Richard C. White is the bestselling author of the licensed fantasy novel Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, and a popular writer of fantasy, science fiction, and crime tales, including Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers: Echoes of Coventry and The Dark Leopard: Mouse Trap. But if you’ve been paying attention to his works, you’ll notice Rich has been building quite the backlist here at StarWarp Concepts, available for order from the SWC webstore. Let’s review, shall we?
Harbinger of Darkness is Rich’s latest SWC release. In this original novel, 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!
For a Few Gold Pieces More is a collection of ten critically acclaimed short stories that star 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), with a healthy dose of monsters, magic, and swordplay mixed in.
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is a reference book for writers and role-playing-game enthusiasts. In it, Rich 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.
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, but they get the job done. (However, they have been compared to the JL’s supernatural offshoot, Justice League Dark and Hellboy’s Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, although TSI predates both organizations.) The graphic novel is written by Rich and his wife, Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, and features cover art by Richard Dominguez (El Gato Negro).
The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon Special is a digital pirate-fantasy comic created and written by Rich, drawn by Bill Bryan (artist of Caliber Press’ Dark Oz and DC Comics’ House of Mystery), and features cover art and color by Eliseu Gouveia (SWC’s The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual). It’s 48 pages of high-seas adventure perfect for fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, as well as classics like The Crimson Pirate, Against All Flags, Captain Blood, and The Sea Hawk—and it’s available for download for just 99¢!
And coming up this year is Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase, a dark urban fantasy collection of novellas by Rich that star a private eye whose clientele and cases tend to have a supernatural aspect to them. I’ll provide you with more details as they become available.
Harbinger of Darkness, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Terra Incognito, and Troubleshooters Incorporated are available in print and digital formats. Chronicles of the Sea Dragon is a digital exclusive. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
Writers’ guides
Dark urban fantasy
Comic book and graphic novels
Classic literature
It might be hard to believe, but it was in 1993, twenty-five years ago, that StarWarp Concepts officially launched as an independent publisher in the State of New York, with the release of Lorelei, Vol. 1 #0—our first full-size comic book. It was a big step for me as a small presser who’d been publishing digest-sized, photocopied comics since 1989—including Lori’s early adventures, written and drawn by me, along with the original version of Richard C. White’s Troubleshooters, Incorporated—but I considered it well worth the effort. Written by me with art by fellow small presser David C. Matthews (creator of the adventurous bodybuilder Satin Steele) and a spectacular cover by Louis Small Jr.—who at that time had just exploded on the scene as the penciller of Harris Comics’ first Vampirella series—Lorelei #0 didn’t exactly take the world by storm (although 2,500 copies sold was pretty darn good for a black-and-white indie comic in the early 1990s), but it did establish Lori as a character who’s still remembered to this day by comic fans and retailers, and StarWarp Concepts as an indie house willing to take chances by publishing quality material. (And the very next issue, Lorelei #1, sold 5,000 copies, so clearly we were doing something right!)
That focus on quality has continued to this day, as we’ve expanded beyond comic books to include graphic novels, dark fantasy and epic fantasy novels, illustrated classics, artist sketchbooks, writers’ guides, and digital-exclusive titles. Lorelei is still with us—as the star of the graphic novel Sects and the City and the hostess of the horror anthology comic House Macabre—and the superheroes-for-hire of Troubleshooters, Incorporated can now be found in our graphic novel section, but now they’ve been joined by the likes of teenaged Goth and part-time monster hunter Pandora Zwieback (star of books and comics), Perrin the swordswoman (star of the fantasy adventure Harbinger of Darkness), and a growing list of classic characters as SWC continues to expand its list of titles.
Can you believe it? It was 200 years ago this very day in 1818 that a small-press publishing company in London, Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, unleashed a literary monsterpiece upon the world: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus!
It’s the year-end wrap-up! As regular visitors to this blog are aware, when I’m not running things here at ’Warp Central I’m reviewing comic books and graphic novels for the news site Comics for Sinners, giving my opinion on some of the latest releases for bad-girl fans and general readers alike. Here are the titles I’ve reviewed in 2017:
Looking for a last-minute gift that would make a great addition to the small holiday haul you’re placing in a loved one’s Christmas stocking? Then allow me to suggest a full-color comic book starring our resident monster hunter!
Have a comic-art fan in your life looking for something awesome? Well, look no further than StarWarp Concepts for a gift sure to appeal to them!
Visit the Bob Larkin Sketchbook product page for all the ordering information, as well as sample pages.
Have a comic book fan in your life looking for something other than traditional superhero antics? Well, look no further than StarWarp Concepts for a gift sure to appeal to them!
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