Decided to flip the order of the serials, so just finished part 3 of PTB (yes, you actually don't have to wait six weeks for the next chapter -- I know you're shocked ) In this episode:
* We meet the "Who Am I?" winner
* We answer the age-old question, "What happens when Nynrah Ghosts have too much time on their hands?"
* We go inside the red star for the first time, and while we don't come out knowing just what the heck is going on there yet, it sure SOUNDS disturbing
* We get the retur
One more day left in my BIONICLE week in Billund, and thought I would share some notes:
-- Piraka are doing very well, outselling the Toa Hordika and Visorak from 2005. Everyone is very pleased about that.
-- Saw the first Toa Inika commercials yesterday, which were just great. Very different, but still true to the feel of the characters and what they can do.
-- Got some details on some big promotions and some big web news you will be hearing about in the coming weeks.
-- Saw the whole ran
Just a few things you can expect to see in BIONICLE Legends #10, in addition to the already confirmed return of Takanuva:
-- The return of Toa Krakua
-- First appearance in story of the leader of the Order of Mata Nui
-- Just what are those krana-kraata hybrids from way back in BA #10?
-- The origin of the Bohrok
While Book 10 will feature some of main story, it is probably going to start a trend of the books being a little bit more side story and mystery revelations as opposed to havin
Well, I just finished what will most likely be the last US BIONICLE book for the foreseeable future -- the movie novelization of BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn, based on my story and Sean Derek's excellent script. It went very quickly -- unlike past movies, there were no big plot holes I had to fill in the book, because Sean did such a thorough job. All I added was a few extra bits to explore what happens after the movie ends and a little more on Tuma to explain his motivations. (I still have two m
We have already discussed the price increase on the BIONICLE canister figures in this space, but I am seeing a lot of people for whom it is apparently news. So I thought repeating some of what I said before might be a benefit to at least a few people (even if you guys know this, you can pass it on to people who do not).
Q. Why are BIONICLE canister prices going up?
A. The simple answer is that BIONICLE sets are costing more to buy because they are costing us more to make. Oil prices have dou
Started work on the first of the 2009 serials today -- it's called "Empire of the Skrall" and it is going to focus on our favorite rock tribe. You'll get a good look at them, moreso than we usually do for our non-hero characters ...
Some things that will be answered in just the first chapter are:
Is Tuma a Skrall, and if so, what kind?
Where did the Skrall come from?
Why did they move south to Bara Magna?
What are their intentions toward the other villages, and why?
I am going to tr
Hey guys,
Just some more tidbits from the world of BIONICLE --
-- Comic #3 is finally done and releasing to the printer on Monday. It is a little behind schedule, but through no fault of Stuart's or DC's -- we had a hold-up getting them sets they needed for art reference, so it threw things behind. Overall, though, it may be the best issue we have ever done -- the writing is better, the art is gorgeous, lots of action. For those of you who have read Book 3, a lot will be familiar, but it i
Some comic, book, movie updates today:
1) The first full-length chapter book in 2009 should hit stores around June.
2) There will be at least three Level 3 readers next year.
3) Plans are for five comics next year, same size as this year. We will start with a new issue #1, which is already written.
4) Story will flow like this -- January comic, March comic, then the first chapter book, which will lead into the July comic. So the chapter book will not duplicate story from the comics
Still at work on the Atlas -- just finishing the chapter on Roodaka's island, which is my favorite part so far.
Got a nice surprise the other day -- BIONICLE Adventures novels in Russian! (At least, I think it was Russian -- we thought it might be Greek at first, but then someone told us no, it was Russian.)
Time to take a break from writing, play some World of Warcraft, and then take my wife up to the mall for some shopping. Tomorrow is more writing, Monday is another outing, and then Tue
A number of people have asked recently about the old Legends of Mata Nui computer game from 2001 that never got released, so I thought I would share what info I have on this here:
* The game, as most of you know, was cancelled before release due to its not being up to our quality standards and so not fitting into our marketing plan.
* I know at least one BIONICLE fan spoke to our Legal dept. about getting a copy of the game. My understanding is that Legal's position is that we are not rele
Reign of Shadows #10 is almost done -- sorry for the delay, but I think you will find it was worth the wait. In addition to the resolution of the whole fight in the chamber and the first appearance of Artakha, we get the return of the Toa Mahri and the startling answer to one of the most frequently asked questions of the last year or so!
I'm home again, finally, after two weeks spent largely on the road!
It started with a few days in Saratoga Springs, NY, for LEGO Club meetings. Then after being home a couple days, it was off to Billund for BIONICLE story meetings. A few notes from the trip --
-- Billund is becoming the Orlando of Denmark. The hotels were packed, the airport was packed, and I had to stay with BIONICLE web producer Leah Weston Kaae and her family because there were no hotel rooms (and thanks to her for the
Lots of questions on the various inhabitants of the BM universe and whether they are bio-mechanical or not. I held off answering until I could consult with the story team, but now have an answer for you.
As you know, MU characters are bio-mechanical. A Toa or Matoran or Dark Hunter, etc. is normally about 85% mechanical and 15% organic (the organic being muscle tissue, lungs, etc.)
BM characters are also bio-mechanical -- however, they are more like 85% organic and 15% mechanical (note th
This is really more of an FYI than anything else, as many of you already guessed this -- but to make it official, the grand prize winner of the BrickMaster Makuta Building Contest will be considered Makuta Miserix for the purposes of the story.
Greg
A few pieces of news:
-- Just completed a new 10-page Hydraxon comic story that will run in BIONICLE Graphic Novel #6, from Papercutz.
-- It looks likely that GN #8 will be an all new comic story, set on Bara Magna, as opposed to just collected comics ... more on that as it develops.
-- AMEET, the people who made the excellent Makuta's Guide to the Universe, are going to be doing a similar book on Bara Magna, which I will be writing between now and early summer.
Greg
Just to update you on the new serial -- the first chapter is done, and Bink will be posting it as soon as he can (he is traveling for work, so it may be later this week). This chapter features three new Toa -- Psionics, Lightning, and Iron -- and a new villain.
A few pieces of news today --
1) I finally got a look at a pic of Mazeka today -- looks from the photo like he's an Onu-Matoran.
2) The Jan. 2009 sets are in our showroom now. Gotta say, very impressive. The new mask pieces are particularly cool shapes and the weaponry is slick too. On the whole, they manage to stay recognizably BIONICLE while still looking nicely different from past sets. I think the new pieces will probably be good for those who like to MOC, too. I will tell you up front
I wasn't going to dignify this issue with a blog entry, but since people keep asking me about it, I guess I have to --
Recently, some supposed names for summer BIONICLE sets hit the Internet, among them "Krika." Some web surfers discovered that there is a site that identifies "krika" as a slang term for something bad. They immediately PM'd me about it in a semi-panic, so I spent my morning doing some research. Here is what I have found out:
-- The site claims that the word is used in Puert
The news today is that it looks like there will be at least one more book in 2010. LEGO Company has asked me to write one for the first half of next year. I don't know the word count as yet.
As far as I know, it will be published in Europe by AMEET. It will not be published in the US by Scholastic, but we are looking for another publishing partner here. If we don't find one in time, the book will most likely be serialized on the BIONICLE website, so US readers will still get to read it.
Mo
In the last week or so, I have all of a sudden gotten bombarded with people wanting to know colors for various elements, and others wanting to add new elements to the story. Relax, please -- I am not looking to open the floodgates and add a ton of new tribes/elements to the story. As for colors, I understand you need them for MOCing, but your best bet might be to do those things as polls so we get an idea of what the site as a whole thinks of various suggestions. I am not a set designer or a MOC
I just had it confirmed that the BIONICLE Makuta's Guide to the Universe book I wrote for AMEET will be available in the US, through LEGOShop.com and in LEGO brand retail stores.
Greg
Something cute that happened today ...
I received in the mail this morning at work a copy of Archivaria, the Journal of the Association of Canadian Archivists (number 61, spring 2006). And who do you think is on the cover??
Tehutti!
I had been in contact with the folks there for some time, and they were just thrilled that we made an action figure of an archivist. So we made arrangements to get them packaging art that they could put on the cover of their journal. So Tehutti lives on, in
Just some news and notes:
-- Got a chance to see the villain sets for 2008 up close -- man, they're nice, particularly the January ones. Definitely buying those -- very BIONICLE, but very creepy.
-- Look for more substantial Matoran sets in 2008 than we have done before, and for them to play a more significant role in story.
-- Book sales have evidently stabilized. While they are still well below where we were in 2004, the cutback schedule means stores are selling through the new books
Recently, there was a very interesting discussion on BZP about people who no longer buy sets (what we in the biz call "lapsed users") and how much influence they can or can't have on product.
There are, based on what I have seen, three main types of lapsed user. We will call them Joe, Bill, and Tom. All three have stopped buying BIONICLE sets, and all are in their teens, for the purposes of this example:
Joe still thinks BIONICLE is interesting, but stopped buying sets in 2004 because he
Two pieces of news today:
LEGO Systems Inc. and DC Comics have announced that Leigh Gallagher has been named the new artist for the popular BIONICLE comic series, beginning with the March 2008 issue.
Gallagher's previous work includes Justice League Unlimited, 2000AD and The Witching. He succeeds Stuart Sayger, whose well-received run on the book lasted from 2006-2007.
ALSO --
The last chapters of Dreams of Destruction and the biocast are done and in -- Chapter 9 of the biocast revea
