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Funny Animal

Ruh Roh!

If you haven’t caught the word, this May DC Comics and Hanna Barbera plan to take Scooby Doo and the gang in a very… different direction, with the premier of the new full-color comic book series Scooby Apocalypse. “Those meddling kids — Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their dog, Scooby-Doo — get more ghost-debunking than they bargained for when faced with a fundamental change in their world. The apocalypse has happened. Old rules about logic no longer apply. The creatures of the night are among us, and the crew of the Magical Mystery Machine has to fight to survive—because in the apocalyptic badlands of the near-future, the horrors are real! This new monthly series takes Scooby and the gang to a whole new level and features character designs by comics superstar Jim Lee!” Plus writing by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, with regular art by Howard Porter. Read an interview with Mr. Giffen over at Newsarama.

image c. 2016 DC Comics

image c. 2016 DC Comics

And Speaking of Kitties…

Watch out! We’re about to get flooded by announcements for new sampler comics coming out for Free Comic Book Day — in just a couple of weeks on May 7th. Bleeding Cool has several lists of the titles being released. As usual, there are several titles of furry interest in there if you look, including Awake, Sonic, Grumpy Cat, Sanjay & Craig, The Stuff of Legend, and more. Here’s one that caught our eye: The Pink Panther, released by American Mythology. “He’s been the coolest cat in all of cartoondom for over 50 years! The Pink Panther is back in brand new adventures to tickle your funny bone and test the sanity of The Little Man! Join all of Pink’s pals from the DePatie-Freleng stable including The Inspector and The Ant and The Aardvark, as we welcome The Pink Panther to 21st Century comic books in style! This special FCBD issue is chock-full of fun with new and classic Pink Panther adventures, including the hilarious antics of The Mighty Pan-Thor!” We’ll see, in a couple of weeks!

image c. 2016 American Mythology

image c. 2016 American Mythology

*Boing!* Surprise!

Somehow we missed this one, but we’re glad to find out about it now. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman (world-famous for his multi-award-winning comic Maus) has created Jack and the Box, a full-color story comic for entry-level readers. “Jack just got a new toy, and it’s full of surprises. Each time the box pops open, there’s a new and bigger surprise. Is it a silly toy, a scary toy… or something else entirely? With a limited vocabulary and unlimited imagination, Art Spiegelman applies his out-of-the-box thinking to a book that has all the surprise and bounce of a Jack-in-the-box.” Check it out over at the publisher, Toon Books. It’s available now at numerous sites, in trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Worlds of Watercolor

Kendra Minadeo is a freelance illustrator based out of Southern California, and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. As one can see on her web site, her specialty is watercolor paintings — with more than a splash of cuteness thrown in. Her Etsy store features many of her paintings in print form and on buttons. What’s more, she’s even been working on a series of art how-to videos for YouTube.

image c. 2016 by Kendra Minadeo

image c. 2016 by Kendra Minadeo

Neener? Neener Neener!

From the web page of The Neenerbot Shop: “Jeannine Schafer is an SF-area based illustrator. As a child she was torn between being a zookeeper and an artist, but for reasons she can’t quite recall she eventually abandoned her dreams of opening the world’s first underwater zoo to pursue art. She continued to study and draw the animals she loved and discovered her focus as an artist in this passion. Today she strives to create stylish and fun illustrations that will also help raise awareness and interest in the animals she loves.” To that end Ms. Schafer creates and sells numerous “funny animal” prints, and some of her works are also available on T-shirts and even pillows.

image c. 2016 by Jeannine Schafer

image c. 2016 by Jeannine Schafer

Let’s See Those Teeth!

Cody Vrosh is a self-taught fantasy illustrator with at least two particular obsessions: Coffee… and teeth. Animals and fantasy creatures who grin. Wide. A lot. Hmm, with all that coffee, how do they manage to keep those teeth so white? Who knows! “His depictions of dark and whimsical companionships attempt to express the aspects of one’s personality that we typically hide from the world. With an emphasis on experimentation, his fine lines and chaotic ink patterns have graced such diverse surfaces as hand-cut burned wood and coffee-stained paper.” Cody’s web site has many examples of his watercolor works, both humanoid and anthropomorphic, as well as his various book titles.

image c. 2015 by Cody Vrosh

image c. 2015 by Cody Vrosh

Oh, Isn’t That Kieud?

After years of studying fashion design, the artist Kieu Le currently works in the licensing department for Blizzard Entertainment (home of World of Warcraft and so much more). In her copious (?) spare time she also has a thriving business on her own designing cartoonish 2D art prints as well as cartoonish 3D plush animal toys.  All of which can be found on her personal web site, which besides examples of her work also includes links to various on-line stores where you can buy it all.

image c. 2016 by Kieu Le

image c. 2016 by Kieu Le

 

Nerdy Parents: Pass It Along!

This is just too cute, so we’ll let the creator Charles Thurston explain it: “I have two small wonderful little girls and the problem I had was trying to find ways to entertain them and at the same time introduce them to the nerdy pop culture things that mommy and daddy love. There’s plenty of stuff out for small kids 6 and up but not for children under 4. So I decided to write and draw parody books for them that gave them a friendly introduction into the world of pop culture and sci-fi while paying tribute to the creative geniuses of George Lucas, J. R. R. Tolkien, Laura Joffe Numeroff, Joss Whedon, Rod Serling, Robert Zemeckis, Russell T. Davies, and Steven Moffat all of which that helped shape my childhood/adulthood and imagination.” Charles’ original hand-made books include titles like Go, Smaug, Go!, Taylor in Ape Land, and The Dire Wolf At The End Of This Book. All those and more are available as a package deal at his Etsy Store. You can also find out more at his web site, as well as look through his extensive collection of original prints for sale.

CharlesThurstonSmaug

Outlaw, Hero, Purr-amour!

Looks like the mutual orbiting of Titan Comics and Dreamworks Animation continues…! Now they bring us Puss in Boots, a new full-color series hitting the shelves later this month. From the preview over at Flickering Myth: “Short of money and with a long milk tab to pay, Puss answers an advert that takes him out to sea with a cranky old owl on a pea-green boat. But if you think you know how this fairytale ends… think again! Flying fur balls and derring-do abound! See you on the poop deck! The Adventures of Puss in Boots is written by Max Davidson (Home, Simpsons Comics) and Chris Cooper (Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Excalibur) with art from Egle Bartolini (Penguins) and Dave Alvarez (Looney Tunes, Animaniacs).” Read it, if you dare!

image c. 2016 Titan Comics

image c. 2016 Titan Comics