The UK's Hammer Studios produced a near-endless string of classic horror films throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s. And key to the company's success was the bevy of beautiful British starlets who appeared in its films, including the unforgettable blonde Veronica Carlson, the star of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Since Hammer's collapse in the late '70s, Carlson has carved out a second career for herself as an artist and a guest of horror conventions. Now Carlson is permitting the use of her likeness in EZ Street, the popular free web comic about the adventures of aspiring comic creators. The installment in which Carlson will appear--week 21 of the comic--takes place at the annual Baltimore Comic-Con (the storyline actually begins in week 20 of EZ Street, available online now, and co-starring such real-life comics luminaries as artists Michael Avon Oeming and Neil Vokes, writer Todd Livingston, and Baltimore Comic-Con Chairman Marc Nathan).

EZ Street is the brainchild of creators Robert Tinnell and Mark Wheatley--who explains to us how they came to set their story at the Baltimore Comic-Con. "We wanted a convention that was local to the characters in the story," says Wheatley, "as well as one that was local to the artist (me) so that I could get good reference material. Gotta make it look right in the strip! Getting reference material for EZ Street has kept me busy for the past year since this is a very real story set in real locations and now even featuring real people. And the timing of the convention was perfect for our production schedule. And it doesn't hurt that the Baltimore Comic-Con is one of the better conventions on the comic con circuit--it is a lot of fun and very much all about comics."

And how did Wheatley and Tinnell come to cast Carlson in their story? "I had long been a fan of Hammer Films--and Hammer director Terence Fisher in particular," says Tinnell, himself a horror filmmaker--having directed Frankenstein and Me and produced Surf Nazis Must Die. "Veronica starred in several films for Hammer, including one that I think is absolutely brilliant, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, which Fisher directed. At one point while promoting my film Frankenstein and Me I was at a convention called Fanex and I met Veronica. We became friends and I would see her from time to time over the years. She's also a very talented artist and actually did a large portrait of my wife and kids. Anyway, when it came time to bring our EZ Street characters to a convention I didn't feel it was enough to have them simply interact with real comic industry people. Scott works in movies--he's a fanboy for films as well as comics. And really, aren't most comic fans pretty geeked on movies? Particularly genre films? I know I've always been. So I thought, 'Why not Veronica?' She does do cons--though she hasn't done that particular Baltimore show--she's such a beautiful woman it's easy to see why Scott was so impacted by her as a kid watching her movies. I don't know--I thought it made a lot of sense and would be a lot of fun."

Tinnell is currently in the midst of pre-production and casting on his latest film, an adaptation of his non-horror comic The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Though the multi-talented creator says horror fans can expect him to return to their favorite genre again some day. "I very much want to adapt The Living and the Dead, the horror graphic novel I wrote with Todd Livingston that Micah Farritor drew. That would be a dream come true. As far as comics go, I like to think there'll always be at least one more horror story I want to tell. Currently I have Demons of Sherwood running at ComicMix.com alongside EZ Street, and artist Bo Hampton and I are having a ball with the scares in that puppy."

Meanwhile, Wheatley too sees himself returning to horror, when his witty, exciting and critically acclaimed Frankenstein Mobster continues its storyline, begun in traditional print comic form, in an online format. Wheatley says it's still too soon to say when but "I can confirm that Frankenstein Mobster will return, and that he will return at ComicMix. Currently Frankie is scheduled to be my next ComicMix project. When is still the question--because there is a great deal of EZ Street left to do."

Be sure to check out EZ Street, Demons of Sherwood and all the other terrific free online comics available now at ComicMix.com!