Jiu Jiu is a new (at least on our shores) black & white manga “teenage action romance” by Touya Tobina. Here’s the run-down: “Born into a family of ‘Hunters’, Takamichi’s destiny is to pursue and slay demons. When her twin brother is killed, she is saved from despair by a pair of Jiu Jiu — shape-shifting familiars — in the form of two wolf pups named Snow and Night. Now Takamichi is in high school and an active Hunter. Snow and Night can’t wait to attend school in their human form to ‘protect’ her. But are they ready to go off leash…?” Viz Media will release Volume 1 in digest manga format this June.
Black & White
Rabbit Samurai vs. Rabid Zombies
In the latest collection of Usagi Yojimbo comics coming from Dark Horse, the rabbit ronin faces an army of the undead! Here’s the publisher’s description of Usagi Yojimbo Volume 26: Traitors of the Earth — “With hundreds of zombies and an evil wizard to contend with, Usagi finds himself far out of his depth! Fortunately, he has the aid of fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller, most recently seen in the Yokai graphic novel. This volume also features several action-packed short stories, including the Eisner-nominated “Death of Lord Hikiji”! This volume collects Usagi Yojimbo #117–#123 and stories from Dark Horse Maverick 2001 and MySpace Dark Horse Presents #35.” When it arrives in stores it’ll be available in softcover, and also in a special signed hardcover edition that will be limited to 350 copies. The introduction is by well-known comic book great Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion). All of this brought to you by the multi-award-winning writer and artist Stan Sakai, of course.
An Ape Classic Returns
From 1974 to 1977, Marvel Comics (through their Curtis Magazine imprint) published a black & white tie-in comic for the Planet of the Apes movie and TV series. It featured not only adaptations of the five original movies, but also new adventures as well as background stories on the creation of the films. [Full disclosure: Your ever-lovin’ ed-otter grabbed every issue he could get a hold of!] Many of the stories were written by Moonknight co-creator Doug Moench (as well as Gerry Conway) and illustrated by Ghost Rider co-creator Mike Ploog (as well as Mike Esposito and George Tuska). Now, BOOM! Studios have secured the rights to re-publish those 1970’s classics under the title Terror on the Planet of the Apes, coming this February.
Comics Against Cancer
What do you do when you find out you’ve been struck by a rare form of bone cancer? Well, if you’re a woman like Kaylin Andres, you go on the warpath — inside your own body, microscopically, hunting down Nazi cancer cells and alien infections with high-caliber weaponry! At least, that’s the subject of Terminally Illin’, Kaylin’s brand new black & white comic book series illustrated by Jon Solo. Of course, the smart girl who’s heading off to battle inner demons (literally!) is also going to bring along a ferocious and well-armed battle-cat like Iceman. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the new comic will finally hit the shelves this January from Last Gasp. Why survive when you can thrive… and kick butt! Make sure to check out the Terminally Illin’ Facebook page too.
Honey Badger Don’t Give A…
Have you caught wind of the YouTube phenomenon known alternately as “Honey Badger don’t care” or (more profanely) as “Honey Badger don’t give a sh*t“? (Warning — the video has crude language to say the least!) It sprung up after the Guinness Book of World Records named the honey badger (also known as a ratel) as The Most Fearless Animal On Earth. Well now, besides spawning a popular line of t-shirts, the meme is inspiring comic books! Fred Perry (Gold Digger) and Joe Wight (Planet of the Living Dead) have teamed up to bring us the Honey Badger Adventures 1-shot, coming in black & white this January from Antarctic Press. “Honey badgers are just crazy. Now, see the honey badger in action! The most fearless critter on Earth will face off against…EVERYTHING! Birds, snakes, small childrenz, velociraptors, whatever! It’ll fight anybody and anything and just smack the hell out of it. You should read this comic, ’cause it’s badass, just like the honey badger.” You have been warned.
Bigfoot: Private Eye
Okay here’s a different take on things: Mr. Foot, aka Bigfoot, is a sasquatch private eye. Having received a letter from his long-lost brother Yeti, Mr. Foot enlists the aid of his friend The Jersey Devil to fly him to the arctic — only to find that Yeti has been beheaded. Now the reluctant Mr. Foot must bring together his old gang of cryptozoological friends — including Nessie and the Megaladon (or giant shark) and others — to find the killer and bring them to justice. It’s all there in Footprints, a new black & white comic book series from 215 Ink. It’s written by Joey Esposito (the comic book editor for IGN Publishing) and illustrated by Jonathan Moore (FUBAR). Alternative Magazine On Line has an extended preview of the comic up on their web site.
Penguins vs. Possums
There’s a title you’re gonna notice, right? Penguins vs. Possums is a new black & white comic Sebastian Kadlecik and John Bring, published by JBSK Comics. “Forget all you think you know. Since the dawn of time, a war has been fought in secret; the inter-species Armageddon between Penguins and Possums. A conflict this monumental can only stay in the shadows for so long. Choose a side!” You read it here. You can also find out more about this monumental conflict (including how the creators came up with this!) at their web site, www.epicwebcomic.com/pvp.
The Wonderful, Wonderful Cat
Comic historians differ as to who exactly created the iconic character Felix the Cat: Joe Sullivan or his employee, Otto Messmer. To further complicate things, after his world-wide fame as a star of animated shorts (and being the first cartoon character ever represented by a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), Felix appeared in a series of comic strip and comic book adventures in the 1940’s and 1950’s — some of which were drawn by Otto Messmer, and some by Joe Oriolo, but which were usually credited to Joe Sullivan. Got all that? It’s just one of the many facts presented in the introduction to Felix the Cat’s Greatest Comic Book Tails, in paperback now from IDW Publishing. After the opening essay by Craig Yoe and Don Oriolo (Joe’s son), be prepared for more than 200 of black & white and full-color comics. Righty-oh! More information is available at Amazon.
Animal Land
An interesting black & white manga that we somehow missed last year… Now it’s being re-published in English by Kodansha Comics and Random House. In Animal Land (written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku) we are introduced to an alternate earth inhabited by only non-human animals. After losing her family to vicious predators, a tanuki (raccoon dog) named Monoko makes an amazing discovery in a river: A human baby! Now this strange, unknown creature will grow up among the animals and will soon begin to display amazing powers. Volume 1 was released in August, and Volume 2 is coming up soon in October. Here’s a review at Good Reads.