Drew Brockington has returned to Little Brown Books with a new graphic novel spun off from their their much-talked-about Catstronauts series. “One very special Saturday, Dad-Cat decides to take Waffles and his sister Pancake to the big city to go to the science museum! While they’re there, the kittens see extraordinary things, like dino-cats, hairballs in 4D, and even the planetarium. But as the kittens learn about constellations and Neil Pawstrong, they get separated from Dad-Cat. Oh no!” Waffles and Pancake Volume 1: Planetary Yum is available now.
October, 2021:
Hello Beastie!
Kraken Me Up (gotta love that) is a new hardcover graphic novel for beginning readers, written and illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. “Izzie can’t wait to debut her pet at the county fair. While the other children have brought pigs or chickens, Izzie brought a…Kraken! Even though everyone thinks Kraken is big and frightening, he is not. He’s like Izzie, sweet and shy. Kraken and Izzie use creativity and humor to win over the crowd in this hilariously adorable comic.” Find out more over at the Random House web site.
Easter In One Body
[Back from Biggest Little Fur Con, and ready to roll!] We literally stumbled across a new furry film coming out in Europe next year. As usual with many such projects, we have no idea if it will ever see the light of day in North America, but we can hope. It’s called Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness (whew!) and it’s based on the Chickenhare series of graphic novels by Chris Grine. “The series follows the story of Chickenhare, a rare and exotic cross between a chicken and a rabbit, and his bearded box turtle friend, Abe,” says Wikipedia. The movie, meanwhile, goes like this: “Set in a lush fantasy world, the film follows the adventures of Chickenhare, a young hero born half chicken and half hare, who was adopted by King Peter, a famous hare adventurer. Eager to fit in and feel loved in spite of his differences, Chickenhare is obsessed with adventuring – no matter how clumsy he is. When the Kingdom’s greatest villain – his own uncle – escapes from jail and threatens to overthrow his father, Chickenhare embarks on an epic race against time along with Abe, a sarcastic turtle, and Meg, a reckless female martial arts expert, to stop him.” Turns out the film has been in development for quite a while now, before finally being brought to the screen next year by directors Ben Stassen and Benjamin Mousquet. The Internet Movie Database has the official trailer and more information.
SEE the Jungles of South America — Now
You may recall that we’ve been following development of the animated film Koati for some time now. Well recently Animation World Network was kind enough to let us know that now it’s been released in theaters! “Releasing in theaters today, Koati follows the heroic adventure of three unlikely heroes: Nachi (Sebastián Villalobos), a free-spirited coati; Xochi (Evaluna Montaner), a fearless monarch butterfly; and Pako (Eduardo Franco), a hyperactive glass frog – who embark on an exciting journey to prevent a wicked coral snake named Zaina (Sofía Vergara) from destroying their homeland of Xo. This is the first animated feature film produced by Upstairs, along with Los Hijos de Jack and Latin We. With animation by long-time Disney collaborator Toon City Animation, the film not only features actor Vergara as the film’s main antagonist, but the Modern Family star also serves as executive producer.” IMDB has the film’s official trailer. [ye ed-otter is off for a few days. See you all after BLFC!]
Feed the Kitties. Now.
Out now from Harper Collins is the first volume of Cat & Cat Adventures, written and illustrated by Susie Yi. It’s called The Quest for Snacks. “One day when their human leaves for work, Squash and Ginny find themselves in the most unfortunate predicament: Without snacks. With a little help from a magical portal, the two cats embark on a quest to find ingredients for a potion that will produce unlimited goodies. At first, their mission doesn’t seem so tough. It takes them on a boat race across Mewmaid Ocean and a hot air balloon ride over Mount Lava. But when the cats reach the Enchanted Rain Forest to gather enchanted rainwater, the last item on their list, their mission runs dry. . . It turns out it hasn’t rained in the Enchanted Rain Forest in weeks!” Find out what happens next to our heroes at the publisher’s official web site.
Defender of the City. Heaven Help Us All.
We’ve heard a lot lately from comic writer Steve Foxe. Well now he’s back again with a new full-color graphic novel, illustrated by Shadia Amin. “Experience a laugh-out-loud day in the life of Spider-Ham! After long being derided by the citizens of New York, Spider-Ham has finally been recognized for his outsized contribution to the city’s safety, and receives the key to the city from none other than the mayor (and, being a cartoon universe, the key actually unlocks New York City’s political and financial institutions). Sure, it’s just a publicity stunt for the beleaguered mayor-and yeah, maybe every single other super hero was busy that day — but an award is an award!” Spider Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility is available now in trade paperback or hardcover from Scholastic. There’s an interesting video up on YouTube as well.
Dragons Return — Tomorrow
Exciting news from the world of streaming. “DreamWorks Animation has shared a teaser trailer for the all-new CG animated series Dragons: The Nine Realms. Inspired by the hugely popular How to Train Your Dragon movie franchise, the show premieres on Hulu and Peacock December 23. Set 1,300 years after the events of How to Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. Soon a group of misfit kids, brought to the site by their parents, uncover the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding — a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.” Find out more and see the teaser trailer over at AWN.
You Think YOU’VE Got Weird Parents…
Check this out: “After sneaking out against her mother’s wishes, Artie Irvin spots a massive wolf—then watches it don a bathrobe and transform into her mom.” Furry fans love reading sentences like that, don’t we? It’s Artie and the Wolf Moon, a new full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Olivia Stephens. “Thrilled to discover she comes from a line of werewolves, Artie asks her mom to share everything—including the story of Artie’s late father. Her mom reluctantly agrees. And to help Artie figure out her own wolflike abilities, her mom recruits some old family friends. Artie thrives in her new community and even develops a crush on her new friend Maya. But as she learns the history of werewolves and her own parents’ past, she’ll find that wolves aren’t the scariest thing in the woods—vampires are.” It’s available now in paperback from Lerner Publishing.
Look! Up in the Sky!
More natural education for kids, cleverly disguised as a superhero adventure comic. Winged Heroes: For All Birdkind is a new “science graphic novel” written by Mya Thompson and illustrated by Virginia Green. “This is the story of Emilio, an ordinary kid who just happens to be a pigeon. When life gets him down, he looks to his favorite comic book heroes for answers-The Winged Heroes. No matter what, they always find a way to save birdkind with their amazing superpowers and daring missions. So why can’t he score even a small crust of bread at the park? Join Emilio on a journey to discover his own powers in a world of challenges.” Barnes & Noble has a more more detailed description.