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July, 2016:

Their Fate is Sealed?

Aaron Galvin is young man who has already spent years as an actor (The Dark Knight), script writer, and stand-up comedian. Now he has added “book writer” to his resume’ thanks to several series of dark fantasy novels for young adults.  The series of particular note for furry fans is the Salted series, concerning a society of selkies (Celted were-seals, if you need a refresher). In the first book, Salted, a group of selkies travel to the surface, charged with retrieving an escaped human slave. Unfortunately, they soon discover that their mission is much more complicated than their leaders let on. In book two, Taken With A Grain Of Salt, a pair of teenage human slaves plot their own escape… but soon they learn that there are darker forces in the deep than selkie slavers. Both books were published by Create Space, and they’re available as signed paperback editions at Aaron’s web site.

image c. 2016 Aaron Galvin / Create Space

image c. 2016 Aaron Galvin

A Dream is a Wish… to be Elsewhere!

Scholastic Press (through their Graphix imprint) have published Dream Jumper Volume 1: Nightmare Escape. It’s the first full-color graphic novel written by actor Greg Grunberg (Heroes) and illustrated by Lucas Turnbloom — with an introduction by Grunberg’s childhood friend J.J. Abrams, who helped to bring the project about. “Ben has a problem. When he sleeps he dreams, and when he dreams, they’re all nightmares! But he can also jump into other people’s dreams. So when his friends start falling victim to an evil dream-monster that prevents them from waking, Ben knows he has to help them. Easier said than done when dreams can shift and the monster knows his way around the ever-changing landscape of the mind! With help from a talking rabbit-companion who has a mysterious past, Ben might just be able to defeat the monster and save his friends . . . if he can figure out how to use the power within him against his enemies.” Looks like there’s also a very large crow involved. Dream Jumper is available now in hardcover and softcover editions, and the Scholastic web site also has an interview with the creators.

image c. 2016 Graphix

image c. 2016 Graphix

Hers, Drawn By Him — For Her

Writer Nicole Hoang created a story called What Is It? when she was 10 years old.  More recently, well-known comic artist Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Li’l Gotham) illustrated her story — and presented it to Nicole as a wedding gift. Now Kaboom! Studios have put words and illustrations together into their first hardcover illustrated children’s book. “In a nearby forest, a young girl discovers a mysterious little creature. Together they seek to understand who or what the other is. Featuring beautifully painted illustrations by Dustin Nguyen, What Is It? is a story of wonder, discovery, and the joy of making new friends.” It’s available now, and Bleeding Cool has an interview with the creators too.

image c. 2016 Kaboom!

image c. 2016 Kaboom! Studios

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Pointy, Furry Ears

New from Retrofit Comics comes Elf Cat In Love, a new hardcover black & white graphic novel by James Kochalka (creator of American Elf and Johnny Boo). “When the incredibly conceited Elf Cat goes on a quest for the Ice Sword with his magical friend Tennis Ball, they will face dragons, magical hot dogs, snowflake princesses, and confront their feelings! If you find love in many places, can you see it when it is right in front of you?” Mr. Kochalka’s drawn a few interesting stories with cats… Previews has all this and more, of course.

image c. 2016 Retrofit Comics

image c. 2016 Retrofit Comics

Plant-Eater Wear

Your ever-lovin’ ed-otter attended the Animal Rights National Conference in Los Angeles this weekend. Lo and behold, there was actually some good anthropomorphic art to be found there, mostly on t-shirts. One set that especially caught our eye came from CompassionCo.com. They employ the services of a few really good artists in the creation of their organic-ink t-shirts for people who want to brag to the world about their veganism. Think that plant-eaters are wimpy? Tell that to a rhinoceros! “We believe that the best way to affect social change is to lead by setting a positive example and creating opportunities for conversations with others. We want everyone to feel proud about where their clothing came from at every point during production.” Visit their web site to see more of what they have currently, plus you can sign up for their newsletter and get notices about their new upcoming designs.

image c. 2016 CompassionCo.com

image c. 2016 CompassionCo.com

Watch Out for the Wicked Wolf

Here’s one we nearly missed, from Amigo Comics: A full-color one-shot comic called Sidney Hammer Versus The Wicked Wolf. “Sidney Hammer, the scantily-clad, sardonic, grind-house reporter is back! She only wanted a cold beer, but Sidney has found herself looking for a missing girl and being hunted by a big bad werewolf! And this time Sidney doesn’t know if the tabloid she’s working for will pay for the investigation of this spooky case! Spanish artist Massacre returns with the sassiest hack of all.” That all comes to us directly from Previews. Look for it on the shelves now.

image c. 2016 Amigo Comics

image c. 2016 Amigo Comics

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Bunnies, Bongs, and B**bies

Also from Action Lab we have a new full-color comic trade paperback that is decidedly not for young readers! It’s called Itty Bitty Bunnies: Friendgasm. “The Itty Bitty Bunnies (Phil and Tyrone) make a deal with the Devil, awake the magic Bong Genie, start a food fight that turns homicidal, and do lots and LOTS of drugs. It’s just another day in Rainbow Pixie Candy Land!” And it comes to us from the rather twisted mind of Australian cartoonist and writer Dean Rankine. It’s on the shelves now and available from Previews magalog.

image c. 2016 Action Lab

image c. 2016 Action Lab

One Day For Digimon

According to Animation World Network, Toei Animation and Eleven Arts are set to release the latest Digimon anime feature in an English-language version for North America this fall. Entitled Digimon Adventure tri. – Chapter 1: Reunion. (whew!), the film is set to premier as a one-day-only Fathom Events screening at select theaters, followed by a more traditional roll-out to various cities. “It’s been six years since the summer adventure when Tai (now in high school) and the rest of the DigiDestined crossed over to the Digital World and nearly three years since frenzied final battles between warring factions. With the gate to the Digital World closed, time continues to pass, until the adventure Digivolves once again.” Unfortunately, being from a different generation of Digimon, it’s unlikely that Guilmon or Renamon will make an appearance in this film. Pity! Anyway, look for this exclusive screening in one of 300 cities on September 15th.

image c. 2016 Toei Animation

image c. 2016 Toei Animation

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More Furry Netflix Cartoons

In addition to the aforementioned Llama Llama, we’ve learned from Cartoon Brew that Netflix have announced five more animated series coming to their streaming service over the next couple of years. At at least two of them are especially of note for furry fans: “Animated action-comedy Skylanders Academy follows the heroic adventures of the Skylanders team, a ragtag group of heroes with unique elemental skills who travel the vast Skylands universe, protecting it from evil-doers. They achieve victory by setting aside their egos, learning to trust one another and fighting as one to maintain harmony and balance in the land.” And yes, Spyro is among them. The series is set to premier on Netflix this coming fall. Then, there’s this: “Inspired by the Oscar-nominated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron [from Dreamworks Animation — ye ed-otter], Spirit Riding Free follows the heartfelt journey of a wild mustang who could not be tamed. A whole new generation will experience all the daring adventures when Spirit meets a girl named Lucky whose courage matches his own. Together they push limits, harness the power of friendship and discover what it means to be free.” Look for Spirit Riding Free to premier sometime in 2017.

image c. 2016 Activision

image c. 2016 Activision