New: Unauthorized Biography Of VAMPIRELLA

From the Stars…a Vampiress Examines the History of Vampirella

FROM THE OFFICIAL B.A.D. PRESS  RELEASE ~24 Feb 2020 In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon; over 300,000 music lovers flooded into a farm outside Woodstock, NY for the ultimate concert; the Beatles recorded their final album. And crashing to Earth aboard a damaged spacecraft was a refugee from the distant planet Drakulon, whose inhabitants had drunk from rivers of blood―until they ultimately ran dry. A lone survivor of a dead planet who discovered that the sustenance she needed in order to live flowed not in rivers but in the veins of the humans of this strange new world. A huntress named Vampirella! Created in 1969 by comics publisher James Warren and writer/editor Forrest J Ackerman, Vampirella is the femme fatale from outer space known for fighting monsters while wearing a one-piece swimsuit and a pair of go-go boots, and who celebrated her 50th anniversary last year with the launch of a new series by her current rights owner, Dynamite Entertainment. And it’s the fascinating history of this character that’s explored in the nonfiction book FROM THE STARS…A VAMPIRESS: AN UNAUTHORIZED GUIDE TO VAMPIRELLA’S CLASSIC HORROR ADVENTURES (ISBN: 978-0-9982361-4-8), now on sale from independent publishing house StarWarp Concepts. Written by Steven A. Roman, bestselling author of the novels X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy and Final Destination: Dead Man’s Hand, From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is an extensive look at Vampi’s early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983: The Vampire Who Fell to Earth: It’s the story of the life of Vampirella at Warren Publishing: her 1969 development by cocreators James Warren and Forrest J Ackerman, with the assistance of artists Frank Frazetta and Trina Robbins; the adventures she went on via the writing and artistic talents of such visionaries as Archie Goodwin, Bill DuBay, Jose Gonzalez, Enrich, Gonzalo Mayo, and many others; and the cancellation of her series in 1982 when the company collapsed. It also looks at the work of four Vampi writers who were just as talented but not as well known: Mike Butterworth, who wrote under the pseudonym Flaxman Loew; T. Casey Brennan; Rich Margopoulos; and Gerry Boudreau. The Vampirella Episode Guide: The largest section of the book, it examines every story starring Vampirella during the Warren Era: over 100 entries, some with little known behind-the-scenes details. Plus stories behind some of Vampi’s unpublished adventures! Vampi Goes to Hollywood: In 1975, Hammer Films announced the development of a Vampirella movie starring model/actress Barbara Leigh and the legendary Peter Cushing. The project crashed in spectacular fashion, but the details have always been murky. Roman attempts to clear up the confusion surrounding it, detailing the production from its launch to its unfortunate ending. And then he takes a critical look at the Vampirella movie that was made in 1996, starring Talisa Soto and rock god Roger Daltrey of the Who—and probably shouldn’t have been! The Literary Vampiress: From 1975 to 1976, Warner Books published a series of Vampirella novelizations by science fiction and pulp author Ron Goulart. Roman takes a look at each novel, and explains why they’re worth tracking down…if you can find copies! The Vampirella Warren Era Checklist: A list of every Warren Vampi story, plus every reprint volume from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment, along with little-known trivia! From the Stars also features: a foreword by Sean Fernald, the Official Vampirella Historian; a peek at Peter Cushing’s personal copy of the 1976 Vampirella screenplay; a frontispiece by legendary artist Bob Larkin, who painted covers for Warren’s Vampirella, The Rook, Eerie, and Famous Monsters of Filmland; and rare photos from the collection of Forrest J Ackerman. From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures is available for order from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, brick-and-mortar bookstores, and from the StarWarp Concepts website. The PDF e-book edition is available for download from DriveThru Fiction and from the StarWarp Concepts webstore. This book is unofficial and unauthorized. It is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by Dynamite Entertainment or any of its licensees. Vampirella is a trademark of Dynamite Entertainment. For more information, please visit http://www.StarwarpConcepts.com About the Author: Steven A. Roman is the bestselling author of the novels X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogyand Final Destination: Dead Man’s Hand, the critically acclaimed author of the Saga of Pandora Zwieback novels, and the writer of the graphic novels Sunn and Lorelei: Sects and the City. His short fiction has appeared in such anthologies as Best New Zombie Tales 2, Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Doctor Who: Short Trips: Farewells, and Urban Temples of Cthulhu.  About the Book: From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures by Steven A. Roman  Published by StarWarp Concepts  308 pages, trade paperback (6” x 9”) U.S. $19.99 (print edition) • $9.99 (digital; PDF) ISBN: 978-0-9982361-4-8 (trade paperback) ISBN: 978-0-9982361-5-5 (e-book)

BAD IDEA Debuts BAD VIDEO

VIDEO: Watch BAD IDEA's ComicsPRO 2020 Salute – A Colossus of Celebrity Star-Power Mega-Wattage Oh $&#!, It's RoboCop In their continuing assault on your faculties and better judgment, BAD IDEA – the unruly and experimental new comic book publisher debuting in select comic shops this May – is proud to officially reveal the company's sensory-overloading, awe-inspiring, celebrity video spectacular that first debuted to a packed house of comic book store retailers at the annual ComicsPRO Industry Conference in Portland, OR this past weekend. Harnessing the full power of the internet, BAD IDEA has enlisted some of the most accomplished, yet affordably priced, stars and celebutants of your favorite films, television programs, Radio Shack commercials, and blockbusters circa 1983/1984 to deliver a full dose of weaponized nostalgia that will forever lodge the company's disruptive content and distribution strategy – the highest quality monthly comics possible, sold by only 50 dedicated comic book shops beginning in May – into your prefrontal cortex. (Keep on washing, but it just won't come out.) While the rest of the comic book industry chases Hollywood, BAD IDEA is happy to let Hollywood come to us...in pre-scripted, 15-second chunks commissioned on Cameo. So, without further ado, we proudly present the BAD IDEA ComicsPRO 2020 Celebrity Salute – enjoy it while it lasts, because we'll almost certainly never be allowed to do anything like this ever again: At BAD IDEA, we don’t do anything unless it’s special. First and foremost, that means producing a limited number of comic book series – no more than one or two single issues a month – at the highest possible level of quality and ruthlessly culling any components that might distract or detract from that mission. With that in mind, our comics feature no variants, won't be released digitally, and will not be collected into trade paperbacks, hardcovers, or other bookshelf formats. Monthly comic books, sold exclusively by comic book stores, is what we do. All the time and resources we'd spend on anything else goes right back into our comics. Part and parcel with that, our books will come in a pristinely designed, prestige-format packagefeaturing deluxe matte-laminate cardstock covers, heavy-duty interior paperstock, and lots of pictures with little words on the inside – all for the standard $3.99 cover price. Lastly – and this part is important – we're going to get things going by self-distributing our series to a select list of just 50 participating comic shop retailers that we can work with store by store to slowly grow BAD IDEA's footprint around the world. From there, we'll continue to add new retailers to our roster month after month, and each time a new retailer comes on board as a BAD IDEA Destination Store™™ anywhere in the world, they'll be able to access every prior BAD IDEA release in very limited quantities, so that you and your store can start at the beginning.   Any retailer who wishes to participate can email BAD IDEA's customer service team at hello@badideacorp.com at any point to find a time to discuss all of our assorted shenanigans. But the fun will really start on May 6th, 2020 with the historic debut of ENIAC #1 –  the monumental, 40-page first issue of BAD IDEA's prestige-format premiere from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), artistic powerhouse Doug Braithwaite(Justice), colorist Diego Rodriguez (X-O Manowar), and Harvey Award-nominated cover artist Lewis LaRosa (Punisher MAX).

Panel Preview Of THE HEALING, Kickstarter wrapping up

EDITOR'S NOTE:  If you're a fan of superhero comics, click the links below and feast your eyes on the various creative teams involved with this project, not to mention the interesting superhero team members. Images and text below courtesy of frequent Pop Culture Podium contributor Gary Scott Beatty, who's also involved with this project . . . . . . My first work with multiple, big name artists wraps up on Kickstarter this week. Below I'm showing off my colors on The Healing artists from mainstream books like Superman, Wonder Woman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men. Enjoy! Thanks to you The Healing has exceeded goal and all kinds of cool extras are being added to rewards. Don't miss the fun over there. Click the link -- this is a book you must have! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thehealing/the-healing-0   Top of page, Frank Fosco (TMNT, Superman, Batman), inks by Drew Geraci. Above, Jack Herbert (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman). Above, Alex Saviuk (Iron Man, Spider-Man, Avengers). Below, Ben Herrera (Wolverine, X-Men). Above, Val Mayerik (Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Punisher). Below, Sergio Cariello (Batman, Avengers). Above, Ben Herrera (Wolverine, X-Men). Below, David Williams (Spider-Man, X-Force, Superman, Batman). In glorious service to our Aazurn overlords, Gary Scott Beatty The Healing Will Make You Whole https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thehealing/the-healing-0   Copyright © 2020 Aazurn Publishing, All rights reserved. If you're new here and forgot why you subscribed, I'm Gary Scott Beatty, author and/or illustrator of several fine genre fantasy books, including Wounds, Jazz: Midnight, Worlds, and, Bleeding Cool claims, one of the best indie comics of 2014, Number One. Add gary@indiecomicsmagazine.com to your address book and these won't be branded as sp7m-robot generated evil. If you enjoy these ramblings, feel free to send friends to http://strangehorror.com so they can become indoctrinated into the temple of Aazurn. Our mailing address is: Aazurn Publishing 1509 Princeton Rd. Muskegon, MI  49441 Add us to your address book

Book Review: MOON OF THE CRUSTED SNOW

MOON OF THE CRUSTED SNOW by Waubgeshig Rice (ECW Press, October 2018)  Paperback, 218 pages. ISBN # 1770414002 / 9781770414006. Nominee for John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel 2019

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

A daring post-apocalyptic thriller from a powerful rising literary voice

With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.

The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.

Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.  

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     This is a short but powerful, though-provoking novel. While reading Moon Of The Crusted Snow, I was reminded of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. While that book dwelt with a father and son effort to make their way in a post-apocalypse world, Rice's story centers on an entire (but small) isolated community of Native Americans in a wintry cold reservation in northern Ontario, Canada.

     If a global power failure occurred without any chance of recovery, how would civilization proceed?  Who would survive, and who would fail to thrive? The cold, bitter snow-and-ice-laden setting helps to enhance the sense of isolation and emergency.

     I'm impressed with the pacing and writing style. I liked how the introduction to main character Evan and the village created a sense of well-being, calmness, and community. When the power fails, things begin to fracture, and the sense of community begins to crack. I thought the build-up to this was appropriately slow, and more effective because of it.

     If any community could survive the loss of technology, it would be the original tribes who wandered the lands and lived off the Earth. In the modern community of Rice's story there remain elders who remember the old ways and took steps to prepare for a potential emergency of this nature. Evan, a caring family man with a community-minded dedication to service, straddles the line between the old and new ways. Those younger members of the village who are better acquainted with the luxuries of electrical power, Internet and television, become the first to panic and complain when it's taken out of their life. 

     The story is full of symbolism and Rice does a great job of contrasting what is occurring within the community with what occurred multiple times during the history of indigenous people of North America. He does not refer to it directly within the story, but what happens alludes to it repeatedly. 

In the beginning days of the United States, Native Americans welcomed the Puritans and pilgrims who landed on their shores - - and later came to regret their goodwill towards the visitors who first brought new diseases and later segregated and confined them to sparser lands. Likewise, the community in Rice's novel welcomes some white outsiders who go on to influence and direct the community in the wrong directions - - something that was chillingly depicted in McCarthy's The Road but is handled with restraint and subtlety here.

     I was a little disappointed with the ending, expecting more. Rice could have easily extended the story. However, having made his points, it seems as if he's left it to readers to speculate further. 

David Bowie - Moonage Daydream (live)

R.I.P., DAVID BOWIE.  You left an amazing musical legacy behind for us to remember you forever.

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (From The Motion Picture)

Album Challenge, Day Ten: ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS by David Bowie: Suffragette City (2012 Remaster)