At Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic-Con 2016, Fanbase Press Editorials Manager Michele Brittany talks with Sam Shearon (a.k.a. Mister Sam) about his newly released Mister Sam Shearon's Creepy Christmas (A Merry Macabre Coloring Book), his passion for Cryptozoology, and more.  Plus, Shearon was very generous to offer Fanbase Press readers a few preview pages from the coloring book!

Clive Barker is one of the leading creators in the horror genre today. Over the years, he has raised the level of scares on a physical and psychological level with such films as Hellraiser and Lord of Illusions. With the harvest and Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con upon us, moderator Rebekah McKendry of Blumhouse assembled a handful of individuals dedicated to Barker’s vision at the “Clive Barker: Looking Ahead” panel held Saturday, October 29. Included in the panel were Blumhouse’s David McKendry, Matt Murray of POW! Entertainment, Mark Alan Miller, VP of Seraphim Inc., Thommy Hutson (Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy), and Ben Meares, Creative Executive at Seraphim Inc. During the panel, upcoming books, films, and comics were revealed.

As Halloween is fast approaching, the Fanbase Press staff and contributors decided that there was no better way to celebrate this horrifically haunting holiday than by sharing our favorite scary stories! Be they movies, TV shows, video games, novels, or any other form of entertainment, members of the Fanbase Press crew will be sharing their “scariest” stories each day leading up to Halloween. We hope that you will enjoy this sneak peek into the terrors that frighten Fanbase Press!

There’s something in the fog!
~ Stevie Wayne (Adrienne Barbeau)

Where has Jason Porath’s Rejected Princesses: Tales of History’s Boldest Heroines, Hellions and & Heretics been all my life? I wish this book had been around when I was a young teen; to have been able to read about extraordinary women who overcame adversity and made a positive contribution of some kind that could inspire would have been divine. As the adage goes, better late than never!

It was sad news this past weekend in which Glyn Dillon confirmed that his older brother, comic book artist Steve Dillon, passed away on Saturday, October 22, at the age 54. The ripple of loss across the industry is heartfelt and has been widespread. 

In the new issue of Battlecats, Miami-based Mad Cave Studios writer Mark London journeys back in time, right back to the beginning of creation. A wise, old sage named Natharien reveals to a young disciple how the God of Creation created Valderia from a drop of his golden blood 8,000 years before the development of a modern civilization under the leadership of Eramad, the first king to unify the seven separate and often warring tribal lands of Valderia. From the first furless creatures with large, bulbous eyes to the hyper-masculine felines that would evolve over time, London provides context for the Battlecats, an elite guard mandated by the king to protect the lands. In the closing pages of this issue, Natharien asks the young cub if he understands the path he is about to embark upon, as it is revealed that the disciple is one of the Battlecats that has featured in Issues #1 – 3, released earlier this year.

While wandering around the one-room Long Beach Comic Expo a few years ago, I happened to walk by a table with an organized pile of little stuffed animals – off-white polar bears with big black noses, each wearing a bright red cape. They were adorable and I was immediately enraptured by what I would come to learn was a character named Herobear from Herobear and the Kid, an all-ages series from the creative genius of Mike Kunkel.

Drokk! If you have been living in an iso-cube the past few weeks, then you may have missed some exciting news from across the pond! Between Rebellion acquiring the Fleetway and IPC Youth Group archives and 2000 AD celebrating their 2,000th issue, former 2000 AD editor Steve MacManus released his memoir, The Mighty One: My Life Inside the Nerve Centre. In it, he describes his time with the publisher when he was first hired as a sub-editor in 1973 through his impactful tutelage as editor of 2000 AD during its “golden age.” It’s a candid retrospective, as well as an oral history documenting the changing face of British comics and the rise of the comic convention scene.

Recently, Fanbase Press Editorials Manager Michele Brittany had the unique opportunity to interview MacManus about his editorial experiences on several popular British titles, as well as working with talent on the rise.

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear, is fear of the unknown. ~ H.P. Lovecraft

Last year marked the 125th anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft, and, as a result, there has been a renewed interest in the horror writer who explored the strange and horrific world of slimy, tentacled monsters that inhabited a world he created through his Cthulhu Mythos stories. He also created the Dreamlands (or Dream Cycle) world that sometimes intersected with his mythos tales via a character’s dreams. During the celebratory year, a number of retrospectives analyzed Lovecraft’s stories, and creators ranging from Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Joe Lansdale, and Joe Jill created adaptations of the original source material or were inspired to spin their own Lovecraftian yarn. There have also been mash-up stories that brought together unexpected licenses such as Mike Mignola’s Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham or the less-surprising teaming of Army of Darkness vs. Re-Animator from James Kuhoric, Sanford Greene, and Nick Bradshaw.

Abracadaver Events of Fullerton, CA, brought a bit of horror to Orange County on Sunday, October 2. Held at the Hotel Fullerton, attendees were treated to over 60 vendors and exhibitors assembled in two of the facility’s larger ballrooms. Jewelry, books, t-shirts, masks, books, food, art, and collectibles of a macabre nature were available for purchase.