Disney/Pixar have launched their new Studio Artist Showcase series with Over There, a full-color hardcover book for young readers written and illustrated by Steve Pilcher. “Shredder is a little shrew who lives by himself, and while he loves his forest home, he gets a bit lonely. There must be something more, he thinks. So when he sees a ‘silver line twinkling in the distance,’ he decides to find out what it is. He discovers a beautiful stream, but then he gets caught up in the current! Luckily, a mole named Nosey saves him. As they explore, Shredder begins to miss the forest, so he and Nosey return together, and Shredder realizes that all he really needed was a friend.” Over There is available later this month, and it’s been reviewed over at Publishers Weekly.
Book
The Return of Inspector LeBrock
Steampunk and furry fans may both rejoice as writer/artist Brian Talbot brings us the latest edition of his anthropomorphic alternate history series in Grandville Noel, coming this November in hardcover from Dark Horse Press. “With his trusty adjunct, Detective Sergeant Ratzi, away for Christmas, there’s no holiday for Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard as he embarks on an investigation into the disappearance of his housekeeper’s niece, Bunty Spall. The trail leads to a growing religious cult, where a charismatic unicorn messiah and his con men cronies, already responsible for mass murder in the United States, are about to lead a crusade for the ethnic cleansing of the French Empire’s doughfaces – the derogatory nickname for humans used by the majority, animal-headed population. Teaming up with Chance Lucas, a gun-slinging operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, and reigniting his steamy love affair with the voluptuous Parisian badger prostitute Billie, LeBrock clashes with both cult fanatics and doughface terrorists, uncovering in the process a centuries-old religious conspiracy that threatens to plunge the world into bloody civil war.” Find out more about this full-color series at Brian Talbot’s blog page.
Behind the Bricks
If you’re a fan of Lego System’s surprise furry hit The Legend of Chima, there are a couple of new resources out you might want to find. With LEGO Legends of Chima: The Secret History you can “Dive into the world of Chima and follow the epic story of the LEGO® Legends of Chima minifigures as they feud over the energy source CHI in LEGO® Legends of Chima: The Secret History. Relive the adventure while learning tons of information about your favorite LEGO Legends of Chima tribes, locations, and minifigures including Laval, Eris, Razar and the infamous Cragger. Learn battle plans and attack strategies, the difference between the five main tribes, and much more in this exciting new LEGO book. LEGO® Legends of Chima: The Secret History presents the world of Chima like never before!” according to Brickipedia (gotta love that). Then there’s the Chima Character Encyclopedia, which is pretty much self-explanatory — and currently available at Barnes & Noble. Both of them are published by DK Books.
The Most Famous Furry in the World?
It’s quite possible that Mickey Mouse could well be that — though, of course, Bugs Bunny could also be considered a serious contender. Still, The Mouse has been around the longest, and author Garry Apgar decided to take a look what possibly accounts for Mickey’s world-wide appeal in a new hardcover book. “Since his modest debut in 1928, Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse has evolved into arguably the world’s most recognized and beloved fictional figure. Mickey Mouse: Emblem of the American Spirit is the illustrated biography of a unique cartoon character, his life and times, and his impact and influence around the world in art and literature. Part art history and part cultural study, Apgar’s Mickey Mouse narrates how the character was initially developed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, how his irrepressible spirit grew to huge popularity during the Depression, and how he became a politically charged cultural icon of international reach.” You can order the book at Midtown Comics. It’s coming later this month from Simon & Schuster.
One Dimension-Hopping Felinsect
Perfect Square and the makers of Bravest Warriors have teamed up to bring us two new hardcover books aimed at young readers — though grown-up fans of that Internet phenomenon are certain to find some surreal and interesting stuff as well. The star of it all? Catbug, “everyone’s favorite dimension-hopping adventurer”. In The Search for Catbug, we find that “Catbug ate some weird new cubes of food that caused him to lose what little control he already had over his jump abilities! Now he’s careening through dimensions, unable to stop! Help the Bravest Warriors travel the galaxy and find Catbug. Just don’t eat any of those cube snacks or you might end up lost too!” Simon & Schuster have a web site for it too. Meanwhile in Catbug’s Treasure Book “…we see the world from his perspective. A kind of scrapbook, the pages are filled with memories and souvenirs of his adventures with the Bravest Warriors, along with his playtime imaginings. There are also allusions to past episodes (Danny’s eyebrows taped to a page, for example), and hints at secrets not yet revealed.” We found this one over at Booksamillion.
A Child’s Name Spelled Out in Animals
Personalized books for kids (that is, books specially printed to include a child’s name or personal information in the story) go back quite a ways. Now ABC Me Books (www.abcmebooks.com) have a new angle on the popular ideas: Teaching kids to spell, using their very own names and a menagerie of animals for each letter. They have two customizable books currently: My ABC Book (working the child’s name into a mini-scene for each letter in the alphabet), and the even more personalized The Perfect Name, in which the animals illustrate why each letter in a child’s name is particularly cool. The books are illustrated by Katie Hofgard (known as the anthro illustrator Wolf-Nymph) and Nordeva.
Kids Can Find Their Inner Beast
Taking a multi-media approach, Scholastic Inc bring us Spirit Animals — a series of fantasy novels for young readers that tie into an on-line interactive game. “In the world of Erdas, every child who comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal. This rare bond can unlock incredible power. A dark force has risen from the past, and now the fate of Erdas depends on four brave kids . . . and on you.” So far they have released four books in the series (by a variety of authors), with another one coming later this year and two more slated for early in 2015. The Spirit Animals web site has more details of course. “Read the books, then join the adventure!”
What’s Black and Yellow, But Not A Bee?
Everyone’s favorite hard-boiled black cat detective has been busy lately — and those of us on this side of the pond are seeing more of his adventures thanks to the folks at Dark Horse Press. Now they’re bringing us Blacksad: Amarillo. “Hardboiled feline detective John Blacksad is back in the latest tour de force from the multiple-award winning duo of writer Juan Díaz Canales and artist Juanjo Guarnido. Taking a much-needed break after the events of A Silent Hell, Blacksad lands a side job driving a rich Texan’s prized yellow Cadillac Eldorado across 1950s America, hitting the back roads from New Orleans to Tulsa. But before long, the car is stolen and Blacksad finds himself mixed up in another murder, with roughneck bikers, a shifty lawyer, one down-and-out Beat generation writer, and some sinister circus folk. When John Blacksad goes on the road, trouble is dead ahead.” Find out more at Comics Beat, before it comes out in hardcover this October.
Pups and Petrol
Author Tonton Jim appeared on the scene recently with a new series of books called Hound’s Glenn. The titular neighborhood is a place where families of dogs and wolves live and work — evidently, families of other species live in other neighborhoods — and the stories feature the daily adventures of a group of young canines growing up. Aimed at young readers and adults alike, each book features watercolor illustrations by the artist E. Felix Lyon. The first book, Max and the Lowrider Car, introduces us to Max. He’s a fifth-grader wolf cub with a simple-sounding assignment from school: Find something amazing in town to write about. He finds it in the local auto customizing shop, and soon Max and his friends (and family) are off on an adventure seeking old boring cars to bring back to shiny new life. The book is available on Amazon now, published by Dayton. The second book in the series, Harold and the Hot Rod, is coming soon. Hmm, are we sensing a theme here?