Right before the release of the second Sonic the Hedgehog movie next month, IDW Publishing have gathered together some fan-favorite comic book stories of Sonic and his pal Tails the double-bushy fox in a new compilation, Sonic & Tails: Best Buds Forever. “Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. Best friends through thick and thin, they’ve always got each other’s backs. Celebrate the terrific twosome with these three high-speed, high-flying tales full of action and adrenaline. First, Dr. Eggman is missing, but his rogue robots are still running amok, and only Sonic can stop them. But he can’t do it without Tails! Then, the best buds are trying to take a break, but something stinks. Looks like baddies can have best friends too! And finally, Tails and Sonic explore an abandoned Dr. Eggman base, but they’re not alone! Can they trust the intruder? No worries. If thirty years of friendship has proven anything, it’s that they’ll be fine as long as they’ve got each other!” Available now in trade paperback.
Young Readers
Dogs and Cats Reading Together
Scout Comics have an imprint called the Launch Series, which is designed for the youngest of beginning readers. To quote them, “Launch bridges the gap between children’s picture books and comics”. Following a long-honored tradition, of course the effort involves funny animals — chief among them, dogs and cats. First up are the adventures of Bandit the Boston Terrier, in a series of softcover books written by Amy Harlow and illustrated by Jim Mehsling. “Bandit is a spunky Boston Terrier with a wild imagination. Bandit’s best friend, Daisy, is a jolly and somewhat lazy Boston Terrier. Follow their adventures as Bandit confronts his household nemesis, the vacuum cleaner.” Then there’s the Supercats series, written by Caleb Thusat and illustrated by Angela Oddling. “In this origin story we see the young Mewow, destined to become a supercat, in her first adventure she taps into the hero within to save innocents in trouble… because Supercats will always save the day!” Both series have several titles.
Dreaming of a Furry Life
Jess E. Owen is an author who has written several fantasy novels for young readers. Her series The Summer King Chronicles features a whole new world of gryphon and wolf characters. But now, writing under the name of Jessica Kara, she is taking on a whole new kind of fantasy with her new young adult novel, A Furry Faux Paw. The story goes like this: “Online, MauveCat (a cool, confident, glittering pixie cat) has friends and a whole supportive furry community that appreciates her art. At home, Maeve Stephens has to tiptoe around her hoarder mother’s mood and mess. When her life is at its hardest, Maeve can always slip into Mauve, her fursona, and be ‘the happy one’, the bubbliest, friendliest artist in her community ― it’s even how she made her best friend, Jade. With graduation around the corner, Maeve is ready to put her lonely school days behind her and move on with her life. And while her father hasn’t been home since the divorce, he does offer her a dream come true: an all-expenses paid trip to the regional furry convention. Furlympia will have everything Maeve’s been missing ― friends, art mentors, and other furries! So when her mother forbids her from going, Maeve decides to sneak out on her own.” And what happens then? Find out when A Furry Faux Paw comes out in hardcover this May.
You Can’t Fight City Howl
Another new and interesting graphic novel for young folk, from Random House: Mayor Good Boy, by Dave Scheidt and Miranda Harmon. “The votes are in and the new mayor is… A dog?! This dog will do more than shake paws. Mayor Good Boy is here to help Greenwood become a town filled with kindness, starting with fetching help for the local zoo. With foes around every corner trying to put a stop to Mayor Good Boy’s campaign of fun, are there cheese snacks and belly rubs in his future? Or will the town suddenly have a flea problem?” Find out now.
Those Other Pets Need Love Too
The campaign to legalize ferrets as pets in California (yes that’s a thing) recently let us know about My Name Is Musky, a picture book for young people written by Matty Giuliano and illustrated by Morgan Spicer. It’s rare to find a cute book about pets that actually focuses on ferrets! “Poor Musky! A small white ferret is abandoned and left by the side of the road. Things start to look up, though, when a nice lady named Stephanie shows up and saves the day. It’s off to the cozy, warm animal shelter for this little ferret—but will anyone want to adopt a different kind of furry animal friend?” Check out the official web site too.
Big and Ready to Rumble
Things take a turn for the decidedly strange in Louie and Bear in the Land of Anything Goes, a new graphic novel written and illustrated by Brady Smith. “Welcome to the Land of Anything Goes! It’s a world filled with wild creatures, absurd chicken-boy hybrids, and oh, did we mention the giant, winged, kid-eating monster called a Cacapoop? When Louie and his pet hamster get sucked through a portal into a bizarre new land where truly anything can happen, they have no idea the adventure that’s waiting for them. Really, they’re less focused on adventure and more concerned about the fact that Louie has turned into a wrestler, Scooty the hamster has become Bear the giant bear, and they’re now being chased across a purple planet by a terrifying monster!” Told you! The book is available now in hardcover from Penguin Workshop.
Would You Turn Back?
We really don’t know how to properly summarize this “modern fairy tale” by Shelley Moore Thomas — so we’ll let the publisher do it for us. “Off the coast of Ireland, on the island of Hybrasil, lives a Magician and four enchanted rabbit sisters. One by one, the rabbits have been leaving the island, accompanied by a Boy and his boat. When the rabbits leave, they can turn back into girls. The last rabbit, Albie, remains. She doesn’t want to leave, but the island is sinking. Before deciding where she wants to go, Albie visits each of her sisters. Caragh has joined a circus. Isolde is the captain of a pirate ship. And Rory wants to go home to the family’s house in Cork. Through many furry twists and hoppity turns, we learn how one mistake can lead to many consequences, and that forgiveness and family are always within reach.” The Last Rabbit is available now in hardcover.
Wish We Had Summer Camp Like That!
Another book series we came across: Dragon Mountain by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang. “When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China, he doesn’t know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte, and Ling-Fei, and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: Four powerful warrior dragons, hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp. They have been trapped since an epic battle with the Dragon of Death and need the children’s help to set them free before terrible evil is unleashed on the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. But can they save the dragon and human worlds from destruction?” Several titles in the series are out now, available in hardcover and paperback.
All Species Advance
The things you find! We came across this series when we were looking up another book entirely. We’ll let the publisher describe it: “The Endangereds is the first book in a thrilling new adventure series by world-renowned environmentalist and Emmy-nominated host of Xploration Awesome Planet Philippe Cousteau and award-winning TURBO Racers author Austin Aslan. Innocent animals are in trouble: temperatures are climbing, tides are rising, and nature is suffering. Someone needs to step in to rescue animals from extinction. Someone needs to turn this mess around, before it’s too late. And that someone is . . . the Endangereds, the unlikeliest heroes you’ll ever meet—a super-strong polar bear, a pangolin with a genius for engineering, an extremely sarcastic narwhal, and an orangutan with a big dream. Together, these four daredevils are determined to save endangered species across the globe, no matter what the risk.” Book #2, Melting Point, is already out as well, and there’s more coming in the future. [And with that, we wish you all a happy and safe New Year!]