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Dragons

Female Flame-Breathers to the Fore

The Sparkle Dragons is a new full-color graphic novel written by Emma Carlson Berne and illustrated by Luke Flowers. “Meet the Sparkle Dragons: The spunkiest crew in all of Princess Puff’s queendom! Trixie is fierce with brains and beauty. Rue is tough as nails with a heart of shimmering gold. And, last but not least, Glinda, who often has her head in the clouds, but her out-of-the-box problem-solving can be her strongest asset. With their unique powers combined, they are an unstoppable force! And let’s be honest: Fighting off bad guys with glitter beams can be pretty hilarious . . . and sticky!” Do tell. It’s available now in hardcover or trade paperback from Harper-Collins.

image c. Clarion Books

Where The Scaled Things Are

Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon has done a fine job in the past of providing us with many fine and furry animated movies. (Wolfwalkers, anyone?) Now they’re back with a brand new project that’s coming soon to Netflix. And the first trailer just dropped: “Netflix has shared a trailer and key art for its highly anticipated upcoming 2D animated feature, My Father’s Dragon, inspired by Ruth Stiles Gannett’s Newbery-honored children’s book of the same name, and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner)… In the film a young boy, Elmer, struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island, and the friendship of a lifetime.” Coming to Netflix on November 11.

image c. 2022 Cartoon Saloon

Many Girls Like Ponies, But…

More interesting reads we came across at this year’s L.A. Time Festival of Books. The Glitter Dragons — Dragon Girls is a new fantasy series for young readers, written by Maddy Mara. The first book is Azima the Gold Glitter Dragon.  “Azmina, Willa, and Naomi are thrilled to learn they’re Glitter Dragon Girls. Summoned to the Magic Forest by its magnificent ruler, the Tree Queen, the girls quickly find out their dragon-selves have unbelievable abilities. They can soar above the treetops, breathe glitter-y bursts of fire, and roar loud enough to shake the ground.With this newfound magic comes a big responsibility, however. As Dragon Girls, they are sworn protectors of the forest and must help keep it safe from the troublesome Shadow Sprites, who are determined to take the forest’s magic for their own.” All this and more are available now in trade paperback from Scholastic. Roar!

image c. 2022 Scholastic

Wish We Had Summer Camp Like That!

Another book series we came across: Dragon Mountain by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang. “When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn’t know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: Four powerful warrior dragons, hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp. They have been trapped since an epic battle with the Dragon of Death and need the children’s help to set them free before terrible evil is unleashed on the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. But can they save the dragon and human worlds from destruction?” Several titles in the series are out now, available in hardcover and paperback.

image c. 2022 Simon & Schuster

Hard Times for Humans

While we were exploring the LA Comic Con we met John J. Perez, a prolific comic book writer. Among his projects is a comic called Archon, illustrated by Monika Maccagni and Bobby Hernandez and published by Action Lab. “Gareth Thompson, a Vietnam veteran and single father, has just accepted a Security Job at the new fantasy-themed Hotel and Casino, The Archon. On his first day he discovers his co­-workers are not simply people in costumes but actual creatures of Myth and Legend hiding in plain sight.” More recently though, Mr. Perez has been running a Kickstarter campaign for his new comic series — Social Fiends, illustrated by Javier Martin Caba. “Forty years after the collapse of human civilization vampires and werewolves have crawled out of the shadows to reclaim the day. Fallout blocks out the the sun and sea level rise has made all coastal cities diseased swamps. Hell for humans. Paradise for fiends. In New York City, renamed ‘Neoropa’, an alliance of fiends have banded together to create a quasi Anarcho-Syndicalist commune. Unfortunately, power corrupts and the vampire elite have placed themselves at the top of the City State’s power structure – relegating werewolves to government serfs.” John’s official web site has information on these and other projects too.

image c. 2022 John J. Perez

Hatching A Plot

Sometimes you really just gotta love the titles of Japanese media creations. Reincarnated As A Dragon Hatchling. You’re going to remember that one, yes? And it perfectly describes this new black & white manga written by Nekoko and Naji and illustrated by Rio. “If you woke up as a sentient egg in some random forest, I bet you’d be confused, too. That’s exactly what happened to me in the oddest turn of events…Being reborn as a little egg has its challenges, but luckily, with all these monsters out to eat me, I’m gaining experience quick. Once I bust out of this shell, a cool new form better await me–that is, if I survive long enough!” And that’s just the first volume. You’ll find even more from Seven Seas.

image c. 2021 Seven Seas Entertainment

Dragons Return — Tomorrow

Exciting news from the world of streaming. “DreamWorks Animation has shared a teaser trailer for the all-new CG animated series Dragons: The Nine Realms. Inspired by the hugely popular How to Train Your Dragon movie franchise, the show premieres on Hulu and Peacock December 23. Set 1,300 years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. Soon a group of misfit kids, brought to the site by their parents, uncover the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding — a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.” Find out more and see the teaser trailer over at AWN.

image c. 2021 Dreamworks

At The Dragon Strip?

Faces familiar and new come your way in the latest work from Joey Weiser. “On your mark, get set, GO! Dive into the graphic novel sequel to Ghost Hog [we talked about it before!] from the Eisner Award-nominated creator of Mermin [that too!] full of action, adventure, and speed! Following the events of Ghost Hog, Truff, Claude, and Stanley are joined by a new friend, Vern, as he gears up for the big race back home in Dragon Racer! He’s never won the race before…but this could be his year! Vern’s been practicing and practicing, both on and off the road. But when the other racers start to tease the fast driving dragon about his abilities on the track, he’ll have to put the pedal to the metal and prove he’s got the speed and finesse to compete in this year’s race… Zoom into this fast-paced graphic novel full of friendship, teamwork, and believing in yourself.” Dragon Racer is available now in trade paperback from Oni Press.

image c. 2021 Oni Press

Luck Be A Dragon Tonight

We’re also learning more about Luck, the new CGI animated feature that’s coming from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Animation. It was previously announced that Jane Fonda would be in the cast, and now it turns out Whoopi Goldberg is lending her voice too. According to Animation World Network: “Goldberg will provide the voice for ‘The Captain’, the tough-as-nails Head of Security for the Land of Good Luck,” while Fonda “…will voice ‘The Dragon’, the exuberant CEO of Good Luck and undisputed luckiest ancient being in all the land.” They go on to say this: “Directed by Peggy Holmes (Secret of the WingsThe Pirate Fairy) and written by Kiel Murray (CarsCars 3), Luck centers around the unluckiest girl in the world, who after stumbling upon the never-before-seen world of good and bad luck, must join together with magical creatures to uncover a force more powerful than even luck itself.” The article goes on to detail several other animated projects that Skydance have in the works.  Luck is scheduled for release by Apple TV+ in February of 2022.

image c. 2021 Skydance Animation