A solid introduction to the subject of world building. The book succeeds in helping the aspiring writer in creating a skeletal framework on which to hang the moving parts required of a believable fictional setting.”—The Gaming Gang
For a Few Gold Pieces More collects Richard C. White’s fantasy short stories about a Rogue With No Name who travels a world of epic-fantasy adventure, looking for treasure—and revenge against the woman who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit (but she did). Think Lord of the Rings meets the “spaghetti Westerns” of director Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). It’s “entertaining, old-school sword and sorcery, in the tradition of [Fritz Lieber’s] Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser,” according to author Jim C. Hines of the Magic ex Libris book series, and we at SWC couldn’t agree more!
Harbinger of Darkness is Rich’s first original novel for SWC. In it, a thief named Perrin steals an extremely valuable—and magical—gem from the evil king ruling her home country. With thugs and fellow thieves and the king’s assassins hot on her trail, Perrin finds just staying alive is becoming a full-time occupation, which directly conflict with her secret life—and identity—as a humble bookseller’s daughter. It’s sword-swinging adventure at its finest!
“A visceral adventure through a world of magic with well-developed characters, dynamic dialogue and a good dose of two-handed sword fights.”—Experience Writing
You can also obtain our Saga of Pandora Zwieback young adult novels, Blood Feud and Blood Reign—written by yours truly, Steven A. Roman. You know how popular young adult books are these days, don’t you? Well, here’s another series your patrons might be interested in!
Pan is a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets an immortal monster hunter named Annie that Pan discovers she’s never been ill—her so-called “monstervision” is actually a supernatural gift that allows her to see into Gothopolis, the not-so-mythical shadow world that exists right alongside the human world. You’ll find Pan battling her own brand of evil dead in the following titles:
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed, character-driven action-fest introduces Pan’s story, explaining how she, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father.
“Far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels. Pan is exactly the kind of teen heroine that readers should be standing up and cheering for.”—HorrorNews.net
It leads immediately into the second novel:
Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover!
So if you’re a librarian interested in adding those titles to your digital bookshelves, head over to Axis360 or OverDrive and place your order today!
Like the header says, today is Take Your Child to the Library Day, celebrating its 11th anniversary. Founded in 2011 by librarians Nadine Lipman and Caitlin Augusta, the event is held the first Saturday in February and encourages librarians to reach out to their communities and show folks just how wonderful reading can be.
Before the Internet, libraries were the source for information and reading, and can always use our support. So now that the world is in some form of pandemic-related normalcy (not counting the actions of ignorant US school boards that are currently caught up in banning books to “protect” children), head out today, introduce your child to that big building with all the free books to borrow, update the library card that’s been stuck in the back of your wallet for all these years, and renew your acquaintance with a vital partner in the ongoing literacy campaign—vital even more so these days.
For more information, including the list of participating libraries, visit the TYCLD website.
(Header image from the movie Something Wicked This Way Comes.)
A few days ago, as part of marking the start of the 2022 celebration of Women in Horror Month, I mentioned our SWC Horror Bites imprint—but what is that, exactly? Well, put basically, “short tales to appease your monstrous hunger for suspense” is how we describe this digital-chapbook series that reprints classic horror fiction that you may or may not have heard of, but which you should definitely introduce yourself to.
White Fell: The Werewolf was our launch title for the imprint. Originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, it was written by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman, and is regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area? He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
Our other title (so far) is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving’s legendary tale of the Headless Horseman that has captivated readers ever since its first publication in 1820, in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. In the 200 years since it’s become the quintessential Halloween story, as well as the basis for countless movies, TV shows, comic books, and other pop-culture adaptations. When schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrived in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he had dreams of marrying beautiful socialite Katrina of the wealthy Van Tassel family, only to lose his head (both figuratively and literally!) when he encountered the horrific Headless Horseman one fateful night!
White Fell: The Werewolf and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are digital exclusives available for download right now, so visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
Hey, book lovers! Do you like reading? Well, of course you do! Do you like reading out loud? If so, then today is your day to celebrate, because it’s World Read Aloud Day!
Started in 2009 by the nonprofit organization LitWorld and sponsored by mega–publishing house Scholastic, World Read Aloud Day “unites people around the world by highlighting the importance of reading aloud and sharing stories.”
Well, if you’re a parent looking for a book that you can read aloud with your child, how about sitting down with a world-famous fairy tale that we offer as a handy e-book?
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 book is available for immediate download for the wickedly low price of just 99¢!
Snow White is a digital exclusive available for download, so visit its product page for ordering information and sample pages.
“Ah, what a declining era,” sighed Pendragon, “wherein breasts are more important than magic.”
“Breasts have always been more important than magic,” said Vampirella.
Such were the sarcastic-but-technically-true words of author Ron Goulart in the 1976 novel Vampirella: Deadwalk, one of the many horror, science fiction, fantasy, and pulp novels he penned during his long career; the sci-fi comic strip Star Hawks (cocreated with artist Gil Kane), William Shatner’s TekWar novels (which Goulart ghostwrote), and the nonfiction history The Great Comic Book Artists are just three of his best-known projects.
Goulart passed away at the age of 89 on January 14 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, but I didn’t learn of it until the New York Times published a lengthy obituary this past Friday.
In my own nonfiction history From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures (published by StarWarp Concepts), I devoted a chapter to examining the six Vampirella novels he wrote in the 1970s: Bloodstalk, On Alien Wings, Deadwalk, Blood Wedding, Deathgame, and Snakegod.
They were fast-paced, enjoyable adventures that adapted comic stories originally written by Archie Goodwin, T. Casey Brennan, and Flaxman Loew, expanded upon and heavily flavored with the style of pulp writing that Goulart excelled in, with Vampi a worldly, tough-as-nails leading lady who was more than a match for every villain she faced. Unfortunately, the books have been out of print since then, so you’ll have to track down copies online if you want to check them out.
Safe journeys, Mr. Goulart, and thanks for all the wonderful work!
Women in Horror Month is here again, that annual celebration that shines the spotlight on the contributions of all the female creators—writers, artists, movie directors, producers, special makeup artists, special effects experts, etc.—who’ve brought thrills and chills to generations of fans around the world.
Well, if you enjoy tales of horror and empowered women, may we recommend one of our classic fiction titles?
White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, was originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, and it’s regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her.
The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. After all, where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area? He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
Critics have certainly enjoyed this horror classic, which kicked off our SWC Horror Bites imprint:
“White Fell is a powerful, independent woman, a fur-slinging, axe-wielding huntress descended straight from Hyperborea, [and] Housman shuns all of the werewolf traditions so dully repeated in many tales written before and after. White Fell is either a revenant from Valhalla or maybe just a good girl gone lupine.”—The Scream Factory
“For Housman, the female werewolf is a vehicle for her to present a strong feminist-inspired female character…. It is possible that Housman was telling the world that women had a hidden strength and that men should beware of their own hidden nature.”—The Nuke Mars Journal of Speculative Fiction
White Fell: The Werewolf is a digital exclusive available for download from the SWC webstore, so visit its product page for ordering information.
Good news, comic fans! The Formidables—the superhero series that I was involved with as editor—is heading back to comic shops this spring, courtesy of indie publishing company Advent Comics!
Created by writer/artist Chris Malgrain through his Oniric Comics company, the Formidables are a quintet of superheroes battling evil and bigotry in 1950s America, with their first challenge coming in the form of a Communist super-villain…who’s disguised as a white supremacist! It’s a unique take on the genre, with Chris examining topics like race relations and sexual identity in a Cold War setting, with an appropriate amount of punching and explosions mixed in, of course—we are talking superhero comics, after all!
The Formidables’ epic 8-issue storyline involves Commie villains, an alien invasion force vs. an army of superheroes, shocking revelations, and an appearance by…God?! As Stan the Man used to say, if there’s only one comic you’re going to buy this month, make it this one!
The Formidables #1 goes on sale April 27, 2022 and is available for order right now for $3.99 through Diamond Comic Distribution (item #FEB221121), so let your local comic shop know you want to order a copy. And then standby for some indie superhero action!
As it was last year, convention season is looming ever closer, and around this time of year we’d be announcing some of the places you’d find the SWC Crew in attendance—but the ongoing pandemic still has us postponing any appearances. After all, it’s hard to socially distance when you’ve got hundreds of attendees—or in the case of New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic Con, tens of thousands—crammed into one setting.
Cons in general have never had a good reputation when it comes to matters of personal hygiene (insert your own “hey, have you ever heard of soap?” joke here). Are you familiar with the term “con crud”? That’s when you come home from a show and wind up sick as a dog because you caught some virus from interacting with people who more often than not knew they were ill and attended anyway. Now, in the days of “super-spreader events,” such venues have become an even greater potential risk for infection—in fact, some of the earliest cases of the Omicron variant were traced back to last November’s Anime NYC convention.
For those of us at ’Warp Central, it wasn’t as though we’d been hitting the convention circuit very hard in past years—our last appearance was at Pow Con in February 2020, just before the lockdown. With regard to 2022’s shows…sorry, ’Warpnauts and Panatics, but with the exception of SMOL Fair—a virtual book festival for indie publishers being held March 19–26—we’re opting out for this year and hoping matters will improve for 2023. If plans should change, however, you can be sure I’ll keep you up to date on our status.
Stay safe, and stay well!
Posted inStarWarp Concepts|Comments Off on Convention Appearances in 2022? Unfortunately, No
According to the calendar site Happy Days 365, today is International Kiss a Ginger Day, a holiday created in 2009 as a “karmic counter event” intended to offset negative comments made about fiery-haired people (e.g., that gingers have no souls, that someone who’s unpopular is treated “like a redheaded stepchild”).
What’s the best way to observe this unusual holiday? Well, around here at ’Warp Central, we celebrate it by honoring our favorite redhead: the flame-haired succubus Lorelei, StarWarp Concepts’ first lady of horror, who stars in two comic books and a graphic novel, and who does quite a bit of kissing of her own—after all, how else is she supposed to steal the souls of her prey?
Lorelei: Sects and the City is Lori’s critically acclaimed graphic novel adventure, in which she battles a cult of Elder God worshipers who are trying to unleash their monstrous masters on the world. It’s a tribute of sorts to classic 1970s horror comics and movies, from writer Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) and artists Eliseu Gouveia, Steve Geiger (Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Incredible Hulk Epic Collection: Going Gray), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). Cover art is provided by the legendary Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna: Come Together), plus there’s additional art from two more legendary artists from the Warren Publishing era: a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Werewolf by Night, Star Trek) and a history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld).
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s first outing as the hostess of a horror comic anthology, in this one-shot special that contains four tales of horror, behind eye-catching cover art by fan-favorite artist Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella Strikes). “The Old, Dark Manse” is written by me, penciled by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), and inked by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales), and has Lori welcoming readers to this special. “All in Color for a Crime” is another tale from me, with art by Lou Manna (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Young All-Stars), in which two comic book collectors clash over a rare back issue—and only one of them will be adding it to their long boxes! “The Basilisk,” from me and artist John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics, My Teacher Fried My Brains), is a “Lori’s Feary Tale” that examines the history of a supernatural creature that’s a cross between a deadly snake and a…chicken?! Wrapping up the special is “Requiem for Bravo 6,” by New York Times bestselling author and comic writer Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk, Steve McQueen: Full-Throttle Cool) and artist Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror), in which a special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
And Lorelei: Genesis is a look at Lori’s early days. You see, Lori originally made her debut in the pages of the Lorelei One-Shot Special, published in January 1989; not only was it StarWarp Concepts’ first comic and first-ever publication, it was also the first comic I ever wrote—and drew! Behind a brand-new cover illustration from me (with awesome colors by Eliseu Gouveia), this digital-exclusive comic reprints that debut story, “In the Midnight Hour,” along with an eight-pager that shows a typical sort of day in Lori’s life as a succubus living in New York City. And best of all, it can be yours to download for the low, low price of just 99¢.
Lorelei: Sects and the City and Lorelei Presents: House Macabre are available in print and digital formats. Lorelei: Genesis is a digital-exclusive comic. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
So if you’re a ginger, or if you know a ginger, be sure to celebrate National Kiss a Ginger with the gift of reading!
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