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January, 2020:

Why B Normal?

We discovered this through Upworthy.com: “Greg Sullivan says he never intended to publish his first book, Gregory Dragon Is Just The Same. It was around his son’s fifth birthday and the Los Angeles-based writer and artist wanted to create something unique for his son’s special day. At the time, his young child was going through a challenge familiar to most other kids around his age: wanting to fit in with his classmates… Sullivan wanted to create something that would help his son “…not only embrace his unique characteristics but to celebrate them.” And it just so happened that his son loves dragons. As an award-winning artist, animator, screenwriter and novelist, it made sense for Sullivan to put his professional skills toward something creative and practical for his son’s development. Gregory Dragon Is Just The Same switches up the traditional children’s book narrative. Instead having an omniscient voice making broad proclamations to a younger audience, he allows the young dragon character to take the lead: “Gregory Dragon is just like all the other dragons, or so the narrator says. But Gregory Dragon disagrees and refuses to let the story be told until he’s had his say.” Find out just what he has to say over at Amazon.

image c. 2020 by Greg L Sullivan Jr.

Such A Responsibility To Bear

Recently Marvel Comics introduced a new mobile game called Future Fight, and now they’ve created a tie-in comic series called Future Fight Firsts, starring some of the game’s most interesting characters. Including, it turns out, at least one furry — in the one-shot Future Fight Firsts: Crescent and Io, they ask, “How did Dan Bi, a young girl from South Korea, first bring an ancient mystical bear spirit into the modern world? How did this unlikely duo become the evil-smashing team known as Crescent and Io?” Written by Mariko Tamaki, with art by Ale Garza and Jon Lam, it’s available now.

image c. 2020 Marvel Comics

Chibi and Tasty

Interesting things we found at this year’s Anime L.A. convention. The artist Ryan Zanfei has gathered together a small crew to sell her creations through a collective known as Tasty Peach Studios. And what are her creations? Cute! “Tasty Peach Studios… is a sweet, unique boutique that sells cute merchandise inspired by Japan! We started out selling small hand made clay charms and commissioned artwork through our little Etsy shop in 2007. Since then we have grown exponentially! We now attend upwards of 70+ anime conventions a year & ship high quality acrylic items, professionally made products and more world wide every day!” Those high quality items now include t-shirts, plushies, enamel pins, and even wigs — and more. Visit the Tasty Peach web site to see what we mean.

image c. 2020 Tasty Peach Studios

More Equal Than Others

[Hello there! Back from Further Confusion 2020 with lots to talk about. First a little catching up to do though…] Last fall brought us the very first graphic novel adaptation of George Orwell’s famous barnyard allegorical novel Animal Farm — illustrated in full color by Odyr. From the New York Times Book Review: “Animal Farm has previously appeared accompanied by drawings, by famous illustrators…But Odyr, using a bright palette, has fully adapted what Orwell called ‘a fairy tale’ satirizing Stalin — and the result is elegant and heartbreaking… Instead of a reduction of the original, Odyr’s imagined barnyard world adds to the depth of the characters…” It’s available now in hardcover from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

image c. 2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

East Coast Cuisine

You may recall that a couple of years ago we mentioned Bolivar, a graphic novel written and illustrated by Sean Rubin. Still no word on that rumored animated film adaptation, but we did find out the human girl Sybil and her dinosaur friend Bolivar have returned in a sequel book, Bolivar Eats New York. Good grief, all of it?  Well no… “When Sybil learns that Bolivar only likes corned beef sandwiches, she informs him that he’s been missing out on one of the great attributes of New York City and it’s rich communities–delicacies from around the world! Knishes! Falafel! Dim Sum! And it wouldn’t be a story in the Big Apple without pizza . . . Explore the five boroughs: Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, and Manhattan in this lushly illustrated Discovery Adventure™ from Eisner-nominated writer and artist Sean Rubin where kids and parents alike search for their favorite foods, and find other sights unique to one of the greatest cities in the world!” Visit the author’s web site and find out more.

image c. 2020 Archaia

She Returns To Help The Dragons

In the past we talked about Katie O’ Neill, and we briefly mentioned her award-winning graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society. Well now she’s back with a brand new sequel, The Tea Dragon Festival, that’s available now in hardcover from Oni Press. “Rinn has grown up with the Tea Dragons that inhabit their village, but stumbling across a real dragon turns out to be a different matter entirely! Aedhan is a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village, but fell asleep in the forest eighty years ago. With the aid of Rinn’s adventuring uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery of his enchanted sleep… but Rinn’s real challenge is to help Aedhan come to terms with feeling that he cannot get back the time he has lost.”

image c. 2020 Oni Press

Back The Rainbow

This last summer brought as a brand new Care Bares series on Boomerang, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic — and to go with it, a brand new tie-in comic book series from IDW. “Welcome to the Silver Lining, a mystical realm full of mirth and magic! The Care Bears, along with their pals the Whiffles, protect this realm from the negative influence of the mischievous Bluster and his Bad Crowd! With engaging, unique characters and an irreverent and heartwarming sense of humor, this new series is perfect for anyone looking for more magic in their lives!” Featuring art by Agnes Garbowska of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fame. All three issues of the comic mini-series are available now.

image c. 2019 IDW Publishing