New Sneak Peeks: Site Updated

[imp]

We're closing in on the official book release date. While I am concerned it may be delayed, I recently received some encouraging news regarding the publication status. In honor of this potentially great news, I decided to update WorldsGreatestToys.com.

Check out the updated splash page. While you're there…

*SPOILER ALERT*

Some folks have admonished me for posting sneak peeks in the past. Be warned, if you don't want to see any new sneak peeks of the book, please ignore this post.

However, if you want to see what Santa wants to put in your Christmas stocking this year, be sure to check out the Samples page. As of tonight, there are six never-before-published pages from the book, including spreads from the 1974 chapter, the Green Arrow chapter as well as the Fantastic Four chapter.

Benjamin

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I, for one, love the sneak peeks.

[Meule]

HUBBA HUBBA
Those GA pages really are something, does every character get that same treatment?
Thanks for the update Ben, been dying to see something new. Now I'm good till the book is released

[Hulk]

I didn't even take the time to read this whole post before clicking anxiously to check out the new goodies. Awesome work Benjamin, I'm looking forward to this more and more!

[Earth 2 Chris]

Ho man, those are some beautiful pages there. Yeah, that GA page is a knock out. Love the Marvel fight around the Cap car too. How'd you get Spidey in that position?

Needless to say, my anticipation for this book knows no bounds.

Chris

[Sowth]

Bloody hell that looks good! Every page just screams quality to me.

I oversee the publication of a few books and a couple of magazines each year so I can imagine how much work it would have taken to produce even a chapter with that level of detail and image work, let alone a whole book. Stunning. Take an early bow Benjamin!

Cheers,
Will

[chalwa]

OOOOOOOooooooooo.

Green Arrow.
One of my all-time favorites.
God Bless you for this.
*sniff*.

Bestest

Chalwa
(Chris of Earth-1?)

[Flynne]

Ordered another copy this morning. "Awesome" doesn't even come close to describing the sheer joy that this book has given me, even before I have it in my grubby little hands. Ben - you, Sir, are an artist and a gentlemen genius. Bravo!

[megoscott]

Looks superb, Ben. So much to gush over, but what really caught my eye was the fantastic rim lighting on the Joker's head in the little headshot thumbnails on the splash page. That loving attention to detail is inspiring.

[dumbldor]

Genius is the only word for it...

[cjefferys]

Thanks for the new teasers. Everything looks incredible of course. I strained my eyes trying to read those sample pages.

[joshvox]

beautiful. just plain beautiful.

[imp]

Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive response to the sneaks. There are already so many wonderful comments, I'm woefully behind the curve tonight. As such, I thought I'd try to catch up by addressing multiple comments in one post.

Those GA pages really are something, does every character get that same treatment?

I posted the "opening spread" for Green Arrow and, for all intents and purposes, the answer is "yes." Naturally, every Mego Super-Hero requires a unique opening spread, based on the requisite images and text necessary to 'tell the story' of the figure. But the Green Arrow sneak peek reveals a feature every 8" character receives — something I consider a hallmark of this book — which is:

Eight different (45-degree revolution) images, comprising a 360-degree view of the toy.

To my knowledge, no collectibles book has ever endeavored to offer such thorough photographic coverage. I hope collectibles authors and publishers take note of this book, as I think this feature is not too much to ask of any 'definitive guide' about a given line of toys. As fans, we want to see the entire toy, right?!

Love the Marvel fight around the Cap car too. How'd you get Spidey in that position?

Great question. It's incredibly difficult to pose a multiple-figure shot; one misstep can create a domino affect of falling figures. In the case of the Marvels you mentioned, I was able to set them all up fairly easily. But just as I was about to snap the photo, Lizard got all uppity and decided to gut-punch Spider-Man — without provocation. Totally rude, IMO, and Spidey was none too pleased (the incident actually shut down production for the rest of the day, as an inconsolable Peter Parker retreated to his trailer).

Luckily, I was shooting with an extremely fast shutter-speed, and I was able to capture the incident on film, which is the image you saw. Incidentally, Lizard is still taking a "time out" in my garage, where he will stay until he capitulates the error of his ways.

I oversee the publication of a few books and a couple of magazines each year so I can imagine how much work it would have taken to produce even a chapter with that level of detail and image work, let alone a whole book. Stunning. Take an early bow Benjamin!

Ordered another copy this morning. "Awesome" doesn't even come close to describing the sheer joy that this book has given me, even before I have it in my grubby little hands. Ben - you, Sir, are an artist and a gentlemen genius. Bravo!

Sowth and Flynne, your comments are two of the nicest sentiments I've ever read on these boards. Your comments instantly validated my work as a designer, as well as the time I put into the book. I sincerely thank you both.

…what really caught my eye was the fantastic rim lighting on the Joker's head in the little headshot thumbnails on the splash page. That loving attention to detail is inspiring.

Scott, I leave it to the esteemed Mego Museum Art Director (not to mention a truly fine artist) to glom onto such an obsessive, minute detail. I'm beaming over here. Below is the full-image version of that Joker headshot:

I strained my eyes trying to read those sample pages.

Don't bother! I post tortuously illegible sneaks for a reason. To paraphrase the inimitable Cheap Trick, "I want you to want (the book)". Heh.

Thanks, guys!

Benjamin

[cjefferys]

Don't bother! I post tortuously illegible sneaks for a reason. To paraphrase the inimitable Cheap Trick, "I want you to want (the book)". Heh.

That's ok (and understandable), I managed to read just enough of the text to confirm what I already suspected: that the book will be as much fun to read as it will be to look at it's gorgeous pictures. At any rate, you could even do something completely silly like post the book in it's entirety online, and I would still rush to buy an actual copy of it. Nothing could replace the tactile experience of holding such a wonderful item in my hands and slowly (very slowly!) flipping though the pages.

[imp]

…you could even do something completely silly like post the book in it's entirety online…

I don't thing that would be silly at all. But, based on my contract, posting the entire book online is never gonna happen. I'm already pushing my contractual boundaries by posting 'sneak peeks' here and on WorldsGreatestToys.com.

For what it's worth, I happen to agree with you that publishing the book online wouldn't affect overall sales, but it's hard to defend that belief to the publisher who has staked all the money necessary to print such an expensive book. Incidentally, my publisher left me a voicemail yesterday, shortly after he received the final 'publication proof' from our printer in Hong Kong (home of our beloved Mego toys, natch!). In the message, my publisher said:

"This thing is a brick, man. You're gonna love it."

Yeah, baby. I want a frickin' Mego brick! I can't wait to see it!

Benjamin