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World of Warcraft children's book announced at SDCC
Polygon is reporting an interesting bit of news from the San Diego Comic Con publishing panel -- apparently Blizzard has decided to try its hand at children's books. The first book, Snowfight, was written by Chris Metzen himself, and the book also includes some incredibly charming illustrations by Blizzard artist Wei Wang. From the image above, it looks like a story involving both Thrall and Varian Wrynn -- an unlikely tale, but hey, children's literature should be lighthearted and fun, right? This is, of course, a huge step for the publishing team -- most Warcraft novels and manga have been placed firmly in the young adult to adult category, with nothing for the little kids. But considering how many Warcraft fans are now moms and dads themselves, this is actually a really sweet way to introduce your little ones to the games you love. And it might just be interesting enough to keep their fingers off your action figures, too! Look for pre-sales for Snowfight later this year -- the book should be making its debut at BlizzCon. For more information, check out the full article on Polygon.
Touring the Art of Blizzard at Gallery Nucleus
Earlier this month, Blizzard celebrated the release of its newly published book The Art of Blizzard by opening the doors to a new art exhibition in Alhambra, California. The exhibit, hosted by the local Gallery Nucleus, kicked off with a well-attended Saturday night reception that drew in visitors more accustomed to Fel Reavers than fine art. Attendees covered the full range of demographics, wearing anything from Horde hoodies to shiny stilettos (since people in costume were let in for free, it's important to note that we're referring to the shoes, not the daggers). Massively and our sister site WoW Insider were on hand to take in the spectacle. So what did we see?%Gallery-176765%
BlizzCon 2009: Laguna Art Museum VIP dinner (Attn: Lore nerds)
When I found out that my friend Joe Gilbert AKA Kyliaar from the U.S. realm Destromath was attending the Laguna Art Museum VIP dinner on the eve of BlizzCon, I said "Get pictures and ask questions!" Happily, he did both. For those of you who don't know, Blizzard held a benefit dinner for the Laguna Art Museum, which is also currently hosting a WoW art exhibit. Attendees got to choose a Blizzard personality to speak with at their table, bid on Blizzard art and hang out with the biggest Blizzard names. Following is an excerpt from my chat with Joe about the event (I've tried to edit out most of the fangirl swooning), as well as a gallery of his photographs.%Gallery-71059%
WoW Magazine site now live, hints at Doomhammer
Coming from left field, much to the surprise of everyone here at Team WoW.com, was the announcement of World of Warcraft: The Magazine which will be published by Future later this year. As promised, the website for the subscription-only quarterly went live in the wee small hours of this morning (GMT).You're probably scratching your heads and wondering why we're mentioning this when there's all the BlizzCon fun and games to talk about. Well, amonght other things, there's a really nice piece of artwork of the Lich King by Wei Wang, who we believe is going to be named the Eighth Son of the Storm at BlizzCon. On top of that are the first hints at what the first issue will contain: a piece on the game's fifth anniversary (which suggests we may well see it around November time), articles focusing on new content (which I'm assuming is either code for Cataclysm or a peek at patch 3.3), and the lore behind the legendary weapon Doomhammer.This is probably the entry which is going to have theorists asking intriguing questions. The Doomhammer is currently held by Thrall, and it's one of those uber weapons which most players want to get their hands on but can't get (because it's not actually implemented). It turns out this weapon will be the next 'Frostmourne', a replica weapon that if you have the cash you will be able to purchase and hang on your wall to confirm your hardcoreness.Either way, check out the website and hit the link to subscribe if you like what you see. Alternatively, if you're at BlizzCon this weekend, you can visit the Future booth and do it there. BlizzCon 2009 is here! WoW.com has continuing coverage, bringing you the latest in Cataclysm news, live blogs, galleries, and reports right from the convention floor. Check out WoW.com's Guide to BlizzCon for the latest!
SteelSeries giving away autographed Starcraft II mouse pads
A few weeks ago we posted about SteelSeries giving away Wrath mouse pads signed by pro-gamers, and while that was all fine and dandy, there were quite a few people looking for more, such as autographs from Blizzard employees, perhaps. Good news, everyone! SteelSeries has made good on that, and all this week they're giving away more mouse pads on their Facebook page, though this time they're Starcraft II gaming surfaces, not World of Warcraft.Who's donating their autograph this time around? Wei Wang, the artist behind the now-iconic image of Arthas and Frostmourne, which is plastered all over Wrath of the Lich King products. Wei Wang is also rumored to be the new Son of the Storm, the artists that basically fuel and control Blizzard's aesthetics. So while this might just be a mouse pad that he's signing, it might as well be a part of Blizzard history if you're into that sort of thing.Head over to their Facebook page and follow the supplied instructions. Good luck!
