Three more weeks till Halloween…Halloween…Halloween…
(For those in the know, that earwormy jingle is now stuck in your head, isn’t it…?)
That’s right, boils and ghouls, Halloween is only 25 days away, so it’s the perfect time to get in the spooky mood—unless you’re already in it, of course! If you’re not, though, here’s some ways to spark your inner ghoul:
Horror movies! AMC Fearfest, Turner Classic Movies, the SyFy Channel, Movies! TV Network, Freeform, and Svengoolie (on MeTV) are just some of the cable stations chock full of Halloweeny programming during October, and streaming sites like HBO Max, Tubi, and Pluto are constantly adding horror movies to their lineups. There’s a lot to see before All Hallows’ Eve, so as the old saying goes, check your local listings for more information.
Then there’s Countdown to Halloween, an annual collection of blogs (mostly horror-themed) that commit to posting daily entries every day of the month, on a wide range of topics from comic books to toys, classic horror movies to to music, even wanderings through local cemeteries.
There are also the ghoulish deejays spinning tunes over at Halloween Radio and its five channels (Main, Soundtracks, Atmosphere, Oldies, and Kids), which stream year-round—perfect for when you’re looking for background music to play while you’re decorating your home or apartment, carving pumpkins, or working on your costume.
But the true meaning of horror can be found this coming weekend on the Hallmark Channel, which is set to debut Haul Out the Halloween, an actual Halloween-themed romance movie, on Saturday night! First it was Hallmark’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” marathons during October, where it was round-the-clock holly-and-ivy-draped programming in an attempt to distract everyone from the ghoulies and ghosties we enjoy, now they’re horning in on All Hallows’ Eve itself—does their evil know no bounds?!
(Actually, it’s pretty well known that horror and Hallmark have a weird relationship. For all the counter-Halloween programming they do, Hallmark does have a following for their Christmas movies among horror fans, and then there’s the fact that not only have a number of horror writers and directors contributed to the yuletide filmfests (Fred Olen Ray, David DeCoteau, Michael Varrati), but even horror icons like Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead), Natasha Henstridge (Species), and Patricia Velasquez (The Mummy) have starred in them!)
Whatever it is you do to get ready, have a fun time doing it!
Got a favorite book? Well, odds are good there’s someone out there in the United States who’d liked to see it censored, or removed entirely from bookstores and library shelves.
According to a recent American Library Association report, “The 2024 data reported to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) shows that the majority of book censorship attempts are now originating from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries.”
That’s where Banned Books Week comes in. Launched in 1982, it’s an annual celebration of literacy in which the spotlight is shone on the problem of censorship in U.S. libraries and bookstores, which is becoming worse every year. The organization PEN America, for instance, has recorded “more than 10,000 book bans affecting more than 4,000 unique titles” in the 2023–2024 school year, with the majority occurring in Florida and Iowa.
(By the way, horror fans, PEN America recently announced that none other than Stephen King is the most banned author in U.S. schools, according to their “Banned in the US” list of books for 2025 that are being blocked in school libraries.)
This year’s BBW theme is “Censorship is So 1984.” To quote the ALA press release:
“Current efforts to ban books and information held in schools, libraries, archives, and bookstores are a truth close to fiction—namely, the depiction of extreme censorship by an oppressive regime in George Orwell’s cautionary and prescient tale 1984. The Banned Books Week 2025 theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.”
Banned Books Week 2025 runs October 5–11, so visit the BBW website for more information, including a list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2024 that they’re celebrating this year.
This coming weekend, science fiction and fantasy fans will be gathering at Archon, being held at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Illinois.
Among the attendees will be author Richard C. White, who’ll be promoting his latest SWC release, the sci-fi steampunk novel On Wings of Steel: The Darkside Chronicles, Book 1, in which Erica Halgrim, a member of the Angels of Steel courier service, finds herself drawn into a political plot—and possibly murder—at the risk of her own life.
Rich is the bestselling author of the licensed novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, as well as a growing number of titles published by us: the swashbuckling adventure novel Harbinger of Darkness; the fantasy-adventure story collection For a Few Gold Pieces More; the writers’ and RPG gamemasters’ aid Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; the noir-fantasy story collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase; and the pirate-adventure digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special.
Archon 48 runs October 3–5. For more information on the show, visit their website.
Held the 3rd Saturday in September since 2015, Batman Day is an annual celebration of one of DC Comics’ most iconic superheroes, the Darknight Detective who made his debut in Detective Comics #29 in 1939. Created by Bob Kane with the help of writer Bill Finger, Batman has remained popular with fans throughout the world for over 80 years through comics, novels, TV shows, and movies.
Well, if you’re a fan of the Caped Crusader, then perhaps you’d be interested in checking out a couple of bat-ish projects from your friends at StarWarp Concepts…
In 2012, author Richard C. White interviewed New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) for Rich’s how-to book for writers and RPG gamemasters, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. In addition to the ins and outs of proper world building for fantasy and science fiction projects, they also discussed what was then Hickman’s latest novel: Wayne of Gotham, in which Bruce Wayne traces his family history to discover whether there was more to the murder of his parents when he was a boy—the traumatic event that led to his becoming Batman—than a simple robbery gone wrong.
“When approaching an iconic character like Batman, you walk a really fine line. My first reaction after we proposed this story and they accepted it was, ‘Oh man, I get to write Batman.’ And then the second reaction was, ‘What have I done? I have to write Batman!’ Because everyone has an idea of who Batman is.”
However, since the topic had nothing to do with Terra Incognito’s focus on world building, I cut it from the book during the editing process. But there’s no reason why you can’t read it now, given today’s celebration of all things Batman.
So head on over right now to the Richard C. White blogand celebrate Batman Day by reading all about Tracy Hickman’s Wayne of Gotham!
To read the rest of Rich’s interview with Hickman—which includes a discussion of Hickman’s creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons—pick up a copy of Rich’s Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, which takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. In fact, it’s a book that’s become so popular with gamers that it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
And then there’s Heroines and Heroes, a digital-comic collection of comic stories and pinups written and drawn by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), dating back to my days in the early 1990s small-press movement—that age of dinosaurs in which creators like me used to make our comics by printing them out on photocopiers and then stapling them by hand. In H&H you’ll find mainstream heroes and small-press heroines, and even a couple of anthropomorphic bikers.
Leading off is “V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N (in the Summertime),” a three-page story starring Wonder Woman and Batman enemy Harley Quinn that I wrote and drew in the late ’90s as a sample for a DC Comics editor who thought I’d be a good fit for their Batman: The Animated Series comic (spoiler warning: it didn’t work out). It’s followed by an adventure of small-presser Jeff Wood’s rabbit-eared superspy, Snowbuni; three pages from the long-canceled indie comic Motorbike Puppies; and an adventure of the indie superheroine The Blonde Avenger.
Yaaarr, mateys! Whether ye be a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise or classic films like Captain Blood, The Crimson Pirate, and The Sea Hawk, it’s time again for International Talk Like a Pirate Day—that special occasion launched in 1995 to celebrate all things swashbuckling.
And speaking of swashbuckling adventures, StarWarp Concepts has its own pirate-fantasy comic for you to enjoy!
The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a 48-page one-shot comic created and written by Richard C. White, author of the fantasies For a Few Gold Pieces More and Harbinger of Darkness, the noir-fantasy collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, and the writer’s guide Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. It’s drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and sports cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City,The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual#1).
“There seems to be a fair amount of deviousness amongst the crew of the Sea Dragon, but I was greatly pleased to see the heroes using their smarts as well as their swords. Lots of high adventure and old-school artwork make this a fun read for those of us that grew up on Sinbad movies.”—Nth DegreeThe Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital exclusive, available from DriveThru Comics. Visit its product page for more information, including sample pages.
This coming weekend, book lovers and authors like will be gathering at Frightreads Book Festival, billed as “Maryland’s Number One Halloween Book Festival” and held at the Howard County Fairgrounds, in West Friendship, Maryland.
Among the attendees at this spooktastic get-together will be author Richard C. White, who’ll be promoting his latest SWC release, the sci-fi steampunk novel On Wings of Steel: The Darkside Chronicles, Book 1, in which Erica Halgrim, a member of the Angels of Steel courier service, finds herself drawn into a political plot—and possibly murder—at the risk of her own life.
Rich is the author of a growing list of StarWarp Concepts titles: the swashbuckling adventure novel Harbinger of Darkness; the fantasy-adventure story collection For a Few Gold Pieces More; the writers’ and RPG gamemasters’ aid Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; the noir-fantasy story collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase; and the pirate-adventure digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special.
Chasing Danger, in particular, may be of interest to you fans of supernatural tales. In this pulp fiction–inspired collection, a private eye named Theron Chase works the back streets of the city of Calasia on behalf of supernatural clients in trouble, and finds his hands full of danger, death, and femme fatales!
Frightreads Book Festival runs September 13–14. For more information on the show, visit the Frightreads website.
Where does the time go? That question immediately came to mind, as I saw a recent Facebook post from Crusade Comics’ owner/publisher Billy Tucci (creator, writer, and artist of Shi, the female warrior character he introduced during the 1990s’ “Bad Girl Era” in comics) that August 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of Shi/Cyblade: The Battle for Independents; according to the invaluable research site Mike’s Amazing World of Comics, it went on sale August 17, 1995.
Plotted by Tucci, scripted by Gary Cohn and Tucci, and drawn by Tucci, Nelson Ascenio, and Jimmy Palmiotti, Shi/Cyblade was the second half of a two-part crossover between Crusade and Image’s Top Cow Comics—the first half naturally titled Cyblade/Shi: The Battle for Independents (comic collector note: Cyblade/Shi features the first appearance of Top Cow’s most popular character, Witchblade).
In it, the two heroines awaken in a world blocked by a giant wall—according to the introductory note by Image executive director Larry Marder, the story is an allegory for the indie comics market trying to break through the wall built by bigger publishers (in other words, DC and Marvel) and the distributors that were all battling one another in a war that was destructive to the comics market. (The 1990s’ Distributor Wars in real life would ultimately end with Diamond Comics being the last company standing, after all its competitors had been wiped out—mostly due to Diamond cutting exclusive distribution deals with Marvel and DC, to start. And look what’s become of Diamond now…)
In order to defeat the forces of darkness and break down the wall, Shi and Cyblade call in the troops for backup. And the “troops” are a strike force formed from what seems like just about every indie comics character in print at the time—from Dave Sims’s Cerebus the Aardvark to Marder’s own Beanworld characters, to Don Simpson’s Megaton Man, Evan Dorkin’s Milk and Cheese, and Jeff Smith’s Bone…to my own creation, the soul-stealing succubus Lorelei!
Yes, Lori got to make an on-screen cameo, in a two-page spread that saw the indie force charging into battle. Lori and her unmissable red locks are on the left-hand page, surrounded by characters I don’t believe are around these days—according to the key printed in the back of the comic, they’re: Archangel (flying guy); Dark Prophet (blue ninja guy); Snap the Punk Turtle; and Bianca (in the white outfit). (By the way, Rich White’s werewolf character, Nightwolf, from Troubleshooters, Incorporated, is also on hand, toward the upper left-hand corner.)
How Lori got there—how any of those characters got there, really—is a mystery for the ages. Me, I like to think of it as the indie version of the original Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars miniseries of the 1980s: some weird doorway device appeared in front of Lori one day and, curious, she stepped through to join in on the Comics War. (Hmm, there’s an idea…)
I had no idea she’d made the appearance, though, and only found out when a fan asked me how I’d managed to get Lori into the new Shi comic (whaaat…?). I’m pretty sure a bunch of other creators were just as surprised—and honored that they’d made the cut!
Curious about that massive crossover event? You can track down print copies of Shi/Cyblade cheaply enough (the Witchblade appearance makes Cyblade/Shi a bit pricier), and both it and Cyblade/Shi are available in digital form through DriveThru Comics. Go check ’em out, if you have a chance.
So, Happy 30th Anniversary, Shi/Cyblade, and thanks for including Lori. Maybe one day I can return the favor!
This coming weekend, fans of pulp-era heroes and authors like Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Phantom, Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard will be gathering at PulpFest, the annual pulp-fiction celebration being held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Cranberry, in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Among the attendees at this get-together will be author Richard C. White, who’ll be promoting his latest SWC release, the sci-fi steampunk novel On Wings of Steel: The Darkside Chronicles, Book 1, in which Erica Halgrim, a member of the Angels of Steel courier service, finds herself drawn into a political plot—and possibly murder—at the risk of her own life. No doubt he’ll also be promoting his noir-fantasy story collection Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, in which a private eye works the back streets of the city of Calasia on behalf of supernatural clients in trouble, and finds his hands full of danger, death, and femme fatales!
Rich is the author of a growing list of StarWarp Concepts titles: the swashbuckling adventure novel Harbinger of Darkness; the fantasy-adventure story collection For a Few Gold Pieces More; the writers’ and RPG gamemasters’ aid Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; and the pirate-adventure digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special.
Be sure to stop by Rich’s table in the Dealers’ Room and pick up any titles you might have missed, and to learn about the other projects he has in the works for 2025—including a very pulpy, two-fisted novella collection he has coming up that stars a trio of Golden Age heroines!
PulpFest runs August 7–10. For more information on the show, visit the PulpFest website.
James Warren at the Famous Monsters Convention (October 2023). Photo by Tedjalbert.
Born in 1930, James Warren is a name known to every horror fan who grew up in the 1950s to 1980s. He was the driving force behind the Warren Publishing Company; the man who thumbed his nose at the censorial limitations imposed by the Comics Code Authority to publish the entertainment magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, the horror-comic anthology series Creepy and Eerie, the war-critique comic series Blazing Combat, the time-traveling adventures of The Rook, and—best known of all—the risqué adventures of Vampirella, the scantily clad outer-space vampiress that he cocreated with Famous Monsters editor Forrest J Ackerman (with the help of design artists Frank Frazetta and Trina Robbins).
And today’s the day when James Warren celebrates his 95th birthday!
I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but I did reach out to him in 2001, when I was about to launch a rebooted Lorelei comic book series (sadly, it lasted only two issues due to low sales). I mailed a copy of Lorelei, Volume 2 #1—which contained the prologue and first chapter of what would become the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City—to his home (I don’t remember how I found the address), along with a cover letter expressing my admiration for his work and my thanks for being such an inspiration. And boy, was I surprised when he wrote back!
“You sure do pay Warren Publishing a nice tribute. I wish you good luck and good acceptance. I like the graphics, and the story is exciting!”
I couldn’t have asked for a better reception than that! And when Lorelei: Sects and the City was eventually published in 2012, it seemed I’d learned all the right lessons from those comics he published, because reviewers were united in agreeing that Lori’s succubus-vs.-Lovecraftian-cult adventure perfectly captured the Warren Publishing vibe!
So, how can you celebrate this special day? Well, around here, we recommend there’s no better way than by purchasing a copy of our popular and well-reviewed nonfiction comics history that’s all about James Warren’s most famous comic creation:
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), is the critically acclaimed nonfiction 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. In it you’ll find an in-depth examination of the life and death of Warren Publishing; a guide to all of Vampirella’s 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 the behind-the-scenes story of Warren Publishing’s demise, explaining how Vampirella survived the death of her original comic house. There’s also 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.
In addition to all that, I tell the tale of the unproduced film adaptation of the 1970s planned by legendary horror studio Hammer Films that was to star Barbara Leigh as Vampi and Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars) as her constant companion, the stage magician Pendragon. How the production came to be and how it ultimately fell apart is a complicated, somewhat convoluted story, but I did my best to put the events surrounding it into a chronological, logical order—for the first time ever! This overview includes a peek at Mr. Cushing’s personal copy of the ’70s Vampirella screenplay.
I also take a look at the awful 1996 direct-to-cable-TV movie that was made for the Showtime network, produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jim Wynorski (Dinocroc vs. SuperGator), scripted by Gary Gerani (Pumpkinhead), and starring Talisa Soto (Mortal Kombat) as Vampi and The Who’s front man, rock god Roger Daltrey as…Dracula! It’s a film so bad and so low budget, with such a godawful Vampirella costume, that even Wynorski hates being reminded of his involvement with it!
Today is opening day for San Diego Comic-Con 2025: four days in which hordes of comic and pop-culture fans descend on the San Diego Convention Center (and the nearby Gaslamp Quarter) to meet their acting and/or comic-creating idols, hunt down collectibles, attend panels, pose in their best costumes, crowd the aisles, and maybe (maybe!) even buy comic books.
StarWarp Concepts won’t be part of the festivities—it’s just too expensive to exhibit there, what with cross-country travel and shipping, not to mention exhibitor and hotel fees—but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience SWC’s sort of scaled-down version of the big show right here!
You want sales? A good number of our digital titles are currently available at discounted prices, as part of our annual involvement with Smashwords’ Winter/Summer E-book Sale and the Christmas in July Sale at DriveThru Comics and DriveThru Fiction. Both sales run until the end of the month, so click the links to check out the bargains!
Convention giveaways? Our Downloads page has a bunch of free stuff: Pandora Zwieback wallpapers for your smartphone and computer, and book samples. Plus we have free digital comic books you can download:
Lorelei #1: The 30th Anniversary Edition is a reprint of the comic that helped launch StarWarp Concepts in 1993. Wriiten and created by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), and drawn by David C. Matthews (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), it introduced readers to celebrated professional photographer Laurel Ashley O’Hara, on the day that would change her life forever—a day when a major exhibition of her work was opening at a prestigious New York museum…and the day she unfortunately met the charming but dangerous Arioch—a lord of hell!
Heroines & Heroes is a collection of comic stories and pinups all drawn by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), dating back to my days in the early 1990s small-press movement—that age of dinosaurs in which creators like me used to make our comics by printing them out on photocopiers and then stapling them by hand. In H&H you’ll find mainstream heroes and small-press heroines, and even a couple of anthropomorphic bikers. Leading off is “V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N (in the Summertime),” a three-page Wonder Woman vs. Harley Quinn story that I wrote and drew in the late ’90s as a sample for a DC Comics editor who thought I’d be a good fit for their Batman: The Animated Series comic (it didn’t work out). The WW/Harley matchup is followed by an adventure of small-presser Jeff Wood’s rabbit-eared superspy, Snowbuni; three pages from the long-canceled indie comic Motorbike Puppies; and an adventure of the indie superheroine The Blonde Avenger.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0is a full-color introduction to the young adult novel series of the same name, hosted by Pan herself. Pan is a 16-year-old New York City Goth who’s not only a horror fangirl but someone with the rare ability to see the for-real monsters that regular humans can’t (she calls it her “monstervision”), and with the help of a 400-year-old, shape-shifting monster hunter named Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, she’s learning how to protect her family, her friends, and the world from the supernatural dangers out there—and maybe even have some fun while doing it. This 16-page comic features a seven-page story written by me, with art and color by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Carmilla, A Princess of Mars, Lorelei: Sects and the City), and includes two sample chapters from Blood Feud, the first Pan novel.
Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa #1–3. Before she became Pan’s monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin made her debut in this short-lived, 1990s Mature Readers series from Millennium Publications. A nefarious heavy metal band has arrived in New York City, and its lead singer is more than just a sex magnet for his female fans—he’s a soul-stealing incubus! Will Annie put an end to his plans for worldwide chaos, or fall prey to his supernatural charms? Written by me (of course), issue 1 is drawn by Pan and Annie co-creator Uriel Caton (JSA Annual) and inker Alan Larsen (Femforce), and colored by Dan Peters; issue 2 is penciled by Uriel, Holly Golightly (School Bites, Archie Comics), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele), inked by Larsen, and colored by Zeea Adams; and issue 3 is penciled by Holly, with four pages of inks by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales).
As a special bonus, issue 3 includes a brief look at the never-published Heartstopper/Trollords, a crossover special that would have had Annie meet Harry, Larry, and Jerry, the Three Stooges–inspired trolls created by Scott Beaderstadt and Paul Fricke for their popular comic series of the 1980s. H/T was to be written by me with pencils by Holly and Scott and inks by Bill Lavin (Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings), but unfortunately it just never got past the starting gate.
(Warning: Heartstopper is designated a “Mature Readers” comic for violent scenes and some sexual innuendo, so younger Panatics should avoid it.)
Artists Alley? Our Gallery area—think of it as an online artists’ alley—features two sections, The 13 Days of Pan-demonium and Visions of Lorelei, both containing original renderings of our two best-known characters by a host of artists from indie and mainstream comics, including such notables as Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), Teri S. Wood (Wandering Star), Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night), Frank Thorne (Red Sonja), Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella), Dave Simon (Ghost Rider), Bill Ward (Torchy), and Joseph Michael Linsner (Red Sonja)!
So even though the StarWarp Concepts crew (and possibly you, as well) isn’t in sunny San Diego, at least you can have a con-like experience in the meantime from the comforts of your home!
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