We’re sorry we didn’t hear about Rudek and the Bear before — but now creator Peter Donahue has a Kickstarter campaign running to get the second collection volume out, and it looks very interesting. “Rudek and the Bear is a webcomic featuring anthropomorphic soldiers and smugglers and their shenanigans along the Polish-Soviet border in 1929… Since Volume I came out, the story and characters have evolved so much. Rudek the fox faces his PTSD from the Polish-Ukrainian War; Masha the bear grapples with the moral consequences of smuggling stolen goods; and Malutki (the big bear) chooses which side he’s on.” The campaign has already reached its initial goal, so stay tuned to find out what stretches get added between now and the finish.
on-line comics
… And the Shenanigans of a Cat
Oni Press are bringing a popular on-line comic to dead trees with the release of the Frankie Comics hardcover collection by Rachel Dukes. “When they discover a kitten asleep in their doorway, real-life artist couple Rachel and Mike immediately fall prey to her charms. Soon, the new queen of their home is a blue point Siamese cat named Frankie. Stealing snacks, making mischief, and taking snuggling very seriously, Frankie proves, again and again, the wholesome joys of a feline companion.” As with many things at the moment, the release has been pushed back — in this case to October 21st, but you can pre-order it now.
Funding A Fuzzy
Creator Charles Brubaker let us know about their current Kickstarter campaign for The Fuzzy Princess Volume 2, the second collection of strips from this popular web comic. “The Fuzzy Princess centers on Katrina, the adventurous feline princess of St. Paws, watched over by Chiro (a batty bat) and Kuma (whose love for haiku is only matched by his love of eating). Now they’ve been stranded in our world! Can Kat’s new human friend Jackson help them survive? Will Jackson be able to survive his new friends? Continuing off from where the first book left off, join Princess Kat on a voyage of self-discovery in this sec, as she explores her new talents such as: Urban exploration! Crimefighting! Attempting to make Christmas dinner! Surviving a surprise visit! Babysitting! Witches! And enduring Kuma’s slam poetry!” What more do you need to know? The campaign is running now through the beginning of March.
Proudly… a dog!
Happy Pride Month! Gab Shiba is a humorous slice-of-life on-line comic (decidedly Adults Only at times, but not always) that we came across at BLFC this year. It’s written by Cross and illustrated in a manga-style by Zurdo. On their web site, they say this: “It’s a furry openly gay webcomic that tells the story of 3 dogs and their friends, being GAB (The Protagonist), a cute shiba inu, lover of hot guys and sweet moments; and his roomies, WANG, a geek Chow Chow who is a programmer; and BAU, a Husky very musky. They live in the big city, where we show their misadventures and weird experiences, where we all can relate.” Interestingly, the comic is mostly dialogue-free, so it’s readable most anywhere in the world. They have tie-in merchandise they’ve been selling at conventions, and their on-line store is set to open soon.
There’s Something Strange Going On ‘Round Here…
Recently we discovered Crossroads, an urban fantasy comic series brought to you by Crossroads Comix — a collection of creative folks from San Jose State University in California. To hear them tell it, “This multimedia series takes place in the sleepy Pacific Northwest beach town of Crossroads. A washed-up college graduate named Como is at an impasse in his life, but his life is turned upside down as a series of unusual events start to follow him and his friends everywhere they go. Como and his friend Nina set out to find out what is really going on in Crossroads.” Multimedia means there’s an on-line comic, as well as upcoming animation and music videos. There’s even a trade paperback called The Art of Crossroads available. Visit their Tumblr site to find out more.
Gold Is In Them Hills
One thing we like about visiting conventions is coming across “how did we miss this?” items. For instance: At BLFC we stumbled across The Tale of Jasper Gold, a black & white on-line comic written and illustrated by Jamil Gonzalez. “When settled rancher Jasper Gold’s bounty-hunting past catches up to him, Jasper must take up his gun once again to track down a gang of criminals as he searches for his lost daughter. The Tale of Jasper Gold is a tale of dastardly villains, gun-toting bounty hunters, and courageous heroes of the West.” Last year, Volume 1 of the Jasper Gold story arc was collected in a trade paperback graphic novel by Jarlidium Press. It’s available now from Rabbit Valley. [In other bunny news: If you didn’t hear, the Rabbit Valley crew are retiring from their appearances at furry conventions. Soon they’ll be moving to on-line sales only. We’ll miss you folks in our travels!]
Purple Puss Was Taken
Back from BABS-Con in Northern California, and of course we have lots to talk about. But first — we’re still working our way through WonderCon! There we met Kristian Horn, the creator, writer, and artist behind Periwinkle Puss — an on-line funny animal superhero comic. “The Periwinkle Puss is the principled purveyor of justice in his metropolis. With powerful pride he protects the poor and downtrodden from the parade of criminals that attempt to paint his city with their deeds of paltry nefariousness!” Kristian put out a full-color mini-comic at the convention to guide kitty and superhero fans to his web site. Worked here!
They’re Bad. Very Bad.
Recently we visited the Long Beach Comic Expo, and came across things like Devil’s Henchmen, “A comic about animals that misbehave”. And how! From the web site: “Welcome to The Devil’s Henchmen official site, a comic about a motley crew of dysfunctional bandits and their many misadventures. This comic is drawn and written by John Will Balsley” Sounds straightforward enough, but things get a lot weirder when you start to read it! The site includes not only the on-line comic itself but tons of background material and art.
In a Great Big Monster’s Garden… in the Shade
The artist known as AshG is an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy, often deployed on ships at sea. But somehow she still finds the time and energy to create Monster’s Garden, a full-color on-line comic. It tells the story of Kilo Monster, a championship fighter (and reptile) who is thrown out of his homeland. Now he lives his life for the protection of his friends (human and otherwise) and the peace of his home garden. The official web site includes a link to AshG’s Society6 store of art prints and other items.