A love for zombies, scream queens and KISS

Local artist and writer Brian Steward gets to wear many hats in his career, but a new one allows him to meet longtime heroes and stay on the cutting edge of publishing.

Steward has been involved in pop culture media for years as a writer and artist for publications like Fangoria, Gorezone and Heavy Metal magazine. He's created poster art, designed books and illustrated. Currently, he writes features and columns for Delium magazine, where he also serves as a cover artist. He also contributes to ComingSoon.net and other publications.

Now, this Texas-side aficionado of horror and all things KISS has a new venture, Fantasm Media, which sprang up last year with colorfully creepy cover art. Fantasm Presents' inaugural issue was "George A. Romero: The Official Magazine."

Another Fantasm special publication with a similar niche market mindset is "The Official KISS Poster Book," which includes eight pull-out posters of the outrageous rockers.

"Fantasm is a really cool way for me to express all the different interests that I have," Steward said this week. It also lets him flex his muscles as a writer, illustrator, designer and photographer.

At Fantasm, Steward and his partner, Bill Mohalley, get to know, interview and celebrate people in the industry who have a pop culture fan base. Mohalley's credits include design for Vampirella, Creepy, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Fangoria and more.

"We publish niche-based pop culture magazines. Each issue is very streamlined, very focused," Steward said.

"These are completely focused, fully-licensed, official publications," said Steward, who was slated to appear this weekend at the Ark-La-Tex Comic Con.

Visitors to the comic con may want to ask Steward what it was like to work with horror industry star Romero. Fantasm's issue devoted to the movie director was published about a month and a half after he passed away last year.

Basically, explained Steward, Romero brought zombies to the world. Before that legendary filmmaker and his "Night of the Living Dead" co-writer created that cult horror classic, there were no brain-eating, flesh-eating, bullets-to-the-head zombies, he said.

These are the sorts of pop culture icons celebrated in Fantasm publications. The KISS poster book has collectible cards randomly inserted, like the ones popuar back in the 1970s, Steward said. Fans have purchased multiple copies to complete the card set.

"We've had amazing success with that," Steward said, adding, "Growing up, KISS was Superman for me."

Then there are cult figures like Linnea Quigley, a B movie scream queen who appeared in modestly-budgeted creepers like "Night of the Demons," "Return of the Living Dead" and "Silent Night, Deadly Night."

The issue about Quigley's career, considered No. 2 for Fantasm Presents magazine, ships next week. It contains exclusive, never-before published photographs, interviews with actors and the "Night of the Demons" director and more special content sure to please fans of the genre.

The issue celebrates the scream queens who made the genre so wonderful in the '80s, Steward explains. There are three variant covers, all of which are available at the Fantasm website.

Also coming is a publication about Ace Frehley, a co-founder and former lead guitarist for KISS-"Spaceman," said Steward. Original KISS drummer Peter Criss is involved in the project.

"Lots of people have been happy to get involved and talk about this guitar god," Steward said.

Plans are also in the works for a Fantasm Presents issue featuring Sid Haig, the actor known for his Captain Spaulding turn in Rob Zombie films "The Devil's Rejects" and "House of 1000 Corpses." This development was just announced. Even beyond horror, Haig has built an interesting career, Steward observes.

"He was on 'Bonanza.' Pick a show that you and your parents watched, I'm sure Sid Haig was on it," he said.

Steward keeps a packed schedule when it comes to appearances, such as the Living Dead Weekend: Monroeville this past June, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Dawn of the Dead." Steward served as a guest panel moderator for the festivities, which were held at a huge mall.

He points out how fitting the venue was, noting the movie was a response to American consumerism. "We got on stage and we celebrated 40 years of that film," Steward said. Romero and his zombie flicks played a huge part in his life while growing up.

Working in publishing now, Steward gets a first-hand look at how it's changing. It's less about news information and more about nostalgia, he believes. "Everything happens at the speed of thought," he says-anything can be on the Internet in seconds.

So publications focus more on finding a niche and making something special. It's why Fantasm uses high quality paper, he says. This publishing focus allows him to find the original costume designer for KISS, for example. Discovering such stories is fresh and exciting, judging by the enthusiasm with which he talks about this discovery.

"We really want to find those stories or those angles people may not have heard a hundred times," Steward said.

For Fantasm, he has a partner who's been designing magazines as long as Steward's been alive. "And I'm 43," he said, noting in contrast to Mohalley's more classic feel with design he tries to infuse a more modern sensibility. Then there's Steward's wife, Vickie, who serves as a managing editor and does a lot of the behind-the-scenes heavy lifting, he explains.

"She brings a lot to the table creatively. She handles a lot of the articles," Steward said, adding that a George Romero follow-up issue is also in the works for Fantasm.

To hear Steward talk about his art, writing, photography, publishing and other ventures in pop culture fandom, visit him today at day two of the Ark-La-Tex Comic Con, held at the Texarkana Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

(On the Net: BrianSteward.com and FantasmMedia.com.)