In-Fur-Nation

For those with an interest in one of the longest-running (and best-known) funny animal comic strips, Hermes Press have a new Garfield compilation that sure to cat(ch) your eye. According to the publisher: “Hermes Press is proud to announce their second major collaboration with Paws, Incorporated producing another unique title featuring everyone’s favorite orange cat, Garfield! Hermes and Paws have come together to treat the world to a compendium of the greatest examples of original artwork from classic Garfield daily and Sunday comic strips in their original size, including rare unpublished material, that has never been seen before… This historic archival reprint will feature hundreds of pieces of original production art from the comic strip, with an introductory essay from Jim Davis himself! If you love Garfield and want to experience the strips as they were originally drawn, this is the book for you! From the very beginning in 1979 to the last non-digital strip in 2011, this purrfect book shows you Garfield like you’ve never seen him before!” Jim Davis’ Garfield: The Original Daily and Sunday Art Archive is coming in hardcover later this summer.

image c. 2017 Hermes Press

We were not familiar with the anime and manga series No Game No Life by Yuu Kamiya and Kazuya Yuizaki, but it definitely has a furry element to it. And now there’s an even-more-furry spin-off black & white graphic novel called No Game No Life, Please. It goes like this: “In a world where everything is decided by games, adorable little Izuna Hatsuse is a young Werebeast girl who wants to learn more. As she follows Sora, Shiro, and the others, what answers will she find for herself? Let the games begin!” It’s available now from Yen Press.

image c. 2017 Yen Press

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We found this recently on Animation World Network: “Malaysian animation studio Animasia and U.S. prodco Pilla-Scheetz Productions have entered into a co- production agreement to develop 2D animated concept Nine Lives of Claw into a multi- platform brand covering animated series, mobile games, and toy line merchandise. Development work has started with the appointment of Jay Lender (SpongeBob SquarePants, Phineas & Ferb) and the producers plan to showcase the pilot episode in MIP Junior 2017. The Nine Lives of Claw follows the hilarious adventures of the sarcastic superhero cat Claw; his genius (albeit high-strung) mouse sidekick Edison, and the always ambitious kitty Purrfessor Purrnelope as they battle the sinister MUTT (Malicious Unleashed Thugs and Thieves) and a slew of other villains to keep things in order in the fair city of Anonymous.” Long live 2D! We’ll let you know if this gets picked up.

image c. 2017 Animasia Studios

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We haven’t heard of NoBrow Press before, but here now they’ve brought us a new full-color graphic novel called Garbage Night. It’s written and illustrated by Jen Lee. Here’s what they say: “In a barren and ransacked backyard, a dog named Simon lives with his two best friends: a raccoon and a deer. The unlikely gang spends their days looting the desolate supermarket and waiting for the return of the hallowed ‘garbage night’ – but week after week, the bins remain empty. While scavenging one day, the trio meet Barnaby – another abandoned dog who tells them about the ‘other town’ where humans are still rumored to live. Spurred on by hunger and the promise of food, the trio joins up with Barnaby and set off into the unknown…” It’s available now in hardcover. The Comics Journal has an extensive preview too.

image c. 2017 NoBrow Press

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And more stuff from Kingpin Books — this time something much much stranger called Ultra Pig Nipponic Roulette. It’s written by Mario Freitas and illustrated by Osvaldo Medina and Marta Lebre. Here’s what the publishers say, verbatim: “October 10, 1978. During the twinning cerimony between the Portuguese city of Aveiro and the Japanese city of Oita, the young Ultra Pig is kidnapped by three local businessmen and used as currency in a nefarious partnership with high-ranking officers of the Yakuza. Fearing for his son’s life, the illustrious Calouste Pig risks to face alone the bizarre joint-venture, but ends up getting caught in a very unusual sort of roulette. A very bizarre and very deadly game of roulette, like something out of a Tintin book, but on a cocktail of Manga influences and a ton of crazy.” It’s also coming this December in hardcover, says Previews.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

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A new talent we’ve discovered thanks to Previews: Writer and illustrator Gustavo Borges, with his new full-color graphic novel Petals. (Fun fact: Mr. Borges used to compete for Brazil in several Olympic Games as a swimmer!) “During a long winter, a family of foxes struggles to survive the merciless cold. One day, one of the cubs leaves his house looking for much-needed firewood and crosses his path with a tall and peculiar bird wearing a singular top hat. A beautifully illustrated and deeply touching story of friendship and selflessness by young Brazilian prodigy Gustavo Borges and Eisner Award-nominee colorist Cris Peter.” According to Previews, Petals should be out in hardcover this December.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

Looks like the school pets have been busy again. Now the publisher Henry Holt has brought us The Great Art Caper, once again written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. “A follow-up to The Great Pet Escape [which we talked about last year]. This time, our favorite class pets have to save the school art show! Things at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School have been quiet-too quiet. Cuddly yet calculating class hamster GW spends his days in second grade and his nights poetry slamming and jigsaw puzzling with his friends, Sunflower and Barry. GW has even started warming up to the second-grade students, a girl named Carina in particular. Could he be making a human friend? After Carina is selected to participate in the school art show, GW decides to make her a gift in a show of support. But he soon learns of a dastardly plot – Harriet and her many mouse minions are planning to ruin the art show! Once again, it’s up to GW, Sunflower, and Barry to put a stop to Harriet’s mousey madness. ” It’s available now in hardcover or softcover. Check out the preview at (where else?) Previews.

image c. 2017 Henry Holt

Whoops! Another one slipped under the radar we should mention. Marvel Comics have re-invented one of their classic titles with the return of Monsters Unleashed — new for 2017. “The first fantastic issue of Marvel’s newest heroes! From acclaimed writer Cullen Bunn, known for his work on Deadpool, Uncanny X-Men, and more, comes a high-action sci-fi series centered on a team of monstrous and monstrously massive do-gooders including Kid Kaiju, Aegis, Slizzik, Scragg, Hi-Vo, and Mekara. Now teaming up with vampire-hunter Elsa Bloodstone, the series unfolds as the team takes on gargantuan creatures and protects the planet from ruin and disaster. However, can they be accepted by the rest of the Marvel Universe and allowed to help, or will they be deemed dangerous as well?” With interior art by David Baldeon, they’re already up to issue #3. Marvel has a preview on line.

image c. 2017 Marvel Comics

Looks like you just can’t keep a good raccoon down. After word came down that the Sly Cooper animated feature was not to be (many presume due to the less-than-stellar box office performance of Ratchet & Clank last year), now Animation World Network has informed us that an animated Sly Cooper series is in the works. “Paris-based Technicolor Animation Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) have joined forces to produce a computer generated, animated Sly Cooper series to audiences around the world… The series is based on the best-selling PlayStation video game series introduced to the market in 2002, which has sold millions of copies globally and spanned four editions across generations of PlayStation. Sly Cooper follows the adventures of the irresistibly charismatic raccoon, a modern-day Robin Hood who restores justice to his city one theft at a time. Sly is aided by his two best friends, a muscular hippo named Murray and a brainy turtle named Bentley. Hot on Sly’s trail is Inspector Carmelita Fox, a morally upright cop with an unfortunate crush on the charming bandit, as well as a band of villains, each one more strange and colorful than the last. The series will mix humor, action, and a remarkable cast of characters.” No word yet on when the series is set to premier or what parts of the world will get to see it first, but we’ll let you know when we do!

image c. 2017 Technicolor Animation

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Recently the artist A.M. Scharf (who creates under the name Acidpluvia) put up a link to an interesting Kickstarter campaign. Acidpluvia has been asked to be the official illustrator for Rabbit Island, a card-and-tile game created by Leslie and Samantha Et Alia of Infinite Heart Games. “Play as one of the four Tribal Leaders and explore a new island every game in this light 4x game for 2-4 players. Build up your civilization using your Carrot Tokens and special Action Cards – can you conquer your opponents in 20 rounds?” The campaign page has much more in the way of artwork and descriptions of the game play. The Kickstarter campaign runs through mid-July.

Image c. 2017 by Acidpluvia

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And here’s another, perhaps much stranger work coming soon from First Second: Making Scents, a new full-color graphic novel written by Arthur Yorinks. Here’s what they say over at Kirkus Reviews: “In this thoughtful graphic novel, a human boy who believes himself to be part dog seeks acceptance for who he is. Mickey’s brothers and sisters all have four legs. His ardently dog-loving parents are professional bloodhound breeders who never planned on having a child. His parents encourage Mickey to develop his own sense of smell, which becomes just as acute as his hound siblings’. However, when his parents suddenly die, he goes to stay with his estranged aunt and uncle, a much older couple who hate dogs and demand that Mickey start acting like a boy. Now in the throes of grief, Mickey must also struggle with having to conform to someone else’s idea of whom he should be.” Illustrated by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline, Making Scents is coming in hardcover at the end of June.

image c. 2017 First Second

We’ve been hearing for a while about Le Grand Mechant Renard, a European animated TV special directed by Benjamin Renner (co-director of Ernest & Celestine) based on his graphic novel. Well now First Second Books have released that graphic novel as a new full-color trade paperback, translated into English as The Big Bad Fox. The creator describes it like this: “[It’s] about a fox who isn’t strong enough to catch and eat chickens. Instead, he gets beaten by the chickens. So, he has this weird idea where he’s going to steal eggs and he’s going to raise the small chickens, pretending he’s the mother, but one day, he’s going to eat them.” Got that? There’s an extensive review over at the School Library Journal. Look for the graphic novel this month.

image c. 2017 First Second

More gearing up for the new War for the Planet of the Apes feature film this summer. Now Boom! Studios have brought back a classic from the 1970’s with the Planet of the Apes Archive Volume 1, coming this August in hardcover. According to Previews, “Experience the legendary 1970s Marvel Comics’ Terror on the Planet of the Apes, collected for the first time ever and remastered in this prestigious hardcover. This classic series follows two friends – man and ape – on the run from the law. From Doug Moench (Batman), Mike Ploog (Ghost Rider), Tom Sutton (Doctor Strange), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), and more!”

image c. 2017 Boom! Studios

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American Mythology continue their quest to bring back classic cartoons in comic book form. Next up? The heroes of Frostbite Falls, Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the not-flying moose. According to Bleeding Cool, “Rocky & Bullwinkle comic books have been published by Gold Key, Charlton, Marvel and IDW over the decades, the last being in 2013. Well, the latest comic publisher to take on the pair is American Mythology Productions, with a new series by Todd Livingston and Jacob Greenwalt.” Meanwhile, the publisher says it like this: “Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! That staple of Saturday morning cartoon shenanigans, The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, is back in all its satirical slapsticky joy! The entire misfit cast of Jay Ward’s wonderful series are here — Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle the Moose, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Dudley Do-Right, and everyone’s favorite Russian hooligans, Boris and Natasha! American Mythology celebrates the return of a one-of-a kind comic book with adventures and high jinx that are fresh and funny while remaining true to the look and format of the classics!” Look for the first issue later in June.

image c. 2017 American Mythology Productions

Something else that slipped below the radar, even though it appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. Brigsby Bear is a new surreal live-action comedy produced by the Lonely Island folks from Saturday Night Live. According to Wikipedia, the story goes like this: “James Pope was kidnapped from a hospital as a baby and since childhood all the way to adulthood has known nothing about the world except Brigsby Bear, a children’s show character fabricated by his kidnapper parents. One day, James is rescued and brought out into the real world where he learns that Brigsby Bear is not a real children’s show. Confused and baffled by these turn of events, James sets out to make a Brigsby Bear movie to show the world what he has learned.” Starring Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) as James, the film is directed by Dave McCary. Other notable names in the cast include Greg Kinnear and Mark Hamill. Sony Pictures picked up Brigsby Bear and will release it to theaters at the end of July.

image c. 2017 Sony Pictures

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Whoops! Another, more-recent one that passed us by — and once again it’s about werewolves. Namwolf is a new full-color comic series from Albatross Funnybooks. “When scrawny Marty Spencer is drafted into the Vietnam War, he finds himself smack dab in the middle of the heart of darkness. But Marty has a secret. A secret even from himself. And Vietnam is a hell of a place to find out you’re a werewolf.” It’s written by Fabian Rangel Jr., with art by Logan Faerber. Three issues are out so far, and Comixology has a preview of each.

image c. 2017 Albatross

Somehow this missed us the first time around, but now it’s out in a new in a new full-color hardcover collection from Image Comics: All 25 issues of The Astounding Wolf-Man. “When Gary Hampton is mauled and left for dead, his life takes a drastic turn! When the moon is full, he transforms into a beast of the night—a werewolf! But this curse will not be used for evil. Witness the birth of the world’s most unlikely new superhero—The Astounding Wolf-Man!” It’s written by none other than Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) with art by Jason Howard. Look for it at the end of this month.

image c. 2017 Image Comics

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We don’t even try to explain some of the things we come across here, folks… We just pass them along to you! Like a new 5-issue full-color miniseries from Image Comics called Shirtless Bear-Fighter! Here’s what they tell us: “After being betrayed by the bears that raised him, the legendary Shirtless Bear-Fighter wanders the forest he’s sworn to protect, fistfighting bears, eating flapjacks, and being the angriest man the world has ever known! When wild-eyed, super-strong bears attack the citizens of Major City, Shirtless ventures into the human world to do what he does best…Punch Those Bears In The Face! But all is not as it seems. Someone is manipulating Shirtless…and only by confronting the demons of his past can Shirtless hope to save his future! A heart-filled, hilarious, tall tale for the ages… you don’t want to miss Shirtless Bear-Fighter!” It’s written by Jody Leheup and Sebastian Girner, with art by Mike Spicer and  Nil Vendrell, and it’s coming to comic book stores later this month.

image c. 2017 Image Comics

More and more little hints being dropped for My Little Pony: The Movie, coming to theaters this October. Next up? My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel, a new full-color mini-series from IDW (of course). “This fall, My Little Pony: The Movie hits theaters, and this prequel mini-series is your first look at the fantastic adventure to come! Danger looms over Equestria as a new villain debuts! Each issue will focus on a new character from the upcoming movie!” Equestria Daily has an in-depth look. The comic premiers later in June.

image c. 2017 IDW Publishing

Things are definitely getting “serious” (if we can use that word) in the world of DC Comics meets Warner Brothers Cartoons. That, or someone in the the upper echelons has come completely unhinged… Check out the these titles for upcoming series: Batman/Elmer Fudd Special. Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special (featuring Foghorn Leghorn too!). Legion of Super Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special. Lobo/Road Runner Special. (Lobo teamed up with Wile E. Coyote. Can the universe survive??) Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian Special. And (as pictured below) the Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special. All this, plus a graphic novel reprint of the DC/Looney Tunes 100-Page Super Spectacular, a miniseries from 2000 that was the kick-off for all of this silliness. All of them arrive later this month, and CBR has a look at some of the amazing covers.

image c. 2017 DC Comics