Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
And then there’s Orange Blossom Monkey Clan, a new full-color comic written and illustrated by Erik Klaus (Ninjas & Robots). “These Samurai Monkeys were trained to guard the southern islands of Mount Kumo, but after generations of peace, many have abandoned the Way of the Warrior. Now that danger looms on the horizon, a small crew of counter-culture monkeys are ready to prove that they have kept their battle skills sharp!” Available now from Keenspot.
image c. 2022 Keenspot
For a while we had been hearing about the film The Sea Beast, but we didn’t know much about it other than it has a little girl and a big monster. Turns out that this animated feature is the latest work of writer and director Chris Williams, who previously gave us Moana and Big Hero 6 for Disney. Now with the help of Sony Imageworks he has brought this new film to Netflix, and the results are quite an eyeful! In a world much like our own but different, sailing ships and sailing crews travel the seas to hunt and destroy giant ship-crunching monsters… that is, until one day when an eager young girl stows away on the greatest monster-hunter ship, and things begin to rapidly change. The film is quite notable for the ethnic and sexual diversity of its animated cast. But of course, what furry fans are here to see are the kaiju-like sea monsters, and they do not disappoint. In fact, the young girl (and soon others) quickly learn that the giant monsters humans have been fighting may be far more than they appear to be… Check this one out. It’s currently streaming.
image c. 2022 Netflix
Past The Last Mountain is a new full-color alternate reality series from Comics Experience. It’s written by Paul Allor, with art by Louie Joyce and Gannon Beck. “Half a century ago, the United States rounded up and imprisoned all the fantasy creatures that live amongst us. Now, a faun, a dragon and an adorable troll boy have escaped confinement, and are on the run from the United States Army!” Also featured in each issue are other short stories by the same writer.
image c. 2022 Comics Experience
You may have heard about the upcoming movie adaptation of Bernard Waber‘s bestselling and beloved book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Well now Sony Pictures has dropped the first teaser trailer for the film, directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (both of whom recently worked on Hit Monkey). Turns out that star Javier Bardem does not voice Lyle, the crocodile from New York — that honor goes to singer Shawn Mendes. Bardem instead plays the impresario who is trying to make Lyle into a star — if the big reptile can avoid New York Animal Control, that is. Lyle, Lyle comes to theaters this October.
image c. 2022 Sony Pictures
Some time ago, writer and illustrator Molly Knox Ostertag gave us The Witch Boy, a coming-of-age graphic novel about a young werewolf boy with… different preferences. We’ll tell you all about that one soon. Right now we want to point you at her latest comic work, The Girl From The Sea. “This sweet graphic novel follows Morgan, a 15-year-old girl living on a small island in Canada, who one day meets a mysterious selkie named Keltie. At first, Morgan is annoyed by Keltie, but as they spend more time together, she realizes her feelings may be stronger than she anticipated.” It’s available now in paperback from Scholastic.
image c. 2022 Scholastic
Formerly a Wall Street investor, currently a teacher and storyteller, Mystery Mike McHale has created a new illustrated book for kids, Dino Dogz, with the help of artist Mike Goldstein. “The DinoDogz (half Dogz/half Dinosaurs) are on a Mission to rescue five StegoPup eggs that have been stolen by the evil Dr. D. Stroy (their creator) before the doctor uses them to create an army of DinoDogz to take over the world!!!! Along the way, the Dogz must face off against enemies controlled by the doctor to collect their DinoDNA to transform into their true DinoDogz selves.” The official web site includes the on-line Dino Dogz game. Mystery Mike says there’s a mascot costume on the way too!
image c. 2022 Mystery Mike’s Funhouse
The things we find. Ham-Let: A Shakespearean Mash-Up is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers, brought to us in hardcover by Dark Horse Press. “The eponymous Pig Prince himself returns home from college to find that his uncle Claude betrayed and murdered his father to seize the throne! But this familiar fable veers into the zany and adventurous when Ham-let calls upon his best friend Horatio and a troupe of rowdy, self-centered actors to aid him in halting his uncle’s evil plans.” Ham-Let is written by Jim Burnstein, Garrett Schiff, and Andrew Cosby, with illustrations by Elisa Ferrari. Go check out the preview pages over at the Dark Horse web site.
image c. 2022 Dark Horse Press
[Back from Biggest Little Fur Con, and there’s still more to catch up with…] At the L.A. Times Festival of Books this year we discovered Creative Creature Catcher — an “augmented reality children’s book”, to use the publisher’s phrase for it. “Welcome to the Society of Creative Creature Catchers! Your mission is simple: Find and learn about a variety of fantastical animals who have ended up lost in our world and then it’s your job to send them home to their families! Some hide in the curtains. Others hide under the bed. Don’t worry. They won’t hurt you. They’re scared, and their parents are worried about them.” Sounds like an interesting story, but then it goes further… “But this is just half the story. Creative Creature Catcher isn’t just about reading. It’s about doing. Anyone can read about these unfortunate animals, but Malcolm will teach you how to get personally involved. Grab your Apple or Android device (phone or tablet), and even stubborn readers will want to know more about the shifty Grumbaloo or the quick-footed Eeking Sfifter as 3D characters leap to life with Augmented Reality.” Visit their official web site to see more of what they’re talking about.
image c. 2022 Anomaly Productions
Sorry. The Girl Who Speaks Bear is a recent novel for young readers written by Sophie Anderson. “Discovered in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year-old Yanka dreams of knowing who she really is. Although Yanka is happy at home with her loving foster mother, she feels out of place in the village where the other children mock her for her unusual size and strength. So when Yanka wakes up one morning to find that her legs have become bear legs, she knows she has no choice but to leave her village. She has to find somewhere she truly belongs, so she ventures into the Snow Forest with her pet weasel, Mousetrap, in search of the truth about her past. But deep in the forest there are many dangers, and Yanka discovers that even the most fantastic stories she grew up hearing are true. And just as she draws close to discovering who she really is, something terrifying happens that could trap her in the forest…forever.” Published by Scholastic, it’s available now in hardcover. [And with that, we’ll see you all again after a trip to Biggest Little Fur Con! — ye ed-otter]
