With the coronavirus on everyone’s minds these days, “social distancing” the go-to option in order to potentially avoid contracting the virus, and comic and horror conventions shutting down right and left as a means of lowering the risk of infection, the comics industry has started an outreach program of sorts to fans who find themselves staying home and self-isolating—specifically, by offering free PDF downloads of certain titles.
Well, if you’re sheltering in place and in need of some comics to help you pass the time, then allow me to recommend a couple of titles that Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, offer for your reading pleasure:
Heroines & Heroes is a collection of comic stories and pinups all drawn by 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). If you enjoyed Harley’s recent animated series or her latest movie, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), you might get a kick out of her matching wits with the Amazon Princess (whose own movie, Wonder Woman 1984, comes out later this year). 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 #0: 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), and includes two sample chapters from Blood Feud, the first Pan novel.
Both comics are available for download right now, so visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for more information.
Something else for our fellow shut-ins to read while we’re avoiding one another these days. Back in 2015, I did an interview with IndyFest Magazine to promote StarWarp Concepts:
“Back when I was a teenager dreaming of becoming a professional comic writer, I’d never even heard of self-publishing, and when I finally did, my first thought was, Why would I want to do that? I’m gonna write Spider-Man someday! (laughs) Unfortunately, that never worked out, but I still had that desire to do something in comics. And then, around 1988, I was visiting a comic shop and came across a magazine called Small Press Comics Explosion (published by Tim Corrigan), and that’s when I found out about all these people who made their own comics and, after I ordered some, I thought, Hey, why not me, too?”
You can read the rest of that interview for free over at the mag’s site. Best of all, you can see Eliseu Gouveia’s incredible Pandora Zwieback/Lorelei crossover cover art without all the text crowding it!
Stay safe, and stay well!
Like the header says, today is annual International Read Comics in Public Day. Started in 2010 by Brian Heater and Sarah Morean, it’s an appreciation of comic books and graphic novels, demonstrated by folks not afraid to celebrate their reading choices by taking them out in public. And if you’re thinking that the friendly fiends at StarWarp Concepts musthave some illustrated fiction that would be perfect for this occasion—you’re absolutely right!
Heroines and Heroes
On August 8, comic-art legend Ernie Colón passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. I had the utmost respect for Ernie—whom I always addressed as “Maestro” when we started phone conversations—and experienced the greatest pleasure in working with him over the years. I mention it here because even if you’re unfamiliar with Ernie’s work, you’ve seen it in Pan’s world: he drew the Sholly Fisch–scripted story “After Hours” in The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1.
Hey, horror fans! Looking for a 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!
Looking for illustrated tales of the supernatural to enjoy as you anxiously await the arrival of Halloween? Then look no further than StarWarp Concepts’ backlist of comic books and graphic novels that are perfect for horror fans young and old!
Over at the StarWarp Concepts blog, you’ll find the latest installment of 
King Kong (the SWC Illustrated Classic) is an e-book-only release that reintroduces monster fans to the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. The SWC version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose pulp-influenced style has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Avenger, Flare, and Dan Turner: Hollywood Detective.
Hey, vampire fans! To celebrate this year’s 145th anniversary of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic vampire classic, Carmilla, Pan’s publisher, over at the StarWarp Concepts blog I’ve started a series of blog posts in which I’m reviewing various adaptations (comics, films, TV) of this strange and creepy paranormal romance. We’re starting with a comic version that ran in Creepy #19, released in 1968 by Warren Publications, the original home of Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and Famous Monsters of Filmland. Head over to