Full-color funny animal silliness from Marvel Comics, collected together in one big trade paperback for your enjoyment. Spider-Man: Animal Magnetism hits the shelves this January, collecting Spider-Man: Back in Quack (a team-up with Howard the Duck which you may recall we talked about before), The Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special (a classic funny-animal spoof of the web slinger, complete with new material), The Ultimate Civil War Spider-Ham (don’t even ask!), and Top Dog #10 (about, you guessed it, a super-dog). Some of the guilty party include writers Stuart Moore, Tom Defalco, J. Michael Straczynski (!), Tom Peyer, and George Caragonne; along with artists Mark Brooks, Joe Suitor, Jacob Chabot, Adam Deraker, Agnes Garbowska, Joe Jusko, and Warren Kremer. The cover art was completed by the late Mike Wieringo of Tellos fame.
Comic Books
Starman and Congorilla
Okay, try to keep up here: Mikaal Thomas — known as the superhero Starman — and Congorilla — a talking ape from Gorilla City, made famous in the pages of The Flash — team up to “unlock the secrets behind the toxic Omega Man’s dark energy, which has encased Washington, D.C.”. All righty then. In this full-color one-shot from DC Comics, our heroes — one blue, one furry — encounter several friends and foes from the DC universe, including Animal Man, Sirocco, and “a certain wonder-dog named Rex”. You can thank writer James Robinson, illustrator Brett Booth, and cover-artist Gene Ha when Starman/Congorilla hits the shelves in early January.
Tales (Tails?) of the Trickster Spirit
Many cultures in our world have a long tradition of folklore relating to the trickster spirit — a being of great power who mostly uses that power to steal food or precious possessions, cheat at games, fool the opposite sex (or sometimes the same one!), and so forth. Often enough the trickster spirit is embodied as an animal — Reynard the fox from Europe and The Monkey King from Asia are great examples. Native American cultures also have rich traditions of trickster story, whether he (or she, or both) takes the form of a raven, a rabbit, a coyote, or whatever. Now Fulcrum Publishing have brought together many of these stories in a new full-color comic trade paperback: Trickster — Native American Tales — A Graphic Anthology, edited by Matt Dembicki. More than twenty Native American story-tellers worked together with a select group of artists to bring to life stories like “Coyote and the Pebbles”, “How Wildcat Caught a Turkey” , “Rabbit’s Choctaw Tail Tale”, and many more. Take a look at Fulcrum’s web site for the book.
Return of the Rescue Rangers
Once again BOOM! Studios have stepped up to the task of bringing the Disney Afternoon back to life. Following on the webbed heels of their successful Darkwing Duck comic book series, now comes the full-color return of Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Rescue Rangers, written by Ian Brill and illustrated by Leonel Castellani. You can see a preview of this new series, as well as the various alternate covers for the first issue, at BOOM! Studio’s web site.
The Age of Reptiles Omnibus
It may seem only sideways anthropomorphic, but Ricardo Delgado’s Age of Reptiles comic book series earns a place here by virtue of its viewpoint: Life seen through the eyes of dinosaurs, and many species of dinosaurs at that. Besides, Ricardo Delgado himself was a guest speaker at several early furry fandom conventions! Now Dark Horse Comics is releasing the Age of Reptiles Omnibus, collecting the long out-of-print Age of Reptiles original series, the Age of Reptiles: The Hunt follow-up, and the never-before-collected third series, Age of Reptiles: The Journey. It’s a full-color trade paperback, and it’s coming to stores this February.
BOOM Go the Ducks
Boom! Studios have two new Disney-Duck-related items on the shelves at your local comic book store right now. Darkwing Duck Volume 1: The Duck Knight Returns brings together the first Darkwing Duck story arc in a single full-color trade paperback, written by Ian Brill and illustrated by James Silvani. The people of St. Canard have grown worried when their loyal protector, “the terror that flaps in the night”, hasn’t been seen in more than a year… and evil is on the rise again. Is it time for the Duck Knight to rise again too? Meanwhile, readers looking for more of Don Rosa’s The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck should look for the new hardcover, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion. It features “the pre-chapters, the post-chapters, and the in-between chapters” of Don Rosa’s sought-after work. You can find out more about both of these at Boom! Studio’s web site.
He’s a Giant CHICKEN I tell ya!
Elmer is… well, he’s a rooster. That talks. And wears a suit. Here, maybe we should let writer and artist Gerry Alanguilan explain it, like he does on the Elmer web site: “Elmer is a window into an alternate Earth where chickens have suddenly acquired the intelligence and consciousness of humans, where they consider themselves a race no different from whites, browns or blacks, and push to recognize rights for themselves as the newest members of the human race. Elmer tells the story of a family of chickens who live and struggle to survive in a suddenly complicated, dangerous and yet beautiful world. Elmer was originally released in four issues from June 2006 to November 2008, and as a trade paperback in October 2009, published by Komikero Publishing.” Now this black & white series has finally been released in North America by Slave Labor Graphics.
image c. 2010 Gerry Alanguilan
The Mice Templars’ 2nd Sketchbook
Victor Santos has been making a name for himself as the lead artist for the popular Mice Templar comic book series from Image Comics. Now Image presents The Mice Templar Sketchbook II, presenting all new art and characters for the series — in black & white and full color. It also includes a brand new Mice Templar short story written by Bryan Glass and series creator Michael Avon Oeming. It’s on the shelves now.
Fire Breather vs. Dragon Prince
Just in time for the Fire Breather CGI movie on Cartoon Network comes the Fire Breather vs. Dragon Prince one-shot full-color graphic novel from Image Comics. It seems that both boys, each a human son with an inhuman monstrous parent, have discovered that something monstrous is killing visitors to an isolated mountain lake, and only their combined strength has a chance of defeating it. Trouble is, what happens when this strangely seductive evil turns our semi-scaly heroes against each other? You can find out now, thanks to writers Phil Hester and Ron Marz, and artists Samuin Patel, Andy Kuhn, and Jeff Johnson.
Image c. 2010 Image Comics
