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.”
Funny Animal
Dragon Puncher
James Kochalka (creator of Monkey vs. Robot and other strangeness) is back with a new full-color, hardcover graphic novel from Top Shelf Productions. Dragon Puncher Volume 1 gives us the adventures of, well, Dragon Puncher: “A cute but ruthless kitty in an armored battle suit, dedicated to defeating dangerous dragons wherever they may be. The Dragon Puncher and his would-be sidekick Spoony-E (a fuzzy little fellow armed with a wooden spoon) confront a gigantic, drooling dragon and have a ridiculous, hilarious brawl”. You heard ’em. The artwork combines Kolchalka’s well-known funny animal style with humorous photography for a “goofy backyard adventure”.
Brand-New Coyote and Roadrunner
If you head to out see Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, you’ll find a surprise in front of it: Coyote Falls, a new 3D CGI Warner Brothers cartoon starring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. It’s the first of three such new 3-minute cartoons that Warner Brothers is releasing in front of new feature films. According to CartoonBrew.com, “This is the first Looney Tunes short produced by Sam Register’s new Warner Bros. Animation division. (BTW, the film is simply a Warner Bros. Cartoon with no Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies designation). Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone are supervising producers along with Allison Abbate (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Corpse Bride, Iron Giant). Matthew O’Callaghan (Curious George) directed in respectful homage to Chuck Jones.” Cartoon Brew also has an exclusive clip from the short.
Berona’s War: The Field Guide
And now for something rather different: Cute and cuddly wars! Berona’s War: The Field Guide comes to us from the minds of Jesse Labbe and Anthony Coffey. According to Previews it’s “an epic tale of two adorable, fur-covered races doomed by their own escalating violence”. Whew. The Ele-Alta and the Cropones are soft and fuzzy on the outside, but hard as nails on the inside. When both tribes lay claim to Berona Island’s most valuable real estate — a land known as Amity — the result can only be bloody war. This full-color hardcover graphic novel is available now from Archaia Comics. This winter, look for the sequel, Berona’s War: Fight for Amity. And check this out for a preview of the whole series.
Now It Can Be Told!
The 2010 Ursa Major Awards, celebrating the best in anthropomorphic art, writing, and other media were presented at FurAffinity United on Sunday, May 30th. 2 the Ranting Gryphon hosted the show and presented the awards. From the Ursa Major Awards web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth.” This year more than 1,100 fans from more than a dozen countries world wide took part in nominating and voting for the Ursa Major Awards. The most yet!
And here, now, are the nominees and winners in each of 10 categories.
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Game, the nominees were:
- Earth Eternal (created by Sparkplay Media)
- G-Force – The Video Game (Developed by Keen Studios, published by Disney Interactive)
- Predation, the Board Game (created by Quentin Long)
- Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Developed by Insomniac Games, published by Sony Computer Entertainment)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration, the nominees were:
- Blotch: Cover for Out of Position by Kyell Gold
- Patrick Farley: “Gaia’s Strange Seedlike Brood” from Thoughtcrime Experiment
- Jailbird: “It’s Beautiful” from “Trading Wishes” by Kevin Frane
- Kenket: Illustration for New Coyote from Anthrozine.com
- Sara Palmer: Cover for Jasmyn by Bernard Doove
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Blotch, for the Out of Position cover.
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Magazine, the nominees were:
- Anthro
- Heat
- New Fables
- South Fur Lands
- Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Heat
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip, the nominees were:
- Dan and Mab’s Furry Adventures by Amber M. Williams
- Doc Rat by Jenner
- Freefall by Mark Stanley
- Housepets! by Rick Griffin
- Kevin and Kell by Bill Holbrook
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Housepets!
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story (with continuous story arcs) the nominees were:
- Concession by Immelman
- Furthia High by QuetzaDrake
- Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler
- TwoKinds by Tom Fischbach
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Concession
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work, the nominees were:
- Bloom County – The Complete Collection, Volume 1, by Berke Breathed, published by Idea & Design Works
- Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals, by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges, published by Impact
- The First Book of Lapism, by Phil Geusz, published by Anthro Press
- Who Are The Furries? by Denise Winterman, from BBC News
- X, edited by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction, the nominees were:
- “Drifting”, by By Kyell Gold, from FurAffinity.net
- “Moonthief”, by Not Tube, from X by Sofawolf Press
- “Stop the World”, by Kyell Gold, from Anthrozine.com
- “Thou Shalt Not Make Wrongful Use of the Name of Thy Lord”, by Whyte Yote, from X by Sofawolf Press
- “Trading Wishes”, by Kevin Frane, from FurAffinity.net
And the Ursa Major Award went to: “Drifting”
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Novel, the nominees were:
- Bone Crossed, by Patricia Briggs, published by Ace Books
- Cheetah’s Win, by Phil Geusz, published by Anthrozine.com
- Jazmyn, by Bernard Doove, published by CreateSpace
- Out of Position, by Kyell Gold, published by Sofawolf Press
- Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, by David Benidictus, published by Dutton Juvenile
- The Unscratchables, by Cornelius Kane, published by Scribner
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Out of Position
In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Subject or Series, the nominees were:
- The Cat Piano (from the People’s Republic of Animation, directed by Eddie White and Ari Gibson)
- Partly Cloudy (from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation, directed by Peter Sohn)
- The Penguins of Madagascar (produced by Dreamworks Animation for Nickelodeon)
- Prep and Landing (from Walt Disney Pictures Animation, directed by Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers)
- The Secret Saturdays (produced by Cartoon Network)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: The Penguins of Madagascar
In the Category of Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture, the nominees were:
- Avatar (from 20th Century Fox, directed by James Cameron)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (from 20th Century Fox, directed by Wes Anderson)
- The Princess and the Frog (from Walt Disney Pictures Animation, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker)
- Up (from Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation, directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson)
- Where the Wild Things Are (from Warner Brothers, Directed by Spike Jonze)
And the Ursa Major Award went to: Avatar
The staff of InFurNation.com wish to extend our congratulations to all of this year’s nominees and winners — as well as all of the fans who took the time to participate in the nominations and voting! Remember to visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to find out more about how to nominate the best in anthropomorphics from 2010 for the 2011 awards.
Krazy Kat in Kolor
Those with an interest in comic strip history should of course be familar with the adventures of Ignatz Mouse and Krazy Kat, written and illustrated by George Herriman in the early 20th century. Now Sunday Press Books brings us Krazy Kat: A Celebration of Sundays, coming this June in Hardcover. Collecting the greatest Krazy Kat Sunday pages, for the first time in their original size and colors, just in time for Krazy Kat’s 100th birthday. The book also includes a sampling of Herriman’s pre-Krazy works, as well as contributions by Michael Tisserand (Gambit Weekly) and Art Spiegelman (Maus). Here’s more information on the book at Westfield Comics.

Krazy Kat characters c. 2010 Wikipedia
Lackadaisy — The Book
Tracy Butler’s popular web comic Lackadaisy (a frequent Ursa Major Award nominee and winner of the Web Cartoonists’ Choice Award — twice) has finally been released on dead trees by 4th Dimension Entertainment. The Lackadaisy Volume 1 graphic novel (in softcover) tells the story of the Prohibition-era speakeasy known as Lackadaisy, and characters like “a rum-running violinist named Rocky and a police academy dropout nicknamed Freckle”. Oh by the way, those characters (and all the rest) happen to be anthropomorphic cats. That little fact, not to mention Ms. Butler’s attention to detail and sepia-toned artwork, have sealed the popularity of this comic in and out of Furry Fandom.
Jason does Werewolves
The enigmatic Norwegian funny-animal cartoonist known only as Jason returns with a brand-new softcover graphic novel, coming (in full color) in July from Fantagraphics Books. Werewolves of Montpellier tells the story of Sven, an aimless artist who finds himself in Montpellier, France, after a failed romance. By day he plays chess and poker, sketches his new hometown, and bemoans the state of his life. By night… he dresses up as a werewolf and raids other peoples’ homes! Of course, one thing he hasn’t taken into account is the society of real werewolves who live in Montpellier…! The press release describes it as “… a lycanthropic thriller, a romantic comedy, and an existential drama… basically, your typical Jason book”.