ArtOfMagicTheGathering-Amonkhet-3D.JPG

§ Viz is publishing THE ART OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING – AMONKHET, scheduled for release in July 2017. Here’s the cover.
 

The fourth and latest release in the ongoing series of impressive hardcover editions featuring artwork from Magic: The Gathering™ will present scores of full-color illustrations from an array of talented artists, including Cliff Childs, Winona Wilson, Christine Choi and Adam Paquette. Additional insights and lore on the dangerous and beautiful world of Amonkhet are provided by bestselling author and Magic: The Gathering Senior Game Designer, James Wyatt. Amonkhet is the latest expansion game for Magic: The Gathering and is set for retail release by Wizards of the Coast in April of 2017.


It’s the fourth book in the series, because MtG has a lot of art!  

§ Last March, we reported the sad news that artist Norman Lee disappeared while snorkeling in the Cayman Islands, and was presumed dead. Last November we told you the FBI was investigating his death. Now CBR reports, the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for any info about Lee:

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has recently announced a $10,000 reward for information relating to Norman Lee, an artist who worked for Marvel and DC Comics who went missing in the waters off East End in the Grand Cayman Islands on March 5, 2015. At the time of his disappearance, Lee was on vacation his wife and a friend when they went snorkeling and became separated. After making it back to the shore, his wife sounded the alarm when she found no trace of her husband, and police began scouring the waters. According to the Cayman Compass, the search for Lee was called off a little under a week after he had gone missing, and police were then operating a “search and recovery” effort instead.

According to a Royal Cayman Islands Police Service spokeswoman, the FBI had offered to help with the investigation, which is still open after nearly 20 months of Lee having gone missing. The FBI notice that was posted offered up the mention of the reward. “The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the recovery of Norman Lee and/or the identification which leads to the conviction of those involved in his disappearance.”


So…none of this says that foul play is involved but…it all seems rather strange. But then, the FBI is strange. If only Norman Lee had sent emails, perhaps we would have solved his death by now.

201611030341.jpg

§ Kiel Phegley is back at The Decider with a nice piece on how Gotham is handling having a gay Penguin:

Then two weeks back when Gotham delivered up its requisite “the mob is out to assassinate mayor Penguin” plot, the relationship between the two supervillains dove headlong into romantic territory. Penguin and Nygma would frequently land breathless and chest-to-chest under a hail of bullets before the episode ended with their quiet reconciliation – each staring longingly into the others’ eyes. At first the move seemed like a cynical bone thrown in the direction of slash fiction writers everywhere. Hyping up potentially gay stories that never come to fruition is a dispiritingly frequent piece of pop fiction’s modern landscape, after all. But when fans tuned in last week, Gotham wasted no time in confirming that the internet was (at least half) right.


§BTW, I haven’t watched Gothm in two years, but this does sound like the most Tumblr friendly storyline of all times (TMTFSOAT).

§ The Blerd Girl has a fine list of Magical Books for Black Girls This Holiday Season

If you’re looking for inspiring books with female protagonists to give to African-American girls and teens, here are a few you should check out. All of these titles are available both in print and most are also in digital and feature Black female main characters.

reviews A Walk in Eden, Anders Nilsen’s adult coloring book, she colors in it, with excellent results.
§ Image COmics is pretty much a SF publishers these days, and this article agrees:

Without doubt, Image Comics is the most exciting publisher in the medium today – and their library of recent work is a must-see for fans of sci-fi comics. For readers craving a break from the constant reboots (ED: wouldn’t that be rebirths and resurreXions?) over at DC and Marvel, Image Comics is something of a breath of fresh air. What are they doing so right, and what can other publishers learn from them?