We’ll let the creators of Beast’s Fury speak for themselves: “Beast’s Fury will be a 2D, arcade-style fighting game featuring anthropomorphic characters. It is currently being developed by a small, passionate team of individuals who are both gaming enthusiasts and professional programmers. The game will not only involve action, but also features engaging story lines, intriguing characters, exotic arenas, and a killer soundtrack! Inspired by famous 2D fighters such as the Street Fighter series and Skull Girls. If you have any burning questions about the project, drop us a line on our Facebook page!” They also have a current Kickstarter campaign, seeking out funding to help them hire more animators. Which in turn will help them get their game demo up and running and out in the wider world much quicker.
Dogs
Animals Real, Funny, and Fantasy
According to Chelsea Kenna in her bio, “I majored in illustration and graduated with a BFA from Laguna College of Art and Design. I’ve worked in social and mobile gaming as a Lead Artist and concept artist, and currently work as a freelance illustrator.” And maker of fine prints and art portfolios as well. Her collection book The Art of Chelsea Kenna Volume 1 is available on her web site, as are her prints and an ever-growing collection of sketches. Check this: She also does pet portraits.
Chaos in Color
VanAnnies is the official web site of the artist Annie Dunn. She describes it like this: “This site hosts the BLOG for Chaos Annie, the artist behind Chaos in Color, a fine art shoppe of good humoured magic and mythology.” And lots of full-on portraits of animals in fantasy settings, too. She has a large selection of prints available for most of her work.
Cowabunga, Dog!
TikiPaws.com is an on-line retail store that’s best known for their colorful Polynesian-themed clothes and toys — for pets. Yes. They also have Hawaiian-print dog collars, and they even sell supplies to help you actually teach your pet to surf! But moving beyond that, they also offer a line of pet-clothes for the comic book geek who wants to bring along a little 4-legged superhero to the next convention. How about that? Now you can anthropomorphize your own household companion!
Two Dogs in Time
Okay, this gets complicated, so follow along: Shiprock & Achordog is the name of an acoustic band that specializes in using music and lyrics (even rap!) to educated children about animals. It’s also the name of a comic book series they have created following the adventures of two dogs with that same name, Shiprock & Anchordog. In their first adventure, the canine companions travel back in time and befriend a family of dinosaurs. The band’s official web site explains it all more fully, as well as other educational programs they’re involved in. The comic was written by Evan Curran and illustrated by Gregery Miller, who also has his own web site devoted to this and other illustration projects (which he seems to have a lot of!).
The Straight Poop
Michael Vash is a fine artist, illustrator, and former Disney employee with a wicked sense of humor. Mostly (but not exclusively) it’s directed at our canine companions. His first hardcover book is called Doggy Styles: The Poop and the Scoop — An Irreverent Guide to Man’s Best Friend, and it’s available at Amazon right now. Fair warning: These are not illustrations meant for kids! Also, check out Michael’s personal web site for sample pages from the book, as well as more of his illustrations both silly and not.
A Doggy Superhero with Three Legs
Sounds like the set-up for a bad joke, but it’s actually a new full-color comic book miniseries based on a real-life dog. After a successful Kickstarter campaign last year, conservationist Tod Emko (Whale Wars) has created A Piggy’s Tale, a 4-issue series (illustrated by Ethan Young) coming next month from Bohemian Press. Based on a real-life dog that Tod rescued from near death, Piggy tells the story of a street dog who loses a leg when he’s struck by a car… but who soon discovers that the accident has given him super-powers! Besides the ability to fly and super strength, it’s also given him the ability to detect suffering, anywhere in the world… which leaves him with the determination to help animals in need where-ever he may find them. There’s a preview of the comic at Ecorazzi, and an interview with Tod about the real Piggy and more at Comics Beat.
[Oh, and by the way: Thank you to everyone who nominated us for an Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Magazine! We are truly honored.]
Dogs (and Cats) vs. Dark Powers
In 2005 Evan Dorkin (writer) and Jill Thompson (artist) won an Eisner Award for their original comic book series Beasts of Burden, about a haunted small town and the local dogs and cats who do nightly battle with the deadly forces of evil trying to invade. Now comes the brand-new Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, a one-shot full-color comic designed to introduce new readers to the animals of Burden Hill and their struggles. This time around, our furry heroes discover that a friendly half-werewolf might just be more help than they bargained for. Hunters and Gatherers will be available at comic book stores this March, from Dark Horse Press.
Their Friendship is a Little Rusty
“Richly endearing and full of surprises, Robot Dreams follows an ill-fated friendship between a dog and robot. After a Labor Day jaunt to the beach leaves Robot rusty and immobilized in the sand, Dog, unsure what to do, abandons him. As the seasons pass, Dog tries to replace his friend, making and losing a series of new ones, from a melting snowman to epicurean anteaters. Meanwhile, Robot passes his time daydreaming, escaping to better places…Through interwoven journeys, the two characters long to recover from their day at the beach.” Thanks to :01 First Second, this classic full-color graphic novel by Sara Varon is in print once again. It’s available in softcover on Amazon and elsewhere.