Another artist we ran into at WonderCon: Denae Frazier. She does fine art and pin-ups on many subjects both fannish and “mundane”, but what really caught our eye right off the bat was her affinity for both Disney’s Stitch (of Lilo & Stitch) and Dreamworks’ Toothless (of How to Train Your Dragon)… individually, and together! (Has she met Chris Sanders? Probably!) In fact she’s complete so many pictures of those two together that she created a calendar for 2020 featuring those prints. Check out her web site to see those and more.
Fantasy
The Man With Patience
You may recall about three years ago when we introduced you to Charles Thurston and his hand-made books for young kids, introducing them to various nerdy topics and story settings. Well we ran into Mr. Thurston at WonderCon and discovered his latest project: Detailed artwork created entirely with hand-cut pieces of paper. A very, very time-consuming way to create — and he does it well. Fortunately for us, many of his works are also available in less-fragile print versions. Visit his web site to see what we mean.
The Dragon Century
Katelyn McCaigue is an artist and illustrator we met at WonderCon last week. She describes herself as a “monster and character artist”, and a look at her web site seems to back that up. Recently, she’s been working on a project to illustrate 100 different dragons based on ideas submitted to her by her fans and subscribers. She’s still got a ways to go but she’s intent on finishing! Many of her current monster designs are also available as prints.
Witch’s Cat, Off On His Own
Something we recently discovered: The Freelance Familiars series of fantasy novels by Daniel Potter. Here, check out this summary of the first book, Off Leash: “When Thomas Khatt awakens to the magical world following the sudden, violent death of his elderly Archmagus neighbor, he doesn’t get the standard package of awesome power combined with a hero destiny. Nope, he trades his thumbs in for a tail, tawny fur and four feet with a very low co-efficient of friction on linoleum. His destiny as one of three talking mountain lions in the magical world? To be sold at auction and bonded to some pimply faced apprentice for life. Thomas would rather eat dirty kitty litter. Armed only with an impressive set of chompers and buckets of snark, Thomas faces off against a lightning-bolt throwing granny and a sexy union recruiter as he desperately tries hold the threads of his old life together. To stay off the leash he’ll have to take advantage of the chaos caused by the Archmagus’ death and help the local Inquisition solve his murder. A pyromanic squirrel, religious werewolves, and cat-hating cops all add to the chaos as Thomas attempts to become the first Freelance Familiar.” Mr. Potter has already finished two more books in the series, Marking Territory and High Steaks, with a fourth on the way, Rudy and the Warren Warriors. Want more? He also has a separate fantasy series about air pirates fighting dragons. Yes. Needless to say, you should visit his web site!
The Girl, the Monster, and pickles
Another new project we found out about thanks to Animation World Network: “Jessy and Nessy is a 40 x 11’ mixed-media preschool series about Jessy, an innately curious little girl and her best friend, Nessy, a five-and-a-half-thousand year old sea monster, with a penchant for pickles… At the heart of the show is Jessy; an inquisitive, fun loving, spectacle wearing six-year-old, who happens to see the world a little differently through her magical glasses, or as Jessy calls them — her ‘Inspectacles’. They allow Jessy to see and talk to all types of animated characters, including Nessy, who lives in a fountain in Cara Park opposite Jessy’s apartment building. Together this unlikely duo explore life’s curiosities like why birds fly south, why things don’t fall up instead of down and even why some people snore? Jessy and Nessy reveal how all these seemingly everyday curiosities have fantastical answers — leading the home viewer to explore their own curiosities and to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.” Look for the new show later this year on Amazon Prime Video.
But the Little Dolls Understand
Somehow we missed this last year: Plush, a new full-color comic miniseries from Antarctic Press, written and illustrated by Holly Daughtrey. “Carrie, a crafty plushie maker and artist has lost a great deal in her life, but she’s coping with the help of her late mother’s gift: A special cat plush that suddenly comes to life one night to help. Yet not everything seems right. Is this truly magic? Or is it all in her head?” Check out the preview pages over at Antarctic.
The Tiger and the Tale
[You know what? Lingering colds really really suck…] Buried in a recent article at Animation Magazine’s web site about some upcoming films (all of them furry, to some extent!) was this little tidbit: “Meanwhile, Paramount has confirmed that The Tiger’s Apprentice, an animated adaptation of Laurence Yep’s young adult fantasy trilogy series, will be released on February 11, 2022. The story centers on a young San Francisco boy who meets a mysterious talking tiger called Mr. Hu and realizes that he’s the appointed guardian who can protect everyone from an evil ancient phoenix. The screenplay has been adapted by David Magee (Life of Pi). The studio hasn’t announced a director or voice cast for the project. Feb. 11, 2022 sounds like a good spot for the animated pic as no other movie has been announced for that time period.” Really now? Hmm, let’s see… 2022 would be six years after the release of Zootopia. The same amount of time it took Disney Animation to make and release Frozen 2. Just saying…
My LITTLER Pony
As part of their 20th anniversary celebration, IDW Publishing are presenting a special collection of one-shot larger issues called the 20/20 series. And right there among them is My Little Pony: IDW 20/20. “Ponyville’s most courageous and magical ponies celebrate friendship and fun in this adventure set twenty years in the past! Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of your favorite pony friends are young fillies—surely things can’t get too crazy, right?! One thing’s for sure: no matter what escapades they face, the magic of friendship will see them through!” It’s written by Ted Anderson, with art by Tony Kuusisto and Heather Breckel. IDW has a preview too.