New from Cat-Head Comics: “Bughouse is cartoonist Steve Lafler’s graphic novel about the life of a jazz band of the same name, set in an ‘insect noir’ Manhattan of the early fifties. Tenor saxophone maestro, Jimmy Watts, leads his talented band of bugs from the swing era into the uncharted maelstrom of Bop. And as he and his band mates claw their way to the top of the jazz world, they must fight the temptation to be consumed by addiction to a substance known as ‘bug juice’.” Now the man himself has released From The Top: The Complete Bughouse, available hardcover and softcover editions.
Insects
Adventures Microscopic
Or at least on a very small scale! Another full-color graphic novel for young readers: Bug Boys, created by Laura Knetzger. “Join two bug friends as they learn about the science of the world around them and the meaning of friendship in this early graphic novel series perfect for fans of Narwhal and Jelly! Rhino-B is a brash, but sweet guy. Stag-B is a calm and scholarly adventurer. Together these two young beetles make up the Bug Boys, best friends who spend their time exploring the world of Bug Village and beyond, as well as their own – sometimes confusing and complicated – thoughts and feelings.” It’s available now in hardcover from Penguin Random House.
Black Bug Singing in the Dead of Night…
Netflix have recently announced a new CGI animated series, Beat Bugs. Premiering this summer, it’s bug-size stories set to the music of The Beatles. Yes. According to Animation World Network: “Beat Bugs features original characters and a world created by Josh Wakely, who will direct, write and produce the series… Beat Bugs incorporates songs from the Lennon/McCartney ‘Northern Songs’ catalogue, to tell uplifting and life-affirming stories filled with hope and melody. World-leading artists, animators and writers have come together to work on this extraordinary show. The Beat Bugs are charming, funny, adventurous, and have a knack for getting themselves into mischief and mayhem. Each of the five friends (Jay, Kumi, Crick, Buzz, and Walter) has a distinctive personality, and they display the charm and energy of five knockabout, lovable kids. They are best friends who band together to explore and learn in an overgrown suburban backyard, which to them is their entire universe.” The article also has a teaser trailer for the show.
Join the Colony
Making its premier at WonderCon this year (in Anaheim, California, of course!) was Termites, a new animated film concept by Matthew G. Hill, Barrett Kime, Tighe Damron, Melanie Makaiwi, and Tom Wentworth. The crew have started up a Kickstarter campaign to finance their project. Simply put: What would happen if a colony of termites in a fancy home got wind (sorry, sorry…) that the house is about to be fumigated? “Through the eyes of young Termite hero, Larkin, we dive into both the fascinating narrative world (4 arms, anybody?), the exquisite landscape of artistic possibility, and the raw emotion of a tragic, yet inspiring story”. The campaign is running on Kickstarter until May 17th.