Jayce, an introspective writer, and Hawk, an excitable artist and inventor, have unofficially taken up residence in the home of sweet and thoughtful Alice and hard-drinking, hard-smoking, hard-hitting Gina. The foursome’s busy trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives, and how the heck to fit their college classes in around marathon video-game sessions, visits to the comic shop, and offbeat road trips. But when Hawk gets fed up with constantly striking out with women and decides to create the perfect girlfriend in his basement lab, passing classes suddenly becomes the least of the group’s worries! If Hawk’s project is a success, will his creation be content to be the perfect girlfriend, or will she have dreams of her own? And… uh… how many more things is she going to blow up?
This trade paperback is a collectable retrospective for longtime fans of Applegeeks, and a perfect introduction for readers completely new to the series or webcomics in general. The online experience translates well to the printed page, and vice versa, with the full-colour comics faithfully reproduced on black pages that match the background of the comics on the website. The sleek, evocative design of the book makes reading Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year feel like sitting in front of a paper replica of a computer screen; even the fonts used support the illusion. The art on the book’s cover may confuse readers since it’s drawn in the current style of the comic, which bears little resemblance to artist Mohammad F. “Hawk” Haque‘s early work, but this variation is explained right up front in the illustrated foreword by Megatokyo creator Fred “Piro” Gallagher. Gallagher says, “What’s really impressive is that Hawk, much like Ananth, is not afraid to experiment and challenge his own creative boundaries. His sketchbooks show a remarkable diversity of technique and love of artistic expression.” Part of the pleasure of reading the first volume of Applegeeks is in watching this organic evolution.
Applegeeks, Volume 1: Freshman Year really shines, though, as a guide for anyone who aspires to create their own webcomics. Series writer Ananth Panagariya provides insider commentary on every page, his personal anecdotes addressing such creative and practical topics as character and storyline inspiration, story arc plotting, update schedule management, and fan interaction. The final section of the book, nearly a third of its pages, is filled with bonus material that will also open a valuable window into the webcomics business:
Pinups — Single panels of stop-gap art that Hawk, and occasionally Ananth, published when regular comic production got sidelined by real life commitments.
Fun with Fiction — Ananth’s short, alternate reality stories featuring Applegeeks characters.
Convention Antics — Stories and artwork from convention appearances, with an emphasis on social and professional networking opportunities.
Applegeeks_The Beginning Prequel Comic — A five-page, monochromatic comic that reveals the backstory of how Jayce and Hawk, the protagonists of Applegeeks, became best friends.
Guest Pinups — Applegeeks fan art done by other webcomic artists and industry professionals.
Hawk’s Sketchbook — A two-page spread of character studies.
If you just can’t wait for the second Applegeeks book, Applegeeks, Volume 2: Weird Science, to find out how the story continues, check out the ApplegeeksComic Archive. Of course, you’ll still need to read the print edition when it’s released on October 21, 2009, to get all the behind-the-scenes information and extras!
This is not a clever revamping of a classic story. In fact, the most clever thing about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is that its author recognized its complete lack of intelligence by refraining from naming it something dashing like The Most Unmentionable Curse of Meryton. No, Seth Grahame-Smith’s version is not a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice; it’s simply Pride and Prejudice with zombie bits tacked on. Hence, it is, just as his title bluntly points out, Pride and Prejudice AND Zombies. Likewise, Grahame-Smith appends his name onto the book cover after Austen’s, clearly announcing himself as the secondary author.
Which is not to say that I didn’t wholly enjoy this literary extension. In fact, the simplistic format is sure to elicit more than a few chuckles. Basically, this is the original Pride and Prejudice word for word, except for where Grahame-Smith has modified the text by sprinkling in a healthy dose of Katana swords, flying ninja kicks, and zombies mistaking cauliflower heads for brains. So, for instance, Elizabeth might be found employed in carving the Bennet crest instead of trimming a hat during a social visit, or oiling her musket rather than doing her needlework, as Austen has her modestly doing in the original.
In other areas Grahame-Smith does lengthen the additional text beyond brief mentions of muskets and flying stars. Where Grahame-Smith has interluded the original story with entirely new paragraphs I picture the author gamely reading through the original book, drifting off during a particularly mundane scene of social niceties, and then awakening with a jerk, thinking “This dance scene could really use a zombie attack.” Which is why, in the midst of the first ball in the story zombies suddenly crash through the windows and attack the guests, forcing the Bennet girls to do battle in their ballgowns. Zombie unpleasantries out of the way, however, the text resumes its natural course, concluding that “Apart from the zombie attack, the evening altogether passed off pleasantly for the whole family.” Here it is the transitions from original work to zombified Austen that really produces a smirk in the reader.
The really laugh-out-loud bits, though, come when Grahame-Smith projects reader response onto the story. Really, who didn’t find Mary’s didactic speeches positively snore-worthy? Even Austen poked fun at this nerd in the beautiful Bennet fivesome, with her terrible caterwauling at the piano and tiresome morals. Grahame-Smith, however, is much less subtle than Austen, and therefore has Elizabeth rolling her eyes in the midst of Mary’s central speech on vanity and pride, and finally yawning (as surely the reader is) at its dry-as-dust conclusion. Similarly, during the midst of one of Lydia’s rambling and vapid speeches, Elizabeth gets out her trusty Katana sword and lops off her head. Only, much to Elizabeth’s (and the reader’s) disappointment, this turns out to be a daydream and Lydia, head still very much intact, resumes her blethering while Elizabeth (and the world) sighs with disappointment.
In other areas, the additions to the story are so out of character that it’s hard to laugh. A zombie battle where Elizabeth kicks some serious zombie butt, but manages to do so without mucking up her clothes too badly or compromising her modesty, seems in character with the original Elizabeth (a bit of a tough rebel at heart, but still a lady). However, a scene with Elizabeth ripping out and eating a heart, with the blood running down her dress in the middle of a social visit, is a bit… I don’t know… too much?
Likewise, Mr. Darcy seems to have picked up a very un-Darcy-like tendency to make ribald jokes. The repeated “balls” puns are very in keeping with a twelve year old boy and make me think the author should have added “(tee hee)” every time he inserted this particular verbal jest. And the ladies do seem to have a penchant for pointing out the men’s “most English parts.” Still, call me a twelve year old boy, but I couldn’t repress a smile when, after Elizabeth and Miss Bingley engage in their walking-about-the-room-in-order-to-make-Darcy-notice-them scene, and Darcy calls them out for this behaviour, Grahame-Smith has Darcy naughtily pointing out that he can basically see their figures through their clothes due to the glow cast by the fire, instead of simply remarking, as in the original, that he can admire them better from where he is sitting by the fire. In this case, Grahame-Smith’s change actually works well, as Miss Bingley’s retort of “Oh! Shocking!” seems quite a bit less over the top when you take into account that Darcy is, you know, being a bit of a pervert.
Other areas in which Grahame-Smith’s changes quite work are the verbal fighting scenes. In both of Elizabeth’s major war of words, first when she rejects Mr. Darcy’s condescending proposal, and then when she verbally judos Lady Catherine’s prejudices, Grahame-Smith has the duos not only verbally sparring, but physically fighting as well, in an impressive display of Chinese versus Japanese battle techniques. While Mr. Darcy’s words are thrown at him as he is thrown into the mantelpiece, Lady Catherine and her ninja army find themselves cut down by Elizabeth’s tongue and sword alike.
And if you’re wondering, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies isn’t completely a random smattering of zombie mayhem. If you care to look for it, there is somewhat of a weak zombie plot. Basically, the English town of Meryton has been under attack from zombies, or “unmentionables” as they are decorously referred to, for many years. While Mrs. Bennet plots to marry off her five daughters, Mr. Bennet has them trained in the Chinese arts of fighting so that they can vanquish the evil foe. Elizabeth, in particular, is a master of zombie slaying, surpassed only by the haughty Lady Catherine, Japanese-trained and with an army of fighting ninjas to back her! Clearly the differences in fighting styles leads to Lady Catherine’s prejudice against Mr. Darcy marrying Elizabeth!
What follows is a battle of wills and roundhouse-kicks, as Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth reconcile their differences against an English backdrop of balls, social visits and violent zombie shenanigans. Along the way, the insufferable Mr. Collins marries the plague-infested Charlotte, who turns into a zombie, to the notice of no one except Elizabeth. Meanwhile Lydia runs off with the wicked Mr. Wickham, who is eventually condemned by Grahame-Smith to a double-whammy life of being a cripple and having to work for the church far, far away.
But eventually Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth learn to love and fight side by side, and everyone has a happy ending (except Lydia and Mr. Collins). Clearly this extension of Pride and Prejudice is riding the coat-tails of current zombie popularity and is in no way presented as a work of art. It does, however, serve a single bright purpose in introducing a literary classic to a new audience in a unique way. For, as Grahame-Smith ponders in his “Reader’s Discussion Guide” at the conclusion of the novel: “Can you imagine what this novel might be like without the violent zombie mayhem?”
Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls, a website dedicated to the positive promotion of girl power, presents Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From?, a picture book written and illustrated by site creator Lauren Faust.
Meet Milky Way and her intergalactic entourage, the Galaxy Girls! Each girl is named after some heavenly body, and none are afraid to be as individual as every star in the sky. With 11 girls in this celestial sorority, there’s bound to be one you can bond with. You may be a total hottie, sizzlin’ with solar power like the Sun. Or like Pluto, a rockin’ rebel who rejects demeaning labels like “Dwarf Planet.” Perhaps you’re an orbital oddball, like artistic, green-skinned Mars. Or a kind-hearted environmentalist with a soft spot for cute animals, like Jupiter. Read on, for this book is your personal guide to the girlaxy, and with a little personal insight you can find out… What Planet Are You From?
Independently published in 2007, What Planet Are You From? is a professional effort that deserves a much wider audience than it’s received so far. Like Neil Gaiman’s Blueberry Girl, it’s a refreshing alternative to the sea of pink, glittery, substance-free fluff that currently floods the bookstore shelves reserved for young girls. Fashioned in the style of an astrology guide, this small hardcover encourages girls to think about who they really are, not just who society and the media tells them they should be. As Faust writes on her website:
What do girls like? The first things that come to your mind may be: clothes, hair, make up and fashion. And you would be right. Most girls DO enjoy these things, and it would be foolish to ignore that fact. But who only likes one thing, right? The world often forgets that girls love art, sports, music, culture, animals, learning… the list is infinite! And, sadly, sometimes girls forget that, too. So why can’t girls be cute, stylish, cool, AND smart, empowered and a little different?
They can. Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls offers the best of both worlds for girls. Fun with trendy, funky clothes and hair styles AND a wide variety of personalities, nationalities and outside interests. Each character has a specific activity she loves and accessories and wardrobe that correspond. They are each individually adorned with a personal symbol and color scheme that define her and her life style.
So, there’s a girl for everyone! All you have to do is figure out… What Planet Are You From?
Faust worked on the popular cartoon series The Powerpuff Girls, and its visual influence can clearly be seen in the brightly-coloured and dynamic art of What Planet Are You From? Elements of Rainbow Brite and Sailor Moon give the simple yet iconic designs a touch of cheerful nostalgia, as well. The eleven Galaxy Girls — Milky Way, The Sun, Mercury, Venus, The Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto — are given four pages apiece to tell their stories. (Earth is absent from the book since Lauren Faust fills the role of “Mother Earth” on the Galaxy Girls website.) Biographical information is listed on a two-page spread, with the name and picture of the described character splashily revealed when the page is turned. Nearly blank backgrounds allow readers to imagine whatever setting they desire. The book would make a memorable reading activity at a slumber party and, as an added educational bonus, can be used to help teach budding astronomers about the celestial objects that make up the solar system.
What Planet Are You From? is a stellar gift for girls of all ages, delivering a message that every child should take to heart: “Remember, there may be millions and millions of stars in the girlaxy, but each and every one is astronomically awesome and unique… and you are too!”
Once you’ve joined the Solar Sisterhood, proclaim your choice of Galaxy Girl mentor by picking up a t-shirt, poster, postcard, sticker, button, or patch at the online shop, and visit the Etsy shop where Faust sells handmade plush art dolls of the girls featured in Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From?
Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls: What Planet Are You From? is distributed by My Firefly. For more information on the book and its author, visit the official Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls website and its related Facebook and MySpace pages. Lauren Faust may also be followed on deviantART and MySpace.
Luuna, the French graphic novel series written by Nicolas Keramidas and illustrated by Didier Crisse, has been translated into English by TOKYOPOP, a manga publisher that’s broadening its catalogue by adding English language editions of comic books from around the world. The three-volume Luuna, in which “a Native American girl must save her tribe from her own curse”, is one of the titles leading this expansion, marketed as an example of “Europe’s most popular graphic novels”.
Luuna, Volume 1 collects the books “Night of the Totems” and “Twilight of the Lynx” from the original French publishing run. Printed on oversized pages in full, rich colour, it introduces the titular heroine and sets up the epic journey, bother outer and inner, that Luuna must go on to save her soul from being corrupted by the forces of evil.
On the night of her coming of age ritual, Luuna, a young girl from the mystic Paumanok tribe, enters the sacred wood.
There she will face Hohopah, the Heart of the Forest, and be assigned her totem, the animal incarnation of her inner-self.
But unbeknownst to Luuna, this night belongs to Unkui, the Evil One, who demands that her soul be shared!
Now Luuna is cursed with not one, but two totems: One white — the reflection of all that is good in her; the other, black — representing the darkness that resides in us all, and capable of terrible destruction.
Unable to return to her tribe, Luuna embarks on a quest to seek out the wise spirits of the earth and with their help, rid herself of the cursed totem. But little does she know that Unkui is not finished with her yet, and has set his fiendish minions on her trail…
A dark action-fantasy based on Native American mythology, similar in tone to the later “Wild Hunt” storyline of ElfQuest, Luuna manages to avoid the blatant clichés and stereotypes normally found in comics featuring tribal people and their beliefs. This respect for the source material is even directly referenced in the story when the leader of a group of evil forest spirits, out to kill Luuna’s trio of red-hued sidekicks, commands “Gut those redskins!”, and one of the offended sprites quips, in a winking aside to the reader, “Redskins?! What a dumb name! Redskins!” Luuna and her kin seem like genuine people who just happen to live in a world where forest spirits and magic actually exist. While she may resemble Disney’s Pocahontas in appearance, Luuna is a more well-rounded, relatable character who, despite being the token princess, has common human flaws and a dark side she must struggle against. She’s also given a plausible reason for being able to talk to her animal friends, as she’s a member of the Paumanok, a guardian race chosen by the gods to maintain the balance of nature.
The expressive artwork in Luuna is reminiscent of Jeff Smith’s Bone comics. The clean, bold lines, in the style of traditional cel animation, make the drawings look deceptively simple and cartoon-like until repeated readings reveal little background details and nuances of body language that add greater depth to the story. Colour is used to great effect, as well, emphasizing the cycle of lightness and darkness that Luuna goes through. The first volume of Luuna concludes with a sneak preview of eight art panels from Luuna, Volume 2, but since the dialogue has been removed from these pages, they serve mainly as a tantalizing hint of what will happen next on Luuna and her companions’ travels.
The publication date for Luuna, Volume 3, hasn’t been announced yet, but Volume 2 will be available in July 2009.
Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult (13+) for adult themes, non-sexual nudity, occasional adult language, frightening situations, and intense scenes of violence.
I’ve always been drawing and typically my stuff (when it doesn’t end up on your TV sets) just sits on a shelf in my office collecting dust. So back in ’07, inspired by the work my wife was doing with her brilliant Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls I decided to dust off some of those drawings and try and hock some of my own wares.
So that year at Comic Con I debuted my nomadic, hippie, muppet man, Wander Over Yonder. It was a real simple affair, a T- Shirt, a patch, and a sketchbook of some of my taken ‘er easy, getting back to nature doodles. Wander was well received and after a good con we still had some stuff left over. So as to not let this “rolling stone” gather too much dust like my drawings used to I’m proud to announce that Wander has launched his very own webstore. So please Wander on over and check it out when you get a chance.
Every little girl should be issued a copy of Blueberry Girl on the day that she’s born. A lyrical poem that’s an enchanted wish for a life full of blessings, “what every new parent or parent-to-be dreams of for her child, what every girl dreams of for herself”, Neil Gaiman’s latest children’s picture book echoes the hopefulness of Sleeping Beauty and the gifts granted by the fairy godmothers who attended the newborn princess’ christening. (Unlike that classic fairy tale, though, no wicked fairy intrudes on Blueberry Girl with a curse.)
The book’s elegant watercolour illustrations are by master fantasy artist Charles Vess, whose traditional style of fairy tale art casts as much of a spell as the words they illuminate. Each spread is ripe with images of blueberries, idealized scenes of nature, and magical symbols, with the “blueberry girl” morphing in age and appearance from page to page, allowing girls of all types to identify with her. Smaller children will likely get more out of the pictures than the words, which employ more adult-level language and concepts, but will still thoroughly enjoy the large, flowing blue font and lullaby-like cadence of the poetry as it’s read aloud.
In “A Note From Neil”, Gaiman best describes the delightful Blueberry Girl, and how it was written for his goddaughter-to-be, Tash, as a favor for her mother, musician Tori Amos, a longtime friend of Gaiman’s who nicknamed her expected baby “the blueberry”:
Hello.
You’re probably wondering what kind of book this is.
This is the kind of book that comes about when a friend phones you and says, “I’ll be having a baby in a month. Would you write her a poem? A sort of prayer, maybe? We call her the Blueberry…” And you think, Yes, actually. I would.
I wrote the poem. When the baby was born, they stopped calling her the Blueberry and started calling her Natashya, but they pinned up the handwritten Blueberry girl poem beside her bed.
I kept a copy at my house, taped to a filing cabinet. And when friends read it, they said things like “Please, can I have a copy for my friend who is going to be giving birth to a daughter?” and I wound up copying it out for people, over and over.
I wasn’t going to let it be published, not ever. It was private, and written for one person, even if I did seem to be spending more and more of my time handwriting or printing out nice copies for mothers-to-be and for babies.
Then artist Charles Vess (whom I had collaborated with on Stardust) read it.
And somehow, it all became simple. I made a few phone calls. We decided to make some donations to some charities. And Charles began to draw, and then to paint, taking the poem as a starting point and then making something universal and beautiful.
On his blog he said, “Taking Neil’s lovely poetic meditation on the inherent joys of a mother-daughter relationship and developing a compelling narrative impulse without robbing the poem of its highly symbolic nature was an interesting conceptual journey.” Which I think is Charles for “It wasn’t easy to make that poem into a picture book.” He did an astonishing job, but I still worried. I stopped worrying the day the assistant editor at HarperChildrens, who was herself pregnant, called me to let me know that she’d got the artwork in, and read it, and then started crying in the office.
It’s a book for mothers and for mothers-to-be. It’s a book for anyone who has, or is, a daughter. It’s a prayer and a poem, and now it’s a beautiful book.
I hope you enjoy it. I’m really proud of it. And I hope this means I don’t have to copy it out any longer…
Neil
Part of the proceeds from the book will be donated to RAINN, Gaiman noted in his blog, “because I originally wrote Blueberry Girl for Tori and her as-yet-unborn-daughter, and that seemed like the right thing to do.” RAINN is an anti-sexual assault organization that Tori Amos is a founding member of and has been one of the main spokeswomen for, so your purchase will not only make the future brighter for little girls, it will help heal those that weren’t as lucky as the carefree everygirl represented in Blueberry Girl.
Publishers Weekly enthuses, “Fans of Gaiman and Vess will pounce on this creation; so too will readers who seek for their daughters affirmation that sidesteps traditional spiritual conventions.” Blueberry Girl is truly a must-have book for girls at any stage of life, and a sweet treat for readers.
Online bonus: Blueberry Girl — Listen to Gaiman read the entire picture book online, in the book’s animated trailer. The audio is from one of the readings the author did during his Graveyard Book reading tour.
The Art of Kung Fu Panda by Tracey Miller-Zarnecke, with a foreword by Jack Black, draws readers into the world of the DreamWorks Animation movie that was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Animated Feature Film and kicked cartoon butt at the Annie Awards, defeating presumed front-runner WALL-E to become the surprise Chosen One of the evening.
Kung Fu Panda pulled out all its martial arts moves Friday night at the 36th annual Annie Awards, where it was named best animated feature.
Winning the top prize over such other nominees as the critical favorites WALL-E and Waltz with Bashir, Panda swept the feature film categories as it picked up 10 trophies, bettering Pixar’s Ratatouille run last year when it earned nine Annies, including best feature.
If there was an honour awarded for film tie-ins, then Kung Fu Panda would surely get the nod for The Art of Kung Fu Panda, as well.
Unlike many movie art books, which rarely warrant more than a single once-over, The Art of Kung Fu Panda is a treasure that begs to be admired over and over again. The dustjacket, a thick paper sleeve whose red, yellow, and black cover art reflects the traditional Chinese colour palette, glimmers with red foil dragons that undulate along the top and bottom margins. Hidden underneath, the red hardcover is covered in a delicate wave pattern and embossed with a large, glossy black dragon. Stunning gatefold pages are tucked at random intervals throughout the book, and even the endpapers are works of art, richly patterned with red and golden-yellow dragons and flowers in a style that emulates Chinese silk. A sealed envelope attached to the back endpaper, mysteriously marked “Prepare for Awesomeness”, contains the bonus gift of a small, folded replica of Kung Fu Panda’s film poster.
As an official companion book, The Art of Kung Fu Panda takes adventurous readers behind the scenes of the legendary movie with a team of master filmmakers as their guide. It traces the journey of the production from its first stages of development through to completed animation, accompanied by the candid, insider commentary that’s come to be expected from an “art of” book. Since Kung Fu Panda’s stylized look is so important to the film, the book spends considerable time covering its visual development, especially the use of colour and groundbreaking CG effects. The digitally rendered artwork is so polished and highly detailed that each piece of art, even the roughest of character sketches and conceptual designs, looks like a completed illustration from a children’s picture book. Character designs are thoroughly documented, with every nuance — name origins, clothing styles, related symbols, animal-associated mannerisms, choice of voice actors — explained, lending the animal heroes richer personalities and back-stories. The most interesting revelations in The Art of Kung Fu Panda, though, involve the changes that occurred during the film’s story development. Multiple screenplay and storyboard revisions are explored, showing what might have happened on the paths untaken, and thoughtful reasons are given for the choices which ultimately resulted in the version of Kung Fu Panda that made it to theatre screens.
Watch an animated trailer for Blueberry Girl, written and read by Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman. (The illustrations from this children’s picture book are by fantasy and comic book artist Charles Vess.)
What do girls like? The first things that come to your mind may be: clothes, hair, make up and fashion. And you would be right. Most girls DO enjoy these things, and it would be foolish to ignore that fact. But who only likes one thing, right? The world often forgets that girls love art, sports, music, culture, animals, learning… the list is infinite! And, sadly, sometimes girls forget that, too. So why can’t girls be cute, stylish, cool, AND smart, empowered and a little different?
They can. Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls offers the best of both worlds for girls. Fun with trendy, funky clothes and hair styles AND a wide variety of personalities, nationalities and outside interests. Each character has a specific activity she loves and accessories and wardrobe that correspond. They are each individually adorned with a personal symbol and color scheme that define her and her life style.
So, there’s a girl for everyone! All you have to do is figure out… What Planet Are You From?
About the Creator:
Lauren Faust has been a success in the animation industry for 12 years both as an artist and a writer. Her most recent endeavors have been as Head Writer and Supervising Producer for husband Craig McCracken’s award-winning hit series Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends on Cartoon Network. For her work on Foster’s, Lauren has received nominations for four Emmy and three Annie Awards. Previously, she had lent her talents to the popular cartoon series, feature film and marketing sensation The Powerpuff Girls and as an animator on such feature films as The Iron Giant and Cats Don’t Dance. All the while she has been an avid toy collector with a particular interest in the beloved toys of her childhood, including My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake. Her greatest goal as an artist is to offer up to little girls the kind of joy and inspiration she experienced as a child, with images of girls and women as positive, self-affirming, active, individualistic, fun, and even a little edgy.
The cosmic Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls website is aimed at, but not limited to, preteen girls. It offers up profiles of the Galaxy Girls, a shop full of t-shirts and other fun merchandise, Mother Earth (aka Lauren Faust)’s blog, the Solar Sisterhood newsletter, and a link to the Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls Etsy shop.
Girlactic Greetings Earthlings!
Welcome the The Solar Sisterhood on Etsy! The only place in the universe to find hand made items featuring Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls, a completely independent project by animator, Lauren Faust. Lauren is so far unwilling to compromise the quality of design of her characters to have them mass produced, so she lovingly makes all her toys by hand, and all her other products independently. She sincerely hopes you enjoy them!
Girl Genius, by Phil & Kaja Foglio: Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World… with mixed success.
At Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay is a student with trouble concentrating and rotten luck. Dedicated to her studies but unable to build anything that actually works, she seems destined for a lackluster career as a minor lab assistant.
But when the University is overthrown, a strange “clank” stalks the streets and it begins to look like Agatha might carry a spark of Mad Science after all.
The award-winning Girl Genius, a Gaslamp Fantasy that started as a comic book series then turned into a webcomic, is currently available online and in graphic novel collections.
Retro sci-fi and steampunk fans, rejoice! Weta, the company best known for creating the sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures, and miniatures in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, presents Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators & Other Marvelous Contraptions.
Dr. Grordbort’s Infallible Aether Oscillators is a line of 1:1 scale antique styled, sci-fi hand weapon props, conceived by Weta designer Greg Broadmore and meticulously built by master model maker David Tremont. With charming 1900s contraption styling and finish, the Rayguns evoke the nostalgia of a lost age of exploration and discovery, and possess an intentional sense of humour and fun in their design.
Six years ago, Greg started illustrating classic Rayguns, and after creating a series of nine full-size illustrations on canvas, he showed Weta Workshop’s Richard Taylor, who, in turn, asked for a painting of his own. Greg agreed and tentatively suggested launching a range based on these drawings. And the rest is history.
“Dr. Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory plays to all that Sci Fi imagery I love”, grins Broadmore. “It’s full of bizarre inventions and man-melting weaponry. The three Rayguns are featured alongside many others including Servile Automatons, War Wagons and even Mass-mo-trons. Almost all of them are capable of accidentally crippling the user or worse. That’s one of the things I loved about the classic Science Fiction machinery. They all looked like death traps. Just as likely to kill you as your enemy.”
The Rayguns have exploded onto the web, featured in collectors’ Christmas and birthday wish lists, and have been featured on International Directory BoingBoing.net and Gizmodo.com, who dubbed the Rayguns “your weapon of choice… a Raygun that’ll blast away giant monkeys… or evil wizard dudes”. WIRED Magazine recently featured a six page spread on the making of these weapons and New Zealand daily newspaper The Dominion Post dubbed the heaviest of the Rayguns, the Goliathon 83, “Weta’s Alien Buster”.
Creator Greg Broadmore, a self-confessed gun nerd, says the contraptions have been a long time coming in his mind. “I clearly and fondly remember watching the old black and white serials on Sunday afternoons as a little kid and the classic Sci Fi imagery has always stuck with me”, says Greg. “The swept shapes, spikes, fins and beautiful forms that are all jammed together with boiler plate and extraneous mechanical detail. That’s how I saw Flash Gordon, Tarzan, King Kong and others. But what I’ve [always been] fascinated by is the macho idiocy of the ‘hero’ in science fiction. The ‘heroic’ attitude of killing anything and everything in sight, especially if it’s jeopardizing the swooning heroine.”
The guns are limited edition pieces. There will be only 500 of each gun made worldwide, except for the Victorious Mongoose, of which there are only 400. All of these are handcrafted and made out of metal with some glass parts. Every Raygun comes with its own Moon-velvet lined pressed tin case, Certificate of Authenticity and an assortment of implements and crafting tools. Not only that, these bad boys will be a decent punch of metal — with each gun weighing in at over 7 pounds, these are no light investment.
“The original three Rayguns were previewed at Comic-Con San Diego 2006, and went on sale the following year at Comic-Con 2007, each limited to an edition size of 500. In under two years, 1000 of those original three high-end collectible Rayguns have sold, and a further three Rayguns have been released,” says Tim Launder, General Manager of Weta Limited. “We sold more than half of the Ray-Blunderbuss guns within the first month of release — including edition Number #1. Since Dr. Grordbort’s launched in 2006, we have had an overwhelming response to Greg Broadmore, the Rayguns, and to the world in general. This includes the Rayguns being voted #1 Best Toy in 2007 by Figures.com; Greg Broadmore being featured as ‘Tomorrow’s People’ on the cover of Idealog [September 2007] and a four-page spread in Wired — all about the Rayguns, Greg and Richard. We’ve even popped up on YouTube in an online ad in Australia.” The online viral campaign for the Rayguns has also been greatly successful, garnering several international awards:
NZ Direct and Interactive Marketing Awards 2008: Winner (Gold)
Caples Awards 2008, in New York: Winner (Gold)
ECHO Award 2008: Winner (arguably the most coveted award in global direct marketing, the presentation takes place in Las Vegas on October 14, hosted by Jay Leno of The Tonight Show)
Cannes Lions Advertising Festival 2008: Product Launches Finalist
Cannes Lions Advertising Festival 2008: Direct Response TV Finalist
Doctor Grordbort's Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory
Doctor Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory cleverly uses the style of old Victorian advertising leaflets to showcase the Dr. Grordbort’s line, all the while maintaining, with a wink and a nudge, that everything within the faux catalogue’s pages is real. The full-page artwork is printed on heavy cardstock, and each page is laden with information and humorous asides about the many types of rayguns and other improbable inventions attributed to Dr. Grordbort and his cohorts, including the rayguns that Weta has already released as props. The Destroxor Labs Pearce 75 Atom Ray Gun, with its glossy red accents and stabilising fin, is the classic image of a Buck Rogers-era weapon, and will hopefully will be next up on Weta’s production roster. The Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory also contains a page of testimonials from “customers” who have tried the catalogue’s products (and survived to tell the tale); a short comic portraying a typical day in the life of the stereotypicallly English, world famous naturalist, Lord Cockswain; and postcard art. It’s pulp fiction at its sly best.
Dr. Grordbort's Satchel
Once you’ve perused the catalogue, you’ll naturally want to set out and explore. Every adventurer needs a pack while out in the field, though, so Weta has thoughtfully provided Dr. Grordbort’s Satchel. It’s the perfect bag to tote your copy of the Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory around in, and, until February 28, it comes pre-stuffed with a Wave Disruptor Gun keychain, Goliathon 83 Infinity Beam Projector pin, four postcards featuring Dr. Grordbort art, and a Dr. Grordbort’s Laboratories Schemes & Schematics notebook, each lined page stamped with the Dr. Grordbort logo. Even with all these bonuses, the bag is roomy enough to hold the rest of your steampunky supplies. For ladies, the canvas satchel also makes a creative alternative to a handbag. This is an accessory that will get noticed, and coveted, by fellow steampunk geeks.
F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter Gun, Miniature Version
Now that you’ve got your field guide and a kit, you need to invest in some self-protection. If you don’t have the pocket change to expend on a full-scale raygun, then the F.M.O.M. Industries Wave Disrupter Gun, Miniature Version, is the firearm for you. Released in a Limited Edition of 900, it’s an itty bitty clone of the standard Wave Disrupter Gun. As the package describes it, “You cradle in your limp mitts a marvel of modern miniaturisation; Dr. Grordbort’s F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter Gun, impoverished in scale by one of his ingenious contraptions. Golly!” It may be small, but this raygun is crafted with every bit of the care put into its bigger sibling, down to the weathered aging. (It’s also more concealable at this size.) In another nice touch, the gun separates from the base it rests on, so you have a choice of displaying the raygun with or without its stand. The attention to details is simply tremendous, an example being the tiny, amusing notice on both the model’s base and box which reads:
Made on Venus*
*not actually
The sturdy cardboard case the mini Wave Disrupter Gun comes in is numbered to match the collector’s model it houses. Shaped like a book, it’s coated entirely with glossy paper and printed with sepia-toned art and photos of the enclosed figurine. The hinged lid fastens shut with a concealed magnet, so once the flocked tray and other padding materials are removed, the box makes an ideal storage place for Dr. Grordbort pins, keychains, and other small treasures.
Fans of Dr. Horrible‘s Evil League of Evil will thrill to the upcoming Goliathon 800 Moon Hater Death Ray, as nothing quite says “mad genius” like a lair equipped with an old-school weapon of mass destruction. Order one, and you’ll be the envy of all the other supervillians.
Once you’ve stocked up from Dr. Grordbort’s catalogue, head on over to the official website to leave a testimonial and assert your bragging rights in the forums. The site carries full descriptions of all the raygun collectibles currently on the market, an image archive, and web comics, as well as a bestiary that describes and illustrates the many alien creatures you’ll be chasing down with your new raygun. According to Weta, there’s much more in the works for Dr. Grordbort fans to look forward to, such as designer t-shirts, pins, key-rings, postcards, limited edition art prints, and, one would assume, brass goggles. New pieces will be launched every few months.
For product details and purchasing, please visit WetaNZ.com and Dr. Grordbort’s. Select items are available through the Dark Horse Comics website (search keyword: “weta”).
