With February being Women in Horror Month, it’s the perfect time for you to head over to the site Comics for Sinners, where you’ll find my overview of Skywald Publishing’s 1972 answer to Vampirella, the supernatural femme fatale Demona the witch, who appeared in a single issue of the horror-comic magazine Psycho. It’s the latest entry in my occasional column, “It Came From the Bad-Girl Archives,” where I take a look at out-of-print comics that featured kick-ass heroines who usually wore little in the form of a costume beyond thongs and cleavage-baring tops. (I did say the site was called Comics for Sinners, didn’t I?)
Written by the late Gardner Fox (Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League of America) and featuring one of the few comic-art jobs by Steve Englehart (legendary writer of Avengers, Captain America, and Green Lantern Corps)—with assistance by inker Vince Colletta (Dazzler, The Mighty Thor)—Demona was a knockoff of Vampirella who never made it past her first and only comics appearance. Go visit C4S to see what I’m talking about.
And if you’re interested in checking out my other “It Came From the Bad-Girl Archives” columns, Comics for Sinners has been gracious enough to asset up this page that collects them all in one handy location.
Speaking of heroines inspired by Vampirella, have you met Lorelei, StarWarp Concepts’ resident soul-stealing succubus? Making her comics debut in 1993, Lori is SWC’s first leading lady of horror, and currently stars in two critically acclaimed titles:
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 love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, and Ghost Rider, it’s written by yours truly, Steven A. Roman (X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy), and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Stargate Universe, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Eagle, Fright Night). It also features a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Lady Rawhide), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a one-page history of succubi illustrated by Ernie Colon (Vampirella, The Grim Ghost).
“I can honestly say that I enjoyed the hell out of this book…. The art is solid, the story is full of lots of things that make the horror genre so great, and the overall quality of the book is top notch.”—Die-Screaming
“Kudos to Roman for capturing the essence of 1970s fare like Vampirella. Filled with ghouls, chicks, and some strong artwork, this is a title that might’ve piqued Hammer Studios’ interest back in the day.”—Dread Central
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre: It’s 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, Vampirella Strikes).
- “The Old, Dark Manse” is written by me and illustrated by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, The Ex-Mutants, Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa) and “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. A special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
“This is like a cross between Elvira and House of Mystery, where you’ve got a very sexy hostess who loves the Macabre and tells you stories that are supposed to chill and thrill you…. This whole book is such a pleasant surprise, [and] something that should be sought out by everyone.”—Reading With a Flight Ring
“Any fans of the old-fashioned horror anthology comics (Eerie, Creepy, Tales From the Crypt, etc.) is gonna want to take a look at this one-shot from StarWarp Concepts…. If campy horror fun is your thing, this should be a hit for you.”—The Pullbox
Both titles are available in print and digital formats, so visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
Today is the seventh annual celebration of 
Women in Horror Month
There’s also the Illustrated Classic 
So, remember that superhero comic 
On January 11, 2017, I saluted the 
The Night Stalker received the highest ratings of any TV movie at the time, and led to its network, ABC-TV, immediately green-lighting a sequel: 
Beyond the change in location it’s practically a remake of The Night Stalker—an intentional approach as producer/director Dan Curtis explains in “Directing the Night Strangler,” a featurette on the Night Stalker/Night Strangler MGM Double Feature DVD, released in 2004. “And I said, ‘What we gotta do, Dick, is it’s gotta be, y’know, a sequel, but at the same time it’s gotta be, like, the same movie. We gotta get that same feeling.’”
Still, McGavin carries the movie through his powerful, take-no-bullshit performance as Kolchak—a performance matched only by Oakland, whose Vincenzo is the only person on the planet strong enough to match the volume of his agita-inducing reporter in the many shouting matches they have. Seeing them go at it is reason enough to watch the picture, but as an added bonus, this time we even get a talking monster. In The Night Stalker, the only thing that vampire Janos Skorzeny did was hiss and growl; here, Anderson’s Dr. Malcolm is a soft-spoken, highly educated villain—utterly insane, yes, but at least he can hold a conversation. And despite the numerous murders Malcolm has racked up, Anderson even manages to make the viewer feel some pity for him when Kolchak literally shatters his plans to go on living.
While it didn’t do quite as well in the ratings as its predecessor, The Night Strangler drew in enough viewers that the executives at ABC-TV first considered a third film—The Night Killers, by Matheson and William F. Nolan, about politicians being replaced with android duplicates by alien invaders—but then decided to commit to a TV series instead: Kolchak: The Night Stalker. A good thing, too, because McGavin, who’d become extremely protective of how Kolchak was handled, hated the Killers script—his 
Hey, ape fans! In case you didn’t know it, last Wednesday comics publisher BOOM! Studios released 
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?
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!
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