To celebrate the 40th anniversary of STAR TREK, TOKYOPOP and CBS Consumer Products have joined forces to produce STAR TREK: THE MANGA, based on the original STAR TREK TV series. Like the television classic, these new journeys venture into the terrain of social politics, personal reflection and bare-knuckled brawls between Captain Kirk and the galaxy's most cunning alien species.
All computer how-to books in the In Pictures series are being provided free to the public, as downloadable files.
Anyone who visits In Pictures' website at www.inpics.net/ can download any and all of its 22 different books for free, in Adobe PDF format. In the month since the site was launched, more than 20,000 people have visited it to download free books.
In July, AVA Publishing (UK) Ltd. will release Paul Wells new book, THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ANIMATION. The book will sell for $29.95.
Authors Angie Jones and Jamie Oliff offer up a new book, THINKING ANIMATION: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN 2D AND CG, which, as its title suggests, is designed to help traditional artists embrace new technology needed to stay employed. THINKING ANIMATION (www.thinkinganimation.com) is a one-of-a-kind book that emphasizes how artists can use traditional animation techniques and principles with today's computer-generated animation technology. Released June 27, 2006, the 300-page book is available from Thomson Course Technology (www.courseptr.com) for a retail price of $39.99.
TOKYOPOP and the Los Angeles Public Library announce the all-new "Manga Madness Summer Reading Club," a first-of-its-kind collaboration designed to encourage teens to read. Teens, ages 11 to 18, who join the "Manga Madness Summer Reading Club" at their local branch library will receive a free folder, book bag, reading log and bookmarks. Every branch will have special scheduled teen programs as part of the reading club. Also, each reading club participant will receive a certificate at the end of the summer reading program.
For the first time, award-winning filmmaker David B. Levy has collected the insights of more than 100 professionals from the top of the animation industry into a new book titled, YOUR CAREER IN ANIMATION: HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE, which tackles the most crucial issues that animation artists face today.
University Press of Mississippi will release the new book, MOUSE TRACKS: THE STORY OF WALT DISNEY RECORDS, written by Tim Hollis and Greg Ehrbar with a foreword from Leonard Maltin.
Stan Winston is collaborating on the first-ever book to reveal all the behind-the-scenes secrets of his groundbreaking and hugely influential artistry and effects work.
Titan Books of London will work closely with Stan Winston and the artists of the Stan Winston Studio on the new book, tentatively titled THE WINSTON EFFECT: THE ART AND HISTORY OF STAN WINSTON STUDIO, written by CINEFEX editor Jody Duncan.
From author Brian L. Smith and publisher 'friends of ED', comes the first 3ds Max book ever written strictly for architectural visualization, titled, FOUNDATION 3DS MAX 8 ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION.
Topics covered include:* How to model an architectural scene and create stunning materials that breathe life into your projects* How to use real-world photometric lights and global illumination to achieve photorealism* Efficient project workflow and scene assembly
Ballistic Publishing announced EXPOSÉ 4, featuring 317 artworks from 241 artists in 49 countries, selected from more than 5,000 submissions. EXPOSÉ 4 is now available to pre-order from Ballistic Publishing and begins shipping in June.
On April 26, 2006, ZOOM SUIT #1 hits comic shops featuring an overt cover contest and a gaggle of covert Easter Eggs revealing phone numbers and websites that take readers out of the comic and into the middle of an Internet conspiracy. The comic is based on short film that has appeared in more than 60 film festivals since the world premiere at the Palm Beach International Film Festival on April 18, 2005 where it won Best Animation.
The entry deadline to submit work to Ballistic Publishings D'ARTISTE: CONCEPT ART is April 3, midnight GMT. D'ARTISTE: CONCEPT ART is the fourth title in the D'ARTISTE DIGITAL ARTISTS Master Class series. D'ARTISTE: CONCEPT ART features the community's leading digital artists demonstrating their techniques and approaches. More than just tricks and techniques, d'artiste delves into each artist's overall approach, their choice of subject matter and what inspires them.
DC Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that SUPERMAN RETURNS director Bryan Singer and SUPERMAN RETURNS screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris are providing the plots to four comicbook prequels to the upcoming film. The four forty-page prequels will be published by DC Comics throughout the month of June and will bridge the gap between the first SUPERMAN film and SUPERMAN RETURNS, which premieres in theatres on June 30, 2006.
Mindful that the competition for jobs in the 3D animation industry has never been greater, Geoffrey Kater merges the often disparate disciplines of design and computer animation in his new book, DESIGN FIRST FOR 3D ARTISTS (350 pages, $49.95, Wordware Publishing, available online and from major retailers), to teach emerging animators how to create their own personal design style. He offers to lay down exactly what it takes today to do good work and thrive in the animation market.
JAKKS Pacific, Inc., in conjunction with Disney Publishing Worldwide, will offer TeleStory products with content based on the library of classic and popular Disney characters. The TeleStory interactive books connect directly into a standard TV using JAKKS' Plug & Read technology and serve as a fun, introductory reading guide for preschool-aged children.
SLG Publishing and Disney are teaming on TRON: THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE, a comic book written by Landry Walker and Eric Jones (LITTLE GLOOMY, X-RAY COMICS) and drawn by Louie De Martinis. The comic picks up where the critically-acclaimed videogame TRON 2.0 leaves off.
TOKYOPOP and game producer Blizzard Ent. announced the release of WARCRAFT: SHADOWS OF ICE, the second volume of the successful manga series, based on Blizzard's popular WARCRAFT game universe. WARCRAFT: DRAGON HUNT, the first volume of the trilogy, has gone back to print four times in less than one year. The manga is written by NEW YORK TIMES best-selling fantasy author Richard Knaak who has also written four WARCRAFT text novels and is illustrated by Jae-Hwan Kim, artist of TOKYOPOP's KING OF HELL series.
Devil's Due has announced a FAMILY GUY comic mini-series, set from release in April, reports ICv2.com. The bi-monthly series will be written by FAMILY GUY TV series writer Matt Fleckenstein, with art by Benjamin Phillips. The comic will be published in a 48-page, full color perfect-bound format. Each of the three volumes of the series will focus on one of the star characters, featuring one-on-one advice on life from the featured character woven throughout the stories.
Artists at DAZ Prods., a developer of professional-quality 3D software and models, have applied state-of-the-art graphics technology from NVIDIA Corp. to the process of illustrating a new book for the holiday season.
Stephen King and Marvel Comics have joined forces to launch a new comicbook series adapted from King's magnum opus, THE DARK TOWER. Kings first foray into comics will begin its first issue April 2006.
VIZ Media Llc. has announced a partnership with the World Bank to present 1 WORLD MANGA, an original new series that will use the universal appeal of the graphic novel to address key global issues, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and the environment. As part of its depositary library program, the World Bank will donate copies of the manga to 300 libraries around the world. VIZ Medias proceeds from the sales of 1 WORLD MANGA will go to several noteworthy charities.
Scholastic announced that it has acquired AMULET, a two-book deal won at auction. Written by 27-year-old graphic novelist Kazu Kibuishi, the first title will be released in spring 2007 under Scholastic's Graphix imprint.
3Dtotal is set to release DIGITAL ART MASTERS VOLUME I. The book is a collection of 3D and 2D artwork, which has been featured in the gallery of 3Dtotal.com. Sections of the book include scenes, characters, fantasy, sci-fi and cartoon section spread over 192 pages. Each piece has a breakdown and overview of how it was made written by the artist. These are not simple step by step tutorials but more the thought process behind the artwork. The book will sell for $59.
As comics studies have become much more complex and sophisticated, a wealth of resources has been compiled into a new, provocative anthology, THE EDUCATION OF A COMICS ARTIST, edited by Michael Dooley and Steven Heller and published by Allworth Press. This portable comics convention offers insights from pros into the booming changing comics field.
Tor Books has teamed up with SCI FI Channel to bring readers the finest new voices in science fiction and fantasy. Each month, one Tor title will receive the SCI FI Essential stamp of approval, which will appear on the spine and cover of the book. Tor and SCI Fi will partner on live author chats on SCIFI.COM, and sample chapters and sneak peeks of upcoming books in the program on the site www.scifimonthlypick.com.
