Black Library Bibliophiles: A Throne of Skulls
Parsing the video game festival's reveals
Black Library Bibliophiles is our occasional series on the collection and display of Black Library books. From diving between the covers of deluxe editions to chasing rare treatments and notable misprints… from collectors’ well-stocked personal libraries to the curated display of trinkets, curios, and other Warhammer memorabilia… we go beyond the pages to celebrate the love of the books themselves. You can find previous installments here.
So yesterday kicked off the Warhammer Skulls celebration for 2026, the tenth anniversary of the event no less! Although most of what was revealed were video games, there were a few things in there for those on the lookout for decorations and curios to accent their Black Library bookshelves.
Presenting this year was Alanah Pearce, an actress who has lent her voice to Cyberpunk 2077 (as Lana Prince) and is voicing one of the two playable characters in Boltgun II. Of course, to call this presenting is a bit generous- her aggregate screen time is about a minute or so in total, with the majority of the Skulls presentation consisting of commercials for the video games. That’s no shade on her- it’s always great to see a lifelong fan get the chance to contribute to this amazing universe of imagination!
And while I’ve certainly been known to enjoy Warhammer video games (Rogue Trader owns me), I was more looking forward to seeing offerings in the physical realm- and I was not disappointed.
Dark Heresy (Owlcat Games)
Skulls certainly kicked things off with the 800-pound gorilla, showcasing the incredible collector’s edition of the upcoming Dark Heresy. Owlcat Games’s previous offering, the aforementioned Rogue Trader, wasn’t too shabby in the extra goodies department. A character statuette was the centerpiece, with a banner, warrant of trade, an art book, and I guess stickers.
Owlcat’s landed a massive coup this time- though one not without some controversy. First up, an Inquisitor’s rosette.
If that’s metal, as I hope, then it’s a very nice curio to hang near the Eisenhorn section of your library and comparable to something Starforged might produce.
Next up there’s another companion statuette, this one of Ra’akhti, the Kroot tracker. I’m of two minds on this one. First, companion curios are usually only as good as the companion they’re depicting. Cassia was a fine character (albeit devastating in combat), but we don’t have much to go on with our future Kroot friend yet.
On the other hand, I think Owlcat would have knocked it out of the park if the statuette was of a Night Lord antagonist instead. Space Marines tend to be a little more exciting than Navigators and Kroot, but I’ll have to reserve final judgment for after I play the game.
Maybe Ra’akhti will surprise me.
Finally, the pièce de résistance…
Here it is, the thing that had me opening up the wallet the moment I saw it. A new Night Lords novella from none other than Aaron Dembski-Bowden. His Night Lords trilogy is legendary, widely considered one of the finest works the Black Library has ever produced. The last time we saw him was 2022’s Siege of Terra title Echoes of Eternity, and for him to re-emerge back with new tales of the 8th Legion is a marketing masterstroke.
It’s also a rather contentious one, and to help illustrate why it might help to look the Wu-Tang Clan.
Back in 2015, the band released their seventh studio release, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. This was no ordinary album, but rather an artistic experiment designed to spark discussion around the commodification of music and the value of fine art. Only a single copy was ever made, and it eventually sold at auction for two million dollars1.
As intended, the album drove a wider conversation about exclusivity versus availability in art. For some, it was “their album, their rules.” Others found the idea of “putting art behind an artificially high paywall” to be fundamentally objectionable. With Games Workshop releasing a novella whose availability is presently limited to those shelling out USD $289 for the Collector’s Edition2, it’s rekindled a similar divide.
Ultimately, I think a lot of the angst around this will be decided on the basis of what the Black Library does longer-term. If Dark Heresy: The Night Lords Story gets re-released as a standard offering, I’d expect most in the Black Library community to see the one in the Collector’s Edition the functional equivalent of a Special or Limited Edition.
If, however, it’s only ever available in this format, that will likely prove more problematic.
I can understand the radio silence about the matter from GW. If they came out and said that the book would also be available in a regular edition separate from the Dark Heresy Collector’s Edition, that would rather defeat the purpose of shifting preorders.
So for now, it’s anyone’s guess.
Wētā Workshop
I’ve talked about New Zealand’s renowned propmaker before, but was surprised to see some reveals during Skulls as I much more associate their offerings with the annual Relics merchandising festival.
I mentioned above the debate around fine art and money, and to be sure Wētā’s pieces are not easy on the wallet. Sure he’s $1900, but clocking in at around three feet tall the Abaddon the Despoiler isn’t a shelf centerpiece, he’s a room one.
Of course, Wētā has a range of smaller offerings (Abaddon is 1:6 scale), and the recently-released Boingrot Bounder is a 1:10 scale statuette that stickers for a much more affordable $179.
To date, though, if you wanted some lower-priced Wētā window-dressing for 40K, you were stuck with the (very nice) collection of miniature helms.
Not anymore.
For Skulls, we got the big reveal of the next two in the 1:10 statuette line, a Blood Angel Intercessor Sergeant (above), and the Dark Angel Veteran (below).
If these hold to $179, that puts them in the same price range as JOYTOY’s wearable helmet line. The Bounder was just under 7” of height, so these will offer a commanding presence for your book displays.
Yootooz
If all that’s a little too much grimdark and you prefer the lighter side of the hobby, we also were shown some upcoming vinyl collectibles from Canadian toymaker Yootooz coming up that are tied in with Dawn of War IV.
These have a cartoonish appearance similar to Funko! Pop figures, although a little less blocky (and a little more pricey). They released a series of them in the wake of Space Marine II a couple years ago, such as the Thousand Sons chonky boi below.
You can find the rest of their current crop of Warhammer offerings here.
Laced Records
Speaking of vinyl, these guys were a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention at the tail end of Skulls, so small that they didn’t even get a nod on the official Warhammer Community article. A shame, because they not only have a massive catalogue of Warhammer official soundtrack (OST) music available, but they’re producing some of it… in physical form.
Don’t worry, Laced, we got you.
In the age of digital media, something you can hold in your hand makes for a terrific display item for a collection. I kid you not, an official release on audiocassette would be a no-look-buy from me, just to be able to put that in the Museum.
While this wasn’t highlighted on the presentation, a quick look at Laced Records’ website showed that, indeed, they do have a Limited Edition pressing available for the Space Marine II soundtrack…and it’s beautiful.
$42 for a double-LP special pressing is very reasonable, and I’ll be keeping an eye to see what else they come up with3.
Anything Else?
I was hoping to see more Collector Edition’s for some of the video game offerings, but nothing else was unveiled for Skulls. That said, there was an interesting featurette from DK Books on the Art of Warhammer Video Games4, but that’s a book that’s been out awhile already so it wasn’t particularly breaking news.
Finally, the Warhammer merch site has a Skulls-tied 20% off sale happening for the next week.
And that’s a wrap for this year’s Skulls. By this time next year at least a couple of these items will be decorating my own library, and I look forward to seeing some of them captured in yours!
Who bought it, and how it passed hands is an interesting story on its own, but well beyond the scope of this piece.
And another $100 or so for shipping, as I recall. Last October, Warhammer+ subscribers were sent a code good for 25% off the Collector’s Edition- a nice chunk of change, that. It was supposed to be used by December, but if anyone wants to give it a shot just in case it’s OWLRXNi5
Cassettes, c’mon! Cross the streams, join chocolate with peanut butter or whatever, let’s do it!
Also left out of the official summary…