We got this from author Tempe O’Kun regarding the new novel Windfall: “Tempe O’Kun (https://www.furaffinity.net/user/tempo321), author of the award-winning furry fantasy-western Sixes Wild, returns! His new novel centers around Kylie and Max, an otter and a husky, who are best friends grappling with falling in love with each other…and with the fact that the supernatural cable TV show they starred in was actually real. Featuring 22 illustrations from acclaimed furry artist Slate (https://www.furaffinity.net/user/slate), this new M/F furry romance is a mystery you’ll find irresistible. Available at the FurPlanet booth for $15 at Anthrocon and online afterward. Windfall is a sweet love story between a cute otter and a hunky husky. It’s also about alien horrors beyond the imagination. Want to read a book that would blow Lovecraft’s mind? This is your chance.” Check it out and pre-order over at FurPlanet.
Books and Trade Paperbacks
Drawing His Characters… and Many Others!
Eric Goldberg is a supervising animator at Walt Disney Pictures, well known for his work on such classic cartoon films as Aladdin, Hercules, and Fantasia 2000. He also recently began a stint as an artist-in-residence instructor for character animation at the University of Southern California (USC). For the opening of a new Disneyland in Shanghai, China, Mr. Goldberg helped to decorate one of the restaurants by drawing a series of Disney characters in the caricature style made famous by restaurants like The Brown Derby and Sardi’s in Hollywood. In fact, Mr. Goldberg wound up drawing nearly 200 pictures for the project! Now no less than 180 of these black & white illustrations have been gathered together in a new hardcover book — An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg Draw The Disney Characters from Disney Editions. According to an article at Stitch Kingdom, “Fans of all ages, and from all over, can enjoy Eric’s playful portraits, starting with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Mickey Mouse from the Company’s early days through Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Bonus sections will even feature some of the most beloved characters from Pixar (Toy Story, Cars, Monsters, Inc.) and live-action films (Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pirates of the Caribbean).” Featuring text by fellow Disney animator David Bossert and a foreword by John Lasseter, An Animator’s Gallery will be available this September.
Tramp Tramp Tramp
Far Out Fairy Tales is a new, very odd graphic novel series for young readers from Stone Arch Books. And at least one of them is of note to furry fans: In Super Billy Goats Gruff, the three brothers named Gruff head off to get themselves some grass… and wind up trapped inside a video game! Now they face evil trolls with the powers of a warrior, a wizard, and a ninja! All brought to you in full color by writer Sean Tulien and illustrator Fernando Cano. It’s available now, and Capstone has more.
Award-Winning Art and Stories
Ursa Major Award winner Rukis recently announced a new set of books coming out from FurPlanet. Following the award-winning novel Off the Beaten Path and its sequel, Lost on Dark Trails, the third book in the trilogy comes out this July. In The Long Road Home, “Shivah’s journey continues, taking her not only across a country she never truly knew, but soon the oceans, as well. She finds herself journeying to a distant land, but even so far from home, she can’t hide from her grief, or the anger eating away at her heart.” Also this July comes a collection of full-color mature-themed art that Rukis and Myenia created for their popular Menagerie series. Check out over at FurPlanet’s web site to find out more.
The Cat Will Be A Knight
Caterwall is a fantasy comic series created, written, and illustrated by Spain Fischer. It’s had a convoluted creation and release history, on line and on paper, but now Sofawolf Press is offering the first of three planned full-color graphic novels. It’s called Caterwall: The Isle of Manx and it’s available in both hard and soft-cover editions starting this July. The story? Pax is a young cat in the peaceable Kingdom of Katia. He’s determined to become a noble, heroic knight like his famous father — but his antics and attitude mostly get him in trouble, and eventually get him banished. But he and his rag-tag band of friends are still determined to help the nearby dog kingdom in their war against the wolves of the north. Find out more over at the Sofawolf Press web site.
9 Lives Again
“Caught in a mad scientist’s experiment gone wrong, an ordinary house cat named Scratch gains the extraordinary ability to summon any of his nine lives to get out of a fix.” That’s the story behind Scratch 9, a well-known comic book series for young readers created by writer Rob M. Worley. Now Hermes Press have released the latest adventures of Scratch as a 176-page full-color graphic novel, Scratch 9: Cat of Nine Worlds. It’s illustrated by Joshua Buchanan and features a cover by Herobear creator Mike Kunkel. Find out more at the Scratch 9 web site and look for the book on shelves this month.
Smile at the Rat
Note from the publisher, Alternative Comics. First, a bio of the creator: “Raoul Vezina (1948-1983) was a brilliant cartoonist who came out of the underground tradition and put his own mark on the indie comics of the early 1980s in a handful of titles.” And what’s he best known for? “Crisply and energetically drawn, snappily written, filled with pop culture references, and always funny; Raoul Vezina’s Smilin’ Ed comics were a breath of fresh air when they first appeared thirty-five years ago. All the original comics are collected here for the first time.” Including sixteen pages in full color, this 160-page trade paperback collection will be on shelves later this month.
Animals With Swords
[Back from having a blast at this year’s CaliFur! Good to see you all again.]
Beyond the Western Deep is a popular full-color on-line fantasy comic series written by Alex Kain and illustrated Rachel Bennett. Now the first story arc has been gathered together by Action Labs in a softcover graphic novel. “For over 100 years, the animal races of the Four Kingdoms have lived side-by-side in uneasy truce. But when conflict ignites in the north, old alliances threaten to send the world into chaos. Experience the beginnings of an epic all-ages fantasy in this first collected volume!” All ages perhaps but, as you can see from the web site, rather bloody too. The graphic novel is coming out later in June.
It Followed Him Home…?
Back when your humble ed-otter was a kid, there was a well-known book called The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth. Well now author David Fulk has traveled down a similar road perhaps with his first novel for young readers, Raising Rufus. “Martin Tinker, a shy, studious eleven-year-old, has his small-town world turned upside down when he discovers an ancient, frozen egg in a quarry―and when it thaws and hatches, he finds himself surrogate mom to a baby T. rex! Because of its voracious appetite for meat and tendency to GROW at an alarming rate, it gets harder and harder for Martin and his friend Audrey to keep it hidden from the world. Can Martin discover new reserves of strength to save his outlandish pet―or the town―from a very grim fate?” We’ll soon find out. Raising Rufus is available now in hardcover from Delacorte Books.