Folks who consider the art of the fantastic to be true art were saddened when world-renowned fantasy artist and painter Frank Frazetta passed away from a stroke on Sunday (May 9th) at the age of 82. Never a “furry artist” so to speak, he nevertheless managed to sneak a few anthropomorphic characters into his works. No, what gave Mr. Frazetta his fame were his book-covers featuring big, muscle-bound heroes defending scantily-clad (but often well-armed) women from terrible monsters and barbarian hordes. Perhaps more-so than even the writers themselves, Frazetta’s painted covers came to define the image of such characters as Conan the Barbarian (from Robert E. Howard), Tarzan, and John Carter of Mars (both from Edgar Rice Burroughs). Since the 1960’s, Frazetta painted hundreds of well-known book covers, as well as album covers for groups as diverse as Molly Hatchet, Nazareth, and (most recently) Wolfmother. More than anyone else, Frazetta was the one who came to define fantasy heroes and heroines as sexy. He was an inspiration to an entire generation of artists, the most obvious being Boris Vallejo, Richard Corben, Rowina, and The Dark One.
Book
Andreas Deja’s Animal Sketchbook
Andreas Deja is a very well-known animator who has worked for Disney animation for 30 years now. He’s known for animating characters like Gaston from Beauty & the Beast and Lilo from Lilo and Stitch, but furry fans probably know him best as the lead animator of Scar in The Lion King. Now Andreas has taken his particular affinity for drawing and animating animals (which he said Lion King was his first opportunity to do as much as he likes to!) and collected together some of his best sketch work into A Different Stripe: Andreas Deja’s Animal Sketchbook (in soft-cover, from Stuart Ng Books). In it he not only discusses his methods of drawing animals (both realistic and anthropomorphic) but also the advice and guidance he received over the years from such animators and teachers as Ken Hultgren and Marc Davis.
Surprise Furry Extras
Folks running out to pick up the new DVD/Blue Ray of Spike Jonze’s live-action Where the Wild Things Are will find an interesting extra included: A brand-new short (24 minute) film based on Higglety Pigglety Pop, another book by Maurice Sendak. Using a combination of live action, puppetry, stop-motion animation and more, the film tells the story of Jennie, a fluffy white terrier dog (voiced by Meryl Streep). When she finds that she is bored and thinks “There must be more to life”, Jennie sets out to become leading lady of the World Mother Goose Theater. Unfortunately, she’s informed that the leading lady has to have experience. And Jennie has no idea what “experience” even is, let alone where to find it! Setting out on a quest for it, Jennie winds up as a nurse-maid for a very strange baby who refuses to eat. And nurse-maids who fail to convince the baby to eat are fed to the ravenous lion living in the basement! Only Maurice Sendak comes up with plots like this, folks… The production company for Higglety Pigglety Pop also created the Oscar-Nominated short film Madame Tutli-Putli. Clips from the former and the latter are up on YouTube.
Stepping into some Big Shoes… with Pooh
David Benedictus produced the audio adaptations of A.A. Milne’s orginal book Winnie-the-Pooh, starring Dame Judi Dench. Now he’s taken on a much bigger task: Continuing the story that Milne brought to a close 80 years ago with The House at Pooh Corner. In that story, Christopher Robin said his final good-byes to Pooh-Bear and all of his friends. Now, in the first book approved by the trustees of A.A. Milne’s Pooh properties, Mr. Benedictus has written the first new adventures of the original Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Piglet, and Eeyore in decades. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is profusely illustrated by Mark Burgess, an artist who has illustrated Pooh books before — as well as stories of Paddington Bear. This new book comes to stores this October, in hardcover from Dutton Juvenile (in the U.K. The North American edition is published by Penguin Group).
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.
Imaginative Realism
James Gurney, creator and artist of the world-famous Dinotopia series of books, has written and illustrated a new art how-to book called Imaginative Realism. It’s coming this October in paperback from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Subtitled “How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist”, it features step-by-step lessons in the practical aspects of creating believable full-color pictures of fantasy creatures and settings — like talking dinosaurs, alien creatures, and distant worlds.
Ladies and Werewolves
Dark fantasy novelist Patricia Briggs has new books and new comic books coming out from Dabel Brothers Publishing. The premiere issue of Cry Wolfe (written by Patricia with David Lawrence, and illustrated by Jordon Gunderson) introduces us to a woman named Anna. She never believed in werewolves — until the night she became one herself. A rare “omega wolf”, Anna has spent years at the bottom of the pack as a humbled servant, until she catches the eye of a powerful alpha wolf who may see her true value. But what happens when alpha and omega get together? Meanwhile, Mercy Thompson: Homecoming (in hardcover) takes place in the days before Ms. Briggs’ best-selling novel series. We meet young Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson, a shape-shifter fresh out of college and looking for a job. She soon finds herself trapped in the middle of a war between werewolves and vampires, but the worst thing is having to face the dreaded job interview!
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.
A Feline Tour of Old Tokyo!
Also just found on Amazon: Edo Cats: Tails of Old Tokyo, written and illustrated by Ryuto Kanzaki. It’s available this May in hardcover and softcover from Japanime Company. “Acclaimed manga artist and historian Ryuto Kanzaki takes readers on a whimsical tour of Edo (Old Tokyo) as seen through the eyes of the local cats. Discover the costumes, customs, and color of bygone Japan. Teeming with history and nostalgia, Edo Cats: Tails of Old Tokyo will delight manga fans and feline-lovers alike!”
