Year Five

In 1999 I created Battlebooks Inc., a separate corporation, to deal exclusively with the intensifying work of Battlebooks. I felt that it was best to separate Battlebooks from Crusade to give the budding game the attention it deserves. We licensed characters from the new Marvel Enterprises and a host of other comic book companies. The goal was to introduce interaction between characters and fans as never seen before. A total of 17 new Battlebooks were produced and distributed to gaming stores throughout North America and the response was overwhelming. Twelve of the first wave of Battlebooks were published through Marvel, before Battlebooks Inc. obtained the rights to all Marvel Characters. With all characters now under one roof, the game was officially launched in 2000. Foreign distribution also took off in 1999, with Shi gracing the European shelves in German, Italian and French. This "Euro-experience" also was the cornerstone for an all-new limited edition Shi resin statue. Released in Europe as well as North America, it too sold out in a matter of weeks.

After producing and distributing Battlebooks (of which I edited all, penciled three complete games and the covers to all the others), The Shi Cannes Film Festival Edition, Shi #0 First Draft Edition, Shi/Wolverine cross-over and writing two screenplay's, I felt it was time to take a break. In just four years, Shi had sold over 3.5 million comics, innumerable merchandise and had in fact grossed over 25 million dollars worth of product domestically. I had worked with some of the world's greatest creators, artists and authors, each giving a bit of themselves to my creation. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world to have been blessed with such good friends, and their incredible imaginations.

But what is one to do for the Millennium?