Midnight…

February 23, 2012 at 11:15 pm

…is the witching hour. Or is that the watching hour?

Midnight is when the latest trailer for GAME OF THRONES, season two, will be released. But only on HBO GO.

GET A FIRST LOOK AT THE GAME OF THRONES SEASON 2 TRAILER ON HBO GOÂ®, FEBRUARY 24th

New York, N.Y., February 23, 2012 !“ War is coming to Game of Thrones Season 2. As kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen continue to vie for power; fans eager for a taste of the action and treachery that will unfold in Westeros will be able to get their fill with an all-new trailer premiering on Friday night, February 24th, at midnight (ET), on HBO GO.
HBO GO can be accessed at hbogo.com or via the HBO GO app !“ now available for download on Apple’s iPadÂ®, iPhoneÂ® and iPod touchÂ® and numerous smart phones using Google’s Androidâ„¢ operating system as well as platforms such as Samsung Smart TVâ„¢ and Roku !“ and is free of charge to HBO subscribers through participating television providers. For those who haven’t experienced this unforgettable fictional world, the entire first season of Game of Thrones can also be found on HBO GO.

Based on the popular book series !œA Song of Ice and Fire,! by George R.R. Martin, the EmmyÂ® and Golden GlobeÂ® -winning fantasy series Games of Thrones chronicles an epic struggle for power set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. Among the returning members of the ensemble cast are Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, EmmyÂ® winner Peter Dinklage, Michelle Fairley, Lena Headey and Kit Harington. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss executive produce. Games of Thrones Season 2 premieres Sunday, April 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, exclusively on HBO.

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Invitation to the Set

February 21, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Here’s yet another glimpse of the GAME OF THRONES second season, courtesy of HBO.

This one is called “Invitation to the Set.”

Enjoy (but don’t really try to visit the set, security will stop you).

<lj-embed id=”268″/>

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Battle on the Trident

February 19, 2012 at 3:17 pm

Green Ronin Games will be bringing out a new edition of their popular A SONG OF ICE & FIRE role-playing game this April. They’ve just unveiled the cover for the new edition, and Michael Komarck has struck again with his own smashing version of the Prince of Dragonstone and the Lord of Storm’s End meeting on the Trident.

If his eye-popping Wild Cards covers weren’t enough to convince you to nominate Komarck for the Hugo Award, this sure as hell should do the trick. The guy is WAY overdue.

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Tags: games, green ronin, hugo awards

Ghost Rider Blues

February 17, 2012 at 1:02 pm

So, maybe you’re thinking of going to the movies this weekend, and catching the new GHOST RIDER flick. Hey, why not? Choppers, demons, plenty of action and eye-popping special effects, and Nicholas Cage with his head on fire, this movie has it all.

What it doesn’t have, alas, is a dime for the writer who created the character.

Gary Friedrich is reportedly penniless, sick, and about to lose his house… and he’s just lost the lawsuit he filed, hoping to get back rights to the character, or at least some portion of the millions that Marvel is making off him. In fact, just to salt the wounds, the court ruled he owes Marvel $17,000 for selling unlicensed prints of the Ghost Rider. Here’s the scoop:

http://blastr.com/2012/02/judge-rules-penniless-gho.php

So… see the movie, or don’t see the movie, that’s up to you. But whether you do or you don’t, why not donate an amount equal to the cost of admission to the writer without whom there would BE no Ghost Rider:

http://www.steveniles.com/gary.html

FWIW, long long ago in a kingdom by the sea, I started as a comics fan… indeed, as a Marvel fanboy, with letters published in FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, and other Marvel titles. I never much cared for the Ghost Rider in the modern incarnation (motorcycle, head on fire, and all that… the Dread Dormammu from Dr. Strange was always my favorite ‘hey, his head’s on fire’ character), preferring the older western hero who went by the same name). And while I had and have lots of friends in the comics industry, I don’t believe I have met Gary Friedrich.

None of which lessens my sympathy for him. In the summer of 1971, fresh out of Northwestern with a master’s degree in journalism, an Alley Award for my fanzine writing, and my first two short story sales under my belt, I applied for a job as a writer at Marvel Comics. I got as far as a meeting with Roy Thomas at Marvel’s offices in New York, but they did not hire me. If they had, who knows what characters I might have created? If they had, who knows what movies might have been made about those characters forty years later?

So when I read about Gary Friedrich, and others like him, I cannot help but think, “there, but for the grace of the Dread Dormammu, goes me.”

There are lots of talented writers in the world. Not all of them have been as lucky as I have. But with great power comes great responsibility.

Send the guy some bucks, true believers.

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Tags: comic books, movies

Extra in Westeros

February 16, 2012 at 4:21 pm

And here’s another “Making of… ” video with HBO, with more behind-the-scenes looks at how GAME OF THRONES is made.

This one is on life as an extra.

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I was an extra myself once… well, twice… on two episodes on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, back in the dawn of time. And on the GAME OF THRONES pilot as well, though my scene wound up on the cutting room floor. And I had such big balls too… and a HUGE, ah, hat…

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Gianni to Illustrate 2014 Calendar

February 14, 2012 at 6:17 pm

Cool news for everyone who likes great ICE & FIRE artwork (starting with me).

The 2011 Ted Nasmith calendar and the 2012 John Picacio calendar both did very well, and Random House has extended our deal for three more calendars: 2014, 2015, and 2016 (the 2013, featuring art by Marc Simonetti, is already in the works, and will debut in July at the San Diego Comicon).

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’ve just signed GARY GIANNI to provide the art for the 2014 calendar!

The comic book fans among you probably know Gianni best for his work on the PRINCE VALIANT comic strip in your Sunday paper, where he took on the daunting task of following in the footsteps of the immortal Hal Foster, and brought it off wonderfully.

But I’ve been a huge fan of Gianni’s ever since I first stumbled upon a copy of the Wandering Star limited edition of THE SAVAGE TALES OF SOLOMON KANE (my favorite Robert E. Howard character, fwiw). Until I saw the Wandering Star book, the notion that any other artist could ever do a Solomon Kane to compare to Jeff Jones’s version would have struck me as rank heresy, but Gianni’s art blew me away.

Gianni went on from that to illustrate one of Wandering Star’s gorgeous CONAN volumes, to provide some lovely interiors for Michael Chabon’s GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD, to Prince Valiant, and assorted other triumphs too numerous to mention.

He’s an amazing artist, and I cannot wait to see him bring my world and characters to life for the 2014 calendar.

So now the only question is… who can we possibly get for 2015 and 2016?

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Tags: a song of ice and fire, calendar

Report from Iceland

February 14, 2012 at 10:39 am

Here’s the latest “In Production” video from HBO, this time featuring Iceland.

<lj-embed id=”266″/>

Damn, but that looks gorgeous.

DAMN, but that looks cold.

Watching this really makes me regret that I did not get to visit the shoot this season. Not Belfast, not Croatia, and not Iceland.

Next season, though…

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Tags: game of thrones, hbo

Be My Westerosi Valentine

February 13, 2012 at 6:24 pm

Valentine cards from the Seven Kingdoms:

http://blog.chrisbishop.com/post/17554357179/game-of-thrones-valentine-cards

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Yakking It Up

February 13, 2012 at 5:34 pm

For any of you who are not yet tired of hearing me talk, there’s a new interview up on a blog called Feather Factor:
http://www.featherfactor.com/2012/02/interview-with-george-r-r-martin.html

I gather it’s a fashion blog. I’m sure a fashionable guy, donchaknow.

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Tags: interviews

Sorry, Brazil

February 12, 2012 at 5:05 pm

I was supposed to make an appearance yesterday at a fan festival in Brazil, taking questions from my Brazilian readers via the wonders of the internet.

Well, I did appear, kinda sorta:

Unfortunately, the internet proved less wonderous than promised. We were using Skype, and while everything was working fine on my end, down in Brazil the sound kept cutting in and out. I did get to say hello and field two questions, but I am not sure how much of my answers was actually heard. Every few seconds the proceedings would be halted yet again while they switched to a new computer, tried a new setting, fiddled with some knobs, or whatever.

We finally had to give up, defeated by technology.

Sorry, Brazil. One of these days I will have to try and make it down there in person.

I am sure Vince Gerardis filled in admirably in my electronic absence. None of this GAME OF THRONES stuff would be happening if not for him.

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Tags: convention, the internet

Not a Blog

Midnight…

Invitation to the Set

Battle on the Trident

Ghost Rider Blues

Extra in Westeros

Gianni to Illustrate 2014 Calendar

Report from Iceland

Be My Westerosi Valentine

Yakking It Up

Sorry, Brazil

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