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WIRE Buzz: 1st edition Potter book nets $90K, Rooster Teeth free for April Fools', more
Today, magical characters and deals too good to pass up abound in our latest roundup of genre-centric news. We'll take you on a brief trip to Hogwarts before taking a visit to the dystopian future and, to top things off, a visit to Greendale.
Excited? Because we sure are!
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series proved it's still as profitable as ever when a signed first edition of Philosopher's Stone (the first book's title in the U.K.; in America, it's Sorcerer's Stone) sold for more than $90,000 at auction. That's a lot of Chocolate Frogs.
This early version of the first book (of which there are only 500 copies in existence) in Rowling's magical series comes complete with certain typos and a curious illustration on the back, which depicts a wizard character that does not appears in the book or any of its sequels. Later versions would include a drawing of Dumbledore, but as EW astutely points out, this bearded mystery man bears a resemblance to Jude Law's young Albus in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The artist for the U.K. version of the book, Thomas Taylor, has said in the past that he was merely asked to draw a generic wizard for the back cover and based the final design on his father. If you wanted to headcanon it, however, you could possibly say that the unknown warlock is Dedalus Diggle, a big fan of Harry's, although he's always described as wearing a top hat, not a pointed wizard's one.
The special-edition book, sold via Bonhams auction house's “Pioneering and Influential Women” book sale, was signed by Rowling in 2003 and had already been sold at a different auction once before around the same time.
Rooster Teeth is celebrating April Fools' Day with a deal that's anything but a prank. Today the company announced that all of its exclusive shows, like gen:LOCK with Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther), will be available for free on Monday, April 1.
This promotion has nothing to do with joking around and everything to do with Rooster Teeth celebrating its 16th birthday. Other shows that might interest you are: The Weird Place, Lazer Team, and Blood Fest.
The deal lasts from 10 a.m. CT on April 1 to 10 a.m. CT, which gives you 24 hours to enjoy as much of that sweet, sweet content as you can possibly handle.
Yarn, an interactive digital platform for the exploration of short stories, is delivering on its partnership with Archie Comics to bring you plenty of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina goodness before and after the second season premiere next week.
Users of the app can access certain details and tidbits that don't appear in the show. As the release reads:
"[Yarn] provides extended narratives through original multimedia mobile stories, just as dark as the series itself. This intimate form of storytelling gives Sabrina Spellman a voice beyond the TV screen and allows fans to feel like they’re snooping through the teenage witch’s texts with their other favorite characters: Aunt Hilda and Zelda, Ambrose, Harvey and more ..."
Two of the available Chilling Adventures stories include: "A Witch's Curse," which finds Sabrina investigating the deaths of several witches; and "Worm Food," a tale about an on-the-loose body snatcher being pursued by Sabrina and Ambrose.
"Being able to bring such iconic characters to life on mobile - the devices this generation engages with most - is truly what drives us to continue creating content on Yarn. Whether you grew up reading the Sabrina comics, or are new fans through the Netflix series, it's wonderful to be able to interact with them in such a personal and relatable way," Talia Kocar, VP of Content at Mammoth Media (the mobile entertainment studio behind Yarn), told SYFY WIRE in an exclusive statement. "The two Sabrina-inspired series we have on Yarn explores themes that are very prevalent in today’s society such as love, power imbalance and coming of age. They bring to life those intimate moments and feelings - from Sabrina venting about the struggles of her first week in high school, to setting out on one of her many adventures. Our readers are able to fully immerse themselves in her experiences in the palm of their hands.”
Season 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina drops on Netflix April 5.
