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Comedy

Not Crazy, Just Proud

Most nerdy people out there (you know who you are!) who are also fans of music are familiar with the works of Jonathan Coulton. Well now after a successful Kickstarter campaign, several of Mr. Coulton’s most famous songs have been mashed together into a brand new full-color comic book series, Code Monkey Save World — written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa. “A put-upon coding monkey teams up with a seething, lovelorn super-villain to fight robots, office worker zombies, and maybe even each other as they struggle to impress the amazing women for whom they fruitlessly long.” It’s available now and you can find out more over at Monkey Brain Comics.

image c. 2016 Pak Man Productions

image c. 2016 Pak Man Productions

Panda POW!

Nolen Lee is another multi-talented artist, often employed in the animation business.  He has a specialty though: Pandas.  Specifically, pandas wearing boxing gloves.  Who seem to have a thing about punching the nearest… whatever! Now Gallery Nucleus is selling Nolen’s portfolio book titled, appropriately enough, Punching PandasAccording to their web site: “Nolen Lee is a freelance animation artist from originally from Portland, Oregon who is now working from Seattle. His art book Punching Pandas is full of ink and digital works of fighting pandas in mischievious situations – often finding their way into a strange franchise or two. The idea may sound adorable, but don’t let these pandas fool you. They’ll punch anything and anyone, even you!” You should also visit Nolen’s web site to find out what other sort of merchandise (t-shirts, prints, etc.) you can decorate with your favorite pugilistic panda.

image 2015 by Nolen Lee

image 2015 by Nolen Lee

Kitties of Justice!

We almost let this pass us by. Betsy Bauer is an illustrator who’s worked in animation for some time (on projects like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) as well as illustrated children’s books. But her latest project is… dumb. Or at least she says so. It’s called Super Dumb Coloring Book of Super Dumb Cats, and it’s a collection of dumb superhero puns — with cats. (Look, these are her words, not ours! Honest!) Join Catman, Sailor Mewn, and I-Yarn Man (!) and all the rest — and add some color to their lives. You can find this black & white (obviously) paperback at Amazon, Stuart Ng Books, and Gallery Nucleus.

image c. 2015 by Betsy Bauer

image c. 2015 by Betsy Bauer

In Space, No One Can Hear You Clean

Look, we just plain stole the under-title of this book … why?  Because we can’t top it! From Titan Books and well-known SoCal artist Joey Spiotto comes Alien Next Door, “the first official Alien cartoon book!”. Here’s what they say: “See a new, caring side to the legendary science fiction monster as he tends to Jonesy the cat, endeavours to keep his house cleaner than the Nostromo, and searches for his place on a cold, new, alien world: Earth. From facehuggers to feather dusters, discover how the perfect killing machine relaxes after a day of scaring space marines.”. It’s available now in paperback.

image c. 2015 Titan Books

image c. 2015 Titan Books

People Are Strange, When You’re A Vixen

According to Cartoon Brew, Yoyotoki is a young vixen who “…was raised with cell phones, computers, and all of the other gadgets and trappings of modern life, but her parents soon got tired of the rat race and decided to move to the countryside, where they encountered a tornado and found themselves in a strange land called Mytholopia, a beautiful world filled with waterfall farms, rainbow forests, and desert canyons.” So says Niki Yang, creator of Yoyotoki: Happy Ears!, a new proposed animated TV series. Ms. Yang is known in animation circles for her work on shows like Fanboy and Chum Chum, Family Guy, Gravity Falls, Clarence, and Adventure Time. Now she’s brought us the adventures of Yoyotoki (and her friends, “…a fantastically elastic gummy bear named Steak and a sloppy pig named Hotwings…”) as her bid to be the next pilot show that’s picked up for production by Amazon Studios. Check out the Cartoon Brew article to find out more about the show and how to vote for it. You can also check out the pilot itself over at Sidereel and see for yourself.

Image c. 2015 Titmouse

Image c. 2015 Titmouse

I’m Bat Pat!

Woo! And one more more MIPCOM entry. Bat Pat is a production of Atlantyca Entertainment in Italy. According to Animation Magazine, “The 2D series follows the spooky and comical adventures of a talking bat, Bat Pat, and the [human] Silver siblings… as they unravel mysteries and cross paths with supernatural creatures of the night in the quirky town of Fogville.” According to Atlantyca, “Bat Pat grew up in a dark library in a different town, so he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the various creatures of the night. Bat Pat is like a kid full of wide-eyed wonder, he truly appreciates the little thing daytime offer but nighttime is where Bat Pat really thrives. Despite his initial fears, he’s equally driven to help supernatural creatures in need because Bat Pat shares a common link with them…they’re both creatures of the night and usually misunderstood by ‘normal’ people! Bat Pat is very loyal to the kids and they love him, they consider Bat Pat ‘the flying Silver’.” The show is based on the popular series of young reader books by Roberto Pavanello. Atlantyca has a production web site for the show that includes lots of background notes and a video trailer.

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

image c. 2015 Atlantyca Entertainment

One Day a Little Kitty Went to Camp…

Another MIPCOM find, courtesy of Animation Magazine, called Welcome to Bric-A-Broc. “Mino is a lively city cat: cheerful, crafty and very boisterous. In the hope of calming him down, his parents have sent him to a countryside holiday camp for the summer. Mino can’t think of anything worse! He’s stuck in the middle of nowhere on a dilapidated farm run by an old goat and a scatter-brained giraffe. The manager is a stickler for rules and the instructor keeps organizing loads of outdoor activities to make the most of the fresh air when all Mino wants to do is stay inside where it’s warm and cosy and play computer games. Mino has to learn to make the best of it but his exuberant character turns every episode into an extraordinary escapade.” That’s the official description from Gaumont Animation in France, and you can see more at their web site. Currently they’re seeking distribution for Bric-A-Broc outside of Europe.

image c. 2015 Gaumont Animation

image c. 2015 Gaumont Animation

 

More Cats in More Countries

The Ollie & Moon Show is a new 2D animated TV series, based on a popular children’s book series by Diane Kredensor, “…an Emmy Award-winning artist, director and producer whose credits include Pinky and the Brain and Clifford the Big Red Dog, among others.” [So says Variety]. “In the series, two animated cats travel around the world. teaching viewers about the joy of unlikely friendships and global citizenship… The series will use art that blends live-action with 2D designs.” Ollie is a young cat who likes to plan and schedule his far-flung trips around the world.  Moon… likes to bounce off the walls. Somehow these two get along well enough to travel together and learn as they do. The series has been picked up by NBC’s Sprout Network for broadcast starting in 2017.

image c. 2015 Cottonwood Media

image c. 2015 Cottonwood Media

Danger! Danger!

DHX Media (the production home of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Littlest Pet Shop, and many many more) have recently signed an international distribution deal for a new CGI TV series called Endangered Species. Unfortunately, so far none of those distribution deals include the USA! “The series follows Pickle, Merl and Gull, a bunny, a squirrel and a seagull who might not seem high on the protected species list, but who are constantly on the verge of catastrophic extinction through comical misadventure.” Check out the article over at Animation World Network to find out more.

image c. 2015 DHX Media

image c. 2015 DHX Media