First Look At: The Hangman...

It’s been a Red Circle kind of week, huh? Well, we’re not only publishing The Shield and Inferno, friends, so why stop there? As some of you might recall, The Hangman is one of the key Red Circle heroes making his DCU debut in August. He’s also one of the characters superstar artist J.G. Jones took a pass at when asked to tinker with a few of the RC characters. So, to continue to show you an inside look at the creative process here at 1700 Broadway, I’ve included J.G.’s initial Hangman sketch and artist Jesus Saiz’s final cover.

Here's a link to some info about the original Hangman on a fansite.

First Look At: Inferno...

Here's a link to some information on the original Inferno from a fansite.

Hackmaster Basic

Note the way cool Erol Otus cover (in homage to the old D&D cover images).

Take your next step out of the ordinary with the new edition of the HackMaster fantasy role-playing game! Play as a dwarf, elf, halfling, or human, and take the role of a fighter, thief, mage, or cleric, in an epic saga filled with danger and endless excitement.

The HackMaster Basic rulebook has everything you need to start playing, with easy to read rules for new players, and information for GameMasters - including descriptions of over 75 monsters - all with that award-winning, classic HackMaster feel. Come answer the call – adventure awaits!

(160-176 pgs est., b&w; ISBN 1-59459-103-2)

First Look At: The Shield...

As most of you know, come August, we’ll be publishing a number of books spotlighting the Red Circle characters, specifically The Shield, The Web, The Hangman and Inferno, under the watchful eye of writer J. Michael Straczynski. But before we get into all the specifics, let’s look at some cool art, shall we? Here’s a peek at THE SHIELD, from artist Jesus Saiz. Check back tomorrow for more. Enjoy the commute.

Here's a link to some information on the original Shield from a fansite.

GAMA Trade Show Attendance Down 18%

Despite a scaled down exhibitor roster and buyer attendance that dropped 18%, attendees and exhibitors at GAMA Trade Show were surprisingly optimistic over-all, with upbeat hopes for the hobby game business in 2009.

'The show was awesome for us,' Anthony Gallela of Bucephalus Games told us. 'We made 80 or more orders. I had seven salespeople here who were constantly busy. People were very excited, very optimistic about what was going on this year. I didn’t hear any pessimism at all. And they were excited about our line, but they were just excited in general about what they were doing.'

Mongoose to Publish RedBrick Games

Mongoose Publishing has announced that beginning in July it will add games from two other companies, RedBrick Limited and Cubicle 7, to its line. Games from New Zealand company RedBrick Limited will be published under its Flaming Cobra imprint. RedBrick titles planned for release by Mongoose include new editions of the Earthdawn, Fading Suns, Blue Planet, Age of Legend 4E, and Equinox lines. First up is Earthdawn Third Edition, which will be released in July. RedBrick retains full creative control.

Cubicle 7 titles will also be sold by Mongoose, beginning in July. Two releases are planned for July, Victoriana 2nd Edition Core Rulebook, and Starblazer Adventures: The Rock and Roll Space Opera Adventure Game.

KODT Tribute to Dave Arneson

Hasbro 1st-quarter profit falls 47 percent

Hasbro Inc. said Monday that first-quarter profit fell 47 percent as retailers cut back on their inventory, but the toy maker said products tied into new movies like the upcoming Transformers film should boost future results.

The maker of board games such as Clue and Scrabble also said it instituted a salary freeze and is hiring only for critical positions in an effort to cut costs.

'We don't believe these results are a reflection of the underlying strength of our brands,' Chief Executive Brian Goldner said in a conference call. Instead, he said, they were a by-product of retailers cutting inventory levels in the poor economy.

Cult author JG Ballard dies at 78

More than any other, it was Ballard who showed me that SF could be more than just genre fiction. That his death happened without being screamed from the rooftops is a shame for both fans of SF and literature.

The author JG Ballard, famed for novels such as Crash and Empire of the Sun, has died aged 78 after a long illness.

His agent Margaret Hanbury said the author had been ill 'for several years' and had died on Sunday morning.

Despite being referred to as a science fiction writer, Jim Ballard said his books were instead 'picturing the psychology of the future'.

His most acclaimed novel was Empire of the Sun, based on his childhood in a Japanese prison camp in China.

Cult of Done

Cult of Done, originally uploaded by spatulated.

Done.