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Submitted for Your Approval: A Planet of Apes

Bit of trivia you might not be aware of: In the late 1960’s Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone) was the first person picked to adapt a screenplay from Pierre Boulle’s science fiction novel Planet of the Apes. Which he did — unfortunately his version (closer to Boulle’s book, featuring apes in a modern high-tech world) was considered un-filmable at the time, and a new adaptation by Michael Wilson was used instead for the famous 1968 film starring Charlton Heston. Well now, Boom! Studios have created Planet of the Apes: Visionaries, a new full-color graphic novel of Serling’s original script. Put into comic book form by Dana Gould and illustrated by Chad Lewis, it arrives in stores this August. Previews has an interview with the Boom! Studios folk all about it.

image c. 2018 Boom! Studios

Anyone Can Be Anything

And another self-published book we found through Xlibris, this one geared more toward young readers. What I Want to Be from A To Z is written and illustrated by Janis Arnold. We’ll let her describe it: “‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ At some point in their young lives, this question is heard by most children. My poetry book, What I Want to Be from A–Z, is a fun way to learn about a variety of careers. Each poem contains vocabulary that will help children learn about a career. When children become familiar with a rhyming book, they begin to make predictions, which is an important part of early reading skills. My two main characters are foxes—a female English red fox named Fiona and an American gray fox named Fernando. While reading through the book, the reader will view, on some of the poems, one of the foxes dressed up for that career.” It’s interesting (and rather heartening) to note that the pictures do not always conform to older ideals of what jobs are best for a man or a woman. Both these foxes seem equally capable of doing whatever they want!

image c. 2018 Xlibris

Teen Dragons in Trouble

Sounds like a bad romance novel but it’s not. Still, more dragons! Hadn’t heard of this before but we came across it at the LA Times Festival of Books. Dragon Time is a 2015 fantasy novel by John Doyal, published through Xlibris. “It started as a war between wizards on the planet Hector. Tulles wants change at all costs, and the Council of Wizards wants peace and stability. Add in two teenaged dragons stranded in world that they do not know and a group of orphans displaying signs of magic, and what do you have? The first war between nations in over two hundred years and the first war between dragons that this world has ever known.” Check it out over at Amazon.

image c. 2018 Xlibris

A Human Turned Into A Dragon. That’s Bad?

[Back from our first BLFC and we’ve got lots to talk about!]

Ryan Smith is the writer and primary artist behind Accursed Dragon, a series of fantasy graphic novels. Starting as a web comic in 2008, since 2011 he has self-published several paperbacks with the help of several Kickstarter campaigns. And as you can see at the official web site, Ryan started off using his own black & white art, but as the series has progressed he’s brought other artists on board and moved to full color. So what’s it about? “Rawn (a selfish young wizard) is introduced to Coven, a man cursed in the form of a dragon, and together they journey the war torn land of Ternia to find the cure!” Needless to say things get more complicated from there. Check out the first volume over at Goodreads.

image c. 2018 by Ryan Smith

A Flying Ape with a Beak. Yes.

One of the things that was almost impossible to miss at WonderCon this year was a huge display booth for Genesis II, a full color graphic novel by Allen Ling and Christian Boe. It’s a science fiction story about genetic experiments gone very, very strange, but that barely scratches the surface. The booth display featured three of the principle weird creations from the story in larger than life size, sculpted by none other than Stan Winston Studios. The graphic novel is available now as a hardcover book, and also as a download for purchase. The creators plan to release a softcover version later this year. Visit their web site to see what we’re talking about — and to order your copy.

image c. 2018 genesisiicomics.com

Someday You Will Visit This Web Site

Someday Mouse is a very introspective and optimistic little mammal. At the Someday Mouse web site you will find this: “Someday is the name of a silent, yet adventurous Mouse; self-made, thoughtful, and always at peace in the moment. If Someday dreams it, then Someday will be it. No matter how terrifying the circumstances, Someday Mouse approaches every new experience and creature with unwavering acceptance and genuine curiosity.” You will also find that Someday Mouse is an on-line black & white illustration and thought series written and illustrated by Katherine Brannock. The Adventures of Someday Mouse is also available there as a paperback book.

image c. 2018 by Katherine Brannock

The Mink is Up To Something

Author and “sit down comedian” Christopher Locke is back with his second novel, Vincent and the Dissidents. It’s the sequel to Persimmon Takes On Humanity, which of course we talked about before. “In Book Two, while Persimmon and The Enlighteners continue their daring efforts to rescue all animals who are suffering, little do they know that Vincent — the cunning mink who helped the team liberate a fur farm — has been assembling an army. Vincent and The Dissidents are conducting their own rescue missions, but their violent tactics against humans are quickly leading to catastrophic consequences.” Vincent is available now in paperback from Fathoming Press.

image c. 2018 Fathoming Press

Helping The Ones You Don’t Even See

Another cool item we picked up from Animation World Network: “Newbery Honor-winning author Adam Gidwitz and Mixtape Club founders Jesse Casey and Chris Lenox Smith premiered online the animated debut of The Unicorn Rescue Society, whose adventures continue in a series of books for middle-grade readers from Penguin Random House.” The kids of the Unicorn Rescue Society (along with their companion Jersey, a friendly Jersey Devil) help with the needs of mythical creatures that adults don’t even believe in. “The Unicorn Rescue Society is a secret organization. Its mission is to keep the creatures of myth and legend safe. Dragons, Bigfoot, chupacabras — and maybe even unicorns. Every day, the threats to these rare and wonderful animals grow. They are hunted. Their habitats are destroyed. And the Unicorn Rescue Society is their only hope.” Rather than being adaptations of the books themselves, the animated shorts spread the word about the book series and take a behind-the-scenes look. The AWN article has a link to the first cartoon.

image c. 2018 Mixtape Club

Once Upon A Time, A Grumpy Gnome…

Ward’s Valley is a new full-color fantasy graphic novel from IDW and Top Shelf Comics. “Ward is a grumpy gnome who only wants to be left alone. He never asked for company… but when his beautiful forest starts filling up with animals, it’s more than just grumpiness that makes him nervous. Mysterious trolls are one the loose and Ward will need all the help he can get to defend Ward’s Valley.” This is interesting to note: The art is by Brenda Hickey, known for her work on IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic series, the the story is written by Bobby Curnow, the My Little Pony series editor. Look for it on the shelves now.

image c. 2018 Top Shelf Comics