Bionicles Comes To Papercutz

[ENGLISH] Publisher of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Classics Illustrated, and Tales from the Crypt presents LEGO characters’ origin BIONICLE, one of the most popular game and action-figure lines for boys, is coming to comic-book shops in May 2008 (and bookstores in June) as a quarterly series of graphic novels from Papercutz. BIONICLE #1 — which features the origin story, “Rise of the Toa Nuva” — is written by Greg Farshtey, the main creator of BIONICLE’s world and storyline. In novels, video games, and of course the original LEGO toys, BIONICLE tells the adventures of the Toa, six heroes who are part machine and part living creatures. In BIONICLE #1, the series’ all-important origin, the Toa arrive on the tropical island guarded by the Great Spirit Mata Nui only to find it under siege. The powerful and evil being Makuta has cast the Mata Nui into an unending sleep and is attacking the island’s villagers, the Matoran. The armed and armored Toa, who wear Masks of Power and can control the elements, leap into the fight against Makuta. But Makuta has unleashed mechanical insects called Bohrok to destroy everything in their path. During the fight, the Toa transform into the Toa Nuva, with new armor, weapons, and Masks of Power. But will all of that be enough to defeat Makuta?

The artists of Papercutz’s BIONICLE #1 are Carlos D’Anda (known for DC Comics’ Outsiders), Aliens vs. Predator storyboard artist Richard Bennett (Marvel’s X-Men), and Randy Elliott (Marvel’s Spider-Woman). The series reprints stories created for LEGO’s BIONICLE club, which has over a million members. The stories have not appeared in print for several years.

In general, each Papercutz volume — 112 pages in full color with a trim size of 5” x 7 1/2” — will present a year’s worth of stories. The books will appear in two formats: hardcover for $12.95 and paperback for $7.95. The release of BIONICLE #1 dovetails with LEGO’s plans to release all-new Toa Nuva figures; LEGO is planning a huge promotional effort, including a partnership with McDonald’s.

BIONICLE, launched in 2001, is LEGO’s hottest toy line since the
original LEGO blocks. • It’s a favorite among boys age 7 through 12, earning more than $150
million in annual revenue.
• The website BIONICLE.com attracts two million unique visitors per
month.
• BIONICLE characters appear on apparel, bedding, stationery, board
games, and other products.
• Scholastic has sold more than 1.5 million copies of BIONICLE chapter
books.
• Universal Studios is planning a direct-to-DVD release of a BIONICLE
movie for the end of 2009.