InFurNation Rotating Header Image

Comic Books

The War After

Apr 27th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

There’s an interesting new hardcover graphic novel coming this June from Archaia Entertainment, written and illustrated by Shane-Michael Vidaurri, with the unusual title of Iron: Or, The War After. See what you think of this description: “It is the aftermath of a long war, in a world of constant winter. An intelligence spy from the Resistance—the rabbit, Hardin—steals secret information from a military base of the Regime. His actions set off a chain of events that reverberates through the ranks of both sides, touching everyone from Pavel the crow to Giles the goat, from the highest-ranking officials to the smallest orphaned child. When the snow finally settles, who will be the true patriot.”  Find out more (and see a multi-page teaser) at Archaia’s preview page.

image c. 2012 Archaia Entertainment

Liberty Meadows: The Sunday Strips

Apr 21st, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

It’s time for the world — or at least Furry Fandom — to re-discover the works of Frank Cho. Or at very least his seminal work in comics, Liberty Meadows. This well-known comic strip started life as an outgrowth of University Squared, a comic strip that Frank worked on during his college days. Liberty Meadows tells the story of a terribly beautiful human named Brandy, who works as a psychiatrist at the Liberty Meadows animal sanctuary. But it also tells the story of Brandy’s decidedly anthropomorphic animal friends: Like Ralph the miniature bear; Dean the lecherous pig; Leslie the hypochondriac frog; and Truman the very, very nice duck. The strip was syndicated for newspapers from 1997 to 2001, when constant censorship by his editors convinced Mr. Cho to switch to a comic book format — which was self-published at first, then later came out of Image Comics. During that time as a newspaper strip however, Liberty Meadows produced several full-color Sunday strips. And now those strips have finally been collected in the Liberty Meadows Sunday Collection, coming this June in hardcover from, yes, Image. You can find out more about Liberty Meadows — and read the current, un-censored strip — at Frank Cho’s official web site.

image c. 2012 Frank Cho

Ratha’s Creature… in Pictures?

Apr 19th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

Clare Bell is a science fiction and fantasy author best known for some very furry-themed books. What’s more, she’s actually been to several furry conventions — as a fan! She’s mostly known for a series called The Books of the Named, and the first book in the series is called Ratha’s Creature (check it out here on Amazon). In this book we meet Ratha, who is a young member of the Named: A species of prehistoric cat that are self-aware and possessing of culture, laws, and even primitive agriculture (they keep livestock). Ratha brings shock and dismay to her society when she learns to tame a strange ‘creature’ that glows, and flows, and burns…  most anything dry in fact. The rest of the series follows the adventures of Ratha, her friends, and her adversaries as events develop after Ratha’s discovery of this “creature”… and how she learns it can be useful. You can find out more about the series on the Clare Bell fan site. The reason we’re telling you all this now is that Clare Bell and Sheila Ruth (from Imaginator Press) are exploring the possibility of creating a Ratha’s Creature graphic novel — and they’d like the fans’ opinion of the idea, to see how popular it might be. Visit Clare Bell’s FurAffinity page and check out the survey in her journal. She’ll fill you in on the rest.

image c. 2012 Clare Bell

Pride of the Lions

Apr 9th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

Well now, this seems to have come out of nowhere: Carnal, Volume 1: Pride of the Lions, written by Jason Bergenstock and illustrated by John Connell.  Here’s the description from an article by Mother/Writer/Gamer: “The first graphic novel in the Carnal series, Pride of the Lions takes place on the continent of New Africa and focuses on three main species of humanistic animals. After the Great War decades earlier between the hyenas and the lions, the victorious and once united lion prides now lay scattered across the land, torn by civil unrest over territory disputes and food shortages. The hyena clans that survived the war were forced deep into the Earth and now live in a massive underground city under the control of a terrible witch. The buffalo race is indifferent to most other species and have walled themselves off from the rest of the kingdoms. Humans have lost their hold on the African territories long ago and live as a simple, nomadic species. The first book opens with Long Eyes, an old sapphire-eyed lion who is determined to save the lion kingdom and rescue his warrior son, Oron, who has gone missing. Long Eyes believes Oron is the key to uniting the prides. A young lioness tracker named Omi is sent out with the protection of two lion brothers to locate the missing warrior, but what they find is something that may unravel the very foundation of life for all species.” This hardcover graphic novel is available for pre-order from Sea Lion Books. It’s arriving in stores this coming May.

image c. 2012 Sea Lion Books

Marsupilami Maybe

Mar 31st, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

Also over on Cartoon Brew is a link to the current trailer for the new Marsupilami movie coming out in April in France. Marsu-who, you ask? The marsupilami is a fantastic creature which came to us from the imagination of André Franquin, an influential Belgian comic book artist and creator, best known for his work in the magazine Spirou. The marsupilami is a mysterious jungle denizen known for its spotted fur, it’s exuberant cry of “Houba!”, it’s appetite for piranha fish, and it’s very VERY long tail… which usually went off the frame of whatever comic page it was drawn upon. Franquin used the character in the Spirou et Fantasio comics from 1952 to 1968, and the character has been revived several times since then — most notably in the Disney TV animation series Raw Toonage in the 1990’s. The estate of Franquin was not very thrilled with the interpretation of the character in that series — they went so far as to revoke Disney’s right to the marsupilami. Well now, the same French team that brought us the Asterix live-action movies have produced a live-action/CGI movie (HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami), directed by and starring Alain Chabat. Check out the trailer and see what  you think. The marsupilami itself is seen very little here, but it gives you a feeling for what the movie is going to be like.

image c. 2012 Andre Franquin

Knightingail

Mar 26th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

Another new discovery from WonderCon: “Knightingail: The Legend Begins is a 6-issue fantasy, adventure mini-series that tells the story of how a Forester, teenage princess named Eloa is transformed into a mystical powered warrior princess named Knightingail. Knightingail has the ability to control the forces of nature and heal living creatures. She must re-unite the 7-tribes of her homeland to fight off a massive invasion force.” Those 7 tribes include various anthropomorphic species as well — check out the character of Kaeli Hunter from the cover of issue #4, below! The series is created written, and published by Wayne Gardiner and penciled by Tina Francisco. Various artists helped out with the inking, coloring, and covers. You can find out more about all of this (including a new package offer for the whole 6-issue series) at the Knightingail web site, hosted by Knightingail herself.

image c. 2012 Knightingail

The 2011 Ursa Major Nominees!

Mar 16th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

The Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA) announced the 2011 nominees for the Ursa Major Awards on March 15th, the day that voting for the final awards opened. Voting will be open until May 4th, then the winners will be announced at a ceremony at CaliFur.8 in Irvine on Saturday, June 2nd. What, you haven’t heard of the Ursa Major Awards? Shame on you! Here’s what they say on their web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth. Anyone may nominate and vote for candidates for the Awards. These Awards are decided by the fans, not by a committee.” Last year more than 1,200 fur fans world wide took part in the final voting for the 2010 Ursa Major Awards. (To put that in perspective, that’s nearly one-quarter of the entire voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — you know, the Oscar people?) Again from the Ursa Majors web site: “There are five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place. To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2011; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination.”

Without further ah-doo, here are the Ursa Major nominees for 2011.

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture:

Bitter Lake (Directed by Shay)
Kung Fu Panda 2  (Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson)
Puss in Boots  (Directed by Chris Miller)
Rango  (Directed by Gore Verbinski)
Rio  (Directed by Carlos Saldanha)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Series or Short Work:

Mongrels  (Directed by Adam Millar, Jon Brown, Daniel Peak)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  (Directed by James Wootton)
The Regular Show  (Directed by Benton Conor, Calvin Wong, Kat Morris, Sean Szeles, J. G. Quintel, Minty Lewis, and others)
Simon’s Cat  (Directed by Simon Tofield)
ThunderCats  (Directed by Michael Jelenic, Todd Casey, Tab Murphy, and others)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Novel (40,000 words or more):

Black Dogs, Part 2, by Ursula Vernon
Death Drop, by Sean Allen
Isolation Play, by Kyell Gold
Red Sails in the Fallout, by Paul Kidd
Smiley and the Hero, by Ryan Campbell

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction (less than 40,000 words):

“A Safety Weasel Christmas”, by Gene Breshears
“Argo”, by Rick Griffin
“Fetching Asteroids”, by Mary E. Lowd
“How to Get Through the Day”, by Kyell Gold
“Let’s Play Musical Chairs”, by K. M. Hirosaki
“Shreddy and the Zomb-Dogs”, by Mary E. Lowd
“Where the Heart Is”, by Mary E. Lowd and Daniel Lowd

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work (Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books):

Dragon’s Hoard #1, by various (published by Rabbit Valley)
Fur-Piled #5, by Leo Magna
In the Doghouse of Justice, by Kyell Gold
Nordguard, Book One, by Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, Omnibus 1, by various (published by the Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story (comic books and serialized on-line stories):

Endtown, by Aaron Neathery
Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna
Furthia High, by QuetzaDrake
Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler
Red Lantern, by Rukis and Alector Fencor

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip:

Ballerina Mafia, by Immelmann
Doc Rat, by Jenner
Faux Pas, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken
Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
Sandra and Woo, by Powree and Oliver Knörzer

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Magazine (both in-print and on-line):

Alasso
Anthro
Flayrah
South Fur Lands
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Web Site (galleries, story archives, directories, blogs, and personal sites):

Equestria Daily
Fur Affinity
Furry Writers’ Guild
Inkbunny
WikiFur

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration:

Blotch, cover of Isolation Play
Blotch, cover of Nordguard, Book One
Jason Chan, cover of Red Sails in the Fallout
Sara Palmer, cover of Weasel Presents
Rosenthal, FBA 2012 season opener painting
C. D. Woodbury, cover of Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #48

And finally in the category of Best Anthropomorphic Game:

O-kamiden (Developed by Mobile & Game Studio, Inc.)
Pokemon: Black and White (Developed by Game Freak)
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (Developed by CyberConnect2)
Sonic Generations (Developed by Dimps and Sonic Team)
Star Fox 64 3D (Developed by Nintendo EAD and Q-Games)

Congratulations to each and every one of the nominees! At the Ursa Majors web site you’ll discover helpful links to find out much more about each of the nominees, as well as information on how to sign up for the voting. Remember, everyone is free to cast their vote — and  you should! The more folks who participate in these awards, not only the more they will represent the broad spectrum of Furry Fandom, but the more that folks who chose what kind of stuff gets made (and released!) will start to pay attention.

 

Ice Age Comics

Mar 14th, 2012
by rodney.
2 comments

Also from the folks at Kaboom! is the comic-book adaptation of Ice Age: Continental Drift, the new Blue Sky Studio film coming this July. The one-shot comic book, meanwhile, comes out in May. “Sid the Sloth, Manny the Mammoth, Diego the Saber-tooth Tiger, and the hilarious saber-toothed squirrel Scrat find themselves on another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Meeting new sea creatures and battling pirates, life is never boring for this wacky herd! Starring the beloved characters from the hit film series!” That’s what they say on their web site. It’s written by Caleb Monroe with full-color art by Shelli Paroline. Meanwhile the same team is also producing Ice Age: Playing Favorites, a full-color one-shot original Ice Age story. Both these titles are coming soon.

image c. 2012 Kaboom! Studios

Is He Cool, or What?

Mar 12th, 2012
by rodney.
No comments yet

This May it’s time for the return of everyone’s favorite lasagna-loving feline with attitude.  Comic book writer and well-known critic Mark Evanier takes up a pen this time to bring as a new full-color Garfield comic book from Boom! Studios’ Kaboom! imprint.  It helps, of course, that he was one of the writers of the Garfield & Friends animated TV series back in the day. This time around the art duties are handled by Garfield comic strip cartoonist Gary Barker. Check out the pre-order information at Kaboom’s web site, which also shows one of the variant covers of the premier issue.

image c. 2012 Jim Davis / Kaboom

← Earlier Posts Newer Posts →