Remember the comic series Franklin and Ghost from last year? Well now from the same universe — and the busy busy mind of writer/creator Garrett Gunn — comes the new one-shot Warcorns: Combat Unicorns For Hire. Now there’s a title you’re gonna notice! Here’s what they say in Previews: “After having successfully evaded two complete dispatches of Retrieval Bots from Defilion, Franklin and Ghost are sent by their female accomplice, Delilah, to retrieve a rare weapon that is instrumental to the destruction of Defilion. Warcorns Special Forces Group Alpha is dispatched, at the behest of General Erich Badguey, to intercept Franklin and Ghost and return them to Defilion dead or alive.” Illustrated by Kevin Stokes and Nicolas Touris, Warcorns should be available at comic book stores and sites any time now.
Fantasy
Meet the Dork — and Friends
So furry fans (and many others) have been going crazy lately creating new art in celebration of Spyro the Dragon — new art of many sorts, of course. Well if they need some more inspiration, they could do a lot worse than The Art of Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, new from Blizzard Entertainment. “In 2018 Toys for Bob Studios thrilled fans worldwide by releasing Spyro™ Reignited™ Trilogy, a faithful remaster encompassing all three titles from the beloved Spyro™ trilogy introduced in 1998. The Art of Spyro™ is a meticulously crafted compendium filled with in-depth behind-the-scenes content, insightful quotes from top illustrators in the industry, anecdotes from the game developers, and a dazzling assortment of incredible concept art, some of which has never been seen by the public. It is a must-have for art lovers, gamers, fans… and the fun-loving adventurer in all of us.” Compiled by writer Micky Neilson (Pearl of Pandaria), The Art of Spyro book is available now in hardcover.
Finally Cracking
After bouncing around and looking for distribution for literally years, we finally have a release date for the new CGI animated feature Animal Crackers, directed by Scott Christian Sava and animation veteran Tony Bancroft (Mulan). The film is being released this Friday, July 24th on Netflix (of course!). Animation Scoop has an extensive interview with the directors about their efforts to get the film made, and out to the world. We’ll say this at least: The new trailer looks better than what we’ve seen before. See what you think this Friday.
Tiger’s On His Way
Just over a year ago we mentioned that Laurence Yep’s popular fantasy novel The Tiger’s Apprentice would be on its way to movie screens in 2022. Well now thanks to AWN we have an update: “Time to brush up on your Chinese Zodiac! Hunky Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas) is set to lend his vocal talents to his first ever voice acting gig as the shape-shifting tiger, Mr. Hu, in Paramount Animation’s feature film adaptation of Laurence Yep’s 2003 best-selling children’s book, The Tiger’s Apprentice. The film marks the feature directing debut for Carlos Baena, a former Pixar animator known for his work on Wall-E and Toy Story 3, as well as his award winning 2019 animated short, La Noria… The Tiger’s Apprentice, book one in a trilogy of the same name, follows Tom, a young boy living in San Francisco. The real world and one of magic collide when Tom meets Mr. Hu, a talking tiger who mentors the child in the art of mystical protection against evil.” No word yet on any changes to the date, so hopefully we can still look forward to it on February 11th, year after next.
Samurai Rabbit in Space?
In the about-damn-time department, word is spreading fast that Stan Sakai’s iconic furry comic Usagi Yojimbo is being adapted into a new animated TV series for Netflix of all places… but, with a twist. Here’s how Comics Beat put it: “Variety reports that Netflix and Gaumont Animation are teaming to create a CGI animated series based on the character. The series will be executive produced by Sakai, titled Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles, along with a handful of others including Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment and James Wan. According to Variety, the series won’t be a straight adaptation of Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo series, but will use the comics as lore for a series set in the far future. The story will follow Rabbit Samurai Yuichi, a descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, and ‘a ragtag team of misfit heroes’ who accompany him on his quest to live up to his ancestor’s legacy.” Stay tooned for more news about a release date.
There Are Worse Ways To Go…
Let’s face it: Furry fans are going to notice a manga with a title like Reborn As A Polar Bear (aka The Legend of How I Became a Forest Guardian). Check out this description: “After devoted mountain climber Kumakichi Kumada falls into a ravine, he wakes up in the middle of a forest in another world… as a polar bear! Now this tough Ursus maritimus is looking after six werewolf sisters on the run from the humans tyrannizing their clan. Keeping his wits about him and using his knowledge from his past life, the next ‘mountain’ for him to climb will be making a comfortable life in the forest for everyone!” It’s written in by Chihiro Mishima, and illustrated in black & white (with some color pages) by Houki Kusano and Kururi. Take a look over at Yen Press.
Eh? Sorry? What Was That?
Dragon Whisperer is a new full-color comic miniseries from Red 5 Comics. “In a world of clockwork and steam, cursed airship captain, Alexander Faulk, endures his centuries-long quest for an end to his torment: A Dragon! His ceaseless pursuit bears scarce reward, that is until Faulk discovers the bridge between the world of man, and the world of monsters. Her name is Rosalinda Eberhardt, and she is the Dragon Whisperer.” Written by Alex Deluca and illustrated Glen Fernandez, issues should be available now as comic stores slowly re-open.
Dragons. And They’re French.
First Second brings us a popular fantasy comic from France, collected now in one hardcover graphic novel. Kairos is written and illustrated by Ulysse Malassagne. “Nills and Anaelle are looking forward to their first night in their rustic cabin in the woods. But the couple’s idyllic vacation is suddenly thrown into turmoil when a strange flash of light bursts from the fireplace. A portal appears, and out of it spill dragon-like creatures that are armed to the teeth. They grab Anaelle and flee back through the portal, leaving a distraught Nills with a sudden decision: Stay behind, or leap through after her? He leaps. And that’s when things get really weird.” This new English translation is available now.
Keep Your Spirits Up!
Oh dear… Is this much cuteness legal? Well, here it is: The Fox & The Little Tanuki, a new black & white manga by Mi Tagawa. “After 300 years, the gods that imprisoned Senzou the Fox Spirit for his arrogance finally set him free. There is only one condition — he can’t have any of his supernatural abilities back until he successfully helps a tanuki cub named Manpachi become one of their magical assistants. Unfortunately for Senzou, there’s no cheating when it comes to completing his task! The magic beads around his neck make sure he can’t wander too far from his charge or shirk his duties, and so… Senzou the once-great Fox Spirit must now figure out how to be an actually-great babysitter to a mischievous little tanuki or risk being stuck without his powers forever!” It’s out there now in paperback from Tokyo Pop.