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Hardcover Books

New Books for Young Readers

Stan Lee’s Kids Universe imprint continues to be a good source for new books aimed at kids — and kids at heart of course. Which, often enough, include furries! Dani Jones has been reviewed here previously for her book Monsters vs. Kittens (check it out here). Now her latest work is called Once Upon A Time, and it’s simple: A young pig is trying to tell a fanciful tale, but on each page his various animal friends keep cutting in with their own take on the story. Visit Dani’s web site to find out more about these and other current projects. Also from Kids Universe, look for Reggie the Veggie, written by Dale Mettam and illustrated by Ivan Escalante. It chronicles the adventures of a young, vegetarian crocodile trying to get through his first day at school — and, word is that Reggie might have a game in development as well. Look for both of these new books to come out this July.

image c. 2013 Stan Lee’s Kids Universe

Up Against The Spikey One!

Coming this August, Archie Comics presents the 2nd Volume of collected Sonic the Hedgehog stories, this time titled Best of Sonic the Hedgehog: Villains. ” This deluxe new installment to the smash-hit ‘Best of Sonic’ series celebrates twenty years of comics, specials and mini-series with the baddest baddies the Sonic comics have to offer! Heroes are only as good as their villains, and Sonic’s world hosts some of the most fearsome and loathsome characters you love to hate! Root for the bad guy (just this once) in this Best of Villains collection featuring DR. EGGMAN, IXIS NAUGUS, the BABYLON ROUGES and many more in a must-have for any Sonic fan! Plus all-new cover art from Ben Bates with acclaimed painter Dave Devries, and insights from the Sonic creative team!” You heard ’em. Check out this full-color hardcover collection at Amazon.

Image c. 2013 Archie Comics

Animals Think, Animals Write

It’s a new hardcover book called Animals with Sharpies, created by two of the founding members of the world-renowned collective The Royal Art Lodge. Again, we’re going to defer to their description, since we really can’t top it: “Animals with Sharpies is a collection of paintings with hand-lettered texts. In each painting, Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber have depicted an animal holding a Sharpie, ostensibly writing a message. These messages are varied in nature: Political and religious tracts, confessions, recipes, arithmetic problems, and more. Above all, these paintings are funny, but they are also startlingly poignant and jarring for the humanness of the suffering and longing depicted in these animals’ simple words.” Check it out at Amazon. It’s coming to shelves this June.

image c. 2013 Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber

Turtles, Behind the Scenes

This June, IDW Publishing is releasing a new edition of a popular, devilishly hard-to-find companion for fans of the Ninja Turtles: It’s called the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artobiography, and it was originally published by Heavy Metal over a decade ago. “TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman guides you through a dazzlingly, in-depth look at the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. From the modest beginnings to the merchandising, pop culture juggernaut, this collection of concept art, comics pages, and insider-behind-the-scenes notes-has been ‘sold out’ and hard to find for years. But now it’s back in print for a new generation of fans to enjoy.” And in hardcover no less. Check it out at the Previews web site.

image c. 2013 IDW Publishing

One Odd Duck — or Two

We like this description of Odd Duck, a new illustrated storybook: “Theodora is a perfectly normal duck. She may swim with a teacup balanced on her head and stay north when the rest of the ducks fly south for the winter, but there’s nothing so odd about that.  Chad, on the other hand, is one strange bird. Theodora quite likes him, but she can’t overlook his odd habits. It’s a good thing Chad has a normal friend like Theodora to set a good example for him.  But who exactly is the odd duck here? Theodora may not like the answer.” Author Cecil Castellucci (Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd) hooks up with illustrator Sara Varon (Chicken and Cat) to create an unusual story of an unusual friendship. It’s coming this May in hardcover from First Second.

image c. 2013 First Second

Their Own Take on the Mice

One of the most famous furry comics out there at the moment is Mouse Guard by David Petersen. This sword-and-sorcery tale (tail?) has already spawned collections, role-playing games, and a devoted following. Now and then, Mr. Petersen allows some of his friends to try their paw at the Mouse Guard characters and situations — and some of the best in the business came calling. After the first go-round’s success, Archaia Entertainment have announced that Volume 2 of Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard will be released  as a full-color 4-issue miniseries, starting this May. “Contributors to issue #1 include Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), Ben Caldwell (The Dare Detectives!), and the team of writer Nick Tapalansky and illustrator Alex Eckman-Lawn (Awakening). Subsequent issues will include contributions from Christian Slade (Korgi), Rick Geary (The Adventures of Blanche), Jemma Salume (Unicorn Life Cycle), Jackson Sze (concept art on films like The Avengers and Iron Man 3), Cory Godbey (Fraggle Rock, the upcoming Jim Henson’s Labyrinth), Eric Canete (Fear Itself: Spider-Man), C.P. Wilson III (The Stuff of Legend), Bill Willingham (Fables), and fantasy illustrator Justin Gerard.” After the mini-series is completed, the whole thing will be released as a hardcover graphic novel this fall.

image c. 2013 Archaia Entertainment

The Elephant Men are Back

Image Comics have announced that the popular first hardcover volume of Richard Starkings’ popular Elephantmen comic book collection will soon be back in print — now in a new Revised and Expanded edition called Wounded Animals. It includes the original “Issue Zero” (with art by Ladronn), a sketch section, a new introduction, and more. Extreme noir science fiction with uplifted animals fighting against and alongside humans for world domination. Hey, the creators insist that it’s not Furry. Check it out and decide for yourself. The new edition (collecting issues 0 – 7) comes back to shelves on May 1st.

image c. 2013 Image Comics

This Book is for the Birds!

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, everyone! A belated Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

First off, a quick note: Voting for the 2013 Ursa Major Awards — celebrating the best in Anthropomorphic Everything from 2012 — has just opened, and will remain open until May 15th. Visit the Ursa Major web site to see the nominees and sign up to vote. Then come check out the winners at a special ceremony at this year’s Anthrocon!

Now, on to more Furry Stuff. Here’s a brand new book coming out for folks who are really, really into the game Angry Birds. “In 2009 little-known Finnish video game company Rovio Entertainment wowed the world when it unleashed an unlikely gaming phenomenon: Angry Birds. Ingeniously simple and highly addictive, the game’s initial success led to a number of bestselling sequels and in 2012 the franchise reached a staggering landmark with its one billionth Angry Birds download. For the first time, this stunning coffee table book goes behind the scenes of Rovio’s success to deliver in-depth insight into the remarkable artistry that goes into creating each Angry Birds game. Featuring exclusive conceptual artwork and revealing interviews with the game’s creators, Angry Birds: Hatching a Universe is a must read for fans.” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. This hardcover book is edited by Danny Graydon, and according to Amazon it’s coming from Insight Editions this June.

image c. 2013 Insight Editions

Amphibian Ambitions

Trevor Pryce is a 14-year veteran of the NFL who played defensive end for the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens, and the New York Jets. Now, he’s taken on a completely new career: Fantasy author. In the  first book of the new Kulipari series, Mr. Pryce (aided by Joel Naftali) tells the story of An Army of Frogs. “It’s frogs versus scorpions in this new series by professional football player Trevor Pryce. For years, the frogs of the Amphibilands have lived in safety—protected by an elite group of poisonous frogs named the Kulipari and by the dreamcasting spell of the turtle king that cloaks their lands in mystery. Now the spell is threatened by the Spider Queen, a talented spellcaster, and Lord Marmoo, leader of the scorpions. With the Kulipari off training in secret, the Amphibilands have never been so vulnerable. Enter Darel, a young frog who dreams of joining the Kulipari, despite his utter lack of poison and limited fighting skills. With the help of a motley crew of friends, Darel has the chance to become the warrior of his dreams.” This new series of hardcover fantasy novels is illustrated by Sanford Greene. According to Amazon, it’s due to hit the shelves this May from Amulet Books.

image c. 2013 Amulet Books