Last weekend, I attended the twenty-first annual Big Apple Con, held at the Hotel Pennsylvania’s Penn Plaza Pavilion, in the heart of Manhattan. So how’d it go at this one-day love affair for all things comics? Well, if you head over to the SWC blog right now, you can check out my Big Apple Con 2016 report and read all about it!
Thanks for stopping by the StarWarp Concepts table today, and for your interest in my Goth adventuress, Pandora Zwieback. If you’re here because you spoke with me, then click on the cover you see to the right and download the Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 digital comic that I showed you. Not only is it an introduction to Pan and her world, hosted by Pan herself, but it contains two sample chapters from her first novel, Blood Feud. Give it a read.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback is the young adult, dark-urban-fantasy novel series that I write. It’s the story of a 16-year-old Goth girl who’s spent the last decade being treated for mental health problems because she can see monsters. It’s only after she meets a shape-shifting monster hunter named Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, in the first critically acclaimed novel, Blood Feud, 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. But before Pan can learn more about what she can do, she and her parents are drawn into a conflict between warring vampire clans that are searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father.
“Blood Feud is far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels released in the last few years. Pan is exactly the kind of teen heroine that readers should be standing up and cheering for.”—Melissa Voelker, HorrorNews.net
“One of those fabulous books that manages to straddle the young adult/adult fiction divide, catering equally for teens and more, ahem, ‘mature’ readers alike with a light touch that makes it a joy to read.”—Kell Smurthwaite, BCF Book Reviews
Pan’s debut adventure continues in the second novel, Blood Reign, in which she and Annie face challenges from not just vampires but legions of monsters led by a fallen angel—who happens to be one of Annie’s ex-lovers! Blood Feud ended on such a shocking cliffhanger that Blood Reign picks up right where the previous novel left off and hits the ground running, in a story filled with danger, high-speed car chases, vampire hit squads, and a generous helping of romance—all while Pan tries to make sense of her increasingly weird life. Pan fans (I call them “Panatics”) can’t seem to get enough of StarWarp Concepts’ resident Goth girl, so feel free to join their growing ranks—we love adding new members to Zwieback Nation.
“If Blood Feud, the first volume, took some deliberate pacing steps to build Pandora’s character, Blood Reign eschews that as it thunders along at breakneck speed, barely pausing for breath at any given time (and, I must say, the volume was devoured at speed as well)… I thoroughly enjoyed this volume.”—Andrew Boylan, Taliesin Meets the Vampires
“If you thought the first book, Blood Feud, was high powered, you’ll love this book! To paraphrase movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn’s quote: Blood Reign starts with an earthquake and builds to a climax…. This was one fun read!”—Dwight Jon Zimmerman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Lincoln’s Last Days
Along with Blood Feud and Blood Reign, on sale right now is The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, which features two brand-new adventures (written by me) of Pan and her friends that are separate from the novels: a full-color comic story drawn by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0), in which Pan and her boyfriend, Javier, run into one of his ex-girlfriends…whom Pan can see is really a mythological siren that can enrapture men with her voice; and a short story that pits Pan, Annie, and Javier against a trio of Elegant Gothic Lolita vampires—in a shopping mall! An additional backup tale, “After Hours,” is provided by DC Comics writer Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo! Team-Up, Action Comics, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and drawn by comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld).
Give the site a look-over—we’ve got plenty of free stuff you can download, and a gallery called “The 13 Days of Pan-demonium”: 13 unique drawings of Pan and Annie by a host of talented artists. And when you’re done, don’t forget to Like Pan’s Facebook page, so you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news.
A special shout-out to teen readers and Pandora Zwieback fans who are budding authors, but who may think their work isn’t all that good and worth continuing: Check out “Again, He Who Stalks”—a science-fiction story I wrote for my high school’s literary magazine when I was 16. Take a look at that and tell me you can’t do better! 😀
And speaking of short stories, there’s “Pandora Zwieback and the Bloggy Thing,” in which Pan is asked by a horror site to write a guest post for their blog, to promote her book series. I originally wrote it as a real-life guest post for a site called Writing Belle, and Panatics enjoyed the meta aspect of it.
And please keep in mind that Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, is not just a YA fiction house. It also publishes illustrated classics (including J. Sheridan’s Le Fanu’s vampire romance Carmilla and Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars); graphic novels for superhero fans and adult horror aficionados; digital and print comic books; artist sketchbooks; and writing guides. Give them a visit and check out all they have to offer.
It’s been awhile since I’ve exhibited at a comic-book convention—our last appearance was at 2014’s Eternal Con, out on Long Island—but I figured if I was going to make one show this year, why not make it the first New York fan gathering of 2016, the Big Apple Con?
Due to the terrible winter weather last March, I missed out on the con’s twentieth celebration, but this Saturday, March 5, StarWarp Concepts (and therefore yours truly) has every intention of being at this year’s show—weather permitting! Run by noted art dealer Michael Carbonaro, this one-day gathering of geek culture has become quite the event to attend during its two decades, its aisles filled with comic book back issues, comic creators, and media guests.
You’ll find me in artists’ alley, promoting StarWarp Concepts in general and Pan’s adventures in particular. Where will I be, precisely? Well, that’s a good question, since they don’t hand out table assignments until you get there. I guess we’ll all find out on Saturday…
The Big Apple Con is being held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, located at 401 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, directly across from Madison Square Garden and Pennsylvania Station. Show hours are 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. For more information, including a list of the comic creators and television actors scheduled to appear, head over to the Big Apple Con website.
Hope to see you at the show!
The twentieth anniversary edition of the Big Apple Con is this Saturday, March 7, and StarWarp Concepts will be there! Run by noted art dealer Michael Carbonaro, this one-day gathering of geek culture has become quite the event to attend during its two decades, its aisles filled with comic book back issues, comic creators, and media guests. You’ll find me in artists’ alley, promoting StarWarp Concepts. Where, precisely? Well, that’s a good question. I guess we’ll both find out when we get there…
The Big Apple Con is being held at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, located at 401 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, directly across from Madison Square Garden and Pennsylvania Station. Show-floor hours are 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. For more information, head over to the Big Apple Con website.
Hope to see you there!
It’s a late addition to the SWC convention calendar, but with noted comic-art dealer Michael Carbonaro celebrating the twentieth anniversary of his annual Big Apple Con this year, how can StarWarp Concepts not be there to join in the festivities? This one-day Manhattan show always gets a sizable turnout of fans and professional comic creators, and so far they’ve announced that legendary talents James O’Barr (The Crow), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk, Iron Man), Rich Buckler (Fantastic Four, Deathlok), Ramona Fradon (Super-Friends), and Larry Hama (G.I. Joe) will be among the folks you’ll find in artists alley.
Big Apple Con takes place at the Penn Plaza Pavilion (401 7th Avenue) in Manhattan on Saturday, March 7, 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, visit the Big Apple Con website. Unfortunately, I probably won’t know the location of the SWC table until I get there—right now, all I know is that it’ll be in artists alley—but I’ll be sure to give you the lowdown if that situation changes prior to the show.
Hope to see you there!