Younger fur fans might not remember What’s Michael? the manga or the successful anime series that followed it — but over the years we’ve talked a LOT about Makoto Kobayashi’s creation: A somewhat lazy pet cat with a very active imagination. Well now the original manga return in a new black & white collection from Dark Horse Press. “True-to-life daily cat scenarios and off-the-wall crazy feline fantasies combine in this epic manga collection! Makoto Kobayashi’s hilarious series returns in a set of oversized collections, starting with our first Fatcat Collection!” Volume 1 is available now — and at more than 500 pages, even the book is fat!
Trade Paperback
The Witch and the Wolf
More unusual relationships, but now there’s magic in the mix in Mooncakes, a new full-color graphic novel. “Nova Huang is still young, but she’s one of the most powerful witches in New England. She spends her days working in her grandmothers’ spell book shop and her nights hunting down the supernatural. Tam Lang, a genderqueer werewolf, was Nova’s childhood crush. Tam has been wandering from place to place for years until the one fateful night they find themselves back in their hometown… battling a giant horse demon in the woods. Tam turns to Nova for help, and their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.” Written by Suzanne Walker and illustrated by Wendy Xu, Mooncakes is available now from Lion Forge.
I Like Him, But…
Okay, so how about monkey and cat this time? That’s the idea of The Lonesome Era, Jon Allen’s new black & white graphic novel from Iron Circus. “Camden is a cat. Camden is also crushing hard on his best buddy and all-around terrible influence, Jeremiah. Young, bored, and trapped in their slowly decomposing Rust Belt town, Camden tamps down his burgeoning feelings for the local ne’er-do-well and allows himself to be dragged along with every awful idea, every hair-brained plan, and every threat to life and limb Jeremiah can come up with. As the dangers of Camden’s risk-taking mount, an even more terrifying confrontation with who he is and what he truly wants looms ever closer. How much longer can this go on?” You’ll find out! Check out this extensive preview too.
“Were” to Find Them
It’s a bit late for Halloween-y stuff, we know… but maybe we’re just getting the jump (pounce?) on next October! Fab Press have brought us The Frightfest Guide to Werewolf Movies. “The crimson eyes of the werewolf have stalked us across the centuries. We are now most familiar with the wolfman courtesy of Hollywood. Over the past century, a diverse pack of lycanthropes has manifested on the silver screen – in big-bucks blockbusters and zero-budget B-movies – each revealing a little more of the nature of the beast. Within these colorful pages we encounter reluctant wolfmen and shape-shifting sadists, big bad fairy tale wolves and lycanthropic nymphomaniacs. Our guide is acclaimed author, broadcaster, occult historian – and lifelong werewolf obsessive – Gavin Baddeley. By finding fresh perspectives on established classics, uncovering neglected gems, and even examining a few howlers among the definitive selection of werewolf movies reviewed, Baddeley shows how the myth has adapted and transformed: Whereby werewolves become analogies for alcoholism or adolescence, or ciphers for sexual awakening or serial murder. Providing our foreword is the award-winning director, writer and producer Neil Marshall, whose brilliant debut feature Dog Soldiers reinvigorated the werewolf movie for the 21st Century.” The book is available now in trade paperback.
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.
And Now: Beagles In SPACE!
Boom! Studios brings us an interesting take on characters from the late Charles M. Schulz. “In Snoopy: A Beagle of Mars, Snoopy, the world-famous astronaut, heads to the stars in his most out-of-this-world adventure yet! What mysteries does the red planet hold? Will he find water? Will he find life? Will he find the time to get in a quick nine holes? Snoopy grabs his golf clubs and blasts off for Mars in this original graphic novel from the world of Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts!” This full-color graphic novel is written by Jason Cooper and illustrated by Robert Pope. Take a look over at their web site to learn more.
You’ve Heard Of Them Before
Of late IDW have become the new home for any number of well-known comic book properties, furry and otherwise. And this includes our old buddies the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Well now IDW have offered up a little bit of when the Turtles were housed at another publisher — and had some rather popular adventures. Look for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Urban Legends, Volume 1. “This is it, fans! You demanded it—the entire Image Comics TMNT run (a.k.a. TMNT Volume 3) reproduced for the first time ever in full, four-color glory! Join creators Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco as they take the Heroes in a Half-Shell on some of their most amazing, dangerous, and bizarre adventures ever… culminating in three brand-new issues by Carlson and Fosco to properly close out this long-beloved storyline at last!” Check it out over at IDW’s web site.
And Yes, He Eats Hot Dogs
Since his appearance in the multiple-award-winning film Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse, Spider Ham (aka Peter Porker) has been gaining in popularity again. Now you can get a big heapin’ helping of the web-pig a new trade paperback from Marvel — Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider Ham: The Complete Collection Volume 1. “Go whole hog with the Spectacular Spider-Ham’s animal antics! What started as a porcine parody one-shot soon became a hilarious ongoing series full of anthropomorphized adventurers! Peter Porker is a photographer for J. Jonah Jackal’s Daily Beagle — but when danger strikes, he fights crime alongside hirsute heroes such as Hulk Bunny, Captain Americat and the Fantastic Fur! Can Spider-Ham triumph over fearsome foes like Ducktor Doom, Bull-Frog, the King-Pig and the Bee-yonder — while keeping the young Beagle Brigadiers out of trouble and still managing to bring home the bacon? Plus: Thrr, Dog of Thunder stars in “Tails of Arfgard”! Here comes Deerdevil, Mammal Without Fear! Nick Furry, Agent of S.H.E.E.P.! Goose Rider! The invincible Iron Mouse! Croak and Badger! The astonishing Ant-Ant! And more zoological puns!” You heard ’em here. Check it out over at Comixology. [And of course, we wish you a Merry Christmas!]
Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone…?
Bags (or a story thereof) is a new full color graphic novel from Boom! Studios. We’ll let them tell you about it: “This is the tale of John Motts. He is a man who had a dog, but now that dog is gone. John searches his house, his street, and his town, but the dog is nowhere to be found. John soon realizes that he must travel further, past the road and into the trees if he’s ever to find out the truth of what happened to his dog. BAGS (or a story thereof) is a journey of love and suspense as John Motts searches through the world he knows, and a world he doesn’t, weaved together beautifully by Pat McHale, creator of the Emmy Award-winning Cartoon Network series, Over The Garden Wall, and Gavin Fullerton (Disney’s Space Chickens in Space).” Look for it now — and check out the free preview over at Boom! as well.