InFurNation Rotating Header Image

Hardcover Books

From Deep in the Disney Vaults

Feb 17th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

IDW Publishing have a new hardcover collection out of truly rare comic strips. From their web site: “After more than 80 years—the complete Silly Symphony newspaper strips are collected in English for the first time ever! The artwork for these rare strips has come straight from the Disney vaults. Each page has been meticulously colored using as a guide the original bound file copies that belonged to Walt Disney himself! This first of four volumes includes all the strips featuring Bucky Bug, the first Disney character to be originated in newspaper comics. The book also includes the very first Donald Duck newspaper strip—an adaptation of The Wise Little Hen. Other classic adaptations are Birds of a Feather, Penguin Isle, The Boarding School Mystery, The Robber Kitten, and Cookieland.” Also, Westfield Comics has an interview with Bruce Canwell, associate editor at IDW.

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

image c. 2016 IDW Publishing

Big Head, Big Heart, Big Adventure

Feb 10th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

In case you have missed Harvey Beaks, it’s an animated TV series on Nickelodeon, created by C.H. Greenblatt (who also created the successful series Chowder). From Wikipedia: “The series focuses on Harvey Beaks, a young, friendly bird, and his two best friends, the rambunctious twins Fee and Foo. Together, the trio seek adventure and mischief in Littlebark Grove, a magical forest that they call home.” Now Papercutz (yea, the home of Geronimo Stilton) have announced the publication of a series of Harvey Beaks full-color graphic novels for young readers. “Harvey has a big head and an even bigger heart, which is why everyone in Bigbark Woods loves him! He may be a rule follower, but after Fee and Foo show him some amazing adventures, this bird might just spread his wings.” The first one, Harvey Beaks: Inside Joke, is available in hardcover and paperback this coming March.

image c. 2016 Papercutz

image c. 2016 Papercutz

The Boy and the Bears

Jan 20th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

Caught this one coming out! Fresh and new for 2016, this book describes itself best: “It starts with a chase. When Spencer Plain is pulled out of school in the middle of the day, he never expects to be speeding down the highway with his uncle, trying to outpace the car that’s tailing them. And he certainly never thought he’d find himself fleeing from a bear through the woods. And when he hears the bear say ‘We’ve been expecting you’, Spencer knows he’s just uncovered a whole world he’d never imagined. He’s brought to Bearhaven, a secret oasis his parents created for bears. But there are depths to Bearhaven that Spencer and his new bear cub friend, Kate, start to uncover. Spencer finds out he’s been there before, even if he can’t remember. He also stumbles into a rescue mission being planned, to save a bear in danger. He knows he can help, and he’s desperate to find clues to his parents’ whereabouts, so he and Kate decide to take matters into their own hands – even if they discover a secret that could threaten Bearhaven’s future!” The Secrets of Bearhaven by K.E. Rocha is available now in hardcover and paperback at Barnes & Noble — and check out this review site as well!

image c. 2016 Scholastic, Inc.

image c. 2016 Scholastic, Inc.

A Little Girl in the Woods

Jan 13th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

The great tradition of wordless comic book storytelling continues with The Only Child, a new black & white graphic novel by Guojing (a concept artist for games and animated TV series). “A little girl—lost and alone—follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But… home and family are very far away. How will she get back there?” Published in hardcover last December by Schwartz & Wade, The Only Child is available now over at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2015 Schwartz & Wade

image c. 2015 Schwartz & Wade

Humans are a Distant Memory…

Jan 9th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

Published at the tail-end (ha ha ha) of 2015 we have Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, the first book in a new series by Lawrence M. Schoen. Here’s the official description from the publishers, Tom Doherty Associates: “In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity’s genius: Animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species, anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets. Surrounded by danger, a Fant historian is ensnared by the past, and a physically challenged child sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.” It’s available now in hardcover at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

Guardians of the Spirit Realm

Jan 7th, 2016
by rodney.
No comments yet

From Humanoids, Inc comes Izuna, a new full-color hardcover graphic novel Bruno Letizia, Saverio Tenuta, and Carita Lupatelli. “Since the dawn of time, the Izuna Wolves have been the protectors of the Sacred Tree. They fiercely oppose the Noggo demons, maintaining an invisible boundary between the human world and the spirit. However, the mysterious birth of a wolf cub in the shape of a young girl threatens to upset this delicate balance. Letzia’s lyrical script expands Tenuta’s rich universe of The Legends of the Scarlet Blades, while Lupattelli’s delicately painted art is the work of a star in the ascendant.” No prizes for guessing: Similar legends inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s well-known work Princess Mononoke. You can find out more over at the Humanoids, Inc. web site.

image c. 2016 Humanoids, Inc.

image c. 2016 Humanoids, Inc.

… And He Never Spoke

Dec 24th, 2015
by rodney.
No comments yet

Anyone interested in animation should know about Depatie-Freleng Enterprises, the birthplace and home of one of America’s iconic animated furries, The Pink Panther. Not to mention cartoons like The Ant and the Aardvark, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Doctor Dolittle, The Fantastic Four, Doctor Snuggles, Baggy Pants and The Nitwits, The Barkleys, The Houndcats, The Grump, The Super Six, Super President, Spy Shadow, Hoot Kloot, Blue Racer, Crazylegs Crane, Misterjaw, Tijuana Toads, The Dogfather, The Oddball Couple, and Charlie the Tuna (whew!). Now animation historian Mark Arnold has chronicled the rise of DFE in Think Pink! a new hardcover book of more than 600 pages (!). “In 1963, Warner Bros. closed down their long-running cartoon facility that had produced such memorable merrymakers as the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Director/producer Friz Freleng and executive David H. DePatie faced unwanted early retirement. A generous parting gesture from a Warner executive allowed Freleng and DePatie to lease the former Warner cartoons studio on California Street in Burbank, complete with equipment and supplies, for a few dollars each year.” The book is available now — find out more at the Bearmanor Media web site, or just head to Amazon.

image c. 2015 Bearmanor Media

image c. 2015 Bearmanor Media

Learn Your Animation History

Dec 12th, 2015
by rodney.
No comments yet

All fans of classic animation history should learn about Walt Disney’s Silly Symphony series — if you don’t know about it already. Which means you should probably check out Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (whew!) by film historians J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt. Here’s what the publishers said on Amazon: “Launched by Walt Disney in 1929 as a ‘musical novelty’ series to complement his recent success with Mickey Mouse, the Silly Symphonies soon became much more. This line of delightfully innovative, animated cartoons ran for ten years and produced such classics as Three Little Pigs, The Tortoise and the Hare, Music Land, and The Old Mill. Silly Symphonies won every Academy Award. From the authors of the prize-winning Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney, this richly illustrated volume is a complete history of the Silly Symphonies including detailed entries for all the Symphonies along with a lengthy critical analysis and production history of the series.” Published previously in Europe, the book is available now in English.

image c. 2015 La Cineteca

image c. 2015 La Cineteca

… And They Can Talk To Him

Dec 10th, 2015
by rodney.
No comments yet

One from last year. The Zoo at the Edge of the World (by Eric Kahn Gale) is a fantasy novel about a young boy named Marlin. “Marlin is not slow, or mute; what he is is a stutterer, and that makes it impossible for him to convince people otherwise. What he is also is a Rackham: the younger son of the world-famous explorer Ronan Rackham, the owner and proprietor of the Zoo at the Edge of the World, a resort where the well-to-do from all over the globe can come to experience the last bit of the wild left at the end of the nineteenth century. In order to impress a powerful duke who comes to visit the zoo, Marlin’s father ventures into the jungle and brings back a mysterious black jaguar, the only one in captivity. Everyone is terrified of it, including Marlin—until one night, when the jaguar confers upon him a powerful gift. Soon, Marlin finds himself with a difficult choice to make and, finally, something to say. If only he can figure out how to say it.” That gift, if you need it stated more clearly, is the ability to speak to non-human animals. Which makes for a complicated narrative of characters young and old, human and not human. The Zoo at the Edge of the World is available in hardcover and paperback (from Harper Collins) at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2015 Harper Collins

image c. 2015 Harper Collins

← Earlier Posts Newer Posts →