Here’s how they describe it: “The epic introduction to Kaya and her brother Jak as she begins her journey into discovering the magic and mystery of their precious world, Silmay. In Boe, Kaya goes through the Trial of the Elder’s door and meets a special trusted ally. In Broodva, Valta discovers something new and troubling.” The front cover tells you a bit more perhaps. Tailwands has been an on-line full-color comic at Comixology for a while now. It’s written by Drew Crowder with illustrations by Morgan Rae Myers. Now Hashtag Comics have released the first set of Tailwands adventures as a graphic novel in paperback. Take a look over at Previews.
Graphic Novel
Meet the Beetles
[Sorry! Couldn’t resist…] “Nestled in the grass under the big palm tree by the edge of the desert there is an entire civilization–a civilization of beetles. In this bug’s paradise, beetles write books, run restaurants, and even do scientific research. But not too much scientific research is allowed by the powerful elders, who guard a terrible secret about the world outside the shadow of the palm tree. Lucy is not one to quietly cooperate, however. This tiny field scientist defies the law of her safe but authoritarian home and leads a team of researchers out into the desert. Their mission is to discover something about the greater world…but what lies in wait for them is going to change everything Lucy thought she knew.” That’s the official word from the publisher for Last of the Sandwalkers, a new black & white graphic novel written and illustrated by Jay Hosler. It’s available now from First Second Books. You should check out the extensive review over at Bleeding Cool also.
Dinos from Space Help Monkeys
Evidently, the dinosaurs didn’t go extinct. Instead, as Earth’s climate began to change, they migrated to a far-off planet… and now they’re a thriving space-faring culture. At least that’s the idea behind Rexodus, a new full-color graphic novel written by James Farr and illustrated by Jon Summariva. It’s coming this June from Dark Horse Press. “The Black Blood is unleashed upon the earth again, and Amber must save her father—and the world—with the aid of the only other Black Blood survivor, Kelvin Sauridon, a dinosaur from the past. In this high-stakes adventure, can they put aside their differences long enough to save the planet they both called home?” The official Rexodus home page explains it all better. Interestingly, there’s also an on-line newspaper article from Tulsa, Oklahoma talking about the comic. Turns out the original idea for Rexodus came from Steelehouse Productions, a Tulsa-based multi-media creation company. Announcing the launch of Rexodus, Steelehouse actually created life-sized walk-around versions of the space-dino main characters.
One Lost Teddy Bear. One Big Adventure.
Robert Goodin is an animator who’s worked on TV shows like Rugrats and American Dad. Now he’s taken some time out from that the craft his first hardcover graphic novel, The Kurdles. “In the spirit of Hergé’s Tintin or Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge, The Kurdles is an all-ages comic spiced up with a teaspoon of strange. Sally is a teddy bear who gets separated from her owner while on a drive in the country. Desperate to find her way home, she stumbles upon Kurdleton, home to a most peculiar group of characters in the midst of a crisis; their forest house has grown hair, eyes, and a mouth! The creatures work with their new friend to keep Kurdleton from growing legs and running away!” Check it out over at the publisher, Fantagraphics Books.
Filthy Animals of the World, Unite!
It’s hard to describe The Woodland Welfare Manifesto any better than Slave Labor Graphics do: “Woodland Welfare Manifesto is the story of Burnt Bear, Crazy Rabbit, and Perverted Monkey — three proletarian animals who struggle against the corrupt capitalist system that oppresses their forest with an iron fist of injustice! Will this trio of friends triumph when working-class livelihoods are threatened, or will Crazy Rabbit’s anarchist methods threaten to make them all enemies of the state?” There you have it. Well, except to say that this full-color short graphic novel (written by Justin Sane and illustrated by John Hageman) is coming soon in trade paperback from SLG. Check out the more detailed review over at Fanboy Comics.
The Fast and the Furriest
March Grand Prix is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers, published by Capstone. It comes to us from the mind of Kean Soo, creator of the award-winning comic book series Jellaby. “March Hare wants to be the fastest and furriest race-car driver around. But first, this rabbit racer must prove his skills at the speedway, on the streets, and in the desert. With pedal-to-the-metal illustrations and full-throttle action, March Grand Prix is sure to be a winner!” It’s set for publication this July in hardcover (and then a month later in trade paperback), but Capstone is releasing a special preview edition as part of this year’s Free Comic Book Day (on May 2nd).
The Fight for Fleadom
(Say that three times fast we dare ya!) Author Lewis Goldstein is known for creating stories that are religious parables told with a particular wit. Now in his second book, he tells the story of one Finnegan T. Flea in a graphic novel called Of Fleas and Fleadom: A Tale of Two Vermin, illustrated by Arianna Grinager. Finnegan is an ordinary flea, trapped under the thumb (literally) of a brutish flea-circus owner and forced to witness some of humanity at their worst. He longs to break out and experience his true “fleadom”, and Mr. Goldstein’s adventurous poem shows how the flea tries to do precisely that. Find out more at the official web site of Baable-On Books, the publisher. By the way: This (very) graphic novel is not meant for young readers!
Mass Hysteria!
In other words, dogs and cats living together… in one book! Let us explain… Graphic Classics (from Eureka Productions) is a series of graphic novels based on, yes, classic literature. Now for Volume 25 of this full-color series they present a special double issue with two books back-to-back: Canine Classics — Stories for Dog Lovers, and Feline Classics — Stories for Cat Lovers. ” Featured are “The Emissary” by Ray Bradbury, “Ancient Sorceries” by Algernon Blackwood, “The Beast from the Abyss” by Robert E. Howard, and 17 more great stories and poems, including two from the volume’s co-editor, John Lehman.” Check it out over at the Eureka web site for a full list of stories.
Ursa Major Award Nominations Open Soon!
[ From Fred Patten: ] Fans of anthropomorphic/furry fiction can begin nominating for the 2014 Ursa Major Awards on January 15. The instructions are here. Wondering what to nominate? The 2014 Recommended Anthropomorphics Reading List contains all of the works first published or released during the past calendar year that have been recommended by furry fans. The list is divided into eleven categories: Motion Picture, Dramatic Short Works or Series, Novel, Short Fiction, Other Literary Work, Graphic Story, Comic Strip, Magazine, Website, Published Illustration, and Game. Nominations close at the end of February. Voting on the finalists will take place from March 15 through April 15. Voting and nominations are open to all. The presentations of the 2014 Ursa Major Awards will be made at Morphicon 2015 in Columbus, Ohio on April 30-May 3, 2015.









