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A Legend in his Own Mind

He’s a vegan hippie with super powers, sort of. He’s Ethan Young, hero of Tails, an on-line comic… written and illustrated by Ethan Young. Maybe we’d better let the publisher explain: “Quirky, funny, and surreal, Tails follows the semi-autobiographical exploits of Ethan, a vegan cartoonist with super powers (sort of). Ethan uses his comic book creation Crusader Cat to escape from the real world, but things get interesting when his escapist work starts to talk back to him. Poignant, funny, and daring, Tails is an unflinching portrait of a believable character as he starts falling into the abyss of an unbelievable world, with results ranging from hilarious to heart-breaking”. Now Hermes Press have announced they are publishing the first Tails collection in graphic novel form, Tails: Book One. Look for this new black & white trade paperback in April, or you can pre-order it on Amazon right now.

image c. 2012 Hermes Press

Return to the Outland

Barely a month after retiring his world-famous Bloom County comic strip in 1989, creator Berke Breathed returned with a new Sunday-only full-color strip, Outland. It featured many of the original Bloom County characters, including Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin, in new adventures. Now IDW Publishing has put together Berke Breathed’s Outland: The Complete Library, a 320-page hardcover collection of all the Outland strips from 1989 through 1995, scanned and reprinted from Berke Breathed’s original artwork. It will also include a collection of very rare Academia Waltz strips, which Berke Breathed began in college before he created Bloom County. Mile High Comics has a detailed write-up on the book, which is coming to stores this May.

image c. 2012 IDW Publishing

Dinosaurs vs. Aliens

Here’s a power-house of a collaboration! Barry Sonnenfeld, director of all three Men in Black movies (the third is coming up) has announced a new project: A graphic novel and movie to be called Dominion: Dinosaurs versus Aliens. Both the graphic novel and the movie script will be written by comic book writing superstar Grant Morrison, known for utterly re-inventing numerous comic book lines, including DC’s Animal Man. This is from Previews magalog: “When an alien invasion attacks Earth in the age of the dinosaurs, the planet’s only hope is the giants that roam the planet with, it turns out, a lot more intelligence than previously realized.” The graphic novel will be illustrated by Mukesh Singh (who previously teamed with Grant Morrison on 18 Days) and published by Liquid Comics later this year. A special preview of the graphic novel will be available for free (of course) on Free Comic Book Day, May 5th. No word yet on a release date for the movie, but Deadline.com has an extensive story on the project and an interview with Barry Sonnenfeld.

image c. 2012 Liquid Comics

The Lost Dr. Seuss — Found!

“It’s the literary equivalent of buried treasure!” That’s more than just publisher’s hyperbole. It might just be the best description of The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, published last fall in hardcover by Random House. For the first time it collects together 7 original stories by Dr. Seuss that have not seen the light of day since they were first published in magazines from 1948 to 1959. From Amazon: “Seuss scholar/collector Charles D. Cohen has hunted down seven rarely seen stories by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in magazines between 1948 and 1959, they include ‘The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga’ (about a rabbit who is saved from a bear with a single eyelash!); ‘Gustav the Goldfish’ (an early, rhymed version of the Beginner Book ‘A Fish Out of Water’); ‘Tadd and Todd’ (a tale passed down via photocopy to generations of twins); ‘Steak for Supper’ (about fantastic creatures who follow a boy home in anticipation of a steak dinner); ‘The Bippolo Seed’ (in which a scheming feline leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision); ‘The Strange Shirt Spot’ (the inspiration for the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back); and ‘The Great Henry McBride’ (about a boy whose far-flung career fantasies are only bested by those of the real Dr. Seuss himself). In an introduction to the collection, Cohen traces the history of these stories, which demonstrate an intentional and significant change that led to the writing style we associate with Dr. Seuss today. Cohen also explores these stories’ themes that recur in better-known Seuss stories (like the importance of the imagination, or the perils of greed). With a color palette that has been enhanced beyond the limitations of the original magazines in which they appeared, this is a collection of stories that no Seuss fan (whether scholar or second-grader) will want to miss!” It’s also available as an audio book CD with stories being read by the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Anjelica Houston, Jason Lee, Joan Cusack, and more.

image c. 2011 Random House

Lycanthropy Can Be Funny

More e-books we’ve stumbled across… Check out Lycanthropy Anonymous by J.A. Konrath. This 2011 book concerns lycanthropy — shapeshifting — and the myriad ways it can make your life complicated. Here, check out the publisher’s description from Amazon: “It isn’t easy being a werewolf. Especially when you’re a newbie at shapeshifting. Lucky, there’s a group called Shapeshifters Anonymous that will help you work through the difficult times, like eating your friends, and shedding. When recently turned werewolf Robert Weston Smith discovers his new found abilities in a humorous (but alarming) way, he seeks out the support group to help him figure things out. There he meets various characters who transform into assorted, odd things, including a sexy werecheetah named Irena. But little did Weston know he’d been followed to this private gathering, by someone who wants to do the therianthropes a great deal of harm… ” The description goes on, “Shapeshifters Anonymous is a 12,000 word novella, specifically formatted for Kindle. It contains a handful of werepeople, a dash of romance, some gratuitous humor, and revisionist Xmas theories. It also has previews of Konrath’s other work.” And it’s available for the Kindle right now.

image c. 2011 J.A. Konrath

 

Underdog is Here Again

Those who only know Underdog from the rather odd 2007 live-action movie, sorry you! Underdog was a hit animated TV series produced by Total Television (who were also responsible for Tennessee Tuxedo), starting in 1964 and running more than 120 episodes until 1973 (and in re-runs ever since). Now Shout Factory have released the complete original series on DVD for the first time, featuring all 124 episodes in a 9-disc box set. Watch as Shoeshine Boy and his super-powered alter ego, Underdog, battle the evil likes of Riff Raff and Simon Bar Sinister to protect his true love, Sweet Polly Purebread. The DVDs also include original episodes of the Underdog back-up shorts GoGo Gophers, Klondike Kat, and Commander McBrag. Check it out at Shout Factory’s web site.

image c. 2012 by Shout Factory

Angry Birds on Paper

If you’re not busy flinging feathered folk at pig castles, you might check out these new Angry Birds tie-in books (from rovio.com, of course). How best to describe Angry Birds: Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes? Here, we’ll let them do it: “Be a pig for a day, no worries in the world, no Angry Birds trying to knock you down. The kitchen is your pigpen and life’s good! So go ‘head, crack an egg or two and fling your awesome self to new levels of egg-cellence with these easy and fuss-free (for the most part) recipes, addictively fun activities and impressive party moves. From the classics to off the wall, these top-secret egg recipes will fill your tummy and tickle your brain!” You heard ’em. Also available are the Angry Birds Big Red Doodle Book and Angry Birds Big Green Doodle Book, filled with fun drawing activities for Angry Birds fans of all ages.

image c. 2012 Rovio Entertainment

A New Fantasy Series

Here’s an e-book we recently stumbled across: Legacy by Hugo Jackson is the author’s first book, and also the start of “The Resonance Tetralogy”, which presumably means there will be three books to follow. “Faria Phiraco [a fox ] is a ‘resonator’, a manipulator of crystals from the moon who wields control of the elements. It is a rare and secret power which she and her father, the Emperor of Xayall, guard with their lives. But they are not alone… The Dhraka, malicious red-scaled dragons, have discovered an ancient artefact, a mysterious relic from the mythical, aeons-lost city of Nazreal. Their plan already in motion, they besiege Xayall, launching upon the city to find Faria and tear more of Nazreal’s secrets from her. But she knows nothing, except that the powers hunting her threaten the entire world. With her father missing, Faria has to rely on her own strength and brave the world that attacks her at every turn. Friends and guardians rally by her to help save her father and reveal the mysteries of the ruined city, while the dark legacy of an ancient cataclysm wraps its claws around her fate… and her past. She soon realises that this is not the beginning, nor anywhere near the end. A titanic war spanning thousands of years unfolds around her, one that could yet cost the lives of everyone on Eeres.” The book is available for the Kindle on Amazon, at it seems to be getting good reviews from the readers quoted there.

image c. 2012 Hugo Jackson

Chuck Jones takes over Las Vegas

Well, at least the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino… We want to thank the folks at Cartoon Brew for turning us on to this new press release: “For generations of animation fans there is no greater legend than Chuck Jones. The creator of the famed Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for Warner Bros., Tom & Jerry cartoons, the TV version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas and many other well-known classics, Jones was a pioneer in the art of animation and a fine artist in his own right. His life and legacy will be celebrated on January 19 with the official grand opening of The Chuck Jones Experience at Circus Circus Las Vegas… The Chuck Jones Experience is a nearly 10,000-square-foot destination that provides kids and animation fans of all ages with an extraordinary place to not only learn about the art of animation, but to discover the creativity and magic that’s inside us all. Designed to ‘Educate, Inspire & Entertain’, The Chuck Jones Experience takes visitors on a unique journey through Jones’ life, engaging guests with interactive exhibits, displays and learning experiences along the way. The Chuck Jones Experience is also home to the largest collection of original Chuck Jones animation and fine art anywhere in the world with more than 250 pieces on permanent display.” Check out the rest of the press release at Cartoon Brew to find out more details about this new exhibit, including features like the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Learning Center, Animation Alley, the Acme Workshop, and more.

image c. 2012 Circus Circus Hotel & Casino