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Hardcover Books

All Your Favorites from Dreamworks

Dreamworks Animation have created a special tie-in compilation book called Dreamworks Heroes Annual 2014. In spite of that title, it’s already available in hardcover from Pedigree Books. “DreamWorks Animation has created some of the best loved animated feature films and TV shows of all time. They have released a total of 26 feature films, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon, grossing nearly $11 billion worldwide. This Annual brings all your favorite DreamWorks characters together for the first time in this unique DreamWorks Heroes Annual 2014.” Check it out at Amazon. The advertisements are kind of hard to follow: Apparently this publication is also available as Dreamworks All-Stars Annual 2014, with a different cover.

image c. 2013 Pedigree Books

These Are The Monsters In Your Neighborhood…

In celebration of the 25th anniversary (!) of Hayao Miyazaki’s popular animated fantasy My Neighbor Totoro, Viz Media have released a new hardcover edition of the My Neighbor Totoro Picture Book, written and illustrated by Mr. Miyazaki himself. You can order it now at Barnes & Noble. “The companion book to the beloved animation classic My Neighbor Totoro by legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki. Featuring artwork taken directly from the movie, this updated edition will allow parents and children to relive Totoro’s magical adventures with scene-by-scene illustrations and character dialogue. Eleven-year-old Satsuki and her sassy little sister Mei have moved to the country to be closer to their ailing mother. While their father is working, the girls explore their sprawling old house and the forest and fields that surround it. Soon, Satsuki and Mei discover Totoro, a magical forest spirit who takes them on fantastic adventures through the trees and the clouds — and teaches them a lesson about trusting one another.”

image c. 2013 Viz Media

The Horse Returns

Neil the Horse was a funny animal comic strip written and illustrated by Katherine Collins, starting in the late 1970’s. Throughout the 1980’s it was one of the most popular funny anthropomorphic comic books going, adored by classic funny animal fans and underground comic aficionados alike. Equally a tribute to old fashioned comic books, classic Hollywood musicals, and children’s books, Neil and his friends largely disappeared after the 1990’s. Now Hermes Press have announced that the dancing equine’s comic book adventures will finally be re-released in Neil the Horse: The Complete Comics Stories. Collecting Neil issues 1 – 15 and featuring a historical essay by Trina Robbins (a comic book legend in her own right), this hardcover collection will ship this coming December — but Amazon is taking orders now.

image c. 2013 Hermes Press

Barking and Bravery in Battle

Now and then we like to spotlight something involving real-world animals — especially when they’re doing something that, while maybe not anthropomorphic, definitely feels like something you wouldn’t expect animals to do. Dogs of War is a new full-color graphic novel, coming very soon from Graphix Press in softcover and hardcover editions. From Mile High Comics, here’s the blurb: “Dogs of War is a graphic novel that tells the stories of the canine military heroes of World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. This collection of three fictional stories was inspired by historic battles and real military practice, and each story tells the heroic adventures of a soldier and his service dog. Based on the real-life roles of military dogs that served as Red Cross rescuers, messengers, scouts, search-and-rescue teams, sentries, and mascots, Dogs of War captures both the adventure and the devastation brought on by war, as well as the celebrations of life and friendship between boys and their dogs.” Dogs of War was written by Sheila Keenan and illustrated by Nathan Fox.

image c. 2013 Graphix Press

Silent Dreams Will Haunt You

Here’s another of those “How did we miss this?” kind of things: Some of you might be familiar with the surreal works of Jim Woodring, especially his wordless funny animal comic Frank. Based on his own colorful dreams (and, some would say, rather scary dreams!), Frank follows the adventures of a “generic anthropomorph” (to use the creator’s words) across a surreal landscape known as The Unifactor. Well in 2011, Jim Woodring completed his first graphic novel starring Frank,  Congress of the Animals. Frank’s world becomes even stranger, if possible, when he is forced to venture outside of the frightening yet familiar realm of The Unifactor and into the larger world around him. Fantagraphics is again offering this full-color graphic novel in hardcover at Amazon and other sellers. Attention Deficit Disorderly has an extensive review as well — one likely to make your head spin in fact.

Image. c. 2013 Fantagraphics Books

There Was a Woman and Her Dog…

… on an alien planet. That’s the basic concept behind B + F, a full-color illustrated book for adults that’s coming in hardcover from Adhouse Books this October. “B+F, Gregory Benton’s MoCCA Award of Excellence-winning fable, explores an otherworldly forest with a woman and a dog as they encounter its denizens, both benevolent and malicious. A wordless meditation on goodwill, hostility, and isolation.” Order it at the Adhouse web site, and check out Gregory Benton’s web site while you’re at it.

image c. 2013 Adhouse Books

A Quiet Man and His Quiet Bear

Coming this November from Top Shelf Productions: “Sam Henderson — Ignatz-nominated creator of Magic Whistle, Emmy-nominated writer and storyboard artist for SpongeBob SquarePants… and also the nutty mind behind Scene But Not Heard, the longest-running feature in the history of Nickelodeon Magazine! Now all those strips — the hilarious, wordless adventures of a man and a bear — are collected all in one handsome hardcover. Just try and keep up with Sam’s wild imagination! A full-color hardcover, 6″ x 9″, 128 pages, co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Alternative Comics.” You heard ’em. Order Scene But Not Heard at Top Shelf’s web site.

image c. 2013 Top Shelf

Man and Dog, Cheese and Crackers

Unless you live in the UK, you might not be aware that the multi-award-winning Wallace and Gromit animation series has been adapted into a full-colour weekly comic strip. Well it has, and now the folks at Titan Comics have collected the strip series (so far) into a new hardcover book coming out this October. “The strip, which appears daily in The Sun, the UK’s most popular daily newspaper, is read by an audience of 2.3 million readers. The full-colour strip features a self-contained, weekly-continuity that sees our plucky, bald inventor race from one hair-brained invention to the next with gusto, extreme silliness and more puns than you can shake a stick at!” Check out Wallace and Gromit: The Complete Newspaper Comic Strip Collection, Volume 1 at Amazon. The strip features stories from a gaggle of writers, all of it illustrated by Jimmy Hansen and Mychailo Kazybird.

image c. 2013 Titan Comics

He Blows the Blues

We’ve mentioned the anthropomorphic works of write and artist Renaud Dillies before — things like Bubbles & Gondola and Abelard. Well now he’s back with Betty Blues, a new hardcover graphic novel coming this November from NBM Publishing. “Little Rice Duck has built himself quite the reputation around the West Wood, playing his trumpet in bars with their smoky, sweaty ambience, tequila sunrises, and jazz. But between his trumpet and his flame Betty, things are going astray. Betty is drowning her need of him in expensive champagne, something someone else is more than happy to provide… something he’d much prefer, like her, would just stay chilled.” NBM has more, including a preview.

image c. 2013 NBM Publishing