Frans Vischer grew up using his drawings as a way to communicate after his parents immigrated with him to America from Holland. That practice from an early age won him the sponsorship of animation legend Chuck Jones, an admission to CalArts… and eventually a job in animation for himself. Over the years he’s worked on such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Cat’s Don’t Dance, and The Princess and the Frog. More recently he’s parlayed his talents into his own line of illustrated children’s book. In the first, Jimmy Dabble, a young farm-boy befriends his barnyard animal friends and later saves the day with his unusual method of doing chores. For his second book, Mr. Vischer introduced the world to Fuddles — a proudly over-sized cat, based on the author’s own real-life household companion. He’s also introduced a line of Fuddles prints. You can find them and more at his web site, including a look at his upcoming third book, A Very Fuddles Christmas.
Young Readers
Of Bears and Pots and Deep Deep Thoughts
Psycologist, hypnotist, and philosopher, A.B. Curtiss is also and accomplished author with several award-winning books to her name. And several of her fiction books just happen to be of interest to furry fans. Legend of the Giant Panda (illustrated by Mirto Golino) is exactly what it sounds like: A mythic telling of how pandas got their distinctive black and white markings. Hallelujah, A Cat Comes Back is a “cat book of virtues”, where a young tom gives us the feline wisdom brought down to him from his wise granny-cat. Illustrated with a collection of Victorian feline prints. Dragons Guard The Zoo is a collection of poems on many subjects, including animals real and fanciful. And In the Company of Bears (illustrated by Barbara Stone) has been described as a “children’s philosophy book”, in which bears are used to illustrate soothing rhymes about accepting people for what they are. All of these and more are available on Amazon and at Ms. Curtiss’ web site.
Art from Oregon
Here’s how this artist describes himself: “Matt Doering is an Illustrator/Concept Artist based in Eugene, Oregon currently working as a Production Artist and UI Designer at Disney Interactive for mobile and social games. Matt also works as a freelance illustrator, most recently completing his first children’s book The Story of Magic Kringle, written and created by Alice Cosgrove.” His web site also has numerous examples of his character design work, as well as some of the animation he’s worked on. Of note: Matt did color design and visual development on The Girl and the Fox, an award-winner short animated film written and directed by Tyler J. Kupferer.
Spyro and His Friends Come to Comics
This arrived in our in-box from the folks at IDW: “In conjunction with Activision, IDW Publishing is proud to announce the first-ever Skylanders comic-book series, penned by renowned comic-book writer Ron Marz with Mike Bowden and David Baldeon as lead artists. In the world of video games, Skylanders is a global phenomenon and the best-selling kids’ game franchise since its launch in 2011. Now fans have the opportunity to follow the adventures of all their favorite characters from Skylands through the magic of comic books. The first issue, a prequel to the Skylanders Trap Team™ storyline, actually provides fans an inside look at where some of their favorite Skylanders came from, and even gives them a first look at a few all-new characters from the upcoming game.” There’s lots more background information at Comic Book Resources.
Two Dogs in Time
Okay, this gets complicated, so follow along: Shiprock & Achordog is the name of an acoustic band that specializes in using music and lyrics (even rap!) to educated children about animals. It’s also the name of a comic book series they have created following the adventures of two dogs with that same name, Shiprock & Anchordog. In their first adventure, the canine companions travel back in time and befriend a family of dinosaurs. The band’s official web site explains it all more fully, as well as other educational programs they’re involved in. The comic was written by Evan Curran and illustrated by Gregery Miller, who also has his own web site devoted to this and other illustration projects (which he seems to have a lot of!).
Big Teeth, Big Waves
Shelley Wolf is a creator of magic tricks for kids. Her husband Chance Wolf is a well-known comic book illustrator for titles like Spawn. When the two of them noticed how their son was getting really into shark lore, they decided to use that as an inspiration for a new series of books for kids. And so the Surf Sharks were born. The idea is simple: Three beach kids and three talking sharks hook up to ride the waves, have adventures, and learn more about our oceans. Surf Sharks: The First Ride just came out in hardcover from Surf Sharks Inc, and it’s available on Amazon. The creators also have a Surf Sharks web site with the books and other collectible shark stuff available.
Little Penguin Journeys North
Let’s stick with the bird theme for the moment. Pengey Penguin is an orphaned flipper-bird who is the star of two new hardcover novels for young readers — both created by author John Burns. In The Many Adventures of Pengey Penguin, our smooth-feathered hero ventures out into the Big World, encountering many dangers yet making friends at the same time. In The Further Adventures of Pengey Penguin that “Big World” becomes New York City, as Pengey moves in with his adoptive human friend — and both of them learn to make the situation work. Visit the official Pengey web site and you’ll find not only the books and several tie-in items like Pengey t-shirts, but also a collection of nature documentary shorts and even links to penguin-themed cartoons. These books are not available in stores: Only on-line, so visit the web site to get them.
Maybe Someday a New Chick Flick?
Sorry, sorry… It’s called The Chicken Squad, a series of light-hearted mystery stories written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Kevin Cornell. “Meet the Chicken Squad: Dirt, Sugar, Poppy, and Sweetie. These chicks are not your typical barnyard puffs of fluff, and they are not about to spend their days pecking chicken feed and chasing bugs. No sir, they’re too busy solving mysteries and fighting crime.” In The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure, “… when Squirrel comes barreling into the chicken coop, the chicks know they’re about to get a case. But with his poor knowledge of shapes (‘Big’ is not a shape, Squirrel!) and utter fear of whatever it is that’s out there, the panicky Squirrel is NO HELP. Good thing these chicks are professionals”. Following all this? Check out this new book series from Atheneum Books for Young Readers over at Amazon, in one of several formats.
[Hey, don’t forget! You only have one week left to vote for the Ursa Major Awards — the Hugo Awards ™ of anthropomorphic fandom! Visit www.ursamajorawards.org to find out how.]
Space Cats to the Rescue
The creator of Tiny Titans is branching out in a funny animal direction now, as Art Baltazar and his friends bring us Captain Action Cat: The Timestream CATastrophe, a new full-color 4-issue comic miniseries starting this month from Dynamite Entertainment. Check out this promo from Comic Book Resources: “From the Eisner and Harvey award-winning, New York Times bestselling famous cartoonists Art Baltazar and Franco comes the crossover epic event of a lifetime! Finally, Captain Action Cat meets Action Cat and the characters from Aw Yeah Comics! Also crossing over with Dark Horse Comics characters such as Ghost, X, Captain Midnight, and The Occultist, this series promises the typical zaniness that the creators of Tiny Titans are known for. True story! In Captain Action Cat: The Timestream CATastrophe #1, there is something evil out there and Evil Cat is determined to find it… even if it means searching throughout the Silver Age to do it!”