September 2009 - Diamond Select Toys is proud to announce a new highly limited collectible Minimate, produced in association with author Barry Lyga and Stupid Kat, LLC: The Goth Girl Minimate!

The Goth Girl Minimate is based on the appearance of the titular character from the upcoming novel Goth Girl Rising, the long-awaited and hotly-anticipated sequel to 2006's critically acclaimed The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, both written by Lyga and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Limited to only 1,000 pieces, the Goth Girl Minimate depicts Kyra Sellers (Goth Girl) as she is described in the first book, complete with all-black clothes, facial piercings, and her trademark reverse-smiley face necklace.

"This was an opportunity to do something fun with the Minimate brand," said DST's Chuck Terceira. "The appeal of Minimates is universal, from super-heroes to movie characters to videogames. Now we've created the first Minimate based on a popular novel."

Lyga said, "Since both books are sort of twisted love letters to geek culture, it made sense to celebrate the book this way. People who've read the first book just love Kyra... and I love her, too, so the idea of a little toy Kyra to celebrate her new book was just too tempting. The folks at DST and Stupid Kat really made it come together beautifully."

Given the extremely limited run of the Goth Girl Minimate, finding one won't be easy. Most will be given away through various contests and drawings at barrylyga.com. Fans are encouraged to visit barrylyga.com/new/20-questions.html where the first such contest is running through September 30.

Goth Girl Rising will be available in stores and at online booksellers beginning in late September. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl is currently available in hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and for the Kindle e-reader.

ABOUT DIAMOND SELECT TOYS

DIAMOND SELECT TOYS AND COLLECTIBLES, LLC was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Envisioned to create unique and exciting collectibles for children and adults alike, the company has licensed a variety of pop culture properties to be turned into merchandise. With partners such as Marvel Enterprises, Twentieth Century Fox, Hasbro, Sony, Universal Studios and MGM, Diamond Select Toys and Collectibles produces a large range of products based on a wide variety of properties, and is headquartered in Timonium, MD. For more information, visit www.diamondselecttoys.com.

ABOUT STUPID KAT, LLC

Stupid Kat, LLC provides creative solutions for consumer products and promotional merchandising. Established in 2007, Stupid Kat focuses on product development, brand management, and sales efforts for a wide array of clients in the consumer products world. For more information, visit www.stupidkatllc.com.

ABOUT BARRY LYGA

After graduating from Yale with a degree in English, Barry Lyga worked in the comic book industry for ten years and was responsible for spearheading and developing Free Comic Book Day, the comics' only industry-wide promotion. During those years, he was a spokesperson for the industry in general, quoted in countless newspaper and magazine articles, as well as appearing on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

In 2006, his first young adult novel, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, was published to rave reviews, including USA Today calling it "an entertaining read no matter what age you are." Publishers Weekly named Lyga a "Flying Start" in December 2006 on the strength of his debut. Lyga lives and writes in New York City. He has a comic book collection that is way too big. For more information, visit www.barrylyga.com.