At this year’s New York Comic-Con earlier this month, I got a chance to meet some incredible women who helped shape and capture the world of one of TV’s biggest shows of all time, Game of Thrones. The HBO series finished its 8-season run earlier this year and the fantastical series based on The Song of Ice & Fire books by George R.R. Martin set new standards for production. At the Insight Editions booth on the NYCC show floor, I met with Deborah Riley, production designer on the epic series to discuss what it takes to make Game of Thrones look the way it did, as well as her new book, The Art of Game of Thrones, which is available for pre-order now.

Back in June, BookExpo and BookCon came to Jacob Javitz Convention Center in NYC where book lovers galore swarmed publishing booths, with industry people there for the expo and book fans for the con. One of the most interesting booths I visited was Weldon Owen, an imprint of Insight Editions (of such visually brilliant tomes such as Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History and The Art Of The Strain). They have a plethora of beautiful books coming out that I am dizzy with excitement about.

Here’s some details about the upcoming books here below.

With the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones set to finally arrive just one short month from now, excitement is of course off the charts. We saw proof of that in the recently released official trailer for the new season, which blasted HBO’s previous record holder for views by twenty million. On YouTube alone, it’s been viewed over 45 million times.

But while the final season of the series is what fans are most excited about, it’s not the only thing they have to look forward to. Just this week multiple new goodies with ties to the show have been announced. This includes a new board game titled Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker, some new books, and even a John Varvatos clothing line.

You can find more info on all of these offerings below, along with a bonus video which looks at the prosthetics created for the show.

Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History
Hardcover
By James Mottram & David S. Cohen
Foreword by John McTiernan
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release date: October 30, 2018

In this writer’s opinion, Die Hard is the greatest action film ever made. Based on Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever, John McTiernan’s 1988 classic combined all the elements that make for the perfect action movie: a great protagonist, an equally detestable villain, tremendous action set pieces, and insanely quotable dialogue. It made the careers of its stars, Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman, and it proved that an ’80s blockbuster didn’t need a muscle-bound hero to sell tickets. Willis played John McClane like the everyman who wanted to be a Will Rogers-esque cowboy, and Rickman’s delightfully evil Hans Gruber became the prototype for action bad guys. 30 years and 4 sequels later, James Mottram and David S. Cohen along with Insight Editions bring you Die Hard: The Ultimate Visual History. This epic 230+ page book is the perfect holiday gift for the Die Hard enthusiast in your life.

Harry Potter: The Wand Collection
Hardcover
By Monique Peterson
Publisher: Insight Editions
Release date: November 14, 2017

“Every wand has a story of its own,” author Monique Peterson begins in her new book, Harry Potter: The Wand Collection. Admittedly, I’m hooked almost immediately. Still, I am not always one for the many informational index-style books published as part of the Harry Potter world. I like stories, depth, nostalgia in my Harry Potter books.

But Peterson does not disappoint, as this book is as visually appealing and easy to flip through as it is meaningful. There is certainly value added in the background information provided, which covers wand characteristics, the wandmakers, Ollivander, wand selection and Harry’s first wand, wand movement, and wand battles.