The awesome folks at Asmus Toys sent us the very cool Gollum and Smeagol Luxury Edition 2-figure set to check out.
This set gives you multiple arms, legs, hands, and goodies so that you can create the way you want your two figures to look when displaying them. That to me is just the cherry on top of things when it comes to this set because the Gollum and Smeagol figures are so well done. You can get this set from Asmus Toys directly or from our Friends at Sideshow Collectibles.
Our friends at DST have been very busy themselves with new items and new lines of items for Middle-earth fans.
The first two items we saw on display last year during Comic-Con, and they’re part of the Deluxe Action Figure Set line. These superb-looking figures of Boromir and Lurtz are now available to purchase individually at $24.99 or as a set at $49.98. As I’ve said before if you loved your Toy Biz line these are great additions to that scale. I am very much looking forward to adding these to my collection.
DST are also adding a larger-scale Diorama line of statue collectibles. The first in this line is Aragorn as we see him at Helm’s Deep. Aragorn with sword will be roughly 12 inches tall and will be available with a price tag of $59. You can expect to see him towards the end of 2023.
Our friends at Weta Workshop have been very busy since the start of 2023 with several new collectible items, both big and small, coming up for release. Today we’re going to talk about the collectibles coming from the 1:6th line of statues in both the limited and classic series line.
As you are aware the Last Alliance sequence has been getting some love with the amazing Sauron and Elendil collectible that is available for fans to purchase. Now we can add the fantastic-looking Gil-Galad collectible to the list of must have LOTR collectibles.
Weta has announced that Collectors can place their pre-order for Gil-Galad right now till July 5th at 2 pm PDT. This collectible of Gil-Galad, like many other items from Weta, will be a timed pre-order. You can pre-order this awesome-looking Elf for $699 with an estimated shipping date of quarter one of 2024.
If you’re a fan of the classic series of statues then you have two great options to place a pre-order for. As long time collectors would be aware, the classic series are 1:6 statues, but they’re open editions, so these will be available for a little longer so fans can make sure they have their funds ready.
The two new additions both come from the Amon-Hen sequence of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The first is a beautiful Frodo Baggins statue, where he is standing, hand open with the The One Ring lying on it, before he gets in the boat to leave The Fellowship. You can snag Frodo right now for $349 with an expected release date of 2024.
The other classic series collectible also from the same sequence in the film is Lurtz in that menacing walk we see him doing. Lurtz is a little more expensive than Frodo at $399 and has a release date of the end of this year.
Earlier this year we sat down with Leonard Ellis of Weta Workshop to talk about the process of creating Middle-earth collectibles. Leonard was very generous with his time and shared with us what it’s like to take something we saw on screen and then turn it into something, that we, as collectors, would love to purchase. We mainly focus on the process of dealing with different environments and items that are already available for purchase.
We hope you enjoy hearing all the wonderful information that Leonard shares with us during this episode.
Please note that there are occasional audio issues and we apologise for these.
Many Middle-earth fans will be familiar with the spectacular work of artist Donato Giancola. His art has graced the covers of Tolkien editions as well as calendars, and last year saw a fabulous exhibition of his work at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Visitors there were lucky enough to see his massive new painting, ‘Beacons of Gondor’ – a breathtaking, gigantic rendering of sweeping scenery and drama.
If you live in the New York area, this Saturday you could see that painting – and more – for yourself. Giancola is holding an Open Studio in Brooklyn, 11am to 6pm, May 13. This is an incredible opportunity to meet the artist himself, as well as seeing many of his amazing pieces up close. Not only that, but the first 25 visitors will receive a fabulous gift – a signed copy of Giancola’s now out of print first edition art book ‘Middle-earth: Visions of a Modern Myth’. Copies will also be embossed with the sigil of the Kings of Gondor!
Giveaway for those unable to attend in person
Those visiting the open studio could WIN a Giancola original painting; AND there is even an online giveaway which can be entered by folks who can’t visit in person! So there’s something for everyone. Here’s all the info you need:
Donato Arts OPEN STUDIO
Saturday May 13, 2023
11am – 6pm
397 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
This May will see the return of the annual hosting of an Open Studio here at our place in Brooklyn. We will showcase an abundance of new oil paintings, drawings, and projects as well as scores of classics from my 30+ year career as an illustrator. Come eat, drink, and commingle with fellow artists, professionals, and fans of the genre as we plow our creative paths forward in these changing times.
The massive Middle-earth canvas The Beacons of Gondor will anchor the studio at 78″ x 114″. This is my largest work ever and was created for the exhibition at the Huntsville Museum of Art in Alabama this past winter. I am excited to share this with the New York area audience.
Also back from traveling shows are a couple of my favorites, ‘I threw down my enemy’ of Gandalf defeating the Balrog on Zirak-zigil, and the intimate ‘Shadow of the Past’, as well as The Walls of Moria and the Fellowship in Hollin. There are also numerous pages around the home from David Wenzel’s graphic novel of The Hobbit!
A dedicated Wall of Magic displaying over thirty recent Magic: The Gathering oil paintings and preliminary sketches as well as a handful of my earliest works for Wizards of the Coast will be set up in the studio.
New fantasy works will be shown from the cover of Kristen Britain’s forthcoming novel The Spirit of the Wood to interior illustrations for the new novel King-Killing Queen by author Shawn Speakman of Grim Oak Press . The latest Empathetic Robot painting in now finished titled, Remembering, and Portfolios filled with large, preliminary drawings and studies will also be available to peruse through.
Visit Giancola’s website for all the details – and to enter the online giveaway.
We got to ask Wizards of the Coast artist and art director Ovidio Cartagena about the new officially licensed The Lord of the Rings expansion cards for Magic: The Gathering.
Was there any particular aspect, creature, or perhaps landmark of Middle-earth that you haven’t seen from other artists, and have always wanted to bring to life through your own art? The Scouring of the Shire and the Battle of Bywater were very interesting to me. The whole plot involving Old Toby, and the discovery of trade between Saruman and the Shire, always caught my attention.
Naturally, the destruction of something so warm and innocent like the Shire appears to be, and the corruption of many hobbits, is something that I wanted to show in detail in Magic’s adaptation of the books.
Has Tolkien’s own artistic style been an influence for you in your work? Oh yes. We looked at Tolkien’s artwork during the development of The Lord of the Rings. I was very lucky to work with artists who were also influenced by these works. Tolkien’s work is incredibly clear and has a definitive shape language that is unmissable: you’ll know whose hand made it if you look at the work.
What other Tolkien artists inspire you? The Hildebrandts were very influential for me growing up. Their talent seemed endless, and I was a big fan of their work on the LoTR calendar and the Marvel Masterpieces cards from the ’90s. It’s incredible that I get to say that I’ve worked in a set that also features the art of the Hildebrandts. I remember making illustrations for a Lord of the Rings calendar of my own, back when I was 18, a college art project, so it’s fair to say that LoTR and many of the Tolkien artists were a pretty big influence to what I do.
How much freedom were you all given to work on these characters? We had a fair amount of freedom at the beginning. Interestingly, we didn’t have limitations placed before working on concept art. We had a lot of freedom to develop characters, environments, motifs and so on. At the end of the concept art process, we put together a guide that would help artists illustrate our vision for The Lord of the Rings, and Middle-earth Enterprises reviewed the guide and gave us their feedback. I was very nervous at first, but their reaction was positive and that began a great creative partnership between us. Most of the art you see in cards was based on that guide.
What was the process for the artist to submit work, to get to work on these cards? Artists were selected on their capacity to deliver on one or all of the four parameters I set for the set’s visual direction: Epic (scale and scope), Legendary (attention to lore), Storytelling (attention to characters and their relationships), Pastoral (what our heroes are fighting to protect). Ekaterina Burmak, Magali Villeneuve, Tyler Jacobson, Jesper Ejsing, and many other greats lent their enormous talents and unique styles to create Magic: The Gathering’s Lord of the Rings.
What pressures are there to depict Bilbo in a world where two actors defined the character so thoroughly? Bilbo is a very interesting character. And eccentric, too! I remember reading the Council of Elrond, and Bilbo initially volunteers to take the ring to Mount Doom… this is a true adventurer (who also happens to be attached to “his” ring) even after all these years. The design for the character was done in a card illustration by Anna Pavleeva, and we tried to put in his years of lived experiences, a bit of mischief and, of course, the confidence of a daring adventurer who wouldn’t shy away from an epic quest at 111!
How exciting is it to be in this new phase of Middle-earth adaptations? How do you consider your work alongside spheres of TV and new films? It is hard for me to speak of a “revival” of The Lord of the Rings, because it seems like something that has had relevance for most of my life. But it is fair to say we’re seeing an increased focus on LoTR in the mainstream. I am, however, very excited about seeing different takes in media for The Lord of the Rings. There are so many things to explore in Middle-earth! The work we did for the Magic: The Gathering set was an epic endeavor in itself, and I’m very proud of how it holds up to the literature and the adaptations done in other media. I got to live in the time and place of the War of the Ring for a while as I directed the set, and the project gave me a chance to keep coming back to the books I love so much.
We paid attention to a lot of details and there are more than a few easter eggs to consider! The whole team pitched in with lore knowledge, and the passion we poured into the project will definitely show in the card set!
How do you apply more modernized styles of art/composition to illustrate the works of a writer like Tolkien, who dealt mainly with antiquities? I think Tolkien’s work will endure a lot of cultural changes, way beyond our lifetimes. There have been modern crane shots and dutch angles in the interest of dramatizing the events in the War of the Ring. We’ve used the skills and tricks of illustration to bring ourselves inside Tolkien’s rich world, as if we had been there. One of my conceits at the beginning of this massive project was that every illustration was a frame or painting commissioned right after the War, to document the events therein. Since culture hasn’t stopped, and techniques have evolved along with widespread visual language resources, our approach is to let the worldbuilding draw the viewer in.
Who is your favorite Middle-earth character, and why? It is between Boromir and Denethor. It is easy to dislike these characters, but it is often missed that these were strong and great men with a great deal of knowledge. They’d been fighting and witnessing the rise of Sauron’s power, and were desperate to regain the greatness that Númenor once had. Denethor gave almost the air of a wizard due to his sharp intelligence, and wore chain mail under his elegant robe which meant he knew the importance of strength. It is interesting to speculate what Boromir would have achieved in better times – but he did not choose to be born at the edge of a Great War.
What’s your favorite piece for this new collection? It is very difficult for me to pick a favorite piece because every artist gave us great work. I’ll just give a couple of shoutouts to folks who added personal greats to their portfolios:
Gray Highsmith, who was one of the concept artists – they helped design the costuming and motifs of hobbits.
Tyler Jacobson, whose epic ambition and incredible abilities gave the world a Battle of the Pelennor Fields painting worthy of a castle wall. He was also the designer of our Sauron, a truly unique take!
Magali Villeneuve, whose massive talent embodied the soul of The Lord of the Rings, and her vision brought these awesome characters to life.
Alexander Mokhov, who really came into his own as a Magic illustrator with his work in this set.
About the new The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ arriving June 23, 2023
The Lord of the Rings has come to Magic: The Gathering, and it’s time to take familiar favorites on a whole new journey there and back again. In the upcoming set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™, players have the chance to join the Fellowship in adventures filled with valor, courage, and second breakfast. Play your favorite moments of the third age or turn Middle-earth on its head and surrender to the temptation of the Precious. Either way; Middle-earth is in your hands.
The set has two primary launch windows—June 2023 and a holiday launch in November 2023—and is the first full set release as part of Universes Beyond, bringing the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien to life within the Magic frame. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is modern legal and comprised of Draft, Set, Collector, and Jumpstart Boosters, four Commander decks, a Starter Kit, a Bundle and Gift Bundle, Scene Boxes, and Secret Lair drops. For more information on which specific products are coming in June 2023, check out this article on DailyMTG.
The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth will also come to Magic: The Gathering Arena with all of the same cards as the tabletop release. The set will be legal in Alchemy and Historic formats and receive the same support as a full release, including a preorder, Mastery Pass, and cosmetics.
The awesome folks at Asmus Toys sent us the very cool Gollum and Smeagol Luxury Edition 2-figure set to check out.
