Sounds like a set-up for a bad joke, we know. In 1978 comic book legend Moebius (artist) and avant-garde cinema legend Alexandro Jodorowsky first collaborated on a black & white comic called Eyes of the Cat. “In a desolate dreamscape world, a man, a bird, and a cat interact in a unique apocalyptic yet poetic fashion… Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, creators of the Sci-Fi classic The Incal, initially teamed up on this 1978 gem, where words and images alternate in mesmerizing fashion.” Now Humanoids (that’s the publisher!) have released a new edition of the original graphic novel, once again printed on yellow paper like the much-sought-after first edition. Check out the web site for more.
June, 2016:
Hippo in a Hat
First Second Books have a new full-color graphic novel for young readers: It’s called Hippopotamister, written and illustrated by John Patrick Green. According to a review over at GeekDad, “Hippopotamister is the tale of (you guessed it) a hippo and his friend, Red Panda. Tired of living in the rundown city zoo, they run away and seek jobs in the human world, where Hippo must become ‘Hippopotamister’ to get by. Hippo excels at each job, but Red Panda keeps getting them fired. Longing for his home, Hippo goes back to the zoo and discovers he can return the place to its former glory using his newfound skills. But can he do it without his friend Red Panda?” The article includes several sample pages from this hardcover book.
Vroom Vroom
Back from CaliFur, and there’s lots to talk about! Over at Cartoon Brew they have an article about the first trailer for the upcoming live-action film Monster Trucks. “The film, based on Hasbro’s Monster Trucks toy line, has been covered here on Cartoon Brew because it is the live-action directorial debut of Ice Age director and Blue Sky co-founder Chris Wedge. Wedge directs from a story by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (Kung Fu Panda, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Trolls) and Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying), and screenplay by Derek Connolly (Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic World).” The story follows a high-school boy named Trip who discovers a gelatinous, tentacled, very toothy — yet very friendly monster. Said monster (Trip calls him “Creech”) has the strange ability to meld himself (itself?) with Trip’s pick-up truck — hence the film’s title. Adventures and hi jinks ensue. The film has been delayed several times in its production history: Originally set for release in May of 2015, Paramount is now hoping to have it out in January of 2017.
Redbubble Resident
Redbubble has discovered another fine artist whose work includes quite a bit of animal interest. Her name is Ruta Dumalakaite and she’s from Lithuania. Recently, Ruta was selected to be the Artist In Residence for the Redbubble office in Melbourne, Australia. Her shop at Redbubble features her works (animal, human, and just plain fantastic) on not only prints but t-shirts, tote bags, and other goodies. (There are links to her Etsy shop and Tumblr there as well.)