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Comic Books

Guys, Leave These Ladies ALONE!

Previews made us aware of a new comic series from Image called Maneaters, written by Chelsea Cain. In an interview, here’s how she describes it: “Maneaters is a monster story about women who turn into ferocious killer wildcats when they get their periods. They are very scary and dangerous and extremely grumpy. Naturally their unprovoked attacks cause a great deal of societal consternation, and measures are taken to help the women control themselves.” Got that? With art by Kate Niemczyk and Rachelle Rosenberg, the first issue pounces on the shelves in September.

image c. 2018 Image Comics

Hoo Goes There?

Here’s a very unusual graphic novel which comes to us courtesy of Action Lab, called The Ghost, The Owl. “On a cool evening on the swamp, a figure appears dancing across the water. A human figure, but far from a human form. A Ghost, a young girl spirit that seems to have lost its way. A good Samaritan owl decides to help against the wishes of his animal brethren. What mysteries does the ghost girl hold the secrets to and what will happen when she and the owl unlock them together? Will they find out what happened to her? Will she find her way to where she needs to be? What will happen to the animals in the swamp and surrounding forest?” Written by Franco and illustrated by Sara Richard, it’s available now at Barnes & Noble. Meanwhile there’s a preview over at Comicsverse.

image c. 2018 Action Lab

 

Learning to Live with Change

Some of you may recall the Eisner-nominated anthology comic Island, which looked at LGBTQ issues from a variety of perspectives through a variety of artists and writers. Well now Image Comics have taken one selection from Island, called The Pervert, and expanded upon it to full graphic novel length. “A surprisingly honest and touching account of a trans girl surviving through sex work in Seattle, The Pervert is an unflinching debut graphic novel that is preoccupied with work — what we put into our work and what it takes from us.” Needless to say, this is Adults Only material — and by that, we mean grown-ups. Written by Michelle Perez and illustrated by Remy Boydell (Emergency!, Recovery Blogger), it’s available in trade paperback now. Image has a detailed preview (with reviews) at their web site.

image c. 2018 Image Comics

For Your Fashionable Feet

Sara Varon is a comic creator whom we’ve talked about before several times as both a writer and an artist. (Seriously: Look her up!) Now she’s back as both again with her latest hardcover book, New Shoes, published by First Second. They describe it as “… a heartwarming graphic novel about a donkey on a quest to make the perfect pair of shoes.” Really now? “Francis the donkey is the best shoemaker in the village. He uses only the finest materials: coconut wood for the soles, goat’s wool for the insoles, and wild tiger grass for the uppers. One day he receives a special order from his favorite singer: Miss Manatee, the queen of calypso. But he’s all out of tiger grass! To make the perfect pair of shoes, Francis must journey deep into the jungle . . . and that means leaving his village for the first time.” Find it now over at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2018 First Second

Lonely Girl Meets Only Bird

Dodo is a new full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Felipe Nunes. Ostensibly for young readers, it actually has more on its mind… “Laila is six years old and she’s been taken out of school following her parents’ divorce. She doesn’t understand why she can’t go to school with the rest of her friends or why her dad never comes by anymore. Laila comes across a mysterious bird, a dodo named Ralph, and befriends the creature that has been living in the part near her house. Through her friendship with Ralph, Laila starts to notice things, things she never wanted to understand.” Check it out at Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2018 Boom! Studios

It’s Dangerous for a Pig to Dream

Here’s another one that Previews alerted us to: Unnatural is a hit full-color comic series in Italy, and now Image Comics is about to unleash it on North America. “Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she’s stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government – one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed ‘unnatural’. Leslie dreams of something different for herself. But those dreams are becoming dangerous…” Interestingly, writer and artist Mirka Andolfo says that none other than Omaha the Cat Dancer (by the great Reed Waller and the late Kate Worley) served as an inspiration for this series. Look for it soon in stores.

image c. 2018 Image Comics

Submitted for Your Approval: A Planet of Apes

Bit of trivia you might not be aware of: In the late 1960’s Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone) was the first person picked to adapt a screenplay from Pierre Boulle’s science fiction novel Planet of the Apes. Which he did — unfortunately his version (closer to Boulle’s book, featuring apes in a modern high-tech world) was considered un-filmable at the time, and a new adaptation by Michael Wilson was used instead for the famous 1968 film starring Charlton Heston. Well now, Boom! Studios have created Planet of the Apes: Visionaries, a new full-color graphic novel of Serling’s original script. Put into comic book form by Dana Gould and illustrated by Chad Lewis, it arrives in stores this August. Previews has an interview with the Boom! Studios folk all about it.

image c. 2018 Boom! Studios

A Human Turned Into A Dragon. That’s Bad?

[Back from our first BLFC and we’ve got lots to talk about!]

Ryan Smith is the writer and primary artist behind Accursed Dragon, a series of fantasy graphic novels. Starting as a web comic in 2008, since 2011 he has self-published several paperbacks with the help of several Kickstarter campaigns. And as you can see at the official web site, Ryan started off using his own black & white art, but as the series has progressed he’s brought other artists on board and moved to full color. So what’s it about? “Rawn (a selfish young wizard) is introduced to Coven, a man cursed in the form of a dragon, and together they journey the war torn land of Ternia to find the cure!” Needless to say things get more complicated from there. Check out the first volume over at Goodreads.

image c. 2018 by Ryan Smith

A Flying Ape with a Beak. Yes.

One of the things that was almost impossible to miss at WonderCon this year was a huge display booth for Genesis II, a full color graphic novel by Allen Ling and Christian Boe. It’s a science fiction story about genetic experiments gone very, very strange, but that barely scratches the surface. The booth display featured three of the principle weird creations from the story in larger than life size, sculpted by none other than Stan Winston Studios. The graphic novel is available now as a hardcover book, and also as a download for purchase. The creators plan to release a softcover version later this year. Visit their web site to see what we’re talking about — and to order your copy.

image c. 2018 genesisiicomics.com