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Some Horses Would Rather Dance

Magnetic Press (who seem to be very busy this year!) have a new hardcover illustrated book out called Centurion & Emperador. “At the Gamble Ranch, all of the animals have a special talent.  All of them except for Centurion and Emperador, two baby horses delivered by a couple of confused storks lost in a storm.  When the ranch owners decide they’ll grow up to be race horses, Centurion and Emperador do their best to be the best.  But what they prove to be best at is quite different from racing… An adorable story about finding your passion,  based on the real-life dancing horses of Gamble Ranch.” It’s written by none other than actor & comedian Rob Schneider (Norm of the North) and his wife, actress & writer Patricia Schneider. The full-color illustration is by Disney and Marvel artist Francisco Herrera (Deadpool). Magnetic Press has a preview.

image c. 2016 Magnetic Press

image c. 2016 Magnetic Press

Taking a TRIP Down Memory Lane

A lot of animation fans who weren’t around in the late 1960’s (or who weren’t watching cartoons regularly yet!) may not remember the very, very strange Depatie-Freleng series called Here Comes The Grump. Well now according to Cartoon Brew there’s going to be a new CGI version of the series and a CGI movie to kick things off — thanks to Mexico’s Anima Estudios, which previously brought us the CGI Top Cat movies a couple of years ago.  As for Here Comes The Grump, “The film tells the story of teenage boy Terry who has been transported to a magical land where he and some new friends must defeat a mean-spirited wizard called The Grump.” There’s some well-known talent behind the film: “Here Comes the Grump is based on a script from Jim Hecht (Ice Age: The Meltdown) and designs by Craig Kellman (Madagascar, Sausage Party, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania). It is being directed by Andres Couturier, who also helmed Anima’s 2015 feature Top Cat Begins.” No word yet on any distribution planned for North America. Besides the grumpy wizard’s rather klutzy dragon, the Grump’s world features many fantastic creatures — and some that likely will only make sense if you’ve been chemically enhanced. Maybe.

image c. 2016 Anima Estudios

image c. 2016 Anima Estudios

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We Could Use Some Rainbows

And now for something a little less serious in comics… or at least, a lot more cute. Lion Forge bring us the on-paper version of the latest Care Bares digital comic, Care Bears: Rainbow River Rescue. “When Wonderheart Bear finds an old map of Care-a-Lot, she takes her friends to a long-forgotten part of the Forest of Feelings, where Humming Storks like to nest. The Storks have all flown south for the winder, except for one baby bird who was too sick to fly and got left behind! It’s up to Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear, and Grumpy Bear to reunite their new friend, Dizzy the Humming Stork, with her family on Far-Flung Island, through whitewater rapids, falling rocks, a few wrong turns, and at least one wild Panthrokeet.” This full-color (of course!) graphic story collection was written by Georgia Ball and illustrated by Melanie Gillman. It’s available now.

image c. 2016 Lion Forge

image c. 2016 Lion Forge

And More Birds From Europe

While checking out Manou the Swift we came across the trailer for another animated bird film, Richard the Stork. “Orphaned at birth and raised by storks, the teenage sparrow Richard believes he is one of them. But when the time comes to migrate to Africa, his stork family is forced to reveal his true identity and leave him behind in the forest, since he is not a migratory bird and would not survive the journey. Determined to prove he is a stork after all, Richard ventures south on his own. But only with the help of Olga, an eccentric owl with an imaginary friend and Kiki, a narcissistic, disco-singing parakeet, does he stand a chance to reach his goal and learn to accept who he really is.” It’s written and directed by Toby Genkel and Reza Memari, the same team that brought us All Creatures Big and Small (aka Ooops! Noah is Gone!) back in 2015. No word yet if Richard will be distributed in North America.

image c. 2016 Global Screen

image c. 2016 Global Screen

Die Bird ist das Word

A new announcement over at Cartoon Brew: The German visual FX house Luxx Studio (known for their work on features like White House Down and Independence Day: Resurgence) have started work in earnest on their first CGI feature film, Manou the Swift. “The cg animated film, which is still a work in progress, is set for release in 2017. It tells the story of a swift who grows up thinking he is seagull but soon finds out his real calling.” The article includes a teaser trailer — which oddly does not seem to include the main character.

Image c. 2016 Studio Luxx

Image c. 2016 Luxx Studios

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The Hog Returns — A New Man

This is an odd one — but what about the world of Jim Woodring isn’t? Back in 2010 the creator of the iconic/weird-and-wordless funny animal comic Frank brought us his first graphic novel, Weathercraft. Now Fantagraphics Books have re-released in a new hardcover format with some additional new artwork. “As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring’s pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog), who had previously made several appearances in Frank stories (as well as a stunning solo turn in the short story “Gentlemanhog”). After enduring 32 pages of almost incomprehensible suffering, Manhog embarks upon a transformative journey and attains enlightenment. He wants to go to celestial realms but instead altruistically returns to the Unifactor to undo a wrong he has inadvertently brought about: The transformation of the evil politician Whim into a mind-destroying plant-demon who distorts and enslaves Frank and his friends. The new and metaphysically expanded Manhog sets out for a final battle with Whim…” It may or may not make more sense if you pick it up, but it will be very interesting. Check it out over at Fantagraphics.

image c. 2016 Fantagraphics

image c. 2016 Fantagraphics

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Dream a Little Dream of Dogs

We couldn’t even begin to describe this one, folks. So we’ll leave that up to the publisher, Drawn & Quarterly: “Dogs and Water chronicles a piece of a lonely journey, without origin or destination. A young man wandering a nameless path has only a stuffed bear as a companion, which inertly endures his desperation, anger and musings along the way. The landscape is cold and bleak with few landmarks, and offers only precarious encounters with animals and armed men. These interactions are rife with instinct, the drive for survival, and human ethics concerning the killed and injured. He finds acceptance with a pack of dogs, though their nature is wild and their potential threat is as unsettling as the sudden presence of a massive pipeline on the horizon. In a dreamlike state, the endless land becomes a vast body of water where his boat is destroyed and his body floats in a subconscious space. On land, the road disappears and only blind circumstance remains. All is uncertain and all can be lost, but he continues on regardless. Created by Anders Nilsen, it’s available now in hardcover.

image c. 2016 Drawn & Quarterly

image c. 2016 Drawn & Quarterly

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A Cop Who Moonlights — Literally!

You may recall the comedy/horror film WolfCop from a couple years ago now. Well, it seems that Dynamite Entertainment have taken it upon themselves to adapt the movie into comic book form. “Ever since hard-drinking local Woodhaven police officer Lou Garou had a late-night bender and stumbled onto dark magic, his life has been turned upside down. Now he moonlights as WolfCop, a rage-fueled, bourbon-swilling, magnum-toting, rabid warrior for justice! WolfCop #1 sees everyone’s favorite alcoholic lycanthropic lawman tearing out of the big screen and onto these gorgeous pages to fight bigger, badder, and meaner monsters than anything that has threatened Woodhaven before!” It’s written by Max Marks and illustrated in full color by Arcana Studios. The first issue is on the shelves now.

image c. 2016 Dynamite Entertainment

image c. 2016 Dynamite Entertainment

The Boy and the Bear are Back

Speaking of Mike Kunkel (which we were recently), he returns with a new edition of Herobear and The Kid in the Herobear and the Kid 2016 Fall Special, out now from Boom! Studios. “Tyler and Herobear are able to stop the dinosaurs that are attacking the parade, but at what cost? With the help of Elmo (oh yeah, Elmo totally knows that Tyler and his stuffed animal are Herobear and the Kid!), they soon discover that Von Klon has kidnapped Henry!” Trust us, it makes sense if you’ve read the previous installments. What, you haven’t? Go do that now! Then check out the preview pages over at Comic Book Resources. Below is the special variant cover by well-known comic creator Roger Langridge.

image c. 2016 Boom! Studios

image c. 2016 Boom! Studios