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Books and Trade Paperbacks

Draw with a Child-Like Imagination

Here’s one of those titles we’re likely to notice: Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals by Carla Sonheim. It’s available on Amazon in paperback from Quarry Books. This new book applies Ms. Sonheim’s interesting theories about teaching adults to draw to the idea of drawing animals. Here’s how the publisher describes it: “Rediscover a more child-like approach to creating with Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals! Through fun and creative exercises, Carla Sonheim teaches you to draw a variety of fun animals and creatures, including: Dogs – Birds – Elephants – Fish – Cats – Rabbits – Fluffalumps – and many others! You’ll also find a variety of unique mixed-media techniques to help you bring your creatures to life, resulting in a unique finished art piece. Improve your drawing skills, expand your creativity, and learn new art techniques–and have loads of fun doing it!”

And with that, we wish you all a Happy New Year! Thank  you for making us part of your Internet experience in 2013!

image c. 2012 Quarry Books

Classic Disney Poems

Here’s something new that Disney art and story collectors can look forward to this February: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Tales, coming in hardcover from Random House. “Originally published in Good Housekeeping magazine, these legendary one-page features translated Disney’s newest releases into rollicking comic poems illustrated by master Disney painters Tom Wood and Hank Porter. This collection of 50 of the funniest and most fascinating features are presented in a hardcover family-friendly book to Disney fans of all ages. A trip back to Mickey and Minnie’s musical heyday, these beautifully illustrated and condensed re-tellings of some of Disney’s most delightful shorts will entrance fans young and old.” Check it out at Cheap Graphic Novels.

image c. 2012 Random House

Little Mouse Gets Ready

Jeff Smith, the multiple-award-winning creator of Bone, has returned with a new full-color softcover children’s book from Toon Books. In Little Mouse Gets Ready, “There’s lots to do before Little Mouse is ready to go visit the barn. Will he master all the intricacies of getting dressed, from snaps and buttons to Velcro and tail holes?” According to Amazon, this book has already been given the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award. So how the heck did we miss this one? It came out in 2009!

image c. 2009 Toon Books

Just a Donkey

This February, Papercutz (home to the Geronimo Stilton series) presents a brand new full color graphic novel by multiple award-winning author Emmanuel Guibert and renowned illustrator Marc BoutavantAriol, Volume 1: Just a Donkey Like You and Me. “Ariol is your everyday tween donkey with blue glasses. He lives in the suburbs with his mom and dad. His best friend is a pig. He’s in love with a beautiful cow in his class. His teacher is a dog. His gym teacher is a huge rooster. In short, Ariol is just like you and me.” Pre-order this new softcover book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2012 Papercutz

He was a Good Dog…

Graham Chaffee is an underground cartoonist who is best known for his recent work as a tattoo artist. But now he has returned to graphic storytelling with his new hardcover black & white book called Good Dog. He’s been previewing the artwork on his web site. “Ivan, who is plagued by terrible nightmares about chickens and rabbits, is a good dog—if only someone would notice. Readers accompany the stray as he navigates dog society, weathers pack politics, and surveys canine-human interactions. Good Dog’s story and pen-and-ink art are deceptively simple, but Chaffee uses the approachability of the subject matter as a device to explore topics such as independence, security, assimilation, loyalty, and violence. Preteen-and-up dog fanciers, especially, will warm to the well-meaning Ivan and his exploits with a motley assortment of Scotties, Bulldogs, and mutts. Chaffee combines illustrative gravitas with cartooning verve and creates a richly textured, dog’s-eye view of the world.” Good Dog is coming this April from Fantagraphics. Check it out at Amazon.

image c. Fantagraphics Books

New Kevin Frane Novel Soon

Kevin Frane, author of The Seventh Chakra (nominated for an Ursa Major Award in 2011) returns this January with a new novel called Summerhill. Fur Planet will release it in both hardcover and softcover, starting at Further Confusion in San Jose. “Summerhill is a dog with a problem: he isn’t exactly sure who he is. Living alone in a desolate world as its only inhabitant, he has no memories of his previous life—only the tantalizing clue that the answers he seeks may lie with a mysterious woman named Katherine, the hostess on a cruise ship that sails between dimensions. But Katherine has problems of her own, and if Summerhill wants her help in unlocking the secrets of his past, he’ll have to help Katherine deal with hers. Together, the two will travel to different worlds, different times, and different universes in a journey where each new stop has both fantastic discoveries and deadly threats in wait, and where the rules of reality can change as easily as weather.” Check out Fur Planet’s Live Journal to pre-order a copy.

image c. 2012 Sofawolf Press

Beware the Wolf Cult

Here’s the official description of the long-awaited graphic novel World of Warcraft: Dark Riders: “A stalwart mage searches for a powerful artifact, stolen by Dark Riders, only to find his son accused of murder. A righteous priest, driven by a mysterious fervor, investigates a savage Wolf Cult. As the paths of these two men join, a fantastic adventure emerges! Supported by a cast of brave heroes, the two find out just how dangerous the wolf cult and dark riders are.” Hmmm, so just how furry is this thing? Well, check out the front cover below! And will the Tauren be involved too? We’ll have to wait until April of 2013 to find out for sure, but you can order this full-color hardcover book at Amazon right now. It’s written by Mike Costa, illustrated (inside) by Neil Googe, and published by DC Comics.

image c. 2012 DC Comics

Krazy Kat is Turning 100

Just in time for the 100th anniversary of George Herriman’s world-famous Krazy Kat comic strip, Sunday Press Books is re-releasing Krazy Kat: A Celebration of Sundays in hardcover. “A Centennial Celebration! Finally, Krazy Kat as it was meant to be seen. From the publishers of the celebrated and much-awarded Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays! deluxe oversized reprint edition, come 135 full-size Sunday pages from 1916-1944 — plus dozens more early comics from George Herriman. It’s the eternal triangle of the comics — Kat, Mouse, and Pupp, along with the catalytic brick. Here are their glorious, poignant, and hilarious stories from the genius of George Herriman, reprinted for the first time in their original size and colors. Included in the 14 x 17-inch collection is a sampling of all Herriman’s creations for the Sunday newspaper comics from 1901-1906: Professor Otto, The Two Jackies, Major Ozone, and more, many of which have never been reprinted before. Now, 100 years after Ignatz tossed his first brick, step back in time to delight in the timeless tales of America’s great comic strip artist and his greatest creation, Krazy Kat.” Check it out on Amazon.

image c. 2012 Sunday Press

Michael. Elephant. Detective.

There’s no way we could describe the new graphic novel District 14 any better than the publisher, Humanoids Inc., did in Previews magalog: “Follow Michael the elephant as he arrives to the city known as District 14, a labyrinthine metropolis where humans, animals and aliens all co-exist.  A unique anthropomorphic mystery with an intricate plot and a fantastic cast of characters, this incredible French series is finally making its way across the Atlantic.” It’s written by Pierre Gabus and illustrated in black & white by Romuald Reutimann, and it’s coming out in hardcover this January.

image c. 2012 Humanoids Inc