Recently Marvel Comics introduced a new mobile game called Future Fight, and now they’ve created a tie-in comic series called Future Fight Firsts, starring some of the game’s most interesting characters. Including, it turns out, at least one furry — in the one-shot Future Fight Firsts: Crescent and Io, they ask, “How did Dan Bi, a young girl from South Korea, first bring an ancient mystical bear spirit into the modern world? How did this unlikely duo become the evil-smashing team known as Crescent and Io?” Written by Mariko Tamaki, with art by Ale Garza and Jon Lam, it’s available now.
Bear
Back The Rainbow
This last summer brought as a brand new Care Bares series on Boomerang, Care Bears: Unlock The Magic — and to go with it, a brand new tie-in comic book series from IDW. “Welcome to the Silver Lining, a mystical realm full of mirth and magic! The Care Bears, along with their pals the Whiffles, protect this realm from the negative influence of the mischievous Bluster and his Bad Crowd! With engaging, unique characters and an irreverent and heartwarming sense of humor, this new series is perfect for anyone looking for more magic in their lives!” Featuring art by Agnes Garbowska of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fame. All three issues of the comic mini-series are available now.
Furry Movies of 2019
Just returned from Midwest FurFest outside Chicago. GOODNESS what an impressive event! Among many other things there, your ever-lovin’ ed-otter presented a lecture called Furry Movies of 2019 — mostly as a way to remind people about some of the anthropomorphic items (very broadly defined!) which are eligible for the 2020 Ursa Major Awards. At the end of it, some folks in the audience asked if there was a version of the list up on line. Well guess what? Now there is! Furry movies (and movies with interesting anthropomorphic characters in them) this year have included:
- A Dog’s Way Home (imdb)
- The Underdog, from Korea (imdb)
- Sheep & Wolves: Pig Deal, from Russia (imdb)
- Boonie Bears: Blast into the Past, from China (imdb)
- The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (imdb)
- How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (imdb)
- Manou the Swift, from Germany (imdb)
- Dumbo (imdb)
- Missing Link (imdb)
- Avengers: Endgame (imdb)
- Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (imdb)
- Ugly Dolls (imdb)
- Wonder Park (imdb)
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (imdb)
- Secret Life of Pets 2 (imdb)
- Toy Story 4 (imdb)
- The Lion King (imdb)
- The Banana Splits Movie (imdb)
- The Angry Birds Movie 2 (imdb)
- Abominable (imdb)
- The Bears’ Famous Invasion of Sicily, from France & Italy (imdb)
- Arctic Dogs (imdb)
- Lady and the Tramp (imdb)
- Frozen 2 (imdb)
- Togo, coming on December 13th (imdb)
- Cats, coming on December 20th (imdb)
- Spies in Disguise, coming on December 25th (imdb)
- Hayop Ka! aka You Son of a Bitch!, from Korea — coming soon (YouTube)
And also coming soon: Look for a run-down of anthropomorphic movies to look forward to in 2020!
They’re Binding Him With Science
Comic publisher Humanoids have a new all-ages imprint called BIG, and the first publication from it is called Bigby Bear. “A series of vignettes on imagination, science, mathematics, and the life of our planet…shared from the perspective of a curious bear and his furry, forest-dwelling friends! Bigby Bear lives peacefully in the lush mountains where he was born. Struggling to figure out nature and its elements, Bigby engages in silly experiments of all kinds. Accompanied by his loyal rabbit friend, he gives us the secret to living a happy, simple life: To follow your curiosity, and make friends along the way.” Written and illustrated by Philippe Coudray, Bigby Bear is available now in hardcover.
Does Stitch Know?
More stuff we found at WonderCon this year. Ohana Bears are the creation of “Hawaii’s own internationally renown award winning artist/designer: Bo Bergemann”. So says their web site. The cute Hawaiian bear art is available on various apparel, mugs, phone covers, and other products. And: They’re about to release a brand new plush toy based on their star character, Mahalo Bear.
What Crawls Beneath
Definitely a darker sort of anthropomorphic story — that’s The Rats of Heaven, a new novel by J.J. Elliot. “The Rats of Heaven tells the story of the fallen angel Rahab, as he seeks revenge on the angels that exiled him to live out his existence on Earth as a rat. When the fallen angel meets a dying serial killer in the sewers they strike a deal that will terrorize a city. Only a 12 year-old boy knows what their secret and how to stop them. The Rats of Heaven will take the reader from the sewers of a modern city to the gardens of Heaven.” What a ride. Check it out over at Amazon.
Little Bear in London
And more good news coming to us from Animation World Network: “STUDIOCANAL, Nickelodeon, and award-winning producer David Heyman have announced a global deal and released a first look for a brand-new Paddington (working title) television series for preschoolers. Actor Ben Whishaw (Paddington 1 & 2) will reprise his role as the beloved voice of the title character in the new CG-animated series, which follows the adventures of a younger Paddington. Paddington will air on Nickelodeon’s networks worldwide in 2020… Fully animated in 3D, the new Paddington series sees a younger Paddington writing to Aunt Lucy from Windsor Gardens. Each episode will open and close with Paddington’s letters as he tells Aunt Lucy what he has learned about life through the day’s new exciting adventure.” Check out the article for more. Looking forward to this!
Bear, Bear, Dragon
Animation Magazine recently let us know about two anthropomorphic animated TV series coming from Singapore’s August Media and South Korea’s Studio Gale. First up there’s Tish Tash. “The series centers on young and hugely imaginative Tish, her bear family, and her larger-than-life imaginary friend, Tash. No matter what troubles they face — be it the age-old terror of long, boring car trips or helping Tish’s baby brother not be sad about losing his favorite toy — these special friends can create new worlds around themselves, embarking on imaginative adventures and finding their own creative angle to help solve any problems that life throws at them.” Then there’s Journey of Long, a comedy that “… follows the adventures of a dragon with a dream of becoming the world’s top chef”. Check out the video clip over on YouTube. Both these shows premiered at MIPCOM, and they’re hoping for world-wide distribution in 2019.
Stuffed with Fluff
Some of the most iconic funny animal illustrations in the entire world get the scholarly treatment in The Art of Winnie the Pooh by James Campbell, published by Harper Collins. “Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends have enthralled generations of children and have become some of the world’s most beloved characters. But before their adventures were captured in many millions of books published in nearly fifty languages, they started life in the 1920s as the product of a unique collaboration between author A. A. Milne and illustrator E. H. Shepard. They wove images and text together in a way that was utterly original for the time. It was a process that Shepard relished; he continued to create artwork for new editions until his death in 1976 at the age of ninety-six. This lovingly designed, full-color volume, which includes a foreword from Shepard’s granddaughter, tells the story behind this remarkable partnership, and traces the evolution of Shepard’s work, from his first tentative sketches to the illustrations we know and love, including the characters’ later incarnations by the artists at Walt Disney Studios.” The book is available now in hardcover.