More recent news from Animation World Network: “King Features Syndicate announced development of a new animated film inspired by interactive children’s comic strip, Slylock Fox… The film will follow the Sherlock-Holmes-esque detective Slylock Fox and his devoted sidekick, Max Mouse, as they match wits against a cast of eccentric villains. Evan Daugherty, writer of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Divergent, and Snow White and the Huntsman, has signed on to write and produce the film, with art direction provided by Chromosphere design and animation studio… The popular interactive comic strip Slylock Fox teaches young readers about interesting topics, encouraging them to use facts, logic, attention to visual detail, lateral thinking, and other cognitive thinking skills to solve fun, puzzling mysteries.” You may recall that King Features recently gave us The Cuphead Show!, which has been streaming on Netflix.
Mystery
Detective Dog
More from this year’s WonderCon! Lori Weiner works with a variety of animal rescue organizations. In her spare time, she’s a novelist who has created the series Dino Vicelli: Private Eye, featuring a sleuth-y greyhound. “Dino Vicelli is a world-famous detective dog who has successfully nosed and snooped his way to the top. A resident of the Barkingham Pet Hotel California, he lives in the executive luxury suite and, as a private detective, snoops on all the other dogs during the day.” Find out more at the official web site, and check out Dino Vicelli: Private Eye in a World of Evils at Barnes & Noble.
Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Getting ahead of the curve with a new fantasy/horror/mystery novel coming later this year from writer Tim Susman: Unfinished Business. “Private Investigator Jae Kim doesn’t have a werewolf problem – at least not as long as he can keep clear of his ex-boyfriend Czoltan. But when a suspicious police report hits the streets of Wolftown, Jae suddenly finds himself hunted on the streets he used to freely roam. Dodging bullets from Wolftown vigilantes, he’s stuck hiding out with Czoltan while he and his were-bear ghost Sergei search out whoever set him up – and his life isn’t the only one at stake.” Look for it this July from Argyll.
Those Meddling Ducks
A very new take on some very familiar Disney characters comes to us in Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula, a new hardcover graphic novel from Amulet Books. “Huey, Dewey, and Louie — the world-famous nephews of Donald Duck — are off on a globetrotting adventure! When the boys are suddenly (and confusingly) selected for a prestigious exchange program, they head off to Germany, where they learn about soccer, the local culture… and a spooky plot plaguing their new friends. What’s all this about a haunting?” Written by Tommy Greenwald and illustrated by Elisa Ferrari, Duckscares is available now. There’s also a review over at Comic Book Resources too.
Yip Yip, Yip Yip, Yip Yip Yip
It’s nice to see James Kochalka back around — though perhaps in a bit less of an adult vein than the last time we heard from him! Banana Fox #1: The Secret Sour Society is a new full-color graphic novel from Scholastic: “The great detective Banana Fox is called back to duty to find a missing turtle. But the deeper he digs, the more he discovers, and it’s worse than he thought! The Secret Sour Society is back, and they’re mixing up a bunch of trouble. Can Banana Fox and his sidekick, Flashlight, put an end to the Secret Sour Society once and for all?” Find out in hardcover or paperback.
Free from the Zoo to You
If you haven’t heard yet: Free Comic Book Day is on this year — but in a different way. Now it’s Free Comic Book Summer, where the samplers will be passed out in batches over several weeks, rather than all at once, as a way to prevent crowding at comic book stores. And here’s one we found right off the bat… Brett Bean is an illustrator and character designer who is a “frequent face” at comic book convention artist alleys. Well now he’s come out with his own series of full-color graphic novels called Zoo Patrol Squad. “The lion has gone missing? The king cobra has vanished? Sounds like a job for the Zoo Patrol Squad! Timid Fennlock Fox and outgoing Penny the Pig team up for their first adventure as they look for clues to track down the missing animals in their usually peaceful zoo.” The free Zoo Patrol Squad sampler is available now at a comic shop near you (wear a mask and visit safely!) and the first graphic novel in the series, Kingdom Caper, is available for order on line. Oh, and visit Brett’s web site to see more of what he’s worked on too.
The Good Guy Wears The Mask
Hey, look what we found on Twitter: A new “pixel art” game developed by EggNut and available on Steam. “Backbone: Prologue is the first act of a noir role-playing detective adventure. You are raccoon private eye Howard Lotor, a second-class citizen of a dystopian Vancouver, BC inhabited by animals. Interrogate a diverse cast of characters, collect evidence, and choose which leads to follow.” There’s a better trailer up on YouTube as well.
Murder Most Fluffy
Dunno how we missed this one, but… here’s more dark, distressing oddness from Source Point Press. “Torsobear: Yarns From Toyburg is a collection of 12 grisly crime yarns, written in the style of old film noir and set in a world of toys. In the fluffy-noir world of Toyburg, some toys just don’t play nice… Dismembered teddy bears are being found in the back alleys of this sweet city. It’s up to our hero, rookie detective Ruxby Bear, and his partner, Officer Hazbrow to solve the string of murders, no matter how high and far the clues take them.” No description of who wrote or drew it, but they’re up to Volume 3 of this trade paperback series.