A few items of interest today --
-- LEGO financial results were announced to the press today -- record profit last year. And so far this year, we can't keep stuff on the shelves, everything is selling well.
-- Finished Part 3 of Mutran Chronicles -- you are FINALLY going to get some movement on that Blade Burrowers plotline!
-- Dow Jones news ticker reports Wal-Mart Canada has come to an agreement with TLC and will go back to carrying LEGO sets, which is wonderful news.
-- Still reco
Hey guys,
Back from my week in Henley-on-Thames, England, attending LEGO Club meetings. Productive meetings this time, but very long -- still, it is always nice to see the entire team, including Benie, Lina, Panja and Maaike, our European Club managers.
Couple of notes from the trip --
-- BrickMaster subscriptions are on the rise, thanks to the addition of exclusive LEGO sets to the offer.
-- We got to see a presentation on LEGO Universe, the new MMOG that's in the works -- very impr
Hey guys,
Just so everyone knows, I am offline from 2-11 through 2-15 -- I have LEGO Club meetings to attend.
Other news --
2009 story team meeting and set focus groups coming up at the beginning of March.
Movie call this week -- we are still quibbling over the beginning of the picture, but everything else seems set.
BIONICLE 12, due out in March, has been approved and is on its way to the printer. BIONICLE 13, which will be out in July, has been written early and is with DC -- m
Just some quick news --
-- A lot of people on here have been talking about a set they have seen with a Hydraxon mask on it and suggesting that is the 2008 BrickMaster exclusive set. It's not. No images of the BM exclusive set are on the net (I've looked), but I do have an image of it and it does not have a Hydraxon mask. The item number for this set is #20005 and we aren't even showing BMs what it looks like yet. The March issue will show what the May and July sets will look like, but the BIO
Just some bits and pieces today --
-- The movie script is out with the folks in Denmark for a final read. I am expecting that we will pretty much have an approval by the end of the week or so. The ending is set, hopefully the beginning is too -- surprisingly, there has been more debate about how to start it than how to end it!
-- It looks like the BrickMaster BIONICLE set will be out in the fall -- we are still looking into the possibility of getting it sold in non-BM countries. It will pl
Just my traditional January posting --
Please do not PM me questions re: the summer sets, as I am not allowed to talk about them. I know some of you have jumped ahead and gone looking for images purporting to be of those sets -- I cannot comment on them, including whether they are faked or leaked. I would be going against LEGO's rules and BZP's as well, neither of which I am going to do.
We have six months before the summer sets hit shelves. Patience, grasshopper.
Greg
As I finish off the first three Chapter Ones, a quick preview of the winter serials --
#1 - At the end of last year's Gali Nuva Blog, we learned how Tahu and Kopaka had been sent on a mission by the Order of Mata Nui to quell a series of active volcanoes on a southern islands. Now, the Order sends a bizarre team -- Brutaka, Roodaka, Makuta Spiriah, Vezon, Carapar and Takadox -- on a suicide mission to that same island to save a potential wild card in the conflict to come -- the original leade
A few pieces of news --
-- Scholastic has informed me of plans to do a new, second series of BIONICLE books starting in late 2008, in addition to the regular ones they have been doing. These will be what they call Level 3 Readers and will be aimed at 5-6 year olds -- similar to what they have done for Batman and other lines. I am writing the first one, and we will see how they do and whether they want me to do the others.
While I am going to make an effort for these to be canon, they will
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
GAVLA
Quote: "You might say I saw the light ... by looking into the darkness."
Personality: Leader of the shadow Matoran, Gavla's hatred for her own people makes her a formidable enemy. She fights the Matoran of Light as much because she enjoys it as because she has been ordered to.
Weapons: Claws blades; teeth
Powers: Vertigo -- can disrupt the sense of balance in a target (when linked with Makuta only); shadow energy
CHIROX
"We knew what to do with Toa on Destral ... raw material for my Rahi, that's what they were."
Chirox is one of the Brotherhood's top scientists, but is best known for the fact that the Rahi he creates tend to be vicious and destructive. He is less of a warrior than Antroz, but more cunning, and much more likely to fight dirty. He lives to do experiments, always tinkering with Rahi to make them more monstrous, and is quick to point out how much better his creations are than those of
ANTROZ
Quote: "Toa serve an important purpose in this world -- they help me keep my claws sharp."
Personality: Antroz if the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta forces in Karda Nui and an accomplished warrior. He is well aware that he has to deal with powerful personalities in the other Makuta and the need to make sure he retains their respect. Unlike the Makuta of Metru Nui, he never underestimates a foe. Antroz is a rare Makuta who has some sense of honor and would rather win a fight fai
As promised, here is some info on Vamprah (Chirox and a better Antroz write-up to come later in the week):
Vamprah (8692)
Quote: Vamprah does not speak.
Weapons: Tridak pod with shadow leeches; claws; knife-sharp wings
Personality: Vamprah is the true hunter among the Makuta, who delights in silently stalking his prey. Even his allies are uncomfortable around him. Thanks to his mask power and his own experiments, he now literally feeds on the hopes and dreams of others. Vamprah hates
Hi guys,
As you can imagine, I am getting bombarded with 2008 questions now that the first sets have appeared in Anaheim. I did release a mask name and power this week, and will do more next week.
However, I'm not going to just hand out the entire first half 2008 info on December 7th, and leave us with nothing to discuss between now and next July. I am not going to embargo all info on '08, but I am going to portion it out so that it lasts. Okay?
-----------------------------------------
Hey guys,
So we have started talking about new serials for next year, as the OOMN goes to war with the Brotherhood. Binkmeister and I are still firming up what they will be, but it looks like one first half of the year one is going to feature a very unusual team on a mission against the BOM. Who are they? Try:
Brutaka (team leader)
Roodaka
Vezon
Makuta Spiriah
Carapar
Takadox
I can't WAIT to start writing this one
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
A few notes:
* Due to the fact that it looks like we changing comic artists in 2008, there will be no comic in January. The current plan is for the number of actual comic pages per issue to go up to 16 next year, although I have not heard yet if we are doing a total of five issues, four issues, four issues plus one online, or what. I do know first issue of the year will be in March 2008.
The reason for the change is basically Stuart having other projects to focus on and our wanting to get
Since I am getting a LOT of questions this week, and since evidently nobody is reading the answers I am giving anyone else , I thought it would be a good idea to just put some FAQ answers here to save me some typing. Here we go:
1) What does Phantoka mean?
A: Phantoka is our winter 2008 sub-brand for the Toa Nuva and Makuta sets. It is a Matoran term meaning "spirits of the air." It will not be applied to the summer '08 sets.
2) Are all six small sets in January Av-Matoran?
A: Yes.
3
There are lots of rumors flying around BZP, and the word "reboot" is being used a lot (often by people who don't know what the word means) ... so I thought I would address them here.
-- The plan for 2009 is to take the story in a new direction. That does NOT mean:
* Killing all the old characters
* Pretending all the old story never happened
* Starting over again with the Toa Mata on Mata Nui
* Telling a story that has nothing to do with anything that happened before.
It DOES mean:
For those of you who are interested, the qualifying round has begun for the "Master of BIONICLE 2" Contest in the General Discussion forum on BZP.
Grand prize is two original Carlos D'Anda art boards from BIONICLE #6, back in 2002! So go check it out -- qualifying round ends Tuesday, 10/16, at 9 AM EST.
Greg
Just this and that today --
1) Work on the new movie is proceeding apace. Had another conference call between the story team and the movie folks yesterday and another one is scheduled for the movie "core team" (myself, the screenwriter, and the Tinseltown Toons VP) on Friday. Story-wise, this is the best movie we have ever set out to do.
2) Surprise hit for BIONICLE this year is Karzahni, who is a top 20 item at Toys R Us.
3) DC sent me something nice the other day -- original art board
It's been brought to my attention that one of the BZP members has posted an image in his blog of what he claims to be a 2008 Matoran that he bought. Just for the record, and to cut down on confusion, let me explain why this pic is a fake:
The pic shows a blue Matoran wearing a Mask of Summoning and carrying a squid launcher (which he claims comes with a different kind of projectile).
I have a picture in front of me the 2008 blue Matoran -- she is not wearing a Mask of Summoning and none o
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
Just wanted to share something I ran across this week.
As some of you know, I have a huge comic collection, most of which is "reader's copies" -- not mint, not even near mint, just stuff I have read and enjoyed over the past couple decades. Anyway, with things like entire comic series coming out on DVD-ROM and the various collections Marvel and DC keep putting out, I've been able to replace entire boxes of comics (which saves a lot of space). But what to do with them then?
I could, and hav
