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Hardcover Books

A Children’s Classic Returns On-Line

Apr 23rd, 2012
by rodney.
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Sweet Pickles is a classic educational children’s book series by Ruth Lerner Perle, Jacquelyn Reinach, and Richard Hefter which was published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston from 1977 through the mid-1990’s. Each of the 40 full-color books portrayed the adventures of the inhabitants of the town of Sweet Pickles: 26 anthropomorphic animals (one for each letter of the alphabet) who get into various “pickles” because of their all-too-human flaws… and who must learn important life lessons to get out of them. The Wikipedia entry for Sweet Pickles details each of the characters such as Accusing Alligator, Moody Moose, and Temper Tantrum Turtle. After having been out of print for the longest time, the entire series is now returning on-line in a brand-new on-line series. But not just the books: Now the original stories are presented as digitally-enhanced e-books with professional sound-effects, narration, and character voices by award-winning voice actors. For a limited time the first e-book in this new series, Very Worried Walrus, is available as a free download at the Apple iBookstore. You can find out more about the return of Sweet Pickles at www.sweetpickles.com/fob.html, and also check them out on Facebook.

image c. 2012 Sweet Pickles

Liberty Meadows: The Sunday Strips

Apr 21st, 2012
by rodney.
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It’s time for the world — or at least Furry Fandom — to re-discover the works of Frank Cho. Or at very least his seminal work in comics, Liberty Meadows. This well-known comic strip started life as an outgrowth of University Squared, a comic strip that Frank worked on during his college days. Liberty Meadows tells the story of a terribly beautiful human named Brandy, who works as a psychiatrist at the Liberty Meadows animal sanctuary. But it also tells the story of Brandy’s decidedly anthropomorphic animal friends: Like Ralph the miniature bear; Dean the lecherous pig; Leslie the hypochondriac frog; and Truman the very, very nice duck. The strip was syndicated for newspapers from 1997 to 2001, when constant censorship by his editors convinced Mr. Cho to switch to a comic book format — which was self-published at first, then later came out of Image Comics. During that time as a newspaper strip however, Liberty Meadows produced several full-color Sunday strips. And now those strips have finally been collected in the Liberty Meadows Sunday Collection, coming this June in hardcover from, yes, Image. You can find out more about Liberty Meadows — and read the current, un-censored strip — at Frank Cho’s official web site.

image c. 2012 Frank Cho

That’s a Joke, Son!

Apr 13th, 2012
by rodney.
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If you don’t know about the McKimson brothers, you should — especially if you love anything about 20th Century animation. Chuck, Bob, and Tom might not be the household names that Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng have become, but they probably should be as they had their hands in an amazing number of animation projects. Now there’s a new book by Robert McKimson Jr., I Say, I Say… Son! that attempts to fill you in on their amazing story. This new hardcover book is arriving from Santa Monica Press in early July, but here’s a preview from Amazon: “The first survey dedicated to the work of the McKimson brothers, this book offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at the upper echelon of 20th-century animation and examines the creative process behind the making of numerous popular characters and classic programs. Featuring original artwork from the golden age of animation, this book includes a wealth of material from many professional archives—screen captures, original drawings, reproductions of animation cels, illustrations from comic books, lobby cards, and other ephemera from the author’s collection—while surveying the careers of three groundbreaking animators whose credits include Looney Tunes, the Pink Panther, and Mr. Magoo. Beginning in the 1920s and then tracing the brothers’ work together at Warner Brothers Cartoons in the following decades, this history details Robert McKimson’s creation of such beloved characters as Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and Speedy Gonzales; Tom McKimson’s work at Warner Brothers, Dell Comics, and Golden Books; and Chuck McKimson’s long career working in comic books and then later at Pacific Title, creating animated film titles and commercials, including his award-winning work on Music Man, Cleopatra, and The Sound of Music.” The book’s forward was written by John Kricfalusi of Ren & Stimpy fame.

image c. 2012 Santa Monica Press

Pride of the Lions

Apr 9th, 2012
by rodney.
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Well now, this seems to have come out of nowhere: Carnal, Volume 1: Pride of the Lions, written by Jason Bergenstock and illustrated by John Connell.  Here’s the description from an article by Mother/Writer/Gamer: “The first graphic novel in the Carnal series, Pride of the Lions takes place on the continent of New Africa and focuses on three main species of humanistic animals. After the Great War decades earlier between the hyenas and the lions, the victorious and once united lion prides now lay scattered across the land, torn by civil unrest over territory disputes and food shortages. The hyena clans that survived the war were forced deep into the Earth and now live in a massive underground city under the control of a terrible witch. The buffalo race is indifferent to most other species and have walled themselves off from the rest of the kingdoms. Humans have lost their hold on the African territories long ago and live as a simple, nomadic species. The first book opens with Long Eyes, an old sapphire-eyed lion who is determined to save the lion kingdom and rescue his warrior son, Oron, who has gone missing. Long Eyes believes Oron is the key to uniting the prides. A young lioness tracker named Omi is sent out with the protection of two lion brothers to locate the missing warrior, but what they find is something that may unravel the very foundation of life for all species.” This hardcover graphic novel is available for pre-order from Sea Lion Books. It’s arriving in stores this coming May.

image c. 2012 Sea Lion Books

… But Unicorns are still Pretty Neat Too

Mar 24th, 2012
by rodney.
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Speaking of Immedium, they’re also the home of Billie the Unicorn, written and illustrated by Brianne Drouhard. “The young unicorn Billie seeks adventure, so her forest cousins show her how to grow delightful flowers. But the legend of a castle which holds the most beautiful garden lures her away! Will Billie discover that friendship matters the most?” The publisher also continues: “Colorful marker illustrations of expressive characters, upbeat storytelling, and a positive message of seeking your bliss will charm kids who enjoy animation and adults who appreciate great character design.” You can visit Billie’s very own web site to find out more, buy your own copy of the book , and even check out the Billie the Unicorn interactive story app for the iPad and iPhone.

image c. 2012 Immedium

It’s the Year of the Dragon

Mar 23rd, 2012
by rodney.
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Tales from the Chinese Zodiac is a new series of twelve (of course) full-color illustrated children’s books, each written by Oliver Chin and all of them published by Immedium. In each book we meet on of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac (dog, pig, rat, monkey, etc.) as a youngster, and each of them must learn how to represent their aspect of the zodiac as he or she grows to adulthood. Illustrators for the series include Jeremiah Alcorn, Justin Roth, and Jennifer Wood. Your ever-lovin’ ed-otter especially liked The Year of the Dragon (illustrated by Ms. Wood, and reviewed here on Book Dragon, of course). Not only because 2012 is one, but also because it’s his Chinese Zodiac sign!

image c. 2012 Immedium

Jim Henson’s Work… in Comics

Mar 10th, 2012
by rodney.
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In case you missed it, Archaia Entertainment have collected several of their comic book titles based on the work of Muppets creator Jim Henson into a series of hardcover full-color graphic novels. First up is Jim Hensons Dark Crystal, Creation Myths. From the pre-release publicity, this is  “an original graphic novel hardcover set one thousand years before the crystal cracked, before the world of Thra fell to strife and destruction. Original Dark Crystal movie concept designer Brian Froud will plot, provide the cover, design characters, and art direct.” The stories are by Brian Holguin, and the interior art is by Alex Sheikman and Lizzy John. Archaia have also collected Jim Henson’s The Storyteller in a hardcover volume, with stories written by Katie Cook and illustrations by a bevy of well-known artists. Up next is an original graphic novel based on Jim Henson’s film Labyrinth, which Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy speaks about on their web site.

image c. 2012 Archaia Entertainment

Rabbit Samurai vs. Rabid Zombies

Mar 2nd, 2012
by rodney.
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In the latest collection of Usagi Yojimbo comics coming from Dark Horse, the rabbit ronin faces an army of the undead! Here’s the publisher’s description of Usagi Yojimbo Volume 26: Traitors of the Earth — “With hundreds of zombies and an evil wizard to contend with, Usagi finds himself far out of his depth! Fortunately, he has the aid of fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller, most recently seen in the Yokai graphic novel. This volume also features several action-packed short stories, including the Eisner-nominated “Death of Lord Hikiji”! This volume collects Usagi Yojimbo #117–#123 and stories from Dark Horse Maverick 2001 and MySpace Dark Horse Presents #35.” When it arrives in stores it’ll be available in softcover, and also in a special signed hardcover edition that will be limited to 350 copies. The introduction is by well-known comic book great Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion). All of this brought to you by the multi-award-winning writer and artist Stan Sakai, of course.

image c. 2012 Dark Horse

Cats and Dinosaurs

Feb 25th, 2012
by rodney.
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Okay, so you’ve got a pet dinosaur. Raising one from an egg can be a real pain, er, adventure! Not the very least for your other household pets! That’s the idea behind Kitty & Dino, a new children’s hardcover book written and illustrated by Sara Richard. From the publisher’s press release on Amazon: “When a little boy brings home a dinosaur egg, the cat of the house isn’t too keen on the tiny creature that pops out. But after a few weeks of showing the new baby the ropes, a bond forms between kitty and dino that transcends species.” It’s available for order now, and coming from Yen Press in April.

image c. 2012 Sara Richard

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