-- I have been getting this Q a lot, so let me answer it here -- no, the shapeshifters mentioned in Empire of the Skrall are not Makuta, proto-Makuta, Krahka, or anything else from 2001-2008. Remember that Mata Nui created the Makuta, who then created the Rahi, so neither ever existed on Bara Magna.
-- Looks like I will be appearing at New York Comic-Con in Manhattan on Saturday, February 7th, in the afternoon at the Papercutz booth. More details as I get them.
-- I am working on a six-part story for AMEET, the people who did the Makuta Guide for Poland last year, which will run through the six activity books they are doing for 2009 BIONICLE. It's called "The Crossing" and deals with a dangerous trek through the Black Spike Mountains and over the Dark Falls made by Gresh, Strakk and two Agori.
-- The Tales From the Crypt comic with my story, "Murder M.A.I.D.," comes out this coming Wednesday.
Started work on the first of the 2009 serials today -- it's called "Empire of the Skrall" and it is going to focus on our favorite rock tribe. You'll get a good look at them, moreso than we usually do for our non-hero characters ...
Some things that will be answered in just the first chapter are:
Is Tuma a Skrall, and if so, what kind? Where did the Skrall come from? Why did they move south to Bara Magna? What are their intentions toward the other villages, and why?
I am going to try to sort of put a "human face" on these guys, so they aren't just "nasty for the sake of being nasty." When you see the full picture, you will see how what they do this year will make perfect sense in their eyes, and in a strategic sense as well.
As we start another new year of BIONICLE, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to BZPers for their support of the line, their creativity, and their friendship over the last several years. You are a truly special bunch of fans and you should know that.
I have met people on this board that I consider friends; others that I don't know as well, but who strike me as intellectually very sharp and fascinating conversationalists; and a few I wouldn't even want to be in an elevator with But I doubt very many other writers get the opportunity I have to talk with readers like this. It is truly an honor and a privilege to know all of you.
Yesterday, I got some sad news -- Fiona Simpson, my editor at Scholastic, has decided to move on from her position there. This is a great loss to the world of BIONICLE and I thought it would be a good time to talk a little bit about her.
I first met Fiona in summer 2003. She had recently taken over as editor for the BIONICLE line. Prior to that, the books had been done by Cathy Hapka, a very talented freelancer -- and although I wished I could write them, there didn't seem to be much I could do about it. I met with Fiona to brief her on 2004 story, and during the conversation, she said they had one extra book for '03 they needed done and could I do it? It was to be a short story anthology, and it would be due in a matter of weeks ... but the implication was if I did a good job, I would get to do another book. Of course, I said yes, and that book ended up being Tales of the Masks, the first of the more than 20 I have written since then.
Over the last five years, Fiona has been my editor, my friend, and an unsung hero in the BIONICLE universe -- a Toa in her own right. When book sales dropped and it would have been easy to just cancel the series, Fiona fought for it. When it would have been easy to drop the novels and just do the young readers, Fiona managed to keep at least a couple on the schedule for fans like you. Most of all, she showed the rare quality in an editor of trust for her writer -- she let me take the storyline where I wanted it to go and had faith I knew what I was doing. The result was some of the best books in the series, like Time Trap.
Since I don't know the future of the book series beyond 2009, I am not sure how much longer we would have worked together, and I am sure Scholastic will put someone professional and solid into the role. But there will not be a day that I work on these books that I do not miss Fiona -- if not for her, I would never have gotten the opportunity to do them -- and if not for her, I would have missed out on a wonderful friendship.
I am happy to say that we do plan to stay in touch, and I wish her all the best, as I hope all of you do too. A lot of the stories and characters you guys have enjoyed and talked about over the years happened because of her faith and her belief in me and in this line. She is a rare editor and an even rarer human being, and her absence will be sorely felt.
In the wake of the new animation appearing on BIONICLE.com, I am of course getting loads of PMs with questions. So I thought it would save time to just answer them here. I am going to put the answers in spoiler tags, so if there is a question you don't want to know the answer to, you can skip it. So let's get started:
1. How tall is Mata Nui?
The conservative estimate I have seen from the story team is about 40 million feet high.
2. Is Mata Nui the Matoran universe?
Yes. The actions of 2004-2008 all took place inside the Great Spirit. The action of 2001-2003 took place on the surface of Mata Nui's "face." Since Mata Nui is not normally laying still, that explains why Matoran were never meant to live outside the domes.
3. Why did Mata Nui have trees, rivers, etc. on his face??
One of Mata Nui's jobs -- though not his main one -- was observation of other worlds. To achieve this, he had the ability to conceal himself underwater and camouflage himself with something resembling local flora. In the case of this incident, the Great Cataclysm damaged the EP system and caused a wild growth of plant life without the system really being triggered.
4. What were the Bohrok for?
When it came time for Mata Nui to move onto another world, the Bohrok would clean the "camouflage" off so he could operate efficiently. This also had the effect of loosening/weakening the stone/soil base the plant life grew on, so it would fall away when Mata Nui rose.
5. Is Mata Nui a robot?
That is an accurate term in that his body is fully mechanical, not bio-mechanical, but he is much more than how we define robot. He is alive; he is intelligent; he can think, feel and reason. In that respect, it can be argued he is more of a "synthezoid" -- a living being made of artificial parts.
6. Does Mata Nui wear a Kanohi mask?
No, he does not.
7. What was Mata Nui's main job?
This gets dealt with in future story.
8. Why didn't the Toa/Matoran/Turaga etc. know they were inside Mata Nui?
Well, some of you might remember the old story about all of Earth's universe being a microbe inside the bloodstream of a larger being -- and if that were the case, how would you know?
9. Was Mata Nui always on this planet?
No, he was not.
That's all I can think of for now, but I am sure these answers will prompt other questions
I get a lot of questions about when BIONICLE will end, and I see a lot of topics on here about whether BZP would survive its ending.
Well, all things end, eventually -- it might be a year or five years or 20 years or 100 years, but everything ends. But as someone who loves BIONICLE as much you do, I will give you some free advice:
On the day it does end, assuming it is a time when you are still into it -- don't give up on it. Keep building models, writing stories, making theories. Someday, when the line ends, you guys will be the keepers of the flame, just as Star Trek fans were and Star Wars fans were (very few people remember that in 1991 Star Wars was considered a "dead license" -- it was the fans who kept interest alive until new books and movies came out). Never let anyone else's decisions -- not mine, not LEGO Company's, not anyone's -- dictate whether you maintain your interest in something you love. Don't walk away from BZP, which may be the place BIONICLE lives on for years after its "official passing." And from this one site on the web and others like it, who knows, perhaps someday a new universe will grow.
Hopefully, this is not something any of us will have to worry about for some time to come -- but I thought it was important to say.
1) The first full-length chapter book in 2009 should hit stores around June.
2) There will be at least three Level 3 readers next year.
3) Plans are for five comics next year, same size as this year. We will start with a new issue #1, which is already written.
4) Story will flow like this -- January comic, March comic, then the first chapter book, which will lead into the July comic. So the chapter book will not duplicate story from the comics or vice versa.
5) On a disappointing note, November 2008 will be Leigh Gallagher's last issue. Leigh has a lot of projects going on and felt that he did not have the spare time to devote to BIONICLE, so he has bowed out. We have already named a replacement, with an eye toward maintaining a similar style to Leigh's, and I will share his name as soon as DC gives me clearance to do so.
6) First draft of the 2010 screen treatment is out in Billund with the story team for approval. I have a conference call on Monday with the movie folk to discuss it. Almost certainly a second draft will be needed, but we'll see how harsh the rest of the team is about it
But I doubt very many other writers get the opportunity I have to talk with readers like this. It is truly an honor and a privilege to know all of you.