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September, 2017:

These Bones Won’t Stay Buried!

Okay, now here’s something very much different: Dead of Winter, a new full-color miniseries from Oni Press. According to Geek.com, it’s like this: “In the pantheon of heroes, none are more lovable and loyal than everyone’s beloved good ol’ dog, Sparky. Surviving in the wintery apocalypse of the undead, this former TV star turned zombie killing machine just wants to make friends and be a good boy. As his fellow survivors scavenge for supplies in the frigid wasteland, will Sparky be able to protect his companions from threats both undead and not yet undead? Oni Press brings us a new kind of zombie apocalypse with Dead of Winter #1, a comic adapted from the table top game, Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game, designed by Isaac Vega and Jon Gilmour for Plaid Hat Games.” You heard it here. The comic is written by Kyle Starks and illustrated by Gabriel “Gabo” Bautista. Look for it now — before they get you!

image c. 2017 Oni Press

Family Means Diversity

And yet more stuff from France for young readers, this time imported by Lerner Publishing Group. “Enjoy lively, colorful, fairy-tale-style fun with the Whiskers Sisters! Maya has antlers. Mia’s a cat. And May can’t quite talk yet. But they’re all family! They live in the woods with their grandfather, the Guardian of the Forest – and they get into all kinds of adventures with the chatty animals that live nearby. A letter from Mrs. Owl, the Whiskers Sisters’ mail carrier, prompts Mia and Maya to plan a celebration. But their little sister, May, has been swept up in Mrs. Owl’s mailbag! Soon May is in the woods having a wild afternoon. But will she make it home in time for the party?” Written and illustrated by Miss Paty, The Whiskers Sisters Volume 1: May’s Wild Walk is coming just after Christmas. Check out this new paperback over at Previews.

image c. 2017 Lerner Publishing

Stone in Paris

Humanoids (the publisher!) have imported a new hardcover graphic novel series for young readers called Gregory and the Gargoyles. We got this from Previews: “Young Gregory is unhappy and restless when his family moves to a new neighborhood, opposite a cathedral. Bullied by other kids, and left to his own devices at home, he discovers a strange medallion with a drawing of the church on it, and sets out explore the great building and the giant stone statues that rest on top. Before he knows it, Gregory is hurled back to 17th-century France, smack-dab in the middle of gargoyles, dragons, and sorcerers locked in an ongoing battle against dark forces. A hilarious, magical tale from master storyteller Denis-Pierre Filippi (Muse, Marshals) and artists J. Etienne (Brussli: Way of the Dragon Boy) and Silvio Camboni.” It’s in stores now.

image c. 2017 Humanoids

Flipper Bird with Stripes

Another item we somehow passed over — and it’s been around a while! According to Wikipedia, The Jungle Bunch is a French / American / British animated TV series developed by David Alaux and Eric Tosti in 2013. It’s been airing in North America on the Universal Kids network. More recently a selection of episodes were edited together into a DVD release: The Jungle Bunch — The Movie, featuring the voice of John Lithgow. “The Jungle Bunch is the exciting tale of Maurice, a penguin who was raised in the jungle and thinks he’s a tiger! When two penguins from his Antarctic homeland come in search of ‘The Great Tiger Warrior’ to defend their colony from an invading herd of walruses, Maurice assembles a misfit team of jungle friends to save the day!” It’s available now at Amazon, and the trailer is up on YouTube.

image c. 2017 Universal

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Sourpusses

And speaking of crossovers (when will they stop?), Dynamite Entertainment and Boom! Studios’ Kaboom! imprint have joined forces to join up a classic well-known sassy cat with a currently well-known sassy cat. Yes, it’s the Grumpy Cat / Garfield 3-issue miniseries. There’s a preview over at Previews: “It’s the inevitable meeting of the sourpusses! Garfield, the reigning cynical cat of newspapers and TV crosses paths with Grumpy Cat, the internet sensation whose scowl endeared herself to the world. Who’s the most sarcastic? Well, he likes lasagna and not much else… and she doesn’t even like lasagna. Can these two inhabit the same comic book mini-series, let alone the same planet? You’ll find out in a trio of issues written by Mark Evanier and illustrated by Steve Uy. We’d say it’s the cat’s meow but neither of these cats meow.” The second issue of this full-color series is already out in stores.

image c. 2017 Dynamite

Cartoon Collision Course!

Crossovers are all the rage these days, of course — so why not combine two cult favorite cartoon shows? That’s the thought behind the Adventure Time / Regular Show comic mini-series, recently unleashed by Boom! Studios. Here’s what they said: “It’s a crossover for the ages in this mash-up of two of our favorite Cartoon Network shows! When a powerful new villain threatens to conquer Adventure Time’s Ooo, Princess Bubblegum sends Finn and Jake on a desperate quest to find The Power that can save the land – a power that Skips from Regular Show just happens to be hiding! Finn and Jake’s arrival only exacerbates an existing tension between Mordecai and Rigby, and the trip back to Ooo threatens to tear two sets of bros apart … forever.” Written by Conor McCreery and illustrated by Mattia Di Meo, the first issue is out now.

image c. 2017 Boom! Studios

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Bear-ing Witness to Evil

Getting in on the ground floor here… At Long Beach Comic Con we came across Not Teddy Bears, a new art project created by Robert Ly. Is it a line of toys? A new on-line comic? A graphic novel? We don’t know! And the official web site isn’t very clear about that. But still, there is a story to be told here: It seems that teddy bears as we know them are not just cuddly little fuzzy friends for children, but physical representations we have created from our memory of small bear-like creatures who defend us from monsters. When our world is invaded by violent, evil forces, those creatures suddenly become very, very important once again.

image c. 2017 8vs8 Entertainment

Return of the Dark Rodent

This one passed beneath our radar (perhaps naturally!) but we managed to catch it at Long Beach Comic Con. Nathaniel Osollo is an underground cartoonist who specializes in black & white… and funny animal noir. His most famous creation is Dark Mouse, “a disgruntled mouse with drinking and violence problems and a penchant for lady mice”. Whew. His first collection on paper is called I Used To Know Dark Mouse, but you can read it entirely on line at issuu.com. His web site, Eye Draugh (get it?) has more of Dark Mouse and other creations.

image c. 2017 by Nathaniel Osollo

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Creatures Both Strange and Fantastic

Shreya Shetty (try saying that three times fast!) is an illustrator and concept artist with a history in Hollywood productions. She has worked for companies like Rhythm & Hues, Wizards of the Coast, and Toon Studios on projects as diverse as Life of Pi, Dreamworks’ Home, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. At her web site you’ll see many of her finished paintings of magical monsters and some cute familiar creatures, many of which she also sells as prints.

image c. 2017 by Shreya Shetty

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