It’s review time again!
At the horror site Taliesin Meets the Vampires, host Andy Boylan takes a look at our latest release, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by yours truly, Steven A. Roman. And what’s his opinion of this history of the queen of comics’ bad girls?
“Author Steven A Roman clearly has a love for the subject and his writing is conversational in tone, with a bounce to it that makes it very readable…. This is an excellent volume for the Vampirella connoisseur and an education for folks like me, who didn’t know too much and who want to learn.”
Read the entire review here.
Written by Steven A. Roman, author of the Pandora Zwieback series and the tales of the Vampi-inspired succubus Lorelei, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is an extensive look at Vampi’s early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983.
Created by comics publisher James Warren and writer/editor Forrest J Ackerman, Vampirella—the half-naked vampire from outer space who fights monsters while wearing nothing but a one-piece swimsuit and a pair of go-go boots—celebrated her 50th anniversary last year with the launch of a new series by her current rights owner, Dynamite Entertainment. And in From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures you’ll find a wealth of information:
The Vampire Who Fell to Earth: It’s the story of the life of Vampirella at Warren Publishing: her 1969 development by cocreators James Warren and Forrest J Ackerman, with the assistance of artists Frank Frazetta and Trina Robbins; the adventures she went on via the writing and artistic talents of such visionaries as Archie Goodwin, Bill DuBay, Jose Gonzalez, Enrich, Gonzalo Mayo, and many others; and the cancellation of her series in 1982 when the company collapsed. It also features probably the most you’ll ever see reported about four Vampi writers who were just as talented but not as well known: Mike Butterworth, who wrote under the pseudonym Flaxman Loew; T. Casey Brennan; Rich Margopoulos; and Gerry Boudreau.
The Vampirella Episode Guide: The largest section of the book, it examines every story starring Vampirella during the Warren Era: over 100 entries, some with little known behind-the-scenes details. Plus stories behind some of Vampi’s unpublished adventures!
Vampi Goes to Hollywood: In 1975, Hammer Films announced the development of a Vampirella movie starring model/actress Barbara Leigh and the legendary Peter Cushing (later known the world over as Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars). The project crashed in spectacular fashion, but the details have always been murky. I try to clear up the confusion surrounding it, detailing the production from its launch to its unfortunate ending. And then I take a critical look at the awful Vampirella movie that was made in 1996, starring Talisa Soto and rock god Roger Daltrey of the Who—and probably shouldn’t have been!
The Literary Vampiress: From 1975 to 1976, Warner Books published a series of Vampirella novelizations by sci-fi author Ron Goulart. I take a look at each novel, and explain why they’re worth tracking down…if you can find copies!
The Vampirella Warren Era Checklist: A list of every Warren Vampi story! Every reprint volume from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment! Plus little known trivia!
From the Stars also features: A foreword by Sean Fernald, the Official Vampirella Historian! A peek at Peter Cushing’s personal copy of the 1976 Vampirella screenplay! A frontispiece by legendary artist Bob Larkin, who painted covers for Warren’s Vampirella, The Rook, Eerie, and Famous Monsters of Filmland! Photos of Barbara Leigh in costume as Vampirella at the 1975 Famous Monsters Convention, held in New York! If there’s only one Vampirella history book you pick up, then be sure to add it to your collection!
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available right now in print and as a PDF e-book, so visit its product page for ordering information. The print edition can be purchased from us as well as through your usual retail outlets like Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes & Noble; the e-book is available through the SWC webstore and DriveThru Fiction.
This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Dynamite Entertainment or any of its licensees. Vampirella is a trademark of Dynamite Entertainment.
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.”
Lorelei
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Sebastienne Mazarin
After the cancellation of genre fest RavenCon last month (which had been scheduled for this past weekend) and the recent announcement that even the mighty San Diego Comic-Con has been bumped to 2021 due to the coronevirus outbreak, it should come as no surprise that Shore Leave 42, which was scheduled for July, has shut it down for the year, with a replacement date of July 9–11, 2021 in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
The world might seem at times to have become a darker, more dangerous place these days, but there’s always room for heroes to lead the way—especially when today is National Superhero Day!
Still, it’s superheroes we’re talking about, and if you’re looking for some around these parts, we have a couple of titles you might be interested in:
The world might be on virtual lockdown these days, but even with a global pandemic we’ve still got a company to run around here—after all, what better way for folks to pass the time than by reading? So starting today, each Monday we’ll shine a spotlight on one of our titles, as a reminder of the awesome books and comics we publish (he said modestly) and to introduce new SWC fans to our backlist.
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