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Dragons

The Secret is Out

The things we stumble across on the Internet — when we’re looking for something else. The Secret Kingdom is a 2023 family fantasy film from Australia, written and directed by Matt Drummond. “Hidden beneath their bedroom floor lies a land of enchantment, which must be protected from an ancient enemy — the evil Shroud. As they embark on their quest to unite five mystical treasures and save the Kingdom, Peter and Verity must face epic challenges that will test their bravery to the limit.” Doesn’t sound like much, but take a look at the trailer (and the poster!) and you’ll see what caught our interest. True, it’s clearly plotted and written for the younger set, but how often do you get anthropomorphic armadillos? It’s available on YouTube and other platforms too.

image c. 2025 Little Monster Productions

You Want A Shard? Here!

More discoveries from this year’s Festival of Books at USC: A new fantasy novel by Daniel Fliederbaum, Smash the World’s Shell. “When a mysterious ring suddenly appears on reclusive teenager Ellen’s bookshelf, she is granted the power to travel miles away from everything she’s ever known. There she meets Shard, a friendly dragon who offers to help Ellen grow her stunted-since-birth magic. Although it seems too good to be true, Ellen accepts, sure she can conquer her self-hatred by becoming an accomplished magician. Little does she know, her magical voyages have raised the suspicions of those who would destroy her… Young and lonely, Shard is determined to find his first friend in Ellen. But befriending a creature as detested as a human could spell banishment from his tribe — or worse. As the bond between them grows, they will have to face their deepest fears. If they can’t, their friendship is doomed … along with any chance they have of saving both their kinds from annihilation.” It’s available now in paperback. Find out more at Water Dragon Publishing.

image c. 2025 Water Dragon Publishing

Cats, Reptiles — and You!

Here we have a series for young folks that’s a comic, an activity book — and a game! The series is called Kittens & Dragons, and the first book is called The Choukra, written by Jarvin and illustrated by Ju. “In Kittens and Dragons young readers will assist Mo, the King’s youngest kitten as he hunts for a dragon named Choukra and proves his bravery! Sneak through the woods, into dark caves, past the King’s guard while solving puzzles as you go in search of adventure and the Choukra along with Mo!” Available now from Van Ryder Games.

image c. 2024 Van Ryder Games

One Little Spark

The Dragons of Ember City is a new full-color graphic novel series for young readers, created by Shane Richardson and Sarah Marino (both of whom are animators at Nickelodeon). The first book in the series is called Happy Spark Day. “Drake, Li, and Runa are three young dragons in Ember City, where a dragon’s spark is their special power and every dragon’s spark is unique. Ember is a city that burns brightest when its citizens use their sparks to help each other and their community. The more they use their spark, the brighter Ember City glows and provides for all its dragons. Can Drake, Li, and Runa learn to get along after uncovering their powers?” All this and more from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2023 Aladdin Books

Don’t Wisk the Wath of a Wizard!

Well thank you, Amazon! They pointed us at The Wize Wize Beasts of the Wizarding Wizdoms, a black & white yaoi manga that’s written and illustrated by Nagabe. “Hidden away deep within the woods, far from the prying eyes of the world, lies the Wizdom’s School of Wizarding. There beasts of all kinds gather to live, to learn, and to love. From everyday animals to fantastical creatures, these BL stories are told with a realistic and light-hearted touch.” Somehow we missed this on its initial release, but it’s available now from Seven Seas.

image c. 2023 Seven Seas Entertainment

Good Luck Bunnies Have A Bad Day

We not sure how “well” the Skydance animated film Luck did last year (it’s always complicated to tell with releases on streaming services…) but evidently it did well enough that the makers decided to created a spin-off short cartoon in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day (which so recently passed!). This is from Animation World Network: “Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a new animated short Bad Luck Spot featuring the hilarious hazmat bunnies from the animated feature Luck and its ‘Land of Luck’. In the short, when a bad luck crystal finds its way into the Land of Luck, the elite team of hazmat bunnies springs into action!” You can see the short on Apple TV+, of course, but you can also watch it on YouTube.

image c. 2023 Skydance Animation

Dragons are… Alive?

Well, well, well… now Universal Studios is getting into the act. And taking Dreamworks Animation with them. This has been making the rounds in all the Hollywood papers; we got this from the Hollywood Reporter: “Taking a massive swing, Universal Pictures has put in motion a How to Train Your Dragon live-action movie, with Dean DeBlois, the filmmaker behind the original animated trilogy, back in the saddle as writer, director and producer… The feature project is already steps into the development process. Universal has dated the feature for a March 14, 2025, release… Using the books by Cressida Cowell as a jumping-off point, How to Train Your Dragon focused on the special friendship between a young and unheroic Viking boy named Hiccup and Toothless, an injured dragon he nurses back to health. The movies chronicled Hiccup and Toothless’ quest to combat humanity’s prejudice against dragons, the ache of overcoming the loss of a parent, and first love.” In case you didn’t remember. Oh, and if you look at the article you’ll find links to news about Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, and also about the upcoming (fortunately CGI animated!) Kung Fu Panda 4, set for release in 2024.

image c. 2023 Dreamworks Animation

Firefighter Meets Fire-Breather

We stumbled across this on Twitter, and found our way to their web site: “Tim and Bash is a new online comic series about a firefighter who adopts the world’s most adorable dragon… and biggest pain in the neck. We have an upcoming live action series in development, so check out our Patreon page if you are interested in getting exclusive updates and behind-the-scenes content!” You heard what they said folks. The web site includes not just the on-line comic but also a collection of mugs, prints, posters, and other goodies featuring the little blue menace. Tim and Bash was created by Daniel Crook and Andy Bashforth.

image c. 2023 Crook and Bashforth

Dragon Crafts

Happy New Year! Before we get too far away from 2022, we want to let you know about some cool things we found at Midwest FurFest last month. Among them was an artist who goes by the name of Straya Obscura. They specialize in dragons, all sorts of colors, all sorts of media: Standees, custom pins, prints, and so forth. But more recently they’ve branched out into a new and rather unique form of craft: Ita bags and “wing wallets”. It’s all part of the Dragon Companion series. Visit their web site to find out more, but be prepared to spend some time there — they have a lot of different designs!

image c. 2022 by Straya Obscura