Humans really do use anthropomorphic characters for everything… we mean everything! Recently in France there appeared this animated public service announcement, explaining the need for sexually active people to protect themselves from AIDS… which uses the medium of cartoon animals, animated to look like something out of the 1930’s. Seriously. Where on earth did they show this thing, we wonder? Well it’s viewable on YouTube, but take warning: There’s nothing terribly explicit in this, but it is most certainly for adults only! Need more proof? The production company that created it is called Passion Pictures.
The Man-Bat Collectible
This coming May, DC Comics and Eaglemoss Publications will be offering a brand new collectible figure of the other winged haunter of Gotham City nights, Dr. Kirk Langstrom — or, as he is known in his transformed state, the Man-Bat. What’s more, when you purchase this new figurine you also get a 20-page full-color mini-comic collection featuring some of Man-Bat’s best-known appearances in Batman and other DC titles.
image c. DC Comics
The Fat Cat is Back
Well this sort of came out of nowhere… A brand new CGI show featuring Jim Davis’ inescapable cat Garfield was made in France in 2008. Then, in 2009, episodes of The Garfield Show began airing in North America on Cartoon Network, with all-around voice actor Frank Welker voicing Garfield in place of the late Lorenzo Music. One of the main writers and voice directors for the series is Mark Evanier, who was also lead writer for the original 2D series Garfield and Friends in the 1980’s. Now it seems that Papercutz (home of the Geronimo Stilton series) is creating a series of hardcover full-color comic collections based on The Garfield Show. The collections are titled Garfield & Co., and they come to stores this May.
The Ballad of Nessie
And yet more interesting news on Cartoon Brew: The Ballad of Nessie is a brand new, 2-D animated short from Walt Disney Pictures. It’s scheduled to be released in front of the upcoming Winnie the Pooh movie this summer, which you may recall is also in 2-D. The film is directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton and Kevin Deters, who both worked on How to Hook Up Your Home Theater and Prep and Landing. Several well-known animators worked on Nessie, including Andreas Deja, Mark Henn, Randy Haycock, Dale Baer, and Rubin Aquino. No video sneaks yet, but Cartoon Brew has pictures from the film, including the one you see below.
image c. 2011 Walt Disney Pictures
Song of the Sea
A Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all. And speaking of Irish things…
Thanks to Cartoon Brew we’ve seen a new teaser trailer for Song of the Sea, the next project coming to us from Tomm Moore, creator of The Secret of Kells. That film, you may recall, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature of 2009, as well as a slew of other awards around town. Now Mr. Moore’s new feature looks at another well-known Irish legend, that of the Selkies: Folk who look like human beings, but who can put on seal skins and magically transform into real live seals. Cartoon Saloon is currently animating the film, which is not due out until 2013.
Time to Cast Your Vote!
The Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA) has announced the nominees for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards, celebrating the best anthropomorphic offerings of 2010. “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Awards, the Ursa Major Awards are presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. They are intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Awards (presented by the World Science Fiction Society), mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth” [from the Ursa Majors web site]. And so, the nominees in ten categories are:
Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture (Live-action or animated feature-length movies):
Alpha and Omega, from Lionsgate
How To Train Your Dragon, from Dreamworks Animation
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, from Village Roadshow Pictures and Warner Brothers
Toy Story 3, from Walt Disney Pictures and Dreamworks Animation
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, from Walden Media and 20th Century Fox
Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series (TV series, one-shots, advertisements, or short videos):
Adventure Time, from Pendleton Ward and Cartoon Network
Foxy Bingo, ad campaign produced for Foxy Bingo
Mongrels, from BBC Three
Orangina Naturally, ad campaign produced by Gorgeous Enterprises for Orangina
The Regular Show, from Cartoon Network
Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention, from Aardman Animations and BBC One
Best Anthropomorphic Novel (Written works of 40,000 words or more):
Basecraft Cirrostratus by Justin Lamar
Descent by Phil Geusz
Otters In Space by Mary Lowd
Save The Day by D. J. Fahl
The Seventh Chakra by Kevin Frane
Shadow of the Father by Kyell Gold
Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction (Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short written works):
Bridges by Kyell Gold
False Dawn by Kyell Gold
Felis Ex Machina by E. O. Costello
Gerty and the Doesn’t-Smell-Like-a-Melon by Mary E. Lowd
The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Canopus Artyle by Kevin Frane
Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work (Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books):
Furpiled #4 by Leo Magna
Different Worlds, Different Skins, edited by Will A. Sanborn
Iron Claw Bestiary by Chris Goodwin
i.s.o. #1 by Vince Suzukawa
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris
Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story (Comic books and serialised online stories):
Concession by Immelmann
Furthia High by QuetzaDrake
Cruelty by Rukis
Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler
Twokinds by Tom Fischbach
Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip (Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs):
Broken Plot Device by Lis Boriss
Faux Pas by Robert and Margaret Carspecken
Little Tales by Genesis Eve Whitmore
Housepets! by Rick Griffin
Sandra and Woo by Powree and Oliver Knörzer
Best Anthropomorphic Magazine (Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, internet-only magazines):
Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast, by Will A. Sanborn
Heat, published by Sofawolf
New Fables, edited by Tim Susman
South Fur Lands, edited by Bernard Doove
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, edited by Gene Breshears
Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration (Illustrations and cover art for books, magazines, convention program books; coffee table portfolios):
Big Red: Lady Sings the Blues by Richard Bartrop (Midwest Fur Fest program book illo)
Cenotaph by Susan Rankin-Pollard (Spontoon Island fanzine illo)
The Seventh Chakra (cover) by Kamui
Shadow of the Father (cover) by Sara Palmer
New Fables Summer 2010 (cover) by Mary Mouse
Best Anthropomorphic Game (Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games):
Disney Epic Mickey, from Junction Point Studios and Disney Interactive Studios
Furry Basketball Association (on-line roleplaying game)
Rocket Knight, from Climax Studios and Konami
Sam & Max: Season 3, Episode 1: The Penal Zone, from Telltale Games
Sonic Colors, from Dimps and Sega
Voting for the 2011 Ursa Major Awards will be open until April 17th. To find out how to cast your vote, visit the web site at www.ursamajorawards.org. Also, check out the Ursa Major Awards Live Journal to see links to some great examples from each of the nominees.
Drawing Fantastic Furries
Christopher Hart is a name well-known among those learning to draw: He’s put out several books of how to draw cartoon characters and characters for animation in the past. But now, he’s trying something pretty new. His new book is called Drawing Fantastic Furries: The Ultimate Guide to Drawing Anthropomorphic Characters. That’s a pretty big claim, whot? Well here’s how the publishers describe it on Amazon: “What Is A Furry? A furry is an anthropomorphic being—an animal with human characteristics. Furries have fascinated artists going back thousands of years and as seen in the influx of animal/human characters into popular culture, interest today is at an all time high. And now for the first time all in one volume, you’ll be able to take the next step to the outer limits of your imagination with the ultimate guide to drawing your own furries—Christopher Hart’s Drawing Fantastic Furries. After a basic lesson in the fundamentals of comparative human and animal anatomies, you’ll learn how to draw an entire menagerie of furry species, ranging from the adorable and charming super-cute furries to the seductive and super-popular glamorous furries to the warriors, wizards, vampires, and demons of the furry occult and fantasy realms.” The book is available this week in paperback from Watson-Guptill. The cover certainly grabs attention!
image c. 2011 Christopher Hart
Oh My!
Hermes Press have announced they are now the new publishers of Mike Bullock and Michael Metcalf’s well-known (and well-loved) comic book series Lions, Tigers, and Bears. The long-awaited full-color Volume 3 graphic novel is available now in softcover. This is from their press release: “Mike Bullock’s internationally acclaimed, best selling title has a new home with Hermes Press! The long awaited Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Volume 3 arrives in stores March, 2011. ‘Lions, Tigers, and Bears is a remarkable title, with memorable characters, an enchanting concept, and beautiful artwork,’ observed Hermes Press’ Publisher, Dan Herman. ‘We’re really excited about releasing all new adventures of Joey, Courtney, Ares, Venus, Pallo and Minerva as a graphic novel.'” For those who haven’t found it yet, Lions, Tigers, and Bears is the story of a group of kids who discover that their stuffed animal toys have the ability to come to life — as rather large animals — to protect the children in their care from an invasion of other-worldly demons.
When Karl Barks did Barney Bear
Some rare and seldom-seen comic book work by Uncle Scrooge creator and artist Carl Barks is coming our way this June, thanks to IDW Publishing. It’s a new hardcover collection called Barks’ Bear Book. Here’s the publisher’s description from Amazon: “Carl Barks tops the list of greatest comic book artists of many devoted fans around the world. He has often been called ‘The Good Duck Artist’ by avid readers of all ages of his Disney Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. Those Duck stories have been reprinted and loved again and again by millions. But, while the Duck oeuvre is easily obtainable, only a few elite fans have gotten rare glimpses of yet another fabulous, alternate universe that Barks created around the classic animation characters Barney Bear and Benny Burro. Hidden in rare, Golden Age comics only Scrooge McDuck could afford are wonderful, full-color fantasy and fun stories as only Barks can write and draw ’em! Collected for the first time in a deluxe, hardcover, full-color tome are all of these masterpieces, meticulously restored. The Barks’ Bear Book is edited and designed by Eisner-Award-winning comics historian Craig Yoe, with a fascinating introduction and special cover is by Barks-devotee Jeff Smith, the best-selling graphic novelist of the Bone comics series.”
image c. 2011 IDW Publishing
