Greetings, folks!

Yes, it's been a long time since I've updated the ol' TP blog. It's getting kinda dusty around here. Cobwebs and all. It would be the perfect atmosphere if we were approaching Halloween, but in the middle of the Christmas season? Not so much. I have noticed, though, that cobwebs look a little like snowflakes if you squint hard enough. Only problem is that I can't really write while squinting, which makes writing a new blog entry a bit of a challenge. Maybe that's why I haven't updated in so long--I've been spending far too much time squinting!

Oookay... Let's get off that weird tangent and get to the subject at hand.

I wanted to talk a bit about the Ultimate Editions that TOKYOPOP has recently started publishing. Have you heard of these? So far, we have an Ultimate Edition of Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy, Battle Royale and Fruits Basket. I'm a little surprised that these things aren't getting discussed more than they have been, and that what few discussions I've come across seem to talk about menial things, like whether the Ultimate Edition of Fruits Basket bleeds off the same amount of art as the original version of Fruits Basket did. I've also heard a few complaints about the paper quality.

Now, I realize that I work for the company that publishes these things, so I'm bound to be a little biased, but all I can say is...HUH? That's all you have to say about these?

Let's back up a little bit. For those of you who don't know, TOKYOPOP Ultimate Editions are basically newer, spiffier versions of previously published material. While some--probably even most--of you fans are content with your already-purchased versions of these books, you've got to admit that these new versions are pretty nice. Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy is being reproduced at THREE TIMES its original size. All those amazingly detailed landscapes and battles beautifully drawn by Jae-Hwan Kim. Imagine what they're going to look like at a much larger size. If you've read the series, you just KNOW that there was a bunch of detail getting lost when those pages were shrunk down to our regular trim. Even if you've already purchased the complete trilogy, that reason alone must be pretty tempting. Both Fruits Basket and Battle Royale are being blown up as well, and I believe both look very nice at the larger size.

However, in addition to the larger trim, the books also come with goodies that weren't in the original editions. Warcraft comes with a never-before-seen full-color prologue that was written and drawn by the original creators. In addition to that, you get a color art gallery, a free trading card and mini-poster, an afterword by the VP of Creative at Blizzard, and more. Battle Royale gives you a brand new cover drawn exclusively for our edition by the artist of the series, as well as an artist sketchbook section, a look at the weapons of Battle Royale written by a weapons expert, and a psychological look at the characters written by an actual psychologist. Fruits Basket has a new foreword and future editions will feature never-before-seen color art.

All this is pretty cool, but honestly, the people it benefits most are the people who haven't read the series yet. If you've been interested in any of these books, but haven't had a chance to pick them up yet, now's the time. The books are all hardcover, and they're all priced at either equal to or less than what you'd pay for the original books. (Fruits Basket contains the first two volumes of the series and retails for $14.99. Battle Royale contains the first three and retails for $24.99. And Warcraft contains the full trilogy and retails for $29.99. Considering the original versions sell for $10 per volume and you see that these prices are very nice.)

I think that's really who these editions are going to benefit the most--the new fans. All three titles have proven to have legs. The first volumes continue to show up on the Bookscan lists and are being regularly reprinted. That means there are still readers discovering them for the first time. Now, they have the option of buying a very nicely bound edition with some extras that weren't available in the first go-round, and saving some cash to boot. What's not to love?

As usual, I welcome all comments and thoughts in the comments field. Hope everyone's enjoying the holidays. I'll be back soon with the long awaited follow-up to "So You Want to be a Manga-Ka." Manga writers, you're not going to want to miss this one!