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Black & White

Not Her Kind of Magical Land

There are some interesting graphic novels for young readers coming soon from Random House. First up is Pacey Packer: Unicorn Tracker, written and illustrated by J. C. Phillipps. They describe it like this: “Pacey’s little sister, Mina, has always said her stuffed unicorn, Slasher, is real – but seriously? He’s a stuffed toy! Then again, he does seem to be leading Mina outside her room and to . . . some kind of weird magical unicorn land? Pacey may not believe in unicorns, but she’s not about to let her little sister be kidnapped, so she does the only thing she can: Follows them to unicorn land (that she totally does not believe in). And for the record, it’s NOTHING like the stories. First off, what’s up with Slasher’s attitude? It’s not Pacey’s fault he’s trapped in a ridiculous stuffed body. And that Alpha Unicorn guy? Not. Nice. Pacey will just be grabbing Mina and taking her home, thankyouverymuch . . . that is, if she can work with the grumpiest unicorn stuffy ever to outsmart the Evil Alpha Unicorn and find the way out – preferably without stepping on any poisonous killer flowers.” Nothing complicated about that set-up, right? The book is out now.

image c. 2020 Random House

Westward

Stabby the Unicorn is a well-known character from the popular comic series called Mother Goth Rhymes. (We hadn’t heard either.) Well now it turns out that he’s popular enough to have his very own hardcover graphic novel called If UR Stabby, written and illustrated by series creator Kaz Windness. Here’s what we’re told: “Stabby is a unicorn who has had a very bad day. Who’s positively magical and ready for sunshine, giggles, and sliding down rainbows? Not Stabby! Meet the world’s surliest unicorn. If UR Stabby follows Stabby as he deals with life’s challenges the only way he knows how: Horn first.” Coming this September (in black & white, of course!) from Hermes Press.

image c. 2020 Hermes Press

There Are Worse Ways To Go…

Let’s face it: Furry fans are going to notice a manga with a title like Reborn As A Polar Bear (aka The Legend of How I Became a Forest Guardian). Check out this description: “After devoted mountain climber Kumakichi Kumada falls into a ravine, he wakes up in the middle of a forest in another world… as a polar bear! Now this tough Ursus maritimus is looking after six werewolf sisters on the run from the humans tyrannizing their clan. Keeping his wits about him and using his knowledge from his past life, the next ‘mountain’ for him to climb will be making a comfortable life in the forest for everyone!” It’s written in by Chihiro Mishima, and illustrated in black & white (with some color pages) by Houki Kusano and Kururi. Take a look over at Yen Press.

image c. 2020 Yen Press

Keep Your Spirits Up!

Oh dear… Is this much cuteness legal? Well, here it is: The Fox & The Little Tanuki, a new black & white manga by Mi Tagawa. “After 300 years, the gods that imprisoned Senzou the Fox Spirit for his arrogance finally set him free. There is only one condition — he can’t have any of his supernatural abilities back until he successfully helps a tanuki cub named Manpachi become one of their magical assistants. Unfortunately for Senzou, there’s no cheating when it comes to completing his task! The magic beads around his neck make sure he can’t wander too far from his charge or shirk his duties, and so… Senzou the once-great Fox Spirit must now figure out how to be an actually-great babysitter to a mischievous little tanuki or risk being stuck without his powers forever!” It’s out there now in paperback from Tokyo Pop.

image c. 2020 Tokyo Pop

Study Them Closely. Very Closely.

And speaking of monsters… It’s time to switch gears and take a look at something that’s decidedly not for young readers. That would be Creature Girls, a new black & white manga series written and illustrated by Kakeru. “Whether they’re part cat, part horse, or part spider, Daisuke has always been fascinated with the uniquely exotic beauty of monster girls. When he finds himself whisked away to a fantastic world full of all manner of demihuman life, he swiftly gets to work meeting (and analyzing!) as many as he can. There’s really only one logical thing for this stranded scientist to do: He’s going to become the creature girl harem king!!” The full title is Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal In Another World (whew!) and it’s available now from Ghost Ship.

image c. 2020 Ghost Ship Manga

A Fat Cat You Can Get Behind

Younger fur fans might not remember What’s Michael? the manga or the successful anime series that followed it — but over the years we’ve talked a LOT about Makoto Kobayashi’s creation: A somewhat lazy pet cat with a very active imagination. Well now the original manga return in a new black & white collection from Dark Horse Press. “True-to-life daily cat scenarios and off-the-wall crazy feline fantasies combine in this epic manga collection! Makoto Kobayashi’s hilarious series returns in a set of oversized collections, starting with our first Fatcat Collection!” Volume 1 is available now — and at more than 500 pages, even the book is fat!

image c. 2020 Dark Horse Press

Kawai Ponies!

We didn’t even know they did this — My Little Pony: The Manga. “The world of My Little Pony comes alive in this distinctive manga series that spotlights each of the Mane 6 and a host of other characters from the land of Equestria! When Pinkie Pie lends a hoof to help Twilight Sparkle and Spike clean up the castle Library, she discovers a mysterious mirror with the power to gaze into alternate realities. Upon entering the portal-like mirror, Pinkie Pie sets off a chain of events that could spell doom for Equestria! Follow this adventure–and many more–in this hilarious new manga series for fans of all ages.” Written by David Lumsdon, illustrated by Shiel, and published by Seven Seas, it’s available now in paperback.

image c. 2019 Seven Seas

Earth Piglet

So how did we miss this one… And, what is it?? It’s the first black & white issue of Cerebus Woman, that’s what. “Epic-length all-in-one 24-page issue! Ever wonder what the illegitimate daughter of Batvark and the Whore of Babylon would be like? Gosh! Who hasn’t? Get ready for Cerebus Woman, the tyrannical queen of Real Amazon.com Island and her legion of Mason-Dixon Greek Man O’Horsies! First appearance of her invisible robot bulldozer! First appearance of the ancient Greek Real Amazon.com national anthem! Jingles, everyone’s favorite CGC-dog comic collector, as Cerebus Woman’s interspecies love interest! Don’t miss Cerebus Woman tied up with her own magic lasso!” Have you… got all that? It’s written by Dave Sim (of course) with art by Mr. Sim and Gustave Dore. Published by Aardvark-Vanaheim (also of course), it’s available now.

image c. 2019 Aardvark-Vanaheim

Hard to Miss His Smile

We can always depend on interestingly strange stuff to come at us from Silver Sprocket, and much of it rather furry-fannish. This is no exception:  I Think Our Friend Dan Might Be A Dolphin (yes that’s the title) by James Stanton (creator of Gnartoons). “He tried to pass it off as back sweat, but there’s no mistaking a blow hole stain on the back of a shirt. This is a very funny comic book for grown-ups (printed in fluorescent blue and black ink on thick matte cover stock). Check it out over at Previews.

image c. 2019 Silver Sprocket