Over the years there have been many, many illustrated editions of Kenneth Grahame’s seminal anthropomorphic work, The Wind in the Willows. Now IDW Publishing have brought forth a new edition — this time, illustrated by an artist who is himself well-known in the world of anthropomorphics. “Experience the timeless story of Toad, Rat, Mole, and Badger in a beautiful new hardcover designed and illustrated by New York Times Bestselling author and Eisner Award-winning creator David Petersen (Mouse Guard). Painstakingly illustrated over three years, this special edition features both color and pen and ink illustrations throughout and Petersen will be hand-signing each copy of the 1st printing.” Find out more over at IDW’s web site, and look for this new hardcover edition galloping your way this coming October.
Young Readers
Cheaters Are Fast, But Not Fast Enough
This June, Boom! Studios will release Cheat Code, the latest Original Graphic Novel based on the popular animated series The Amazing World of Gumball from Cartoon Network. “Cheaters never prosper. But Gumball and Darwin don’t know that! While the Watterson boys are grounded, their classmates advance ahead of them in the new, super-popular video game Monster Fight Friends. A mysterious and forbidden cheat code is just what they need. Too bad it unleashes a gigantic, tech-crazy kaiju onto the streets of Elmore! Written by Megan Brennan (Pencil Pup) and illustrated by Katy Farina, The Amazing World of Gumball: Cheat Code takes adventure in Elmore to a whole new level.” Find out more about this new trade paperback over at Simon & Schuster.
Rover the Rainbow
Action Labs Entertainment are now the official U.S. distributors of the Soft Spots line of toys — 36 colorful puppies for kids to collect. Now this month Action Lab is premiering a new Soft Spots full-color comic book series for young readers, written and illustrated by M. Alice LeGrow. “The Soft Spots toy line gets the Action Lab treatment as young Sophia learns lessons of friendship with her colorful cast of pets… the Soft Spots!” According to Previews, each issue comes bundled with one Soft Spot Puppy plush.
One Crazy-Brave Raccoon
Christopher Locke has worked for many years in the television industry. In 2004 he read the book Fast Food Nation and went through a personal transformation… emerging as a passionate animal rights advocate. He also decided to have a go at writing full-time for a living. The result is a new trilogy of fanciful fiction for young adults called The Enlightenment Adventures. The first book in the series, published in 2015, is called Persimmon Takes on Humanity. “What would you do if you saw someone committing unimaginable acts of cruelty? Turn the other way or defend those in need—no matter the cost? That’s the dilemma thrust upon Persimmon, a clever and compassionate raccoon, and her loyal forest friends. Instantly, the courageous critters spring into action, risking their own lives to rescue any animal they see suffering at the hands of humans. What the team doesn’t know is just how rampant this violence really is, and soon their exciting rescue missions turn shockingly dangerous and deadly. Will they succeed in saving the animals of the world from humans’ brutality, or will they fall victim to the powerful system of abuse they’re trying so desperately to end?” Persimmon is available now at Amazon, and you can find out more about the series at the author’s web site.
And Speaking of Kitties…
Watch out! We’re about to get flooded by announcements for new sampler comics coming out for Free Comic Book Day — in just a couple of weeks on May 7th. Bleeding Cool has several lists of the titles being released. As usual, there are several titles of furry interest in there if you look, including Awake, Sonic, Grumpy Cat, Sanjay & Craig, The Stuff of Legend, and more. Here’s one that caught our eye: The Pink Panther, released by American Mythology. “He’s been the coolest cat in all of cartoondom for over 50 years! The Pink Panther is back in brand new adventures to tickle your funny bone and test the sanity of The Little Man! Join all of Pink’s pals from the DePatie-Freleng stable including The Inspector and The Ant and The Aardvark, as we welcome The Pink Panther to 21st Century comic books in style! This special FCBD issue is chock-full of fun with new and classic Pink Panther adventures, including the hilarious antics of The Mighty Pan-Thor!” We’ll see, in a couple of weeks!
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”.
The Sunny State Gets Schooled
You’d be hard-pressed to think of more famous “ancient world” anthropomorphic stories than the fables of Aesop. Needless to say, they’ve had numerous illustrated presentations over the centuries! Well here’s a very recent take with a particular spin to it: Doug Hansen is a California native and an art instructor at California State University at Fresno. In his spare time he created a new hardcover illustrated book called Aesop in California. “Guess who just arrived in California? Aesop! Here among the plants, animals, and places of the Golden State, his timeless fables from ancient Greece take on a new vitality and immediacy. From blackberry-munching grizzlies to Hollywood house mice, this is a book to delight the eye, stimulate the imagination, and teach us some very important lessons.” Find out more about the book and the artist at the publisher’s web site. (Hot tip: He also created a book called Mother Goose in California!)
*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.