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Trade Paperback

Kitty Kitty Rescue Me

Recently we discovered an author named Jaimi Ilama. Her last name is an acronym for “I Love All My Animals”. As she explains it, “I have eleven animals right now in my home. Three cats, two dogs, and seven turtles. I have written a series of children’s picture books called Rescue Me. There are five stories in all, and they all have an animal as the main character. The books are made to help parents and teachers talk to kids about ‘life struggles’ that both humans and animals go through sometime in their life. The themes that are discussed are facing fears and change, abandonment, prejudice, homelessness and saying goodbye to a loved one.” The first book in the series is called The Upstairs Cat (illustrated by Audrey Miller), and it tells the story of a cat named Amazon and how she deals with her feelings of loneliness when ‘her boy’ moves off to college. Can she find the courage to explore the rest of the house — let alone the outside world? At Mousebreath.com there’s an interview with Jaimi about this and other upcoming books in the series.  Check it out — and meanwhile, take a look around the rest of Mousebreath. The web site describes itself as “an award-winning lifestyle magazine by cats, for cats and cat lovers”.

image c. 2016 Open Door Publishing

image c. 2016 Open Door Publishing

*Boing!* Surprise!

Somehow we missed this one, but we’re glad to find out about it now. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman (world-famous for his multi-award-winning comic Maus) has created Jack and the Box, a full-color story comic for entry-level readers. “Jack just got a new toy, and it’s full of surprises. Each time the box pops open, there’s a new and bigger surprise. Is it a silly toy, a scary toy… or something else entirely? With a limited vocabulary and unlimited imagination, Art Spiegelman applies his out-of-the-box thinking to a book that has all the surprise and bounce of a Jack-in-the-box.” Check it out over at the publisher, Toon Books. It’s available now at numerous sites, in trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Toon Books

image c. 2016 Toon Books

Rik-Tikki-Tikki The Ivory-Fanged

New discoveries from this year’s WonderCon: Rikki is a full-color comic book adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s well-known mongoose-vs.-cobra story Rikki Tikki Tavi. The story was adapted and updated to a more modern setting by Norm Harper, with illustrations by Matthew Foltz-Gray. Originally created as a 4-issue comic book mini-series, after a successful Kickstarter campaign they re-released Rikki as a graphic novel in trade paperback, complete with the original Kipling story as well as a cover-gallery by the artist Christine Knopp. Find out more over at the publisher, Karate Petshop.

image c. 2016 Karate Petshop

image c. 2016 Karate Petshop

White Cat vs. Big Bugs

Now check this out over at Kids Can Press: “Fluffy Vandermere, the cat sergeant in charge of P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), works tirelessly to protect the world from alien (aka bug) domination. It’s a big job. “The whole planet is Fluffy’s space station. All the people in the world are his humans. And every space pet out there is his responsibility.” Now, suddenly and without warning, Fluffy discovers P.U.R.S.T. headquarters, the most secure building in the world, is under attack by an angry swarm of insects, and they’re armed with every cat’s worst nightmare — spray bottles! Warding off this level of terrifying invasion will require cunning, skill, ingenuity and the ability to move quickly. Fluffy’s been out of the field and at his desk job for quite some time now — is he up to this massive challenge? You bet he is!” Fluffy Strikes Back is the creation of writer and artist Ashley Spires. This new full-color graphic novel for intermediate readers is a spin-off from her successful Binky adventure series. It’s available in trade paperback and hardcover editions.

image c. 2016 Kids Can Press

image c. 2016 Kids Can Press

She Followed Them… Everywhere!

Yes, still, it’s sometimes best to just let the creators explain their own work. So, here’s the tag for new graphic novel Little Dee and the Penguin: “When Little Dee meets a motley crew of animals deep in the forest, she knows she’s found the perfect set of new friends. Between the bossy vulture, the slightly dim dog, the nurturing bear, and the happy-go-lucky penguin, this mismatched group of big personalities doesn’t always get along—but they’re a family.  And they’re on the run. A pair of hungry polar bears are after the penguin, and the rest of the team are determined to protect her. They’re not interested in adopting a tiny human. But Dee loves them—especially Ted the bear—and she won’t let them go. Instead, she hops on their getaway plane and joins them on an around-the-world adventure.” Written and illustrated by Christopher Baldwin, it’s based on his continuing web comic of the same name. And now it’s available in full-color from Dial Books, coming this April in hardcover and trade paperback.

image c. 2016 Dial Press

image c. 2016 Dial Press

Kitten? Stray No More!

Konami Kanata is well-known for her full-color manga series Fuku Fuku, dramatizing the adventures of her adopted stray kitten of the same name. Now Vertical Comics have brought together several adventures in a new graphic novel, Fuku Fuku: Kitten Tales. “From the author of the New York Times manga best seller Chi’s Sweet Home comes a delightful series of vignettes in the life of a kitten and her doting owner. To a young kitten, even the most mundane things appear fresh and exciting (and sometimes unpleasant or scary). Join FukuFuku on her journey and rediscover the world from a tiny cat’s point of view.” Visit the Vertical web site to see a preview.

image c. 2016 Vertical Comics

image c. 2016 Vertical Comics

The Mickey Mysteries

Papercutz (home, once again, of Geronimo Stilton and family) have a new series of three Disney Graphic Novels coming to bookshelves later this month. Volume 1 is based on the world of Disney’s Planes (which is based on the world of Pixar’s Cars, of course). Volume 3 is called Minnie and Daisy: Best Friends Forever, which probably speaks for itself. Most unusual perhaps is Volume 2, entitled X-Mickey. “It’s a supernatural Disney adventure as Mickey Mouse meets Pipwolf, a werewolf who bears more than a passing resemblance to Goofy! X-Mickey is a fun Disney series that introduces everyone’s favorite mouse to another dimension full of spooks, ghosts, goblins and more. Accompanied by Pipwolf and an albino mouse named Manny, Mickey must do everything he can to keep Mouseton safe and keep these creatures locked up where they belong.”

image c. 2016 Papercutz

image c. 2016 Papercutz

Man and Wolf Together As One

Thousands of years ago, a god-like man and a wolf-monster join forces — and spirits — to defeat a monstrous threat known as The Hungry Ones. A thousand years later, when the tribes are under attack once more, the spirit of vengeance known as the Ghost Wolf is born again — in the form of a fearless young woman. That’s the story behind Ghost Wolf, a full-color comic book series created by El Torres and illustrated by Angel Hernandez. Now Amigo Comics have released the first Ghost Wolf story arc at a single trade paperback, Ghost Wolf: Born in Snow and Blood. Check out the preview over at their web site.

image c. 2016 Amigo Comics

image c. 2016 Amigo Comics

Before the Movie, the Manga

Just in time for the full North American release of  Mamoru Hosoda’s latest anime feature, The Boy and the Beast (on the same weekend as Zootopia’s release, grumble grumble…), Yen Press have published Mr. Hosoda’s black & white manga of the same title. “Fleeing tragedy and mistreatment, a young boy named Ren hides among the crowds in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya ward. His efforts to run away are more successful than he realizes when he ends up in the world of the beasts! A rough-living bear named Kumatetsu gives Ren a new life and a new name–Kyuta–but is Kumatetsu really up to the job of being a mentor?” Find out! And check it out over at Yen’s web site.

image c. 2016 Yen Press

image c. 2016 Yen Press