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Funny Animal

Neither Snow nor Sleet nor Rain Shall Stop These Bunnies…

If you’ve got to get the bad news (or maybe good news if you’re lucky) about this crazy weather that we’re having, why not get it from a cute little bunny? “Weather Rabbit is a unique combination of weather app and virtual pet that rewards you for keeping your rabbit happy by dressing it in different clothes to match the current weather conditions. It features accurate, up-to-date, local information using your GPS and weather data sourced from Wunderground.com. You can earn new outfits for all four seasons plus more seasonally themed costumes.” This animated app (available on Google Play and The App Store) was created by Rabbx, with character design by Tracy Reynolds. You can find it at the Rabbx web site, too.

image c. 2014 Rabbx

The Creator of Samurai Cat — RIP

Word came out recently that one of the originals of Furry Fandom, Mark E. Rogers, passed away this past weekend while out hiking with his family. Some might even call him a patron spirit of anthropomorphics. In 1984 (back when a certain group of Ninja Turtles were making their very first appearance) mark published his first book chronicling the adventures of Miaowara Tomokato, the Samurai Cat. Almost every other page of Rogers’ Samurai Cat books featured a black and white or full-color illustration by the author, connected with the action on the previous page. Through a series of five such books of historical satire, Mark was one of the first to take anthropomorphics away from “funny animal” silliness and into something completely new, in a big way. Ron Miller has a detailed obituary of Rogers which he posted up on I09. Sayonara, Mark-san.

image c. 2014 by Mark E. Rogers

Nine Lives to the Rescue

New this month from Hermes Press is the new deluxe hardcover collection of Scratch 9: The Pet Project. “Following Scratch9’s FCBD adventure, comes the complete Eisner Award-nominated story of The Pet Project. Scratch is a house cat who must save his animal pals from the clutches of Dr. Schrodinger and the C.R.U.E.L. corporation. Fortunately he can tap into all of his nine lives to help him out in jam! This deluxe edition collects the original story plus the Cat Tails anthology, along with all-new bonus materials!” It’s written by Rob M. Worley with art by Jason T. Kruse, Joshua Buchanan, and others. Check out the preview at Comic Book Resources.

image c. 2014 Hermes Press

The OTHER Chipmunks

According to an article in Variety magazine, Disney Animation has given the green light to produce a live action Chip and Dale movie. Yes. What’s more, the film’s plot is an origin story for the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers. This means we get to see not only Chip and Dale but Monterey Jack, Gadget Hackwrench, and the fly known as Zipper all portrayed as CGI characters in the real world, a la The Smurfs or the recent spate of Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. The film is being written and directed by Paul Rugan, previously best known as a director of TV commercials. No word yet on a planned release date or any cast members.

image c. 2014 Disney Animation

More Raccoons at the Movies

Bringing yet another well-known video game to the big screen, Sony Pictures have announced that Sly Cooper — The Movie is filming and set for release in 2016. Erik Kain at Forbes.com has the complete story, as well as a link to the teaser trailer. The film is being directed by Kevin Munroe (one of the writers on the TMNT film from 2007) and animated by Rainmaker Entertainment and Blockade Entertainment (both of whom are currently working on the Ratchet & Clank movie, also for Sony). According to the press release, “Sly Cooper is a kinetic and comedic heist film that tells the story of Sly Cooper, an orphaned raccoon thief, along with his childhood friends and partners in crime, Bentley Turtle and Murray Hippo. In the film, Sly learns of his birth family’s secret legacy; that he comes from a long line of talented and international thieves. Endowed with this knowledge, Sly and his friends are catapulted into a global adventure as they race to reassemble pieces of an ancient book holding The Cooper Clan’s family secrets before it can fall into the hands of Clockwerk — an evil Russian metallic owl bent on ending the Cooper family line. ” With the movie not coming out until 2016, we can probably assume that the teaser trailer does not reflect the look or feel of the final film — but it does get the word out and hopefully gets people interested.

image c. 2014 Sony Pictures

Fastest Fox in the West

Mandi Tremblay (also known as the artist Mitti, creator of Peachy Keen) has a new on-line graphic story in full color, Lucky August Carson. It goes like this: “On his first day as a small town sheriff, August Carson’s got caught in the snare of Freddie, the legendary Bandit Queen, who kidnaps him for her own mission. Can August survive the Mojave Desert, or is there more to Freddie than she’s letting on?” Find out at the official Lucky August Carson web site.

image c. 2014 by Mandi Tremblay

Dragons of the Internet Era

Meadowhawk is an on-line black & white comic strip created by Nicole Johnson — aka, the artist Ribnose (check her out at FurAffinity). The comic strip deals with dragons — but dragons of a decidedly modern nature, in a decidedly modern world. “Modern dragons who, if asked to account for dragon lore, would cluelessly click to the same wikis you or I would for a quick refresher. Dragons for whom words like ‘pillage’, ‘slay’ and ‘burninate’ are the names of faraway concepts, found only in musty histories of dubious accuracy.  These are dragons who have only been around as long as you or I (so far). They know as much about their Middle Ages forbears as we know about our tribal ancestors. Heck, they barely remember a time before the Internet.” The comic is updated several times a month, and guest artists have been known to stop in and do a strip or two — so to speak. Take a look at Meadowhawk.net for the latest.

image c. 2014 by Nicole Johnson

They’ve Got It In for the Panda

Sanctuary is an black & white on-line digital comic story created and illustrated by animator Stephen Coughlin. Now this February Slave Labor Graphic will be releasing Sanctuary as a series of softcover graphic novels. Their description: “A research station on a secluded island houses a game reserve/sanctuary where the animals seem to be just a tad smarter than the human researchers observing them. The arrival of a Panda bear threatens to upset the delicate balance of life for everyone involved. On the surface everything seems normal enough, but beneath all the cuteness lays something sinister and more than a little creepy.” That and the front cover below might give you a little idea what you’re in store for. Check out Volume 1: Fresh Meat and order it at Things From Another World. [And with that, we’ll see you again after Further Confusion!]

image c. 2014 Slave Labor Graphics

Man of Many Cartoons

Lou Scheimer was co-founder and president of Filmation Animation. Before he passed away last year, he completed his autobiography with the help of comic book writer and historian Andy Mangels. Now it’s been released in trade paperback by TwoMorrows Publishing as Lou Scheimer: Creating the Filmation Generation. Best known for Saturday morning staples like The Archies and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Filmation was also responsible for the animated Star Trek series in the 1970’s, as well as for taking us back down the Yellow Brick Road with 1974’s Journey Back to Oz. For better or for worse (depending largely on your opinion of limited animation) there were a lot of anthropomorphic characters who made their way through various Filmation productions. Some of them, like Star Trek’s Lt. Mress, have become Furry icons. Check out Lou’s story — and the story of Filmation and Saturday morning cartoons — at Amazon.

image c. 2014 TwoMorrows Publishing