InFurNation Rotating Header Image

Books and Trade Paperbacks

Grandville is back for more badgering!

The second hardcover, full-color graphic novel in the  Grandville series is due out this coming October 20th, once again written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot. We’ll let the publisher, Dark Horse Comics, describe it: “Convicted psychotic killer and extremist fanatic Edward ‘Mad Dog’ Mastock violently escapes the guillotine’s blade in the Tower of London to once again terrorize the Socialist Republic of Britain. But dogging Mastock’s bloody footsteps is his longtime adversary and nemesis, Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock, at odds with Scotland Yard and intent on bringing Mastock’s horrific murder spree to an end, once and for all. Aided by his friend and colleague Detective Roderick Ratzi, LeBrock follows the trail of carnage to Paris, otherwise known as Grandville, the largest city in a world dominated by the French Empire and the prime target of Mastock’s sadistic terrorism. Can LeBrock capture the Mad Dog before he can mete out his final vengeance, or will LeBrock’s own quest for redemption be dragged to ground by the demons of his past? The badger is back! Set three weeks after the finale of GrandvilleBryan Talbot’s critically acclaimed steampunk graphic novel–Grandville Mon Amour explores an alternate art-nouveau world populated by intelligent animals, a human underclass, robot automatons, and advanced steam technology that power everything from hansom cabs to iron flying machines.”

image c. 2010 Dark Horse Comics

Dragon Puncher

James Kochalka (creator of Monkey vs. Robot and other strangeness) is back with a new full-color, hardcover graphic novel from Top Shelf Productions. Dragon Puncher Volume 1 gives us the adventures of, well, Dragon Puncher: “A cute but ruthless kitty in an armored battle suit, dedicated to defeating dangerous dragons wherever they may be. The Dragon Puncher and his would-be sidekick Spoony-E (a fuzzy little fellow armed with a wooden spoon) confront a gigantic, drooling dragon and have a ridiculous, hilarious brawl”. You heard ’em. The artwork combines Kolchalka’s well-known funny animal style with humorous photography for a “goofy backyard adventure”.

Werewolf Stories for a Summer Night

Two new collections of lycanthrope-themed short stories turned up in a recent visit to Barnes & Noble Booksellers. First up is Full Moon City, edited by Darrel Schweitzer and Martin H. Greenberg (in paperback, from Pocket Editions). Here’s the publisher’s description from Amazon.com: “From New York to Los Angeles to Bucharest, fifteen never-before-published tales by some of the world’s finest fantasy and horror writers celebrate the newest incarnations of an age-old terror that strikes when the moon is full . . . the werewolf. No longer confined to the forests, these modern monsters can be found in places you frequent every day—and never before thought to fear. Carrie Vaughn’s popular werewolf radio host Kitty Norville is drawn into a controversy as to whether it’s fair to ban lycanthropy from professional sports. New York’s famous Plaza Hotel is the setting for  Esther M. Friesner’s tale of one very grisly little girl, while Beverly Hills may never quite recover from Ron Goulart’s middle-aged Hollywood screenwriter who falls prey to a most unusual problem. Celebrated fantasy author Peter S Beagle tells a chillingly lyrical story of three Louisiana loup garoux locked into a deadly dance of death. Plus many more biting tales from award-winning authors Holly Black, P.D. Cacek, Gregory Frost, Tanith Lee, Holly Phillips, Mike Resnick, Darrel Schweitzer, Lisa Tuttle, Ian Watson, Gene Wolfe, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Then there’s Running with the Pack, edited by Ekaterina Sedia (this one in paperback from Prime Books). The description goes: “Remember the werewolves of classic stories and films, those bloodthirsty monsters that transformed under the full moon, reminding us of the terrible nature that lives within all of us? Today’s werewolves are much more suave – and even sexy – and they’ve moved from British moors to New York City lofts, shaved, and got jobs. But as the tales of these writers will show you, they remain no less wild and passionate, and they still tug at the part of our being where a wild animal used to be. Running With the Pack includes stories from Carrie Vaughn, Laura Anne Gilman, and C.E. Murphy [and others — ye ed-otter] and they will convince you that despite their gentrification, werewolves remain as fascinating and terrifying as ever.” You heard ’em.

Berona’s War: The Field Guide

And now for something rather different: Cute and cuddly wars! Berona’s War: The Field Guide comes to us from the minds of Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffey. According to Previews it’s “an epic tale of two adorable, fur-covered races doomed by their own escalating violence”. Whew. The Ele-Alta and the Cropones are soft and fuzzy on the outside, but hard as nails on the inside. When both tribes lay claim to Berona Island’s most valuable real estate — a land known as Amity — the result can only be bloody war. This full-color hardcover graphic novel is available now from Archaia Comics. This winter, look for the sequel, Berona’s War: Fight for Amity. And check this out for a preview of the whole series.

Krazy Kat in Kolor

Those with an interest in comic strip history should of course be familar with the adventures of Ignatz Mouse and Krazy Kat, written and illustrated by George Herriman in the early 20th century. Now Sunday Press Books brings us Krazy Kat: A Celebration of Sundays, coming this June in Hardcover. Collecting the greatest Krazy Kat Sunday pages, for the first time in their original size and colors, just in time for Krazy Kat’s 100th birthday. The book also includes a sampling of Herriman’s pre-Krazy works, as well as contributions by Michael Tisserand (Gambit Weekly) and Art Spiegelman (Maus). Here’s more information on the book at Westfield Comics.

Krazy Kat characters c. 2010 Wikipedia

Krazy Kat characters c. 2010 Wikipedia

Lackadaisy — The Book

Tracy Butler’s popular web comic Lackadaisy (a frequent Ursa Major Award nominee and winner of the Web Cartoonists’ Choice Award — twice) has finally been released on dead trees by 4th Dimension Entertainment. The Lackadaisy Volume 1 graphic novel (in softcover) tells the story of  the Prohibition-era speakeasy known as Lackadaisy, and characters like “a rum-running violinist named Rocky and a police academy dropout nicknamed Freckle”. Oh by the way, those characters (and all the rest) happen to be anthropomorphic cats. That little fact, not to mention Ms. Butler’s attention to detail and sepia-toned artwork, have sealed the popularity of this comic in and out of Furry Fandom.

Jason does Werewolves

The enigmatic Norwegian funny-animal cartoonist known only as Jason returns with a brand-new softcover graphic novel, coming (in full color) in July from Fantagraphics Books. Werewolves of Montpellier tells the story of Sven, an aimless artist who finds himself in Montpellier, France, after a failed romance. By day he plays chess and poker, sketches his new hometown, and bemoans the state of his life.  By night… he dresses up as a werewolf and raids other peoples’ homes! Of course, one thing he hasn’t taken into account is the society of real werewolves who live in Montpellier…! The press release describes it as “… a lycanthropic thriller, a romantic comedy, and an existential drama… basically, your typical Jason book”.

Boom-ing Business

Yet more stuff to watch upcoming from Boom! Studios: First off, welcome the return of the Duck Knight!  Darkwing Duck returns, after many requests sent in to Boom! In this new full-color comic series is (written by Ian Brill and drawn by James Silvani) the terror that flaps in the night has been missing for more than a year… But when a nefarious evil plan threatens the city of St. Canard, it might be time to get dangerous again! Find out more in June. Also this summer, Boom! is presenting the graphic novel adaptation of Tim Burton’s oh-so-popular Alice in Wonderland film. The movie comes to DVD in August,  but the graphic novel (adapted by Alessandro Ferrari and illustrated by Massimiliano Narcisco) comes this June, both in softcover and a limited-edition hardcover that includes a stitched-in cloth bookmark.

More Classic Funny Animals

Felix the Cat is, of course, one of the classic funny animals from both comic strips and early animation. Now IDW is collecting together the former in Felix the Cat: The Great Comic Book Tails (coming in hardcover this June). Felix’s original artist, Otto Messmer, wrote and drew the bulk of Felix comic strips and comic book stories for Dell and Harvey during comic books’ “Golden Age”. Now IDW presents more than 200 pages of full-color comics, showcasing the magical cat’s journeys on his flying carpet to surreal lands, past times, and Toy Land. Comic historian Craig Yoe edited the collection and wrote the behind-the-scenes introduction.