Beast wishes for fun and adventure (and good candy, not the cheap stuff!) to one and all!
(Art by Pete Hawley)
Tag Archives: halloween
Beast Wishes On This Special Day
It’s Halloween in Queens!
That’s right, Halloween is coming to Pan’s hometown borough of Queens, NY! And in my wanderings around the area, here’s a picture I took of a window at an auto parts store in the Western Queens neighborhood of Astoria. Truly, it’s the season of the witch!
Halloween Horrors: Holy Infinity War!
Creepily timed for Halloween, may I present the graves of…Antman and the Wasp!
Yes, the graves are real, but they have nothing to do with the Marvel superheroes, or the outcome of the “Snapocalypse” carried out by the “mad titan” Thanos in the box-office megahit Avengers: Infinity War. I took the Antman photo in 2013 at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, NY, and the Wasp photo in 2016 at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY.
Pretty wild, huh? And any similarities to (spoilers!) the ending of Ant-Man and the Wasp are purely coincidental…
DriveThru’s 2018 Halloween Sale Is Underway!
With the Spooky Season officially in high gear, e-book distributor DriveThru Comics has launched its annual Halloween sale, during which you can purchase thousands of horror-themed digital books and comics at special prices! It runs from now to November 1—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion. Included among the many participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (of course), which means you can get the following titles at lower prices:
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 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. It’s a character-driven action-fest that leads immediately into the second novel:
Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. But whose side is going to emerge the victor remains to be seen…
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1 is a spinoff from the novel series. In this 56-page, full-color comic special, the teenaged Goth adventuress battles Gothic Lolita vampires in a shopping mall and a jealous, man-stealing siren in the middle of New York’s Central Park. It features stories by me and Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo Team-Up, Mighty Mouse), art by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0), comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), and Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), and cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella).
Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or Justice League of America—they’re more like superpowered Ghostbusters—but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.
And Snow White is the classic story by the Brothers Grimm that’s been adapted numerous times. The SWC edition features incredibly lush full-color illustrations first published in 1883.
Again, the Halloween sale runs through November 1 (the Day of the Dead!), so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at DriveThru Comics and start shopping!
Spooktacular Reads from StarWarp Concepts for Halloween
Now that October has arrived and the Spooky Season is in full swing, are you looking for chilling tales of the supernatural to enjoy, as you anxiously wait for Halloween? Then look no further than StarWarp Concepts’ backlist of titles that are perfect for horror fans young and old!
Illustrated Classics
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. Just like with A Princess of Mars, 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 purchased 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, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. 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¢!
SWC Horror Bites
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. It’s also the launch title of our SWC Horror Bites line of chapbooks. 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?
Young Adult Novels
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed novel is the beginning of Pan’s story, explaining how she, 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. It’s a character-driven action-fest that leads immediately into the second novel:
Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2: Pan and Annie face even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. But whose side is going to emerge the victor remains to be seen…
Carmilla, White Fell, Blood Feud, and Blood Reign are available in print and digital formats; King Kong and Snow White are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information.
Happy Halloween 2017!
Queens’oween pumpkin art, found on a porch in Maspeth, NY. Photo © 2017 Steven A. Roman.
StarWarp Concepts Comic Book Thrills and Chills for the Spooky Season
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!
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0: A free, downloadable comic that serves as an introduction to the adventures of Pandora Zwieback and her monster-hunting mentor, Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, with an 8-page story written by me and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia, and a preview of Pan’s first novel, Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1. Pan is 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 Annie 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.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1: A spinoff from the novel series, this 56-page, full-color comic special finds the teenaged Goth adventuress battling vampires and a jealous, man-stealing siren. It features stories by me and Sholly Fisch (Scooby-Doo Team-Up), art by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0), comic-art legend Ernie Colon (Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld), and Elizabeth Watasin (Charm School), and cover art by award-winning artist Henar Torinos (Mala Estrella).
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s debut as the hostess of a horror anthology comic. Behind a cover by bad-girl artist supreme Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella/Lady Death), you’ll find stories by me and Dwight Jon Zimmerman (Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man). Art is provided by Uriel Caton & “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), Lou Manna (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics), and Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo.
Troubleshooters, Incorporated: Night Stalkings is a general readers’ graphic novel about a group of supernatural-superheroes-for-hire taking on their first case. The team consists of a wizard, a female ninja, a sorceress, a werewolf, and a rock ’n’ roll lighting designer wearing high-tech armor. Sure, they might not be on a power level with the Avengers or Justice League of America—they’re more like superpowered Ghostbusters—but they get the job done. The graphic novel is written by the husband-and-white team of Richard C. White (Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination, For a Few Gold Pieces More: Tales of the Rogue With No Name) and Joni M. White, and illustrated by Reggie Golden and Randy Zimmerman.
The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual, Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, and Troubleshooters Incorporated are available in print and digital formats. Pandora Zwieback #0 is a digital exclusive. Visit their respective product pages at StarWarp Concepts for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
You Can’t Celebrate Halloween Without Some…Tales to Sorta Tremble By!
Hey, horror fans! On October 13, Pan’s publisher, StarWarp Concepts, be releasing Tales to Sorta Tremble By, the second title in its new SWC Horror Bites series of dark-fantasy chapbooks. It’s a collection of little-known mini terror tales that first appeared during comics’ Golden Age. To quote the back-cover copy:
The Flower of Evil. Jardini’s Jaw. The Living Brain. The Walking Dead.
These, and many others, are the tales you’ve long forgotten—or never even heard of before. They were the text stories, sometimes written anonymously or pseudonymously, that 1950s comic book publishers inserted in each issue of their macabre series to meet postal mailing requirements in order to be considered magazines.
This collection spotlights a baker’s dozen of those time-lost terror shorts, so gather round the jack-o’-lantern and prepare to be a little bit shocked and a tiny bit horrified by these…TALES TO SORTA TREMBLE BY!
Includes: The Walking Dead • Jardini’s Jaw • The Lonely Place • Call for Claws • Land of the Dead • Call of the Werewolf • The Flower of Evil • The Lady in Black • The Living Brain • The Shadow in the Moonlight • Just What the Doctor Ordered • Death and the Maiden • The End of the Line
Just as with SWC’s debut Horror Bite, Clemence Annie Housman’s White Fell—The Werewolf, Tales to Sorta Tremble By will only be available through the StarWarp Concepts webstore, so be sure to order a copy when October 13 rolls around!
Got Plans This October? I Sure Do…
Believe it! In a major undertaking for this blog, I’ll be writing thirty-one straight days of posts about horror movies, horror comics, and other horror stuff for you to enjoy as we wait for the arrival of Pan’s favorite holiday (mine, too)—as well as the publication of Blood & Iron: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 3, which will occur right in time for Halloween!
The annual Countdown to Halloween is a blogathon event started in 2009 by comic writer John Rozum and blogger Shawn Robare, and every year the list of participating sites gets longer as more folks join in—and this year, Pan’s online home is getting involved!
The fun starts October 1st. Be sue to mark it on your calendar!