Now here’s something different: A werewolf comic book with decidedly political overtones, taking on the current hot-button topic of illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States in a very unusual manner. Here’s Fangoria.com’s description of the first Feeding Ground hardcover graphic novel: “Pretending to be asleep, Flaca Busqueda watches her father leave just before going back to work. Dad, tired and poor, promises her that this will be his ‘one last cross’. Flaca sneakily gets up from her bed and spontaneously decides to follow him. She never expects to be cruelly kidnapped at the Mexican/American border, known to locals as ‘The Devil’s Highway’. In a race against time, Flaca’s parents, her brother and uncle are on a desperate search to find their missing girl before anything horrible happens to her. When the family finally locates their lost daughter, Flaca has become different and strangely odd. They find her scarred with bloody scratches and claw marks on her back, as if she were attacked by a wolf. Flaca’s body is changing at such a tender adolescent age. Her coming-of-age tale represents the werewolf’s ever-present transformation. In the backdrop of this horror story, there are political and social commentaries about the timely issue of illegal immigration. Creators Swifty Lang, Michael Lapinski, and Chris Mangun provide different perspectives on the subject, but never actually give a definite opinion on the topic, as if they are giving the readers a chance to discuss and choose for themselves. ” Feeding Ground is coming our way in full color, this August from Archaia Entertainment. Fittingly, it’s available in English and Spanish.
Comic Books
Back Down to Fraggle Rock
Archaia Entertainment and the Jim Henson Company have recently announced that Arcaia will be releasing Fraggle Rock Classics: Volume 1 in soft-cover this August or September. This new full-color edition collects the original Fraggle Rock comic book series which began in 1985. It includes stories such as “The Magic Time Machine” and “The Doozer Who Wanted to be a Fraggle”. Jake Myler illustrated the brand-new cover.
image c. 2011 Archaia Entertainment
The Turtles are Back!
IDW Publishing have recently announced that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles make their return to regular comic books this coming August, with one of the original Turtles creators on board. According to their announcement, Kevin Eastman is creating the new ongoing full-color series, along with writer Tom Waltz and artist Dan Duncan. All four of the original turtles are back — Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michaelangelo — along with their human friends April and Casey, and their mentor — the rat known as Splinter. They pit their ninja skills against a new villain, a mutant alley cat known as Old Hob. The first issue of the new series — which is set to premier this August — will feature one of four available covers, each with a different turtle, created by Sam Keith (The Maxx). There will also be a limited edition variant cover by Kevin Eastman available, as well as a super-rare “Kevin Eastman hand-sketched variant cover”. Then in September, IDW adds to the line by bringing us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection, Volume 1. This new hardcover book collects the original Mirage Studios black & white TMNT comics issues #1 – #7, as well as the Raphael one-shot, created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
The Adventures of Bigby Wolf
By now people should be aware that the comic book series Fables — created by Bill Willingham and published by DC Comics’ Vertigo imprint — is a very unusual take on the fairy tale genre, to say the least. That trend continues with a brand-new hardcover graphic novel. Here’s how they describe it on Amazon: “Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland is a riveting original graphic novel that is both an integral part of the Fables mythology and an entry point to the long-running, best selling series. Bigby Wolf takes center stage in the most brutal, action-packed Fables story to date. Sent out into modern day America at large, Bigby’s on a quest for possible locations for a new Fabletown. In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across a small town named Luperville, somewhere in American’s vast heartland, that, amazingly enough, seems to be populated by werewolves. These werewolves are descendants of a World War II German project to create an army of werewolf super soldiers, some of whom who were infected with Bigby’s tainted blood. And even more unfortunate the fact that they’ve captured, caged and tortured the most popular and important canine in history: Bigby Wolf”. Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland was written by Bill Willingham, and illustrated by Jim Fern, Craig Hamilton, and Ray Snyder. Look for it this coming October.
Ducks from Long Ago
We’ll let the folks at BOOM! Studios explain what’s cool about their new trade paperback coming out this August: “In Disney’s Four-Color Adventures, BOOM Kids! cracks the Disney vault to find some of the rarest Disney comics ever created. This volume features classic Disney comics and gag strips — some of them over 70 years old — from such creators as Al Taliaferro (creator of fan-favorite characters Huey, Dewey and Louie), “Disney Legend” Jack Hannah, Irving Tripp, and many more, reprinted for the first time in decades”. Also on their way from BOOM! are the Walt Disney Treasury: Donald Duck Volumes 1 and 2, collecting the work of the great Don Rosa.
Across Thin Ice is Done
Across Thin Ice is the name of the newest full-color graphic novel created by the artist collective known as Blotch. It’s also the first volume in a three-volume series known as Nordguard. As Blotch explain on the Nordgaurd web site, the story is an action-adventure following a band of sled-dogs and their daily survival and struggles in the arctic of an anthropomorphic alternate Earth. Thin Ice will be released this summer by Sofawolf Press, first at AnthroCon in Pittsburgh and then at San Diego Comic Con in… well, where else? The reason we’re telling you this now is: While the regular edition of Across Thin Ice will be released in softcover, there is a limited run of hardcover copies that will also be released — and pre-orders are being taken now at the Sofawolf Press web site.
image c. 2011 by Blotch
Little Queen of the Jungle
This is the story of is the story about a little girl named Cassandra, the ruler of the jungle Mwumba and all of the animals who live there. Everything in Cassandra’s world centers on her and that’s just the way she likes it! For the first time, a mysterious monster has come into her jungle and is not only breaking sacred Mwumban law by eating vegetables, but worse yet, is taking all of the attention that rightfully belongs to her! It’s all there in Mwumba, a new short graphic novel coming our way in full-color from Aracana Studio this July. It’s written by Bruce and Lizzy Brown, and illustrated by Eduardo Savid and Zoran Cvetkovic. Mr. Brown has a MySpace page where you can find out more about this and other projects.
The 2010 Ursa Major Award Winners
The winners of the 2011 Ursa Major Awards — for the best in anthropomorphic media, as decided by the fans — were announced on Friday, May 13th at Morphicon in Columbus, Ohio. From the Ursa Major Awards 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”. More than 1,300 fans from around the world took part in voting for their favorite furry and anthropomorphic media in ten categories. In reverse order, the winners for 2010 were:
Best Anthropomorphic Game: Disney Epic Mickey, Developed by Junction Point Studios.
Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: The cover for Shadow of the Father (by Kyell Gold), illustrated by Sara Palmer.
Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Heat #7
Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Housepets! by Rick Griffin
Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Twokinds by Tom Fischbach
Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: FurPiled #4 by Leo Magna
Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: Bridges by Kyell Gold (released as a novella by FurPlanet Books).
Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Shadow of the Father by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series: Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention, created by Aardman Animations.
Best Anthropomorphic Feature Film: How to Train Your Dragon, directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, released by Dreamworks Animation.
Visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about the nominees in each category, and also how to participate in the awards yourself.
Beware the Worgen
And now something for fans of the massive on-line role-playing game World of Warcraft — and also fans of werewolves. DC Comics is collecting the five-issue miniseries World of Warcraft: Curse of the Worgen into a single hardcover graphic novel, coming this September. This is from the publisher’s notes: “A series of grisly, animalistic murders have rocked the walled town of Gilneas. A famous detective sets out to discover the perpetrators and finds far more than he bargained for. To find the truth, he must delve through years of twisted history – both the history of his family and Gilneas itself.” The original series was written by Micky Neilson and James Waugh, and illustrated in full-color by Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington.
image c. 2011 DC Comics
