Fans of the LEGO® BIONICLE toy line, one of the top boys’ game and action-figure series, can win prizes from the BIONICLE graphic novels’ publisher, Papercutz.

BIONICLE #1 comes to comic-book shops in May 2008 (and bookstores in June). To celebrate, Papercutz presents three contests.

Papercutz offers a year-long subscription to the BIONICLE comics for the best drawing of any BIONICLE character. Anyone age 11 and under can enter this contest.

The maker of the best video celebrating the BIONICLE world will can choose $250 worth of graphic novels from Papercutz and its sister company, NBM Publishing. Among them are NANCY DREW, THE HARDY BOYS, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar’s fantasy-comedy DUNGEON, the eerie romantic comedy BONEYARD, and Rick Geary’s TREASURY OF VICTORIAN MURDER. What’s more, Papercutz will put the winning video on its website and give full credit to the video maker. This contest is open to anyone, child or adult. Papercutz will award the prize for imagination, cleverness, and faithfulness to BIONICLE’s world, characters and spirit, as well as “viralness” – that intangible quality of quirky fun that makes people eager to pass the video along to friends!

The deadline for each contest is MAY 31. Send entries to papercutz@papercutz.com (put “Papercutz Bionicle Contest” in the subject field) or to Papercutz Bionicle Contest, 40 Exchange Place, Suite 1308, New York, NY 10005. Include your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address on the entry. All entries become the property of Papercutz and The LEGO Group. See www.papercutz.com/news.html for complete rules and regulations. BIONICLE editor Jim Salicrup and publisher Terry Nantier will judge the contests along with BIONICLE experts at The LEGO Group. Papercutz and The LEGO Group will announce the winners in mid-June, and post the results on their websites.

In novels, video games, and of course the LEGO toys where it began, the BIONICLE story centers on the Toa, six heroes who are part machine and part living creatures. In Papercutz’s BIONICLE #1, the Toa arrive on a tropical island guarded by the Great Spirit Mata Nui, only to find it under siege. The powerful and evil Makuta has cast the Mata Nui into an unending sleep and is attacking the island’s villagers, the Matoran. The armored Toa, who wear Masks of Power and can control the elements, attack Makuta. During the fight, the Toa become the Toa Nuva, with new armor, weapons, and Masks of Power. But will all of that be enough to defeat Makuta?

The writer of the BIONICLE comics is the main creator of the BIONICLE universe, Greg Farshtey. The artists of Papercutz’s BIONICLE #1 are Carlos D’Anda (DC Comics’ Outsiders), Aliens vs. Predator storyboard artist Richard Bennett, and Randy Elliott (Marvel’s Spider-Woman). The series reprints stories created for the BIONICLE club, which has over a million members. The stories have not appeared in print for several years.

Each quarterly Papercutz volume -- 112 pages in full color with a trim size of 5” x 7 1/2” -- will appear in two formats: hardcover for $12.95 and paperback for $7.95. The release of BIONICLE #1 dovetails with plans to release all-new Toa Nuva figures. The LEGO Group is planning a huge promotional effort, including a partnership with McDonald’s.

The BIONICLE world is the hottest LEGO toy line since the original LEGO blocks.
• It’s a favorite among boys age 7 through 12, earning more than $150 million in annual revenue.
• The website BIONICLE.com attracts two million unique visitors per month.
• BIONICLE characters appear on apparel, bedding, stationery, board games, and other products.
• Scholastic has sold more than 1.5 million copies of BIONICLE chapter books.
• Universal Studios is planning a DVD release of a BIONICLE movie for the end of 2009.

You can find art from BIONICLE #1 at www.papercutz.com. For more information or to request review copies, please contact Papercutz publicist David Seidman at davidseidman@earthlink.net or 310-652-4369.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, and BIONICLE are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2008 The LEGO Group.

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