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Funny Animal

The Cat Rules The Kitchen

Okay this is different! “Cinnamon is just your perfectly ordinary, average house cat. At least until we glimpse the world through her wild eyes! Countertops become skyscrapers, cat toys become biker gangs, and perilous giant robots rampage on the daily! Get drop kicked onto the action packed streets of Big Kitchen City, as she fights the dark forces that dare to keep her from her favorite treat… Catnip!” Cinnamon is a one-shot written and illustrated by Victoria Douglas, out now from Behemoth Comics. Comic Crush has a preview.

image c. 2021 Behemoth Comics

Cats That You Can’t See — At Least Yet

For those of us of previous generations, this might be a bit hard to follow. But we’ll let Animation World Network explain it: “What’s the kitty been smoking? Fan favorite actress Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show, Family Guy, Bad Moms) has released the new animated series Stoner Cats, by far the highlight of this past month. Kunis teamed with Chris Cartagena (The Grinch), Sarah Cole (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), and Ash Brannon (Toy Story 2) under the Orchard Farm Productions banner to create the show, which features (surprise, surprise) a bunch of weed smokin’ felines.” Here’s the fur-rub though: “Interestingly, the first episode of the series was released as 10,420 NFTs on July 28th, which sold out within 30 minutes. Each episode was sold for .35 ETH, or approximately $8 million in cold hard American dollars. While NFTs are still new, strange, and misunderstood by many, there is a huge market for those wanting to own a piece of entertainment history.” Got all that? Here’s hoping they eventually release the series through other avenues as well.

image c. 2021 Orchard Farm Productions

Don’t You Monkey with the Monkey

All right… We’re just going to let this new graphic novel from Random House Studio for young readers speak for itself: “It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s time for Jim Panzee’s weekly Wednesday walk. He wakes up, stretches a little, grabs his stress orange, and sets off. Jim’s favorite part of the walk is the blissful silence. When he’s alone, he can hear all the jungle sounds. Until . . . his best buddy, Norman, decides to join him. And before he knows it, Jim is followed by every animal in the jungle. It’s all just too much. Now Jim and his not-so-helpful friends are on a quest across the jungle to find another stress orange before it is too late!” Got all that? Turns out there’s a whole series of Grumpy Monkey books written by Suzanne Lang and illustrated by Max Lang. Grumpy Monkey: Freshly Squeezed is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2021 Random House Studio

Take Me Out To More Ball Games

The furriest baseball team around is back with two new illustrated graphic novels by John Steven Gurney. In Fuzzy Baseball Volume 3: R.B.I. Robots, “The Fernwood Valley Fuzzies have a baseball game set with the undefeated and impeccable Geartown Clankees. The Clankees perform like well-oiled machines…mainly because they are robots in disguise just wanting to fit in and feel the love of good sportsmanship deep inside their gears.” Mean while in Volume 4: Di-No Hitters, “The Ferntown Fuzzies are about to face a team of Dinosaurs, the Triassic Park Titans, in a match for the ages. The blast-from-the-past team is sure to deliver a few curve balls for the Fuzzies with their vintage style, gigantic gear, and ‘un-evolved’ practices.” Both volumes are available now from Papercutz.

image c. 2021 Papercutz

He Doesn’t Even Have A Shell

Comic artist Yehudi Mercado is back with another graphic novel for young folks. (We talked about him recently!) This time he’s illustrating for writer Matthew Cody as they bring us the first book of Cat Ninja. “Beware, villains! Cat Ninja may appear to be nothing more than a silly internet meme. But he is evil’s greatest enemy, and the silent master of Kat Fu and carpet scratching! Raised from a kitten by a kindly old ninja master, Claude now spends his days as the pampered house cat of an eleven-year-old boy. But when trouble arises, Claude dons his mask and springs into action as Cat Ninja — Metro City’s secret protector! In Book 1 of the series, follow our feline hero’s early exploits as he tries to keep his secret identity under wraps while thwarting the evil plans of slimy thugs, rampaging robots, and a certain rodent nemesis who lives under the same roof!” Simon & Schuster have a preview on paw.

image c. 2021 Andrews McMeel Publishing

Sneak Pika

The Internet has been going crazy now that the news has been released that a new Pokemon live action TV series is in early development at Netflix. Here’s what Variety had to say: “As the project is still in its early days, no details are available about the plot. However, sources say that Joe Henderson is attached to write and executive produce. Henderson currently serves as co-showrunner and executive producer on the popular Netflix series Lucifer… Sources also say that the project would be a live-action series akin to the Detective Pikachu film starring Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith that was released in 2019… The move to develop an original Netflix Pokemon series comes as the streamer has made itself the home to multiple existing Pokemon shows, including Pokemon: Indigo League and Pokemon Journeys among others… Netflix has been moving into more live-action adaptations of anime titles as well, including the upcoming Cowboy Bebop and One Piece live-action shows.” Hope we find out more soon!

image c. 2021 Warner Brothers

He’s Busting Out All Over

An inspiring, humorous full-color graphic novel for young readers, with some cool facts to learn about insects thrown in for good measure! It’s Burt The Beetle Doesn’t Bite, written and illustrated by Ashley Spires. “Meet Burt, a ten-lined june beetle. He’s sure he belongs in the category of bugs with superpower-like abilities. No, he can’t carry 50 times his weight, like ants. No, he’s not able to spray paralyzing venom, like some termites. No, he can’t release a bad smell to repel predators, like stink bugs. What june beetles are known for is chasing porch lights and flailing their legs in the air — does that count? Hmm … Maybe Burt will just have to accept the truth. June beetles don’t have any special abilities. But when some other bugs find themselves in perilous trouble that even their superpowers can’t get them out of, Burt suddenly realizes there is one thing that he can do to save his friends — and it’s something that only a june beetle can do!” Available now in trade paperback from Kids Can Press.

image c. 2021 Kids Can Press

He Ain’t Heavy

Chunky is a new full-color graphic novel, written and illustrated by Yehudi Mercado. The publisher says this: “In this full-color middle grade graphic memoir… Yehudi Mercado draws inspiration from his childhood struggle with his weight while finding friendship with his imaginary mascot, Chunky, as he navigates growing up in a working class Mexican-Jewish family.” So what’s it about? “Hudi needs to lose weight, according to his doctors. Concerned about the serious medical issue Hudi had when he was younger, his parents push him to try out for sports. Hudi would rather do anything else, but then he meets Chunky, his imaginary friend and mascot. Together, they decide to give baseball a shot.” From there, things get more complicated. Take a look at the web site to find out just how much! It’s available in hardcover or trade paperback.

image c. 2021 Harper Collins

We Take In Strays

Animal Rescue Friends is a new full-color graphic novel miniseries for young readers, written by Gina Loveless and Meika Hashimoto, with art by Genevieve Kote. “Welcome to Animal Rescue Friends, where any stray can find a friendly face—furry or otherwise. This first collection of middle-grade comics includes five tales of found family: A lonely girl living in the suburbs finds happiness with a stray pit bull; a protective mama ferret and her six kits learn to trust a shelter volunteer; a shy boy stands up for himself with the help of a strong-willed bunny; a cantankerous cat helps to mend a troubled relationship; and the shelter’s unofficial mascot eventually finds a home.” Check it out now.

image c. 2021 Andrews McMeel