Apologies to all fans who got to read the news alert a few weeks ago. Richard A. Knaak has informed me that he is not the author of World of Warcraft: Deathknight. Amazon is now listing this book to be written by Dan Jolley. I considered necessary to post this as my role in the community is to inform, rather than to misinform.
I have seen a few wiki entries that used Blizzplanet as source. So it’s my responsibility to correct the previous misinformation. Make your updates accordingly. I did not reach Richard A. Knaak until now about the book. Originally, I saw it freshly listed over at Amazon. Knaak does have an upcoming manga about a mage, but not much can be said at the moment until the script is approved by Tokyopop and Blizzard.
Author: Dan Jolley
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: TokyoPop (July 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1427814961
ISBN-13: 978-1427814968
So let’s learn some stuff about Dan Jolley. He was voted Best Horror Comic of 2001 by Wizard Magazine for the limited series: Obergeist. He was nominated for an Eisner Award on 2003 for writing the JSA: The Unholy Three limited series. A novel based in the sci-fi shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: IRON MAN: Teen Novelization (based on the 2008 film), STAR TREK S.C.E. - Some Assembly Required, Firestorm (DC Comics); Dr. Strange: The Flight of Bones (four-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics,1999); JSA: The Liberty File; Sabretooth: Mary Shelley Overdrive (four-issue mini-series, Marvel Comics 2002); Vampirella: The Choir in the Mist (2004); Warcraft Legends # 1 (World of Warcraft: How to Win Friends, short story). And a few Tokyopop mangas: Alex Unlimited, HarperCollins, The Warriors Series (The Lost Warrior, Warrior’s Refuge, Warrior’s Return).
Below are some of his comments based on his experience as a World of Warcraft player with two level 70 characters ...
Dan Jolley: There are a lot of really cool places and things to see in the expansion, but it’s not the environment that’s intriguing me the most. I’m sort of puzzled—albeit in a good way—at how phenomenally over-powered my shaman seems to be these days. He’s all Enhancement, and what with the Feral Spirit talent and being able to summon a couple of big honkin’ elementals, there are few reasonable challenges he can’t face. I wandered into Zul’Drak tonight and got attacked by two level 75 bad guys at the same time, and didn’t have too much trouble killing them both. Blizzard has upped the awesome on all the classes, and just like when Burning Crusade came out, the low-level common items in Northrend are a LOT better than many of the powerful uncommon ones in Outland. I haven’t gone into PvP since about level 59, so I don’t know how painful that’s going to be, but as far as running around in the world, it’s fun and satisfying and mildly embarrassing, and I hope they don’t nerf shamans too quickly.
Dan Jolley: The bear this month is the new World of Warcraft manga I’m doing—a full volume, 160 pages, rather than the 45- or 60-page shorts I’ve done for them before. It relies heavily on material from the new expansion, which hits stores on Thursday. I’ve played the beta, but not as extensively as I would’ve liked, so this coming weekend I’ll be steeping myself in Northrend, with an eye toward learning all the locations and environments so I can figure out exactly where the hell this story is set. I mean, I know the places Blizzard wants to see, but part of the reason I’ve been able to do these stories with relative ease is that I know the game pretty well, and I can jump in and run around in the exact locales where the stories take place. Northrend is still new to me, so I’ll get to do some exploring.
Dan Jolley: Doing more and more World of Warcraft manga work for TOKYOPOP, now moving from short stories to a full volume. More details on that as I can release them. It’s a kick, being told to go play an MMO for research. Also, over the course of the weekend, I got my second-ever Level 70 character in World of Warcraft. (He’s a blood elf mage—arcane with a side of fire—joining my undead fury warrior.) I like to tell myself that I play it as much as I do because of my professional interest in it. The truth is, I’m just a big geek.
