Rumble in the Jungle, the fourth in my series of Blood Bowl novels, is now on sale not just in the UK but throughout the world! Be sure to put it at the top of your post-Christmas shopping list. If you’re interested in a “first bit’s free” trial, the Black Library has posted a short, free sample to whet your appetite.
Meanwhile, I hope you all had/have happy holidays as we wrap up the year!
I’ve written a number of comics over the years, and it always stuns me what a different discipline it is from any other kind of writing. In a film, play, novel, game, or whatever, you have a bit of wiggle room as to the time you can take up or the number of pages. Comics, though, have a far more restrictive form.
Most comics feature 22 pages of story, and the pages are laid out in two-page spreads with any number of panels on them. Most comics have a splash (full-page illustration) or two in them, or even a massive double-page spread, but the average page contains anywhere from four to eight panels.
As a writer, you designate the number of panels on the page and what happens in each of them. You’re restricted to asking your artist to show static images, and they all have to make some kind of sense when strung together. This forces a certain kind of pacing on the story, especially when you consider where to place your cliffhangers, staggering revelations, and plot twists.
These favored tools of any adventurous writer work best at the start or end of a page, not in the middle, and they’re best if they come at the start or end of a spread. This makes the pacing even more rigid.
Compared to a novel, it’s like going from free verse to iambic pentameter. Robert Frost compared free verse to “playing tennis with the net down.” If so, the comic-book form raises a good, solid net over which to try your game.
Fortunately, there are tools to help you get your game on. While writing the first issues of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract for Boom! Studios, I gave a new writing program a shot at the recommendation of John Rogers.
The program (Scrivener) was originally designed to help with writing screenplays or novels, but the latest version comes with a comic-book script template by Antony Johnston that’s nearly perfect. It let me rearrange panels and pages as much as I liked and automatically renumbered them. When working with an editor, an artist, and a licensor, this alone saved me a lot of headaches.
If you’re interested in writing comics—or just writing in general—be sure to check it out.
Rumble in the Jungle, the fourth in my series of Blood Bowl novels, is on sale in the UK. Those of us in other parts of the world must wait until Boxing Day for our fix, but the fortunate souls in Old Blighty can get theirs now.
However, the non-British aren’t entirely out of luck. The Black Library has posted a short, free sample to whet your appetite.
In other news, I delivered the script for the first issue of the Blood Bowl comic book to Boom! Studios. It picks up directly after the end of the events of Rumble in the Jungle and continues the adventures of the Bad Bay Hackers as they make their bid to repeat as the Blood Bowl champs!
Blood Bowl: The Omnibus is now available outside of the UK. That means those of us in the States can now get our hands on it. This massive tome smashes all of the first three Blood Bowl novels (Blood Bowl, Dead Ball, and Death Match) together under one cover, plus a short foreword I wrote just for this doorstop. That’s 768 pages of hilarious, spike-balled mayhem for the low price of only $11.99 of those Yanqui dollars!
Those lucky sods fortunate enough to live nearer to the Black Library should also be able to pick up the fourth book in the series, Rumble in the Jungle, on Monday! The rest of us have to wait until the end of December, but we can assuage the pain of those dark days of waiting with The Omnibus for now. It’s even colored green with blood-red accents to make for a most suitable holiday gift!
The fine folks at Boom! Studios have authorized me to announce that I’ll be writing a five-issue Blood Bowl miniseries for them this winter, based upon the four novels I’ve written for the Black Library. The first issue is projected to hit stores in March. Look for the first solicitation, along with a preview of the a cover, in the issue of Previews that hits stores in late December.
Ow. I’ve been holding that one in for a long time. It feels great to finally be able to talk about it.
I’ve been itching to get back into comics, and I honestly can’t wait to see this one on shelves. I’ve had a wonderful time working with my editor Joe Abraham and our Games Workshop liaison Nelson so far, and I’m thrilled to be associated with the talented crew at Boom!
Those fortunate enough to live closer to the Black Library in the UK than I do can now officially get their hands on Blood Bowl: The Omnibus. This no-neck, gold-tusked linebacker of a book smashes all of the first three Blood Bowl novels (Blood Bowl, Dead Ball, and Death Match) together under one cover, plus a short foreword I wrote just for this tome. That’s 768 pages of hilarious, spike-balled mayhem for the low price of only £9.99.
The rest of the world has to wait until November 27. Oh, the humanity.
The Black Library, publisher of my Blood Bowl novels, has a new forum up. If you haven’t been there for a while, stop by and check it out. It’s something cool to do while you wait for Blood Bowl: The Omnibus, due out in the UK on November 5 and the US on November 27.
My advance copy of Rumble in the Jungle, my fourth Blood Bowl novel, showed up in the mail yesterday. It looks fantastic. While I really loved the covers by my pal Max Bertolini, this in-your-face cover by Philip Sibbering tickles me silly. It captures the essence of Blood Bowl in such an iconic way.
This book moves the action from the Old World to Lustria (the Blood Bowl equivalent of South America) to see the Bad Bay Hackers take on a team of amazon (the Lustrian Lusties) in the Tobazco Bowl (played inside an active volcano, of course) for the undisputed championship of the world. Oh, and a hunt for Dunk Hoffnung’s long-lost sister, plus encounters with cunning lizardmen, shambling zombies, ball-crazy buccaneers, cannibalistic pygmy halflings, amorous fishwomen, and more.
Look for it on shelves around the end of the year!
My first advance copy of Blood Bowl: The Omnibus showed up in my mail this afternoon. It is a thing of beauty: 768-pages of Dark (Humor) Fantasy Football goodness—each of the first three Blood Bowl novels—stuffed under a single cover.
If you have those books already, you’re set, except for a short introduction I wrote for this volume. If not, though, there’s no better way to jump into the deep end of this series.
You can find this massive book on shelves in November, just in time for your Thanksgiving football feast. It’s sure to whet your appetite for Rumble in the Jungle, 
It’s a real kick to see the books collected in a volume that rivals any Harry Potter book for length. Every time I look at the thing, I can’t stop grinning.
The folks at the Games Workshop Chicago Battle Bunker showed me a great time this past Saturday. I signed a few dozen books, chatted with lots of Blood Bowl players, and peeked over a few shoulders to see some great teams, pitches, and matches. I also talked again with tournament organizer Tom Anders, who edited the latest version of the Blood Bowl Living Rulebook, and he kindly completed my set of exclusive (and very cool) Chaos Cup figures.
Darren Orange and Zachary “Charge” Laoutides from Reactor 88 Studios showed up to chat about the Brave New World movie too, and Chuck “Patriot” Wagner stopped by with a couple of lovely ladies to invite us to his birthday party. Sadly, I had to pass on that, but I did grab dinner with Darren and store manager Allen Jorjorian, who invited me out to say thanks for making the trip.
Allen has one of those great life stories that reminds me why I love gaming. Formerly a successful stockbroker, he put that behind him after the birth of his son and now works his dream job as a manager of a Games Workshop store. I love seeing people being true to themselves and doing what they love.
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