Posts with tag Manga

It's that time of year again -- if you (like me) haven't gotten gifts for everyone on your list, it's time to start scrambling to find something nice to get under the tree this year. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about finding something good for the World of Warcraft fan in your life: we've got you covered there. In the gallery below, we've got a nice bunch of gift ideas for everything Warcraft, from the cheap to the expensive, from the silly to the practical, from in-game presents you can wrap with shiny paper, to out-of-game classics that you can... also wrap with shiny paper. If you need to give a gift to a WoW player this year, you'll find it below for sure.

And if you happen to be a Warcraft player, faced with the annual awkward question of "What do you want me to give you this year?", just feel free to drop this link surreptitiously as a reply, maybe even with a hint or two towards a specific item. We've included links to everything and kept it easy to understand even for someone who hasn't visited Azeroth before. That's our gift to you. Happy holidays, and good gift hunting!

Not long after Tokyopop announced its 2010 schedule, which actually includes a late 2009 release, BlizzPlanet unveiled scans from the first chapter of Dan Jolley and Rocio Zucchi's World of Warcraft: Death Knight. The story features Thassarian, an NPC first encountered in Ebon Hold and later in the Alliance airship flying above Icecrown. Jolley delves deeper into Thassarian's past, telling his history as a human Alliance soldier with dreams of rising through the ranks but who eventually becomes ensnared under the Lich King's employ.

Intended to give insight into the different World of Warcraft classes, the Death Knight manga is the first of a series of class-focused full-length stories. Rocio Zucchi is a 22-year old Argentinian female manga artist, and her work on this book is simply sensational, if the first pages are any indication. Jolley employs a lot of flashbacks in the preview, and Zucci handles the storytelling transitions deftly. The book hits the shelves on December 1, 2009, and if you enjoyed Tokyopop's take on the World of Warcraft universe, Death Knight looks to be an equally entertaining read.

If you're a fan of Tokyopop's take on the World of Warcraft -- I know I certainly am -- then you should be excited to know that the line-up for 2010 has been announced. The first series from Tokyopop was the Sunwell trilogy, written by Richard Knaak and drawn expertly by Kim Jae-Hwan. It dealt with the events of the Sunwell and featured characters prominent in the game such as Kalecgos and Anveena Teague. The second series was called World of Warcraft: Legends, a recently concluded five-volume affair that uniquely told various stories of Azeroth's lesser-known folks.

For 2010, Tokyopop plans to kick off class-based stories starting with the popular Death Knight, featuring Thassarian, the first Death Knight to rejoin the Alliance. According to BlizzPlanet, this full-volume comic written by Dan Jolley and drawn by Rocio Zucchi is slated for December 2010 although they probably mean this coming December, 2009. This will be followed by World of Warcraft: Mage, written by Richard Knaak and drawn by an as-yet-unrevealed artist, which will be available on June 7, 2010. Would Knaak + Mage mean more Rhonin? I certainly hope not -- I think we've just about had enough of the super-heroic, time-traveling, ultra-powerful Mage who actually taught Illidan Stormrage how to use magic (don't ask). Rhonin is kind of like the Chuck Norris of Mages.

The most curious of the three volumes is World of Warcraft: Shaman, which is due for a "late 2010" release. Blizzard works closely with Tokyopop for all its manga, and all the stories are considered canon (Trag Highmountain even made it into the game). The Shaman book is rumored to be Cataclysm-related, although it's a good bet that the game's third expansion will be out by late 2010. There is no official word yet on who will write or draw the comic, but I personally enjoyed Tokyopop Warcraft editor Troy Lewter's stories in Legends so much that I look forward to him writing a full-volume comic. How about Carlos Olivares for the art? I appreciated his unique, almost whimsical style in Legends. He also draws wonderful Goblins, whom as we all know can roll Shamans in the next expansion. As always, stay tuned to WoW.com as we bring you the latest on Tokyopop's Warcraft manga.

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Even if you're not a roleplayer, it's almost impossible not to find yourself swept up by some aspect of the hundreds of compelling stories tucked into the World of Warcraft. The question is, how can you dig deeper? Where do you find more? The answer: Books ... Manga ... Comics ... RPGs .... Page after page after page of glorious lore. Blizzard approves the storylines and lore included in the Warcraft and World of Warcraft line of novels, although you won't find a straight and clear progression across the whole line. Not every story and character crosses over from books to game (and vice versa).

Besides the Warcraft novels, WoW-starved readers can chew through enough manga, roleplaying game books and gaming guides to sate any lore feeding frenzy. The best part? You enjoy +Lore bonuses to your online play experience. Even the RPG books add color to the overall picture. Follow us beyond the break for a basic reading outline to escort you down Warcraft's path of lore.

While wandering about the floor at BlizzCon, I stopped over at the TokyoPop Manga booth and spoke a bit with editor Troy Lewter, who we've talked to before.. Currently, the big series they write for the world of Azeroth is the Warcraft Legends series, which is on its 4th volume with a 5th due out next month.

Talking with Troy and other members of the Tokyopop team at the booth, what I was most struck with was the passion for the work and the universes of Blizzard's games that they display, and, perhaps more importantly, to the art and stories they tell.

Troy laid out three important concepts that they follow in creating the mangas: Telling a solid story, focusing on a few characters, and cross-pollinating with other forms of media.

In telling a solid story, the aim is to create the story such that you don't need to rely on the Warcraft world and characters, per se. In short, even if the story wasn't about Thrall or Varian or the Scarlet Crusade or anything else, you could still connect with the characters themselves.

I've been getting back into comics lately, thanks largely to the World of Warcraft. My most recent purchases were the trade paperbacks of Wildstorm's World of Warcraft series and Ashbringer, as well as Tokyopop's Warcraft Legends manga. Since I couldn't get my fix of Hong Kong manhua without actually going to Hong Kong (which makes it kind of hard to keep up with weekly titles like Amazing Weapons 4...), it was a bit easier to head over to our local shops and get some Western comics. What better subject than my favorite game, right?

While I enjoyed Ashbringer, I take a great liking to Warcraft Legends because it explores the other aspects or characters of Azeroth. The ongoing series can focus on well-known guys like Varian Wrynn, but Warcraft Legends are cool side-stories of the unknown guys. That opens up a world of potential. We could see stories about those NPCs we always see all over the place. Maybe we can get a comic about Cro Threadstrong and find out why he hates the fruit vendor so much. How about stories about the wandering "named" NPCs in Dalaran? Minigob Manabonk, maybe?

On the flip side, how about when the characters in the comic stories suddenly make their way into the game? We know Broll Bearmantle and Valeera Sanguinar have their roots in toys and comics, and players can now meet them in WoW. This whole idea of comics as an extension of the game's story is really cool, and I hope Wildstorm and Tokyopop keep putting out great comics and characters. Is there anything in particular about the World of Warcraft that you'd like to see in comic form? A favorite character? A particular period or special event? Share your thoughts!

Although Free Comic Book Day is supposed to be on the first Saturday of May each year, our local book store chain Fully Booked held it last May 23 with a 20% discount off graphic novels and select manga. I thought it was a good opportunity to pick up Tokyopop's Warcraft Legends series, a manga-style take on the Warcraft universe. I'd had my eye on these books for a while, so last weekend was a good opportunity to get them.

Each book contains three self-contained stories and one ongoing tale featuring the Tauren Trag Highmountain from the Sunwell Trilogy manga written by Richard Knaak and drawn by Kim Jae-Hwan. Trag's story in Warcraft Legends picks up where the Sunwell Trilogy left off, and although the story is rather interesting, the best thing about the manga are the short stories which breathe a little more life into the Warcraft world. These stories are what make the books truly shine. My take on the first three books in the series after the jump.

In the second of our two exlusive interviews, we sat down with Dan Jolley, the writer behind TOKYOPOP's latest Warcraft manga, Warcraft: Death Knight, which is due out later this year. You can also read our interview with TOKYOPOP Series Editor Troy Lewter here.

WoW Insider: How did you get involved with the Warcraft manga?

Dan Jolley: I've been writing for TOKYOPOP for a number of years now, and when I heard they were going to do Warcraft manga, I called them up and basically did the long-distance, over-the-phone equivalent of jumping up and down and holding my breath until they agreed to let me write some of them. (Tantrums aside, I think I'm also a bigger Warcraft geek than anybody else there, so that was another factor in my favor.)

Did you have particular plots in mind for 'How to Win Friends' and 'Miles to Go' when you were first approached?

I actually turned in quite a few story ideas – just one-paragraph pitches – for Blizzard to choose from. Lucky for me, they liked several, and 'How to Win Friends,' 'Miles to Go' and 'Crusader's Blood' were among them. There was another one involving Booty Bay and some goblins, and that one didn't make it through, much to my chagrin. But I do have another short story coming up that centers on the Bloodsail Buccaneers, so that sort of makes up for the goblin loss.

One of the most suprising successes of a franchise which includes the Trading Card Game, figures, books and even Mountain Dew is actually the World of Warcraft manga published by TOKYOPOP. Given that the game has actually been shaped by the characters and lore introduced in the manga (and vice versa), I decided it was high time we sat down with series editor Troy Lewter and writer Dan Jolley.

We're posting Troy's interview today while the interview with Dan Jolley (who has penned the upcoming Thassarian-centric Warcraft: Death Knight manga) will follow tomorrow.

WoW Insider: So Troy, how did you get involved with the Warcraft line of manga?

Troy Lewter: My Editor-in-Chief at the time asked me if I would be interested in co-editing the anthology. He actually gave me a choice between Warcraft and StarCraft; I choose Warcraft because I was a big fan of fantasy-type sword and sorcery stories. At the time I knew little about the property, other than millions of people played it (and that South Park made a very funny episode about it). Due to structural changes within the company, by June '08 I suddenly found myself the sole editor for not just the anthologies, but all the Warcraft manga. It's been a huge undertaking, but the greater the challenge, the greater the glory, right? *Wipes away salty tears*

So I posted a couple days ago about the new Death Knight manga starring the Human Death Knight Thassarian, and it sparked some interesting conversation in the comments. Namely, people started talking about the type of hero they'd like to see in the Warcraft comics. Some complained that the Horde wasn't getting enough representation, some wanted specific races to get the spotlight. I thought it was at least fun to think about, so I thought I'd ask the question straight up: Who would you like to see get front billing in a Warcraft comic storyline or graphic novel?

Via Blizzplanet, we have news of yet another Warcraft graphic novel coming to us from Tokyopop in December 2009. This time, the story will focus on Thassarian, a Human Death Knight NPC in World of Warcraft.

If you've played a Death Knight or an Alliance character in Northrend, chances are you know of Thassarian. He first shows up in game as a thrall of the Lich King, but even as he assists in the slaughter of the Scarlet Crusade, he shows a noble spirit that even the Lich King's control can't completely suppress.

Richard Knaak, author of several great Warcraft books include the War of the Ancients and the Day of the Dragon, will be writing the script for the upcoming new Warcraft Manga "Legends." We've previously covered this when some sketch cover art was released at the New York Comic Con 2008, but we haven't seen the final front cover until now.

The first manga story line he wrote about Warcraft revolved around the events leading up to patch 2.4 in the Sunwell Plateau. I picked up all three of the books in a archived version over Christmas, and it was quite a good read. I'm definitely looking forward to picking this one up, and according to a Blizzplanet page, the release date is scheduled for August 1st, 2008.

The artwork pictured to the right (click for a higher resolution image) looks pretty cool, and appears to be an Orc Rogue. Since the book is called Legends, we can assume it's about some legendary figures in Warcraft. I would take a wild guess that the Orc pictured is Thrall, but I could be wrong, and feel free to disagree with me.

[Via WorldOfWar.net]

I don't think this is new news (though Blizzplanet has a note about it at the New York Comic Con a week or so ago, so maybe it came from there), but Richard Knaak is apparently working on a new World of Warcraft manga comic, called The Dragons of Outland. While Amazon still has the release date at June 17th, the date given for release at NY Comic Con is Fall 2009 (though that may be for Volume 2). Apparently the book will feature Jorad Mace, a Paladin who can be seen in Netherstorm right now, will touch on Malygos' insanity (which we may see firsthand in Wrath), and it will also be the continuation of the Netherwing quests storyline (which some fans aren't really excited to see in Knaak's hands).

It does sound interesting, though, and it might be fun to see something in the books that's a result of player actions. In other WoW graphic novel news, there is another book planned as well, called Warcraft: Legends, that will have two stories in it. One will be called "Fallen," about a Tauren Hunter who's been featured before in The Sunwell Trilogy, and another story called "How to Win Friends and Influence People," written by Dan Jolley about a Gnome of some kind (who knew they were important enough to write about?).

Legends is due a little sooner than Dragons of Outland -- Blizzplanet says it's expected in August of this year. So WoW graphic novel fans have a lot to look forward to.

There are a ton of goodies out there in patch 2.4. We've compiled some of our favorite items from poking around the patch files for you, and you can check them out in our Patch 2.4 Finds gallery. Just about everything was retrieved using a few tricks with the patch files and WoW Model Viewer.

A few other sites, such as MMO-Champion and World of Raids are covering the latest 2.4 finds as well.

There are a few interesting images. First, it appears that the Blue Dragon Kalecgos will be making an appearance, in both his dragon and human form. We were all introduced to Kalecgos in the World of Warcraft manga The Sunwell Trilogy.

The second great little find is the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game loot-item; the new Rocket Mount. You can see an action shot of this sweet ride right here in a YouTube video I made earlier today.

If you're poking around the patch files, what have you found? Anything special?