Dave Sim’s very, very strange journey to creating his world-famous Cerebus the Aardvark series is now reflected upon in Dave’s new bi-monthly black & white publication, Cerebus Archive (from Aardvark-Vanaheim, of course). From his earliest cartoon creation, The Beavers, to his first professionally published comic book story Cry of the White Wolf (with art by Stan Connerty), it’s all here, plus a lot of extras — including some of Dave’s early rejection slips from major comic book publishers!
Comic Book News
In Space, no one can hear you howl.
Werewolves on the Moon versus Vampires. Now tell us you don’t stand up and take notice of a title like that? Dark Horse Comics certainly hopes you do, as they present a brand-new full-color 3-issue miniseries by Matt and Shawn Fillbach, Dave Land, and Dan Jackson. A group of American werewolves (who aren’t such bad fellows, actually) sneak their way into the first permanent lunar colony… just as a group of nasty vampires are trying to take over! Now it’s an all-out monster battle on the moon, with ordinary humans caught in the middle. Of course, some of them are well-armed and in no mood to give up easily…
In case the younger furries missed it…
DC Super Friends issue #14 brings us a new adventure with the Super Pets (in full color of course). It’s written by Sholly Fisch, with pencils by none other than Scott Shaw! and Mike Kazaleh. When the Justice League is trapped in a paralyzing force-field created by the evil alien overlord known as Kanjar Ro, it’s up to Ch’p the squirrel Green Lantern and a cadre of super-pets — including Krypto the super-dog, Ace the bat-hound, Beppo the super-monkey, and more — to save the day.
Not to be outdone, Marvel Comics has brought us Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, a new 4-issue full-color comic miniseries by Chris Eliopoulos, Ig Guara, and Chris Sotomayor. Lockjaw, the magical transporting canine of The Inhumans, discovers the existence of power crystals that evil forces intend to use for galactic conquest. He gathers a group of well-know animals from Marvel Comics to help him retrieve the crystals first — among them Ka-Zar’s sabertooth cat Zabu; Lockheed, the alien dragon from various X-Men series; Throg; a frog who looks and acts like The Might Thor; and Redwing, Falcon’s hawk companion.
Returning to the roots!
Antarctic Press and Radio Comix have teamed up once again to bring us the new souped-up Furrlough Color Special #1, in full color, of course! Various artists from both companies have worked together to create this special 48-page funny-animal one-shot: People like Phil “Poinko” Gibson, Smudge, David Davis, Remi Perron, David Goodman, Arthur Goodman, Fred Perry, and Ben Dunn.
The Return of Man-Bat
DC Comics has brought back a popular (especially with anthro-fans) side-character from the Batman series: Dr. Kirk Langstrom, the geneticist whose secret formula frequently changes him into the savage Man-Bat. (Dr. Langstrom’s formula was the source of many human-animal ‘morph plots in the Batman animated TV series.) In the new Man-Bat full-color one-shot (spinning off from plot points in the current Batman: Battle for the Cowl miniseries), Dr. Langstrom is pressed into the services of the evil man known as Dr. Phosphorous — who’s in for much more than he bargained for! The Man-Bat one-shot is written by Joe Harris, with art by Jim Calafiore and a cover by Ladronn (of Hip Flask fame).
New from Boom!
Boom! Studios has quite a roster of full-color comic book mini-series coming along that should be of interest to furry fans of many stripes. Disney/Pixar’s Cars (by Alan J. Porter and Albert Carreres) takes us back to the origins of superstar (supercar?) Lightning McQueen. The Muppet Show (by Roger Langridge) takes us behind the scenes as Fozzie, Ms. Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest try to lift Kermit the Frog out of a deep blue funk — in the most surreal ways imaginable. And Farscape: Strange Detractors (by series creator Rockne S. O’Bannon, with Keith DeCandido and Will Sliney) brings us new adventures (and new dangers) for the crew of the living ship known and Moya. While you’re at it, look for the Farscape Volume 1 hardcover collection, which brings together the first four issues of the Farscape comic by O’Bannon, DeCandido, and Tommy Patterson. All of them should be on the shelves now.
Funny Animals vs. the Undead!
And now for something completely different… Blue Water Comics brings us Vincent Price Presents #7 (in full color, by Chad Helder and Brian Hess). In this issue, adorable forest animals meet the apocolyptic zombie horde! Young Stevie the skunk wants to stink like the other boys at school. But when he makes a devil’s bargain with the sinister magic owl… all hell breaks loose!
From Boy Wizard… to Cat!
Salem the cat is a fan-favorite character from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV series and comic book line. Now the latest issue of Sabrina from Archie Comics begins a 4-issue series of Salem before he became a feline… back when he was a young boy wizard! Everything changes the day that Salem meets a talking frog who says that he was was a wizard, too. The series is brought to you in full color by Ian Flynn and Chad Thomas.