InFurNation Rotating Header Image

Trade Paperback

Kitsune in kimonos

For a perhaps more traditional furry tale from Japan, look no further than Konohana Kitan. A manga series originally created by Sakuya Amano, it was adapted as a 12-episode anime series in 2017. It follows the adventures of Yuzu, a young “fox-youkai” spirit. Now TokyoPop have collected the original manga together in a new English translation. “Yuzu is a brand new employee at Konohanatei, the hot-springs inn that sits on the crossroads between worlds. A simple, clumsy but charmingly earnest girl, Yuzu must now figure out her new life working alongside all the other fox-spirits who run the inn under one cardinal rule — at Konohanatai, every guest is a god! Konohana Kitan follows Yuzu’s day to day life working at the inn, meeting the other employees and ever-eclectic guests, and learning to appreciate the beauty of the world around her.” Yip!

image c. 2018 TokyoPop

Because She’s A Lady, That’s Why

Okay, something different… How about a Disney kitten as a magical kitty? That’s what we get in Miriya & Marie, a new black & white manga from Maya and TokyoPop. “Even though the wealthy young girl Miriya has almost everything she could ever need, what she really wants is to find her missing parents. But this year, she gets an extra special birthday gift when Marie, a magical white kitten, appears and whisks her away to Paris! Learning the art of magic is one thing, but getting to eat the tastiest French pastries and wear the most beautiful fashion takes Miriya and Marie’s journey to a whole new level!” On the shelves now.

image c. 2018 TokyoPop

A Man About the House

Quite frankly, the publisher explains this better than we ever could! “In this hilarious graphic novel, the roles of cats and humans are reversed, putting humanoid felines in charge of tiny, dimwitted little man-pets. Manfried is a stray taken in by Steve Catson, a slacker with a dead-end job and nonexistent love life. Soon Manfried becomes the Garfield to Steve’s Jon Arbuckle: Lazy, selfish, and sometimes maddening in his weird human behavior. Yet the pair depends on each other to get through life’s troubles. When Manfried runs away, Steve musters his meager resources to find his best man-friend and bring him home safe.” Manfried the Man (written by Caitlin Major and illustrated by Kelly Bastow) is out now.

image c. 2018 Quirk Books

Space and Time, Dog and Cat

Catching up with something we had not heard about before. Kids Can Press describe Gordon: Bark To The Future like this: “It’s all up to Gordon now. His partner has been captured. His superior officer has been neutralized. And his distress calls to P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel) have gone unanswered. That means he must fight the aliens alone! But Gordon’s not a fighter — his deadliest weapon is his mind. So what’s a genius dog to do? Time travel, of course!” The publisher goes on to say, “This laugh-out-loud junior graphic novel is part of Ashley Spires’s hugely popular P.U.R.S.T. Adventure series. Gordon the dog is a favorite character from Spires’s companion series about Binky the cat.” Got all that? Good!

image c. 2018 Kids Can Press

Junior Sleuths of Equestria

Whoa Nelly! We missed a new My Little Pony tie-in? Yes we did — Naughty us! Well here it is: IDW have a new comic miniseries. My Little Pony: Ponyville Mysteries is written by Christina Rice, with art from Agnes Garbowska and Heather Breckel (all of them MLP veterans). “Welcome to a new series of mystery and intrigue! The Cutie Mark Crusaders discover their inner detectives and solve crimes nopony else can! Will they be able to discover who is stealing supplies from Ponyville hospital and get their schoolwork done at the same time?” Turns out this all fits in with the Ponyville Mysteries series of books as well.

image c. 2018 IDW Publishing

Beauty and the Beast King

Now from Yen Press we find a new black & white manga series with the descriptive title of Sacrificial Princess & The King of Beasts, written and illustrated by Yu Tomofuji. “A young girl has resigned herself to being he next sacrificial meal for the Beast King…but the king is no mere monster! Love is more than skin-deep in this gorgeous fantasy manga.” Which is available at Amazon.

image c. 2018 Yen Press

Golden Boy of the Water World

Here’s something else we missed.  Goldfisch is a new-ish black & white manga from TokyoPop. “Say hi to Morrey Gibbs! A fisher-boy in a flooded world overrun with mutated animals known as “anomals”, he’s got more problems than just giant fish to deal with. Namely, how everything he touches turns to gold! Sure it sounds great, but gold underpants aren’t exactly stylish… or comfortable. Together with his otter buddy Otta and new inventor friend Shelly, Morrey’s on a quest to rid himself of his blessing-turned-curse, and try to find a solution for the tragedy he unwittingly caused…” Hardly a complicated plot is it?  Here’s an interesting fact: The artist and writer, Nana Yaa, is from Germany.

image c. 2018 TokyoPop

Kung Fu Fighting. Well, Not Exactly.

Somehow we missed this when it came around last year. Team Taekwondo is a black & white graphic novel series for younger readers, published by Rodale Kids. The first volume is called Ara’s Rocky Road to White BeltIt goes like this: “Ara is the odd turtle out in his family, preferring his rock collection to new or wild adventures—until he meets Baeoh, a confident tiger who practices martial arts. Unsure if he has what it takes to join Baeoh’s taekwondo team, Ara must learn how to come out of his shell, persist through failure, and accept the help of his new friends to complete the Tiger Fitness Challenge.” They go on further to say, “The Team Taekwondo series combines the appeal of graphic novels and martial arts to deliver action-filled, character-building stories. Each book also includes one free lesson at any participating licensed ATA Martial Arts location.” Each book in the series is written by Master Taekwon Lee and Jeffrey Nodelman, and illustrated by Ethen Beavers. Now the second volume, Baeoh and the Bully, was just released to stores as well.

image c. 2018 Rodale Kids

Bear and Butterfly

Jim Benton is a comic creator known for titles like Dear Dumb Diary, It’s Happy Bunny, and other titles for younger readers with a sense of humor. Now IDW is previewing his latest graphic novel, simply titled Clyde. According to Comics Beat: “Arriving in February from IDW / Yoe Book, Jim Benton’s Clyde is an original graphic novel that follow Clyde the Bear as he moves from Cubville to Grizzly City (with an ex-juvenile delinquent butterfly) to see if The Bad Life is for him”. It’s a ways off still, but look for it in paperback next February.

image c. 2018 IDW Publications