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Bear

The Boy Who Fell to Earth

In 2012 John Claude Bemis (author of the Americana-Fantasy series The Clockwork Dark) brought us a new post-apocalypse novel for young readers called The Prince Who Fell From The Sky. “In Casseomae’s world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago. Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients’ sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?” Published by Random House, check this out over at the author’s web site.

[And with that, of course, we wish you a Merry Christmas, a Blessed Solstice, and a Happy Holiday Season!]

image c. 2014 Random House

image c. 2014 Random House

You Think You’re Big, You Think You’re Bad…

Another discovery from the CTN Animation Expo (in Burbank, California): Cale Atkinson is an artist and animator who recently created a short called Li’l Red (as seen on Furry.Today). The little girl’s reaction to meeting the Big Bad Wolf is… not what you’d think. His web site has links to that short and several others, as well as examples of his art and illustration.

image c. 2014 by Cale Atkinson

image c. 2014 by Cale Atkinson

Your Tabletop Moves On-Line

Ultimum is another new electronic game system of more than passing furry fandom interest which is seeking development funds through a Kickstarter campaign. Created by Christian Muckler and his associates, Ultimum seeks to recreate the playing environment of a traditional tabletop fantasy role playing game — not only in a paper tabletop setting, but also as a virtual on-line “sandbox”. We should also note, of course, that the game includes several non-human playable races it its science fiction setting —  Including humanoid bears, wolves, lizards, and gorillas. The Ultimum Kickstarter page includes several development videos as well as an animatic “game trailer”.

image c. 2014 Christian Muckler

image c. 2014 Christian Muckler

Far Less Serious Bunnies

Itty Bitty Bunnies in Rainbow Pixie Candy Land. Somehow you just know what something with a title like that is going  to be like, yes? Well you’re right. “Take some time for an adventure to a magical world with two cute bunnies… two foul mouthed, drug using, butt-naked bunnies that go on adorably offensive, insultingly hilarious adventures! Your journey into off-color fun begins here, with this mix of Adventure Time and underground comix!” It’s written and illustrated in full color by Australian underground cartoonist Dean Rankine, and brought to us thanks to Action Lab’s Danger Zone imprint. Check out their Facebook page. Oh, and speaking of Danger Zone, they’ve also released the first four issues of Bo, Plushy Gangsta (by Pavel Balabanov) in a trade paperback, Kingdom of Bo.

image c. 2014 Danger Zone

image c. 2014 Danger Zone

And One More Little Bear

Robert Aragon is a fine arts painter employed in Hollywood. But in his free time he created his first book, A Tiny Teddy Named Cuds. This little bear is not only a childhood friend, he’s a dreamer: He dreams of a world bigger than his room, and he dreams of being bigger than a little bear. And we follow along with his full-color adventures in his imagination. All of which you can see in the book, which is available at Tiny Teddy Press.

image c. 2014 Robert Aragon

image c. 2014 Robert Aragon

Speaking of Bears… *Ahem*

What features the likes of Prozac Bear, Crack Bear, Lech Bear, and Death Bear, among others? Why it’s Bear Nuts, a full-color on-line comic strip by Canadian artist Alison Acton. Surprisingly nice for their many… quirks, these odd bears live in a magical realm where they all learn to get along… and not disgust the neighbors.  It’s all part of Studio Dooomcat, an on-line art collective (with prints, t-shirts, and more) started by Alison and Jim Charalampidis. Check out their web site, and follow the links to find the first two volumes of the collected Bear Nuts, available from DMF Comics.

image c. 2014 by Alison Acton

image c. 2014 by Alison Acton

Bear Be Pirates Here

Earlier this year the artist known as Travis Hanson (creator of fantasy comic The Bean) ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign for his new project, Tanner Jones and the Quest for the Monkey Stone. ” Turns out, he more than doubled what he was asking for! So, the new full-color 60-page book will be shipping this June, according to his web site. So what’s it about? “It’s about a boy named Tanner Jones and his adventure to find the Monkey Stone. Something he just can’t do alone, so he enlists the help of the greatest treasure hunters around: The pirate bears of the Scrawny Duck. It’s a journey to an uncharted isle, full of mystery and danger, but most of all just pure fun and the importance of following one’s dreams.”

image c. 2014 by Travis Hanson

image c. 2014 by Travis Hanson

Of Bears and Pots and Deep Deep Thoughts

Psycologist, hypnotist, and philosopher, A.B. Curtiss is also and accomplished author with several award-winning books to her name.  And several of her fiction books just happen to be of interest to furry fans. Legend of the Giant Panda (illustrated by Mirto Golino) is exactly what it sounds like: A mythic telling of how pandas got their distinctive black and white markings.  Hallelujah, A Cat Comes Back is a “cat book of virtues”, where a young tom gives us the feline wisdom brought down to him from his wise granny-cat. Illustrated with a collection of Victorian feline prints. Dragons Guard The Zoo is a collection of poems on many subjects, including animals real and fanciful. And In the Company of Bears (illustrated by Barbara Stone) has been described as a “children’s philosophy book”, in which bears are used to illustrate soothing rhymes about accepting people for what they are. All of these and more are available on Amazon and at Ms. Curtiss’ web site.

image c. 2014 A.B. Curtiss

image c. 2014 A.B. Curtiss

Art With Issues

“Sebastien Millon is an artist.  His work is noted for its lack of vision and his art is usually muddled in a turbid stew of crockery.” That’s what the artist says about himself! We don’t think you’ll agree if you visit his web site and see his surreal (to put it mildly) collection of art and comic strips. Funny animals abound… often enough, all over  you! Some of his more pithy stuff is also available as prints or on t-shirts. Go play outside more often.

image c. 2014 by Sebastien Millon

image c. 2014 by Sebastien Millon