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Young Readers

Nine Lives of Power

Also on Free Comic Book Day, look for the special issue of Scratch9 to be released by Hermes Press. In case you don’t remember Scratch9, it’s the Eisner-Award nominated full-color all-ages comic book about a cat with the magical ability to summon the spirits of any one of his nine lives to help him in his adventures. It’s written by Rob Worley and illustrated by Jason T. Kruse. This special FCBD edition re-prints the premier issue with a brand new cover (by Armand Villavert, Jr.) and some brand new back-up material.

image c. 2013 Hermes Press

Little Mouse Gets Ready

Jeff Smith, the multiple-award-winning creator of Bone, has returned with a new full-color softcover children’s book from Toon Books. In Little Mouse Gets Ready, “There’s lots to do before Little Mouse is ready to go visit the barn. Will he master all the intricacies of getting dressed, from snaps and buttons to Velcro and tail holes?” According to Amazon, this book has already been given the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award. So how the heck did we miss this one? It came out in 2009!

image c. 2009 Toon Books

Just a Donkey

This February, Papercutz (home to the Geronimo Stilton series) presents a brand new full color graphic novel by multiple award-winning author Emmanuel Guibert and renowned illustrator Marc BoutavantAriol, Volume 1: Just a Donkey Like You and Me. “Ariol is your everyday tween donkey with blue glasses. He lives in the suburbs with his mom and dad. His best friend is a pig. He’s in love with a beautiful cow in his class. His teacher is a dog. His gym teacher is a huge rooster. In short, Ariol is just like you and me.” Pre-order this new softcover book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

image c. 2012 Papercutz

The Mane Six in the Spotlight

On the hooves of releasing the wildly successful My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book tie-in series (which sold hundreds of thousands of copies while it was still in pre-order!) IDW have announced a new My Little Pony Micro-Series. Each of these six full-color issues while feature one of the “Mane Six” characters from the series in their own showcase adventure. First up is Twilight Sparkle — ably assisted by her dragon friend Spike, of course. “Twilight Sparkle becomes enthralled in a literary masterpiece. Dismayed to hear the series never continued, Twilight goes on a quest to hunt down the reclusive author, Jade Singer. The first issue was written and illustrated by Thom Zahler. Look for it in February, or pre-order it (before everyone else does!) at Mail Order Comics.

image c. 2012 IDW Publishing

They Dress Up Too

Next February Marvel Comics (with the help of Disney and Pixar, of course) presents a new Monsters Inc. one-shot full-color comic. In Monster’s Inc.: The Humanween Party, “It’s that time of year again: Humanween! Monstropolis’ version of Halloween – where monsters dress up as humans – comes but once a year, and this time the annual party is at Mike and Sulley’s home. Mike goes into panic mode when he learns of an unplanned visit from his mother the day after the big bash!” It’s written by Alessandro Ferrari and illustrated by Elisabetta Melaranci, Federica Salfo, Michela Frare, and Paco Desiato (whew!). Look for more Monsters Inc. tie-in items in 2013 as the new animated sequel, Monsters University, gets closer. In the meantime, check out Humanween at Things from Another World.

image c. 2012 Marvel Comics

Big Bear, Little Mouse

It looks as if we’re finally getting some motion on the long-in-development film Ernest & Celestine. This 2D animated feature from France tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a middle-aged bear and a young mouse, and how they learn to realize their dreams and overcome bigotry by working together. Based on a series of books by Daniel Pennac, the film version is directed by Benjamin Renner (A Mouse’s Tale), Stephane Aubier, and Vincent Patar (A Town Called Panic), and produced by Studio Canal.  There’s a trailer up on YouTube, and according to Animation Magazine, it’s likely to come to North American shores in the fall of 2013.

image c. 2012 Studio Canal

The Fans Have Spoken!

It’s become evident that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is not the only animated TV series that has taken some interesting twists and turns thanks to on-line fan input. Fans of Adventure Time with Finn and Jake became obsessed with the idea of a gender-swapped variation on the popular series after the idea popped up on the Internet. And thus Fionna and Cake, human and cat, were born. Well now Boom! Studio’s Kaboom! line have added to their Adventure Time line with the premier of the new Fionna & Cake 6-issue mini-series (in full color).  Here’s a write-up from Jim Hill Media: “The highly anticipated series will be written and illustrated by none other than the characters’ creator and Adventure Time storyboard artist Natasha Allegri with a full 32-page first issue. Join Cake the Cat and Fionna the Human in this totally algebraic new adventure! When Fionna rescues a feral flame boy from a pack of wild fire lions, it starts her on a quest she’ll never forget…” It all starts this coming January.

image c. 2012 Kaboom!

Dreamworks Adventure Magazine

If you haven’t seen it yet: Dreamworks Animation has a new regular publication, Dreamworks Adventure Magazine, which they put out through Ape Entertainment. Each issue features new full-color comics of various Dreamworks characters and movies, as well as puzzles, artwork, and more. The latest issue (#3) features a Madagascar 3 cover and comic story, ‘Long Live the King’ backed up by a Megamind story, ‘Minion, Where’s the Car?!’. It also features a double-sided pull-out poster for Madagascar 3 and Rise of the Guardians. You can find out more at the Ape Entertainment web site for the magazine, but your humble ed-otter found one for sale at his local supermarket.

image c. 2012 Ape Entertainment

One Sneezy Little Panda

Famed “dark fantasy” author Neil Gaiman has taken a different tack with his latest book, Chu’s Day. It’s a picture book for young children, illustrated by Adam Rex (Chloe and the Lion). Chu is a little panda boy who has trouble with sneezing. So why do his parents keep taking him to places like a dusty library, or a restaurant where they cover everything with pepper?  Will Chu make it through his day? Find out. The book comes out in hardcover this January from Harper Collins. Pre-order it at Amazon.

image c. 2012 Adam Rex