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Science Fiction

Humans are a Distant Memory…

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

In Space, No One Can Hear You Clean

Look, we just plain stole the under-title of this book … why?  Because we can’t top it! From Titan Books and well-known SoCal artist Joey Spiotto comes Alien Next Door, “the first official Alien cartoon book!”. Here’s what they say: “See a new, caring side to the legendary science fiction monster as he tends to Jonesy the cat, endeavours to keep his house cleaner than the Nostromo, and searches for his place on a cold, new, alien world: Earth. From facehuggers to feather dusters, discover how the perfect killing machine relaxes after a day of scaring space marines.”. It’s available now in paperback.

image c. 2015 Titan Books

image c. 2015 Titan Books

Dog Biscuits and Circuses

Unnaturals: The Battle Begins is the first book in a new science fiction series by Devon Hughes. This Amazon review from School Library Journal sums it up pretty well: “Lion’s Head is the setting of this dystopian novel in which the rich live sequestered behind thick glass up in the sky away from the poisonous environ- ment down below. The poor live in squalor in the Drain and make do with the synthetic food that is available. Mayor Eva Eris keeps the denizens entertained with her Mega Monsters Mash Up, a reality show where mutant animals face off against each other in the arena. The reining champ is the Invincible, a hybrid tiger-scorpion who is true to his name. Castor, a German shepherd stray, becomes an unwilling member of Team Scratch after he is kidnapped by humans and redesigned with eagle wings and a new name, The Underdog. Castor had been content living with his dog pack and dreaming of the Greenplains, a natural wonderland. He does not want to become the killing monster his human handlers expect. With the help of a Chihuahua-spider mentor named Pookie, Castor looks to his inner strength to survive his ordeal and to win out against the machine that put him in this predicament.” It’s available in paperback from Harper Collins.

image c. 2015 Harper Collins

image c. 2015 Harper Collins

All The Wide, Wide Universe

Cosmic Dash is a webcomic with science fiction and space opera influences that updates every Friday. The comic deals with a massive galaxy called the Silver Spiral that is being explored by many different alien races and three principal factions. The comic focuses on Dash Kameku and his crew-mates as they transport cargo around the known galactic territories and beyond.” Got all that? The series is created and illustrated by David A. Davis with the help of Deft Beck (writer) and Tobias Van Den Bergh (inker). The Cosmic Dash web site is kind enough to have an extensive “New Reader Guide” page and archives to help you get caught up.

image c. 2015 by David A. Davis

image c. 2015 by David A. Davis

Dogs and Cats, Living Together — In the Old West

Dog Town is a new black & white science fiction/western comic written and illustrated by Brent Otey. “Our story starts when the town rabbit gets kidnapped in the middle of a cat raid. Then an overly positive pig gets involved, not to mention a big, bad wolf. Before long there is a whole heap of trouble for the sheriff of this dog town to sort out. But then again, no one ever said it would be easy to keep the law in a world devastated by a cataclysm that has left the earth charred, mankind dead, and a group of tree-worshiping woodland creatures in charge.” Got all that? Published by K.O. Comix, Dog Town is available at Lulu.com. You can check out their update blog too.

image c. 2015 K.O. Comix

image c. 2015 K.O. Comix

A New Dawn for the SWAT Kats?

If you haven’t caught the word, creators Yvon and Christian Tremblay have been running a Kickstarter campaign with the intent of creating the first new SWAT Kats animated TV episodes to be seen in 20 years. Also if you didn’t know: SWAT Kats — The Radical Squadron was one of the most iconic and popular anthropomorphic animated TV series from the early days of organized Furry Fandom. “The series takes place in the fictional metropolis of Megakat City, which is populated entirely by anthropomorphic felines, known as ‘kats’. The titular SWAT Kats are two vigilante pilots who possess a state-of-the-art fighter jet with an array of weaponry. Throughout the series, they face various villains as well as Megakat City’s militarized police force, the Enforcers.” The good news is that with only a few days left for the campaign, the brothers Tremblay have more than surpassed their original goal. They’ve reached enough to animate a 2-minute animation teaser for the new series (SWAT Kats — Revolution), and they’re hoping to make enough to animate a full 22-minute episode. The campaign web site has a video interview with the brothers.

image c. 2015 Tremblay Bros. Studios

image c. 2015 Tremblay Bros. Studios

Planet of the Big Cats

Flesk Publications have a novel way of taking pre-orders for the newly-completed graphic novel Tribes of Kai: A Kickstarter campaign. Here’s what they say: “The Tribes of Kai is a multi-layered graphic novel about honor, integrity and the trappings of war in which extreme circumstances call for unbridled decisions and finding the strength to cope with them. This is a barbaric and primitive world where the survival of the fittest is put to the test. Artist Daren Bader and writer Lance HaunRogue bring this world to life with lush detail and an incredible sense of pace, color and lighting. They introduce the Mantakai (Man of Kai), a race of six-limbed, feline/humanoid, anthropomorphic creatures. The dominance of the five individual tribes of Mantakai are threatened by a highly evolved race of reptilian creatures called the Tobognai. Tribes of Kai is an oversized, full-color hardbound book boasting sixty exciting pages of story and pinups by top creators.” Since the goal of printing the book has long since been met, now they’re adding more goodies as each new goal-level is reached.

image c. 2015 Flesk Publications

image c. 2015 Flesk Publications

Mutants On The March!

This past spring, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe saw the return of one of the famous four’s most-popular and perhaps strangest friends: The Mutanimals, appearing in their own five-issue full-color mini-series by Paul Allor, Andy Kuhn, and Ben Bates. Well now IDW are about to release the series as a Mutanimals trade paperback collection. “Old Hob, Slash, Herman the Hermit Crab, Mondo Gecko, and Pigeon Pete have become a force to be reckoned with. When someone close to the group is kidnapped, the Mutanimals end up on an adventure more wild and dangerous than they could have imagined! What mysteries lurk at…The Null Group?” Look for it on the shelves August 19th, or you can pre-order it over at Things From Another World.

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

Island of Adventure

Dark Horse Comics have announced a new 5-issue mini-series written and illustrated by Scott Kolins (Flash, Avengers). In Adam.3 we meet Adam, a super-heroic young man who lives with his family on a tropical island. A most unusual island: Animals of nearly every species live there. They all talk, and they’re all Adam’s best friends. Well, that is until a mysterious and evil alien presence crash-lands on the island. It has the power to mutate Adam’s animal friends into very, very bad things. Check out the interview with the creator over at Comics Bulletin. Issue #1 of this new full-color comic arrives later this month.

image c. 2015 Dark Horse Comics

image c. 2015 Dark Horse Comics