No GTS for Me

Sadly, I am not going to make it to the GAMA Trade Show next week. I love the convention and encourage anyone interested in making or selling tabletop games to attend. It’s a wonderful experience, and I’ll miss being there–as well as the too-rare chance to see so many good friends.
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R.E.V.s Comic for Free!

R.E.V.S ComicA couple years back, I produced a comic for Playmates Toys‘ new line of automotive action figures: R.E.V.s. I wrote it and hired Max Bertolini to supply the wonderful art, and IDW to tackle the lettering. The comic appeared on a CD-ROM included in the box with every R.E.V.s toy. It also featured an animated version of the comic, for which I produced and directed the animation and voiceovers with the hyper-talented James Farr and the guys at JAMIT Studios.

With the line officially cancelled, Playmates has given me permission to post a PDF of the comic here for free. Enjoy!

Spiritkeeper in Japan

Spiritkeeper-Japanese-CoverA little while back, my über-editor Nina Hess–who’s in charge of the young-adult fiction at Wizards of the Coast–sent me a copy of my first hardcover novel. Secret of the Spiritkeeper, which was my first mass-market novel when it hit shelves in 2004, just came out in a brand-new Japanese translation from ASCII, and although I can’t read a word of it, I love it.

The new cover art looks great. The wacky colors in the title are what you get when you scan something printed with metallic silver ink, it seems, so ignore that effect. In person, it looks fantastic.

The book is about the size of the English version, only thicker. The hardcover gives it some good heft, and it even comes with an attached silver ribbon to help keep your place as you read. It’s snazzy, and it really makes me wish I could read Japanese.

Shoujo Manga and Me

ShoujoPenguin recently posted a cover and details about my next book with manga-ka Tomoko Taniguchi: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Manga: Shoujo, Illustrated. This should be in stores on June 3. Before I started work on the book, I hadn’t dealt with a whole lot of shoujo manga (Japanese girls’ comics), mostly because as an American male narrowing in on middle age, I don’t really fit the target demographic.

Still, I had a great time digging into the genre and working with Tomoko on this book. She taught me a lot about shoujo in particular and Japanese culture in general, and she’s a talented and versatile artist who knows the subject cold. If you enjoy shoujo manga and drawing–or know someone who does–be sure to check it out.

Blood Bowl on the Game Screen–and Issue #2

Bloodbowlkillercontract 02AThe folks at Cyanide have a site up for the upcoming Blood Bowl computer game. There’s a slew of screen shots there, plus if you dig a little you can find a document that explains how the game works in more depth. I’m especially geeked by the fact you can play the game in two very different ways:

  1. A real-time video game.
  2. An exacting, turn-based simulation of the board game.

Combine this with the comic-book series I’m working on for BOOM! Studios, and you have a bloody great year for Blood Bowl. Speaking of which, here’s the cover for issue #2.

Local (National) Politics, Set to Music

A group of locals here in Beloit got together and made a music video for the Barack Obama campaign called “It’s Our Time Now.” Rob Tomaro–music director of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra–wrote the song, and Nicole Waters of the cover band the Orphans performs it.

The song was originally created for a documentary, but when Obama spoke here at Beloit College before the Wisconsin primary, the song was performed as part of his introduction. Tomaro called his friend Annie Potts to show it to her over his phone, and she encouraged him to make a video for the song. They wrangled her husband Jim Hayman into directing it.

They shot all the live scenes on location here in Beloit. If you’re a local, you might recognize some of the faces. If not, it’s still lots of fun–no matter your personal politics.