Because you asked, behold the photos from my trip to Comic Con!
Exhibitors bring some very big and cool props with them. Here’s a life-size Alphonse from Full Metal Alchemist:
Actually, it was a bit behind me, and was bigger than it looks here. And that was hardly the biggest thing around. Here’s my pal, Australian writer Sean Williams, next to a huge mecha:
And check out this Nautilus that was at the Disney (I’m pretty sure) booth. (Thus proving the inherent steampunkness of the Mouse.)
Of course, the home-made costumes are much cooler than anything the big companies make. Like this sock monkey:
Yes, a little terrifying. And yet . . . SOCK MONKEY.
Here’s a fan-made steampunk wheelchair, which was much cooler than it looks here. (Sorry about the blurry shot, but this thing was fast too.)
At the Simon & Schuster booth, they were giving out an original Keith Thompson, this sketch of Deryn:
Of course, this item was much sought after. So we had to take turns guarding it with our lives:
Also, S&S had posters for Justine‘s anthology that comes out September 21, Zombies Vs. Unicorns! (I haz a story in it.)
Notice a certain book in the background, too.
Of course, no trip to Comic Con would be complete without a complete DNA scrubbing to remove the GEEK CUTIES, which I got courtesy of Fluxx Bar:
Mmmm . . . scrubby.
Okay, those are all the decent photos I took. I’ll tell you more in future posts.
I’ve been busy this week working on the audio book of Behemoth, which will come out at the same time as the novel. (October 5!) Here’s me recording the Afterword:
Very soon I’ll be sitting down with the narrator, Alan Cummings (also known as Phineas Floop from Spy Kids), for a few interviews. I’ll bring you a report on that next week.
One of the cool things about going to San Diego Comic Con was that Keith was there too. Our work on Leviathan has all been by email, so this was a great chance to meet many awesome people and check out a huge dealers’ room full of art books and toys.
We also sat down for an interview with Suvudu. We were in a crowded hotel lobby, so I recommend headphones, but I think it turned out wonderfully. Because Keith and I haven’t spoken much face to face, it’s still kind of fresh for us to talk about our work.
Click this image to go to the Suvudu page, and check out all three parts if you have the time.
More about Comic Con soon, and thanks for you suggestions!
I’m headed off to Comic Con in San Diego (schedule below), and will be seeing some (all too few!) of you there. So here’s me sitting down between packing and enplaning, thinking I should get in one more blog post, because it’s been a while, and yet . . .
I can’t think of what to say. Seriously, there’ve been a bunch of cool news items about toxoplasma, some awards news, etc., but I have not felt motivated to blog them. Maybe it’s being in the middle of the hottest summer in recorded history, or maybe it’s being in the middle of writing Goliath. But whatever it is, I’m weirdly bereft of ideas.
So let’s use this comments space as a teachable moment, or a motivatable moment, perhaps. In other words, tell me what you want me to blog! Seriously, what kind of the posts on this blog do you most enjoy, re-read, link to, or at least chortle at? Parasites? Travel pics? Fan art? Writing advice? Bungee jumping? I aim to please.
All right, here’s what I’m doing at Comic Con:
Thursday, July 22. 4:00-5:00
Room 25ABC
Twisting Genres— Fantastic fiction authors talk about pushing the envelope on genre, not confining it to one definition. Participants include China Miéville (Kraken), Justin Cronin (The Passage), Naomi Novik (Tongues of Serpents), Daryl Gregory (The Devil’s Alphabet), Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Cold Black Hearts), Robert Masello (Blood And Ice), Keith Thompson (The Leviathan trilogy), and Scott Westerfeld (The Leviathan trilogy). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy.
And by popular demand: There will be a signing with all of us afterwards, sponsored by the wonderful Mysterious Galaxy (a bookstore, not an actual galaxy). This is first time that Keith and I have signed together in the United States, and unlike boring me with my scrawly-ass signature, he can draw stuff for you.
Okay, I have a plane to catch. Ciao for now.
With the Leviathan paperback only month away, I figure it’s time to show you a first piece of art from Behemoth. (Yes, I put this on Twitter a week ago, but it’s still NEW, right?)
So . . . behold the Ottoman sultan’s airyacht Stamboul, which appears about a third of the way into the novel.
Image by Keith Thompson, of course. Click the image for a larger view.
As you can see, Keith has created a whole new style for the Ottoman Empire. It’s sort of a middle eastern Clanker look, with elements of both machinery and animals. (The Ottomans use walkers that look like beasties, so they’re sort of halfway between Clanker and Darwinist.)
This is, of course, only one of fifty-five pieces of art in Behemoth. I’ll be showing some more pieces on August 10, when the paperback of Leviathan appears in stores.
In other news, Keith and I will be at Comic Con in San Diego this year. I’m on a panel on Thursday at 4PM, as you can see on the schedule.
Here’s the description:
Thursday, July 22. 4:00-5:00
Twisting Genres— Fantastic fiction authors talk about pushing the envelope on genre, not confining it to one definition. Participants include China Miéville (Kraken), Justin Cronin (The Passage), Naomi Novik (Tongues of Serpents), Daryl Gregory (The Devil’s Alphabet), Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Cold Black Hearts), Robert Masello (Blood And Ice), Keith Thompson (The Leviathan trilogy), and Scott Westerfeld (The Leviathan trilogy). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 25ABC
Hope to see you there! And I’m happy to sign stuff after if you bring it along.
A few weeks ago, I revealed the new paperback cover for Leviathan. Well, now it’s time to show you the matching cover for Behemoth Here they are together:
And here’s Behemoth on its own:
Although I loved the old cover style, this is also a really great look, especially with this new color scheme. The blue and green seems perfect for the Darwinists, just like the rusty metallic reds suited the Clankers.
But I’ll let you guys say your piece in the comments, as NO DOUBT you will.
In other news, the word “Leviathan” now has its own species, an extinct killer whale from 12 million years ago. Behold!
A skeleton of the highly predatory, 17-meter-long (55 ft) whale was discovered in Peru. It’s teeth are twice as big as those of any current-day whale, possibly because it shared the water with a prehistoric 15-meter-long shark! (Remind me not to bring my swimming gear when traveling to any era before, say, 1492.)
And what’s the scientific name of this newly discovered monster? They’ve chosen Leviathan melvillei, in honor of Moby Dick,
So study hard and grow up to be paleontologists, because the bones of a Behemoth westerfeldii would totally rock my mantelpiece.
Here’s more from BBC News.
More cool stuff soon.
This Just In:
Here’s an interview with me about the art of Behemoth and Leviathan at Suvudu.
As you can see, my website has had its first makeover in many years. This is to celebrate the fact that my first new series in years, Leviathan, comes out this autumn. (October 6, to be exact.)
Things may be wonky for a while as we play around under the hood. But I hope you enjoy the new look. Let me know what you think!
Click here to contact Scott Westerfeld.
Jill Grinberg
Jill Grinberg Literary Management
info@grinbergliterary.com
