Joe Strike is back with his second book exploring the world of Furry Fandom — after the award-winning Furry Nation, this one is appropriately called Furry Planet. “Furs are the creative subculture of people who identify with animals. You can find them at furry conventions, furfests, around the world—tens of thousands of people donning their most elaborate fursuit. In costume, at conventions, with friends or alone, furries unleash the animal within, letting their inner beasts roar and their inner cats purr, aware of the power—and joy—to be found in bringing forward one’s animal side and encouraging others to do the same. In Furry Planet, long-time furry Joe Strike dives deep into this compelling subculture to share its appeal and rewards. Strike and a wealth of interviewees trace the history of the subculture and its various iterations today, in the process covering conventions, media, art, storytelling, community resources, costume creation, and advice for newcomers, and addressing stigmas and misconceptions head on.” Look for it coming soon from Apollo Publishers.
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You Are Diversity Incarnate
BatCat is a new graphic novel for young readers, written and illustrated by Meggie Ramm. “Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing ghost, they visit the local Island Witch for a spell to remove their ghastly guest permanently! With their Ghost-B-Gone spell in hand, Batcat travels across Spooky Island to gather ingredients — to the Cavernous Caves where the bats tell them they’re too round to be a bat, and to the Whispering Cemetery where the cats will help only if they commit to being a true cat. But Batcat is neither, and that’s what makes them special, right? From up-and-coming author Meggie Ramm comes a sweet and fun story about accepting yourself when you’re perfectly in-between here and there.” Find it now at Abrams Books.
Books and More
Another artist we met at ConFuzzled: Johanna Tarkela. From her personal web site: “I am a Finnish-born, currently UK based digital artist who specialises in realism and creating visually believable, atmospheric paintings in Photoshop… I am heavily influenced by the natural world around us, both the creatures and environments – there’s something about all the different textures especially on animals that keeps me hooked and feeds my attention to detail.” In addition to free-standing illustrations and prints, her works have been used by book publishers like Harper Collins and for games like Zoo Tycoon.
Bear Out Of Nowhere
Driving around Southern California, we saw this on a billboard, of all things. Bearific.com. Knowing nothing about it, we had to investigate! Here’s what we found out about Bearific Books: “Katelyn Lonas is 16 years old and the CEO of her company, Bearific. Currently, she has over 60 published books, which are sold worldwide and available on Barnes & Noble and Walmart. Katelyn has also published five apps on the Google Play Store and has a YouTube channel called Bearific Studios, where she posts drawing videos and cartoons based on her books. She published her first book when she was 9 years old, and it was called Bearific Adventure.” And yes, it’s all about bears. Check out her web site!
Scurry from the Sciuridae!
Previews recently gave us an interview with Matt Wendt, artist and co-creator (along with writer Chad Corrie) of Sons of Ashgard: Ill Met in Elmgard, a new fantasy graphic novel. “Erick Redfur seeks a new life. Exiled from his homeland he craves a fresh start, but has yet to find it. Hopeful of a better fate in Elmgard he soon finds himself embroiled in a series of troubling events that quickly escalate into a near kingdom-wide war. Yet even as he attempts a remedy through fast thinking and the aid of some new companions, he risks jeopardizing his chance for a more peaceful future. But in so doing he will find his redemption along with new hope for the days ahead.” It’s available now from Dark Horse.
Shy Bear and Rowdy Raccoon
Whoa! One we missed from last summer: The Forest Beckons, the first volume in the new Order of the Night Jay series of graphic novels for young readers, created by Jonathan Schnapp. “Frank is perhaps the most un-bear-like bear Camp Jay Bird has ever seen. Actually, he’s probably the ONLY bear Camp Jay Bird has ever seen. And there are tons of bugs, he’s getting picked on, and he can’t seem to earn a single badge! But there’s Ricky, an excitable little raccoon who shares Frank’s love of Mega Bunny comics. But Ricky’s friendship might be more than Frank can handle. After breaking camp rules, getting lost in the woods, and discovering ancient secrets about the long-forgotten Order of the Night Jay, how will Frank explain all this to his dad?” It’s available now everywhere from Penguin Random House and Top Shelf Comix.
Wild, Wild Planet
Recently made a visit to the L.A. Times Festival of Books in Los Angeles (of course), and as usual came across some interesting furry items we want to tell you about. First up is the Red’s Planet series of graphic novels by Eddie Pittman — a Disney animator who worked on films like Emperor’s New Groove and Lilo & Stitch, as well as TV series like Phineas and Ferb. Here’s the run down: “Meet Red, a quirky, headstrong 10-year-old who longs to live in her own perfect paradise far away from her annoying foster family. But when a UFO mistakenly kidnaps her, Red finds herself farther away than she could have possibly imagined—across the galaxy and aboard an enormous spaceship owned by the Aquilari, an ancient creature with a taste for rare and unusual treasures. Before Red can be discovered as a stowaway, the great ship crashes on a small deserted planet, leaving her marooned with a menagerie of misfit aliens. With her newfound friend, a small gray alien named Tawee, Red must find a way to survive the hostile castaways, evade the ravenous wildlife, and contend with Goose, the planet’s grumpy, felinoid custodian. Surely this can’t be the paradise she’s been hoping for.” Three hardcover books are out so far from Amulet.
Lisa Cheese, What Happened To You??
We got this announcement sent right to us from the source! Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar: Attack of the Snack is a new upcoming graphic novel from Top Shelf, written and illustrated by Kevin Alvir. “In Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar, a sweet unicorn girl from another dimension moves to Earth City hoping to make a name for herself as a folk singer…but her very first open mic is a disaster, leaving her with a bionic arm and an identity crisis. Now she’s starting a crummy office job, her parents back in their home dimension are laying on the guilt trip, and the cool girl at the record store leaves her tongue-tied. But once she’s drawn into a knock-down, drag-out encounter with a gang of hamburger-headed goons from the sinister megacorporation Beef is Burger, Lisa must rally a ragtag band of supernatural hipsters, conspiracy freaks, and burnt-out office coworkers to thwart their diabolical ambitions!” Might all make more sense if you check out the preview pages over at Major Spoilers. Lisa Cheese hits the shelves this September.
Animal Folk Tales from Around the World
Capstone Press recently gave us a new series of full-color graphic novels for young comic readers, featuring folktales from cultures all over the globe. And of course, many of them are furry. For example: The Sky Fox, A Peruvian Graphic Folktale, written by Alberto Rayo and illustrated by Fabiana Faiallo. “What happens to a fox that won’t stop teasing the others animals? Read this Peruvian tale to find out.” Other books in the series include The Magpie’s Tale (Sweden), The Turtle and The Geese (India), and The Tortoise and The Hare (West Africa). Each of the titles features writing and art by folk from the culture in question.