My friend Jeff Mariotte just posted an excellent appreciation of Robert E. Howard and Conan for Howard’s 100th birthday. Jeff worked at WildStorm Productions when I co-designed the WildStorms CCG there, and he edited my Dracula’s Revenge comic for IDW. This past year, the tables turned, and I edited his new Age of Conan trilogy, the Marauders. Look for the …
Happy Birthday, Robert E. Howard
Today (or, arguably, Tuesday) would have been the 100th birthday of Robert E. Howard. As the creator of Conan, King Kull, and Solomon Kane, he invented the sword-and-sorcery fantasy and wrote in more than a half-dozen other genres for pulp magazines of all types. He cut his own life short at the age of 30. We can only guess what …
The Peter Pan-Stephen King-Miami Dolphins Connection
The title for the new official Peter Pan book coming out this year is Peter Pan in Scarlet. As I’ve mentioned before, the rights to Peter Pan are a bit of a mess. According to the Great Ormond Street Hospital, they own the rights to Peter Pan forever in the UK, until 2007 in Europe, and until 2023 in the …
Out of the Box Outies Out
Over at GamingReport.com, the inimitable Ken Hite shares choices for his annual Outie Awards in his latest Out of the Box column. He also recaps 2005 in gaming and does a fine job of it. Ken’s one of the most imaginative souls working in RPGs these days. For a free sample of why that is, be sure to check out …
Dueling Pans
Before J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, died, he assigned the rights to his most famous creation to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. As a children’s hospital in London, the place happily accepted the gift, and the British government made a special exception to the copyright term for the book, extending it forever. How other countries and publishers choose …
The Road to Death Book Club Under Way
The book club discussion for The Road to Death is under way at Essential-Eberron.com. When you have a chance to read the book, please stop by and say hi. The discussion’s lively already, but adding more readers to the mix would make it even better.
Another Battle Dice Review
There’s a kind review of the game at This Gamer’s Life. I like his take on how fast the game plays and the kinds of players that would probably enjoy it best (“the littlest barbarian”).
Battle Dice Reports?
The next time you’re in a mass-market store (Wal-Mart, Target, Toys-R-Us, Etc.), I’d appreciate it if you could look to see if they have copies of Marvel Heroes Battle Dice in stock. You won’t find it stocked with the other games though. Look in the Boys’ Action aisle instead, right next to the action figures. If you manage a sighting, …
Battle Dice Review
Over on his Captain Toy website, Michael Crawford reviews Marvel Heroes Battle Dice. While it’s not a glowing review, Michael does a good job of stating his biases about the game right up front, and he admits to not having played much more than the basic game yet, so I can’t complain. It’s worth checking out, even if just for …
Who Owns these Guys?
On the forum at the new Essential-Eberron.com, where we’re now discussing The Road to Death, a reader with the handle Effect asks: The characters in the Lost Mark trilogy, do you have any control over them being used by other authors or do they simply belong to WoTC now? Not one bit. My novels for Wizards are work-for-hire. That means …