Titan publishing has collected 176 pages of full-color Wallace and Gromit comic strips together in The Best of Wallace and Gromit trade paperback (by Dan Abnett, Simon Furman, Jimmy Hansen, and others). Nick Park’s beloved and award-winning claymation duo are back in new comic strip adventures, along with their friend Shaun the Sheep and their fierce enemy, Feathers McGraw the criminal penguin!
Pre-order the book “Nuclear Hoodie”
Lis “Lizardbeth” Boriss has been writing and illustrating the multi-species on-line comic strip Broken Plot Device since 2008. Now she’s looking to produce the first on-paper collection — but she needs help to do that. From her BPD web site:
“It’s been almost a year since BPD started. Many of you have been here since the early beginning, some of you are recent converts. Well, the time has come to collect the past year in a SUPER AWESOME HOLD-IN-YOUR HAND tree corpse form! The title is Nuclear Hoodie, and it’s all of the comics from the past year PLUS a bunch of brand new never-posted-before illustrations and extras. Right now, the plan is to debut the book at Anthrocon. But I can’t do that without YOUR help!!”
Visit her web site at www.brokenplotdevice.com to see the latest comic and find out more about how to pre-order the new book… and help to get it printed!
New from Boom!
Boom! Studios has quite a roster of full-color comic book mini-series coming along that should be of interest to furry fans of many stripes. Disney/Pixar’s Cars (by Alan J. Porter and Albert Carreres) takes us back to the origins of superstar (supercar?) Lightning McQueen. The Muppet Show (by Roger Langridge) takes us behind the scenes as Fozzie, Ms. Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest try to lift Kermit the Frog out of a deep blue funk — in the most surreal ways imaginable. And Farscape: Strange Detractors (by series creator Rockne S. O’Bannon, with Keith DeCandido and Will Sliney) brings us new adventures (and new dangers) for the crew of the living ship known and Moya. While you’re at it, look for the Farscape Volume 1 hardcover collection, which brings together the first four issues of the Farscape comic by O’Bannon, DeCandido, and Tommy Patterson. All of them should be on the shelves now.
R.I.P., Dom DeLuise
Dominick “Dom” DeLuise, a plus-sized and well-known comic actor, passed away at the age of 75 on Monday, May 4th. In addition to his many roles in comedy films — most famously associated with Mel Brooks and/or Burt Reynolds — he was also well known as a voice-actor in animated films. Among his classic characters were Jeremy the Crow from Secret of NIMH, Tiger the Cat from An American Tail, Itchy from All Dogs Go To Heaven, and Fagin from Disney’s Oliver and Company, as well as various voices from the TV series that were spun off from those features and others. Dom DeLuise: 1933 – 2009.
Funny Animals vs. the Undead!
And now for something completely different… Blue Water Comics brings us Vincent Price Presents #7 (in full color, by Chad Helder and Brian Hess). In this issue, adorable forest animals meet the apocolyptic zombie horde! Young Stevie the skunk wants to stink like the other boys at school. But when he makes a devil’s bargain with the sinister magic owl… all hell breaks loose!
Seaweed
Ben Balistreri is an Annie Award nominated character designer and storyboard artist who has worked extensively for Disney, Universal, Nickelodeon, Laika, and Cartoon Network. Now, he’s branched out on his own into comics with the premier of Seaweed, a large-sized full-color hardcover graphic novel series that Ben wrote and illustrated. Take warning: Funny animals or not, is decidedly NOT for kids. The first installment of the series is A Cure for Mildew. Seaweed, a pelican with a VERY well-stocked bill, is the captain of the Salty Sugar. He and his fishy first mate, Poisson, find themselves pressed into the service of Mildew, a dying bat who believes his only hope of survival rests in an ancient book rumored to have been written by the Devil himself! Seaweed #1 is published by Salty Sugar Comics, and includes a large gallery of sketches and development art. Visit www.saltysugar.com to find out more.
From Boy Wizard… to Cat!
Salem the cat is a fan-favorite character from the Sabrina the Teenage Witch TV series and comic book line. Now the latest issue of Sabrina from Archie Comics begins a 4-issue series of Salem before he became a feline… back when he was a young boy wizard! Everything changes the day that Salem meets a talking frog who says that he was was a wizard, too. The series is brought to you in full color by Ian Flynn and Chad Thomas.
The Gwaii Collection
The first set of issues of The Gwaii by Sean O’Reilly and Pedro Del Gado have been released in a new full-color hardcover collection by Arcana Studio. Tanu is a young sasquatch lost in the great Canadian wilderness when his mother is captured by Fearsome Creatures. To get her back, he’ll have to use all his skills as he faces frightening mythological beings.
