Update
#6

Update #6

Since completion of the project has extended longer, several people have inquired about placing pre-orders. So I have opened up the ordering page again for anyone interested in placing an order.

If anyone cares to upgrade their existing order (from, say, the Supplemental book of new material to the full box set of all three volumes, and numerous people have done already), I will be able to apply the amount already paid to the upgrade. Please inquire if this is something you want to do and we'll work out the details.

I am close to going to press. I know my time estimates haven’t been very good in the past, but I am working every day to get this project wrapped up.

I'm currently working up the final tally of pre-orders, which will determine the final print run. The factory in China shuts down for national holidays for several weeks in September and October, so I'm using that time to finalize all the many technical issues and tweaks, outputting files, etc.

As soon as the files are handed off to the printer we will be able to lock down a detailed production calendar, including the soft-proof process, delivery of the files to the factory in China, the printed (paper) proof of the books, dust jackets, slipcases and other elements, the printing, the transport (by ship) to the Port of Los Angeles, inland trucking to my location, and final packing and shipping of individual orders. Such a calendar will mirror the detail in the production checklist shown below to provide everyone with a step-by-step timeline of the final production of the books.

Thanks again to everyone for their support, enthusiasm, and saintly patience with this project. Everyone's anticipation for the end result (including mine) is almost palpable, but I truly feel the project will be worth the wait.

— Ernest Farino
Publisher

I received an unsolicited endorsement from from John Stevenson, Director of Sherlock Gnomes, The Ark and the Aardvark (pre-production), and Kung Fu Panda, and who previously worked in various capacities on James and the Giant Peach, Little Shop of Horrors, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppet Show (TV Series). John summed up the Majicks project well:

"I cannot imagine what a mammoth, overwhelming task it is to put these books together on your own, Ernie. I am sure you are exhausted and fed up with the whole thing by now. Honestly, that is how I feel when I grind my way to the end of an animated movie. But everybody who bought the first volumes, or ordered this revised edition, knows that this is a labor of love by you and Mike Hankin, an extraordinary achievement and a unique and wonderful treasure about Ray Harryhausen - someone whose work touched millions and inspired a lot of us to forge our own paths in the creative arts.

"This is not a regular series of books. Beyond just the definitive statement and archive of a great artist's work, this book set is a work of art in itself. Inspired by love and made with love. Those of us who own the first editions also probably own every book on Ray Harryhausen ever printed, but your books are different. They are magnificent pieces of design in their own right, and have been created by an author and artist using all of their skills and talents to honor another artist. These books create in us Monster Kids the very same thrill that seeing a Ray Harryhausen movie for the first time did. The prickly excitement, the hairs standing up on my arms and neck, the raised pulse and that sweet joy of being gifted something that you would treasure always.

"These are not books, they are life changing experiences. You don't get many of those in a lifetime, and the ones you do get are profound events. I saw The 7th Voyage of Sinbad when I was 8 and my boring life in a rural village was now full of color, magic and wonder. Each volume of Master of the Majicks brings all of that back. These books allow me to feel that life-changing thrill again. How many books can do that?"

Ray Harryhausen's "inner sanctum" - a composite of several "panoramic" photos of Ray's upstairs office taken by Mike Hankin ca. 2010. A larger, 2-page spread of this photo will appear in Master of the Majicks.

Above: One of the more tedious, mundane tasks. In order to reduce the overall file size, once the layout is "locked" and finalized, it helps to crop the original photos as close to the actual image area used in the layout. As can be seen from the above sample, if the central area of the Cyclops is the usable portion, cropping the original photo reduces the size of the photo file by eliminating unused and unseen surrounding area. This is especially significant when original, hi-resolution photos are sometimes 11"x14" but the usable area is only, say, 2"x3" within that overall photo. The difference in file size is remarkable.

It has been time-consuming, since there are close to 7,000 photos spanning all three volumes. I didn't know to do this originally, and the first editions resulted in enormous, combersome files which extended upload and download times by literally 4-5 hours per chapter in some cases.

Just a little "peek under the hood" for those who are interested in such things...