New York Comic-Con wrapped earlier this month and for the second straight year I was excited to hang out at booth 2304, with the crew from Storm King Comics, some of the very best in horror and genre fiction. John Carpenter is the Master of Horror, but he is a jack of all trades. Well known for his extensive filmography he has branched out into other mediums in recent years. His wife, producer and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter, founded Storm King Productions and in 2015, Storm King ventured into the world of comics and graphic novels with titles such as Asylum, and anthologies like Tales For a HalloweeNight and Tales of Science Fiction. The second story in John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction was Vortex, an 8-part saga dealing with hidden evils inside a space mining colony. I got a chance to share a couch with Mike Sizemore the author of Vortex, and discuss the comic book series, his inspirations, and working for Storm King.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #6
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: March 28, 2018
Price: $3.99

“Yes, and of some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so, I will endure”¦” – Homer

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, the monthly comic anthology series from Storm King Comics rolls on with issue #6 of Vortex. We left our cast of characters on a deep space mining colony where something killed most of the crew and a tentacled beast is loose. Meanwhile there are even more threats looming back on the Benson, a space station across space. No time to fuss around, this issue is all action from jump street.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #4
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: January 31, 2018
Price: $3.99

“Yesterday upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there.” – Hughes Mearns

Another historic poetic verse puts in motion issue 4 of Vortex, the second story arc in John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, a monthly anthology series from Storm King Comics. The verse opens Mearns’ 1899 poem “Antigonish” and has been referenced for everything from ghost stories to Lil Wayne rap songs. Here the “man who wasn’t there” could be the haunting presence on both the deep space mining colony and the Space Station Benson on the other side of the galaxy.

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #3
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: January 3, 2018
Price: $3.99

Vortex is the second story from Storm King Comics’ new monthly anthology series, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction, developed by the Horror Master himself with his wife and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter. Vortex is an 8-issue story harkening back to genre classics like Aliens, dealing with a mining station in space in which the crew disappears forcing Captain Jake Dixon and crew to lead the rescue mission. As is the tradition now, writer Mike Sizemore gives our introduction highlighted by a classical poet, this time William Blake: “In the universe there are things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.”

John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vortex #2
Written by Mike Sizemore
Pencils and Inks by Dave Kennedy
Colors by Pete Kennedy
Lettering by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Cover Art by Tim Bradstreet
Storm King Comics
Release date: October 25, 2017
Price: $3.99

Vortex is the second story in Tales of Science Fiction, Storm King Comics’ new monthly anthology series developed by the Horror Master himself, John Carpenter, and his wife and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter. Vortex began last month bookended by quotes from Milton’s Paradise Lost, so obviously it’s a cheery story filled with pure happiness”¦ okay, no. Borrowing from a classic sci-fi premise, Vortex tells of a mining station in space in which the crew disappears forcing Captain Jake Dixon and crew to lead the rescue mission through a rift in space. Vortex is an 8-part story, so writer Mike Sizemore took his time to give our main characters proper introductions and motivations. It’s time to re-enter the Vortex, with issue #2.