Happy Halloween to all you monsters, young and old! This week I’d been celebrating Queens’oween, a Halloween-themed holiday I made up that put the spotlight on homes around Queens, NY (home to both Pandora Zwieback and Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts) that are celebrating All Hallows’ Eve in awesomely horrific style. But now this event has reached its end (for this year), so to mark the occasion I decided to present a classic one-page horror comic story for your reading enjoyment—one set (of course) in Queens!

Set in the 1890s, “Phantom of Flushing” first appeared in Adventures into Darkness #9, published by Standard Comics in April 1953; since most comics at the time didn’t include creator credits, and Standard Comics went out of business a long time ago, this story’s writer and artist are unknown. Jokes about the name aside, Flushing is one of Queens’s oldest neighborhoods, first settled in 1645 by the Dutch (back when New York was known as New Amsterdam) before falling under British control in the 1660s. Today it’s home to an ever-growing population that includes a Chinatown now even larger than the original, in Lower Manhattan. Mini history lessons aside, sit back and get ready to meet…the Phantom of Flushing (click to enlarge)!

Speaking of comics that would make for great Halloween reading, does StarWarp Concepts have one that’s perfect for Panatics!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a 56-page, full-color comic special—with cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella)—in which the teenaged Goth adventuress battles vampires and a jealous, man-stealing siren. It features three original stories of what I’ve termed the “Paniverse”—tales that take place within the fictional universe of The Saga of Pandora Zwieback.

• “Song of the Siren,” written by me and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0) involves Pan and her boyfriend, Javi, attending one of his family’s picnics in Central Park, and running into an ex-girlfriend of Javi’s. An awkward situation, to be sure, made even worse by the realization that with her monstervision, Pan can see the girl is really a siren: a creature from Greek mythology that can hypnotize men with its voice!

• “After Hours” is by writer Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo Team-Up) and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), and involves a working-class demon dropping by his favorite bar.

• “Shopping Maul” is a short story written by me, with title-page art by Elizabeth Watasin (writer/artist of Charm School). Pan, Javi, and their friends stop by a Queens mall to do a bit of window-shopping—only to find themselves caught in the middle of a fight between Gothic Lolita vampires and Pan’s monster-hunting mentor, Annie!

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information, as well as sample pages and chapters.

Have a Spooktacular Halloween!