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Monsters

Friendship is Monstrous

A new full-color graphic novel for young folks, written and illustrated by Kaeti Vandorn: It’s called Monster Friends. “Two friends: one big, one little. One old, one young. One grumpy, one cheerful. Both: Monsters! Reggie’s plan is to spend the whole summer brooding over his latest adventure gone wrong. But his friendly and curious neighbor, Emily, won’t let him sit alone and unhappy in his house forever! Despite their differences, these two monsters make the perfect pair of explorers. And with a map to make, a beach party to plan, and a sea monster to find, Reggie will have to learn to talk about his feelings and let new friends in!” Find out how, now, in hardcover from Random House.

image c. 2021 Random House

Hog vs. Hell

We are not gonna top the title of Ham Helsing: Vampire Hunter. We won’t even try. We’ll just tell you it’s a new hardcover graphic novel, written and illustrated by Rich Moyer. “Ham Helsing is the descendant of a long line of adventurers and monster hunters–who don’t often live to rest on their laurels. Ham has always been the odd pig out, preferring to paint or write poetry instead of inventing dangerous (dumb) new ways to catch dangerous creatures. His brother Chad was the daredevil carrying on the family legacy of leaping before looking, but after his death, it’s down to Ham. Reluctantly, he sets out on his first assignment, to hunt a vampire. But Ham soon learns that people aren’t always what they seem and that you need a good team around you to help save your bacon!” Ooo, pretty scary kids!  Look for it now from Penguin Randomhouse.

image c. 2021 Penguin Randomhouse

… and Next Come The Kaiju

The description goes like this… “WWII. The Pacific. A mythic adventure unfolds as three American soldiers — a disgraced ex-cop, a mobster trying to escape his past, and an intelligence officer with mysterious motives — investigate a top-secret Japanese superweapon: A deadly force of trained dinosaurs!” It’s called Operation Dragon, and it comes to us from writers Bill Groshelle and Brendan Cahill, with illustrations by artists Germán Peralta and Kristian Rossi. This new graphic novel is available in hardcover, later this month from Dark Horse.

image c. 2021 Dark Horse Press

They Bump Back. Hard.

After several entries for young readers, now it’s time for something truly different…! “Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, the Loch Ness Monster. All are age old folklore fodder, but could they actually be real? In recent years the myth of Man Goat and The Bunny Man has grown locally, and many have claimed sightings of the two unique creatures; yet no concrete evidence exists… And that’s exactly how they want it! Dealing with the things nightmares are made of so we don’t have to – deranged mutants, satanic cults, demons, summer vacationers – Man Goat and the Bunny Man protect us from the evils that hide in plain sight. But they don’t want your adoration, they just want to be left alone!” Issues of Man Goat and the Bunny Man (created by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini, and Edgar Salazar) are available now from Zenescope.

image c. 2021 Zenescope

For the Deerfox Fan in your Life

We’re quoting this one direct from the source — because they say it so well. “Deep in the library is a book that tells of giants and elves, woffs and deer foxes, and all manner of creatures from the Wilderness to the center of Trolberg. Those who wish to learn will glean all the knowledge they need from Hilda’s own copy of this fascinating compendium of beasts and spirits… For fans of Netflix’s hit animated Hilda series, this gorgeous guide to creatures from tiny to giant will keep young adventurers spellbound, with a behind-the-scenes bestiary that teaches Hilda fans everything they’ll want to know about the fauna of Trolberg, featuring trivia and brand new art!” Written by Emily Hibbs and illustrated by Jason Chan, Hilda’s Book of Beasts and Spirits is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2021 Flying Eye Books

Are You Ready?

The movie Rumble has been pushed back to next year (February, according to IMDB), but already you can start ordering the tie-in material. Rumble: The Art and Making of the Movie is coming soon from Titan Publishing, edited by Noela Hueso. “In a world where monster wrestling is a global sport and monsters are superstar athletes, teenage Winnie seeks to follow in her father’s footsteps by becoming a coach and turning a loveable underdog monster into a champion. From Paramount Animation, Rumble is a larger-than-life animated coming of age comedy. With ringside seats to the production, Rumble: The Art and Making of the Movie contains sketches, concept art, storyboards, and final stills. Featuring exclusive commentary from the creative team, plus a foreword written by [actor] Terry Crews, this extraordinary collection of art will give you captivating insights into the creative process.” Look for it at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2021 Titan Publishing

Snugglers of Many Species

One of the more celebrated (if difficult to find) anime series in recent years as been Interspecies Reviewers — a high fantasy intended for a decidedly adult audience! Well now we’ve discovered that Yen Press has released an artistic tribute manga for the series, Interspecies Reviewers Comic Anthology: Darkness. “Haven’t had enough succu-girls? In this collection of art and short comics, talented Japanese artists such as Okayado (Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls), Ganmarei (Monster Wrestling: Interspecies Combat Girls), and coolkyousinnja (Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid) come together for a loving tribute to the monster brothel adventurers of Interspecies Reviewers! Whether it’s new species or old favorites, this anthology has enough hot and steamy action to satisfy any fan!” Well there you go. If you’re old enough to order it you can find all this and more over at Amazon.

image c. 2021 Yen Press

Teddy is Back to Save You

Okay here’s something different: A new movie, heading to Netflix, based on a single illustration. Slashfilm explains: “Back in 2013, word arrived that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was going to make a movie based on a single drawing that appeared on DeviantArt. That’s right: Not an adaptation of a story, but a drawing… a piece called ‘Sweet Halloween Dreams’ by artist Alex Panagopoulos. The project seemed to vanish as quickly as it was announced, but now it’s back – and headed to Netflix. Johnson will produce the film, now titled Teddy and the Guardians of the Night, with Dany Garcia under their Seven Bucks Productions banner.” No word yet on a planned release date, or even any more details on the plot, but many people are making guesses based on the illustration below. We’ll let you know more when we do. Pleasant dreams!

image c. 2021 by Alex Panagopoulos

Young Lady, Meet the Monsters

Gert and the Sacred Stones is a new full-color graphic novel by Marco Rocchi and Francesca Carita, translated and imported by Dark Horse Press. It goes like this: “This timely tale of an endless war between humans and nature follows young orphan Gert, whose land is shrouded in a thick fog hiding ferocious, fantastical animals that besiege her village. Gert sets out to make sure no one else suffers what she has as a result of the war, but to do this she’ll have to do what is forbidden of young women like her: become a warrior. Unfazed, Gert sneaks into the initiation test, beginning an adventure that will prove to be about much more than revenge. Gert’s journey will teach her to accept hard truths, rethink the glorification of war and violence, and prove if she can be the unlikely hero to re-imagine her people’s future.” That story description doesn’t say much about Gert’s anthropomorphic content… but the front cover art sure does! Seems like this is one of those fantastic tales about a human that actually features quite a few not-humans. And we are there for it.

image c. 2021 Dark Horse Press