Dune: Edge of a Crysknife (2026)

Dune: Edge of a Crysknife (2026)

Authors: Brian Herbert + Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrators: Simone Ragazzoni / Andrea Scalmazzi / Francesco Mazzoli | Page Count: 112

The BOOM! Studios hype department are fucking hilarious. Described as a 'pivotal collection' in the 'expanded Dune universe', Edge of a Crysknife is the most vacuous, stretched-thin canvas of meaningless, desolate comicbook crap that serial franchise-milkers B. Herbert + K. J. Anderson have shat out thus far.

It promises 'two thrilling standalone stories exploring the myth and legacy of Shadout Mapes', at different times in her life. In reality, it's amateurish fanfic, with woeful dialogue that more often than not is just characters stating intentions. None of it has any weight or drama.

For those that don't already know, A Crysknife is the tooth of an Arrakis sandworm fashioned into a combat knife, traditionally wielded by Fremen warriors.

Shadout Mapes, a minor character in Frank Herbert's original DUNE (1965) novel, was of Fremen origin. I think the implication is that she is as deadly as a Crysknife blade's edge. Or mayhap that she lives her life as if on a knife edge?

Ghost[s] in the Shell: Versions (1991—)

There's a lot of Ghost in the Shell content out there. But if you're new to the franchise, what order would you tackle them in? Can you skip any? Would you want to? If I was to gather up all that I own and offer it to a friend who had yet to experience anything GitS related, to avoid too much confusion I'd suggest that he/she approach them in the following order. Links to the relevant media's review page(s) will be included, when available. I fully expect that what follows will get a little complicated for people who aren't major fans (bad pun intended).

The Art of Judge Dredd The Movie [A Selection] (1995)

The Art of Judge Dredd The Movie [A Selection]

Related to the Judge Dredd post on The 7th and Last.

The 1995 Judge Dredd movie may have had some of the worst casting of any Hollywood junk that year, but not everything about the venture was terrible. Some of the production art was pretty darn good. I know because a book from the same era gave an insight into what might have been.

INFO: ISBN 0-7522-0666-4, Page Count: 157, Published by Boxtree Limited. 1995.

Below the cut you'll find a small selection of what I feel are among the more interesting images from the book – that excludes much of the 'tech manual' stuff for weapons and vehicles, etc, so if that's your jam, apologies in advance.

DUNE: UK First Edition HC Recreation

DUNE: Gollancz UK First Edition HC Recreation

Related to the Dune Saga posts on The 7th and Last.

I love books, but I don't collect or attribute any special value to signed or First Editions. For me, the true value of a book is its content. If the content is good, then the book is good, regardless of its edition. But if I can get it in HC with art that I personally like, then I'm extra happy.

Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel is one of my favourite science-fiction books and I enjoy seeing how artists interpret the themes and settings of the story - so much so that the first post I ever made on The 7th Side was a collection of cover art for it. I wanted to include the Victor Gollancz First Edition, UK (1966) because I like the simplicity of it, but I was unable to find a good enough image. I later figured that the best way to get it featured was to respectfully recreate it, so I did. Sadly, I don't know the original artist's name(s) to credit him/her/them.

Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book (2008)

Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book (2008)

Author: Capcom | Illustrator: Various | Page Count: 288

'As my evangelical work, I do record herein the various events to which I bore witness during my long travels with Ōkami Amaterasu.'

~Issun, Celestial Envoy.

Once upon a time it seemed like every cash-grabbing, whoring video game dev or publisher was producing special editions of their biggest titles that asked fans of 'Deluxe' to dig deep into their pockets to acquire.

Most included some kind of plastic figurine with little or no articulation, made for display purposes only; and that's fine as long as you know beforehand what you're getting and have the shelf space to display it.

The lazier developers didn't bother with any kind of plastic tat. They'd throw in an A5 art book with shiny paper and minimal content and figured it'd suffice.

The Ōkami Complete Works is kind of like that except it's on a bigger, grander and more beautiful scale, and the content is worth celebrating.