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Cats

The Wonderful, Wonderful Cat

Oct 18th, 2011
by rodney.
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Comic historians differ as to who exactly created the iconic character Felix the Cat: Joe Sullivan or his employee, Otto Messmer. To further complicate things, after his world-wide fame as a star of animated shorts (and being the first cartoon character ever represented by a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade), Felix appeared in a series of comic strip and comic book adventures in the 1940’s and 1950’s — some of which were drawn by Otto Messmer, and some by Joe Oriolo, but which were usually credited to Joe Sullivan. Got all that? It’s just one of the many facts presented in the introduction to Felix the Cat’s Greatest Comic Book Tails, in paperback now from IDW Publishing. After the opening essay by Craig Yoe and Don Oriolo (Joe’s son), be prepared for more than 200 of black & white and full-color comics. Righty-oh! More information is available at Amazon.

image c. 2011 IDW Publishing

Stay Furry, My Friends

Oct 10th, 2011
by rodney.
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We don’t need to tell you much about Puss in Boots from Dreamworks. “The Most Interesting Cat in the World”, his mini-trailers have gone viral all over YouTube and elsewhere already. So we’ll just clue you in on a few interesting factoids. The movie stars Antonio Banderas (of course!) as Puss and Salma Hayek as the curvaceous Kitty Softpaws, as well as the voices of Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton, Amy Sedaris, Constance Marie, and Guillermo del Toro. It’s directed by Chris Miller, who’s an old hand at Dreamworks by now: Besides having directed Shrek the 3rd, he’s also known as the voice of Kowalski the penguin in the Madagascar movies. (Popular voice actor Jeff Bennett voices Kowalski in the Penguins of Madagascar TV series though. Back in the day, Chris Miller was also very well known for an animated short he created, Lea Press-On Limbs.) And of course, the most important news: It’s coming to theaters on Friday, October 28th. Right after seeing the movie, you might want to check out The Art of Puss in Boots, edited by Ramin Zahed and available in hardcover this November from Insight Editions.

image c. 2011 Dreamworks Animation

Head Down the Mysterly River

Sep 15th, 2011
by rodney.
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Bill Willingham is best known as the creator of the Fables comic book series — which has, of course, taken more than a few furry turns itself. Now he’s trying his hand at a different sort of creation: A hardcover graphic novel for young readers called Down the Mysterly River, illustrated by Mark Buckingham. Here, we’ll let Amazon explain: “Max ‘the Wolf’ is a top-notch Boy Scout, an expert at orienteering and a master of being prepared. So it is a little odd that he suddenly finds himself, with no recollection of his immediate past, lost in an unfamiliar wood. Even odder still, he encounters a badger named Banderbrock, a black bear named Walden, and McTavish the Monster (who might also be an old barn cat)—all of whom talk—and who are as clueless as Max. Before long, Max and his friends are on the run from a relentless group of hunters and their deadly hounds. Armed with powerful blue swords and known as the Blue Cutters, these hunters capture and change the very essence of their prey. For what purpose, Max can’t guess. But unless he can solve the mystery of the strange forested world he’s landed in, Max may find himself and his friends changed beyond recognition, lost in a lost world… ” It’s available now from Starscape.

image c. 2011 Starscape

 

Snuggling Like Cats and Dogs

Aug 8th, 2011
by rodney.
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You’ve seen Feed the Kitty, right? The well-known Warner Brothers cartoon short (directed by Chuck Jones) starring Marc Antony (the big, burly, barking dog) and Pussyfoot (the ridiculously adorable kitten)? Well if somehow you haven’t, get your paws on any number of Warner Brothers cartoon collection, because this cartoon is a must for any and all furry fans! Marc Antony starts off trying to frighten the tiny kitten, but overcome by a wave of cuteness, the dog ends up falling in love with… him. Yes, him. Though the Wikipedia entry refers to Pussyfoot as a female, in the cartoon Marc Antony’s human owner distinctly refers to Pussyfoot as “he” and “him”. So, why bring all this up now? Because the Looney Tunes comic book (published by DC Comics) is featuring our smitten canine and feline pair in issue #202, on the shelves right now. It’s written by Bill Matheny, with cover art by Dave Santana.

image c. 2011 DC Comics

Cats vs. Lizards

Jul 29th, 2011
by rodney.
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Exiled: Clan of the Claw is a new series of connected science fiction novellas, edited by Bill Fawcett and coming this August from Baen Books. The writers collected in Book One include S.M. Stirling, Harry Turtledove, John Ringo, and Jody Lynn Nye. An alternative history of ancient Earth, the series tells of a race of evolved cats fighting against the descendants of dinosaurs. Hmm, is it just us or does that echo the new Thundercats animated series on Cartoon Network? Well, here’s the description from Amazon: “After the extinction asteroid doesn’t strike Earth, the dinosaurs keep evolving – but so do the mammals.  We mammals have achieved human-like shapes, but now it’s cold-blooded, magic-using reptiles against the hot-blooded, hot-tempered descendants of cats.  In a heroic, bronze-age world similar to 300, the Mrem Clan of the Claw and its sister warbands are expanding their rough-and-tumble territory, but now they face the Lishkash, masters of a cold-blooded empire of slave armies and magic.  It’s mammalian courage and adaptation against reptile cunning in a clash of steel and will that will determine which line shall inherit the Earth.” Read it next month and decide for yourself.

 

image c. 2011 Baen Books

Devastated Cats

Jul 26th, 2011
by rodney.
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The first of several discoveries at this year’s San Diego Comic Con: The Devastator is a digest-sized quarterly magazine of comedy and satire (for humans! they insist) whose writers and artists include folks who’ve worked on The Simpsons, The Daily Show, the Onion, and more. Every issue revolves around a theme, and the subject of issue #3 — just released — is cats. Good cats, bad cats, evil cats, romantic cats… and even cats served up as dinner for aliens. Seriously. The creators have uploaded a preview video to YouTube, or you can visit their web site to find out more. Flip the current zine over and you have the first few pages of a book called 400 Reasons to Get Married… To Your Cat!

Housepets are Naked!

Jul 11th, 2011
by rodney.
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Housepets! is an on-line full-color comic strip by Rick Griffin. It’s well-known and well-loved… in fact it even won the Ursa Major Award for Best Comic Strip two years running. And now, it’s on dead trees! Housepets! Are Naked All The Time is the first collection of Housepets! strips available in softcover book format. In fact it’s available now from Createspace — and, of course, from Amazon. Follow the daily adventures of the pets of Babylon Gardens, USA. And now you don’t even need a computer!

 

image c. 2011 Rick Griffin

Spanish Cats come to America

Jul 7th, 2011
by rodney.
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Jose Fonollosa is a well-known comic book illustrator in Spain. For the past few year’s he’s also been working on an on-line black & white comic strip known simply as Meow, which follows that adventures of two domestic cats and their harried human companions. Cat fans, you can follow the strip at Mr. Fonollosa’s blogspot site. Meanwhile, Meow is being introduced to English-speaking audiences in a new hardcover collection from Kettledrum publishing, which is coming this August. You can order it at Westfield Comics, among other places.

 

image c. 2011 Jose Fonollosa

 

 

Magical Animals to the Rescue

Jul 5th, 2011
by rodney.
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Things do move quickly these days. The Familiars, a hardcover fantasy novel by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, was published by HarperCollins last September. Now, it’s already in development as an animated feature film for Sony Pictures. Here’s the story synopsis from Amazon.com and Booklist: “Aldwyn, a scruffy, quick-witted alley cat on the lam, poses as a magical animal when he ducks into a shop to avoid capture and ends up purchased as a boy wizard’s familiar. Despite needing to keep his mundane nature hidden, Aldwyn settles easily into his new role, bonding with his human loyal, Jack, and befriending two other children’s familiars: Gilbert, a tree frog, and Skylar, a blue jay. When an evil witch kidnaps the children and kills their mentor, only their familiars can save them.” The second book in the series, The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown, is heading for bookshelves this coming September. Meanwhile, here’s news about the movie from Bookyurt.com and Variety: “Doug Sweetland, a Pixar veteran of 16 years, has signed on to helm The Familiars for Sony Pictures Animation. Based on the novel by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, The Familiars is the story of the animals chosen to be familiars for young wizards in training. Sam Raimi and Josh Donen will exec produce.While at Pixar, Sweetland worked on animated features including Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo.” You can also find out more by visiting The Familiars web site.

 

image c. HarperCollins

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