And here's where you can find three of mine! [link]

On Saturday, May 4, StarWarp Concepts is celebrating the 11th anniversary of Free Comic Book Day by releasing the rarely seen Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa #3, the final issue in what was supposed to be a four-part miniseries published in 1995. The star of Heartstopper was Sebastienne "Annie" Mazarin—yes, the very same Annie who's showing my current creation, Goth chick Pandora Zwieback, how to hunt monsters in my Saga of Pandora Zwieback young adult novel series.

Heartstopper is what's known in the business as a "mature readers" comic, intended for readers seventeen years of age and up. And since the Pandora Zwieback novels have picked up readers as young as twelve, I previously thought linking to a series that middle-graders shouldn't be reading wouldn't be the best decision. (I can say that—I'm not just the writer, I'm the publisher.)

It's also an example of "bad girl" comics, a category that was huge in the 1990s; basically, it meant the comic starred an ass-kicking heroine who was clad in as little clothing as you could get away with. Heartstopper was my blatant attempt to cash in on that popularity. The three issues have no nudity, sex, or adult language (in other words, four-letter curses), but there's a bit of bloody violence in the first issue and some sexual tension between characters.

Still, the comics are a part of Annie's creative past (issue 1 and part of issue 2 were penciled by Pan and Annie's co-creator, Uriel Caton), and HS 3 is the final issue. And in a world where young adult books are becoming more and more adult as publishers scramble to create the YA equivalent of the "pron" trilogy 50 Shades of Grey, Heartstopper by comparison is pretty tame in its sexual playfulness (again, no outright sex or nudity). On the other hand, it's not the best thing I've ever written, but hey—if you survived Twilight you'll survive this.  

Heartstopper #1: story by me, pencils by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual #1, Ex-Mutants), inks by Alan Larsen (Femforce).

Heartstopper #2: story by me; pencils by Uriel Caton, Holly Golightly (School Bites), and David C. Matthews (Satin Steele); inks by Alan Larsen

Heartstopper #3: story by me, pencils by Holly Golightly, inks by "Chainsaw" Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman's New Two-Fisted Tales). Bonus material: the never-before-published pages of Heartstopper/Trollords, a crossover special that would have teamed Annie with the stars of one of the 1980s most popular urban-fantasy comic series!

The best part? All three issues will remain free after today's celebration, so you can download them anytime. Hey, it'll give you something to read while you're standing on line this weekend for Iron Man 3!