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Visit the New Toonseum

The Toonseum is currently located within the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (of course). This November, however, they will be moving to their new “storefront digs” at 945 Liberty Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh (across from the August Wilson Center). The move will give the Toonseum much more room, and allow them to display a much wider variety of cartoon art — including material which might not be appropriate for showing at a children’s museum.

Here’s the Toonseum’s mission statement, from their web site: “The mission of the ToonSeum is to celebrate the art of cartooning. Our goal is to promote a deeper appreciation of the cartoonists and their work through hands-on workshops, community outreach, cartoon-oriented educational programming, and exhibitions of original cartoon art.” We like it. Next time you’re in town — like, say, for Anthrocon — why not drop on in?

Monster Comics on your Phone!

We found this on The Unofficial Apple Weblog:

“Now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch directly from the iTunes store, Crispy Comics is producing a comic book series specifically for those devices. And did I mention the comic is absolutely free? Here’s the scoop directly from Crispy Comics:

Super Kaiju Hero Force is the comedic story of 3 young fanboys who win a trip to Japan and end up trapped inside the monster costumes used on the hit live-action superhero show Colossal Man. This first 11-chapter series follows Garganturo, Democules, and Mungor in the exciting origin to the series.

The series, which will be released on a bi-weekly basis and runs between 20 and 25 pages, will tell a continuing story culminating with a chilling cliffhanger. Then, once the original series runs its course, the Crispy Comics will release a Special Edition with features such as creator commentary and iPhone wallpapers. The Special Edition will come with a minimal cost which is yet to be determined. The company also plans to release the Special Edition on other platforms such as Android in the Summer of 2009. Check it out and if you do, be sure to let us know what you think in the comments.”

You can also find out more at the Crispy Comics Web Site.

[For those who don’t know, “Kaiju” is the general Japanese term for giant, city-crunching monsters like Gamera, Godzilla, Rodan, and so forth — ye helpful Ed-Otter ]

Gargoyles for Grown-Ups…

Blue Mug Productions is another new group of Disney Gargoyles fans who have become creators. The group — Edmund Tsabard, Mara Cordova, Kalia Sartre, Jennifer L. Anderson, and Boswell Bosley — are in their own words “a handful of creative types with one thing in common: We all really like to see drawings of naked people (using the term “people” loosely) having all kinds of sex”. Brought about with the blessing of Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman, the premier Blue Mug creation is Last Tengu in Paris, an adults-only web comic. It features the story of a beautiful young Parisian artist who falls in love with a creature from feudal Japan. But that, of course, is only the beginning of this multi-generational, multi-national, multi-orientational, and multi-species tale. The first story arc is complete, the second nears completion, and “issues” three and four are in the planning stages.

Visitors to the Blue Mug web site can check out the first eight pages of Last Tengu — censored. Members — who join for a modest fee — can view the full comic un-censored, as well as the ever-growing gallery of fan art. Blue Mug is also planning a full line of t-shirts and other products — including, of course, coffee mugs.

Your Hostess

Your Hostess

The Genesis of Oblivion Saga

This came to us from Brian M. Stalians of Imagined Interprises, Inc.:

For those of you who like your furries mad as hell, meet Klain, a member of a lion race known as the Kithians. Klain was born a slave and forced to endure the bloodthirsty sporting event known as The Games. Follow along as he copes with the stress of being freed by a mysterious race and tries to fit into the world of Humans. One of four plot lines in Farmers and Mercenaries (published by Imagined Interprises, Inc.), this is the first novel of the six-part Genesis of Oblivion Saga by Maxwell Alexander Drake. This fantasy saga has been getting great reviews; you will lose yourself in this story. Read the first four chapters and find out for yourself at the official saga website, www.genesisofoblivion.com.

Klain

Klain

Arigato, Tezuka Sensei

This October, Abrams Comic Arts will release a new hardcover book, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga. The press release at amazon.com says it best: “Osamu Tezuka has often been called ‘the god of manga’ and ‘the Walt Disney of Japan,’ but he was far more than that. Tezuka was Walt Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tim Burton, and Carl Sagan all rolled into one incredibly prolific creator, changing the face of Japanese culture forever. Best known for Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, Tezuka was instrumental in developing Japanese animation and modern manga comics. The Art of Osamu Tezuka is the first authorized biography celebrating his work and life and featuring over 300 images—many of which have never been seen outside of Japan. With text by respected manga expert Helen McCarthy, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga pays tribute to the work of an artist, writer, animator, doctor, entrepreneur, and traveler whose curious mind spawned dozens of animated films, and over 170,000 pages of comics art in one astonishingly creative lifetime. The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga also includes an exclusive 45-minute DVD documentary covering Tezuka’s prolific career, from his early manga characters to his later animation work.”

The Werewolf’s Guide to Life

You’re going to notice a title like that, now aren’t you? Subtitled “A Manual for the Newly Bitten”, this new softcover book by Ritch Duncan and Bob Powers (with illustrations by Emily Flake) cuts through the fiction and offers you a helping paw.

Here’s the description from amazon.com: “Have you been attacked by a wolf-like creature in the last 30 days? Was it after the sun had set and under a full moon? If you answered, “yes” to both these questions, there’s a very good chance that you were bitten by a werewolf. You now have less than a month before the full moon returns and with it your first transformation into a savage, bloodthirsty beast.
Survival is an option, but first, know this:
* Werewolves are real.
* The majority of lycanthropes who do not have access to this book die during or shortly after their first transformations, generally due to heart failure, gunshot wounds, exposure, drowning or suicide.
* Hollywood horror movies are NOT to be used as guides to living as a werewolf. Their goal is not to educate, but to entertain. As a result, they are largely ignorant of the realities of the condition.
* Ignorance creates monsters; lycanthropy does not.
* You are not a monster.
The Werewolf’s Guide to Life cuts through the fiction and guides you through your first transformation and beyond, offering indispensable advice on how to tell if you’re really a werewolf, post-attack etiquette, breaking the news to your spouse, avoiding government abduction, and how to not just survive, but thrive. You cannot afford to not read this book. Your very life depends on it.”

We like the creator background descriptions: “Ritch Duncan and Bob Powers have devoted their lives to aiding and serving the lycanthrope community. They live in New York City. Illustrator Emily Flake is a New York based cartoonist and illustrator who is grateful to have gotten close enough to study her subjects for this book without being torn limb from limb.” The Werewolf’s Guide to Life is out this month from Broadway Publishers.

Berke Breathed’s First Illustrated Novel

Berkeley Breathed, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Bloom County and Outland, has given us his first illustrated novel. Flawed Dogs — The Shocking Raid on Westminster is “a heartwarming and humorous ode to the unconditional and lasting love that we and our pets share”. This is from the publisher: “Sam the Lion is actually a priceless dachshund, bred to be a show dog. More important, he is Heidy’s best friend—and she needs one like never before. Living with her reclusive uncle is hard, but Sam has a way of making her feel soft and whole. Until the day Sam is framed by the jealous poodle Cassius, and is cast out by Heidy’s uncle, alone on the wild streets, where he is roughed up by a world he was not bred for. Sporting a soup ladle for a leg, Sam befriends other abandoned dogs and journeys all the way to the Westminster Dog Show, where his plan for revenge on Cassius takes an unexpected turn when he and Heidy spot each other after years of being apart.” The book is available in hardcover this September from Philomel.

Imaginative Realism

James Gurney, creator and artist of the world-famous Dinotopia series of books, has written and illustrated a new art how-to book called Imaginative Realism. It’s coming this October in paperback from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Subtitled “How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist”, it features step-by-step lessons in the practical aspects of creating believable full-color pictures of fantasy creatures and settings — like talking dinosaurs, alien creatures, and distant worlds.

Stoners and their Cats… or vice versa

Fat Freddy’s Cat began his life as an extra the that popular underground comic book, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Soon, though, his popularity grew until he had his own comic title, also written and drawn by FFFB-creator Gilbert Shelton. Now Knockabout Comics brings us the Fat Freddy’s Cat Omnibus in trade paperback. Watch as the big stoner boy’s cat fights the never-ending army of roaches bent on world domination, travels through Mexico, saves the Earth from an alien invasion, and works as a government agent to save the world from the “Hee Hee Hee” drug. Nearly all of the Fat Freddy’s Cat adventures are collected in this softcover book that’s nearly 400 pages.