Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
We could not make this stuff up if we wanted to, folks. Mickey’s Inferno. Yes: The scary portion of Dante’s Divine Comedy as re-told in full-color graphic novel format by Mickey and his friends. And Papercutz got Disney’s okay with this! It’s written by Guido Martina (who is a well-known creator of Disney material in Italy), illustrated by Angelo Bioletta, and available in softcover and hardcover editions — on the shelves right now. Gosh, is Purgatory next?
image c. 2017 Papercutz
And on to Italy for Pio Rocks, a new show inspired by a popular YouTube series called Pulchino Pio. According to the review from Animation Magazine, “Pio Rocks! – The Series revolves around Pio’s life at school at Highnote High, a school like any other, except every class is about music! With plenty of challenges, betrayals, friendships forged forever and ex-friends you swear you’ll never speak to again… Pio Rocks! is a comedy about friendship, growing up, achieving goals and acceptance. Being a kid, in other words.” Produced by Planeta Junior, the series is set to hit the air in Europe this January.
image c. 2016 Planeta Junior
Grizzy and the Lemmings is the perfectly descriptive title of a new CGI animated TV series created by Antoine Rodelet and Josseline Charlier. “He is big as a bear, strong as a bear, smart… as a bear. Naturally, no other animal dares to contest his ‘bear’s privilege’. That is no other animal except one: A tribe that belongs to the most inoffensive, stupid, and ridiculous mammal family that exists – the lemmings. Even for a bear who weighs 500 pounds and stands seven feet tall, it’s not that easy to get rid of these unrefined balls of fur who have the I.Q. of a pea. For the balls of fur in question are quite numerous. And they really know how to work as a team!” The idea of the show is to bring the art of slapstick back to TV animation for young viewers — hence why the show is created without dialogue, to be shown in any part of the world. Studio Hari has a page dedicated to Grizzy and his friends (?) that includes a video trailer.
image c. 2016 Studio Hari
Now here’s a Donald who hasn’t been as much in the news lately — much to his chagrin, probably! IDW Publishing presents Donald Quest, a new full-color adventure mini-series featuring Disney’s favorite duck. “In the steampunk warrior world of Feudarnia, only the Magnus Malleus can save humanity from marauding Meteorbeasts! It’s an epic weapon for an epic hero… so why is it up to Donald Duck to grab it before Magica De Spell, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot get there first?” Guess we’ll find out soon enough. Donald Quest is written by Stefano Ambrosio and Pat McGreal, with illustration by Andrea Freccero. Check it out over at IDW. Issue #1 is on the shelves now.
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
A lot of animation fans who weren’t around in the late 1960’s (or who weren’t watching cartoons regularly yet!) may not remember the very, very strange Depatie-Freleng series called Here Comes The Grump. Well now according to Cartoon Brew there’s going to be a new CGI version of the series and a CGI movie to kick things off — thanks to Mexico’s Anima Estudios, which previously brought us the CGI Top Cat movies a couple of years ago. As for Here Comes The Grump, “The film tells the story of teenage boy Terry who has been transported to a magical land where he and some new friends must defeat a mean-spirited wizard called The Grump.” There’s some well-known talent behind the film: “Here Comes the Grump is based on a script from Jim Hecht (Ice Age: The Meltdown) and designs by Craig Kellman (Madagascar, Sausage Party, Samurai Jack, Hotel Transylvania). It is being directed by Andres Couturier, who also helmed Anima’s 2015 feature Top Cat Begins.” No word yet on any distribution planned for North America. Besides the grumpy wizard’s rather klutzy dragon, the Grump’s world features many fantastic creatures — and some that likely will only make sense if you’ve been chemically enhanced. Maybe.
image c. 2016 Anima Estudios
A new announcement over at Cartoon Brew: The German visual FX house Luxx Studio (known for their work on features like White House Down and Independence Day: Resurgence) have started work in earnest on their first CGI feature film, Manou the Swift. “The cg animated film, which is still a work in progress, is set for release in 2017. It tells the story of a swift who grows up thinking he is seagull but soon finds out his real calling.” The article includes a teaser trailer — which oddly does not seem to include the main character.
Image c. 2016 Luxx Studios
You may recall the comedy/horror film WolfCop from a couple years ago now. Well, it seems that Dynamite Entertainment have taken it upon themselves to adapt the movie into comic book form. “Ever since hard-drinking local Woodhaven police officer Lou Garou had a late-night bender and stumbled onto dark magic, his life has been turned upside down. Now he moonlights as WolfCop, a rage-fueled, bourbon-swilling, magnum-toting, rabid warrior for justice! WolfCop #1 sees everyone’s favorite alcoholic lycanthropic lawman tearing out of the big screen and onto these gorgeous pages to fight bigger, badder, and meaner monsters than anything that has threatened Woodhaven before!” It’s written by Max Marks and illustrated in full color by Arcana Studios. The first issue is on the shelves now.
image c. 2016 Dynamite Entertainment
Our friends over at IDW put it best: “In 2015, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed began (without warning!) producing ALL-NEW Bloom County strips—for the first time in more than 25 years! Breathed released the new Bloom County strips exclusively through his Facebook page, to the cheers of devoted and delighted fans everywhere. These brand new strips have NEVER before been available in print—until now! All the wit, charm, and biting satire that are trademarks of Bloom County and Berkeley Breathed are clearly on display and evident in this handsome new volume. Featuring all your favorite characters: Opus, Milo, Bill the Cat, Steve Dallas, Cutter John, and many more. Bloom County has come home… and it’s about time!” Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope is available in trade paperback, and it’s on the shelves now.
image c. 2016 IDW Publishing
Skylanders Academy is a new CGI animated series set to premier this month on Netflix. According to the Skylanders Wiki (yes there is one), the series is being produced by Activision Blizzard Studios under the guidance of Eric Rogers (writer on Futurama). Spyro the dragon, Eruptor, and Stealth Elf study to use their diverse powers to protect their world from the evil forces of Kaos and the Doom Raiders. Look for it October 28th, and check out the trailer on YouTube.
image c. 2016 Activision Blizzard
