I've been lurking around these forums for some time, mainly in keeping tabs with any hint of news on a possible film (because it just seems like a crime for them to *not* be a film).
HISTORY
I first discovered the series for myself during my fifth grade. Back then I absolutely loved reptiles, one of my favorites being Anole lizards. So when I'm scrounging around the classroom bookshelf for a new book, and I see a small blue book with an Anole on it, guess what happened...
It was this series that basically shaped my fandom from that point on, as I now tend to love dark, dramatic storylines in the same vain. But because of them, I've since become spoiled, and my frequent trips to Borders and B&N turn fruitless as I continuously hunt for a dark, long, sci-fi epic that would engage me as much as this series once did.
From the moment I read Invasion in the fifth grade, I knew they were perfect movie material. The TV series was blasphemy, and I like to forget that it even existed. Sixth grade I had access to the internet, and from then on, continuously looked for any news of a film.
A few years ago, I discovered this forum and the Hirac Delest blog (surpised me as a sort of hidden society which I thought never existed. I was also shocked at how active it was, and still is), which I figured would be the best source for any news of an upcoming film. A week ago was one of those periodic searches, and read how Scholastic is apparently being asinine about it, which I now understand why there is currently no movie. I also learned about the books making a comeback, planned for next year, as a sort of test run to see how a sequel series might fair.
This is cause for a freaking celebration.
I could never have imagined something like this to ever happen, but it has me worried at the same time. I know they're being targeted to the younger crowed, and not us (unfortunately). And without any sort of changes or updates. They are incredibly dated in this era, and it's hard for me to see them becoming successful because of it. The younger crowd will not understand cultural references of the late 90s. But I digress. I do hope for their success.
EBOOKS
About a week ago, after catching some of the news on one of the threads, I decided to download the entire collection of ebooks from the download section, and happily stick them on my iphone (the entire series in my freaking back pocket. Yes.). I found an app that could read PDF files, which I'm happy with. However, after previewing the ebooks on the iphone, I noticed they didn't quite look right... They were hard to read and even look at. Desperate to have them in perfect reading form, I researched what exactly goes in to making an ebook. It turns out there's a certain format for ebooks that makes them more enjoyable and easier to read (margins, fonts, spacing, etc.).
This was never really my intention from the beginning.. but since the greatest things in life are complete accidents (as I like to say), I am now in the process of formatting every single book into proper ebook form. Something like a "Beautification Process". Obviously it's going to take awhile.
As they are turning out nicely, I thought I would share them. Would any other fellow iphone users (or just anyone) be interested in these as they get finished?
Preview (from book 1, however the first three books are finished):
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v162/bebopgroove/Personal/img1.png) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v162/bebopgroove/Personal/img2.png) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v162/bebopgroove/Personal/img3.png)
COVER EXPLANATION: I was never all that fond of the original covers, and even though I'm lacking in graphical talent, I have at least attempted *something*.
This is one hell of an introduction, and judging from my past history on other forums, you probably won't ever hear this much from me ever again.
EDIT: I have just taken notice of the ebook project section, and although I have no idea what is currently being worked on, I will gladly make a topic on my own project for those who are interested (not just iphone users). There will be download links and updates as I finish them.