Stephanie Gladden is a multi-talented artist and cartoonist, best known for her work on licensed properties like tie-in comics for The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, Looney Tunes, The Powerpuff Girls and Tom & Jerry. Furry fans, however, might know her best for her original creator-owned comic book series Hopster’s Tracks from the late 90’s. Well now, Stephanie has created her first on-line comic series, The Girls of Monster Paradise. You know all those old Sci Fi and Horror movies where the monsters show up and grab a screaming pretty girl, then drag her off slung over their shoulder? Just what do they do with those women? Do they eat them? Do they let them go? Neither! They take them to Monster Paradise, a tropical island where the party never ends — and where the girls stick around because they like their cool new monster friends! Find out all about it on-line here.
Comic Books
Wolves After The Fall
Creative Mind Energy (CME) describe themselves as “a creative consortium of artists, designers, inventors, story-tellers and writers who pool their educations, talents and creative abilities to bring outstanding new products to all media markets and industries”. To that end they have several comic book series in various stages of development — and several of them are Furry in nature. First up is The Gifted, a largely black & white comic book with water-color style illustrations. According to the CME blog, “The Gifted is set in a dystopian future, in which humans have devastated the earth. What animals remain endure a barren, dangerous existence, constantly being hunted and exterminated by man. But some of the animals find themselves gifted with sophisticated intelligence and the power of speech, and rise up against man to protect their earth.” The first issue will be available at their on-line store soon. Visit their web site to find out more about this and other upcoming titles.
Fantastic Cats — Literally
Jenny Parks is a traditional artist working in the realms of natural history and animal art. Lately though, she’s come to specialize in fantasy-anthropomorphic illustrations of cat characters. Cats like Doctor Mew, Hairy Pawter, and Purrlock Holmes. Of course she sells prints of her cat-work, and you can see examples of that and other illustrations at her web site, www.jennyparks.com.
The Elephant Men are Back
Image Comics have announced that the popular first hardcover volume of Richard Starkings’ popular Elephantmen comic book collection will soon be back in print — now in a new Revised and Expanded edition called Wounded Animals. It includes the original “Issue Zero” (with art by Ladronn), a sketch section, a new introduction, and more. Extreme noir science fiction with uplifted animals fighting against and alongside humans for world domination. Hey, the creators insist that it’s not Furry. Check it out and decide for yourself. The new edition (collecting issues 0 – 7) comes back to shelves on May 1st.
Robot Cat to the Rescue
After a successful Kickstarter campaign, DMP Digital Manga will be releasing a translated version of Osamu Tezuka’s A-Tomcat this April. Tezuka, as if you didn’t know, was the creator of Kimba the White Lion — and many many other world-famous titles, including of course Astro-Boy. This one-shot black & white paperback is an off-shoot of the Astro-Boy Series. Try to follow this: ” Tsugio is a young Japanese boy who is very fond of reading the Astro-Boy manga series. One day he finds a stray kitten and persuades his family to keep it. But then, after an encounter with two aliens honeymooning on Earth (!), suddenly the little cat not only looks like Astro-Boy, but has Astro-Boy’s Powers! Check out more at DMP’s order site.
The Air We Breathe
Breather is a new full-color graphic novel, coming soon. It’s conceived by Graeme Base (creator of Animalia), written by Sean Patrick O’Reilly, and illustrated by Asta Gunn. “On the distant planet of Otarius, invaders from the Birshh Dynasty have captured and enslaved the native Otarans. Pushed on by the ruthless Governor, timid Dr. Bjrork conducts horrific experiments to create a superior breed of slave. Years later, Birshh-Otaran hybrids are raised in captivity, dependent on ‘breathers’ – life-saving gas-masks that filter the Otarian air they, as hybrids, cannot tolerate. Two siblings, Dhrmmn and Lilli, strive to prove worthy of the Dynasty, to earn privileges for their half-breed kind.” No political allegory here, nope nope. Breather is coming in softcover from Arcana Studio this April, and you can check out a preview over at Graphic Policy.
Sweeping the Clouds Away
Oddly enough for an international institution like Sesame Street, it has never had its own comic book — Until Now! Ape Entertainment’s Kizoic imprint presents the first regular Sesame Street full-color comic, written by Jason M. Burns and illustrated by Amy Mebberson. The first issue hits stores this April, and features one of five full-color covers that interlock into an ultra-wide poster. “From television to the comic panel, Ape Entertainment will portray the characters that millions of parents and children have come to know and love in a comic series that will be produced in full color and available in stores this fall in standard comic sized printed editions for $3.99 and digest sized hardcover comic book editions for $7.99. They will also be available as a digital comic book that will be available through Apple’s App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.”
Gina and her Friends Turn 200
For 22 years, more than 5000 pages, and now 200 issues, Gold Digger has been written, drawn, colored, and lettered by one person: Fred Perry. Now Antarctic Press is celebrating the 200th issue of Gold Digger with the Gold Digger 200 Series Special. “Gina heads off on a dangerous expedition to a lost Mayan temple on Monster Island, and this one time, everyone’s available to come help out. For the first time, Gina embarks on an expedition with an army of experts to assist, and she’s going to need every one of them to help with what she faces!” Among the extras included in this issue is the location of a special web site where the previous 199 issues are available for free. Watch an interview with Fred Perry on YouTube discussing the issue, or you can pre-order it at Things From Another World. Everyone else can look for the issue in late April.
Cats with Swords
Sofawolf Press have announced that Caterwall, a new full-color young adult graphic novel by Spain Fischer, will be arriving this summer. Originally announced last spring, this sword & sorcery tale follows the adventures of Pax, a feline would-be adventurer. Pax is ” the orphaned son of the kingdom of Katia’s greatest knights. His family name and reputation has been tarnished, however, and Pax is to blame. When the young cat intercepts troubling news from the neighboring kingdom of the dogs, Dewshire, his warnings fall on deaf ears. Banished from Caterwall after insulting the Dewshire diplomat, Pax must decide if he will try to stop the dangerous tide approaching Caterwal l– or turn his back on the home which cast him out.” The story will be told in a series of three 100-page graphic novels. We’ll admit to some confusion regarding the web site for this project. Some promotional posters released at Further Confusion and elsewhere give the web site as www.caterwall.net, which leads you to a “Coming Soon” page with an illustration. More actual information, however, can be found at www.caterwall.com, which includes artwork and background write-ups.








