Once again, their web site says it best: “Primal Visions Design Studios specializes in high performance creature costumes and effects, with an emphasis on naturalistic animals. We make fine animal and creature masks, costumes and effects for stage, film, television, tradeshows and the occasional well-to-do eccentric.” They also make costume and weapon accessories for their fur-suit creations, and they have created a line of post cards and even calendar projects to help advertise what they do. Their gallery at www.primalvisions.com is extensive, so check out what they’ve done.
Are You Freaky?
“Freaky Creatures is a cross-platform, massively multiplayer online game that allows players to build the ultimate, customizable creatures and battle them against friends.” That’s the word from areyoufreaky.com, the home-page of this new game. “In the distant future, battles are fought not by humans, but by genetically enhanced creatures. These powerful creatures engage in tremendous battles in search of victory, often with great risks on the line. There are eleven known types of Freaky Creatures in the universe, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.” They include creatures with names like Hawkan, Rexar, Dracon, Goroc, and Merasha. Eleven basic creatures can be customized by players into literally thousands of unique creations, ready for battle and interaction on-line. The Freaky Creatures Starter Pack includes two action figures and a 1-gigabyte reuseable flash drive that is the key to joining the Freaky Creatures universe. But it’s not all about battles, either. There are social areas and even interactive story activities as well. There’s even a full-color comic book published by Abandon. For a series of videos about the game and the universe, check out this web site.
Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes
Blam! Ventures is now the official license-holder for the Planet of the Apes series property. So what are they doing with it? A series of over-sized illustrated novels, based in the universe of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes movie. First up is Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, set to hit stores in the spring of 2010. It’s written by Andrew Gaska, Christian Berntsen, and Erik Matthews, with a cover by Steranko and full-color interior illustrations by a variety of comics industry artists. Conspiracy follows the adventures of John Landon, one of three survivors of the doomed Project Liberty spaceship… who now finds himself stranded on a planet where apes rule and primative humans are turned slaves or worse. When two scientific chimps named Dr. Milo and Dr. Galen take sympathy on him, John dares to have hope… but other apes have much more ruthless, horrible plans for him! Want to find out more, including other new adventures in the works? Visit Blam! Ventures’ Planet of the Apes web site.
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
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
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.
