Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Remember when we talked about Rivals of Aether, a very furry video game? Well now Dan Fornace and his creative team are exploring a new medium as they bring us Tales of Aether — Future Imperfect, a full-color comic book series slated to come out later this year. Over on YouTube they have a preview video that introduces a lot of the new characters and situations. Be on the lookout!
image c. 2021 Aether Studios
Interesting story out of Variety (by way of Animation World Network): “Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard is attached to helm a computer-animated adaptation of the beloved 1980s Rankin Bass animated series Thundercats for Warner Bros., from a script Wingard will write with frequent collaborator Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest)… The original series, which aired from 1985 to 1989, was revived for a single season Cartoon Network in 2011, and then again in 2020 under the title Thundercats Roar. But as a feature film, Thundercats has been a tricky project to crack for the studio, which has hired a small parade of screenwriters and producers since at least 2007 to bring a movie to life. The underlying story is at once relatively simple — a team of humanoid cat-people (or cat-like humans) like Lion-O, Panthro, and Cheetara fight the evil wizard Mumm-Ra on the planet of Third Earth — and surprisingly complicated, with a mix of technological space sci-fi and swords-and-sorcery fantasy.” Read the article at Variety for much more on this latest take on our friends from Thundera.
image c. 2021 Cartoon Network
… because things are about to get weird-er… Digital Lizards of Doom is a new full-color graphic novel written by Gabriel Valentin and illustrated by Ernie Najera. “In a world where science and sorcery have brought peace to the galaxy, a young warrior’s belief system is shattered when an evil robot and an ancient witch attack his kingdom, forcing him into a quest for justice. As revelations about his world are exposed, Dizzy’s faith is shaken, and he must now make an unlikely alliance with a mysterious ninja and a cyborg cat pirate. Together they’ll search for a fabled weapon that could destroy evil forever and bring the universe into an unending era of peace!” Did we mention that Dizzy is a reptile? And that’s just a hint of how odd this all gets, as the graphic novel itself is written and presented in a unique new geometric manner. Visit their web site and it might all make more sense. Maybe. Oh, and there’s a soundtrack too!
image c. 2021 Clover Press
We got this announcement directly from IDW Publishing: It’s a big birthday celebration for Sonic the Hedgehog! “Timed to the speedster’s 30th trip around the sun this June, IDW will release the Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special, a super-sized 80-page comic book featuring three tales of colorful heroes and dastardly villains, sure to tug at the heartstrings of fans of all ages! For this spectacular tribute comic, IDW has tapped Gale Galligan, known for her illustration work on The Babysitters Club, along with Justin, Travis and Griffin McElroy, podcasters recognizable from The Adventure Zone and the wildly popular My Brother, My Brother, and Me. This group of newcomers will be contributing their first-ever Sonic adventures alongside fan-favorite and longtime scribe Ian Flynn and artists Mauro Fonseca, Reggie Graham, Aaron Hammerstrom, and Thomas Rothlisberger.” Find out more at the web site — and look for the special trade paperback in stores this summer. Shop safely!
image c. 2021 IDW Publishing
One of the more celebrated (if difficult to find) anime series in recent years as been Interspecies Reviewers — a high fantasy intended for a decidedly adult audience! Well now we’ve discovered that Yen Press has released an artistic tribute manga for the series, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology: Darkness. “Haven’t had enough succu-girls? In this collection of art and short comics, talented Japanese artists such as Okayado (Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls), Ganmarei (Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls), and coolkyousinnja (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid) come together for a loving tribute to the monster brothel adventurers of Interspecies Reviewers! Whether it’s new species or old favorites, this anthology has enough hot and steamy action to satisfy any fan!” Well there you go. If you’re old enough to order it you can find all this and more over at Amazon.
image c. 2021 Yen Press
Okay here’s something different: A new movie, heading to Netflix, based on a single illustration. Slashfilm explains: “Back in 2013, word arrived that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was going to make a movie based on a single drawing that appeared on DeviantArt. That’s right: Not an adaptation of a story, but a drawing… a piece called ‘Sweet Halloween Dreams’ by artist Alex Panagopoulos. The project seemed to vanish as quickly as it was announced, but now it’s back – and headed to Netflix. Johnson will produce the film, now titled Teddy and the Guardians of the Night, with Dany Garcia under their Seven Bucks Productions banner.” No word yet on a planned release date, or even any more details on the plot, but many people are making guesses based on the illustration below. We’ll let you know more when we do. Pleasant dreams!
image c. 2021 by Alex Panagopoulos
First the Ursa Major Awards announce their nominees for 2020, and now the Annie Awards — considered to be the Oscars of animation — have done the same. 2020 must have been a good year for furry animation, because many of the Ursa Major and Annie nominations line up! Onward and Soul are up for Best Feature Annies, while Wolfwalkers is up for Best Indie Feature — along with Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon. And all of those are up for multiple individual achievement Annies too — like Best Character Animation, Best Character Design, Best Direction, and so forth. Best Special Production nominees include The Snail and The Whale and Shooom’s Odyssey, while the Best TV/Media for Preschoolers includes Muppet Babies, Stillwater, and The Adventures of Paddington. Also up for a variety of awards are TV and streaming favorites like Hilda, Bojack Horseman, Amphibia, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Brand New Animal, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Mao Mao — Heroes of Pure Heart. And more! Visit the Annie Awards web site to see all the nominees, and watch for an announcement about this year’s virtual awards ceremony.
image c. 2021 Cartoon Saloon
Stone Arch Books have a new line of graphic novels for young readers called Far Out Fables. And like all the best fables, they involve animal characters! With names like Chicken Little Saves The Moon Base (by Benjamin Harper and Omar Lozano), Punk Rock Mouse and Country Mouse (Brandon Terrell and Alex Lopez), and The Wolf in Unicorn’s Clothing (Katie Schenkel and Jimena Sanchez), you can kind of see how this is going. Visit their web site to see all their new titles. They’re published by Capstone.
image c. 2021 Capstone
We just found out about three upcoming animated specials — all of which have some definite Furry interest in them. “Entertainment company TeamTO has acquired the TV, film, and licensing rights to three popular children’s books: Snowman (Snowy and the Snowman), by Jacques Duquennoy; Fox’s Garden (The Winter I Met the Fox), by Camille Garoche; and Something’s Fishy (Penguin’s Ice Time) by Jean Gouronas. The three winter-themed stories will be produced as individual specials for the 2022/2023 holiday season… In The Winter I Met The Fox, directed by Emma Carré, a fox finds refuge from a cold and snowy evening in a greenhouse. Shy little Sacha overcomes his fears and comes to the rescue with Chickpea, a pet chicken. He is amazed to find that the Fox had babies and learns that friendship is about reaching out. Directed by Lois Espuche, Penguin’s Ice Time follows Penguin as he is ice fishing, but the fish aren’t biting. But why? A comedic cast of polar characters gather, chatter, wager guess and generally, aggravate Penguin until…they hear something below the ice! Snowy and The Snowman, directed by Sif Perlt Savery, stars Snowy, a young snowgirl living in Snowland with her elf parents. On her first day of hockey practice Snowy’s dream of flying like a superhero Snowman comes true as she rescues a little rabbit from a mighty Yeti.” Once again we have Animation World Network to thank for the news. Keep an ear open for release dates next year.
image c. 2021 TeamTO
