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Secret of the Stone Frog

David Nytra is a relative newcomer to the world of fantasy graphic novels. Still The Secret of the Stone Frog, his first work as a writer and illustrator, is drawing a lot of interest from fantasy collectors just prior to its release.  “When Leah and Alan awaken in an enchanted forest, they have only each other and their wits to guide them. In a world of pet bees and giant rabbits, they befriend foppish lions and stone frogs, learning to confront danger as they find both their own independence and the way home. Newcomer David Nytra’s breathtaking pictures break the boundaries of imagination, sending the reader on a wild flight of fantasy while experiencing the most universal of stories: Growing up.” According to the pre-order site at Amazon, Toon Books will publish this hardcover black & white graphic novel in early September.

image c. 2012 Toon Books

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sonic

… and his friends. And his adversaries. At least so far as the Archie Comics universe is concerned. The Sonic the Hedgehog Who’s Who is a project that has been in the works since 2010, and put on hiatus several times as Sega Games decided to become involved. Now Archie Comics have announced that the newly-named Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Comic Encyclopedia will be released as a full-color trade paperback this October. “For the Sonic fan on the go and those who want to know it like the pros, this is the long-awaited official source for Sonic the Hedgehog comic info! Includes new, exclusive information not yet revealed in the comic itself and packed with entertaining character and locations listings that definitely explain Sonic’s world, Mobius. It’s a big place that has been featured in hundreds of issues of stories – the longest running video-game inspired hit comic ever!” Written and edited by Ian Flynn, it features art by Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and several others.

image c. 2012 Archie Comics

Werewolves of the Heartland

Furry fans can usually expect some interesting — sometimes silly, sometimes scarey, sometimes gross — anthropomorphic animal stuff to turn up in the pages of Fables, the award-winning comic book series created by Jim Willingham. The latest full-color opus from the DC Comics Vertigo imprint is Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland, illustrated by Jim Fern, Craig Hamilton, Ray Snyder, and Mark Farmer (whew!).  Here’s the publisher’s description from Amazon: “Bigby Wolf takes center stage in the most brutal, action-packed FABLES story to date. Sent out into modern day America at large, Bigby’s on a quest for possible locations for a new Fabletown. In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across a small town named Luperville, somewhere in American’s vast heartland, that, amazingly enough, seems to be populated by werewolves. These werewolves are descendants of a World War II German project to create an army of werewolf super soldiers, some of whom who were infected with Bigby’s tainted blood. And even more unfortunate the fact that they’ve captured, caged and tortured the most popular and important canine in history: Bigby Wolf.” According to Amazon this 144-page hardcover graphic novel will be released in early November.

image c. 2012 DC Comics/Vertigo

He’s Earthworm, Jim

Fans of the animated TV series Earthworm Jim (created, of course, by the one-and-only Doug TenNapel) can now rejoice as Earthworm Jim: The Complete Series has been released as a 3-DVD box set. “Jim was a multi-celled life form happily burrowing through the topsoil. His life changed in a flash when an extraterrestrial super-suit fell out of the sky. Instantly transformed from a 98 gram weakling into a muscular worm endowed with superpowers, extraordinary strength and the ability to leap incredible heights and distances, the suit renders him invulnerable. Earthworm Jim – daring defender of Earth, the cosmos and everything in between!” Got all that? Trust us it only gets stranger when you watch it. The Earthworm Jim DVD box set from Visual Entertainment Inc. is available at Amazon.com.

image c. 2012 Visual Entertainment

Friend to Elves and Animals

The Ascension is a fantasy novel series by J.A. Guinta. The Last Incarnation, first book in the series, was published last year by Brick Cave Books. Here’s the publisher’s description: “The son of a trapper, raised by elves, befriended by animals, entrusted with magic, Barr was but a boy on a journey that had taken many, many lifetimes. Seeking to avenge his father’s death, he would cross into Lumintor, home to shapelings of all manner and size. Little did he know, Revyn, the God of Change, had plans of his own, plans set in motion long before Barr was ever born. It was what Revyn had been waiting for, the time when one of the new races bore a child on its final lesson, a soul on the verge of enlightenment.” This is a link to find The Last Incarnation on Amazon. And that, my friends, is one Big Dog!

image c. 2012 by Brick Cave Books

Ha! It Kills Us!

Word is out around Hollywood that 80’s favorite ALF will be coming to the big screen finally. In case you need a refresher: “ALF stands for Alien Life Form, and the ’80s sitcom centered on a friendly furry alien creature (a puppet) who crash landed on Earth and took up with the Tanners, a suburban family. ALF, whose name was later revealed as Gordon Shumway, is sarcastic and has an appetite for cats. He courts trouble with government forces that are on his tail.” According to the article in Hollywood Reporter (and elsewhere), Jordan Kerner — who produced last year’s hit movie The Smurfs — was pegged by Sony Pictures to produce the new picture. Again, it will be a live-action feature film with ALF himself as a CGI character. Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco, creators of the original TV series,  will be involved as co-producers. Paul Fusco was also ALF’s main puppeteer and voice actor, and he’s expected to be the character voice for the new film as well. So far there’s no word as to a main script writer, a director, or a planned release date… but watch your cats just in case.

image c. 2012 Alien Productions

Chevalier Returns

We received this note from Darryl Hughes and Monique MacNaughton:The furry fantasy adventure Chevalier: The Queen’s Mouseketeer, which ran from 2010 to 2011 before abruptly disappearing after the loss of it’s publishing deal, is returning in the fall. Character design sketches of the new look cast for the reboot have been posted here.” Following the link you find Coydog’s Den, which is a hosting site for several on-line comic adventures — anthropomorphic and otherwise.

image c. 2012 by Darryl Hughes and Monique MacNaughton

 

A Different Kind of Monster Battle

If you haven’t seen it so far, Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters is the latest “re-imagining” of a classic product line to premier on The Hub network — in this case back in June. Kaijudo is a new version of the Duel Masters series by Wizards of the Coast (which, like The Hub, is a division of Hasbro Toys). This time around, the creators of this new show (specifically Andrew Robinson and Henry Gilroy from The Hub) wanted to have a different take on the “young kids and their fighting pet monsters” genre. The creatures of Kaijudo come to Earth from another dimension, and they can’t just be called up or sent back by the flip of a card. What’s more, our hero — a young boy named Ray, voiced by Scott Wolf) — has a special power of empathy with the monsters, and so he is very connected when they are hurt or made to suffer.  According to the creators, they wanted a show where the heroes, the villains, and even the companion monsters show much more personality than shows like these have seen in the past.  Have they succeeded? Find out for yourself. New episodes of Kaijudo currently air on The Hub on Saturdays at 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific. Check out the official Kaijudo web page from The Hub as well.

image c. 2012 by The Hub

This Year’s Winning Frog

The July issue of Animation Magazine featured the 2012 Pitch Party, which has become an annual event.  The idea is simple: Entrants purchase a 1/16th-page ad in the magazine, and submit a one-panel “pitch” for a new animated TV series or feature. A panel of animation industry experts, the staff of Animation Magazine, and on-line readers each get a chance to pick their favorites.  Those industry folk this year included names from Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, PBS, and the Hub among others. And the top pick from both those bigwigs and the Animation staff was Jimmy Legs: The Down and Out Frog, created by Daniel Contois — the story of a cartoon frog living in America following a nuclear apocalypse. Oh what fun! And you can see the development of it at Dan’s web site.  But there were plenty of other entries of possible interest to furry fans, including Detective Cats (web site), Little Monsters (web site), Road Kill Heroes (web site), Swamp Stalkers (web site), Mad Cow (web site), Samurai Chinchilla (web site), and Bad Penguin (web site). And of course check out Animation’s web site to find out more about this year’s Pitch Party, and next year’s too.

image c. 2012 by Daniel Contois