InFurNation Rotating Header Image

Books and Trade Paperbacks

Let the Magic Begin

Having made waves and conquered new worlds with their wildly-successful new-storyline comic book series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, IDW now turn their eyes on a more obvious task: Adapting the TV series to comic books.  Witness My Little Pony: The Magic Begins, coming in full color this September. Using a combination of screen-grabs and original artwork, this 112-page trade paperback tells the story of our hero-fillies from Ponyville, just as they came to us in the first-season episodes (as created by Lauren Faust, of course!).  Amazon is already taking pre-orders.

image c. 2013 IDW Publishing

All Your Favorite Fables

One of those “not exactly furry, but boy does it have a lotta furries in it” kind of things: Bill Willingham’s award-winning comic book series Fables. Now publisher Vertigo have announced the Fables Encyclopedia: Deluxe Edition, coming in hardcover this October. Here’s their press release: “From Aladdin to Zephyr, The Fables Encyclopedia is a must-have reference guide to the hidden history of every Fables character from Bill Willingham’s multiple award-winning series. Written by noted academic scholar Jess Nevins (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Companion) with artwork by Fables luminaries including cover artists James Jean, Joao Ruas and series regulars Mark Buckingham and Steve Leialoha, the Fables Encyclopedia provides rich historical information about each character as well as his/her first appearances and respective role within creator/writer Bill Willingham’s imaginative Fables mythos. Willingham and series artist Mark Buckingham provide fun facts and anecdotes along the way. Featuring an exquisite wraparound cover by noted Fairest cover artist Adam Hughes, the Fables Encyclopedia is a deluxe hardcover that’s essential for every Fables reader, old and new.” Vertigo has more are their web site.

image c. 2013 Vertigo

Rocket Raccoon Remembered

With the recent success of Marvel Comics’ Guardians of the Galaxy title (and much anticipation for the upcoming film version), lots of folks are suddenly becoming interested in the character of Rocket Raccoon — in fact, he’s considered to be the breakout star of the series, along with his friend Groot the tree-man. Well now, Marvel is finally revisiting the origins of Rocket Raccoon with a new full-color trade paperback due this August, Rocket Raccoon: Tales from Half-World. As written by Bill Mantlo and illustrated by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola (with a new cover by Steve McNiven), this collection brings together issues 1 – 4 of the original Rocket Raccoon series, highlighting his adventures (with his walrus pal and his otter girlfriend) as the guardian of the Keystone Quadrant. At one point, Bucky O’Hare even makes a guest appearance! Marvel has more on their web site. Also, the rocket-booted procyonid plays a big part in the new Nova: Origins Premiere Hardcover — also in full color, and also coming in August. Rocket Raccoon and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy teach young Sam Alexander the art of being a super-powered guardian of space and time! Check it out at Forbidden Planet.

image c. 2013 Marvel Comics

Prepare for the Battle of the Endor Moon

Love them or loathe them, the Ewoks became a big part of the lore of the Star Wars universe, both during and after the original movie trilogy. Now this October comes a brand-new full-color trade paperback from Dark Horse Press, looking to tie up some loose ends. “Until now, the Ewoks had been able to ignore the arrival of the Empire’s stormtroopers on Endor. But when they discover their rivals, the Duloks, have been enslaved and a legendary beast has been awakened, the Ewoks realize they may have to prepare for war—as soon as they figure out how to survive the beast!” Written and illustrated by Zack Giallongo (with art help by Braden Lamb), Star Wars: Ewoks — Shadows of Endor links up events and characters from the Ewoks animated TV series with the events in Return of the Jedi.

image c. 2013 Dark Horse Press

Pogo’s First Appearance

Well now, you learn something new every day… This is from the publisher’s press release: “Walt Kelly’s Pogo, acknowledged as one of the most important and influential comic strips of all time, first appeared not in newspapers but as a feature in the Dell comic book anthology Animal Comics, in its first issue, in 1942. The complex, multi-layered, character rich world of Pogo and the Okefenokee Swamp started in these early stories. Now, fans of Pogo can experience it all from the beginning with Hermes Press’ reprint of the complete Dell Comics Pogo. Volume 1 features all of the Animal Comics Pogo stories together with complete reprints of Pogo’s appearances in Dell’s Four Color comics. With Hermes Press’ complete reprint of the Dell Comics Pogo, admirers of this ground-breaking comic feature can now witness the strip’s evolution, in an archival hardcover, digitally reconstructed to perfection.” Unfortunately you’ll need to wait for October to see Walt Kelly’s Pogo: The Complete Dell Comics, Volume 1 (in hardcover) but you can pre-order it at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2013 Hermes Press

For Those Who Like the Furry Ladies

Early in July (at AnthroCon, in fact), Fur Planet will release a new full-color furry portfolio/magazine simply titled Women of Fur, edited by Marilyn Cole (also known as Sheppymomma). Here’s the idea: “Women of Fur is an collaboration between 12 different artists. Each artist chose to illustrate an empowering word that any woman can stand for. This collection of work is out to showcase the female form, anthro art as fine art, and the problem solving process involved in illustration.” Got that? Various of the artists involved have put up links to their pieces on their Fur Affinity pages, and the portfolio is available for pre-order at Fur Planet’s shop site.

image c. 2013 Fur Planet

The Local Monster Needs An Upgrade

Monster on the Hill is a different sort of all-ages graphic novel, coming this July from Top Shelf Productions. “In a fantastical 1860s England, every quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster — much to the townsfolk’s delight! Each town’s unique monster is a source of local pride, not to mention tourism. Each town, that is… except for one. Unfortunately for the people of Stoker-on-Avon, their monster isn’t quite as impressive. In fact, he’s a little down in the dumps. Can the morose Rayburn get a monstrous makeover and become a proper horror? It’s up to the eccentric Dr. Charles Wilkie and plucky street urchin Timothy to get him up to snuff, before a greater threat turns the whole town to kindling.” All of this brought to you in full color by artist and storyteller Rob Harrell. There’s a pretty good preview of it at Whatcha Readin’.

image c. 2013 Top Shelf Productions

New Books for Young Readers

Stan Lee’s Kids Universe imprint continues to be a good source for new books aimed at kids — and kids at heart of course. Which, often enough, include furries! Dani Jones has been reviewed here previously for her book Monsters vs. Kittens (check it out here). Now her latest work is called Once Upon A Time, and it’s simple: A young pig is trying to tell a fanciful tale, but on each page his various animal friends keep cutting in with their own take on the story. Visit Dani’s web site to find out more about these and other current projects. Also from Kids Universe, look for Reggie the Veggie, written by Dale Mettam and illustrated by Ivan Escalante. It chronicles the adventures of a young, vegetarian crocodile trying to get through his first day at school — and, word is that Reggie might have a game in development as well. Look for both of these new books to come out this July.

image c. 2013 Stan Lee’s Kids Universe

The New Dog in Town

It’s never easy to move into a new town — whether you’re a human, or a dog, or whatever. “Bacon is a lazy French bulldog who loves Westerns, and has a secret friend who happens to be a cat. When he and his owner move to a new neighborhood, Bacon embarks on quest to get to know all of the neighboring dogs. He soon discovers that they are a collection of weird and rather particular animals. Humorous and witty, the escapades of Bacon and Friends are translated from a popular Spanish web comic.” A comic written by Josep Busquet and illustrated by Ximo Abadia Perez, in fact.  This softcover black & white collection is coming out from Kettledrummer Books at the end of July, and it’s available for pre-order at Sci Fe Genre.

image c. 2013 Kettledrummer Books