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Fantasy

Animals With Swords

[Back from having a blast at this year’s CaliFur! Good to see you all again.]

Beyond the Western Deep is a popular full-color on-line fantasy comic series written by Alex Kain and illustrated Rachel Bennett. Now the first story arc has been gathered together by Action Labs in a softcover graphic novel. “For over 100 years, the animal races of the Four Kingdoms have lived side-by-side in uneasy truce. But when conflict ignites in the north, old alliances threaten to send the world into chaos. Experience the beginnings of an epic all-ages fantasy in this first collected volume!” All ages perhaps but, as you can see from the web site, rather bloody too. The graphic novel is coming out later in June.

image c. 2015 Action Labs

image c. 2015 Action Labs

Magickal Mice

Here’s how they describe it: “The epic introduction to Kaya and her brother Jak as she begins her journey into discovering the magic and mystery of their precious world, Silmay. In Boe, Kaya goes through the Trial of the Elder’s door and meets a special trusted ally. In Broodva, Valta discovers something new and troubling.” The front cover tells you a bit more perhaps. Tailwands has been an on-line full-color comic at Comixology for a while now. It’s written by Drew Crowder with illustrations by Morgan Rae Myers. Now Hashtag Comics have released the first set of Tailwands adventures as a graphic novel in paperback. Take a look over at Previews.

image c. 2015 Hashtag Comics

image c. 2015 Hashtag Comics

One Lost Teddy Bear. One Big Adventure.

Robert Goodin is an animator who’s worked on TV shows like Rugrats and American Dad. Now he’s taken some time out from that the craft his first hardcover graphic novel, The Kurdles. “In the spirit of Hergé’s Tintin or Carl Barks’ Uncle ScroogeThe Kurdles is an all-ages comic spiced up with a teaspoon of strange. Sally is a teddy bear who gets separated from her owner while on a drive in the country. Desperate to find her way home, she stumbles upon Kurdleton, home to a most peculiar group of characters in the midst of a crisis; their forest house has grown hair, eyes, and a mouth! The creatures work with their new friend to keep Kurdleton from growing legs and running away!” Check it out over at the publisher, Fantagraphics Books.

image c. 2015 by Robert Goodin

image c. 2015 by Robert Goodin

… and They Can Talk to Her

“Kira is a young woman with a secret. She can psychically communicate with animals. She is also on the run from her abusive mate Toril, the hero turned warlord, who led the country’s forces to victory against the outland raiders. Only that was before his love of power consumed him. Now, his only focus is on tracking down Kira and making her punishment an example of his power.” So goes the story of The Healer’s Legacy, the first book in a new young-adult fantasy series by Sharon Skinner. She’s also the author of The Nelig Stones, a fantasy for younger readers featuring villainous talking dragons — and other magical folk. All of this and more can be found at Brick Cave Books. Turns out they also published The Last Incarnation by J.A. Giunta, which was previously reviewed here at In-Fur-Nation.

Image c. 2015 Brick Cave Books

Image c. 2015 Brick Cave Books

Snakes and Leaders

Michelle B. Assor is unlike many people out there: She’s fond of snakes. She actually likes them enough that she made them the star of her own fantasy novel series. The first book is called Snaygill: Slithery Temptations. “At birth, princes Ophis and Neddris barely escape death from a feathered earruda.  They survive, and are destined to inherit the crown of Snaygill, a reptile-driven kingdom that has never before seen the presence of mankind – and is instead inhabited by crafty, mischievous snakes. As the brothers set off on the often bumpy road toward adulthood, they abandon the regal rules and find themselves confronted by temptations that lurk around every corner. Along their extraordinary quest, they attend a deceptive school, engage in forbidden journeys and meet alluring characters who contradict everything they thought they knew about the world. They even fall in love…” Her web site has more on this and other books that she’s working on.

image c. 2015 Michelle B. Assor

image c. 2015 Michelle B. Assor

Here Come the Wolves

Moving to a new town can be hard. Being a half-vampire/half-werewolf hybrid only makes things more complicated. But that’s what confronts teenage Angela, the protagonist of the Alpha Wolf series of books by horror and paranormal author Jennifer Maimone. Making matters more interesting is the fact that Angela’s best friends are all pure werewolves. Then a local werewolf brings them shocking news: Something powerful and demonic has been slaughtering local witches… and may soon turn its attention to werewolves. That’s the start of Demon’s Prize, the first book in the series, with the sequel A Cursed Soul coming out next year. The author’s web site has links to several places you can check out or purchase her books.

image c. 2015 Jennifer Maimone

image c. 2015 Jennifer Maimone

Timeless Tales from an Elderly Rodent

Grandpa Grey is a squirrel who specializes in spinning new fairy tales and fables. He’s the creation of author John William Wisor and illustrator Nila Brereton Hagood, and he’s also the thread weaving together their first book, Grandpa Grey’s Timeless Tales and Fabulous Fables. Among this first collection are stories about dragons, fairies, mermaids, and how God came to create pets. The Grandpa Grey web site has information about the book, illustrations from it, and a preview video for it. Grandpa Grey is represented by a custom-designed plushy toy, which is unfortunately not for sale. But the plushy toy of his eager young story listener, Baby Grey, is for sale.

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com

A Girl Among Dragon-Kind

Fans of dragons and other scalies, take note: The Legend of Oescienne is a new fantasy series for younger readers, created by author and artist Jenna Elizabeth Johnson. (She even gets to draw her own covers!) In a far-off world humans have been extinct for centuries… those who remain have long ago been turned into dragons. But then, a real human girl is born, and the evil powers that brought about the transformation long ago are sure to notice. The few dragons who know of the girl’s existence swear to protect her… but to do that, they must keep her unaware of her destiny. In fact, they must not even let her know that she is human! There’s a lot more background on the series at the author’s web site, as well as other books that she’s written. Currently The Legend of Oescienne consists of three novels, one short story collection, and one stand-alone short story (which is available for free at the web site!).

image c. 2015 by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

image c. 2015 by Jenna E. Johnson

 

 

Painted Pets

Laura Seeley is a classical fine artist… one who specializes in animal paintings. What’s more she’s even illustrated several books for children — Originally for various authors, but more recently for works she’s written herself. With galleries on her web site having names like “The Magic Cats”, “The Whimsy Cats”, and “A Cat Never Tells”, you can see where she’s coming from… though she does draw plenty of dogs and even whales, too! According to her web site, Best Friends Art Gallery, she plans on having pictures from her book projects up very soon.

image c. 2015 by Laura Seeley

image c. 2015 by Laura Seeley