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Save King Mickey!

After what seems like a long long time, this past March Yen Press finally released Kingdom Hearts: The Novel as a single black & white collected manga. Just one that happens to be over 300 pages long! “On the Destiny Islands, three children–Sora, Riku, and Kairi–are living out their peaceful, carefree lives while yearning for whatever lies beyond the great ocean. But one night, an unexpected disaster takes place, and the three are torn from each other and their island home. Meanwhile, at Disney Castle, Donald Duck and the other castle residents are in an uproar upon discovering King Mickey has suddenly gone missing. When fate brings them together, Sora, Donald, and Goofy set out on a grand Disney adventure to find their friends!” Find it over at the Yen Press web site. It’s written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano, based on the original game concept by Tetsuya Nomura.

image c. 2015 Yen Press

image c. 2015 Yen Press

Ratchet That Much Closer to the Big Screen

Today at Cartoon Brew there was an announcement about new developments for the much-anticipated upcoming Ratchet & Clank feature film. (Based on the popular Playstation video game series.  Do we even need to say that?) Now the film has a distributor (Focus Features, also the home of Laika films) and a planned release date: April 29, 2016. Which is close to the time that Insomniac Games plan to release a new Ratchet & Clank adventure for the PS4. “The movie will be directed by Kevin Munroe (TMNT) and co-directed by Jericca Cleland. The film’s voice cast, also announced this week, includes Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Rosario Dawson, and Sylvester Stallone, with Ratchet, Clank, Nefarious, and Captain Qwark voiced by the same actors as in the games. The script was developed with former Insomniac Games and Ratchet & Clank senior writer T.J. Fixman, with original Ratchet & Clank character designer Dave Guertin and weapon/vehicle designer Greg Baldwin also working on designs.” In other words, they’re putting a lot of effort into this thing!

image c. 2015 Insomniac Games

image c. 2015 Insomniac Games

One Lost Teddy Bear. One Big Adventure.

Robert Goodin is an animator who’s worked on TV shows like Rugrats and American Dad. Now he’s taken some time out from that the craft his first hardcover graphic novel, The Kurdles. “In the spirit of Hergé’s Tintin or Carl Barks’ Uncle ScroogeThe Kurdles is an all-ages comic spiced up with a teaspoon of strange. Sally is a teddy bear who gets separated from her owner while on a drive in the country. Desperate to find her way home, she stumbles upon Kurdleton, home to a most peculiar group of characters in the midst of a crisis; their forest house has grown hair, eyes, and a mouth! The creatures work with their new friend to keep Kurdleton from growing legs and running away!” Check it out over at the publisher, Fantagraphics Books.

image c. 2015 by Robert Goodin

image c. 2015 by Robert Goodin

… and They Can Talk to Her

“Kira is a young woman with a secret. She can psychically communicate with animals. She is also on the run from her abusive mate Toril, the hero turned warlord, who led the country’s forces to victory against the outland raiders. Only that was before his love of power consumed him. Now, his only focus is on tracking down Kira and making her punishment an example of his power.” So goes the story of The Healer’s Legacy, the first book in a new young-adult fantasy series by Sharon Skinner. She’s also the author of The Nelig Stones, a fantasy for younger readers featuring villainous talking dragons — and other magical folk. All of this and more can be found at Brick Cave Books. Turns out they also published The Last Incarnation by J.A. Giunta, which was previously reviewed here at In-Fur-Nation.

Image c. 2015 Brick Cave Books

Image c. 2015 Brick Cave Books

Snakes and Leaders

Michelle B. Assor is unlike many people out there: She’s fond of snakes. She actually likes them enough that she made them the star of her own fantasy novel series. The first book is called Snaygill: Slithery Temptations. “At birth, princes Ophis and Neddris barely escape death from a feathered earruda.  They survive, and are destined to inherit the crown of Snaygill, a reptile-driven kingdom that has never before seen the presence of mankind – and is instead inhabited by crafty, mischievous snakes. As the brothers set off on the often bumpy road toward adulthood, they abandon the regal rules and find themselves confronted by temptations that lurk around every corner. Along their extraordinary quest, they attend a deceptive school, engage in forbidden journeys and meet alluring characters who contradict everything they thought they knew about the world. They even fall in love…” Her web site has more on this and other books that she’s working on.

image c. 2015 Michelle B. Assor

image c. 2015 Michelle B. Assor

Here Come the Wolves

Moving to a new town can be hard. Being a half-vampire/half-werewolf hybrid only makes things more complicated. But that’s what confronts teenage Angela, the protagonist of the Alpha Wolf series of books by horror and paranormal author Jennifer Maimone. Making matters more interesting is the fact that Angela’s best friends are all pure werewolves. Then a local werewolf brings them shocking news: Something powerful and demonic has been slaughtering local witches… and may soon turn its attention to werewolves. That’s the start of Demon’s Prize, the first book in the series, with the sequel A Cursed Soul coming out next year. The author’s web site has links to several places you can check out or purchase her books.

image c. 2015 Jennifer Maimone

image c. 2015 Jennifer Maimone

Families of all Sorts

The world’s first quintilingual book has premiered — that is, a book that’s written in five languages at once. It’s called Am I Half Giraffe?, written by Dr. Jungmiwha Bullock and illustrated by Christopher Matthews. Here’s the press release: “Am I Half Giraffe? debuts globally on Lexique Du Monde Press as the first quintilingual book on the children’s book market — five languages, one book, one diverse story. It speaks to the childhood experiences that most children confront about their identities, especially among those who are ever questioned about ‘being different’. It touches on the subtle forms of bullying with regard to diversity, while at the same time teaches a powerful message that the main protagonist in the book figures out.” That protagonist is a young girl whose father is a lion and whose mother is a giraffe — and who must learn to deal with what her fellow school-kids think about that. Find out more about the genesis of this book, and where to find it, at the official web site.

image c. 2015 Christopher Matthews

image c. 2015 Christopher Matthews

Birds of a Feather Learn Together

The Avian Kingdom is a series of illustrated books for young readers created by Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia. In it young birds (and a friendly bat) learn about the world around them and the variety of creatures they must deal with as they grow up. The books are available in English and Spanish (and they include more than a little cross-cultural education in the mix). The official Avian Kingdom web site includes links to the books as well as various on-line educational programs and even downloadable apps for kids — and parents.

image c. 2015 Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia

image c. 2015 Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia

Timeless Tales from an Elderly Rodent

Grandpa Grey is a squirrel who specializes in spinning new fairy tales and fables. He’s the creation of author John William Wisor and illustrator Nila Brereton Hagood, and he’s also the thread weaving together their first book, Grandpa Grey’s Timeless Tales and Fabulous Fables. Among this first collection are stories about dragons, fairies, mermaids, and how God came to create pets. The Grandpa Grey web site has information about the book, illustrations from it, and a preview video for it. Grandpa Grey is represented by a custom-designed plushy toy, which is unfortunately not for sale. But the plushy toy of his eager young story listener, Baby Grey, is for sale.

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com