Inquiry with Steve Roman (2022)
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The following is a Wikizilla-exclusive interview. The Boy Who Cried Godzilla's interview with Steve Roman, publisher at StarWarp Concepts, Inc. |
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Inquiry with Steve Roman, publisher at StarWarp Concepts, Inc, and former editor-in-chief at ibooks, Inc, publisher of the 2005 novel Kong Reborn. The Boy Who Cried Godzilla reached out as part of his attempts to find the photo used to represent Kong Mark II on the book's cover, which ultimately led him to Billy, a gorilla at the Sedgwick County Zoo. After finding the photograph, there was a mishap on the StarWarp ordering page, which led to Roman contacting The Boy, who filled him in on his successful search.
Interview
The Boy: Hello. I apologize for bothering you, but, in short terms, I was wondering if you could put me in touch with your cover art designer Mat Postawa? I know he has worked on a number of your publications in the past, and if you still work with him, or are at all in contact with him, do you think you could forward my message/send me his email address?
For context, I am a representative and administrator at wikizilla.org, an online encyclopedia dedicated to all things Godzilla, Kong, Gamera, etc. As the sight's resident Kong "expert" I know that Mr. Postawa provided the layout for a 2005 book called "Kong Reborn" for ibooks inc, which featured only an ape's eyes on the cover. In order to have a fuller image of him for the page, I have been trying to match it with stock photos I have found online, or, contact and ask Mr. Postawa himself to see if he has any memory of the project that could yield leads. I suppose it isn't impossible he might still have the file, and that would save me some trouble, haha.
All the same, if you can help me, I would be grateful, if you can't, that's also fine, and I hope you have a great day.
Sincerely,
The Boy*
SR: Hi, The Boy*,
I can tell you with absolute certainty that Mat would have no memory of that project, considering it’s been almost 20 years since ibooks inc closed. I was editor in chief of the imprint at the start of 2005 and even I didn’t remember the book existed until you mentioned it :)
We did a ton of books back in those days (too many!), so it got to be a conveyor belt after awhile—design a cover, move on to the next. I remember once seeing a WWII nonfiction book we reprinted—it was done in such a rush, the cover had a low-res, watermarked photo for the image instead of a final hi-res photo! (That was a designer other than Mat.)
I do now remember discussing it with Russell Blackford in the early stages—my love for Kong goes back to watching it here in New York as a kid on Thanksgiving, where a local station ran it every year for a bit—but then the project was handed off to another editor, even though we’d worked together (he as writer, me as editor) on a trilogy of novels based on Terminator 2. I also remember Reborn started out as a hardcover, but I guess the change to paperback was made after I left ibooks.
And Mat wouldn’t have backup files from then, either. Since the work was done on company computers, they would have joined everything that went into the “Raiders of the Lost Ark”-like warehouse where all the ibooks materials went after the closure. :)
For Kong Reborn, the ape eyes probably came from Shutterstock—we used a lot of photos from them because in 2005 they were the go-to stock place for pretty much every publishing house. Maybe the photographer has removed it from their list of images.
On a related note, just to add to your Books list at the wiki, I published an e-book version of the ’32 King Kong novelization (with new spot illustrations) in 2017 that I sell through StarWarp Concepts:
I know for a fact I got that cover photo from Shutterstock. :D
Sorry I couldn’t be more precise, but it has been awhile since those ibooks days. I hope I was able to provide some information, though.
Take care!
Steve Roman
The Boy: Hey!
Thank you for the reply. It's no trouble at all. It was a longshot anyhow, but I'm glad to hear your story all the same. I did find the stock photo used on your illustrated King Kong, which was a pleasant surprise to discover the existence of on my Kong reborn Odyssey, and I look forward to checking it out sometime. It's always nice to see new interpretations of the monsters/dinosaurs. Each artist gives them something new.
I'd found a few near-matches for the monkey eyes seen on Reborn's cover, but ultimately I figured I'd have an easier time reaching out to the artist/s for clues. You never know, right? At any rate, thank you so much for your time, and limiting my search to shutterstock is more helpful than you might realize.
I hope your career is going smoother for you now than it was in those days lol. Have a great rest of your day.
Thank you for your time,
The Boy* 🦍
Follow up
The Boy: That said, a few weeks ago, I contacter you asking about a stock image used in one of your previous projects (Kong Reborn) and, as luck would have it, your email today made me start my search again, and, voìla, I found the image within minutes
That said, thanks for your help and cordiality, and I love Mr. Tuma's illustrations :)
SR: Congratulations on finally tracking down that photo. I guess the photographer moved it off Shutterstock years ago.
I’m glad you enjoyed Paul’s art, he’s a really good pulp-style artist.
Take care!
Steve
