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Dragons

Oh, the Gryphons and the Wyverns Should Be Friends…

It goes without saying perhaps: One of the “casualties” of conventions and conferences being canceled or postponed left and right is vendors who had made big plans to sell product at those events. Here’s one — John Bailey has a new novel out, the first in his Feathers & Flames series, called Dire. “Euraiya is a lazy gryphon, content to let her traps hunt for her. Roving thieves and bullish curs are her only concerns. But after she fails to save her home from a far greater threat, her world erupts into flames. Broken and half dead, she must claw her way to find a place within a new pride that’s poised to exile her with one wrong move. Forced to prove her worth, her warnings are silenced. But with the leaders distracted and a rogue lord poised to take advantage of any weakness, Euraiya must confront them and herself before it’s too late. Can Euraiya save what’s left of her future before the fires rain down again? Dire is the first novel in a new creature fiction fantasy series that pits gryphons against wyverns in a battle for land and survival.” The author was all set to make a book-signing tour of various furry conventions, but now that’s not happening. Find the book over at Amazon, and see if you can help out a creative writer!

image c. 2020 Mythic House

Little Dragons to the Rescue

Remember Dragons Rescue Riders from Dreamworks (which we talked about before)? Well Animation Scoop just let us know about a new 45-minute special on Netflix called Dragons Rescue Riders: Hunt For The Golden Dragon. It’s coming your way on March 27th. “Dak, Leyla, and the Rescue Riders crew brace for their newest adventure when greedy pirates get their hands on a map leading to a precious Golden Dragon’s nest. The young Rescue Riders must race against time to beat the pirates and save the dragon’s egg! Expanding the world of DreamWoks Dragons, the special is executive produced by Emmy-Award winner Jack Thomas (Regular Show, DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge) and co-executive produced by Brian Roberts (DreamWorks VeggieTales). Check out the video preview on YouTube, and look for the special later this month.

image c. 2020 Dreamworks

Why B Normal?

We discovered this through Upworthy.com: “Greg Sullivan says he never intended to publish his first book, Gregory Dragon Is Just The Same. It was around his son’s fifth birthday and the Los Angeles-based writer and artist wanted to create something unique for his son’s special day. At the time, his young child was going through a challenge familiar to most other kids around his age: wanting to fit in with his classmates… Sullivan wanted to create something that would help his son “…not only embrace his unique characteristics but to celebrate them.” And it just so happened that his son loves dragons. As an award-winning artist, animator, screenwriter and novelist, it made sense for Sullivan to put his professional skills toward something creative and practical for his son’s development. Gregory Dragon Is Just The Same switches up the traditional children’s book narrative. Instead having an omniscient voice making broad proclamations to a younger audience, he allows the young dragon character to take the lead: “Gregory Dragon is just like all the other dragons, or so the narrator says. But Gregory Dragon disagrees and refuses to let the story be told until he’s had his say.” Find out just what he has to say over at Amazon.

image c. 2020 by Greg L Sullivan Jr.

She Returns To Help The Dragons

In the past we talked about Katie O’ Neill, and we briefly mentioned her award-winning graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society. Well now she’s back with a brand new sequel, The Tea Dragon Festival, that’s available now in hardcover from Oni Press. “Rinn has grown up with the Tea Dragons that inhabit their village, but stumbling across a real dragon turns out to be a different matter entirely! Aedhan is a young dragon who was appointed to protect the village, but fell asleep in the forest eighty years ago. With the aid of Rinn’s adventuring uncle Erik and his partner Hesekiel, they investigate the mystery of his enchanted sleep… but Rinn’s real challenge is to help Aedhan come to terms with feeling that he cannot get back the time he has lost.”

image c. 2020 Oni Press

What A Versatile Little Alien

Recently at Los Angeles Comic Con we came across the work of Jonathan Hallett. He’s a career storyboard artist for a living, but in the original art he creates on the side he has a very special affinity for the alien half of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch — so much so that he draws the little blue one (and the pink one, Angel) as just about every other character from every other story you can possibly think of. (With an occasional visit from Toothless of How To Train Your Dragon, as well.) Visit his Etsy store, Stitchtoons, and see what he has to offer.

image c. 2019 by Jonathan Hallett

Talk to the Dragons

And now a rather different take on Dreamworks’ How To Train Your Dragon universe, this time in a new Netflix TV series for young viewers. Animation World Network gave us the scoop: “DreamWorks Animation has just unveiled the high-flying trailer and cast of its new animated preschool series, Dragons Rescue Riders. This all-new chapter in the Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon franchise follows the adventures of twins, Dak and Leyla, raised by dragons, who share a unique ability to communicate with them. The brother and sister lead a team of five young dragons, Aggro, Winger, Summer, Cutter, and Burple, with whom they spend their days rescuing other dragons and helping people in their adopted town of Huttsgalor. All 14 episodes of the new series debut September 27 exclusively on Netflix.” Check out the preview trailer as well.

image c. 2019 Dreamworks Animation

They’re Not Toys

And another from the Festival of Books — in a similar vein, perhaps. This is the Isle of Misfits series of novels for young readers, written by Jamie May and illustrated by Freya Hartas. The first book, appropriately called First Class, goes like this: “Gibbon is a gargoyle who has been unable to sit still for hundreds of years. One day, he leaves his post from the castle he was meant to be guarding, and a person sees Gibbon, he panics and runs away. As Gibbon is sadly walking back, he meets three gargoyles who bring him to an island filled with other legendary creatures. There, he goes to a special academy that will train him to go on missions to protect all sorts of mythical creatures who are in trouble. Excited to go and happy that he won’t be lonely anymore, Gibbon is also nervous to go some place where he doesn’t know anyone. Will he be able to make friends in this new place? Find out in this new and exciting creature-filled series, complete with a hilarious cast of characters such as a clumsy dragon, an ill-tempered fairy, a griffin with poor flying skills, and a yeti with a manbun!” Four books in the series are available now from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2019 Simon & Schuster

More Than Socks

The Puppetry Institute of Santa Cruz is the impressive name of a California facility that believe in “…giving all who walk through the doors a chance to experience first hand the beauty and wonder of an art form that encompasses all the other arts into one.” No prizes for guessing: They’re located in Santa Cruz, at the Capitola Mall, “Just around the corner from the Santa Cruz Museum of Discovery”.  But they also get out and about to various conventions and fannish events — we found them at BLFC! According to their web site, they give adults, kids, and families a chance to “Explore puppetry through workshops, classes, and demonstrations. Puppetry is more then just a sock with googly eyes — it’s design, construction, movement, masks, sewing — the list goes on. We offer a wide variety of classes in puppetry, theater, and FX skills, that cannot only be counted as art credits but also math, science, and engineering. We have 1000 sq ft space where students can learn in a lively and creative environment; or, we can do 1 and 2 hr pop-up classes at a location of your choosing.” The sight includes a lot of photos of their projects past and present. (Be sure to ask them about the “Dragon Petting Zoo”!)

image c. 2019 The Puppetry Institute

The Dragon is Ohana

Another artist we ran into at WonderCon: Denae Frazier. She does fine art and pin-ups on many subjects both fannish and “mundane”, but what really caught our eye right off the bat was her affinity for both Disney’s Stitch (of Lilo & Stitch) and Dreamworks’ Toothless (of How to Train Your Dragon)… individually, and together! (Has she met Chris Sanders? Probably!) In fact she’s complete so many pictures of those two together that she created a calendar for 2020 featuring those prints. Check out her web site to see those and more.

image c. 2019 by Denae Frazier