In the past we’ve told you about Firebreather, the comic book series created by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn, published by Image Comics. Now it seems that Cartoon Network has gone and snuck out a CGI movie based on it! The story is the same as the comic, described here from Firebreather’s Wikipedia entry: “High school teen Duncan Rosenblatt is the son of divorced parents — a typical suburban soccer mom who wants him to get into a good college, and a 300-foot fire-breathing dragon who wants him to follow in the family business — conquering the Earth and inheriting the throne of King of Monsters; they share custody. Like every other teenager, he struggles to fit in with his peers. His being half-dragon further complicates matters.” The movie comes to Cartoon Network on November 24th. Check out the trailer on YouTube, too.
Fantasy
Solatorobo
Once again the Japanese are proving themselves ahead of the curve a bit… Solatorobo is a new adventure video game created for the Nintendo DS by CyberConnect2. It’s scheduled to be released in Japan on October 28th. The game is basically a sequel to the popular Tail Concerto game series, and it’s already creating a lot of buzz and discussion among on-line gaming fans and furry fans also. No word yet if the creators plan to release the game in English or in North America, but there is at least one YouTube video where you can preview the Japanese version.
Tasakeru
It’s an anthro-themed web novel series called Tasakeru, created and written by Brian Stanley. Here’s what Brian himself had to say: “The Tasakeru website has recently broken 11,000 hits and won distinction in the annual Web Series Writing Month competition. The aim of the story is to do something very different with the ‘talking animals’ genre: Using warring mammal species as allegories for human conflict. It’s chiefly inspired by [Brian Jacques’] Redwall, but unlike the latter series there are no clear-cut good and evil species. The story focuses on a group called the Outcasts, who have been banished from society but will eventually affect the survival of their world…” The Tasakeru website also features helpful background information on the story and characters, as well as a gallery of illustrations and fan art.
Monkeys at the Mountains of Madness?
Chet Phillips is an artist and writer who has created something that combines aspects of steam-punk, pulp adventure novels, and H.P. Lovecraft… with monkeys. Here’s how he describes it: “The Society of Sinister Simians explores the mysterious world of an evil collection of vicious and power hungry primates that held sway over the land centuries ago. Thanks to the efforts of the ill-fated Sourcrust archeological dig of 1887, details of this foul organization have finally come to light. In this book you will learn of The Society’s immortal leader, his powerful and brutal cadre of ministers and advisors as well as a variety of assassins, spies, soldiers and frightful supernatural figures.” The Society of Sinister Simians is available as a 122-page full-color paperback book, and also as a trading card set with a poster puzzle on the reverse side. A signed, limited edition hand-bound hardback edition is currently out of print (as of this writing), but you can visit Mr. Phillips’ web site to find out when it might be reprinted. There’s also examples of Chet’s numerous other funny-animal art projects.
image c. 2010 Chet Phillips
Monsters are your Best Friends!
There is no way we can describe Monsters and Other Childish Things better than the publisher: “Monsters are real. You know because you have one. He’s more fun and way tougher than all the other kids’ monsters. Try not to let him eat your friends. Monsters and Other Childish Things is a distressingly fun and funny role-playing game about kids and the relationship-devouring horrors from beyond time and space who love them. Players take the roles of ordinary kids whose best friends are slavering monstrosities from beyond time and space — and that’s already enough to get them in all kinds of trouble with parents, school principals, friends, the Monster Investigation Bureau, mad science teachers, wannabe wizards, you name it. Can you make it through a school day without having to explain why your monster ate the substitute teacher? We’ll soon find out. Monsters and Other Childish Things: The Completely Monstrous Edition is a 180-page, monstrously-complete role-playing game.” It’s also available as a 264-page digest-sized paperback edition, from ArcDream.com.
Ani-Max: The One-Shot
Ani-Max is an animated TV series concept created by Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra. With the series still in development, Dynamite Entertainment is releasing Ani-Max as a one-shot full-color comic book, written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Jeevan J. Kang and the artist collective known as Liquid Comics. “Lost and separated from his family during a vacation in the dense Amazon jungle, 12-year old Max Duncan is chosen by the Earth Spirits as the latest in a long lineage of planetary defenders. Entrusted with a mystical artifact known as the Animus Stone, Max gains the power to absorb the abilities of any animal he touches and transform himself into a human-animal hybrid for seven minutes at a time. Taking on the attributes of lizards, lions, tigers, elephants, spiders, dolphins, and more – sometimes the transformations are gross, weird and bizarre – Max has a power no one else in the world seems to have. Joined by his faithful friends, Chris and Jenny, the three young heroes gradually find a way to use Max’s abilities to protect the planet and all its many creatures.” Comic Book Bin has more information and preview pages to see. The one-shot is available now.
New from Jeff Smith
Fans of Jeff Smith’s award-winning Bone series are looking forward to Bone: Tall Tales, a brand-new full-color collection coming from (where else) Cartoon Books. Smiley Bone sits down at a campfire to tell a group of young bone scouts (and his rat creature friend) the story of Big Johnson Bone, the greatest Bone adventurer ever and the founder of Boneville. The stories originally published in the Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures mini-series are here, as well as new stories written by Tom Sniegoski. This new book is available now in hardcover and softcover editions. Check it out at Amazon.com.
Grandville is back for more badgering!
The second hardcover, full-color graphic novel in the Grandville series is due out this coming October 20th, once again written and illustrated by Bryan Talbot. We’ll let the publisher, Dark Horse Comics, describe it: “Convicted psychotic killer and extremist fanatic Edward ‘Mad Dog’ Mastock violently escapes the guillotine’s blade in the Tower of London to once again terrorize the Socialist Republic of Britain. But dogging Mastock’s bloody footsteps is his longtime adversary and nemesis, Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock, at odds with Scotland Yard and intent on bringing Mastock’s horrific murder spree to an end, once and for all. Aided by his friend and colleague Detective Roderick Ratzi, LeBrock follows the trail of carnage to Paris, otherwise known as Grandville, the largest city in a world dominated by the French Empire and the prime target of Mastock’s sadistic terrorism. Can LeBrock capture the Mad Dog before he can mete out his final vengeance, or will LeBrock’s own quest for redemption be dragged to ground by the demons of his past? The badger is back! Set three weeks after the finale of Grandville— Bryan Talbot’s critically acclaimed steampunk graphic novel–Grandville Mon Amour explores an alternate art-nouveau world populated by intelligent animals, a human underclass, robot automatons, and advanced steam technology that power everything from hansom cabs to iron flying machines.”
image c. 2010 Dark Horse Comics
Disney’s Gargoyles, the Movie… but not
Word has snuck out that the Walt Disney Company is working on a gargoyles-themed live-action movie. This is from Variety: “Zoe Green is in final negotiations with the Mouse House to pen a screenplay based on an original idea developed by Lauren Shuler Donner, who will produce the live-action film for Disney.” Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of many fans of the 1990’s animated TV series Gargoyles, the new project has nothing at all to do with that show. According to Variety, “Instead, it centers around a world and mythology of the menacing stone statues that the studio was keen to explore, sources said. Both Disney and Shuler Donner were circling separate gargoyle projects and ultimately paired up and hired Green to tackle an idea hatched with Disney exec LouAnne Brickhouse, who is shepherding the project at the studio. Shuler Donner will produce through the Donners’ Co., which she runs with husband Richard Donner.” None of which is sitting well with the many fans of the original TV series created by Greg Weisman. There’s a Facebook page dedicated to convincing Disney to re-think the whole idea. Stay tuned.
