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Fantasy

The Annie Award Nominations for 2022

Jan 20th, 2023
by rodney.
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Recently ASIFA-Hollywood announced the nominations for the Annie Awards, celebrating the best in animation for the year 2022. The Annies are recognized world-wide as “the Oscars of animation”, chosen by folks in the animation industry from a host of disciplines. This year Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio leads the pack in nominations: Seven, including Best Animated Feature, Best Character Animation, Best Directing, Best Music, Best Production Design, and Best Editing. That’s followed close behind by Pixar’s Turning Red, Dreamworks’ Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, and The Sea Beast on Netflix, with six nominations each in various categories — including Best Animated Feature. Furry-fan-favorite The Bad Guys is up for four awards… but interestingly, not for Best Animated Feature. Marcel, The Shell With Shoes On and My Father’s Dragon are both nominated for Best Independent Feature and Best Directing, with Marcel also up for Best Writing and Best Voice Acting. (The little shell that could, sheesh!) The House (which is 2/3 furry…) and The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse are both nominated for Special Production, for projects longer than a short but shorter than a feature. And that’s just a sampling! We don’t even have room to talk about all the nominations for TV series, games, commercials, and more. Check out the Annie Awards web page for a complete list of nominees. The awards will be handed out on February 25th. (And hey, while you’re at it: Don’t forget that nominations have opened for the 2023 Ursa Major Awards too!)

image c. 2023 Netflix

The Mane Attraction

Jan 15th, 2023
by rodney.
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Also this, from our friends at BOOM!: “Magic: Ajani Goldmane is a special one-shot issue from Hugo Award-nominated  writer Seanan McGuire (Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider), featuring the courageous and noble fan favorite Ajani Goldmane! Meet the fiercely loyal and steadfast planeswalker… Delve into his past adventures and uncover shocking revelations about the brave healer you never knew! And discover what happens when the valiant protector faces threats far beyond his capabilities.” The Lady McGuire, by the way, also happens to be a talented filk singer/songwriter. The more you know.

image c. 2023 BOOM! Studios

Wings of Magic

Jan 13th, 2023
by rodney.
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Somehow, we missed it before, but this came up last summer: “BOOM! Studios today announced the return of the blockbuster fantasy WYND in August 2022 with the five-issue series WYND: The Throne in the Sky, kicking off a new chapter in the acclaimed original series by Eisner Award-winner James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children) and artist Michael Dialynas (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), the GLAAD Award-winning creative team behind The Woods… The land of Esseriel has grown darker and more dangerous, as tensions between the human and faerie realms threaten to erupt into all-out war. Could Wynd be the only hope for peace? And what will his destiny be if he truly is one of the legendary Winged Ones?” The further adventures of this monstrous young fae fellow are available now in this 5-part miniseries.

image c. 2023 BOOM! Studios

What A Big Katana You Have!

Jan 7th, 2023
by rodney.
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Sticking with Source Point Press, here’s how you put a new spin on an old fairy tale: Little Red Ronin, written by Garrett Gunn and illustrated by Kit Wallis. “A terrible beast has haunted the citizens of Poletown for decades. Although the monster hasn’t been seen in years, disappearances and gruesome killings still plague the townsfolk. Determined to clear her family name, Red hunts The Great Wolf in hopes of exonerating her grandmother, who lives in exile for spreading terrifying propaganda.” Once again the issues have been gathered together into a single trade paperback, available now from Simon & Schuster.

Image c. 2023 Source Point Press

Dragon Crafts

Jan 1st, 2023
by rodney.
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Happy New Year! Before we get too far away from 2022, we want to let you know about some cool things we found at Midwest FurFest last month. Among them was an artist who goes by the name of Straya Obscura. They specialize in dragons, all sorts of colors, all sorts of media: Standees, custom pins, prints, and so forth. But more recently they’ve branched out into a new and rather unique form of craft: Ita bags and “wing wallets”. It’s all part of the Dragon Companion series. Visit their web site to find out more, but be prepared to spend some time there — they have a lot of different designs!

image c. 2022 by Straya Obscura

Bear With Him

Dec 30th, 2022
by rodney.
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This is a bit complex, so we’ll let Animation World Network explain it: “Nickelodeon has released a handful of first look images for Bossy Bear, the new animated preschool series from husband-and-wife team David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim (UglyDolls, Tea Time Cats), based on the Korean / U.S. pop culture blend book series by Horvath. The series follows the misadventures of unlikely besties Bossy Bear (an overly enthusiastic extrovert) and Turtle (a thoughtful introvert) in their Koreatown-inspired city of Pleasantburg.” Look for the show on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. in 2023. [And have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve!]

image c. 2022 Nickelodeon

Multi-Species Messaging

Dec 28th, 2022
by rodney.
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Somehow we missed The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse when it was an illustrated book sensation three years ago. But now it’s been made into a new 2D-animated film, directed by the book’s author Charlie Mackesy with the help of animator Peter Baynton (The Tiger Who Came To Tea). “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse features traditional hand-drawn animation to tell a heartwarming tale of the unlikely friendship between the title characters as they journey in search of the boy’s home. Yet, as simple as the story is, the film, like the book, contains deep and profound insights into the things that matter most in life, offering a sorely needed message of hope in a troubled time.” Animation World Network has a detailed article about the film, which premiered on Apple TV+ at Christmas. Interesting to note: Idris Elba, Chief Bogo himself, voices the Fox.

image c. 2022 Apple Original Films

Beasts From A Master

Dec 24th, 2022
by rodney.
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We’ll admit it: We don’t recall this artist. But maybe we should learn more! And now we can, thanks to The Sergio Toppi Gallery: Bestiary. “This collection of artwork from European comics master Sergio Toppi focuses on illustrations of beasts both real and imaginary, presented in Toppi’s inimitable pen-and-ink style. Sergio Toppi’s work has been hailed as an influence by such artistic masters as Sean Gordon Murphy and Walter Simonson.” Magnetic Press has preview pages for this hardcover edition. [And with that, we wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Blessed Solstice Season!]

image c. 2022 Magnetic Press

A School for Dragons?

Dec 18th, 2022
by rodney.
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At a recent convention we met self-published fantasy author Amy Wolf. We’ll let her describe A School For Dragons, the first book in her Cavernis series: “Mattie Sharp was never special–except when it came to getting in trouble. Then, she was exceptional. So when she falls into a portal and winds up in dragon-filled Cavernis, imagine her surprise when she discovers she’s the heir to a magical prophesy and must train to be the hero she never thought she could be. Though Mattie has always been a top student, studying at a school for dragons puts even her to the test! Join Mattie and her crew of new friends as they learn not just how to survive in the world of dragons, but to save it as well.” Ms. Wolf has many other fantasy titles for sale as well, and not all of them feature talking dragons. But some of them sure do!

image c. 2022 Lone Wolf Press

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