JULY 21, 2003 (SEATTLE) - WizKids, LLC, the company best known for its popular line of collectable miniature games (CMGs), today announced plans for expanding its in-house publishing group into a new division called WizKids Publishing. The division will publish novels, comic books and children's books based on WizKids' intellectual properties, such as Mage Knight(tm), MechWarrior(r) and Shadowrun(r), as well as continuing the recently-acquired Girl Genius(tm) comic book series.
"I'm delighted to head up this effort," said Mort Weisman, President of WizKids Publishing. "The creation of this new publishing division will help us keep our fans entertained even when they aren't playing our games."
The new division's first release will ship in October, 2003. MechWarrior: Technology of Destruction is an oversized volume that explains the fictional science behind the Mechwarrior universe with elaborate illustrations and detailed computer graphics. "This book will be a must-have for any BattleTech(r) and MechWarrior fan," says Weisman. "Our goal is to give fans more depth, more details and more experiences they can share about the characters and worlds that the games introduce."
WizKids licenses publishing rights to ROC, a division of Penguin Putnam, for its best-selling MechWarrior science fiction novels, and to Del Rey, a division of Random House, to publish the Mage Knight fantasy novel line. "We have had great success with these novels to date and plan to continue our relationships with these outstanding publishers well into the future," Weisman said.
Recently acquired by Topps Corporation, WizKids manufactures and distributes collectable miniatures games. The company invented the category in 2000, and its games are now played in more than 56 countries worldwide. To date, WizKids has sold more than 100 million miniature figures under the Mage Knight, MechWarrior and HeroClix game brands, making it one of the fastest-growing game companies in the United States. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.
(c)2003 WizKids, LLC. All rights reserved. MechWarrior, Shadowrun, Mage Knight, and WizKids are trademarks of WizKids, LLC.
