In-Fur-Nation

From Magnetic Press comes My Friend Toby, a wordless graphic novel written and illustrated by Gregory Panaccione. “Toby lives in a small seaside village with his artist friend Marcel. Toby was once a stray, but Marcel took him in, and they’ve been best friends ever since. Only now, Marcel is going through a rough patch. Broken-hearted and unable to pay the bills, their future is uncertain. It is all beyond Toby’s comprehension, but he’s not worried. As long as there are scraps in his bowl and new neighborhood territories to claim, everything will be fine. What more could a carefree dog want out of life? Told largely from Toby’s canine perspective, readers will be treated to a peek between the ears of Man’s Best Friend, dealing with such critical topics as: a) strange cats, b) new neighbors, c) car rides, d) territory disputes, e) thunderstorms, f) being left alone, g) puppy memories, and oh, so much more.” It’s available now in hardcover.

image c. 2024 Magnetic Press

And now for something considerably different, courtesy of IDW and Top Shelf: The Unpetables, a new graphic novel for young folks from Dennis Messner. “Pigmund and Lizárdo are free! They recently “declared independence” from their petting zoo…. and now this pot-bellied pig and iguana are out to See The World. They are The Unpetables — and they’re available for temporary work as ‘freelance pets’. But no matter what gigs the Unpetables may get, they have one very big rule: No More Petting!” You heard it here folks. And, it’s available now in trade paperback from Penguin Random House.

image c. 2024 Top Shelf Productions

Talk about and-now-for-something-completely-different: “Before humanity had successfully traveled the entire globe, it was believed that monsters ruled the oceans just beyond the horizon. “Here there be dragons…” was written on maps to denote the areas people dared not go.That is, until Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the seas, visiting foreign lands and collecting treasure. That’s what history tells us, at least, but history does not have the full tale. Monsters did lurk yonder, living on an island that still doesn’t appear on any map, and among them was the king of them all…Godzilla!” See? Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons collects the 5-issue series (written by Frank Tieri and illustrated by Inaki Miranda) into a single graphic novel. Look for it now from Random House.

image c. 2024 IDW Publishing

Another interesting graphic novel we came across: Ember and the Island of Lost Creatures, written and illustrated by Jason Pamment. “Ember is a tiny boy (literally) all alone in a giant world who longs to fit in. His dream may finally come true when his adopted guardian, Lua, a warmhearted sea turtle, escorts him across the ocean to a school for little creatures on the mysterious Puzzle Island. This hidden place is brimming with fantastical life, and as Ember explores the lush forests and deep caves, he’s filled with wonder and curiosity. There’s only one problem — his new classmates don’t seem at all interested in being his friend.” Check out the sample pages over at Books of Wonder.

image c. 2024 Harper Alley

The Cryptid Kids are off and running with their first graphic novel, The Bawk-Ness Monster, written by Sara Goetter and illustrated by Natalie Riess. “Penny swears that when she was a little girl, a creature called the Bawk-ness Monster — half sea serpent, half chicken — saved her from drowning. Now, years later, she’s about to move away to a new city, and before she goes, she needs the help of her best friends, Luc and K, for a vitally important mission: seeing ‘Bessie’ one more time. But in their quest to find Bessie and give Penny the send-off she deserves, the kids stumble into a whole new problem: Cryptids are being kidnapped by an evil collector, and only Penny, Luc, and K can save them!” Available now in hardcover or paperback, from First Second.

image c. 2024 First Second Books

And speak of the Devil… Here’s another bit of Viva Pictures news we got (again from Cartoon Brew): “Viva Pictures has signed on as the U.S. distributor of Hitpig! and will release the film theatrically on November 1, 2024. The film, adapted from characters first introduced in the children’s book Pete & Pickles by Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed, is from British production company Aniventure, which has previously completed Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Riverdance: The Animated Adventure. The animation provider is Cinesite (The Addams Family 2, Iwájú, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem).” Here’s the official synopsis: “Hitpig is a clever bounty hunting pig who catches escaped animals and returns them to their owners. His next job is his biggest yet: return a dancing elephant named Pickles to a maniacal Vegas showman, for a million bucks. The mission quickly escalates into a wild adventure around the world. When danger looms, it is up to Hitpig to save the day but he can’t do it alone.” As you can see, there’s a lot of “professional furry” experience behind this film, and we’ve been talking about it for a while now. See the trailer, too!

image c. 2024 Viva Pictures

More interesting news from Cartoon Brew: “Viva Pictures has picked up North American rights to the animated feature Grand Prix of Europe. The story of the film revolves around Edda, a racing car-obsessed young mouse, who must disguise herself as her idol, Ed, and take his place to compete in the Grand Prix to save her family’s amusement park. The film is a tie-in for the German theme park Europa-Park, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. The theme park has won the Golden Ticket Award eight times for being the best park worldwide.” Viva Pictures is also making quite a name for itself for distributing more obscure animated feature films. After finding success with The Amazing Maurice, they went on to bring us Dragonkeeper and the upcoming 200% Wolf.

image c. 2024 Viva Pictures

Steve Lafler is a renowned underground cartoonist who has made appearances here before. Now thanks to Cat-Head Comics we have a chance to see where he started with Dog Boy: Choice Cuts & Happy Endings. From Previews: “The 328-page oversize volume collects the best of Lafler’s pioneering 1980’s alternative comics title Dog Boy, known for its undulating psychedelic twists, coupled with low-brow tropes that border on slapstick. The date is 1982, the early dawn in the alternative comics movement. Steve Lafler, bohemian cartoonist, taps into his unconscious mind and finds his inner Dog Boy: An unruly man-child equipped with a Golden Retriever head!” It’s available now in trade paperback.

image c. 2024 Cat-Head Comics

Missed this one before, so it’s time to get caught up! Monsterland meets Gangsterland in The Monster’s Clean-Up Guy, a two-issue horror comic miniseries written by Drew Lenhart and illustrated by Rowel Roque. “Terry works for the monster community. He’s their cleanup guy, covering up their misdeeds in order to keep monsters a secret. Terry operates by only two rules: Listen to the Lycan King’s orders, and don’t kill any monsters!” It’s still available at TFAW.

image c. 2024 Bloodmoon Comics

We’ve been missing out on this — so it’s good to get caught up! Kitsune is a full-color comic miniseries written by Luca Frigerio, with art by Emanuele Ercolani. “Kitsunichi Shimitzu is a ronin, a samurai who has become masterless. After twelve years of absence, he returns to his native lands and discovers that his master’s son is a weak man. Bandits terrorize the population, and strange rumors of a powerful enemy spread. Torn between past mistakes and a chance to redeem himself, Kitsunichi will have to fight for his life.” Familiar story, yes, but do give it a chance — by checking out the issues available at Scout Comics.

image c. 2024 Scout Comics

Another graphic novel for young readers — and cat fans! It’s the Tig and Lily series of books, written and illustrated by Dan Thompson. “What makes a tiger, a tiger? Is it the stripes? The roar? This is something that Lily, the tiger at the local zoo, has never had to worry about — until she meets the fiercest animal of them all… her new roommate. Tig might look like a house cat, might sound like a house cat, but Tig knows he is a Tiger. The competition is on as these two cats figure out what it means to be a Tiger… and a friend.” Find Tiger Trouble and more books in the series over at Penguin Random House.

image c. 2024 Random House Graphic

Somehow we overlooked this one when it was a comic — but now it’s been collected together as a single graphic novel! It’s Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — The Dog of War, written by Mike Chen and illustrated by Angel Hernandez. “An extremely rare purebred corgi from Earth makes its way aboard Deep Space 9 when Quark cuts a deal to procure it for a high buyer. After all, a Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all! But Latinum the corgi comes with unexpected cargo that shakes Captain Benjamin Sisko to the core: A Borg component discovered by a crew sent to uncover Cardassian technology after the station’s reoccupation.” Check it out over at Penguin Random House.

image c. 2024 IDW

Another graphic novel for young readers that we stumbled across: Clementine Fox and the Great Island Adventure, written and illustrated by Leigh Luna. “Clementine is supposed to be on her way to school… but why not go out for a day of adventure and exploration instead? She recruits her friends Nubbins Squirrel and Penelope Rabbit and heads to the beach, where Jesse Otter is preparing to take his giant Turtle, Annabella, to a mysterious local island. Clementine’s great-aunt Marnie lives there — far away from math tests and tutors — so Clementine and her friends hitch a ride to the island as stowaways. What could go wrong?” Check out the preview pages over at Books of Wonder.

image c. 2024 Graphix

This one has been sitting on our to-write-about list for a while — ’bout time we got around to it! The Dog Knight is a graphic novel written by Jeremy Whitley (well-known for their involvement with various My Little Pony comics) and illustrated by Bre Indigo.  “Frankie knows who they are. They’re a drummer, they’re nonbinary, and they’re… the Dog Knight? One day Frankie is a relatively normal middle schooler, with relatively normal challenges, like finding the perfect outfit to wear during their drum solo during the upcoming band concert. The next, they save a friendly golden retriever from bullies and suddenly find themselves in a giant magical doghouse, with a funny looking helmet, talking to a group of dog superheroes called the Pawtheon about a job offer. If Frankie can prove that they possess the six dog virtues of loyalty, kindness, honesty, justice, stubbornness, and smell, they will be named the Dog Knight and be given the power to fight alongside the Pawtheon and save the world from the forces of chaos. Maybe there is more to Frankie than they thought?” Look for it now from the Feiwel & Friends imprint at MacMillan Publishers.

image c. 2024 MacMillan Publishers

Centaurs is a manga series from Ablaze that we recently stumbled across, written and illustrated by Ryo Sumiyoshi. “An epic fantasy adventure set in an alternate medieval Japan, where humans co-exist with the mythic half man/half horse beasts known as centaurs, or “jinba”. The centaur race were long revered as deities in ancient times; however, with the advent of the sengoku (warring states) period, humans started to enslave and use them for military purposes due to their speed, stamina, and ability to communicate in human language. Centaurs living in the plains were rapidly subjugated; in contrast, large numbers of centaurs living deep in the mountains were still free due to their relative isolation.” See what happens when one of them is captured — and now he’s determined to escape back to his mountain home.

image c. 2024 Ablaze Manga

From Dark Horse comes Lonesome Hunters: The Wolf Child, a “supernatural fantasy” comic mini-series. “Monster hunters Howard and Lupe are on their way to get rid of a powerful sword, but car trouble leaves them stranded in a small town that is being terrorized by a magical wolf and a mysterious child in a wolf mask. While waiting for car repairs, Lupe befriends the child, and she and Howard are drawn into a war between the townspeople and the deadly beasts.” Written and illustrated by Tyler Crook (Harry County).

image c. 2024 Dark Horse Comics

We missed this science fiction graphic novel series, and now they’re already up to volume two! But let’s talk about Eve, written by Victor LaValle and illustrated by Jo Mi-Gyeong (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance). “When the ice caps melted, most of humanity was lost to the hidden disease that was released. Now, a mysterious girl named Eve has awoken in secret and must deal with a world that’s nothing like the virtual reality she was raised in. In order to save her father and accompanied only by Wexler, her robotic caretaker and protector sheathed in her favorite teddy bear, Eve must embark on a deadly quest across the country. Along the way, she will have to contend not only with the threats of a very real world that await her, but the lies we tell our children in the name of protecting them.” That’s a lot for one teddy bear to handle! Check out this and more volumes over at Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2024 BOOM! Studios

Otis & Peanut is a new graphic novel for young readers, written by Naseem Hrab and illustrated by Kelly Collier. “A long-haired guinea pig and a naked mole rat may seem like unlikely friends, but Otis and Peanut are a perfect pair! In three stories told in graphic-novel form, Otis and Peanut explore themes of loss, fear of change, and cooperation, while demonstrating what it means to be a supportive and caring friend.” Look for it in hardcover from Owlkids.

image c. 2024 Owlkids

Thanks to Cartoon Brew we’ve learned about Brave Cat, the first animated feature film by Gabriel Osorio, Chilean director of the Academy Award-winning short film Bear Story. “The new cg film, which is currently in production, follows Kona, a teenage forest cat who decides to face her fears and search for her missing mother, who was kidnapped by the circus long ago. She is joined on her journey by Colin, an abandoned guard dog pup, and Bernard, a runaway old circus bear, who are also searching for their own families.” Like Bear Story, much of this new film is an allegory for the struggles of ordinary people in Chile. Check out the teaser trailer too. The film is in production and seeking distribution.

image c. 2024 Punkrobot

Recently Animation World Network told us about Tumble Leaf: The Movie, an upcoming feature film based on the multi-award-winning stop-motion animated series for kids created by Drew Hodges — who will also direct the feature version. “When everyone on the island of Tumble Leaf gathers at the Finding Ceremony, a momentous coming-of-age celebration, only Fig the Fox resists because it threatens to upend his perfect life. Suddenly, the ceremony is interrupted when the island mysteriously breaks apart due to a long-hidden ancient entity. With Tumble Leaf lost, Fig and his friends must lead their eclectic community as they set sail on an epic, quirky, and hilarious quest across the vast unknown to find a new home and their place in a bigger, wilder world.” No word yet on a release date, but the film-makers are seeking out distribution.

image c. 2024 Bix Pix Entertainment