FUNimation Acquires Geneon and ADV Anime Titles

FUNimation Entertainment, announced that not only they have acquired a number of anime titles from the recently closed doors of Geneon, but approximately 30 recent titles from what is now the former (as of 2007) #1 distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, ADV.

Thomas M. Disch RIP

Science Fiction author Thomas Disch has died. According to Ellen Datlow he committed suicide on July 4th in his home.

Independent Government Observers Task Force

The Internet has created a new generation of individuals and institutes that practice the time-honored tradition of observing and reporting on the activities of government. These are reporters in the sense of court reporters, not journalists, auditors as in independent investigators rather than CPAs.

The classic independent observer is the court reporter, such as Henry Wheaton and Richard Peters, two businessmen in the early days of the Republic who took it upon themselves to collect, print, and sell the decisions of courts.

Origins Award Winners

Miniatures Rules of the Year
Presented by Rick Loomis

Classic Battletech
Published by Catalyst Game Labs
Created by Jordan Weisman
Edited by Michelle Lyons, Diane Piron-Gelman

Saganami Island Tactical Simulator, Second Edition
Published by Ad Astra Games
Created by Ken Burnside and Thomas Pope

Forces of WARMACHINE: Pirates of the Broken Coast
Published by Privateer Press
Created by Brian Snoddy and Matt Wilson

AT-43
Published by Rackham
Created by Arnaud Cuidet, Jean-Baptiste Lullien, Nicolas Raoult, and
Jerome Rigal

Song of Blades and Heroes
Published by Andrea Sfiligoi
Created by Andrea Sfiligoi

WINNER: Classic Battletech



Miniature or Miniature Line of the Year
Presented by Mike Noe

Skarrd Raze #2
by Dark Age Games

George R.R. Martin Masterworks - Premium Miniature Line
by Dark Sword Miniatures, Inc.

Titania’s Fury
by Dragonfire Laser Crafts Inc.

Bronzeback Titan, HORDES: Evolution Miniatures Line
by Privateer Press

Dark Heaven Legends Fantasy Miniatures
by Reaper Miniatures

WINNER: Titania’s Fury

Collectible Card Game of the Year
Presented by Marcelo Figueroa

Bleach
Published by Score Entertainment
Aik Tongtharadol (lead designer), William Harper (rules editor)

Legend of the Five Rings
Published by Alderac Entertainment Group
Mark Wootton (lead designer), Charles Urbach (cover artist)

The Spoils
by Tenacious Games, Inc.
Josh Lytle (lead designer), Patrick Meehan (lead artist)

WINNER: Legend of the Five Rings

Historical Miniature Game of the Year
Presented by Pete Panzeri and Frank Chadwick

Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures
Published by WotC

Benghazi Handicap
Published by Test of Battle Games

“Check your 6!”
Published by Skirmish Campaigns

D-Day Campaigns for Normandy
Published by Battlefront Games

Might & Reason
Published by Caliver Books

WINNER: “Check your 6!”

Historical Miniatures Line of the Year
Presented by Frank Chadwick

British 7th Armored Division 15mm
Published by Battlefront Miniatures

British Napoleonic 40mm
Published by Sash & Saber Castings

Romano-British 15mm
Published by Splintered Light Miniatures

Buccaneers, Pirates and Privateers 28mm
Published by Brigade Games

Seminole Wars 28mm
Published by Old Glory Corporation

WINNER: Romano-Brit 15mm

Historical Board Game of the Year
Presented by Pete Panzeri and Frank Chadwick

Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery
Published by Tropical Games

Asia Engulfed
Published by GMT Games

Athens and Sparta
Published by Columbia Games

Duel in the Dark
Published by Pilot Games and Z-Man Games

Struggle for Rome, Cataan Historical Series
Published by Mayfair Games

Tide of Iron
Published by Fantasy Flight Games

WINNER: Age of Empires 3: Age of Discovery

Origins Hall of Fame Inductees
Presented by Anthony Gallela
WINNER: R.A. Salvatore
WINNER: Vampire: The Masquerade
WINNER: Paranoia
(Accepting on behalf of the Paranoia designers: THE COMPUTER)

Non-Fiction Publication of the Year
Presented by Mike Stackpole

40 Years of Gen Con
Published by Atlas Games
Written by Robin D. Laws

Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress: A Girl’s Guide to the Dungeons &
Dragons Game
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Shelly Mazzanoble

Grand History of the Realms
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Brian R. James and Ed Greenwood

Hobby Games: The 100 Best
Published by Green Ronin
Edited by James Lowder

No Quarter Magazine
Published by Privateer Press
Nathan Letsinger, editor-in-chief; Eric Cagle, editor; Josh
Manderville, art director

WINNER: Hobby Games: The 100 Best

Fiction Publication of the Year
Presented by Ed Greenwood

Astounding Hero Tales
Published by Hero Games
Edited by James Lowder

Dragons of the Highlord Skies
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

Frontier Cthulhu
Published by Chaosium
Edited by William Jones

The Orc King
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by R.A. Salvatore

The Time Curse
Published by Margaret Weis Productions
Written by James M. Ward

WINNER: Astounding Hero Tales

Game Support Product of the Year
Presented by Ken Hite

Dungeon Life: Bendy Walls



Published by by Z-Man Publishing

Gamemastery Flip Mat: Tavern
Published by Paizo Publishing

Crystalline Counters
Published by Three Sages Games

Hollow Earth Expedition GM Screen
Published by Exile Game Studio

Dr. Wizard’s Patented Elevation Indicator
Published by Stratus Artworks

Call Of Cthulhu Dice Set
Published by Q-Workshop

WINNER: Call of Cthulhu Dice Set

Tributes
Robert Lynn Aspirin
Bob Bledsaw
Charles B. Crain III
James Perham
Erick Wujick
E. Gary Gygax

Roleplaying Game Supplement of the Year
Presented by Dr. Michelle Nephew

Legend of the Five Rings: Emerald Empire
Published by Alderac Entertainment Group
Written by Shawn Carman, Richard Farrese, Douglas Sun and Brian Yoon

Pirate’s Guide to Freeport
Published by Green Ronin
Written by Chris Pramas, Robert J. Schwalb, and Patrick O’Duffy

Delta Green: Eyes Only
Published by Pagan Publishing
Written by Dennis Detwiller, Adam Scott Glancy and Shane Ivey

Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords
Published by Paizo Publishing
Edited by James Jacobs, Art by Wayne Reynolds

Ruins of the Wild: Dungeon Tiles 4
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Bruce R. Cordell

Codex Arcanis
Published by Paradigm Concepts
Written by Team Paradigm

WINNER: Codex Arcanis

Roleplaying Game of the Year
Presented by Erik Mona

Grimm
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Written by Robert Vaughn and Christian T. Petersen

The Savage World of Solomon Kane
Published by Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Written by Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams (with Shane Lacy Hensley)

CthulhuTech
Published by Mongoose Publishing
Written by Matthew Grau and Fraser McKay

Battlestar Galactica
Published by Margaret Weis Productions
Written by Jamie Chambers

Faery’s Tale Deluxe
Published by Firefly Games
Written by Patrick Sweeney, Sandy Antunes, Christina Stiles, and Robin
D. Laws

Aces & Eights
Published by Kenzer & Co.
Written by Jolly R. Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, Dave
Kenzer, Jennifer Kenzer and Mark Plemmons

WINNER: Aces & Eights

Traditional Card Game of the Year
Presented by Cayle Shovan

Lifeboat
Published by Gorilla Games
Created by Jeff Siadek

Cutthroat Caverns
Published by Smirk and Dagger Games
Created by Curt Covert and Justin Brunetto

Bankruptcy
Published by Tangent Games
Created by Geoff Habiger and Coy Kissee

Zombie Fluxx
Published by Looney Labs
Created by Andrew Looney

Infernal Contraption
Published by Privateer Press
Created by Matt Wilson, Jason Soles, Kevin Clark, Erik Breidenstein

Race for the Galaxy
Published by Rio Grande Games
Created by Thomas Lehmann

WINNER: Zombie Fluxx

Board Game or Expansion of the Year
Presented by Mike Selinnker

Pillars of the Earth
Published by Mayfair Games
Created by Michael Rieneck and Stefan Stadler

Kingsburg
Published by Elfin Werks
Created by Andrea Chiarvesio and Luca Iennaco

StarCraft: The Board Game
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Created by Corey Konieczka and Christian Petersen

Last Night on Earth, The Zombie Game
Published by Flying Frog Productions
Created by Jason Hill

Battue: Storm of the Horse Lords
Published by Red Juggernaut
Created by Jim Long

WINNER: Starcraft: The Board Game

Seraphim Guard Special Sale

Currently we're running a 25% off sale on our PDFs at the Seraphim Guard webstore. This is an Origins special that's only running while we're at the convention (probably until Sunday at some point).

If there has been a product you've wanted, now if a good time to check it out.

Click here to check out our store.

Picture From Origins

www.flickr.com Cleveland Desolation's Origins 2008 photoset

Hello From Origins!

Hello everyone! Today brings us to the tail end of the "second" day of Origins. The Exhibition Hall didn't open until today, and a lot of the gamers did not open today but there were people and events that started last night, and I have to so that so far this Origins has shaped up to be better than last years.

Here are some random Origins-related notes:
1. A lot of women with blue hair. I'm not sure about the relationship, just something to mention.

2. Talked today for a little while with Shane Ivey of Arc Dream Publishing. We talked about the past and upcoming future of Delta Green. Good Stuff!! Plus, it was great to put a face to the name that I've seen posting both on the DG list and over at RPG.net.

3. Talked for a while with Jeff Combos and a couple of other guys at Exile Game Studio about Hollow Earth Expeditions. At Battlefield Press we are really looking forward to our HEX-powered conversion of Pulp Fantasy and after talking with Jeff I can see why. His enthusiasm is great and infectious for his games. Might be meeting up at Big Bar a little later.

4. Picked up True20 Revised edition from the folks at Green Ronin. What's a great thing about conventions? Steve Kenson (the designer of True20 and an all-around great guy) ran up our order! How cool is that? I am really thinking that it might be a good system for a Gatecrasher conversion too.

5. Picked up a few odds and ends. There really wasn't a lot that I wanted to buy and the only thing that I am really still looking for is a cheap copy of Mongoose's new edition of Traveller. I got the quick start at Free RPG Day, and it just confirmed that this is a game that I want to have. A copy of Runequest Deluxe would be nice too but I haven't seen that either.

Aren and Aaron have had pretty full schedules so far. Aaron had a great session of Stargate SG-1 last night and Aren had a fun game of HEX that featured death rays and baby seals. Who doesn't enjoy role-playing like that?

I didn't get to take so many pictures yet. Hopefully I will get around to some more over the weekend. This badge will actually update itself as I load more photos into this set so one link is all that you will need:

Internet access will be limited but I will try to post more tomorrow (or Saturday before we leave and I will definitely get more photos. More shopping (probably) and I will also be wandering around and/or getting to doing some actual work around here.

If you are around Origins tonight, stop by the Big Bar and say hello!

Wednesday...To Origins!!!

Early Wednesday afternoon I will be leaving for Origins. We'll be there until Saturday night.

I will be taking my computer and camera along with me, and will be blogging and photo posting from the convention while I am there. I'm going to try for a recap each night.

I will also be blogging this for the Cleveland Victus blog, provided they get me the posting privileges promised. I will probably try to do slightly different material for each blog, so that we can have a bit of variety.

Emails and other responses may be slow coming over the next few days.

George Carlin Dies

Outside of Richard Pryor, I cannot think of a comedian who has had as much of an impact on mainstream society.

This is a great loss but he is in a much better place.

Acerbic standup comedian and satirist George Carlin, whose staunch defense of free speech in his most famous routine 'Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television' led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died.

Carlin, who had a history of heart trouble, went into St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain and died later that evening, said his publicist, Jeff Abraham. He had performed as recently as last weekend at the Orleans Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. He was 71.

Mike Wieringo Scholarship "The 'Ringo" Announced

CHARLOTTE, NC (June 16, 2008) When Mike Wieringo abruptly passed away last August, the comics industry lost more than a great artist and creator – it lost a friend. Now, Mike’s family has teamed with the Savannah College of Art and Design to create The Mike Wieringo Scholarship or “The ‘Ringo” to help keep his spirit of generosity alive.

Created by Mike’s brother Matt and his sister-in-law Suzanne, the ‘Ringo is designed to help provide similar help to artists at the Savannah College of Art and Design or SCAD. Domestic and international students with have a minimum 3.0 grade point average who demonstrate financial need and display a serious interest in pursuing comics as a career are eligible. The scholarship will take effect in the artist’s second year of classes, and is renewable for up to two additional years, provided the student continues to meet the criteria.

The recipient will be chosen from three finalists determined by the college in a portfolio review by Matt and Suzanne Wieringo, along with a rotating group. The ultimate goal for the ‘Ringo is to raise enough funds so that it can cover a full year’s expenses at SCAD, approximately $30,000.

Toward this end, a table staffed by Mike’s family and friends will be set up in his traditional spot in Artists Alley at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. Heroes was a big part of Mike’s life and career, and was the industry event he most looked forward to every year.

The table will raise funds through donations and the sale of remaining copies of Mike’s sketchbooks, copies of comics featuring Mike’s work, selected pieces of Mike’s original artwork, sketches by Mike’s friends in the industry who will be appearing at the booth, and items donated by other comic professionals. Pros appearing include Jeff Parker, Rich Faber, Craig Rousseau, Todd Dezago, Mark Waid, Cully Hamner, Richard Case and more to be announced.

“SCAD is one of the most impressive programs in the world to focus on the medium of comics,” says Jeff Parker, creator of The Interman and Agents of Atlas, who worked with Mike at Artamus Studios. “I’m pretty sure Mike would have loved to have attended such a place in his student days. It would make an excellent legacy for him if we can grow the Ringo scholarship into a launch pad for the future greats of comics.”

Despite his success on such books as The Flash, Fantastic Four and his own creator-owned Tellos, Mike Wieringo never forgot what it was like to be a struggling creator. For many up-and-comers, Mike served as a mentor and friendly voice, whether it was providing free covers, advice, or just the encouragement to keep going.

With your help, the Mike Wieringo Scholarship can continue to grow and help a new generation of creators get the training and connections they need to start their careers. Mike’s talent, enthusiasm and generosity inspired many in the comics industry to be their best as both creators and as human beings. With your help, Mike will continue to be an inspiration for creators in decades to come.