Today, we pick up where we left off in our celebration of the 20th anniversary of Storm Front! We also have a NEW VERSION of the Battle Ground cover that addresses a significant error. But first, a couple reminders for things happening TODAY:
Tonight, Tonight!
Tonight is your last chance to submit to the Cosplay Contest! Read the rules and submit before midnight Pacific.
Also, Jim’s first episode of The Great Fantasy Debate will be posted to Penguin Random House’s Facebook page this evening! Last week’s episode (featuring Naomi Novik and Tochi Onyebuchi) was uploaded at 7:15pm Eastern, so we’d expect them to follow a similar schedule today. Jim will also be appearing in an episode scheduled to air June 23rd.
Smiling always seems to annoy people more than actually insulting them. Or maybe I just have an annoying smile.
Battle Ground Recovered
Good News! Penguin has heard your concerns, and they’ve fixed the orientation of Harry’s pentacle on Chris McGrath’s Battle Ground cover! It’s now the correct way up. Click to display the full cover.
It’s too late to fix the equivalent error in the first printing of Peace Talks, but it will be corrected in reprints.
Magic. It can get a guy killed.
Art to the Rescue!
Adam Mathison-Sward is lending his artistic skill to help save Badali Jewelry, creators of officially licensed lines for some of your favorite fandoms.
He writes: “Hello everyone! Like a lot of people and small businesses, Badali Jewelry has taken a big financial hit from the closing/postponing of conventions across the country. […] So I’m giving away an original 11″x17” custom illustration to THREE donors to their GoFundMe campaign. Check out the link to see full details, and donate if you are in a position to! If not, please take a second to share the campaign!”
Storm Front Anniversary, Part 2
This week, we continue our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Storm Front by sharing some seldom-seen artwork inspired by the book!
First, illustrations by Vincent Chong from Subterranean Press’ printing of Storm Front. This title is long since sold out from the publisher, but copies can be found secondhand.
It is the prerogative of wizards to be grumpy. It is not, however, the prerogative of freelance consultants who are late on their rent.
Next, Francis Tsai‘s concept sketches and completed illustration for the “noir” variant of the first issue of the Storm Front graphic novel, published by Dynamite Entertainment.
(We learned upon googling his name that Tsai was diagnosed with ALS the year after he created these illustrations. He refused to give up on his art and learned to draw with this feet, then taught himself to model in 3D using tech that tracked the movement of his eyes. He continued to create until he passed away in 2015. It’s an incredible story that you should read!)
There is no truer gauge of a man’s character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power.
And the Storm Front art we’re most familiar with, poster illustrations and pages by Ardian Syaf for Dynamite Entertainment’s graphic novel adaptation. Images 1 and 2: Colors by Jeremy Treece. Image 3: Inks by Rick Ketcham and Colors by Mohan.
I had to maintain a fine balance between going in ready for trouble and going in asking for trouble.
Also, we ran across some fun phone lockscreens using quotes from Storm Front. Thanks to Hydrilla of MyNerdyLockscreens for creating them. Find three more on their site!
Our celebration of Storm Front will continue in at least one future Drop. We’d love to dig into the titular episode of the 2007 SciFi Channel TV show, including material from the unaired two-hour pilot, and that kind of endeavor deserves a post of its own!
What else would you like to see in our Storm Front Anniversary Tributes? Do you have any favorite fanart for the book that deserves a spotlight? What else are we missing? Let us know on twitter at @jimbutchernews or emailing yearofdresden (at) gmail.com.
Reminders
The Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game came out on the Switch last week! It’s also available on Steam, the App Store for Mac and iOS, Google Play for Android, and the Amazon Appstore for Kindle. Scales smoothly from 1-5 players in multiple play modes, including Solitaire, local Pass-and-Play, and Online Multiplayer.
We’ve expanded our social media presence! You should already know about the JimButcherNews Twitter feed, but we’ve also added accounts on Facebook and Instagram as well. Give us a follow and enjoy all the content that doesn’t make it into our Drops, like the Trailer Rewatch thread, the Quarantine House Game, and more!
Ebooks of Storm Front, Fool Moon, and Grave Peril are still on sale!
Storm Front at $2.99:
Fool Moon at $3.99:
Grave Peril at $5.99:
Visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!