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During the latest break in the Trump Russian investigations, an email was revealed to show a requested meeting between a Russian contact and President’s son, Donald Trump Jr, to discuss findings to help them against Clinton’s campaign on behalf of the Russian Government. This email has created yet another uneasy connection to the issue that the 2016 election could very well have been decided by heavy foreign influence and manipulation.

However, this is a furry news site, so what does this have to do with anthropomorphic arts or entertainment?

Well the author of the email sent to Trump Jr. to get this meeting set up was apparently made by an eccentric individual by the name of Rob Goldstone. The full story of their interaction and background can be read on Salon’s “Insane in Moscow”: The unbelievable but partly true story of the zany English publicist, the Azerbaijani pop sensation and the “high-quality” presidential offspring”.

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LionsGate Entertainment, best known, at least furry and animation-wise, for Alpha and Omega and its various direct to video sequels, has released a trailer for its January 15, 2016 theatrical movie, Norm of the North, which features a polar bear taking a trip to New York City to save the Arctic ice cap.

At least the scene where titular polar bear Norm meets a man in a polar bear suit is interesting from a furry standpoint.

Perhaps more exciting than the trailer itself is the announcement of the release date, which sees the movie go up directly against The Nut Job 2; it seems release date power plays aren't just for superhero movies, anymore. It may be interesting to see if either movie "flinches" in this cinematic game of chicken.

Update (8/8): A Cartoon Brew commenter has pointed out Nut Job 2 has already apparently flinched; its listed IMDB release date has changed.

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As if in response to Disney's Zootopia featuring the groan-worthy tagline "Like nothing you've seen be-fur," DreamWorks Animation has finally shed some light on its Kung Fu Panda 3 in an article from USA Today. Seeing as how Kung Fu Panda 3 is the third movie in a trilogy that comes out in January 2016 and Zootopia is a March 2016 movie, that makes the tagline wildly inaccurate as well as groan-worthy. Furries are looking forward to both, but, hey, it's a bad tagline.

Spoiler warning: The USA Today article linked may have bluntly spoiled a possible subplot, which is discussed below the break.

Update (6/13): A Chinese language trailer has apparently been leaked; it's since been taken down.

Update (6/19): An official English trailer appears, and it is hilarious.

Yes you have. Leonard (played by Johnny Galecki) on Big Bang Theory is known for wearing t-shirts designed and created by Nite Owl Ink. And here’s the cool part: They’re a real company and they sell to the public too. T-shirts, hoodies, and poster prints… creepy animals and creepy other things… and pandas. Lots of pandas. All brought to you by the artist known as Willie Wat. Head on over to their web page to see what we’re talking about. See you on CBS!

The cartoonist known as Linda Panda has a thing for, yes, pandas. Pandas who… fart. Friendly farts that smile and make comments. Seriously. This is the odd world of Linda’s panda cartoons, and she’s been creating them daily and putting them up on the web for some time now. More recently, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, she’s collected hundreds of her daily works (as well as her more “traditional” sketches, perhaps) in book form. Head over to her official web site to find out how to get your own copy — as well as buttons and prints and other such ways you can see farting pandas.

Ndbag is a boogeyman, but not the scary people-eating kind. No, he’d much rather eat one of your dirty socks — usually the left one. Ndbag the Boogeyman lives in the closet clothes hamper of a little girl named Mylene. He’s made friends with her favorite plushie: A panda named Pandaman. They get along so well that Ndbag created his very own panda costume which he calls Pandabag. The little blue boogeyman is also “frenemies” with ZK, a fluffy dryer goblin who much prefers clean socks and munching on lint. Are you getting all of this? It all comes from the mind of Austrian artist E.F. Gludovacz, and you can find out more in the first Ndbag the Boogeyman book as well as the regularly-updated web comic… all at the official web site.

“In 2009, Han L. Lee released an character inspired clothing line entitled The Public Zoo. The Public Zoo is a collaboration of fashion and art. The art on the clothing is heavily inspired by Japanese and Korean character art.” There you have it, right from the artist’s web site. It’s all based around an imaginative panda name Hickup, and his friends like Hopkido the Ninja Rabbit and Miso — the hamster in a cup. All of which are available as prints, household items, and also as wearable art of course.

Psycologist, hypnotist, and philosopher, A.B. Curtiss is also and accomplished author with several award-winning books to her name.  And several of her fiction books just happen to be of interest to furry fans. Legend of the Giant Panda (illustrated by Mirto Golino) is exactly what it sounds like: A mythic telling of how pandas got their distinctive black and white markings.  Hallelujah, A Cat Comes Back is a “cat book of virtues”, where a young tom gives us the feline wisdom brought down to him from his wise granny-cat. Illustrated with a collection of Victorian feline prints. Dragons Guard The Zoo is a collection of poems on many subjects, including animals real and fanciful. And In the Company of Bears (illustrated by Barbara Stone) has been described as a “children’s philosophy book”, in which bears are used to illustrate soothing rhymes about accepting people for what they are. All of these and more are available on Amazon and at Ms. Curtiss’ web site.

“He goes by ‘Panda’, but NO ONE, not even me, knows his true name. I am just one of the many CIA agents that follow him along on his adventures. He’s either saving the world.. or destroying it!” So goes the introduction to Panda & Me, an original art “adventure series” created by artist Sandra Fremgen. After working for years in the gift industry as an illustrator and designer, Sandra decided to create something for herself. And you can see the results (and also buy them as prints) at the official Panda & Me web site. Sign up for her newsletter and she’ll even send you an original sketch.

Sanctuary is an black & white on-line digital comic story created and illustrated by animator Stephen Coughlin. Now this February Slave Labor Graphic will be releasing Sanctuary as a series of softcover graphic novels. Their description: “A research station on a secluded island houses a game reserve/sanctuary where the animals seem to be just a tad smarter than the human researchers observing them. The arrival of a Panda bear threatens to upset the delicate balance of life for everyone involved. On the surface everything seems normal enough, but beneath all the cuteness lays something sinister and more than a little creepy.” That and the front cover below might give you a little idea what you’re in store for. Check out Volume 1: Fresh Meat and order it at Things From Another World. [And with that, we'll see you again after Further Confusion!]

Two new full-color one-shot comic books from Ape Entertainment’s Kizoic line are set to hit stores later this month. Both of them are tied in to Kizoic’s successful Dreamworks Animation comics. And both of them have long titles! In Kung Fu Panda: Tale of Two Noodle Shops, “Business at Mr. Ping’s noodle shop has been booming since his adopted son Po became the legendary Dragon Warrior. But when a new noodle shop opens in the Valley Of Peace, touting nightly entertainment by the Dragon Wizard, can Po lure back his father’s clientele? Or has his act gone as stale as noodles left out overnight?” Find out in a story written by Troy Dye and illustrated by Massimo Asaro. Check it out at Things From Another World. And then, there’s The Penguins of Madagascar: Mortzilla vs. King Kowalski, written by Jackson Lanzing with art by Bob Renzas and Antonio Campo. Well, frankly, we don’t think we can tell you about it better than the cover does! Either way, find out more at Mile High Comics.

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Following a launch in Adelaide, South Australia, three mini-episodes of Wastelander Panda have been released on the project's website and YouTube channel.

The episodes show glimpses of brutal life in a vast wasteland inhabited by humans and the occasional, rare, anthropomorphic animal. The main characters are a human child (later adult) named Rose, panda brothers Isaac and Arcayus, and an anthro bison named Akira.

The story is presented as three discontinuous videos - viewers will need to read the accompanying background texts to understand how the story fits together as a whole. The producers now hope to expand their episodes into an extended web or television series.

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A year ago, Epic Films released the prologue/teaser of Wastelander Panda, the post-apocalyptic tale of Arcayus, the Wasteland’s last remaining panda. Along with Rose (a human girl raised by his brother, Isaac), Arcayus treks across a broken world ruled by anarchy, in search of vengeance.

The prologue's producers have now announced that they have completed work on the story, which will be released on May 27. The story is divided into three episodes, entitled Isaac & Rose (13 mins), Arcayus & Rose (15 mins), and Arcayus & Akira (8 mins).

Two private screenings will be held in Adelaide, South Australia, for the production's cast, crew, and those who supported the project through its Pozible crowdfunding campaign. The episodes will then be made publicly available on the project's official website and YouTube channel.

Famed “dark fantasy” author Neil Gaiman has taken a different tack with his latest book, Chu’s Day. It’s a picture book for young children, illustrated by Adam Rex (Chloe and the Lion). Chu is a little panda boy who has trouble with sneezing. So why do his parents keep taking him to places like a dusty library, or a restaurant where they cover everything with pepper?  Will Chu make it through his day? Find out. The book comes out in hardcover this January from Harper Collins. Pre-order it at Amazon.

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Fursuiter and fan organizer PandaGuy (Jon Albers) died Sunday at age 44, after congestive heart failure accompanied by diabetes. [tip: Antimon]

PandaGuy was an ardent fursuiter, acting out the eponymous PandaGuy (created in 1996, rebuilt twice), Amiri Lion, Bamboozle the panda/coon, Boris Bear, Arkune Raccoon, and Big/Little Jabari.

Despite suffering from heart failure previously in 2004, PandaGuy threw himself into organizing PandaGuy's Picnic, held annually to 2005. He was a guest of honor for Mephit Fur Meet 12 in 2008.