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Save Yourself

Here’s a different take on the traditional princess vs. dragon story: “Princeless is about Princess Adrienne who lives in a land of fairy-tale castles.  When the Princesses reach age 16 they are put in a tower guarded by a fearsome dragon, where they languish until a dashing would-be Prince comes to rescue them.  It’s traditional.  Apparently knowing which end of a sword to stick in a dragon is a fit test for kingship…  Adrienne isn’t pleased with this state of affairs, and after one particularly luckless knight turns up she decides she’s had enough.  Chatting late into the night with Sparky (the dragon) they decide to abandon the castle, fake her own death and set off on a quest to save her sisters from their towers.” Fantasy creatures and fantasy tropes show up aplenty in this series, and none of them looked at in the traditional way. Now Action Lab Comics have released Princeless: Save Yourself, which collects the first story arc of the series (written by Jeremy Whitley and illustrated by M. Goodwin) into one handy full-color trade paperback. Check out their blog.

image c. 2012 Action Lab Comics

New Turtles This Fall!

Our friends at Cartoon Brew have a link to the first trailer for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, premiering this fall on Nickelodeon. This new CGI series (similar to the TMNT feature from 2007) features the voices of Jason Biggs (American Pie) as Leonardo, Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) as Raphael, Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs) as Donatello, and Greg Cipes (Teen Titans) as Michelangelo. “Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles chronicles the adventures of the teenage turtle brothers as they emerge from their hidden lair in the sewers for the very first time. Ready to confront the wondrous and hostile world of New York City, they face enemies more dangerous and pizza more delicious than anything they could have ever imagined.” The trailer premiered on Nickelodeon last Saturday.

image c. 2012 Nickelodeon

The Ursa Major Awards Anthology

As Furry Fandom’s Ursa Major Awards enter their 10th year, Fred Patten (a long-time member of the Awards’ parent organization, the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association) has collected and edited some of the best winners and nominees from the Awards’ “Short Fiction” category into a new book, the Ursa Major Awards Anthology. It’s coming at the end of June from Fur Planet Productions. Featuring short stories by Brock Hoagland, Michael H. Payne, M.C.A. Hogarth, Chas P.A. Melville, Kristin Fontaine, Kyell Gold, Jim Hayden, Samuel C. Conway, Paul Di Filippo, and Naomi Kritzer, as well as original illustrations, the anthology also features a new wrap-around cover by Blotch. Sample copies of the anthology were available at Anthrocon — and sold briskly. You can find out more  at Fur Planet Productions’ pre-order page.

image c. 2012 Fur Planet Productions

Pandering. Do it.

Look, we know that we very recently did a report on Chew: Secret Agent Poyo from Image Comics. Well even more recently they lobbed a curve-ball right at us, and we thought we’d better respond.  So first off, what is Chew? Here’s the description from Wikipedia: “Chew is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book series written by John Layman with art by Rob Guillory and published by Image Comics. It is a story about an FDA Agent who solves crimes by getting psychic impressions by eating things, including people.” Got that? Okay. Well now comes the announcement for issue #28 of the regular Chew series.  Check out the cover below, and check out this description from Image: “‘Space Cakes’,Part Three. Remember last story arc when Tony Chu got kidnapped? This issue he gets kidnapped again! How lame is that? Meanwhile, we shamelessly pander to comics’ coveted ‘furry’ demographic.” Got that? Okay.  We don’t know anything more about it, but we figure if they’re going to pander to us, we’ll pander right back at them.  So there!

image c. 2012 Image Comics

Foxy Lady! Wolfy Lady!

Gotta love the Japanese sometimes — especially their animation, of course. Kanokon is a direct-to-video animated series from Media Blasters.  It is decidedly adult in nature, though not pornographic. Here, we’ll let them describe it: “Kouta, a country boy who lives with his grandfather, is moving to the city to attend high school. Changes come with his new home and new school, but nothing could have prepared the gentle young man for girls, specifically a bombshell fox spirit named Chizuru! As if her aggressive advances weren’t enough, he also catches the attention of a frosty wolf spirit named Nozomu. Kouta is dragged into supernatural events as a result of his contact with the two girls, and his school life only gets more chaotic by the day. But with a girl who gives ‘foxy’ new meaning and another howling after him, things are looking up for his love life.”  Now Media Blasters have released all the Kanokon episodes in one DVD collection.  RightStuf.com has information on it and other special releases from the series.

image c. 2012 Media Blasters

Play-Mate of the Apes?

We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: We couldn’t make up some of this stuff if we tried. Somehow we missed the 2002 direct-to-video film Play-Mate of the Apes, a soft-core erotic spoof starring Misty Mundae. It’s described and discussed on the Internet Movie Database, though. Now Seduction Cinema Comics is presenting the Play-Mate of the Apes Deluxe Pack, coming (no pun) this July. The Deluxe Pack not only features the original film on DVD, but also a brand-new full-color comic book version of the film written by John Bacchus (the original film’s director) and illustrated by Noel Scotch Anderson. What’s it all about? “Sexy and fearless U.S. astronaut Gaylor and her shipmates crash land on a desolate planet dominated by a tyrannical race of intelligent talking apes, sparking a revolution of untamed and uninhibited female lust that threatens to bring down the repressive ape society…or set it free!” You heard it here. You can check it out on Things From Another World, too.

image c. 2012 Seduction Cinema

Furries on Stage in Southern California

Jeff Goode is the creator of American Dragon: Jake Long for the Disney Channel. Previous to that he was well-known as a playwright, responsible for such works as The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. He has also been a Guest of Honor at several furry fandom conventions. Combine all those facts and you might just have an explanation for his latest work for the stage, Fursona Non Grata. Here’s what the press release says: “A young woman raised furry brings her mundane fiancé home for the holidays to meet her family for the first time.  Fur-larity ensues. Screenwriter and playwright Jeff Goode, the creator of Disney’s American Dragon: Jake Long and the author of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues is developing a new stage play for SkyPilot Theatre Company in Los Angeles, inspired in part by his misadventures as a GoH at Califur, Rocket City Furmeet and Oklacon.  The original comedy Fursona Non Grata will have its first public reading on:  Sunday, June 17 @ 3:00 p.m.  at the Sherry Theater, 11052 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA. Admission is Free! Featuring Katie Apicella, Jude Evans, Brett Fleisher, Kelly Goodman, Joanna Kalafatis, Christian Levatino, Bart Petty, Rosina Pinchot, and Julia Sanford.  There will be a post-reading talk-back with the author.  This will be a chance for actors, audience and the furry fandom to give the author direct feedback on this new work-in-progress which is set to premiere in 2013 as part of SkyPilot’s main stage season.” Fursona Non Grata also has its own Facebook page where you can learn more about the new production.

image c. 2012 Sky Pilot Theater

Bird and Squirrel… and Cat!

Animator James Burks (who previously gave us Gabby & Gator from Yen Press) returns with Bird & Squirrel Volume 1: On the Run, a new full-color graphic novel from Graphix Press. “Bird and Squirrel outwit Cat and become best friends in this zany adventure. Squirrel is afraid of his own shadow. Bird doesn’t have a care in the world. And Cat wants to eat Bird and Squirrel. Of course, he’ll have to catch them first, and that’s not going to be easy. Join this trio as they head south for the winter in a hilarious road trip. But watch out! Cat is waiting around every bend, and he’s one pesky feline.” Barnes & Noble have pre-order information for the book, which is coming this August.

image c. 2012 James Burks

The Avenging Bat… Bat

New from Image Comics this July: “Man of Action Studios — creators of the international hit Ben 10 — return with an all-new big book for little readers! Livingston is a peaceful fruit bat whose life changes when he is bitten by a vampire and transformed into a vampire bat!  As Batula — an avenging creature of the night — Livingston develops a taste for adventure and a need to prove that no matter what he looks like on the outside, he’s still the same bat on the inside. A full-color story book by Frankie Stein creators Steven Seagle [writing] and Marco Cinello [art]!” Visit Image Comics’ preview page to find out more about Batula (and see some interior art).

image c. 2012 Image Comics