If you’re a fan of the undead (and who isn’t) and you haven’t seen James Farr‘s Xombie, you’re cheating yourself. I had the honor of working with James on a project this year, and he’s flat-out amazing. Xombie shows why.
New Site Functions
I’ve been tinkering with the site again. If you look at the bottom of each post, you’ll see a pair of new icons. If you click on the printer icon, the post reformats into an easy-to-print style. If you click on the e-mail icon, a pop-up window allows you to send the content of the post to a friend.
At the bottom of the sidebar, I’ve also included a plugin that permits automatic translations of the page into 11 different languages via Google. I realize that the translations will often be wonky at best, but it should make it more convenient for non-English-speakers who would like a rough idea of what I’m going on about.
DC Battle Dice Previews: Starro
To cap off the week of Battle Dice previews, we have one more from the upcoming DC version of the game: Starro the Conqueror. If you thought MODOK was weird, he has nothing on the giant starfish alien who controls the minds of his victims via miniature, face-hugging versions of itself. Better yet, Starro takes the blame for the discovery of Earth-C, home to Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!
You just can’t get much more trippy than that. Still, I enjoy Starro stories, and I read lots of Captain Carrot as a kid. I can only hope the influences don’t show too often.
Dragonstar Deal
Fantasy Flight is having a Memorial Day weekend sale on its website. Among the roleplaying game books available for only $5 each is Dragonstar: Guide to the Galaxy, of which I wrote a good-sized chunk. It’s a great price for that book, and you could pick up a number of other neglected tomes while you’re there, like Grimm, Spellslinger, and the Fireborn Player’s Handbook and Gamemaster’s Handbook.
Cathy’s Book on the Way
According to Publishers Weekly, there’s a new kind of book on the way, and Cathy’s Book is the first of its kind. Jordan Weisman and Sean Stewart showed me a mock-up of this book at the BEA show in Chicago two years back. It’s essentially a hardcopy take on the kind of ARGs that Jordan and Sean invented (or at least brought to national prominence) with the Beast (a game of which I wrote a number of small bits).
Cathy’s Book is a mystery story about a girl investigating why her boyfriend dumped her, but it spins wildly from there. It includes web addresses and phone numbers as part of the clues, and these are all live and working for the reader to follow up on, enriching the whole experience.
I’m looking forward to seeing if this grand experience works. Knowing Jordan and Sean, I have high hopes for it.
DC Battle Dice Previews: Starfire
This time around, we have our first preview figure from the upcoming DC Battle Dice game. Starfire was one of the founding members of the Teen Titans, and she’s been with the group through many of its incarnations. She became even more popular as one of the lineup for the Teen Titans animated series on Cartoon Network. Nothing like a scantily clad alien princess with glowing green eyes to add an exotic dash to a superhero team.
Battle Dice Contest #3
The fine folks at Playmates Toys are running a third contest with a case of Marvel Heroes Battle Dice Series 2 as the loot. Be sure to check in to see if you can come up with the winning answer!
Battle Dice Previews: MODOK
For the third (and final) preview of Marvel Heroes Battle Dice Series 2, we have Modok. As the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, MODOK is one strange, big-headed baddy. Thematically, he fits well with an army of AIM Agents, as they created him.
MODOK’s sheer absurdity is amazing. The audacity of a massive, flying, super-intelligent head that shoots mind beams at his foes and throws tantrums when things go wrong just stuns me. Apparently I’m not alone, as some fans took it upon themselves to publish The Journal of MODOK Studies to offer their full appreciation of this classic villain.
Next up: a pair of previews from the upcoming DC Battle Dice Series 1!
Wizards’ Book Department Podcasts
Wizards of the Coast’s book department, which publishes my Eberron and Knights of the Silver Dragon novels, just started a podcast. In the first episode, Margaret Weis talks about her latest Dragonlance novels.
Battle Dice Previews: Arana
For the next preview of Marvel Heroes Battle Dice Series 2, we have Araña. One of Marvel’s newer heroes, Araña’s powers are rooted in the developing mythos surrounding Spider-Man. She makes a fine addition to any team that needs a bit more arachnid goodness in it.
