Sometimes, you just gotta let the thing speak for itself: “Miri and Luey have a dilemma. Their dad’s been turned into a cat and their closet is a garden full of goblins. There is only one thing for them to do — grab their friend Phil the frog and dive headfirst into a wild, woolly and wacky adventure.” Cat Dad, King of the Goblins was written and illustrated by Canadian artist Britt Wilson. This full-color short graphic novel is available now from Koyama Press. Check out the preview over at Publishers Weekly.
Young Readers
Bird (Woo!) and Squirrel (Eek!)
Here’s one we missed, so let’s get caught up with it now. Bird & Squirrel are the creation of writer and artist James Burks (creator of Gabby & Gator). According to the publishers, “Squirrel is afraid of his own shadow. Bird doesn’t have a care in the world. And Cat wants to eat Bird and Squirrel. Of course, he’ll have to catch them first, and that’s not going to be easy.” In their first full-color graphic novel, Bird & Squirrel on the Run, you can “join this trio as they head south for the winter in a hilarious road trip. But watch out! Cat is waiting around every bend, and he’s one pesky feline.” Now comes word of a new graphic novel, Bird & Squirrel On Ice, in which our oddly-matched heroes crash-land in Antarctica, finding themselves taking part in a secret penguin ritual. Both are published by Graphix, and you can find them care of Barnes & Noble.
Out! Out! Damned Spotty Cat…
The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth. A title like that is gonna catch your attention, yes? Thought so. According to the publishers, “The Stratford Zoo looks like a normal zoo… until the gates shut at night. That’s when the animals come out of their cages to stage elaborate performances of Shakespeare’s greatest works. They might not be the most accomplished thespians, but they’ve got what counts: Heart. Also fangs, feathers, scales, and tails, in The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Macbeth. Ian Lendler’s hilarious tale of after-hours animal stagecraft is perfectly paired with the adorable, accessible artwork of Zack Giallongo (Broxo, Ewoks). And with Romeo and Juliet coming in book two, this is a promising new series of graphic novels for young readers.” The book is coming out later this month in hardcover and trade paperback editions, both from First Second.
Friendship is POWER!
This year’s annual one-shot for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic takes a different tack, so to speak: One for the superhero fans! “Check out the original Power Ponies in action! When the Mane-iac assembles an all-star team of villains, the Power Ponies may be outmatched! It will take a familiar face from Equestria to even the odds! Get ready for super powered adventure like you’ve never seen it!” Or so they say over at Previews. Brought to you by writer Ted Anderson and artist Ben Bates, My Little Pony Annual 2014 comes blasting your way in full color this month from IDW!! (Sorry, we had to…)
Mom and Dad are Rats
Canadian artist and writer Eric Orchard makes quite a big splash with his first graphic novel, Maddy Kettle: The Adventures of the Thimblewitch. This is from Previews: “Maddy is an eleven year old girl with a pet toad named Ralph. And they’re on a rather big adventure right now, as her parents are currently kangaroo rats – having been put under a spell. On their way to find the Thimblewitch to sort everything out, they battle Spider Goblins and befriend two endearing Cloud Mappers, Harry the bear and Silvio the raccoon, who help them get where they’re going. We won’t tell you what happens next, but we can assure you that it’s a beautiful and magical ride.” Top Shelf Productions will release this full-color all-ages fantasy in trade paperback this October.
One Dimension-Hopping Felinsect
Perfect Square and the makers of Bravest Warriors have teamed up to bring us two new hardcover books aimed at young readers — though grown-up fans of that Internet phenomenon are certain to find some surreal and interesting stuff as well. The star of it all? Catbug, “everyone’s favorite dimension-hopping adventurer”. In The Search for Catbug, we find that “Catbug ate some weird new cubes of food that caused him to lose what little control he already had over his jump abilities! Now he’s careening through dimensions, unable to stop! Help the Bravest Warriors travel the galaxy and find Catbug. Just don’t eat any of those cube snacks or you might end up lost too!” Simon & Schuster have a web site for it too. Meanwhile in Catbug’s Treasure Book “…we see the world from his perspective. A kind of scrapbook, the pages are filled with memories and souvenirs of his adventures with the Bravest Warriors, along with his playtime imaginings. There are also allusions to past episodes (Danny’s eyebrows taped to a page, for example), and hints at secrets not yet revealed.” We found this one over at Booksamillion.
A Child’s Name Spelled Out in Animals
Personalized books for kids (that is, books specially printed to include a child’s name or personal information in the story) go back quite a ways. Now ABC Me Books (www.abcmebooks.com) have a new angle on the popular ideas: Teaching kids to spell, using their very own names and a menagerie of animals for each letter. They have two customizable books currently: My ABC Book (working the child’s name into a mini-scene for each letter in the alphabet), and the even more personalized The Perfect Name, in which the animals illustrate why each letter in a child’s name is particularly cool. The books are illustrated by Katie Hofgard (known as the anthro illustrator Wolf-Nymph) and Nordeva.
Heroes on a Scratching Post
Action Lab Entertainment has a new full-color comic book series for young readers, Hero Cats. “Avengers and Justice League move over! The cutest heroes on the planet have arrived! Meet the Hero Cats of Stellar City in this spectacular first issue. Not your ordinary house cats, they’re a tactical action-packed covert team dealing with extraordinary threats to humanity in ways that will amaze.” Two issues out so far, all brought to you by writer Kyle Puttkammer and illustrator Marcus Williams. There’s an official web site of course, showing off several cover variations and tie-in posters available.
Kids Can Find Their Inner Beast
Taking a multi-media approach, Scholastic Inc bring us Spirit Animals — a series of fantasy novels for young readers that tie into an on-line interactive game. “In the world of Erdas, every child who comes of age must discover if they have a spirit animal. This rare bond can unlock incredible power. A dark force has risen from the past, and now the fate of Erdas depends on four brave kids . . . and on you.” So far they have released four books in the series (by a variety of authors), with another one coming later this year and two more slated for early in 2015. The Spirit Animals web site has more details of course. “Read the books, then join the adventure!”








