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Fantasy

Help for a Famous Furry (Creator)

Stan Sakai is world-famous as the creator, writer, and artist of Usagi Yojimbo, a multiple-award-winning funny animal comic. He has given a lot to our furry fan community, not only from his creation but from his appearances at furry conventions around the country. Now, Stan needs some real help. His wife Sharon has been battling cancer, and she has been in and out of hospitals for some time — basically needing 24-hour care even when she is at home. The couple have insurance, but the bills have been piling up far past what their insurance will cover. The Cartoon Arts Professional Society have set up a site asking for donations to help Stan and Sharon cover their medical expenses.  Please visit and contribute this holiday season if you can. Give back to someone who’s given us great characters and great art!

image c. 2013 by Stan Sakai

The Path of Lycanthropes

The FRP game Pathfinder slowly works its way a little more furry with the new Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of the Moon. “Channel the power of the moon and turn the curse of lycanthropy into a potent blessing. Whether you were born with traces of bestial blood from a lycanthropic ancestor or you were bitten by a werewolf and have transformed into one completely, this volume contains everything you need to embrace the beast within and become a fearsome weapon against your enemies. Become a protector of the natural world as a scion of a werebear, revel in bloodshed with the wolf fighting style created by your ancestors, or find your calling in the witch practices of your werecrocodile forerunners. Even if you do not take directly after these bestial horrors of the night, there is much to learn from associating with them—as either ally or hunter. The choice is yours.” Sounds like several species are involved already! Visit the Paizo.com site to find out more about this new softcover volume, loaded with full-color illustrations.

image c. 2013 Paizo

These Are The Monsters In Your Neighborhood…

In celebration of the 25th anniversary (!) of Hayao Miyazaki’s popular animated fantasy My Neighbor Totoro, Viz Media have released a new hardcover edition of the My Neighbor Totoro Picture Book, written and illustrated by Mr. Miyazaki himself. You can order it now at Barnes & Noble. “The companion book to the beloved animation classic My Neighbor Totoro by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring artwork taken directly from the movie, this updated edition will allow parents and children to relive Totoro’s magical adventures with scene-by-scene illustrations and character dialogue. Eleven-year-old Satsuki and her sassy little sister Mei have moved to the country to be closer to their ailing mother. While their father is working, the girls explore their sprawling old house and the forest and fields that surround it. Soon, Satsuki and Mei discover Totoro, a magical forest spirit who takes them on fantastic adventures through the trees and the clouds — and teaches them a lesson about trusting one another.”

image c. 2013 Viz Media

Going to School with Four Hooves

No, it’s not another My Little Pony thing. Seven Seas  Entertainment is releasing A Centaur’s Life, a new digest-sized black & white manga series written and illustrated by Kei Murayama. It was previously released in Japan as A Centaur’s Worries. “Being a teenager is never easy… especially for a centaur! Himeno is a sweet, shy girl, who like many teens her age, struggles with the trials and tribulations of attending high school. The difference is she’s a centaur; but she’s not alone. In fact, all of her classmates are supernatural creatures, sporting either horns, wings, tails, halos, or some other unearthly body appendage. Yet despite their fantastical natures, Himeno and her best friends-the dragon-winged Nozomi, and Kyoko with her spiraled horns-are down-to-earth, fun-loving teenagers who grapple with issues of life and love in a mostly normal daily school setting.” So you say! Look for A Centaur’s Life at your local comic book or manga store, starting in November.

image c. 2013 Kei Murayama

Hang Out With Your Loser Friends

Night in the Woods is a 2D video game created by Alec Holowka and Scott Benson. It’s… different, to say the least. And it involves a lot of funny animal characters. “All Mae wants to do is run around with her friends, break stuff and hang on to a life of aggressive aimlessness. She dropped out of college and returned home to her crumbling old mining town to do just that, but she’s finding that nothing is the same anymore. The old town seems different. Her old friends have grown in their own directions. Mae herself is undergoing some sudden and unexplained changes, giving her mysterious abilities that grant her access to a side of town she never knew existed. The world is changing, things are ending, and the future is uncertain. Up behind the park at the edge of town, back in the trees by the old mine- there’s something in the woods. And it could mean no future at all.” The game creators have had a very successful Kickstarter campaign; already they’ve earned pledges way beyond what they were asking for and they still have nearly a month left, as of this writing. Check out the Kickstarter page to see a video preview of the game as well.

image c. 2013 Alec Holowka / Scott Benson

A Dragon for Your Sign

Sixth Leaf Clover (also known as the artist Christina Yen) has made quite a name for herself with her paintings of fantastically-colored dragons. She’s even written a book about her coloring techniques. Her latest project is a calendar for 2014 — full color of course, featuring a new and different dragon design for each sign of the Western Zodiac. She’s taking pre-orders (and showing samples) at her web site right now.

image c. 2013 Christina Yen

Silent Dreams Will Haunt You

Here’s another of those “How did we miss this?” kind of things: Some of you might be familiar with the surreal works of Jim Woodring, especially his wordless funny animal comic Frank. Based on his own colorful dreams (and, some would say, rather scary dreams!), Frank follows the adventures of a “generic anthropomorph” (to use the creator’s words) across a surreal landscape known as The Unifactor. Well in 2011, Jim Woodring completed his first graphic novel starring Frank,  Congress of the Animals. Frank’s world becomes even stranger, if possible, when he is forced to venture outside of the frightening yet familiar realm of The Unifactor and into the larger world around him. Fantagraphics is again offering this full-color graphic novel in hardcover at Amazon and other sellers. Attention Deficit Disorderly has an extensive review as well — one likely to make your head spin in fact.

Image. c. 2013 Fantagraphics Books

Keeping Your Childhood Friends in Line

It seems that not all our imaginary friends have found a safe home like Foster’s. And so it falls upon agents Dave and Terry and the crew of I.M.A.G.I.N.E. to keep things cheery for the world and safe for children. That’s the idea behind Imagine Agents, a new full-color comic book mini-series from Boom! Studios. You see, adults cannot perceive a child’s imaginary friend (referred to as a ‘figment’ in this world), unless they have the special equipment that our trusty agents from I.M.A.G.I.N.E. employ. Check out the preview at Comic Book Resources and it’ll all make a lot more sense. Imagine Agents is written by Brian Joines (Noble Causes) and illustrated by the artist known as Bachan (Justice League). Look for it starting later this month.

image c. 2013 Boom! Studios

He’s Getting Stuffed Again

Seth MacFarlane and Universal Pictures have announced that the sequel to the wildly popular 2o12 movie Ted will be released to theaters on June 26th, 2015. It’s simply called Ted 2. Once again Seth MacFarlane will direct and star as the voice of Ted, the foul-mouthed talking teddy bear, and Mark Wahlberg will reprise his role as Ted’s grown-up childhood human friend. That’s about all we know about it so far — other than the fact that the sequel will also be R-Rated! The original Ted, of course, was nominated for an Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Feature.

image c. 2013 Universal Pictures