Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
We actually heard about this from several sources: Tuca & Bertie is a new 2D animated series coming soon to Netflix. It stars comedian Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) as Tuca, “a cocky, care-free toucan who’s friends with a 30-something and anxious songbird (the titular Bertie)”. Ms. Haddish is also executive producer on the show, which was created by BoJack Horseman producer and designer Lisa Hanawalt. AV Club has more information about it, but no premier date yet.
image c. 2018 Netflix
Disney Channel is bringing back a childhood memory for many, and perhaps creating new memories for a new generation. This March they will premier a new Muppet Babies TV series as part of their Disney Junior line-up. (If you didn’t know, back in the 1990’s the original Muppet Babies 2D animated series was so successful that it spawned a flood of imitators, including Disney Babies and Warner Brother Babies, no less.) Interestingly, this will be the first Muppet TV series animated in CGI. (Also interesting: Jenny Slate (Dawn Bellwether from Zootopia) is one of the voice actors.) According to Animation Scoop: “Based on the original Emmy Award-winning series, the all-new CG-animated Muppet Babies chronicles the hilarious playroom antics of the young Kermit the Frog, Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal and brand-new Muppet Baby, Summer Penguin. The series will feature guest appearances by fan-favorite Muppets including: Statler and Waldorf, Bunsen and Beaker, Rowlf the Dog, Rizzo, and Dr. Teeth. Set in the vibrant playroom of an urban brownstone with an expansive backyard, the Muppet Babies have everything they need at their fingertips to lead them on their fantastical adventures.” The article has a lot more information, and a preview clip as well. Look for the new series to debut March 23rd.
image c. 2018 Disney Channel
Atlas & Axis is a well-known and award-nominated funny-animal adventure graphic novel from Europe, written and illustrated by Pau. Now Titan Comics have brought us the first English-language edition, and they’re releasing it as a 4-issue comic miniseries through their Statix imprint. The publishers describe it like this: “In the fantastical world of Pangea, all the animals talk and walk on two paws. Warriors Atlas and Axis are mutts of very different pedigrees: Atlas is intelligent and rational, a calculating hero, while Axis is more likely to take a wild swing when his blood runs hot. When our roaming adventurers return home to find Viking raiders – brutes from the North who pillage and kill all who fall under their claws – have destroyed their village, they set off on a perilous quest across land and sea to save what remains of their friends and family!” Comicon.com have a more detailed look that includes several preview pages. And don’t be fooled: This is not a cute all-ages comic book!
image c. 2018 Statix Press
Bobby Timony (art) and his twin brother Peter Timony (writing) are the creators of Night Owls, an award-winning series from DC Comics that’s been available in print and on line since 2009. This Roaring-20’s-style adventure tells the story of two humans and a gargoyle who team up to solve supernatural mysteries. It features more than its fair share of non-human characters too, mind you. If you visit their web site (called, appropriately enough, Twin Comics) you’ll see much more of Bobby’s art and the brothers’ work on other comic series they offer on-line now. Among them Goblin Hood, Widdershins Wilderness Scouts, and (furriest of them all) McCool: Sheriff of Dogwood.
image c. 2018 twincomics.com
Jessica Reilly and Patrick Reilly have both served in the U.S. military — she’s still in, while he recently left after nearly a decade of service. In their free time, they formed a company called Zonks Illustration as an outlet for their creative endeavors. Among other things they’ve been working on Five Realms, a multi-species fantasy comic adventure reminiscent of Mouse Guard. He writes it, she illustrates it. You can see examples of her works over at their Zonks Etsy store. They also have a Patreon to try and get Five Realms out to the world.
image c. 2018 by Jessica Reilly
Another discovery from Long Beach Comic Expo was Pindabear, home for “super fresh enamel pins”. Featuring designs from anime, American cartoons, Pokemon, and other fannish pursuits. Over at their web site they have all their current designs, and they’re taking orders now for new pins as well as sold-out designs from the past they plan to re-stock real soon.
image c. 2018 pindabear.com
A recent discovery from the Long Beach Comic Expo. Seung Woo Cha currently works as a director at Dreamworks TV… but he is also a fine artist, known for his imaginative depictions of wild life from around the world — especially gorillas and other apes. Often working in black ink, he paints in broad artistic strokes that nonetheless capture the essence and power of his subjects. Recently he collected several of his works together into a hardcover portfolio book, appropriately enough entitled The Art of Wild Life. You can purchase the book over at his web site, and see examples of his work as well.
image c. 2018 Draw 4 Life Studios
We found this in a recent Previews magalog: Stabbity Bunny, written by Richard Rivera, illustrated by Dwayne Biddix, and published by Scout Comics. “Seven-year-old Grace, still clutching her adorable plush bunny, is kidnapped by supernatural forces that have been hunting her family for generations. She awakens in a shack on the outskirts of town, and for the first time in her life, the little girl can’t sense her mother’s presence. Her captor knows the family’s secrets, and that link has been severed. When her escape attempt fails, it seems there will be deadly consequences, but an unlikely protector intervenes. It’s a big mistake to kidnap a child with a plush toy named Stabbity Bunny!” Oh you just know someone is working on a movie adaptation of this, don’t you?
image c. 2018 Scout Comics
New from Humanoids we have Dragonseed, a full-color fantasy graphic novel written by Kurt McClung (Might & Magic) and illustrated by the team of Jimenez and Mateo Guerrero (Warlands). “For centuries the men and creatures of Krath have prepared for a conflict that many hoped would never happen. A half-blood, Adam Serre Shadow, now has just two moons to find the thief of the teardrop stone, stolen from his fire-breathing father, before the Council of Elders trigger all-out war. The son of a Dragon will stop at nothing to find the magical relic and preserve the fragile peace that still exists between the two species.” It’s available now as a digital comic and as a deluxe hardcover.
image c. 2018 Humanoids
