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The Pig of Destiny

And more stuff from Kingpin Books — this time something much much stranger called Ultra Pig Nipponic Roulette. It’s written by Mario Freitas and illustrated by Osvaldo Medina and Marta Lebre. Here’s what the publishers say, verbatim: “October 10, 1978. During the twinning cerimony between the Portuguese city of Aveiro and the Japanese city of Oita, the young Ultra Pig is kidnapped by three local businessmen and used as currency in a nefarious partnership with high-ranking officers of the Yakuza. Fearing for his son’s life, the illustrious Calouste Pig risks to face alone the bizarre joint-venture, but ends up getting caught in a very unusual sort of roulette. A very bizarre and very deadly game of roulette, like something out of a Tintin book, but on a cocktail of Manga influences and a ton of crazy.” It’s also coming this December in hardcover, says Previews.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

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Little Fox Went Out On A Chilly Night

A new talent we’ve discovered thanks to Previews: Writer and illustrator Gustavo Borges, with his new full-color graphic novel Petals. (Fun fact: Mr. Borges used to compete for Brazil in several Olympic Games as a swimmer!) “During a long winter, a family of foxes struggles to survive the merciless cold. One day, one of the cubs leaves his house looking for much-needed firewood and crosses his path with a tall and peculiar bird wearing a singular top hat. A beautifully illustrated and deeply touching story of friendship and selflessness by young Brazilian prodigy Gustavo Borges and Eisner Award-nominee colorist Cris Peter.” According to Previews, Petals should be out in hardcover this December.

image c. 2017 Kingpin Books

Prime Pet Pictures

Looks like the school pets have been busy again. Now the publisher Henry Holt has brought us The Great Art Caper, once again written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. “A follow-up to The Great Pet Escape [which we talked about last year]. This time, our favorite class pets have to save the school art show! Things at Daisy P. Flugelhorn Elementary School have been quiet-too quiet. Cuddly yet calculating class hamster GW spends his days in second grade and his nights poetry slamming and jigsaw puzzling with his friends, Sunflower and Barry. GW has even started warming up to the second-grade students, a girl named Carina in particular. Could he be making a human friend? After Carina is selected to participate in the school art show, GW decides to make her a gift in a show of support. But he soon learns of a dastardly plot – Harriet and her many mouse minions are planning to ruin the art show! Once again, it’s up to GW, Sunflower, and Barry to put a stop to Harriet’s mousey madness. ” It’s available now in hardcover or softcover. Check out the preview at (where else?) Previews.

image c. 2017 Henry Holt

Island of Lost Bunnies

Recently the artist A.M. Scharf (who creates under the name Acidpluvia) put up a link to an interesting Kickstarter campaign. Acidpluvia has been asked to be the official illustrator for Rabbit Island, a card-and-tile game created by Leslie and Samantha Et Alia of Infinite Heart Games. “Play as one of the four Tribal Leaders and explore a new island every game in this light 4x game for 2-4 players. Build up your civilization using your Carrot Tokens and special Action Cards – can you conquer your opponents in 20 rounds?” The campaign page has much more in the way of artwork and descriptions of the game play. The Kickstarter campaign runs through mid-July.

Image c. 2017 by Acidpluvia

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A Fox Raising A Hen House

We’ve been hearing for a while about Le Grand Mechant Renard, a European animated TV special directed by Benjamin Renner (co-director of Ernest & Celestine) based on his graphic novel. Well now First Second Books have released that graphic novel as a new full-color trade paperback, translated into English as The Big Bad Fox. The creator describes it like this: “[It’s] about a fox who isn’t strong enough to catch and eat chickens. Instead, he gets beaten by the chickens. So, he has this weird idea where he’s going to steal eggs and he’s going to raise the small chickens, pretending he’s the mother, but one day, he’s going to eat them.” Got that? There’s an extensive review over at the School Library Journal. Look for the graphic novel this month.

image c. 2017 First Second

Catch Our Next Thrilling Episode

American Mythology continue their quest to bring back classic cartoons in comic book form. Next up? The heroes of Frostbite Falls, Rocky the flying squirrel and Bullwinkle the not-flying moose. According to Bleeding Cool, “Rocky & Bullwinkle comic books have been published by Gold Key, Charlton, Marvel and IDW over the decades, the last being in 2013. Well, the latest comic publisher to take on the pair is American Mythology Productions, with a new series by Todd Livingston and Jacob Greenwalt.” Meanwhile, the publisher says it like this: “Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! That staple of Saturday morning cartoon shenanigans, The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, is back in all its satirical slapsticky joy! The entire misfit cast of Jay Ward’s wonderful series are here — Rocket J. Squirrel, Bullwinkle the Moose, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Dudley Do-Right, and everyone’s favorite Russian hooligans, Boris and Natasha! American Mythology celebrates the return of a one-of-a kind comic book with adventures and high jinx that are fresh and funny while remaining true to the look and format of the classics!” Look for the first issue later in June.

image c. 2017 American Mythology Productions

And You Think YOU’RE A Fanboy…

Something else that slipped below the radar, even though it appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. Brigsby Bear is a new surreal live-action comedy produced by the Lonely Island folks from Saturday Night Live. According to Wikipedia, the story goes like this: “James Pope was kidnapped from a hospital as a baby and since childhood all the way to adulthood has known nothing about the world except Brigsby Bear, a children’s show character fabricated by his kidnapper parents. One day, James is rescued and brought out into the real world where he learns that Brigsby Bear is not a real children’s show. Confused and baffled by these turn of events, James sets out to make a Brigsby Bear movie to show the world what he has learned.” Starring Kyle Mooney (Saturday Night Live) as James, the film is directed by Dave McCary. Other notable names in the cast include Greg Kinnear and Mark Hamill. Sony Pictures picked up Brigsby Bear and will release it to theaters at the end of July.

image c. 2017 Sony Pictures

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Wave For The Camera, Darling

More and more little hints being dropped for My Little Pony: The Movie, coming to theaters this October. Next up? My Little Pony: The Movie Prequel, a new full-color mini-series from IDW (of course). “This fall, My Little Pony: The Movie hits theaters, and this prequel mini-series is your first look at the fantastic adventure to come! Danger looms over Equestria as a new villain debuts! Each issue will focus on a new character from the upcoming movie!” Equestria Daily has an in-depth look. The comic premiers later in June.

image c. 2017 IDW Publishing

Warner and DC… Collide

Things are definitely getting “serious” (if we can use that word) in the world of DC Comics meets Warner Brothers Cartoons. That, or someone in the the upper echelons has come completely unhinged… Check out the these titles for upcoming series: Batman/Elmer Fudd Special. Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam Special (featuring Foghorn Leghorn too!). Legion of Super Heroes/Bugs Bunny Special. Lobo/Road Runner Special. (Lobo teamed up with Wile E. Coyote. Can the universe survive??) Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian Special. And (as pictured below) the Wonder Woman/Tasmanian Devil Special. All this, plus a graphic novel reprint of the DC/Looney Tunes 100-Page Super Spectacular, a miniseries from 2000 that was the kick-off for all of this silliness. All of them arrive later this month, and CBR has a look at some of the amazing covers.

image c. 2017 DC Comics