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Shark

Who’s There? Land Shark!

My my, the things we miss on line… Fortunately most stuff eventually winds up on dead trees, and we get things like the new It’s Jeff! one-shot comic from Marvel. “Since his very first appearance, Jeff the Land Shark has flooded our hearts like an adorable tidal wave! Now the ingenious, the extraordinary, the unbearably innocent Jeff embarks on his own adventures across the Marvel Universe! You thought it was safe doing laundry or going for a leisurely swim in the pool…but no activity can protect against Jeff’s cuteness! Collecting the hit Infinity Comics series from the Marvel Unlimited app, this one-shot features a brand-new cover and tail…we mean tale!” Written by Kelly Thompson, illustrated by Gurihiru, and on the shelves right now.

image c. 2023 Marvel Comics

Real Animal Adventure Tales

We just learned about a new graphic novel series for young readers, from Henry Holt and Company. The Surviving The Wild series is based on actual events with real animals “in the wondrous but hazardous wilds”. First up is Surviving The Wild: Sunny The Shark, by Remy Lai. “Sunny the Shark is a fearsome predator. As the oceanic whitetip shark searches for her next meal, a chatty school of pilot fish trails behind, cleaning her in exchange for food crumbs. But when Sunny mistakes a plastic ring for prey and it gets caught around her fin, she soon struggles to hunt. Will she be able to break free and find food before winter sets in?” It’s available now in hardcover from MacMillan.

image c. 2023 Henry Holt and Company

Smart Him

One thing this last summer did of course was bring attention back to everyone’s favorite ocean-born anthro-villain, King Shark. Taking obvious advantage of that, DC Comics have brought us the new Suicide Squad: King Shark 6-part miniseries, written by Tim Seeley and illustrated by Scott Kolins and John Kalisz. “On leave from the Suicide Squad, King Shark and unfortunate tagalong the Defacer get swept into a mystical tournament for totemic animal spirits at the behest of King Shark’s father, the god of sharks! Now King Shark must battle brutal warriors like Queen Tiger, King Roach, Prince Nematode, Princess Peregrine, and the terrifying Man King to finally attain his destiny and make his dour dad proud!” Sounds even furrier than usual, don’t it? There’s a review over at CBR.

image c. 2021 DC Comics

Teeth and Tech

…and more graphic novels for young readers, coming to us from Penguin Random House. Possibly the strangest yet for the current crop: Shark and Bot, written and illustrated by Brian Yanish. “Shark loves water. Bot short circuits if he goes near water! Shark recites poetry. Bot recites facts. Can these two really be friends? They’re both a little awkward… They both love comics… And just wait til you see their dance moves when they confront a playground bully.” It’s available now in hardcover. Fun fact: Mr. Yanish works for the Jim Henson Company.

image c. 2020 Penguin Random House

Doot Doo D’Doot D’Doo

If you thought you couldn’t get away from that song before… check out what we just found on Animation World Network: “Nickelodeon is expanding the underwater world of Baby Shark with the greenlight of a new animated preschool series, Baby Shark’s Big Show! (working title), based on the world-famous pop culture phenomenon. Co-produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and SmartStudy, the 2D-animated series (26 half-hour episodes) will follow Baby Shark and his best friend William as they journey on fun-filled comedic adventures in their community of Carnivore Cove, meet new friends and sing original catchy tunes along the way… Baby Shark’s Big Show! will debut with an all-new original holiday special this December, with premieres rolling out across Nickelodeon’s preschool platforms in spring 2021. Following the U.S. launch, the series will roll out on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels internationally… Baby Shark launched on YouTube in November 2015 and amassed 5.7 billion views, becoming the second most-watched video in the platform’s history.” Just in case you needed to be reminded of that.

image c. 2020 Nickelodeon

Shark Not-Weak

It’s always nice to see a Kickstarter campaign that works — especially when the result is something anthropomorphic. That’s what writers Bob Frantz and Kevin Cuffe and artist Walt Ostlie managed with Metalshark Bro, a new full-color comic series from Scout Comics. “What the Fin is a Metalshark Bro? Well, here’s the liner notes summary: a traditional shark stumbles upon Satan’s nephew and is forcibly given anthropomorphic qualities. With his newfound human physique and propensity for violence, he’s tasked with collecting the souls of those that have sworn allegiance to Satan. The only problem? He just wants to be a normal shark again! Naturally, he swears bloody vengeance and, uh, a whole lot of death ensues!” Be forewarned — and check it out over at Previews.

image c. 2019 Scout Comics

E-Books for Kids — and Art Collectors

And more from CTN Expo (it’s always cool!). According to their web site, “Mighty Yeti is an independent storytelling studio creating stories for the current generation of kids who enjoy their media and entertainment in exciting new ways. Founders Jennie Book and Josh Book have taken their many years of experience in the traditional entertainment industry and created products which children can interact with in a truly active way.” To that end they’ve created a series of interactive e-books for young readers — and some of those books have decidedly anthro content. Especially the one called A Shark Knocked On The Door. “Gutter races with Grandma are the best! But when a beloved toy boat is lost down the sewer, all seems lost until a friendly shark returns it and takes the boy and his grandma on a fantastical underseas adventure.” The publishers have built up enough material designing and creating these books that they’ve actually released The Art of Mighty Yeti Storybooks collection, featuring art by Eddie Betancourt, Roman Laney, Justin Rodrigues, and Nick Swift.

image c. 2018 Mighty Yeti

Under the Sea… Under the Sea…

Sherman’s Lagoon is an imaginary lagoon somewhere in the tropics, inhabited by a cast of sea creatures whose lives are curiously similar to our own. Through his comic strip, cartoonist Jim Toomey explores many of the issues that we face daily in our world on dry land. By putting them in a different context, he helps us laugh at ourselves. His characters attempt new business ventures, go on disastrous dates, try fad diets and read the latest best-selling books. But, they also have problems that are unique to fish. Should you bring shrimp to the holiday party? Will shrimp be there?” That’s the introduction to this long-running on-line comic strip. Now Andrews McMeel Publishing present Sherman’s Lagoon: Tales from the Deep That Are Completely Fabricated, the 20th trade paperback collection in full color. It’s also available as a PDF download.

image c. 2015 Andrews McMeel Publishing

image c. 2015 Andrews McMeel Publishing

A Shark with Guns. And NO Regrets.

Well all we can say is this is different… “If you think that White Sharks are bad, prepare yourself to meet DarkShark! A commando in a solo mission – hunting down Don Walrus the Narco, an evil drug lord and gun-addict – with a water gun, guy is in rehab. But Walrus controls the Duckong and brutal mercenaries! Did you miss all the gun-toting grim-and-gritty nonsense from the 90?s? This is your book! Guns! Poaches! Grinned teeth! Duck shooting!” Did any of that make sense to you? Well maybe this promo video over at the Amigo Comics site will give you some idea. Beast Commandos  #1 is written and illustrated (in bloody full color) by Roger Bonet, with assistance from Sonia Moruno. It’s coming your way later this month.

image c. 2014 Amigo Comics

image c. 2014 Amigo Comics