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Autographs: Authors

Monday, November 20th, 2023

When I was a child I had an autograph book. I believe I may have had a single autograph in it, and it was a football player I had no interest in but got the autograph of when he made an appearance at a mall. I remember I used to glue photos of famous people in the book and keep the opposite page empty for the autographs I would (of course) never obtain. I was an optimistic stripling!

Autograph collecting dates to a time before photos and the autographs were proof you met someone. Of course these days they’re more often purchased and signers can make a lot of money providing them. But even an impersonal autograph purchased from a shop is still a bit of a special item when it’s of someone you are a fan of, and I don’t judge anyone for wanting or buying them.

Recently I started thinking about all the autographed items we own now, and one thing led to another and then ultimately – as it often does – to this blog! This week therefore I’ll be showcasing most of the autographs Kristin and I have obtained over the years, in five different categories. We’ll start today with authors!

The above I’ve shown here before. I’m a big fan and collector of Fighting Fantasy books, and I treasure this pair of autographs of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, the two guys that created the series. These were sent to me by an Australian company in response to me tweeting out photos of my collection!

In a similar vein, I have Joe Dever’s autograph. He was the author of the Lone Wolf gamebook series, and some years ago special (expensive!) autographed editions of some of the books were released. To my great surprise Bernard sent me two of them, which means I have his autograph twice. Joe Dever passed away a few years ago, so this is a somewhat special mark to own.

Keeping in the RPG sphere, a decade or so ago I purchased a used copy of this Forgotten Realms AD&D box set and when it arrived I was astonished to see that it had been autographed. The two shown are Jeff Grubb and Ed Greenwood (who also wrote ‘Good gaming’), and it was also autographed by the editor. These may not be names you recognize, but each contributed enormously to Dungeons & Dragons and are well known to fans from that era.

Lastly I have Kim Newman’s autograph. He’s one of my favourite authors, and even though I already owned four imprints of Anno Dracula I naturally had to buy this fifth one when I saw it was autographed. I’d love to meet him in person and get a book autographed, but this is the next best thing!

I know I have at least one more hiding somewhere in this house, that being the author Tanith Lee who sent me a signed letter response to a letter I wrote her in my teens. Try as I could though I was unable to find it.

These are just the tip of the autograph iceberg. There’s many more to see this week, so stay tuned 🙂

Posted in Blog, Books, Celebrity, Collecting, Gamebooks | Comments Closed

Japan Pickups: FF Books

Thursday, January 19th, 2023

The Fighting Fantasy series was popular in Japan in its heyday, and the first 33 titles were translated and released in the early to mid 1980s. As a diehard collector of FF books I’ve been lucky enough to obtain a few of these Japanese versions over the years, but this past trip was by far my most successful in terms of new additions.

The above four were purchased at RPG bookshops (yes, that’s a thing in Japan) in Nakano and Akihabara. Collectively they cost me about $130, with half that being Creature of Havoc (the lower right book). All are in exceptional condition for 35+ year old books, and the (2nd edition) of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain even included a small cardboard ‘postcard’ that can be used to make dice if you don’t have any handy:

Incidentally the obi (paper wraparound) on the cover of Warlock identifies it as a worldwide bestseller, which was absolutely true when this 1984 edition was published.

Creature of Havoc includes images and writeups of the preceeding 23 volumes, as well as adverts for other gamebook series the publisher also licensed (such as Tunnels & Trolls and what looks to be a Japanese book called ‘Dice Fantasy’). It also includes the above advert for a Japanese release of Tasks of Tantalon! I wasn’t aware it had ever been translated; I suppose it now gets added to my ‘list’ 🙂

In addition to the four original FF books, I also bought 4 books in the Sorcery! series: original 1984 imprints and reprints from 2002. As an offshoot from the FF line these are a little bit less expensive these days, and the four in total cost me about $70. As with the FF books these are in pristine condition, with nary a hint they’ve ever been read.

Each of the original books includes a pull-out adventure sheet printed on ‘vellum’ paper with this lovely translated map on the back!

The Shamutanti Hills included this! One of the delights of buying used books is often finding unusual bookmarks from the previous owner inside, and in this case it seems they were using what seems (according to google translate) to be a coupon for a student discount on a ticket to see the Ghibli film Nausicaa upon its original cinematic release in 1984!

One thing I love about Japanese imprints of the FF books is that they are physically smaller than the western ones (even the US versions) and therefore a bit more pocket-sized. And yet the print quality is exceptional and the fine line-art characteristic of the books is reproduced beautifully. In 2000 the (new) Japanese licensor started reprinting some books in a much larger format, and I have to say they look even prettier! You’ll also note an inclusion in the above photo of one of the 2002 reprints: a quick-reference for section numbers on the left side! Why didn’t English versions ever implement this?

In 2021, the Japanese licensor (Group SNE) published a box-set of five new imprints of classic FF books. I really wanted to find this in Japan but failed. Happily though, I found this:

It’s the second box set, which was only released very shortly before we arrived! It reprints Appointment with F.E.A.R., House of Hell, Deathtrap Dungeon, The Port of Peril and Stealer of Souls. It’s a beautiful box, and it’s obvious this collection was produced by a company deeply respectful of the series heritage and importance. It cost ¥8250, or about $64.

The inclusion of Stealer of Souls is notable, since this was book 34 of the original FF line. Japan stopped at book 33 (Sky Lord), so this is the first time this one has even been translated.

Each book includes a pull out ‘vellum’ character sheet and the print quality and ‘feel’ of the volumes is magnificent: many levels above the recent Scholastic versions. Japanese fans of the series are receiving a real treat with this release!

It also includes a small booklet history of the FF series, as well as a general critique of the books and their historical importance. This is the first time I’ve ever seen all the books – including the new ones published in recent years – numbered together in one chronology. This book (which is entirely in Japanese but google translate is magic these days) also mentions that the 2021 box set was ‘printed to order’ and sold out due to ‘high demand from loyal fans’ which explains why I couldn’t find it.

Lastly – and most unexpectedly – I got the above. It’s a Back To The Future choose-your-own-adventure style gamebook published by the licensor of the FF series and using a similar trade dress! It’s rare that I ever discover a book not on gamebooks.org, but here you go! I would imagine this would be of a lot of interest to many different collectors, and yet this was dirt cheap (about $6) compared to everything else in this post.

The entries – 565 in total – are accompanied by stills from the film, and the blurb on the back suggests the goal of the player is to essentially do what Marty accomplished in the movie. It would be interesting to see how the author invented a gamebook out of the plot, but to give you an idea here’s a translation of a random page:

As I said google translate is a wizard these days, and I suspect I could actually play this entire book via the translator. Maybe I should?

I bought every FF (or related) book I saw this past trip, and these are amongst my most prized possessions. They’re not cheap (for books I can’t technically read) but I’ve developed a new approach to my collections recently after having sold out of MTG and a good chunk of my video games. It makes me wonder, had I found myself once again faced with the bounty of pricey Japanese books I saw in 2017, how much less daunting those prices would have been…?

Posted in Books, Collecting, Gamebooks, Otaku, Retro | Comments Closed

The Inevitable List Of Ten Things My Brother Will Buy Me For My Birthday!

Sunday, February 13th, 2022

It’s been a whopping eight whole years since I’ve posted a list like this, but yesterday I was thinking that my brother may be having difficulty finding a birthday gift for me. Ever the helpful sibling, I decided to give him some assistance.

So here you go brother, ten simple suggestions!

Let’s start with an action figure! Darth Plagueis was released eight years ago in the 3.75″ ‘black collection’ and as with most figures of that era was frustratingly difficult to find and hardly made it to store shelves. Had I seen it I would have bought it for sure, but now mint-on-card versions are only available for $100+ on eBay. I’d love to put this guy in a box and never look at him again!

Speaking of figures, I recently learned about a series of Guyver statues by Prime 1, including the above showing a Guyver-0 standing atop a defeated T-Rex. It’s an amazing piece, standing almost one meter tall and weighing over 25 kg! Unfortunately it’s sold out but even if it wasn’t the $1300 price tag (not including the insane shipping cost from Japan) is something I would never spend myself but think is entirely appropriate for a birthday expense!

Vinyl is really hot now, and while my record player no longer works I think it’s obvious that I’d love the above vinyl album (not CD!) from 1962. This was long before Pertwee became (the best) Doctor, and apparently he was already famous enough to release an album full of bawdy ditties! You can listen to the songs on YouTube and they are of course abysmal, so the album would be one ‘for the collection’.

Let’s switch to games! I’ve got an impressive Fighting Fantasy book collection but despite my efforts have yet to obtain an original 8-bit FF computer game. There’s a few available, for 4 systems (C64, Spectrum, BBC, Amstrad) so it shouldn’t be too hard for Bernard to get me one (on eBay UK most likely) for around £25! Naturally I want it in the original cassette case and in NM or better condition.

Speaking of games Ive seen the above myself a few times on recent Japan trips, and every time I do I nearly buy it. But the astonishing prices (¥40,000+) have always given me pause, and as a result a hole in my Wizardry collection remains unfilled. Bernard’s going to have to be careful when he buys this one though: ‘discount’ ($200) copies are easy to find, but they almost certainly don’t include the trading card!

Naturally, since Bernard will probably become an expert in navigating Yahoo Auctions Japan for the last item, he should keep his eyes peeled for the above as well. This is the Xevious gamebook released by Namco in the mid 1980s and, much like the game, this book tells the story of Mu and Eve as they pilot Solvalou to travel to Garu Andor Genesis and destroy GAMP. Apparently the game system is very similar to Fighting Fantasy but I wouldn’t know since I don’t own the book. Yet.

Let’s take a sidestep into toys. The LEGO Old Fishing Shack is a masterpiece of design, and several years ago I was with my brother when I picked it up in a shop and said I may buy it. I didn’t, and now it’s $500+ on the aftermarket. But B should realize: a LEGO for me is also a LEGO for him, since one day I’ll take it apart and send it to him so he can enjoy it too. While paying the ludicrous aftermarket scalper prices would be the act of a fool, at least it would be an act that one day benefits him!

We had ministecks as kids and loved them, and it’s time to love them again. Though they are still being released, they’re weirdly hard to find and the few kits I’ve seen for sale here are very kid-centric, like puppies or doll pictures. I reckon B has contacts in Germany that could help him snag me this monster Neuschwanstein kit, don’t you?

Who doesn’t love View-Master? I know I do, and my measly collection would receive a wonderful boost with the addition of the above set. Sadly it’s hellishly rare these days, with single reels (of the three-reel set) going for $25 or more in poor condition. If he gets me this, naturally in the original packaging, I promise I’ll blog it in detail!

And what better thing to end on than a pair of shoes! You didn’t see this coming did you? Yes my friends these are the 2016 limited edition Ultraman Converse All-Star shoes sold at only one store in Japan. Once again condition and packaging are important since I’ll never wear them, and unused examples in the original boxes go for silly amounts on Japanese auction sites these days. Indeed, you’d have to be a ~~damn fool~~ brother looking for a birthday gift to even consider entertaining some of the scalper prices…

So there we go, ten easy items only a click or two away. I wonder how many of these he will get me this year?

Posted in Blog, Books & Comics, Collecting, Crafts, Gamebooks, Games, Music, Otaku, Retro, Toys | 2 Comments »

Gamebook Update

Friday, June 14th, 2019

Late last year, motivated by the blog post I had made referencing it, I bought this:

It wasn’t too expensive (~$30) but took about 3 months to arrive from Japan. It’s the third of three Fighting Fantasy reprints from a decade ago, and since I had the other two I naturally had to own this one as well. This is now my fifth different imprint of House Of Hell!

As with the others the player character is now a young girl and the art (and text?) showcases this. House of Hell is a notably grim gamebook – inspired by the darker elements of 1970s gothic horror – and our poor protagonist gets herself into some tight spots in this book. I bet in the Japanese it’s a good read.

The adverts in the back suggest that Hobby Japan also printed Dungeons & Dragons manuals with an ‘anime girl’ makeover. I’ll keep my eyes open for one of them in the future…

The above is an ‘Esper Gamebook’ published by the same publishers of FF books in Japan. It’s very similar in design and style, but seems to be more of a choose-your-own-adventure than a system-based RPG book.

I can find very little about this online (it’s not on Demians for instance) and there’s no adverts or listings of any other titles at the back so maybe it was a one-off? Based strictly on the art I’m guessing the story is Akira inspired, although it contains androids and aliens as well. I bet it’s crazy!

The above is a real treasure, and I paid about $40 for it. It’s called The Four Kings and is the fourth of four ‘original gamebooks’ published by the Japanese licensor. It uses the standard Fighting Fantasy system and character sheet, and probably plays the same as well. Aside from the fact it’s not one of the original series titles, it’s essentially an FF book.

Much like the other Japanese releases from that time (this book was published in 1990, just after Sky Lord came out in Japan) it uses the Japanese numbering and writing (vertical text) system throughout and even google translate has trouble with it. I doubt therefore I’ll ever be reading it. But as a curio it’s as good as they get, and I’d love one day to find the earlier three.

It’s also loaded with advertisements for other books at the end, including all preceding 32 FF titles, all the Advanced FF books, various related titles (such as Maelstrom) and something quite unusual:

Look at the ad on the left. Google translate tells me the book is called ‘Cube of Tantalon‘ and is a JP-exclusive Advanced FF module! Here’s the translated synopsis:

“Shimomura House Keiko & Group SNE’s first fantasy RPG scenario! The Kingdom of Galantria has been repeatedly attacked by militant neighbors, and now the flag color of the front line has become worse and depressed. According to the court magistrate, if you get the “cube of equilibrium”, a mysterious item that is described in the book left by the former King Tantalon, you might save the kingdom of Galantria.”

King Tantalon, famous for his tasks perhaps?!? Sounds fascinating! This book is probably impossible to find these days, especially since it’s also seemingly nonexistent online, but it’ll go on my ‘list’ just in case I stumble upon it on a future trip to Japan 🙂

Posted in Books, Collecting, Gamebooks, Miscellaneous, Otaku | Comments Closed

Deathtrap Dungeon

Sunday, December 2nd, 2018

That’s Deathtrap Dungeon, the 6th Fighting Fantasy book that was published way back in 1984. It’s a classic title, one of the most famous books in the range, and has inspired countless other gamebooks and video games.

Here’s some more editions from my collection:

Clockwise from top left they are the 2017 Scholastic version, the 1984 Dell USA version, the 2009 Wizard version and the 2002 Wizard version.

And here’s another version:

The above has been one of my ‘Holy Grail’ gamebooks for years. It was published in 2009 by Hobby Japan, and as you can see it’s definitely not like the others.

It’s still Deathtrap Dungeon, although obviously translated into Japanese. This isn’t the first Japanese version either, since FF books were published there during their original run too. But in 2009 Hobby Japan gave the books a distinctive anime makeover with a short-lived reprint series.

Whereas in FF books you are the hero, and therefore the player character is rarely described and even less commonly named, in this edition the player character is this adventuress named ‘Philia’ (according to my translation software). She still challenges Baron Sukumvit’s evil Deathtrap Dungeon for fame and fortune, but her experience is distinctly different from the one I first had in 1984.

For instance here’s the ninja I encountered in the original version:

And here’s Philia’s ninja opponent:

What about the iconic Manticore? Whereas originally it was the focus of the art during its encounter, now it seems to be photobombing a Philia selfie:

The fighting hobgoblins:

What about the disturbing (to my 12-year old self in ’84) one-handed man:

There are other cases where opponents switch gender (a crazy old man becomes a young witch etc.) but most of the illustrated sections are actually new and don’t correspond to the old ones.

I can’t read Japanese, so I can’t determine if the text itself changes. But it must if only slightly to accommodate the gender switch of some of the encounters? I wonder if it’s still in the first person though, or if Philia is directly referenced in the text?

As for the makeover, it’s undoubtedly because Hobby Japan was trying to market these to otaku in the wake of the success of the Queens Blade series. The all-new art is possibly due to the original art becoming pricey to license since the artist (Iain McCaig) had become quite famous in the intervening years (he designed Darth Maul for instance).

As best I can tell, there were three books in this reprint series. Deathtrap Dungeon is #1, I also have #3:

And #2 was House of Hell, advertised here in my copy of Deathtrap:

As I suggested, these are both difficult to find now and pricey when you do. My Deathtrap cost me $40 and took three months to arrive from Japan. One day I hope to get House of Hell, but I’m not sure it’s worth $50+ to me. Further books in the same series exist, but don’t seem to be FF titles (for instance one is an AD&D gamebook (?) based in the ‘Eberron’ game world).

As a curiosity though it’s lovely, and I’m extremely pleased I finally own it 🙂

(I obtained a few other gamebook curiosities this year. Maybe I’ll do a future post on them…)

Posted in Books, Collecting, Gamebooks, Otaku | 1 Comment »

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