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Science Fiction

When Logos Come To Life

Here’s what they say: “For five years, readers have looked at the Action Lab Entertainment logo and wondered, “Who is that dog with the jet pack?” Wonder no more! The story you never thought would be told is now an ongoing monthly title as Action Lab: Dog of Wonder comes to comic book shelves everywhere! With art by the Princeless: Raven, The Pirate Princess team of Rosy Higgins and Ted Brandt and a story by Stray co-creator Vito Delsante and newcomer Scott Fogg, this is the title for young and old alike!” We see the pitch now: “It’s a dog! With a jet pack!” See the variant covers and several sample pages over at First Comics News.

image c. 2016 Action Lab

image c. 2016 Action Lab

Thank You, Masked… Man?

In case you haven’t been keeping up with Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy (as in the comics) lately… Last year Peter Quill gave up his duties as Star Lord to become the Emperor of Spartax. Leaving the Guardians in the paws of… none other than fan favorite furry, Rocket Raccoon! So Rocket assembled a team that included not only his old buddy Groot and his new-buddy Drax but also (among others) Kitty Pryde of the X-Men and none other than Ben Grimm, the Thing from Fantastic 4! Just in time too, as dangerous new threats have swung into this part of the galaxy… and some old friends may not be trustworthy.  Big shock. Now Marvel Comics has assembled Volume 1 (i.e. issues 1 thru 5) of Guardians of the Galaxy: New Order into a full-color hardcover collection, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Valerio Schiti. Take a look over at Goodreads.

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

Different, But They Want To Fit In

This one slipped on by us, but if you’re a Furry Fan you’re going to notice a description that goes like this: “8House # 6: Mirror: Part 1… explores the concept of humanity — specifically, how one attains such a distinction. The Mirror story arc follows a terrorist talking dog, an idealist mage, and a heroic lab rat on their quest for acceptance.” Here’s more from the Image Comics web site: “Mirror is a four-part sci-fi/fantasy story arc connected to the 8House universe and focused on the House of Healers, a noble magical guild based on flesh and body magic. Each issue contains 28 pages of comic narrative: a main story and short epilogues that bring more light to the intrigue, as well as concept art, designs, timeline keys, and glossaries.” It’s written by Emma Rios (Pretty Deadly, Island) and illustrated in full color by Hwei Lim (Lalage, Hero). The first issue in the Mirror arc is out already, and the 4-issue miniseries continues through this spring. There will also be a special Mirror tie-in mini-comic as part of this year’s Free Comic Book Day event in May.

image c. 2016 Image Comics

image c. 2016 Image Comics

Flights into Fantasy

Margaret Trauth is an illustrator (and dancer, of all things!) with a stark, often line-less style that relies heavily on color. (This is not at all a bad thing.) At her web site (“Egypt Urnash”) you’ll find not only examples of her illustrations (on prints, t-shirts, and other such goodies) but also full-color comics that she has worked on, including the adults-only title Five Glasses of Absinthe. Some of this is adults-only, some of it is not, but all of it is quite fanciful.

image c. 2016 by Margaret Trauth

image c. 2016 by Margaret Trauth

He Speaks with the Trees

After becoming that much more well-known the world over (thanks to a certain hit live-action movie, we hear), both Rocket Raccoon and Groot (the talking tree) found time to star in their own full-color comic book series from Marvel. What fans wanted though, of course, was for them to team up again and bring more of their own special brand of mayhem to the galaxy. Wishes granted! Now Skottie Young (writer) and Filipe Andrade (illustrator) have returned with a brand new series called (what else?) Rocket Raccoon and Groot.  And this time, Rocket is… an interplanetary crime boss? Say it isn’t so! See what they DO say over at the Marvel Comics web site, where they interview Mr. Young for his perspective on this. [And with that, we’ll see you after Further Confusion!]

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

image c. 2016 Marvel Comics

Not Crazy, Just Proud

Most nerdy people out there (you know who you are!) who are also fans of music are familiar with the works of Jonathan Coulton. Well now after a successful Kickstarter campaign, several of Mr. Coulton’s most famous songs have been mashed together into a brand new full-color comic book series, Code Monkey Save World — written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa. “A put-upon coding monkey teams up with a seething, lovelorn super-villain to fight robots, office worker zombies, and maybe even each other as they struggle to impress the amazing women for whom they fruitlessly long.” It’s available now and you can find out more over at Monkey Brain Comics.

image c. 2016 Pak Man Productions

image c. 2016 Pak Man Productions

Humans are a Distant Memory…

Published at the tail-end (ha ha ha) of 2015 we have Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, the first book in a new series by Lawrence M. Schoen. Here’s the official description from the publishers, Tom Doherty Associates: “In a distant future, no remnants of human beings remain, but their successors thrive throughout the galaxy. These are the offspring of humanity’s genius: Animals uplifted into walking, talking, sentient beings. The Fant are one such species, anthropomorphic elephants ostracized by other races, and long ago exiled to the rainy ghetto world of Barsk. There, they develop medicines upon which all species now depend. The most coveted of these drugs is koph, which allows a small number of users to interact with the recently deceased and learn their secrets. Surrounded by danger, a Fant historian is ensnared by the past, and a physically challenged child sees the future. Between them are truths that will shake worlds.” It’s available now in hardcover at Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

image c. 2016 Tom Doherty Associates

In Space, No One Can Hear You Clean

Look, we just plain stole the under-title of this book … why?  Because we can’t top it! From Titan Books and well-known SoCal artist Joey Spiotto comes Alien Next Door, “the first official Alien cartoon book!”. Here’s what they say: “See a new, caring side to the legendary science fiction monster as he tends to Jonesy the cat, endeavours to keep his house cleaner than the Nostromo, and searches for his place on a cold, new, alien world: Earth. From facehuggers to feather dusters, discover how the perfect killing machine relaxes after a day of scaring space marines.”. It’s available now in paperback.

image c. 2015 Titan Books

image c. 2015 Titan Books

Dog Biscuits and Circuses

Unnaturals: The Battle Begins is the first book in a new science fiction series by Devon Hughes. This Amazon review from School Library Journal sums it up pretty well: “Lion’s Head is the setting of this dystopian novel in which the rich live sequestered behind thick glass up in the sky away from the poisonous environ- ment down below. The poor live in squalor in the Drain and make do with the synthetic food that is available. Mayor Eva Eris keeps the denizens entertained with her Mega Monsters Mash Up, a reality show where mutant animals face off against each other in the arena. The reining champ is the Invincible, a hybrid tiger-scorpion who is true to his name. Castor, a German shepherd stray, becomes an unwilling member of Team Scratch after he is kidnapped by humans and redesigned with eagle wings and a new name, The Underdog. Castor had been content living with his dog pack and dreaming of the Greenplains, a natural wonderland. He does not want to become the killing monster his human handlers expect. With the help of a Chihuahua-spider mentor named Pookie, Castor looks to his inner strength to survive his ordeal and to win out against the machine that put him in this predicament.” It’s available in paperback from Harper Collins.

image c. 2015 Harper Collins

image c. 2015 Harper Collins