THANK YOU, MELISSA & TRACY!

My coworkers are staunch supporters of my writing, and as such, I've decided to spotlight them in a post. 

Melissa Orlowski (right) is a passionate True Blood and Walking Dead fan and the primary person who inspired me to reinstate pen to pad (for which I'll be forever grateful), and Tracy Furman (left) is a full-fledged, fellow horror aficionado, being most enamored by the Evil Dead and Elm Street franchises. 

 

In the kickoff photo, the ladies display their copies of The Purple Scar, Vol 4, published by Airship 27 Productions. This volume contains my story, "Golem Clay", illustrated by the commanding Chuck (The Last Days of Poe) Bordell, with a cover by the astonishing Adam (Ravenwood, Stepson of Mystery, Vol 4) Shaw.

In addition to Purple Scar #4, Melissa and Tracy are seen above with Main Enterprises' historic *PPFSZT! #50, to which I contributed the Night Gallery-ish fable, "Fear the Widow". (For the record, Melissa edited that tale.) "Fear the Widow" is adorned by Kevin Dale Duncan's foreboding illustrations and ushered by Allen Freeman's thrilling, space-monster cover.

I can't thank these dear ladies enough for promoting my work. These photos are but further proof of their undying devotion. Bless their gracious hearts!

*PPFSZT!: 50TH LANDMARK ISSUE

*PPFSZT! #50 constitutes a publishing landmark for the perennial Main Enterprises. The lasting appeal of this eclectic and prolific periodical, which sprung from the 1970s, is awe-inspiring, as are #50's contents, arranged to aesthetic perfection by the one and only, Robert J. Sodaro. 

Among its contents, #50 features Larry Johnson's nostalgic "Comic Fanzines of the 70's"; Will Murray's heartfelt retrospective of the animated extravaganza, "Space Angel" (with an episodes list included); and my Night Gallery-ish, short story, "Fear the Widow", with mood-setting illustrations by Kevin Dale Duncan. To kick it all off, there's Jim Main's "The Publisher Speaks" and to end it all, his "Last Page Bull". 

And that's not all! Included is the rousing, third chapter of Main's western serial, Hitchens, with gritty artwork by Verl Holtbond; author/artist Brien Wayne Powell's endearing Magnet Man and Jimmy Valiant in "Out of Season: Part 1"; author/artist Steve Keeter's philosophical "Low-T!", starring the durable Eggman; and author/artist Carl Taylor's Kirby-esque "In His Image".  

For this historic issue's largest portion, readers are treated to an illustrated gallery of Universal's Classic Monsters, accompanied by their distinguished, human "sidekicks". The prolific artwork springs from Steve Shipley, Kevin Dale Duncan, John Lambert, Tom Ahearn, Jacob Dubi, Brad Orlich, Troy Boyle, Marc Lerer, Marc Haines, Doug Hazelwood, George Lane III, Scott McClung, Jack Bertram, John Muller and Rusty Gilligan. Now, that's one helluva all-star line-up for one helluva, all-star creature feature!

Issue #50 also flaunts additional, pleasing artwork by Tony Lorenzl, Mike Tuz, Floydman Sumner, Steve Lafler, Allen Freeman supplied that blazing, spaceman-vs-space-monster cover. Wow, oh wow!

I'm honored to be part of this monumental issue, and there's no doubt that Mr. Main is proud as Punch for having reached this paramount achievement. 

Hard copies of *PPFSZT! #50 have already sold out, but a second printing is in the works. In the meantime, you can obtain a PDF of #50 by sending $2 (via Paypal, along with your email address) to Jim Main at jmain44@aol.com. (Keep checking Bizarrechats for updates on the second edition's release and how to obtain such when it's ready.)

PUBLICATION (EX)CHANGE: FEAR THE WIDOW

  

Alas, Main Enterprises fell short on submissions for the proposed, Apogee revival, thus putting the magazine on the indefinite backburner. 

However, all is not lost, for my Apogee story, "Fear the Widow", will now appear in *PPFSZT! #50! Hey, that works for me, especially if my yarn is part of the zine's big 5-0; and to strengthen "Widow'"s advent, artist Kevin Duncan will supply a couple illustrations. (One may recall that Duncan bestowed an amazing, crossover illustration for my article on Last Man On Earth/Omega Man for What Ever! #3.)

"Fear the Widow" is a revamp of a story I wrote decades ago for Magical, Literary Elixirs, under the title, "The Tormented". (I also performed this version for the audio anthology, Tales From the Grave.)

"Fear the Widow" is tighter and more menacing than its original incarnation, but like the first, still exudes a Night Gallery/Tales From the Darkside vibe. Also, as one will no doubt infer (I mean, how can one dismiss this post's imagery?), it features a lady arachnid: a supernatural one, at that. 

Revisit Bizarrechats for updates on this prestigious change of plans. (You see, one way or another, things do work out.)