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The 2015 Ursa Major Awards Open for Voting

Voting is now open for the 2015 Ursa Major Awards — the furry community’s highest honor. In late May at What The Fur in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, awards will be presented to the best anthropomorphic media from 2015 in eleven categories: Best Motion Picture, Best Short Work or Series, Best Novel, Best Short Story, Best Other Literary Works (compilations and non-fiction), Best Graphic Story, Best Comic Strip, Best Magazine (print or on-line), Best Published Illustration, Best Game, and Best Web Site. Voting will remain open until April 30th, so visit www.ursamajorawards.org to get the full list of nominees, then register to vote.  2015 was a good year for furry stuff in many categories — and of course, 2016 is looking even better!

image c. 2016 by Heather Bruton

image c. 2016 by Heather Bruton

Meanwhile, He Followed HER Home…

Another animator, another graphic novel: Bob Scott is well-known for having worked on projects as wide-ranging as Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons to Pixar films like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. Meanwhile, he’s been writing and illustrating an on-line comic strip, Molly and the Bear. “It can be tough on a family when someone new has moved in, especially if it’s a 900-pound scaredy-bear so terrified of wilderness life that he’s fled to the burbs. Fortunately Bear was found by Molly, a fearlessly optimistic 11-year-old can-doer who has taken him firmly in hand, devoted to seeing her hirsute BFF cope with modern life. Molly’s Mom is happy with the new sibling — Bear’s an excellent conversationalist and loves her homemade cookies. But Dad is having a harder time, his role as center of the universe now shared with an ursine behemoth who, unfortunately, adores him.” Now Cameron & Company have released the first collection of full-color Molly and the Bear comics in hardcover. It’s available over at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2016 Cameron & Company

image c. 2016 Cameron & Company

And Speaking of Monsters…

Wendy Grieb is a professional animation storyboard artist. She is also the illustrator of the Monster & Me series of illustrated children’s books, written by Paul Czajak. There are some good reviews of the adventures of Monster and Boy (in such books as Monster Needs A Costume, Monster Needs A Party, and Monster Needs Your Vote) over at Kid Lit Reviews. “All of the Monster & Me books are fun, carefree, and highly entertaining. Wendy Grieb’s brightly colored illustrations breathe extra life into Paul Czajak’s stories. Monster is a great character. Who wouldn’t want to listen to Monster tell a story. Who wouldn’t want to pretend they are Boy and sled down a hill with Monster at their side, or with Monster screaming up and down a rollercoaster hills?” You can also visit Ms. Grieb’s web site to find out more about her illustrations and storyboards.

image c. 2016 by Wendy Grieb

image c. 2016 by Wendy Grieb

Monsters From Around The World

Tiki Machine describe themselves as an “Indie/self-publisher featuring children’s books, art books, comics/graphic novels, and secret ancient tiki manuscripts”. Oh. Among the art books are a series of collections that feature different artists and animators illustrating a given topic. One of those is called Monster Mythos: A Folklore Bestiary. “A compilation art book of 50 legendary beasts, fiends and mystical creatures pulled from folklore and legend from the four corners of the world. Beautifully brought to life and interpreted by 18 animators and illustrators, whose hope is that the stories within will bring the same wonder and inspiration as they have for countless generations. Introduction by Dead of Night creator Dick Grunert.You can pick it up over at Abe Books.

image c. 2016 Tiki Machine

image c. 2016 Tiki Machine

Thank You, Masked… Man?

In case you haven’t been keeping up with Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy (as in the comics) lately… Last year Peter Quill gave up his duties as Star Lord to become the Emperor of Spartax. Leaving the Guardians in the paws of… none other than fan favorite furry, Rocket Raccoon! So Rocket assembled a team that included not only his old buddy Groot and his new-buddy Drax but also (among others) Kitty Pryde of the X-Men and none other than Ben Grimm, the Thing from Fantastic 4! Just in time too, as dangerous new threats have swung into this part of the galaxy… and some old friends may not be trustworthy.  Big shock. Now Marvel Comics has assembled Volume 1 (i.e. issues 1 thru 5) of Guardians of the Galaxy: New Order into a full-color hardcover collection, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Valerio Schiti. Take a look over at Goodreads.

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

Before the Movie, the Manga

Just in time for the full North American release of  Mamoru Hosoda’s latest anime feature, The Boy and the Beast (on the same weekend as Zootopia’s release, grumble grumble…), Yen Press have published Mr. Hosoda’s black & white manga of the same title. “Fleeing tragedy and mistreatment, a young boy named Ren hides among the crowds in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya ward. His efforts to run away are more successful than he realizes when he ends up in the world of the beasts! A rough-living bear named Kumatetsu gives Ren a new life and a new name–Kyuta–but is Kumatetsu really up to the job of being a mentor?” Find out! And check it out over at Yen’s web site.

image c. 2016 Yen Press

image c. 2016 Yen Press

After the Children Go Home…

We haven’t heard of publisher Henry Holt before, but now they have brought us The Great Pet Escape, a new graphic novel for young readers written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. “The class pets at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School want OUT . . . and GW (short for George Washington), the deceptively cute hamster in the second-grade classroom, is just the guy to lead the way. But when he finally escapes and goes to find his former partners in crime, Barry and Biter, he finds that they actually LIKE being class pets. Impossible! Just as GW gets Barry and Biter to agree to leave with him, a mouse named Harriet and her many mouse minions get in their way. What follows is class-pet chaos guaranteed to make readers giggle . . . and maybe look at their class pets a little differently in the future.” Squeak on over to Kirkus Reviews to check it out. It’s available in hardcover and trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Henry Holt

image c. 2016 Henry Holt

Animals. They’re Coming For You, Barbara…

Brandon Blankenburg is a writer based out of Seattle, Washington. He has an affinity for natural history… and horror stories. Which he has combined into a series of no-holds-barred animal-based chillers, most of which are available on Amazon for Kindle readers. Two of his most recent are Night of the Killer Roos (speaks for itself, yes?) and Nudibranchs! (“Sex! Aliens! Violence!”). Check out his Amazon page to find out more about his latest projects… but beware!

image c. 2016 Brandon Blankenburg

image c. 2016 Brandon Blankenburg

The Boy and the Bears

Caught this one coming out! Fresh and new for 2016, this book describes itself best: “It starts with a chase. When Spencer Plain is pulled out of school in the middle of the day, he never expects to be speeding down the highway with his uncle, trying to outpace the car that’s tailing them. And he certainly never thought he’d find himself fleeing from a bear through the woods. And when he hears the bear say ‘We’ve been expecting you’, Spencer knows he’s just uncovered a whole world he’d never imagined. He’s brought to Bearhaven, a secret oasis his parents created for bears. But there are depths to Bearhaven that Spencer and his new bear cub friend, Kate, start to uncover. Spencer finds out he’s been there before, even if he can’t remember. He also stumbles into a rescue mission being planned, to save a bear in danger. He knows he can help, and he’s desperate to find clues to his parents’ whereabouts, so he and Kate decide to take matters into their own hands – even if they discover a secret that could threaten Bearhaven’s future!” The Secrets of Bearhaven by K.E. Rocha is available now in hardcover and paperback at Barnes & Noble — and check out this review site as well!

image c. 2016 Scholastic, Inc.

image c. 2016 Scholastic, Inc.