You remember Satana, don’t you? No, not the guitar-playing rock legend—that would be Carlos Santana of “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” fame. I’m talking about Satana, the Devil’s Daughter, the red-haired succubus who made her debut in the black-and-white magazine Vampire Tales #3, published by Marvel Comics in 1973.
Created by Roy Thomas and John Romita Sr., Satana was, basically, Marvel’s attempt to create a knockoff of Warren Publishing’s popular outer-space femme fatale, Vampirella. She wore a skintight, cleavage-revealing costume (although Satana’s leaned closer to a superhero outfit than Vampi’s one-piece swimsuit), dealt with supernatural threats, was drawn by her own share of Spanish artists (including Vampirella’s Esteban Maroto), and had most of her adventures in black-and-white horror magazines. During that time, readers learned that Satana wasn’t just Daddy Satan’s Little Girl, she also had a brother—none other than shirtless exorcist Damien Hellstrom, better known as the Son of Satan! But while Damien fought to save souls in his role as a pseudo-superhero, Satana was only interested in eating them in her role as the ultimate temptress.
However, where Marvel missed the boat was in not promoting Satana to series star and giving her her own magazine series—in fact, she made only three feature-cover appearances during her short 1970s run: The Haunt of Horror #5 (Dick Giordano art for a Chris Claremont story); Marvel Premiere #27 (Gil Kane art for another Claremont tale—but this one was a full-color comic); and Marvel Preview #7 (a Bob Larkin painting for, yes, another Claremont story, although that issue has become more well-known for being the first appearance of Guardians of the Galaxy member Rocket Raccoon). Mostly, though, Satana occupied Vampire Tales’ and Haunt of Horror’s back pages. Not a smart move—if you’re gonna go head-to-head with the queen of the bad girls, you can’t do it from backup-story land.
Her situation turned even more bleak when Claremont went and killed her off in a two-part Marvel Team-Up get-together with Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. That was the end of Satana Hellstrom…until she was pulled from limbo in the 1990s to pop up in the occasional superhero comic in the years since—but still only as a supporting character, never the headliner.
(In retrospect, she could have had it worse—she could have suffered the destined-for-obscurity fate of Marvel’s other Vampi wannabe: Lilith, Daughter of Dracula. Who? you ask. Exactly.)
So why am I talking about Satana at the SWC blog, of all places? Well, because you might have heard of a character we publish who was inspired by both Satana and Vampirella: the soul-stealing succubus called Lorelei! Debuting in the 1989 small-press comic Lorelei One-Shot Special, Lori became such a popular indie character in the years that followed that she still remains the project I’m most known for—even more so than the three X-Men novels I wrote in the early 2000s!
Lorelei currently stars in two critically acclaimed titles (no backup status for our girl!):
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lori battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a Lovecraftian love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, and, of course, Satana, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night). It also features a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Satana), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a one-page history of succubi drawn by Ernie Colon (Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, Vlad the Impaler).
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, Supergirl, Batman 80-Page Giant). “The Old, Dark Manse” is written by me, penciled by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, The Ex-Mutants, 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). 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). A special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
Lorelei: Sects and the City and Lorelei Presents: House Macabre are available in print and digital formats. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
So, happy anniversary, Satana, and thanks for the inspiration!
Just in time for yesterday’s release of Halloween, the highly anticipated (and similarly named) sequel to the John Carpenter horror classic from 1978, we’ve dipped into the Bob Larkin Archives for this haunting image: an ad Bob painted for TV Guide in 1981, for the NBC broadcast premiere of the original film. Bob still has the painting in his collection and pointed out that, for the print ad, the knife he’d put in Michael Myer’s hand was edited out by the magazine staff. It’s still a creepy image anyway!
But it’s not just his painting skills that are impressive—Bob’s also one hell of a pencil artist, as you’ll see if you order a copy of SWC’s 
With the Spooky Season officially in high gear, e-book distributor DriveThru Comics has launched its annual Halloween sale, during which you can purchase thousands of horror-themed digital books and comics at special prices! It runs from now to November 1—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion. Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can get the following titles at lower prices:
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is my young adult novel that’s perfect for lovers of dark urban fantasy.It introduces readers to Pandora Zwieback, 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 professional monster hunter Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin 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. In Blood Feud, 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 goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father. It’s a character-driven action-fest that 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! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. But whose side is going to emerge the victor remains to be seen…
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a spinoff from the novel series. In this 56-page, full-color comic special, the teenaged Goth adventuress battles Gothic Lolita vampires in a shopping mall and a jealous, man-stealing siren in the middle of New York’s Central Park. It features stories by me and Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo Team-Up, Mighty Mouse), art by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0), comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), and Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), and cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella).
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lorelei Munro—a fiery-haired, soul-stealing succubus whose supernatural appetites are firmly set on devouring the life-forces of bad guys—battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Ghost Rider, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Stargate Universe, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), andNeil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night). It also features a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Lady Rawhide), a history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon, and a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night).
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, Supergirl, Batman 80-Page Giant). “The Old, Dark Manse” is written by me, penciled by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, The Ex-Mutants, 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). 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). A special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or Justice League of America—they’re more like superpowered Ghostbusters—but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.
And Snow White is the classic story by the Brothers Grimm that’s been adapted numerous times. Our edition features incredibly lush full-color illustrations first published in 1883.
Face front, true believer! The third issue of The Formidables—the superhero comic that I’m involved with as editor—has reached comic shops!
If you’re a fan of comic books, or movies, or pulp fiction heroes, Bob Larkin is a painter whose work you recognize immediately; he’s provided covers and movie posters for just about every publishing house and film studio for more than four decades. Doc Savage, Dazzler, Star Wars, Star Trek, The Savage Sword of Conan the Barbarian, Piranha, and Night of the Creeps are just some of the painted images you’re already familiar with, even if you didn’t know they were Larkin’s work. He’s been an inspiration to artists like Joe Jusko and Alex Ross. If you’re a Panatic, then you know him as the cover artist of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback novels Blood Feud and Blood Reign.
Carmilla
White Fell—The Werewolf
This weekend, comic and genre fans from far and wide will be gathering at Baltimore Comic Con, being held at the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, on September 28–30. And among the many creators set up in artists’ alley will be author Richard C. White—who’ll be there to promote his SWC releases, including bestseller Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination—and comic artist Steve Geiger, of Lorelei: Sects and the City fame!
Rich, as SWC fans should know by now is not only the author of Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Echoes of Coventry and the bestselling licensed novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, but he’s also written a bunch of SWC titles: the fantasy novel Harbinger of Darkness; the fantasy story collection For a Few Gold Pieces More; the writer’s aid Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination; the supernatural-superhero graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings; and the fantasy-adventure digital comic The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special. You’ll find Rich at 
As for Steve, comic fans probably remember his work in such mainstream titles as Web of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Power Man and Iron Fist, and Sectaurs, but he’s also one of the artists I worked with on the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City. Steve’s currently working on growing his Evilgeiger Empire, “an entertainment development company devoted to the creation, implementation, and production of original content and creator-owned concepts and characters,” according to his press material. Sounds awesome, and given how super-talented he is as an artist, his projects are certain to be some of the best-looking comics you’ve ever seen. You’ll find Steve at 
Got a favorite book? Well, odds are good there’s someone out there in the United States who’d liked to see it censored. And that’s where Banned Books Week comes in—an annual celebration of literacy in which the spotlight is shone on the problem of censorship in U.S. libraries and bookstores. To quote the Banned Books Week website:
Avast, ye curs, whether you’re 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 to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day—and StarWarp Concepts has a pirate-fantasy comic for you to enjoy!
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