Category: Arts & Culture

Weta News: January 2010

from Weta:

Happy New Year!

We hinted before we went on summer holidays that this year was going to be very exciting. We stand by that.

Avatar has truly set new benchmarks for creativity and box office takings as well as taking home two of the most coveted Golden Globes. And Richard Taylor and Weta have been recognised at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for Best Makeup!

And we have a couple of new product ranges up our sleeve and we’re continuing our journey through Middle-earth.

Our two Weta Cast hosts, Daniel and Magnus, are feverishly working on a round table discussion between Richard Taylor and some of the artists and craftspeople behind the beautiful designs, maquettes and props from Avatar. This will be an AWESOME podcast.

Announcement — District 9 Collectibles!
We are ENORMOUSLY pleased to be able to announce a range of collectibles and merchandise from District 9, last year’s perhaps most unexpected blockbuster. More details will follow shortly. Keep an eye on our News page.

Master Chief & Arbiter — Master Chief & Flood! Now Shipping!
The most dynamic Halo piece in the galaxy, The Master Chief & Flood, is now shipping, making its way to our warehouses along with The Master Chief and Arbiter — a terrific study in determination and menace. The two pieces join Cortana in our range of Halo sculptures. More about our Halo range here!

Seen Daybreakers yet?
Weta’s been heavily involved in making special makeup effects and prosthetics on a very exciting new movie called Daybreakers. Starring Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe and directed by Australian directors the Spierig Brothers, Daybreakers promises to be a big hit not only among vampire genre fans. Currently showing in the US and other parts of the world, other territories (like New Zealand) will have to wait until March. More here!

Now is the time to get a complete Doctor Who helmet collection!
We’re taking £10 off the price of each helmet until Monday 1 February. That means the Sycorax, Sontaran Officer Linx, The Ice Warrior and the Industrial Welding Mask are only £22 (US$41 | NZ$58+GST) and that The Cyberman Leader Helmet and Lord President Borusa’s Headdress are £28 (US$44 | NZ$62+GST). Save £60 (US$93 | NZ$133+GST) on a whole set! Top reasons why you should get Weta’s Doctor Who helmet collection? They’re absolutely exact replicas of the full size props. Modelmaker David Tremont (who is a complete and utter Who-ligan) has had access through his extensive contacts to some of the originals to ensure accuracy. They’re 1/4 scale, which means “fist sized”, cast in white metal, weigh about 2 lbs (1kg) each and perfectly capture the menace of a Doctor Who baddie. They are AWESOME. Especially when all six are lined up. Get your set now!

Bag End update from Daniel Falconer
Says Daniel: One of the first things to do when the notion of producing Bag End as a miniature collectible environment was mooted was to get some artwork for us all to look at and discuss. We can talk about a piece all we want but it’s impossible to really begin meaningful discussion until a visual exists that defines the bounds of the piece. With a common visual to reference the team can discuss specifics, like, “Will it include the tree? If it does, how big does that necessitate the collectible being…” Check out the article for more. And Pictures!

Have you noted the sweet, sweet smell of VICTORY?
We’ve had some really flattering reviews come in for Greg Broadmore’s latest book, VICTORY — Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men and Literate Women. Read the reviews on our VICTORY page!

The Lord of the Rings on Blu-Ray from Warner Bros.
What Entertainment Weekly describes as “The best film of the decade!” will shortly be available as a Blu-Ray box set direct from Warner Bros. It will even include a Weta discount coupon! Read more about this release.

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VIZ Media Announces the Highly Anticipated Release of Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei’s “Ultimo”

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, in conjunction with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment (PK:POWN) has announced the highly anticipated release of the new manga Ultimo on February 2nd. Ultimo is the result of a historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, co-creator of many iconic superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular Shaman King manga series. Ultimo, rated “T” for teens will carry a MSRP of $9.99 US/$12.99 CAN.

With girl and money troubles, life is hard enough for high school student Yamato, but then he stumbles upon Ultimo, a peculiar-looking puppet. Things only get stranger when Ultimo awakens and his archenemy, Vice shows up. Ultimo and Vice are Karakuri Dôji, the mechanical embodiment of pure good and pure evil, devoid of human emotions that can cloud one’s judgment. Their purpose: to battle to the death to prove once and for all whether good or evil is the most powerful force in the universe.

For over half a century, Stan Lee has been synonymous with superhero comics. In addition to creating countless memorable series and characters, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and Daredevil, he served as the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. Lee remains a hugely respected and dynamic figure in the entertainment industry and continues to develop a variety of film, television and video game properties.

“I am indescribably thrilled to have the honor of working with the famous and extremely talented Hiroyuki Takei on our exciting creation Ultimo. I feel that Ultimo combines the very best of Western mythology with the very best of Japanese manga,” says Stan Lee. “It gives me the greatest pleasure to be associated with VIZ Media on such an exciting and ground-breaking project.”

Unconventional author/artist, Hiroyuki Takei began his career by winning the 1994 Tezuka Award. After working as an assistant to famed artist Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin), Takei debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997 with Butsu Zone, an action series based on Buddhist mythology. His multicultural adventure manga Shaman King debuted in Japan in 1998 and has been adapted into a popular animated television series. The Shaman King manga series is also published in North America by VIZ Media; for many years it was serialized in English in Shonen Jump magazine.

“While it’s epic in scope and rich in mythology, the Ultimo storyline is grounded in modern teen angst which is what fans will gravitate to. It’s manga, but it’s got that ‘Stan Lee’ feel of the teenager who suddenly has all this power and can’t believe how crazy that is,” says Joel Enos, Senior Editor for Shonen Jump Manga, VIZ Media. “This story has found a common ground between Western comics and Eastern manga. Here you have two amazing creators, all this action, robots, and the universal theme of pure good vs. pure evil, all the while staying in high school youth culture and the drama and depth of everyday kids.”

For more information on Ultimo, please visit shonenjump.com/ultimo.

Eric Powell’s Eisner-Winning “The Goon” Returns in 2010!

from Dark Horse Comics:

Fans and critics alike rejoiced in 2008, when creator Eric Powell took his redneck zombie noir, The Goon, monthly for an entire calendar year. Following the release of the landmark graphic novel Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker, Powell laid out his most complex story line to date, spanning twelve issues. In 2009, the creator celebrated the tenth anniversary of the title, releasing a special anniversary issue to coincide with a burlesque anniversary party in his honor in Nashville, followed by a special all-silent issue in November. While both were strong standalone issues, the significantly lighter release schedule left fans wondering what’s next for the madcap mercenary.

Now, The Goon goes digital, as both Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker and The Goon #7, which features Hellboy, are made available on the iPhone platform. Chinatown marks Powell’s first self-contained graphic novel, which chronicles the earliest adventures of Goon and his wisecracking sidekick, Franky. After a new figure in the crime scene begins taking out the Goon’s business operations one by one, the Goon’s darkest moment comes back to haunt him, when his mind and body were left scarred… and his heart was left black. This new platform promises to expose an all-new readership to comics’ most beloved brute.

Not to worry, however: longtime fans will be rewarded with an all-new spinoff title based around Goon Year’s most notable character, Buzzard. Eric Powell gives one of his most beloved and mysterious characters his own highly anticipated, three-issue miniseries.

Following his brutal showdown with the loathsome Zombie Priest, Buzzard leaves his home, wandering aimlessly until he steps into the shadowy spirit realm of the forest. A dark path leads him to a small village living in fear of a bestial race of savages. More animal than man, these creatures hunt the villagers and drag them from their slumber in the depth of night.

“Buzzard has always been a personal favorite of mine from the Goon cast, and from the amount of requests I’ve gotten to give him his own series, I imagine he’s a favorite of the readers as well,” said Goon creator Eric Powell. “I’m really excited to finally be giving him his own story, along with the revival of Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities!”

For those who missed Goon Year, Dark Horse will be giving this twelve-issue story line the deluxe treatment with the release of Fancy Pants Edition Volume 3: Goon Year on July seventh. Powell’s all-new Buzzard series will arrive on shelves later this fall.

Look for news forthcoming on the return of the Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities short stories — a revival of the series from 2005 that paired Eric Powell with artist Kyle Hotz. The three-issue series will launch later this year.

Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker is available for download today in the iTunes store. For a limited time, this heart-wrenching story is available for the sale price of 1.99. In addition, the celebrated one-shot The Goon #7 is available for free download for the next three days.

For more information, visit www.darkhorse.com/features/mobile.

There has never been a better time to find out what you’ve been missing!

VIZ Media Announces the Launch of the “Kekkaishi” Animated Series on Hulu

from VIZ Media:

Today, VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, brings the animated demon-battling action and adventure of Kekkaishi to Hulu, an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — anytime in the U.S. The series debuts with 5 episodes with new installments launching each week. To view Kekkaishi, please visit Hulu.com.

Kekkaishi is based on a hit manga series by Yellow Tanabe (also published in North America by VIZ Media). Mystical forces are powerful in the region called Karasumori. For over 400 years, it has been the duty of a clan of “kekkaishi” — barrier masters — to guard the land and exterminate the supernatural creatures that are drawn to the area night after night.

Yoshimori Sumimura is a junior high school student at Karasumori Academy. Following in the tradition that’s been passed down through generations, he is the twenty-second “kekkaishi” of the Sumimura clan. But by day, Yoshimori’s got other demons to battle: an addiction to sweets and a seriously crotchety grandfather! Yoshimori’s pretty neighbor, childhood friend and rival, Tokine Yukimura, is also a “kekkaishi,” but their families are feuding over who is the true practitioner of the art. Protecting people from danger while growing stronger himself, Yoshimori will battle the forces of evil again tonight!

“Kekkaishi is the latest series to join the VIZ Media family of animated titles available to U.S. audiences on Hulu and we hope that fans will enjoy its lively mix of adventure, comedy and demon-slaying action,” says Candice Uyloan, Director, Brand Management at VIZ Media. “We are committed to utilizing the web to deliver the best in anime through innovative web-based, video streaming outlets like Hulu. Kekkaishi is an exciting addition to all the other top-rated anime from VIZ Media and we invite audiences to dive into this new series!”

Other VIZ Media animated titles available on Hulu include: Bleach, Buso Renkin, Death Note, Hikaru no Go, Honey and Clover, InuYasha and InuYasha: The Final Act, Nana, Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, and The Prince of Tennis.

For more information on Kekkaishi or other Shonen Sunday series, please also visit shonensunday.com or viz.com.

VIZ Media Announces Exciting New Manga Releases Scheduled for the First Half of 2010

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announces some of the exciting new manga set for release throughout the first half of 2010.

The new releases will be published by VIZ Media under its best-known imprints including VIZ Kids, VIZ Signature, Shojo Beat, Shonen Sunday, Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump Advanced.

February:

Biomega
by Tsutomu Nihei
Available February 2nd
Rated “M” for Mature Audiences
VIZ Signature Imprint
Zoichi Kanoe plunges into the depths of 9JO, a sprawling island city in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in search of Eon Green, a girl with the power to transmute the N5S virus. The deadly contagion is spreading across the world and turns humans into disfigured zombie-like “drones.” But he’s not the only one looking for her. Agents of the Public Health Service’s Compulsory Execution Unit are also in hot pursuit with sinister designs of their own. Zoichi and his trans-human allies have no time to waste; the countdown to the apocalypse has begun!

Bokurano: Ours
by Mohiro Kitoh
Available February 16th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
VIZ Signature Imprint
One summer, fifteen kids innocently wander into a nearby seaside cave. There they meet a strange man who invites them to play an exciting new video game. This game, he explains, pits a lone giant robot against a horde of alien invaders. To play the game all they have to do is sign a simple contract. The game stops being fun when the kids find out the true purpose of their pact.

Dinosaur King
by Yohei Sakai
Available February 2nd
Rated “A” for All Ages
VIZ KIDS Imprint
Max is obsessed with dinosaurs. He knows his Tapejara from his Pteranodon and can find fossils better than a trained paleontologist. When he discovers a stone tablet that transports him to the age of dinosaurs, it’s a dream come true — until it becomes a nightmare. An evil genius named Dr. Z has enslaved the dinosaurs so he can use their hidden powers to take over the world! Now Max has to defeat Dr. Z and his Alpha Gang to save the ancient beasts and life as we know it.

Ultimo
by Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee
Available February 2nd
Rated “T” for Teens
SHONEN JUMP Imprint
Ultimo represents a historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, creator of many iconic series including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular Shaman King manga series. High above Farmless City, citizens are stunned by the sudden appearance of two floating figures. Are they human boys, monolithic robots, or something even more bizarre? As a battle ensues, destruction and devastation falls on the hapless city. One figure is Vice, and seems to be as evil as his name implies. The other is Ultimo, intent on trying to stop Vice from wreaking more havoc. But who are Vice and Ultimo really? Where did they come from? A new mystery begins with the fate of the world hanging in the balance!

March:

Cactus’s Secret
by Nana Haruta
Available March 2nd
Rated “T” for Teens
SHOJO BEAT Imprint
Miku Yamada has a longtime crush on classmate Kyohei Fujioka. But no matter how many times she tries to show him how she feels, clueless Kyohei just doesn’t get it. Frustrated, Miku gives up on him, only to have him start calling her “Cactus” for being so prickly when he’s around. In the opening volume, Miku decides to try telling Kyohei her feelings by giving him chocolates for Valentine’s Day. But Kyohei, unaware that he’s the object of her affection, offers himself up as a practice partner for her love confession. Will Kyohei ever figure out Cactus’s secret?

Arata: The Legend
by Yuu Watase
Available March 9th
Rated “T” for Teens
SHONEN SUNDAY Imprint
In a mythical world where humans and gods coexist, a ceremony marking the new governing princess is about to occur for the first time in 60 years. Only a girl from the Hime Clan may take this position, but the lack of females born to this family means that a boy called Arata must pose for the role. Meanwhile in modern-day Japan, a boy named Arata Hinohara is starting his new life in high school. He wants to put memories of his difficult past behind him, but things aren’t going to be simple when he discovers a mysterious connection to the first Arata…

Dorohedoro
by Q Hayashida
Available March 16th
Rated “M” for Mature Audiences
VIZ SIGNATURE Imprint
In a city so dismal it’s known only as “the Hole,” a clan of sorcerers have been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious “experiments” in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they’re hunting and killing the sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they’ll kill the right one. But when En, the head sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of “cleaners” into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

Ristorante Paradiso
by Natsume Ono
Available March 16th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
VIZ Signature Imprint
In exchange for Nicoletta’s playing “the daughter of an old friend,” Olga offers Nicoletta a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the unique personalities at Casetta dell’Orso. She gets along particularly well with the kindly headwaiter, Claudio, a divorced man who, after years, has still never taken off his wedding ring. As Nicoletta’s feelings for Claudio become complicated, she finds a sympathetic ear in Olga, leading the estranged pair to form a friendship neither expected. But as they grow closer, the pressure exerted by the secret they share becomes too much to bear.

April:

Stepping on Roses
by Rinko Ueda
Available April 6th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
SHOJO BEAT Imprint
Poor Sumi Kitamura… Her irresponsible older brother Eisuke keeps bringing home orphans for her to take care of even though they can barely afford their own basic needs! Just when Sumi’s financial problems become dire, wealthy Soichiro Ashida enters her life with a bizarre proposition: he’ll provide her with the money she so desperately needs if she agrees to marry him. But can Sumi fool high society into thinking she’s a proper lady? Moreover, is it worth giving up everything for this sham of a marriage?

Rosario + Vampire Season II
by Akihisa Ikeda
Available April 6th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED Imprint
Average human teenager Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters — no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns, because he only has eyes for one of them — the far-from-average vampire Moka.

House of Five Leaves
by Natsume Ono
Available April 20th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
VIZ Signature Imprint
Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lords who have employed him. Hungry and desperate, he becomes a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a gang called “Five Leaves.” Although disturbed by the gang’s sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi’s motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he’s drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.

May:

Flower in a Storm
by Shigeyoshi Takagi
Available May 4th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
SHOJO BEAT Imprint
Riko Kunimi is trying to lead a normal high school life when Ran Tachibana bursts into her classroom carrying a gun and tells her that her life is now his. Ran, the richest, most powerful 17-year-old in Japan, wants her as his wife and he’s not taking no for an answer!

Maoh: Juvenile Remix
Original Story by Kotaro Isaka / Story & Art by Megumi Osuga
Available May 11th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
SHONEN SUNDAY Imprint
“As crazy as your ideas might be, as long as you believe in yourself and tackle the issue head-on, you can even change the world.”
Ando is a high school student who has the power to make others say out loud what he’s thinking. Inukai is the mysterious leader of a vigilante group called Grasshopper, which is at odds with the city’s redevelopment plan. In this chaotic city, these two will come together to weave a story of courage, determination and confrontation.

Saturn Apartments
by Hisae Iwaoka
Available May 18th
Rated “T” for Teens
VIZ SIGNATURE Imprint
Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the Earth, thirty-five kilometers up in the sky. The society of the Ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father’s occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu’s job treats him to an outsider’s view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.

June:

Afterschool Charisma
by Kumiko Suekane
Available June 15th
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
VIZ Signature Imprint
St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school: all of the students are clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon, Mozart, and Freud. All of them, that is, except for Shiro Kamiya. As Shiro struggles to adapt to this unusual campus, St. Kleio’s first graduate, the clone of John F. Kennedy, is killed. Are the clones doomed to repeat the fate of their genetic progenitors, or can they create their own destinies? And how does a normal boy like Shiro fit in?

Library Wars: Love & War
by Kiiro Yumi
Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa
Available June 1st
Rated “T+” for Older Teens
SHOJO BEAT Imprint
Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. But now that she’s finally a recruit, she’s finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it in for her!

For more information on these and other VIZ Media titles please visit our websites at:
VIZ.com
VizKids.com
ShojoBeat.com
ShonenSunday.com
ShonenJump.com
SigIKKI.com
VizSignature.com

Cast your vote for “ghostgirl: Homecoming”

from ghostgirl:

ghostgirl: Homecoming has been nominated as a potential finalist for the 2010 Teen Choice Book of the Year, so please vote!

In association with the Children’s Book Council (CBC), Teenreads.com is giving you a very special opportunity to let your voices be heard by telling us your five favorite books of 2009. The five titles that receive the most votes will serve as the finalists for the CBC’s 2010 Teen Choice Book of the Year. Once the five finalists have been determined, we will tell you where you can go vote for them. The winner will be announced in May 2010.

The first round of voting in the Children’s Choice Book Awards is open until February 1, 2010.

The Art of Emily the Strange: A Definitive Collection

from Emily the Strange:

The Art of Emily the Strange!
IN STOCK NOW!!

The Art of Emily Volume 1 is the first-ever collection of images showing the wide and inspired range of artistic styles and mediums that have been used to create the world of Emily the Strange. From silk-screened vinyl skateboard stickers to custom rock-and-roll album art, large-scale psychedelic paintings, and insanely intricate Mongolian paper cutting, the fantastic and artful imaginings of Rob Reger, Buzz Parker, and a staggeringly talented array of collaborators will give insight and inspiration to any Emily fan!

Full color, 120 pages hardcover 8.5″ x 11″

Sleep all day, Art all night,
Miles

Find Emily on: Facebook | MySpace | YouTube

Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 5 Audience Choice Winner Announced!

from Mimoco:

Star Wars MIMOBOT Series 5… coming March 2010 to a USB port near you!

We’re proud to announce Obi-Wan Kenobi has won the first Star Wars MIMOBOT Audience Choice vote and will be included as part of Series 5 releasing in March!

Thanks to everyone who voted*, and be on the lookout for more news about the Series 5 release in the coming months.

Until then, check out the current Star Wars MIMOBOT line up!

*As our thanks for your participation, everyone who voted will receive a 20% off coupon for Obi-Wan MIMOBOT when the series releases in March. Thanks again!

VIZ Media Debuts “Natsume’s Book of Friends” Manga Story Tomorrow

from VIZ Media:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the January 5th release of Natsume’s Book of Friends, a standalone manga story by Yuki Midorikawa. Natsume’s Book of Friends debuts under the Shojo Beat imprint, is rated “T” for Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN.

Takashi Natsume can see spirits and demons that hide from the rest of humanity. He has always been set apart from other people because of his gift, drifting from relative to relative, never fitting in. Now he’s a troubled high school student who has come to live in a small town where his grandmother, Reiko, grew up. And there he discovers that he has inherited more than just the power of Sight from the mysterious Reiko. When Reiko was Takashi’s age, she bound the names of demons and spirits in her Book of Friends, enslaving them to her every capricious whim. Now Takashi is the owner of the book, and the creatures will do anything to get their names back.

“Natsume’s Book of Friends is a great series for readers who are looking for something different than the typical shojo manga. Yuki Midorikawa skillfully deploys her delicate and almost serene artwork to tell a story that balances dark adventure with light comedy, the supernatural with real life. This remarkably beautiful work is truly unlike any other shojo series out there,” says Leyla Aker, Editorial Manager, VIZ Media.

Yuki Midorikawa’s other published titles in Japan include Into the Forest of Fireflies, The Scarlet Chair and The Voice That Blooms Red. Natsume’s Book of Friends (Natsume Yujincho) was originally published in the manga magazine LaLa DX and was a finalist for the first Manga Taisho awards in 2008.

For more information on this title, or others from VIZ Media, please visit viz.com.

Victory: Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men & Literate Women

Victory: Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men & Literate Women

Dr. Grordbort (aka Weta) presents Victory: Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men & Literate Women, a quasi-sequel to Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory, both written and illustrated by steampunk visionary Greg Broadmore.

The year’s foremost journal of progressive armaments and weaponry! Behold the latest line of defense captured in action!

[…]

Filled to the brim with first hand tales of exploration and progress from the great heroes of our time, picture strips of unimaginable escapades on the frontier, never-seen-before portraits of dazzling damsels and monstrous villains, and laudable accounts of man and robot pitted against our greatest enemy (the uncivilized world), Victory is an onslaught of action-packed scientific adventure in full-spectrum color — containing facts that every boy and literate girl should know.

Written and illustrated by Weta Workshop Conceptual Designer Greg Broadmore, this book sumptuously details a science-fiction history that never was. Hearkening back to the classic sci-fi serials of yesteryear, it reveals the backstories and mythos of Weta Limited’s highly limited ray gun collectible line.

Whereas the Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory was mainly a catalogue of raygun designs, Victory fleshes out the world of Dr. Grordbort a bit more. Labeled as Volume 127, this oversized hardcover book is done in the style of a British annual, and is full of stunning, full-colour art that’s available to sample in an online preview. The pages are printed on heavy hardstock, and if you’re the sort of savage who’s okay with dissecting books to obtain some frameable art, then Victory will provide you with a gallery of choices.

Be forewarned: this book contains a very un-PC reimagining of the universe, so if you’re easily offended, or squicked out by pictures of aliens being graphically blown to smithereens, then you should probably search out tamer reading material. However, if you have a very good, albeit warped, sense of humour, then you’ll find Victory to be a jolly good romp.

Join Lord Cockswain for a Spot of Virtual Venusian Vapourisation is a print version of the online target practice simulator Blast a Buffoon, with the book leaving a blank space for you to draw in your own Venusian target. Life in the British Colonial Expeditionary Forces takes a brief look at the daily life of a soldier, while Know Your Enemy profiles the Venusians that the boys of the BCEF are up against. Adapted from the Dr. Grordbort’s website are A Bestiary of the Cosmos: The Wildlife of Venus, and the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek weapon Testimonials. Web comics “Lord Cockswain: M’Gulu in Peril!”, a five-part serial, and the one-shot “Lord Cockswain: On the Application of Rayguns” are reproduced in Old Timey Compartmentalised Picture Essays, and there’s a one-page feature similarly called On the Careful Application of Rayguns, which is a guide to properly caring for, and thereby possibly reducing the risk of maiming yourself with, a Grordbort raygun. Graphic short stories that were created new for the book are “Lord Cockswain in… Venusian Vengeance” and “Lord Cockswain in… The Mountain of the Moon Menace”, two tales of Lord Cockswain’s signaturely inept and destructive approach to leading missions. Hall of Gits, portraits of personalities from the world of Dr. Grordbort, gives readers a glimpse of Cockswain’s equally hapless peers. Also included in the book are a selection of propaganda posters, one done by a guest artist, and the invaluable How to read the signs of Robotic Rebellion!, which lists the (obvious) signs that your robot manservant may have overridden the first Law of Robotics, namely that “a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.” No book bearing the Dr. Grordbort’s logo would be complete without a bristling display of weaponry, and Victory doesn’t disappoint, introducing three impressive Grordbort tanks — the Greased Weasel, The Remorseless, and the Gargantutherium VII — that range from lightweight to terrain-crushing behemoth. A selection of upcoming rayguns is catalogued, as well:

  • Silver Mantiss 99se Thin Cone Death Beam — a second raygun for ladies, following the Victorious Mongoose 1902a Concealable Ray Pistol, with a silver mirror finish.
  • Grordbort 66 Sonic De-Stabiliser — a copper-coloured raygun, its silver handle carved with a Chinese dragon.
  • Pomson 6000 Sub Atomic Wave Gun — The Unnatural Selector‘s more futuristic-looking successor, with lots of shiny red metal, chrome trim, and a top fin.
  • Saturn 67 Luminiferous Aether Igniter — a utilitarian raygun that looks like a cross between a pistol and a crude taser.
  • Righteous Bison Indivisible Particle Smasher — a model already released as Weta’s first plastic raygun, but perhaps a metal version is on the way?
  • Silent Banshee Infra Wave Atom Corrupter — a minimalistic raygun with a cone-shaped muzzle and silencer, ideal for assassins.

In addition, there’s a two-page spread for Lord Cockswain’s Ray-Blunderbuss “The Unnatural Selector” that lavishly showcases the blustering adventurer’s favourite weapon.

If you already have the Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory on your bookshelf, then you’ll naturally want a copy of Victory to join it. For fans of steampunk, sci-fi, and retro art, both books are indispensable additions to your library.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Victory: Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men & Literate Women
Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory

Or order directly through the Weta website, or Dark Horse Comics (search keyword: “weta”).

Victory: Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men & Literate Women and Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory are distributed by Weta Publishing, in partnership with Dark Horse Books, a division of Dark Horse Comics. For more information, please visit the official Dr. Grordbort’s website.

Happy New Year from the Girlaxy!!!

from Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls:

3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

With the Earth about to complete yet another full rotation around the Sun, we here at MWGG Central Control would like to wish you and yours a safe and HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON and a GIRLACTICALLY AWESOME NEW YEAR!

Did you or your special someone get a Galaxy Girl over the holidays? If so, then Email us a picture of this newly recruited Space Cadet with her doll, whether a kid or a big kid at heart, and we’ll put it up on MWGG Blog! And all submissions will be entered into a drawing, and one lucky girl will win an original MWGG illustration by creator Lauren Faust!

Didn’t get what you wanted during the holidays? Well don’t let your inner star fade. Series 1 Galaxy Girl Dolls are still available at… FAO.com!

And keep beaming back to our website, webstore, and blog for more info on the G-Girls including Series 2 Galaxy Girls Dolls making contact in 2010!