Tag Archives: eliseu gouveia

DriveThru Fiction’s 2024 Dracula Sale Is On!

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Here’s a pleasant surprise: Just in time for Memorial Day Weekend (in the U.S.) this Friday—the start of summer beach-reading—and the celebration of World Dracula Day on May 26 (the date when Bram Stoker’s seminal novel went on sale in 1897), e-book distributors DriveThru Comics and DriveThru Fiction are currently running a Dracula Sale, during which you can purchase digital books and comics involving the Lord of Vampires at special prices! It runs until May 31—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.

So why is it a “pleasant surprise”? Because included among the participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (which I didn’t know about in advance), and selected for the sale is SWC’s most popular Illustrated Classic:

Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

The blood-drenched temptress of a 19th-century vampiric “romance” by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Uncle Silas, In a Glass Darkly), Carmilla is a vampiress who desires not just blood but love from her victims, and when she enters the life of a young woman named Laura, Carmilla decides that her new friend will become her next great love—and won’t take no for an answer.

Carmilla was an influence on Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in Dracula, and she remains a popular character in fiction to this day. The novella has also influenced generations of writers, and has been adapted for the screen many times, including Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and director Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses.

The StarWarp Concepts edition features exclusive illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia (A Princess of Mars, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Lorelei: Sects and the City).

Fans of gothic literature have certainly enjoyed it:

“The way Le Fanu blends together desire and predation is spellbinding. A true Gothic story, Carmilla is great fun.”—Gothic Beauty Magazine

“Carmilla is a must-read for any true fan of vampire fiction.”—LoveVampires.com

“Like many vampire romances, Carmilla and Laura’s love is doomed and unhealthy, but glorious.”—io9

“Carmilla is an enthralling wonderland ripe with blood and death. Curl up with this little sleeper if you like your creatures of the night with just a little dash of pixie dust and wolfsbane.”—ClassicHorror.com

Again, the Dracula Sale runs through May 31, so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at DriveThru Fiction and start shopping!

It’s Will Eisner Week 2024!

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Yes, it’s time again for Will Eisner Week: an annual celebration—held every year from March 1 to March 7—run by the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation, to promote literacy, graphic novels, free speech, and the legacy of the late Will Eisner, the creator of the 1940s masked crimefighter The Spirit, and one of the founding fathers of American graphic novels.

A Contract with God, A Life Force, Dropsie Avenue, and The Dreamer are just some of the fascinating tales Eisner wrote and drew, featuring ordinary people in extraordinary (and sometimes not-so-extraordinary but more slice-of-life) situations. And even though he passed away in 2005, Eisner continues to inspire generations of writers and artists. Events are being held this week around the world, so visit the Will Eisner Week site for more information.

StarWarp Concepts, of course, has its share of graphic novels and comics, with a couple that might pique your interest:

Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings: Perfect for superhero fans, this graphic novel is about a supernatural team of superfolk-for-hire, consisting of a wizard, a sorceress, a female ninja, a high-tech-armor-wearing rock concert lighting designer, and a werewolf. Not every superhero team has Tony Stark’s billions to play with, you understand, and the Troubleshooters are just looking to earn a living while fighting the monsters that have always lurked in the shadows. Night Stalkings presents the TSI members on their first mission: protecting a multimillionaire from a trio of Middle Eastern demons out to raise a little hell! It’s written by the husband-and-wife team of Richard C. White (For a Few Gold Pieces More, Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination) and Joni M. White, illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman, and features cover art by Richard Dominguez (El Gato Negro).

The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1: Although it may not be a graphic novel, at 56 pages it’s still a pretty thick comic book, with three stories of Pan and the monsters that live in her New York City hometown. This full-color special contains: “Song of the Siren” by Steven A. Roman and artist Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0), in which Pan has to contend with her boyfriend Javier’s ex-girlfriend—who turns out to be a mythological siren; “After Hours” by writer Sholly Fisch (The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries), and comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), about a demon relaxing in a bar after a hard day of scaring people; and “Shopping Maul,” a short story by yours truly with title-page art by Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), in which Pan and her friends encounter some Elegant & Gothic Lolita vampires at a shopping mall. Cover art is provided by Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella, OmniTubers Secretos).

Both titles are available in print and digital formats, so visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information, as well as sample pages.

Happy reading!

DriveThru’s New Year, New Comics 2024 E-book Sale Is On!

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Holy unexpected promotions!

I just happened to drop by the home of DriveThru Comics, one of StarWarp Concepts’ e-book distributors, and saw they’re currently running a New Year, New Comics Sale, in which the first volumes of all publishers’ graphic novels are available at discounted prices. And among those bargains is…Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1?

Okay, Blood Feud is a young adult novel, not a graphic novel, but it is a first volume and it does feature a cover painting by comic-art legend Bob Larkin (Star Trek, Star Wars, Vampirella, Dazzler, Doc Savage) and a frontispiece illustration by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, The Legend of Calamity Jane: The Devil Herself, Stargate Universe), and I am the writer of the Pan Zwieback and Calamity Jane comics, so I guess that’s close enough!

Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, of course, is my young adult novel that’s perfect for lovers of dark urban fantasy. It introduces readers to Pandora Zwieback, 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 professional monster hunter 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. 

In Blood Feud, Pan, her parents and friends, and Annie are drawn into a conflict among warring vampire clans 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!

“Far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels. Pan is exactly the kind of teen heroine that readers should be standing up and cheering for.”—HorrorNews.net

Got your interest? Good! The New Year, New Comics Sale runs now through January 19th, so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at DriveThru Comics, and (if you haven’t done so already) get introduced to Pandora Zwieback!

Happy Free Comic Book Day 2023!

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Rejoice, comic book fans, because once again it’s time for Free Comic Book Day at brick-and-mortar and online comic shops around the world! 

Free Comic Book Day is when publishers make available free print and/or digital comics for comic fans (but not free, of course, to the retailers who ordered all those comics to hand out).

Held the first Saturday in May, this year’s event is timed to coincide with the release of Marvel Studios’ latest movie—as is the case with the super space actioner Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, the concluding adventure in the Guardians Trilogy (plus the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, on Disney+) and the Marvel Universe swansong of writer/director James Gunn, who’s now in charge of guiding the superfolk of the DC Cinematic Universe to hopefully the same level of success he achieved with their properties The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. 

(After just seeing Guardians 3, I’m really looking forward to Gunn’s DCU reboot feature Superman: Legacy, which he’s writing and directing, and the HBO Max monster-themed animated series Creature Commandos, which he also wrote.). 

And in keeping with FCBD’s fine tradition of gifting comics to fans everywhere, here are the offerings from Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, that you can download—for free!

Heroines & Heroes: A collection of comic stories and pinups all drawn by Steven A. Roman (that’s 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). 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, including sample pages.

It’s Free Comic Book Week…Kind Of!

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Free Comic Book Day, held at brick-and-mortar and online comic shops around the world, may have come and gone this Saturday, May 7, but there’s no reason we can’t celebrate it late—like, maybe all week? Well, sure, when we’re talking comics you can download anytime! 

Held the first Saturday in May every year, this one was timed to coincide with the release of Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, from director Sam Raimi, the mastermind behind The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Ash vs. the Evil Dead, Darkman, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2. I certainly enjoyed it both as a fan of superhero movies (keep your eyes peeled for all the Easter eggs) and as a horror fan—from the visuals involved to the frenzied craziness of the story, there’s no denying it’s a Sam Raimi movie! 

So in keeping with FCBD’s fine tradition of gifting comics to fans everywhere, here’s a couple of offerings from Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, that you can download—for free!

Heroines & Heroes: 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). It’s 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, fighting a vampire at a comic book convention—but is it really a vampire…? 

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.

All these comics are available for download right now, so visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for more information.

So get to downloading, and have a happy Free Comic Book Week! And check out Doctor Strange 2 if you haven’t already!

Classic Horror for the Spooky Season from StarWarp Concepts

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With the Spooky Season in full swing this month (although, really, it started in August, when the decorations started popping up in stores), are you looking for chilling tales of the supernatural to enjoy, as you anxiously wait for Halloween? Then look no further than the backlist of titles produced by Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, that are perfect for horror fans young and old!

Carmilla: 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. The SWC edition contains six original illustrations done especially for StarWarp Concepts by super-talented comic artist Eliseu Gouveia, whose work you’re familiar with if you’ve downloaded The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, or read The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1.

King Kong: SWC’s e-book-exclusive Illustrated Classics edition of the official novelization of the renowned motion picture, first published in 1932. 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, the SWC edition of King Kong features 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. What makes this version special is that it contains six exclusive, 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.

Snow White: The classic story by the Brothers Grimm. Featuring full-color illustrations first published in 1883 (and they really are beautiful drawings), this digital-exclusive titleis available for immediate download for the wickedly low price of just 99¢! 

White Fell—The Werewolf: Originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, it 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, twin brothers encounter a beautiful, mysterious woman known only as White Fell—a woman one brother believes is a murderous werewolf. Complications arise when his twin falls in love with White Fell. Can he save his brother before he falls completely under her spell?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Washington Irving’s legendary tale of the Headless Horseman has captivated readers ever since its first publication in 1820, in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., and in the 200+ years since it’s become the quintessential Halloween story, as well as the basis for countless movies, TV shows, comic books, and other pop-culture adaptations. When schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrived in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he had dreams of marrying beautiful socialite Katrina of the wealthy Van Tassel family, only to lose his head (both figuratively and literally!) when he encountered the horrific Headless Horseman one fateful night!

Carmilla is available in print and digital formats; King Kong, Snow White, White Fell: The Werewolf, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

It’s Free Comic Book Day 2021!

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That’s right, comic book fans, today is Free Comic Book Day at brick-and-mortar and online comic shops around the world. In fact, it’s the event’s 20th anniversary!

Usually held the first Saturday in May, this year’s event was bumped to August by Diamond Comics Distribution in recognition of the difficulties placed on the comic market by the global pandemic, in the hope that matters would be a little easier by this point, given the availability of vaccines (which they have, to a certain degree, Delta variant notwithstanding).

And in keeping with FCBD’s fine tradition of gifting comics to fans everywhere, here’s a list of StarWarp Concepts’ offerings that you can download for free directly from us!

Heroines & Heroes: 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, The Suicide Squad, you might get a kick out of her matching wits with the Amazon Princess. 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 Pandora Zwieback 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, Lorelei: Sects and the City, Carmilla, A Princess of Mars), and includes two sample chapters from Blood Feud, the first Pan novel.

Hearstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa#1–3: Before she became Pan’s monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin made her debut in this short-lived, 1990s Mature Readers series from Millennium Publications. A nefarious heavy metal band has arrived in New York City, and its lead singer is more than just a sex magnet for his female fans—he’s a soul-stealing incubus! Will Annie put an end to his plans for worldwide chaos, or fall prey to his supernatural charms? Written by me (of course), issue 1 is drawn by Pan and Annie co-creator Uriel Caton (JSA Annual) and inker Alan Larsen (Femforce); issue 2 is penciled by Uriel, Holly Golightly (School Bites), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele) and inked by Larsen; and issue 3 is penciled by Holly, with four pages of inks by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales). As a special bonus, issue 3 includes a brief look at the never-published Heartstopper/Trollords, a crossover special that would have had Annie meet Harry, Larry, and Jerry, the Three Stooges–inspired trolls created by Scott Beaderstadt and Paul Fricke for their popular comic series of the 1980s. H/T was to be written by me with pencils by Holly and Scott and inks by Bill Lavin (Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings), but unfortunately it just never got past the starting gate.

(Warning: Heartstopperis designated a “Mature Readers” comic for violent scenes and some sexual innuendo, so younger Panatics should avoid it.)

All these comics are available for download right now, so visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for more information.

Now get to downloading, and have a happy Free Comic Book Day!

StarWarp Concepts Celebrates Carmilla’s 145th Anniversary

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Carmilla_CoverHey, vampire fans! Did you know that 2017 is the 145th anniversary of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s gothic vampire classic, Carmilla? Well, now you do!

To celebrate that milestone, Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts—who has an Illustrated Classics edition available through its webstore—is running a series of blog posts next week in which I’ll be reviewing various adaptations (comics, films, TV) of this strange and creepy paranormal romance.

If you’re unfamiliar with what is probably Le Fanu’s most famous work, here’s the back-cover copy from the StarWarp Concepts edition:

Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the vampiric tale of Carmilla and Laura.

Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.

Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything that Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.

Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….

Carmilla—the SWC edition, featuring six original illustrations by artist Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1)—is available in print and digital formats, so visit its product page at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.

Creating the Pandora Zwieback #0 Cover, Part 2

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As you’ll recall, yesterday I was telling you the story behind the cover for what became a revitalized StarWarp Concepts’ first release in 2010: the promotional giveaway The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0, which was intended to introduce readers to Pan and her forthcoming literary debut in the novel Blood Reign. I’d scripted the seven-page story in which Pan would speak directly to readers, leading up to a sales pitch for Blood Feud that required Pan to hold up a copy of the book (the cover for which would be digitally inserted).

Pan0-rev-sketchBut when the artist I’d hired, Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia, e-mailed his pencils for the story, the sales-pitch page had been replaced with an image of Pan and her monster-hunting mentor, Annie, gleefully running through a gauntlet of monsters. A revision would be necessary—which meant it was time to break out a marker and sketch what Pan was supposed to be doing, so Zeu would have a clearer understanding of my intention with that page.

What you see here is just…tragic. There’s a reason I focus more on my writing than my drawing. 😀 But it was good enough to show Zeu what I was looking for, and you’ll find the final version of page 6 in the comic. As for what to do with the rejected page…

“Y’know what?” I wrote to Zeu. “Don’t trash those pencils—because I think we’ve got our cover art here!”

That’s right—it might not have been the page I was looking for, but it turned out to be the perfect cover image! So I told Zeu to ink the piece, and soon enough I was looking at this:

Pan0-CvrInks

Perfect! And when I gave him the go-ahead to color it, this was the result:

Pan0-finalart

Now that’s cover art! The next step was to involve the comic’s designer and letterer, Mike Rivilis, a talented book designer I used to work with back in my editorial days at ibooks, inc. and Byron Preiss Visual Publications. (For SWC, he also designed and typeset the illustrated classic Carmilla, designed the graphic novel Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings, and designed and lettered the graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City and The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1.) I explained to Mike what the comic was for, and what design elements were needed—like lettering the seven-pager and typesetting sample chapters from Blood Feud in the back of the comic—and I gave him a rough idea of how the front cover should turn out.

There was one thing missing, though: a Saga of Pandora Zwieback logo. For the Pan novels, designer Mat Postawa simply has the series title arc across the front cover, in a traditional font, and hand-draws the titles. The comic, however, would require an actual title treatment. So I turned to the one artist I knew who had decades of experience in creating comic and book titles: Bob Larkin, cover painter of the Pan novels Blood Feud and Blood Reign. I wanted an old-style horror logo, so I sketched out what I had in mind and explained to Bob that I was looking for something along the lines of the lettering styles used for articles in the classic horror magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland and the logos of Marvel horror comics of the 1970s:

Horror-Title-Lettering

Not surprisingly, he immediately understood what I was looking for—we’re both old-school horror fans (that Haunt of Horror cover painting is one of Bob’s, in case you hadn’t guessed)—and a day or two later he sent over his take, which I thought was perfect. I forwarded it to Mike, who was just wrapping up his design and lettering work on the comic’s interiors, and soon enough we had a finished cover:

Pan0-finalcvrNice, huh? And it all started with the happy accident (as the late painter Bob Ross would say—we don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents) of Zeu drawing the wrong image for the Blood Feud sales-pitch page. It’s great when things just work out, isn’t it?

By the way, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 is still available for free download—I ran out of print copies a few years back—so just click on the cover link you see in the right-hand sidebar and snag your own copy of this (now) digital comic.