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.