Becky Dreistadt (Adventure Time 2014 Annual) and Frank Gibson (The Amazing World of Gumball) are well-known in the on-line art community for a collaborative art project called Tiny Kitten Teeth. Well now their newest collaboration is being released in full color by Boom! Studios: Capture Creatures. “Over a hundred wonderful and terrifying creatures have suddenly appeared on earth. Two teens investigate the origins of these curious creatures and how they can stop those who are trying to destroy them.” If you want to find out more, Becky and Frank have an official Capture Creatures web page, while Comics Alliance have a preview of the first issue with cover variations by guest artists.
Funny Animal
All the Moomins of Our Lives
During World War II, Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson determined that she wanted to create something that would help to make people happy — which, needless to say, was in short supply at the time. But all accounts she succeeded wonderfully. For more than 60 years after they debuted in the London Evening News her creations, the Moomin Trolls, have delighted audience the world over — entertaining children with their colorful adventures, and adults with their sly commentaries on society and family life. Now to celebrate the late Tove Jansson’s 100 birthday Drawn & Quarterly have brought together more than 400 pages of her full-color work in a new hard-bound slip-covered collection, the Moomin Deluxe Anniversary Edition. Find out more at D & Q’s preview web site for the book.
All the Pretty Corgis
Her summary: “Joie Brown is a visual storyteller, using her talents to help design theme parks, bring characters to life and entertain the masses with her hilarious concepts and whimsical illustrations. She recently graduated with an MFA in Illustration from the Academy of Art University, and currently resides in Los Angeles with her jolly, stump-legged corgi Rylee.” Who seems to be one of her major sources of inspiration — along with My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Check out Joie’s web site to purchase prints and find links to her other art sites.
Get Down Again!
With interest in Howard the Duck rising again after his *Spoiler Alert!* momentary cameo in a recent hit movie from Marvel, they’ve decided that this October the time is right to re-release the Howard the Duck Omnibus — which has been out of print for more than six years. A massive hardcover (more than 800 pages) written entirely by Howard’s creator Stever Gerber — with artistic contributions from the likes of Val Mayerik, Frank Brunner, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino, and John Buscema. This classic collection of the foul-mouthed foul “trapped in a world he never made” brings together stories from Adventures into Fear #19, Man-Thing #1, Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 – 5, Howard the Duck #1 – 33, Marvel Treasury Edition #12, and Marvel Team-Up #96. Read all about it at The Nerdist.
Little Birds to the Big Screen
It had to happen, perhaps: A feature film based on a phone app. Of course, it is one of the biggest phone apps of all time: Angry Birds. According to an article over at Neon Tommy, Rovio and Sony Pictures have teamed up to announce the cast and crew for the upcoming Angry Birds movie. (In case you couldn’t guess, it’s going to be CGI.) “Cast as the lead roles in the animated movie, Saturday Night Live alums Jason Sudeikis (We’re The Millers) and Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids) will play Red and Matilda, alongside Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, who will be playing Mighty Eagle. Some other big names that will be joining the cast include Josh Gad (Frozen), Bill Hader (Skeleton Twins), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), and YouTube stars Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla of Smosh. Behind the scenes, John Cohen (Despicable Me) and former Marvel Studios president David Maisel will be producing the film, while Clay Kaytis (Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph) and Fergal Reilly (Spider-Man 2) have been announced as directors.” The birds will fly in July of 2106.
No, They’re Not Scary At All…
Here it is, straight from Previews: “From the bestselling video games, leading cartoon on Nickelodeon, hot toys from McFarlane Toys, now bursting into comics: playful, clueless, curious, mischievous, and completely unpredictable, the Rabbids find fun everywhere and with everything, creating havoc wherever they go! In their first graphic novel, the Rabbids invade museums, horse races, and even play golf on the moon with a series of non-stop gags that showcase their charmingly surreal stupidity out amongst the rest of the world. ” Watch out! They’re coming next week from Papercutz. Rabbids Volume 1: Bwaaaaaaah! was written by Thitaume with artwork by Romain Pujol.
He Vants to Eat Bananas!
Some of you may remember Banana Tail, an illustrated children’s book created by animator Mark McKenna. It told the story of Banana Tail, a poor young brown monkey born with a shiny yellow tail. He feels like an outcast among his troupe, until he finds two equally unusual friends: Reena the pink rhinoceros and Tic Tac the checkerboard zebra. Well now Mark McKenna, Jim Calafiore, and several artistic friends bring us The Boonanna Tail Halloween Special, a one-shot full-color comic with Banana Tail and his friends celebrating the season in high style. Find out more about it at Bleeding Cool. Of course it comes out in October, with several variant covers available.
Daddy is Purring
Sometimes, you just gotta let the thing speak for itself: “Miri and Luey have a dilemma. Their dad’s been turned into a cat and their closet is a garden full of goblins. There is only one thing for them to do — grab their friend Phil the frog and dive headfirst into a wild, woolly and wacky adventure.” Cat Dad, King of the Goblins was written and illustrated by Canadian artist Britt Wilson. This full-color short graphic novel is available now from Koyama Press. Check out the preview over at Publishers Weekly.
Bird (Woo!) and Squirrel (Eek!)
Here’s one we missed, so let’s get caught up with it now. Bird & Squirrel are the creation of writer and artist James Burks (creator of Gabby & Gator). According to the publishers, “Squirrel is afraid of his own shadow. Bird doesn’t have a care in the world. And Cat wants to eat Bird and Squirrel. Of course, he’ll have to catch them first, and that’s not going to be easy.” In their first full-color graphic novel, Bird & Squirrel on the Run, you can “join this trio as they head south for the winter in a hilarious road trip. But watch out! Cat is waiting around every bend, and he’s one pesky feline.” Now comes word of a new graphic novel, Bird & Squirrel On Ice, in which our oddly-matched heroes crash-land in Antarctica, finding themselves taking part in a secret penguin ritual. Both are published by Graphix, and you can find them care of Barnes & Noble.








