Next Monday, May 25, is Memorial Day in the United States—a time when the country takes a moment to recognize the sacrifices of the members of our armed forces who’ve given their lives to protect our, and the world’s freedoms.
Generally, it’s meant to be a solemn occasion, but Memorial Day weekend is also considered the unofficial start of the summer season (which officially falls on June 21, and ends September 23). For many Americans who may or may not have made vacation plans (depending on where you’re located in these virus days), that means tomorrow is the start of a four-day weekend—which around here calls for a goth-style trip to the beach (at a socially safe distance, of course)!
And you know what would make for perfect beach reading this summer? Some fine horror titles from our awesome backlist, of course!
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed, character-driven young adult novel by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) is the beginning of teenaged Goth girl Pan Zwieback’s adventures, explaining her troubled past as someone who had been diagnosed with a mental illness because she thought she could see monsters, only to learn it’s an actual supernatural power that she possesses. And who explained it to her? None other than an immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie! But before she can make sense of that revelation, Pan, 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 they’re following goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father!
Carmilla is J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century classic vampiric tale of love gone wrong. Laura is so desperate for a friend that when a young woman named Carmilla practically turns up on the doorstep of the castle owned by Laura’s father, she thinks her prayers for companionship have been answered. But as she comes to realize, Carmilla isn’t as interested in making friends as she is in spilling blood. Regarded as the one of the earliest female vampire tales—if not the first—Carmilla was an influence on author Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in his seminal novel, Dracula, and remains a popular character in fiction to this day. Our edition contains six original illustrations done especially for StarWarp Concepts by the super-talented Eliseu Gouveia.
White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, was originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, 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…
King Kong is StarWarp Concepts’ e-book-exclusive Illustrated Classics edition of the official novelization of the renowned motion picture, originally published in 1932, just a few months before Kong made his big-screen debut. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, the SWC edition of King Kong features scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. What makes our version special is that it contains six exclusive, original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages ofThe Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.
Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings: Perfect for superhero fans, this graphic novel is about a supernatural team of superfolk-for-hire, consisting of a wizard, a sorceress, a female ninja, a high-tech-armor-wearing rock concert lighting designer, anda werewolf. Not every superhero team has Tony Stark’s billions to play with, you understand, and the Troubleshooters are just looking to earn a living while fighting the monsters that have always lurked in the shadows. Makes sense, right? Of course it does! Written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. White (For a Few Gold Pieces More, Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, Night Stalkings presents the TSI members on their first mission: protecting a multimillionaire from a trio of Middle Eastern demons out to raise a little hell!
Blood Feud, Carmilla, and Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings are available in both print and digital formats. White Fell: The Werewolf and King Kong are digital exclusives. Visit each of their product pages for more information, including sample pages and sample chapters.
Have a (creepily) safe and fun summer!
Welcome back to StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that runs each Monday to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.
Here’s some great news in these troubling times: as part of its annual May sales promotion for gamers, e-book distributor DriveThru RPG is offering three “Covid-19 Charity Bundles” to raise money for the nonprofit organizations No Kid Hungry, Doctors Without Borders, and the World Food Programme.
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is a nonfiction book—not a comic—and a history of Vampirella that takes an extensive look at her early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983. I provide an in-depth guide to all her Warren stories, a checklist of all her Warren appearances (plus the publications from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment that reprinted her Warren adventures), an overview of the six novelizations by pulp sci-fi author Ron Goulart that were published in the 1970s by Warner Books, and most important of all, what may be the first time anyone has actually told, in chronological order, the story behind the rise and fall of Hammer Films’ proposed Vampi movie of the 1970s that was meant to star Playboy model Barbara Leigh and horror icon Peter Cushing. It also includes my look at the awful 1996 direct-to-cable-TV movie that was made, starring Talisa Soto and Roger Daltrey; a peek at Peter Cushing’s personal copy of the ’70s Vampirella screenplay; a foreword by Official Vampirella Historian Sean Fernald, a frontispiece by Warren artist Bob Larkin, and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman.
Welcome back to StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that runs each Monday to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.
A couple weeks back, we introduced StarWarp Spotlight, a series of posts that will run each Monday to shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.
That’s right, comic book fans, if it weren’t for the lockdown created by the current health crisis, today would have been Free Comic Book Day at brick-and-mortar and online comic shops around the world. But comic shops have been forced to close their doors for the time being as they’re not considered “essential” businesses by various governments, and their main source of product, Diamond Comic Distributors, has shut down a good deal of its operation. There’s been talk of FCBD being rescheduled for later this year, but it seems unlikely.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0
In case you were unaware of it, tomorrow is National Bombshells’ Day, a promotional event that, according to the National Day Calendar, was launched by a well-known lingerie company: “Victoria’s Secret created Bombshells’ Day as a day for women to celebrate themselves and their best friends with numerous in-store activities and surprises for customers. The registrar at National Day Calendar proclaimed National Bombshells’ Day in March 2015 to be held annually on the first Saturday in May.”
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