Coming Soon - Issue 8 Cover

Here is the cover to the forthcoming issue. Just a couple of tweaks left and it should be ready. Still looks to be on track for release before the end of the month!

Vengeance at Midnight - Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at the art and text of the mini adventure for issue #7:

The Crooked Man pawnshop on 23rd Avenue isn’t the nicest looking of places, with all manner of odd objects in the window for sale. The inside you observe, as you head for the barricaded counter, is not much better. You ring the bell and a tall, thin man with dark bags under his eyes and a toothpick in the corner of his mouth comes shuffling out to greet you. This, presumably, is Korbin Rokefetch the proprietor of the shop.

This is Vengeance at Midnight (a sequel to Appointment with F.E.A.R. and Deadline to Destruction) and is written and illustrated by myself:

Rumours are swirling in the Titan City underworld that a new super villain is poised to unleash a new reign of terror upon the unsupecting city. YOU, the Silver Crusader, defender of Titan City, are needed to unmask and defeat this super villain before the chaos can spread. But can you unravel the hints and clues you have gathered in time to make a difference?

Weaving an eBook World - Sneak Peek

Issue #8 features an interview with Chris Sterling of Worldweaver about their adaptions of the gamebooks for the Kindle:

How much input do Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone have in your adaptions?

Both Steve and Ian took a keen interest in the adaptations, and we worked very closely to get the combat and map just right. It took six months to perfect the gamebook engine, which can now be used on the entire series by only changing graphics and data files. The publishing team at Amazon were great too, championing the games as a useful improvement to a popular series.

Issue #8 is hopefully due out at the end of the month!

Coming Soon - Issue 8

Welcome to the first blog post of 2012, the anniversary year. There is a lot of anticipation in the wind since Ian Livingstone made it known he was definitely writing a new Fighting Fantasy adventure for the 30th anniversary of the range. Meanwhile, issue 8 (I can't quite believe it either, 8!) of the Fantazine is coming together. I'm still aiming for a late January release. In the meantime, here is a list of contents to whet your appetites:

• The mini adventure Vengeance at Midnight by Alexander Ballingall
• A new mini AFF adventure, The Tower of Credos by Graham Bottley
• An interview with Ross Brierley, one of the team behind the Laughing Jackal PSP versions of the gamebooks
• An interview with Chris Sterling, one of the team behind the Worldweaver Kindle versions of the gamebooks
• An interview with Jamie Fry, the new Warlock in charge of the official website
• Part 2 of Aida Rintarou's comic adventure The Book in Which You are the Hero
• Chapter 4 of "Aelous Raven and the Wrath of the Sea-Witch" by Ian Brocklehurst
• Part 6 of "Everything I Need to Know I Learnt from Reading Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks" by Ed Jolley
• More gamebooks news with "Omens & Auguries" from Guillermo Parades
• "The Arcane Archive" reviews the GA tale Temple of the Spider God
• Dan Satherley's column looks for a win with Appointment with F.E.A.R.
• Finally, Jamie Fry continues his exploration of the world of FF collecting

Tempting Talismans - Sneak Peek

Issue #8 features an interview with Ross Brierley of Laughing Jackal about their adaptions of the gamebooks for the PlayStation:

How familiar were you with Fighting Fantasy before this undertaking?

As a kid I used to play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and HeroQuest so when my cousin gave me a game that I could play on my own and not have to wait until other like minded people were available, it was amazing. From then on I was hooked, and I remember playing through loads of gamebooks from several series, including a lot of books from the Fighting Fantasy series.

Issue #8 is out in January!

Contributor Spotlight - Jamie Fry

This entry is the first in an irregular series highlighting the people behind the material for the magazine. We kick off with Jamie Fry...

Jamie is a long-established part of online Fighting Fantasy and the man in charge of the website Fighting Fantasy Collector. This made him the natural choice for a column on collecting for the magazine when the team were casting about for ideas for material. As part of his interesting in collecting Fighting Fantasy-related paraphernalia he developed the "Collector's Guide" (a listing of every known Fighting Fantasy collectable). Other items of interest to fans can be found on his eBay site. He can be found on The Unofficial Fighting Fantasy Forum! as "Unclebundle".

He seems to be a natural choice as ambassador thanks to his love of the game book series and his rapport with Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. This has recently led to him becoming the new "Warlock" of the official website and we wish him well with his endeavors to get the site up-to-date and relevant once more.

Jamie will be interviewed in issue #8 (due out January 2012).

Issue #7 - Published!

Issue #7 is now available for download from the the new site: http://fightingfantazine.co.uk/

104 pages of Fighting Fantasy goodness. Feedback appreciated. (Printing password: fanta).

Queen of Shades - Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at the art and text of the mini adventure for issue #7:

In their place stands a tall, slender woman, glowing in the darkness like a candle flame. The goddess of justice looks at you sadly.

This is Queen of Shades by Paul Struth and illustrated by myself:

It should have been an adventure like any other; an ancient tomb, a forgotten treasure and a band of brave souls willing to risk their lives in pursuit of fame and fortune. Now, a day after your successful return to Kharé, the notorious cityport of traps, two of your fellow adventurers lie dead – will YOU be the next victim of the curse?

The Site!

In a short update (the next post should hopefully be one announcing the arrival of the next issue), I can announce that the website for the magazine has now shifted to a new URL (please update your bookmarks and links):

www.fightingfantazine.co.uk

Coming Soon - Issue 7 Cover

Here's the cover for issue #7, which I hope to be able to release at the beginning of September (in time for the 2nd birthday of the magazine).