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Graphic Novel

Familiar Sources

Okay, there’s no getting around it: The new Guardians of Horsa graphic novel series feels like My Little Pony meets Pixar’s Elemental. But see what you think: “Welcome to the realm of Horsa, a world of magic, wild horses, and danger. The four elemental herds of Horsa live in uncertain peace, which is to say: stay out of each other’s way and all will be fine. But when signs of a mysterious prophecy about a yearling with untold magical powers appear, four young horses from each herd are called to action. Now these elemental enemies must work together to solve the prophecy, find the yearling, and restore balance to Horsa.” Multiple volumes are available now in trade paperback, written by Roan Black and illustrated by the Glass House Graphics team.

image c. 2024 Little Simon

It’s a Dream Job

One of those projects that’s not really furry per se, but it sure seems to have a lot of non-human characters in it! Hotel REM is a new full-color all-ages graphic novel, written by Zack Keller, with art by Gabriele Bagnoli and Valerio Alloro. “Rembrandt Somner is the happy-go-lucky new owner of Hotel REM, a place for all the fantastic people and creatures in our dreams to hang out when we wake up. Channeling his endless enthusiasm, Rem attempts to balance his unwieldy coworkers and wild guests in order to run a successful business that makes his parents proud. However, a demanding celebrity guest threatens to be the rude awakening that ruins everything!” The preview is up over at Dark Horse Comics.

image c. 2024 Dark Horse Comics

It’s Scaaaaaary In There!

People are saying some good things about Skull Cat and the Curious Castle, the debut graphic novel by Norman Shurtliff. “Even though the castle is an eerie place, full of dark secrets, Scully the cat is excited to start his new job and prove himself to be a great gardener. But wait a minute… what happened to all his co-workers? Were they devoured by bloodthirsty vampires? Spooked by a love-struck ghost? Pranked by a comic-reading goblin? Enchanted by a sleepy sorcerer? Will Scully have to become the hero and uncover the truth behind Le Dark Chateau? He never signed up for this!!” You can see what happens to him now, full-color, in trade paperback from Top Shelf Productions.

image c. 2024 Top Shelf Productions

Little Fox Went Out…

An interesting fantasy graphic novel series we somehow missed before: Fox and Willow, written by Alison Pang and illustrated by Irma Ahmed. “When Jessa, the miller’s daughter, offers simple comforts to Willow and Gideon in return for a bit of work, the runaway princess and her fox spirit companion are more than willing to take Jessa up on it. After all, being on the road has its dangers, and the respite while they search for answers to Gideon’s cursed collar is more than welcome. But when the discovery of a murdered royal and a forsaken ghost comes to light, the two travelers realize they’ve stumbled into something far more sinister.” Volume 1, Came A Harper, and Volume 2, To The Sea, are both still available in hardcover from CEX Publishing.

image c. 2024 CEX Publishing

But He Won’t Do THAT

And so we came across another graphic novel series for young folks, with the interesting title of Weenie, featuring Frank & Beans. The first book is called Mad About Meatloaf, written by Maureen Fergus and illustrated by Alexandra Bye. “Weenie loves his human, Bob. He loves his guinea pig friend, Beans, and his cat friend, Frank. He loves naps, adventures and sharing. In fact, Weenie loves pretty much everything (except the mail carrier). But the thing Weenie loves and desires more than anything else in the world is meatloaf. And he’ll do anything to get it. Join Weenie, Frank, and Beans on a laugh-out-loud meatloaf adventure, complete with a trench coat disguise, a wild meatloaf trap, and even a hungry wolf.” All that and more from Penguin Random House.

image c. 2024 Penguin Random House

And He Doesn’t Even Do Cocaine

Look, we challenge you to top a title like Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance. No? Well here it is, written and illustrated by Kathleen Founds. “Theodore is a bear with wild mood swings. When he is up, he carves epic poetry into tree trunks. When he is down, he paints sad faces on rocks and turtle shells. In search of prescription medications that will bring stability to his life, Theodore finds a job with health insurance benefits. He gets the meds, but when he can’t pay the psychiatrist’s bill, he becomes lost in the Labyrinth of Health Insurance Claims… Entertaining, whimsical, and bitingly satirical, Bipolar Bear is a fable for grownups that manages the delicate balance of addressing society’s ills while simultaneously presenting a hopeful vision for the world.” And it’s available now from Graphic Mundi.

image c. 2024 Graphic Mundi

Don’t You Monkey With The Monkey

Another graphic novel series for young, beginning readers. We came across the Bobo and Pup-Pup series, written by Vikram Madan and illustrated by Nicola Slater. It features two young animals with very different personalities who are still best friends. The first book in the series is called We Love Bubbles. “Did you ever have a friend who likes doing something that you find completely annoying? Well, Bobo and Pup-Pup both love bubbles. Bubbles are the absolute best–on that they can agree! While Pup-Pup loves blowing them, Bobo loves popping them…way too much for Pup-Pup’s taste. It’s getting frustrating! Pup-Pup has a clever idea to stop Bobo from popping them. But, then Bobo gets carried away…literally!” Three more books in the series so far, and more on their way as well.

image c. 2023 Random House

Oys Will Be Oys

So is having a weird furry friend a wonderful thing, or more of an awkward thing? That’s the big question posed by Monster Bar Mitzvah, the new graphic novel written by Josh Anderson and illustrated by Dustin Evans. “In this unusual graphic novel for younger readers, Eli is feeling left out of the family’s preparations for his older brother’s bar mitzvah. He wants to help but can’t seem to do anything right. Then he meets the monster under his bed, and things begin to change . . . but not always for the better. Will Eli be able to get the monster under control in time for the big event, or will there just be more and more chaos? ” Find out now, in hardcover from Behrman House.

image c. 2023 Behrman House

Does He Write Scripts?

Look, sometimes we just can’t explain something — so we simply have to give it to you as we found it. Things like Timothy Dinoman Saves The Cat, written and illustrated by Steve Thueson. “To learn what these suspected supervillains want with outer-space tech, the world’s nicest iguanodon will visit a mountain fortress, a giant blimp, and a diner with excellent pancakes. On the way, he’ll even meet a really cute cat. Grab your rocket boots and your fake mustache — it’s time to crack the case with Timothy!” Find out what’s it’s all about from Lerner.

image c. 2023 Lerner Books