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Funny Animal

No, the OTHER Amazon…!

Once again, a cool new cartoon on Netflix — that’s only shown in countries other than the USA. From Animation Magazine: “New Brazillian animated series Tainá and the Amazon’s Guardians, produced by Hype Animation, Sincrocine, and the Viacom group, is making its streaming debut on Netflix across all of Latin America. Aimed at preschool audiences, the show follows the adventures of a young Indigenous girl named Tainá and her animal friends: The monkey Catu, the king vulture Pepe, and the little hedgehog Suri. With little heroes who are always ready to take care of the forest and their friends, Tainá and the Amazon’s Guardians brings messages of respect, friendship and care for nature to the streaming platform.” The article includes a video of the opening.

image c. 2020 Hype Animation

This Book Was Going To Be Perfect…

What have we been missing? Apparently an on-line phenomenon called Fanlee and Spatzle. Well now Silver Sprocket bring us the Fanlee and Spatzle: Make Something Perfect full-color graphic novel. “Fanlee and Spätzle is a funny, emotional slice-of-life comic about a bear and a duck who are best friends, despite having very different approaches to life, relationships, and gender identity. Something Perfect collects the Twitter hit @pseudonymjones from 2014 to 2019, through adventures in creation, bad things, and being gay.” You heard it here. Now see it in softcover over there.

image c. 2020 Silver Sprocket

City Cat Meets Country Cats

Well at least somebody is getting out and about! Papercutz have a brand new full-color comic series, Brina The Cat. The first volume is called The Gang of the Feline Sun. “Brina, a city cat, moved to the mountains with the owners for a summer holiday. Here she meets some stray cats who call themselves ‘The Gang of the Feline Sun’. The new friends convince her to escape her owners and become a free cat. But while Brina enjoys her newfound freedom and all the new types of delectable bugs the countryside has to offer, her young owners are panicking over losing her, a member of their family. Brina must make a choice to live with her owners, where it’s safe (but confined) or go free in the wilderness.” Written by Giorgio Salati and illustrated by Chirstian Cornia, it’s available now in hardcover and paperback editions.

image c. 2020 Papercutz

Back to Fraggle Rock

While we’re all huddled in our caves — why not visit with some friendly creatures who dance in theirs? Apple TV+ and the Jim Henson Company have brought back the stars of the beloved series Fraggle Rock in a new collection of shorts called Fraggle Rock: Rock On! “The Fraggles might be apart in separate caves, but they can still find ways to have fun together! Join Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley, and Uncle Traveling Matt for stories and songs that show everyone how we’re all connected.” Fun fact: How do you produce a new show when everyone is still in lock-down? Simple — the entire show is filmed on iPhones from the production staff’s homes and garages. Modern technology! Here’s a review over at Slashfilm, which includes the trailer.

image c. 2020 The Jim Henson Company

The Ronin Rabbit Returns

Newly released this year,  we have a new — or at least “improved” — Usagi Yojimbo series from IDW Publishing called Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics. “This series collects the original early issues of the acclaimed long-running series, now in full color! Every issue will also feature new behind-the-scenes material and art. Whether you’re a long-term Usagi fan or brand new to the adventures of the ronin rabbit, this series will be the perfect addition to your comic library!” Written and illustrated by Stan Sakai, of course, with new colors by Ronda Pattison.

image c. 2020 IDW Publishing

Games By Hand. Egad!

Something interesting has just hit the shelves (so to speak). The award-winning (and Ursa Major Award nominated) game Cuphead has a new tie-in book from Dark Horse Press called — wait for it — The Art of Cuphead. “Get transported back to the golden age of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the acclaimed run & gun platformer Cuphead! Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the Thirties. Take a gander at the game’s traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages, and more! And relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from the Devil! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover a new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro game-play.” It’s available now in hardcover from the Dark Horse web site.

image c. 2020 Dark Horse Press

Everybody’s Busy! Just A Little Dizzy!

Recently Jake S. Friedman (author, researcher, and professor of art and animation, according to his web site) brought us his new book The Disney Afternoon: The Making of Television Renaissance. “When the Disney Afternoon premiered in 1990, kids tossed their backpacks aside to watch their favorite Disney television characters. Unlike with feature films, these stars had a new adventure every weekday, and their audience journeyed with them on a daily basis. Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Disney raised the bar with a lineup of innovative, high-quality television animation. The characters were endearing, the writing was clever, and the art was exceptional. Those who grew up with these characters have continued their love affairs for shows like Darkwing Duck, Gargoyles, TaleSpin, and the irrepressibly beloved DuckTales, deep into adulthood. For the first time, learn the history of the Disney Afternoon shows, read interviews from the creative teams, and revel in rare, behind-the-scenes artwork, plus get the full making of story of the modern-day DuckTales series and its legacy connections to the past.” It’s available now in hardcover from Disney Editions. Order it from the author’s store — and check out his other titles.

image c. 2020 Disney Editions

He’s So Fluff-y

Hey look at that — some locals! At this year’s Anime L.A. convention we came across Fantastic Fam, headquartered right here in Orange County CA. Here’s what they say about themselves: “We are designers, illustrators, retailers, and manufacturers of fun and unique fashion and accessories.” Simple enough. Right now they’re specializing in comfortable designer cloth face-masks (funny that), but the reason we noticed them was for their line of clothing that features Fluff the Corgi! Not just clothing but stickers, art prints, and other cool stuff. Take a look at their web site and see what we mean. Woof.

image c. 2020 Fantastic Fam, Inc.

Not an Old Maid

Recently Arcana Studios brought us Go Fish, written by Sean O’Reilly and illustrated by Beto Nascimento. It’s a full-color hardcover one-shot that’s the prequel to a film of the same name — which we’ve never heard of. “Alex the Parrotfish is off to the undersea city of New Corralton in search of fame and fortune (or at least a decent job). Before he’s through, he’ll face down hungry sharks, rude bureaucrat fish, and a shocking threat to the whole reef! How will Alex make it out in one piece?” See some preview pages over at Comixology.

image c. 2020 Arcana Studios