Thanks for clicking the link at SMOL Fair and stopping by our Internet home this week to check things out. We’re always thrilled to meet potential new readers, and we hope we can add you to our fan base.
StarWarp Concepts specializes in tales of horror, fantasy, and dark urban fantasy, and our titles range from young adult horror (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback) and illustrated classics (J. Sheridan’s Le Fanu’s vampire romance, Carmilla; the 1932 novelization of the original King Kong) to fantasy-noir (Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase) and graphic novels (Lorelei: Sects and the City, Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings). We also publish digital and print comic books (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual#1, The Chronicles of the Sea Dragon). And we’ve got even more exciting projects in the works!
Currently, our most popular title is (oddly enough, for a horror publisher) Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination by fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil), perfect for budding authors as well as RPG fans and gamemasters interested in building their own fantasy and science fiction environments. In this how-to book, 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.
Some of our other popular titles include:
From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is a nonfiction examination of comicdom’s queen of the bad girls. Author Steven A. Roman (that’s me!) takes an extensive look at her early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of her original publisher, Warren Publishing, in 1983. In addition, you’ll find the tale of Hammer Films’ unproduced film adaptation that was announced in 1975 and meant to star Barbara Leigh and Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars fame); an in-depth guide to all her Warren stories; a checklist of all her Warren appearances; an overview of the six novelizations by pulp sci-fi author Ron Goulart that were published in the 1970s by Warner Books; and a look at the awful direct-to-cable-TV movie that was made in 1996, starring Mortal Kombat’s Talisa Soto and rock god Roger Daltrey, the lead singer of the Who.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is Steven A. Roman’s young-adult, horror/dark-urban-fantasy series of adventures about a 16-year-old Goth who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she thought she could see monsters. It’s only after she meets a shape-shifting monster hunter named 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. Pan’s adventures can be found in the novels Blood Feud and Blood Reign, and in the one-shot comic special The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1. You can also download—for free—The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, a 16-page, full-color digital comic that introduces you to Pan’s world and provides a preview chapter of Blood Feud.
Carmilla is J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century classic vampiric tale of love gone wrong. Laura is so desperate for a friend that when a young woman named Carmilla practically turns up on the doorstep of the castle owned by Laura’s father, she thinks her prayers for companionship have been answered. But as she comes to realize, Carmilla isn’t as interested in making friends as she is in spilling blood. Regarded as the one of the earliest female vampire tales—if not the first—Carmilla was an influence on author Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in his seminal novel, Dracula, and remains a popular character in fiction to this day. Our edition contains six original illustrations done especially for StarWarp Concepts by the super-talented Eliseu Gouveia.
Originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, our digital-exclusive “SWC Horror Bite” White Fell: The Werewolf was written by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman, and is regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area? He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
And Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which a soul-stealing succubus 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, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (Stargate Universe, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Tom Holland’s Fright Night, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark). 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).
Take a look around, you just might find something that appeals to your darker nature…
