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Hard Times for Humans

While we were exploring the LA Comic Con we met John J. Perez, a prolific comic book writer. Among his projects is a comic called Archon, illustrated by Monika Maccagni and Bobby Hernandez and published by Action Lab. “Gareth Thompson, a Vietnam veteran and single father, has just accepted a Security Job at the new fantasy-themed Hotel and Casino, The Archon. On his first day he discovers his co­-workers are not simply people in costumes but actual creatures of Myth and Legend hiding in plain sight.” More recently though, Mr. Perez has been running a Kickstarter campaign for his new comic series — Social Fiends, illustrated by Javier Martin Caba. “Forty years after the collapse of human civilization vampires and werewolves have crawled out of the shadows to reclaim the day. Fallout blocks out the the sun and sea level rise has made all coastal cities diseased swamps. Hell for humans. Paradise for fiends. In New York City, renamed ‘Neoropa’, an alliance of fiends have banded together to create a quasi Anarcho-Syndicalist commune. Unfortunately, power corrupts and the vampire elite have placed themselves at the top of the City State’s power structure – relegating werewolves to government serfs.” John’s official web site has information on these and other projects too.

image c. 2022 John J. Perez

Street Smart Art

At Los Angeles Comic Con we came across Street Rebirth and its enterprising creator, who goes by Smurf. Here’s what their web site says: “Blending contemporary trends with old school vibes, we specialize in producing nostalgic pixel art, eye-catching collages & art prints, cartoon caricatures and a signature line of apparel, bringing together a lineup of products for the next generation of conscientious consumers.” Their specialty is colorful vinyl stickers featuring lots (and we mean lots) of different well-known cartoon and pop-culture characters re-imagined from a contemporary street-smart perspective. Many of their designs are available as pins, t-shirts, and other nick-knacks too.

image c. 2022 by shopstreetrebirth.com

Your Pet and You

Happy New Year! And here’s some more cool stuff we found last year at the Los Angeles Comic Con. Cloris is an artist from Southern California who’s been making the convention scene for just a few years now. She specializes in custom pet portraits, but lately she’s branched out into creating knick-knacks (key chains, stickers, and more) based on all (and we mean all!) of the various dog and cat breeds out there, as well as lots of birds. Her web site (cloriscreates) explains it all, and includes a link to her Etsy store too.

image c. 2022 by cloriscreates.com

All Species Advance

The things you find! We came across this series when we were looking up another book entirely. We’ll let the publisher describe it: “The Endangereds is the first book in a thrilling new adventure series by world-renowned environmentalist and Emmy-nominated host of Xploration Awesome Planet Philippe Cousteau and award-winning TURBO Racers author Austin Aslan. Innocent animals are in trouble: temperatures are climbing, tides are rising, and nature is suffering. Someone needs to step in to rescue animals from extinction. Someone needs to turn this mess around, before it’s too late. And that someone is . . . the Endangereds, the unlikeliest heroes you’ll ever meet—a super-strong polar bear, a pangolin with a genius for engineering, an extremely sarcastic narwhal, and an orangutan with a big dream. Together, these four daredevils are determined to save endangered species across the globe, no matter what the risk.” Book #2, Melting Point, is already out as well, and there’s more coming in the future. [And with that, we wish you all a happy and safe New Year!]

image c. 2021 Harper-Collins

Spare the Pod

Catching up with some good books we hadn’t mentioned before. A Whale of the Wild is a new novel for young readers by Rosanne Parry, published by Greenwillow Books. It’s based on extensive research into the lives and struggles of orca whales in the real world. “For Vega and her family, salmon is life. And Vega is learning to be a salmon finder, preparing for the day when she will be her family’s matriarch. But then she and her brother Deneb are separated from their pod when a devastating earthquake and tsunami render the seascape unrecognizable. Vega must use every skill she has to lead her brother back to their family. The young orcas face a shark attack, hunger, the deep ocean, and polluted waters on their journey. Will Vega become the leader she’s destined to be?” The author is also known for another wildlife-based adventure book, A Wolf Called Wander. Both are available in hardcover at your favorite booksellers.

image c. 2021 Greenwillow Books

Finally To The Moon, Alice!

In 2019 (back in the Before Time!) we told you about Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, a new 2D animated TV series based on the popular Marvel comic. Like many things during the pandemic, it’s gone through delays. But recently the folks at Disney have released the first trailer for the new series, along with news that it will be coming to television in 2022. “The highly anticipated 2D animated series follows the adventures of 13-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur. After Lunella accidentally brings Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City via a time vortex, the duo work together to protect the city’s Lower East Side from danger.” See you next summer!

image c. 2021 Walt Disney Television Animation

Annie Award Nominations for 2021

ASIFA-Hollywood just announced the nominations for the 2021 Annie Awards — known far and wide as “the Oscars of animation”. As has increasingly been the case the last few years, more and more anthropomorphic stuff has made its way to the top of the animation list! And 2021 was no exception. No less than three anthro films are up for Best Animated Feature, including Raya and the Last Dragon, Luca, and the recently released Sing 2. In fact Raya is one of the most honored films of the year, with nominations in Character Animation, Character Design, Effects Animation, Voice Acting, Music, Production Design, Storyboarding, Writing, and Editing also (whew!). Luca is not far behind, with nominations in Character Animation, Character Design, Music, Voice Acting, Writing, Editing, and Directing. Vivo has five nominations in various categories, while Wish Dragon and Spirit Untamed have one each (for Character Animation and Storyboarding, respectively). Over in the TV and Streaming categories, it’s more of a mixed bag. Best TV Show For Preschool includes Odo, Stillwater, and Muppet Babies (which is also up for Writing). Amphibia is up for Best TV Show For Children (as well as for Directing and Editing), while Tuca and Bertie is nominated for Best General Audience TV Show (and also for Writing). Arlo the Alligator Boy scored noms for Production Design, Voice Acting, and Editing, and Centaur World has one nomination for Voice Acting. In Sponsored Production (the new way of saying Best Commercial) there’s Featherweight (the music video by Fleet Foxes) and Tiptoe and the Flying Machine (from Macy’s). Finally, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is nominated for Best Video Game. Visit the Annie Awards web site to see the full list of nominees — and don’t forget, nominations for the 2022 Ursa Major Awards will open soon! [We wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy Solstice, and a Blessed Holiday Season.]

image c. 2021 Walt Disney Animation

Pinnipeds of Power

And then, Out Of Nowhere part two. Recently we came across Seal Team, a new CGI animated film coming to Netflix soon. From IMDB.com: “After his best friend is killed in a shark attack, Quinn, a lovable yet tenacious seal assembles a SEAL TEAM to fight back against a gang of sharks overtaking the neighborhood. But this merry band of international seals are not at all trained for such a mission. They seek the help of a much more skillful combatant, Claggart, but even his tricks and flips can’t whip these guys into shape. However, with a little bit of ingenuity, intelligence and a lot of heart, our seal team may actually be able to bring peace back to their undersea community.” Turns out this is the latest animation from Triggerfish in South Africa (whom we have covered quite a bit in the past!), now working in a very different style reminiscent of Spiderman — Into The Spiderverse. Look at the trailer, you’ll see what we mean.

image c. 2021 Netflix

Our House… is a Very Very Very Scary House

Furry things out of nowhere, the first part. We came across a trailer for The House, a new “dark comedy” that’s premiering early next year on Netflix. There’s a review at SlashFilm: “The House is an eccentric dark comedy about a house and the three surreal tales of the individuals who made it their home. An anthology directed by the leading voices in independent stop motion animation: Emma de Swaef and Marc Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, and Paloma Baeza, and produced by Nexus Studios.” What that description doesn’t let on is that two of the tales are decidedly furry, featuring rodents and cats as the stars. Watch the trailer over at YouTube. And maybe watch The House with the lights on.

image c. 2021 Netflix