The Puppy Sister is a 1997 novel by a well-known author of books for young readers, S. E. Hinton. It tells the comic story of Aleasha, a newly-adopted puppy who decides that her human family will be much better off if she becomes human too — and so, she sets out to do precisely that, and the book details her adventures as told from her point of view. Now, Bluewater Productions have released a new edition of The Puppy Sister as a full-color graphic novel, illustrated by Ramon Salas. It’s available now from (among other places) the Barnes & Noble web site.
Young Readers
Guinea Pigs, Badgers, and Foxes
Graphic Universe, an imprint of Lerner Publishing, has two furry-themed graphic novel series that might be of interest to young readers and their parents. Guinea Pig — Pet Shop Private Eye (by Colleen Venable (writer) and Stephanie Yue (artist) tells the story of a guinea pig named Sasspants, who likes to read in her cage. When one of the letters on the front of her cage falls off (leaving “PI”), one of the other animals mistakes this to mean “private investigator” and enlists the help of Sasspants to solve a mystery. Now Sasspants has a new career! Meanwhile there’s Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox by Brigitte Luciani (writer) and Eve Tharlet (artist). When Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger are driven out of their den by a hunter’s dog, they move in with Mrs. Fox’s friend Mr. Badger — which the adults quite enjoy actually. Unfortunately, Ginger and Mr. Badger’s two young sons do not! The series presents woodland adventures while also giving life lessons about growing up in a step-family. Volume 2 of each of these continuing series is out now.
The Saga of Rex
Michael Gagne serialized his popular comic-book story Rex over a period of seven years in the Flight anthology magazine series. Now Image Comics have collected the whole thing together in one place as The Saga of Rex, available now as a full-color trade paperback. Here’s the publisher’s description, taken from Michael Gagne’s Rex Page: “The adorable little fox named Rex is plucked from his home world by a mysterious spaceship and transported to the arcane world of Edernia, where he meets Aven, an enigmatic biomorph with a flying saucer. Follow his epic journey as he travels through outer-worldly landscapes, faces strange perils, and makes surprising encounters. A story that is in turn adventurous, heroic, tragic, romantic, and wonderfully surprising, The Saga of Rex perfectly captures a vision of whimsy and wonder that will delight young and old.” The web site also features sample pages from the new book.
The Pet Avengers Hardcover Collection
“Once upon a time, in a world of super heroes and villains, there lived a team of animals that saved the universe…and no one knew it. These creatures asked not for fortune or fame, merely to help the humans that pet them. But a new threat to the world has arisen, which only they know of, that could change everything…and kill one of them. Join Chris Eliopoulos, Ig Guara, and Chris Sotomayor for an epic tale of adventure, courage…and sacrifice.” This new hardcover collection (available now from Marvel) brings together issues 1 through 4 of Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed, as well as Tails of the Pet Avengers: The Dogs of Summer. Check out the review at Amazon.com.
image c. Marvel Comics
Playing Kids and Critters
Beyond Belief Games have packaged three of their most popular RPG game systems in a single paperback edition. The press release for Kids & Critters (edited by Simon Washbourne) goes like this: “Bringing to mind stories like Watership Down and Duncton Wood, the fabulous Tales from The Wood is a great role playing game for all ages. Lashings of Ginger Beer sends you back to Idyllic England, where nosey kids investigate real and imagined crimes, in the great tradition of Enid Blyton. Finally, we have the unusual but brilliantly charming It’s a Dog’s Life; definitely the best prairie dog role playing game ever.” Kids & Critters is also available for download (at a very low price) as a watermarked PDF file at rpg.drivethrustuff.com.
image c. Beyond Belief Games
Friends from the Strangest of Places
James Burks has written and illustrated a new full-color graphic novel for young readers called Gabby & Gator. It’s available now, in hardcover, from Yen Press. “Gabby is a shy vegetarian whose hobbies include recycling, gardening, and playing the tuba. Gator is, well, an alligator whose pastimes include blogging and snacking on house-pets. Both feel lonely and misunderstood, she for having “uncool” interests, he for capitulating to his hunting instincts. When a bully steals Gabby’s hat and mocks her, Gator intercedes on her behalf, thus initiating a sweet, if improbable, friendship.” There’s a good, detailed review of Gabby & Gator at the School Library Journal.
image c. 2010 James Burks
Furries for a Good Cause
It’s always nice to see funny animal projects supporting charity — there are, of course, a lot of them out there! This particular one from Alterna Comics has the rather lengthy title of The Unlikely Trio: Last Barn on the Left. Their web site describes this one-shot black & white comic (written by Scott and Callie West and illustrated by Scott) like this: “A story of three unlikely friends, Lil’Bit the mouse, Mrs. Butters the cat, and Abby the Collie dog that join together to brave the last barn on the left in their small town. The only problem is that a scary monster is said to lurk in the shadows of the barn! Printed in black and white (so kids can be the colorist!) and featuring fun activities in the back of the book, The Unlikely Trio will be sure to entertain even after you’re done reading!” Best of all, $2.00 from the sale of each book will be donated to the ASPCA. The Alterna Comics page also features a preview of the comic, and a link to The Unlikely Trio’s official web site.
Ani-Max: The One-Shot
Ani-Max is an animated TV series concept created by Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra. With the series still in development, Dynamite Entertainment is releasing Ani-Max as a one-shot full-color comic book, written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Jeevan J. Kang and the artist collective known as Liquid Comics. “Lost and separated from his family during a vacation in the dense Amazon jungle, 12-year old Max Duncan is chosen by the Earth Spirits as the latest in a long lineage of planetary defenders. Entrusted with a mystical artifact known as the Animus Stone, Max gains the power to absorb the abilities of any animal he touches and transform himself into a human-animal hybrid for seven minutes at a time. Taking on the attributes of lizards, lions, tigers, elephants, spiders, dolphins, and more – sometimes the transformations are gross, weird and bizarre – Max has a power no one else in the world seems to have. Joined by his faithful friends, Chris and Jenny, the three young heroes gradually find a way to use Max’s abilities to protect the planet and all its many creatures.” Comic Book Bin has more information and preview pages to see. The one-shot is available now.
New from Jeff Smith
Fans of Jeff Smith’s award-winning Bone series are looking forward to Bone: Tall Tales, a brand-new full-color collection coming from (where else) Cartoon Books. Smiley Bone sits down at a campfire to tell a group of young bone scouts (and his rat creature friend) the story of Big Johnson Bone, the greatest Bone adventurer ever and the founder of Boneville. The stories originally published in the Stupid Stupid Rat Creatures mini-series are here, as well as new stories written by Tom Sniegoski. This new book is available now in hardcover and softcover editions. Check it out at Amazon.com.
