Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
So we came across an add for a new plushie toy line called Feisty Pets from WMC Toys. Here’s what they say on their web site: “Feisty Pets go from cute to feisty with just a squeeze to the back of the head. Choose from 4 animals: bear, dog, cat, and monkey – and more animals are currently in production. Which one do you like most?” Actually, it’s more like they go from cute to nightmare fuel! Seriously, check out this introduction video on YouTube. But beware!
image c. 2016 WMC Toys
Things get decidedly more anthropomorphic in issue #18 of Scooby Doo Team Up from DC Comics: “Can it be? The entire universe threatened by the spectral spirit of Canis Major, the dog star? To get to the bottom of the space-spanning mystery, canine crimebuster Scooby will have to team up with some of DC’s greatest dog heroes, including old friends Krypto and Ace the Bat-Hound, plus G’Nort, Wonder Dog, and the Space Canine Patrol Agency!” Woof. Have a look at it on-line over at Read Comics.
image c. 2016 DC Comics
Presented here, verbatim, from our friends over at Cartoon Brew: “Lionsgate has acquired the Chinese/American co-production Rock Dog for release through its Summit Premiere label. The film will debut in American theaters on February 24, 2017… In one of the first examples of reverse-outsourcing in American feature animation, the Chinese backers farmed out the entire production to Dallas-based Reel FX, the company that produced Free Birds and The Book of Life. Rock Dog was conceived by Chinese rockstar Zheng Jun, who wrote and illustrated a popular graphic novel upon which the film is based. The film follows the story of Bodi, a Tibetan Mastiff, who dreams of following in the footsteps of Angus Scattergood, a British cat musician. Directed by Toy Story 2 co-director Ash Brannon, the film was touted as an attempt by Chinese producers to create a culturally-Chinese animated film that would appeal to a worldwide audience. To increase its chances for success in the global marketplace, the film’s original production language was English, with a cast that includes J.K. Simmons, Luke Wilson, Eddie Izzard, Matt Dillon, Sam Elliot, Lewis Black, and Kenan Thompson. In the U.S., Rock Dog will open one week after Warner Bros.’ The LEGO Batman Movie.” Ouch. Here’s a direct link to the new trailer.
image c. 2016 Lionsgate
From Graphix comes Dog Man, a new full-color graphic novel for kids by Dav Pilkey. Once again, the publishers describe it best: “New from the creator of Captain Underpants, it’s Dog Man, the #1 New York Times bestselling, crime-biting canine who is part dog, part man, and ALL HERO! George and Harold have created a new hero who digs into deception, claws after crooks, and rolls over robbers. When Greg the police dog and his cop companion are injured on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history, and Dog Man is born. With the head of a dog and the body of a human, this heroic hound has a real nose for justice. But can he resist the call of the wild to answer the call of duty?” Find out more at Mr. Pilkey’s web site. Volume 2 is already on its way!
image c. 2016 Graphix
More how-did-we-miss-this? stuff. From Aftershock Comics (a new company, at least to us!) comes Animosity, written by Marguerite Bennett and illustrated in full color by Rafael de Latorre and Rob Schwager. “One day, the Animals woke up. They started thinking. They started talking. They started taking revenge. Now, a dog and his girl are trying to get away–out of New York City, and all the way to San Francisco, to the only person who might be able to protect and save her. From the writer of Insexts, A-Force, and Bombshells, and the artist of Superzero, comes a new kind of road trip, a new kind of black comedy, and a new kind of coming-of-age.” Aftershock has sample pages at their web site. The first issues are already on the shelves.
image c. 2016 Aftershock
Daniel de Sosa, creator of the very odd comic Kitty Jenkins: Purrvana (which we reviewed before) is back with another interesting full-color project proposal. This new one is called Kitty Jenkins: A Song of Mice and Fur [You’re a true fan if you get that pun…], and there’s currently a Kickstarter campaign to make it a reality. “A Song of Mice and Fur is an absurdist fantasy story set in the realm of Nyania where kitty lords and canine rulers lord over the rodent peasantry. After a surprise Meowgol attack, the fragile peace between the kingdoms of Nyania is broken, and the land descends in to chaos. Red panda mercenaries, authoritarian cats, a sad fat pug and many more all fight tooth, nail and claw to come out on top!” Visit the campaign page to find out more.
image c. 2016 by Daniel de Sosa
RoboCatz vs. ThunderDogs. That’s an almost self-explanatory title, isn’t it? Certainly gets the furry fan’s attention! It’s a new independent full-color comic book series created by Justin Cermak, Donovan Goertzen, and Fabian Cobos. The premise is simple: Cats and dogs have been fighting for millennia, in front of humans and behind their backs. What humans don’t know is that both sides have employed war technology in their battles for some time — and in the not too distant future, both cats and dogs will have developed large anime-style robot fighters to carry out their planned destruction of the other side. Hmm… this maybe makes the whole comic sound a lot more serious than it is. Check out the much more detailed preview at Indie Comics Review.
image c. 2016 Data Red Comics
Mauricio Abril is an artist with an interesting background: For years he practiced molecular biology (his major at university), but discovered it just did not fit his soul the way he thought it would. So he took a whole new set of courses in “entertainment design”, and that fit much better — and so he has been working the past few years as a concept artist in the fields of animation, video games, theme park design, and illustration. Recently (with the help of Kickstarter) he completed his first illustrated book for children, called Small Dogs. On his web site he says: “It follows the story of Seth, a Chihuahua who mistakenly believes that he’s just overdue for a growth spurt to be as big as other dogs. It’s only when he discovers what it really means to be a small dog when he decides to prove to everyone, and especially himself, that small dogs are just as important as any other dog.” Yap Yap!
image c. 2016 by Mauricio Abril
BOOM! Studios snuck two more by us this last summer… First up, the Peanuts: Friends Forever 2016 Special. Here’s what they say: “After five years and 39 issues, four original graphic novels, and a groundbreaking tribute book, we bid farewell to this incarnation of Peanuts comics with an oversized finale. Snoopy’s Daisy Hill Farm is being torn down and Charlie Brown tries to be there for him. It’s a warm goodbye filled with love and heart for all devoted Peanuts readers!” Featuring stories by the late Charles M. Schulz himself, as well as Jason Cooper, with artistic help from Donna Almendrala and Vicki Scott. Also look for the Garfield 2016 Summer Special, a one-shot collection of never-before-seen comic short stories by the likes of Scott Nickel, Mark Evanier, Brittney Williams, Andy Hirsch, Sara Talmadge, and Lissy Marlin.
image c. 2016 BOOM! Studios
