Sorry. After a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, Rachele Aragno (and her associates, Dave Ryan and Robert J. Sodaro) announced that Owl Girls will soon be available from Red Anvil Comics — you can check it out at their web site. “Not everything is as it seems, especially in the SoHo district of 1940’s New York City. No, in fact, things are not always quite what they seem. There are shadows and alleyways of the world that are not normally traversed by mortal men, and in those shadowy realms, there exist things that must be dealt with by those that can divine their presence and root out that evil. This is the world of the Owl Girls, a trio of sisters who for reasons that pass understanding have the heads of Owls and the bodies of human women. Virtually every culture in the world offers up myths and legends about the nature of Owls, and we here in America are no different. These three women (Magda, Martha, and Maggie) are attempting to live normal lives, only they have mystical abilities, oh yes, and they talk to Death; an old woman who visits them at odd moments during the day, and whose bidding they sometimes do.” Got all that?
Beasts Invade the Rain Forest
It might seem like an age ago, but earlier this year the animated sensation of the moment was Rio 2. Now that we’ve moved on to the summer, Paperkutz have announced a new tie-in graphic novel, carrying on after the events of that film. “While recording bird calls, Linda loses her new digital recorder, but when Blu finds it, it’s full of strange and horrifying growls! Is some sort of new predator on the loose in the sanctuary? Before the gang can solve the mystery themselves, monster-hunters and reality shows invade, turning their quiet jungle home into pandemonium. ” Rio 2: The Creature from Blu’s Lagoon is written by Arie Kaplan and illustrated by James Silvani. The full-color trade paperback is available for pre-ordering; otherwise look for it in stores this fall.
The FIRST Foul-Mouthed Teddy?
Word is spreading fast that the creators of the Ursa-Major-nominated film Ted are facing a lawsuit. “The creators of web series about a foul-mouthed teddy bear with a penchant for drinking, smoking and prostitutes have filed a copyright infringement suit against Seth MacFarlane, Universal Pictures and the producers of Ted, the 2012 film about a foul-mouthed teddy bear with a penchant for drinking, smoking and prostitutes. Bengal Mangle Productions claims that Ted ‘is an unlawful copy’ of its own animated teddy, who was featured in two different web series, Charlie The Abusive Teddy and Acting School Academy. The suit, filed today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, states that those web series aired in 2009 and 2010 on You Tube, FunnyOrDie.com and other streaming websites.” Any merit to this? So far the targets of the lawsuit haven’t responded, but you can visit Charlie’s official web site and check things out for yourself.
One Bad Werewolf
This month, Image Comics brings us the first trade paperback collection of Bad Dog, titled Volume 1: In the Land of Milk and Money. “Two bounty hunters, an angst-ridden werewolf and his deviant partner, stumble through the southwest in search of cash, booze, and the meaning of life. Mostly, they find booze.” Bringing together issues #1 through #6 of this full-color series by writer Joe Kelly and artist Diego Greco, Milk and Money is available now at Comic Book Round Up.
I Vant to Suck Your Petrol
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: Anthropomorphics means anthropomorphic anything. To that end, witness this… Monster Motors. “The once-quiet town of Transylvania, Kentucky is under attack from Cadillacula, an evil vampire-car that sucks the gas out of other vehicles! The more victims he claims, the more powerful he gets. Genius mechanic Vic Frankenstein has a solution: Build a monster to fight a monster. Vic and his android assistant iGOR (interactive Garage Operations Robot) assemble a giant truck from the pieces of the town’s fallen vehicles. Frankenride is born, and the battle between good and evil hits the road!” You heard it here, folks. The Monster Motors full-color one-shot from IDW (written by Brian Lynch and illustrated by Nick Roche) comes to comic shops later this month. Check it out at Previews World.
Power Bunny
More 80’s furry comic nostalgia! Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew was, of course, DC Comics jumping head-first into the growing funny animal scene with a Warner Brothers meets Superheroes pastiche created by Scott Shaw! and Roy Thomas. Now DC have brought together the original full-color issue #1 through #20 of CC in a new trade paperback, Showcase Presents: Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew. The collection also features a team-up with the original Teen Titans, as well as the special and little-seen 3-issue Oz/Wonderland War mini-series (which the Super Rabbit and his cohorts had a large part in). It’s available for order now, and hits the shelves this August.
One Scared Little Bird
Lauri and Jaakko Ahonen created an Indiegogo campaign for their darkly comic full-color graphic novel Jaybird. Evidently it was quite successful, as now it’s been published! “Little Jaybird lives in a very large house alone with his bedridden mother. Portraits of dignified ancestors look down upon him from dusty walls. At times also a curious spider peeks from between the cobwebs. Even though it’s safe inside the house, with its doors barred and windows boarded up, reality can’t be shut outside forever.” It’s available now for download (complete with original soundtrack music), and this September Dark Horse Press will release it in a hardcover book edition.
Return of the Ghost Warrior
Ten years ago furry fandom — and animation fandom in general — saw an amazing new event with the premier of Kaze: Ghost Warrior. A multi-species fantasy adventure, it was most astounding for having been financed, designed, voiced, animated, and rendered by one person. Now creator Amadhia Albee — having spent the interim as a professional effects animator — has decided the time is right for a resurrection of the warrior tiger. Kaze: Winds of Change is to be a new series of audio dramas following Kaze and his world, this time with a full crew of voice actors, musicians, and singers involved. The project has a Kickstarter campaign going — and as of this writing they have already exceeded their goal, but you can still contribute to get involved and be kept up to date.
Fur is White, But Blood is Red
Happy Fourth of July! Hope it finds you all safe.
Celebrating 30 years of the bunny with brawn (and a very sharp sword), creator Stan Sakai brings us the Usagi Yojimbo Color Special: The Artist, a new one-shot coming this month from Dark Horse Press. “The artist of 47 Ronin returns to his signature creation in a new one-shot collecting four Usagi Yojimbo tales in full color, from the pages of Dark Horse Presents and MySpace DHP! In this issue, Usagi encounters ghosts, thugs, pumpkins(?!), and a foreign artist with a price on his head!” You’ll find it at the Dark Horse web site and of course many other places.








