In-Fur-Nation

Word is slowly making the rounds that John Patrick Morgan — better known in fandom by his initials as J.P. Morgan — passed away from a heart condition at the end of December at the age of 53. J.P. was a cartoonist and illustrator for many years. His best known creation, the comic book series Fission Chicken, made him a star among the “funny animal” segment of furry fandom. Fission Chicken saw the light of day in funny animal fandom publications like Rowrbrazzle before being picked up by Fantagraphics Books. The Fission Chicken on-line story arc concluded in late December last year — a few days before Mr. Morgan passed away. His web site is still there, along with his Deviant Art site. An official obituary is also on line.

image c. 2011 by Jim Groat (Rabbi Tom)

This morning the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the nominees for the 83rd annual Academy Awards (the “Oscars”), to be presented on Sunday, February 27th. As everyone expected, Disney Pixar’s Golden Globe-winning Toy Story 3 (the biggest world-wide money maker released in 2010) was nominated for Best Picture of the Year (which a lot of people are saying it will not win) and Best Animated Feature (which a lot of people are saying it will win). TS3 was also nominated for awards in the categories of Best Song (by Randy Newman, of course), Best Sound Editing, and… Best Adapted Screenplay?? It seems that the Academy considers a sequel film to be “adapted from a previous existing medium” because it uses previously created characters and settings. Or so we’ve been told.  Fine. Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon was also nominated for Best Animated Feature, as well as Best Original Score (by John Powell). Interestingly, the third slot for Best Animated Feature went to The Illusionist from France, whereas the Golden Globe Awards had chosen Sony’s Despicable Me. Other furry-themed pictures to watch include Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland from Disney, which was nominated in the categories of Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects. Check out CinemaBlend.com for a complete listing of nominees. Of course, before the Oscars come the Annie Awards for animation on February 5th. It’s always interesting to see how the two groups of awards compare.

Another in the “how’d we miss this?” category… The Gruffalo is an award-winning children’s book from the U.K., written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It was first published in 1999 by Macmillan Children’s Books. It tells the tale (via a mother squirrel giving her children a bedtime story) of a mouse walking through the woods.  When he is threatened in turn by a predatory fox, snake, and owl, he scares each of them off by telling them he is on his way to meet his friend the “Gruffalo” — a monstrous creature who is much more dangerous than any of them. He’s making it all up, of course, and he thinks he’s so clever… until he runs into the real Gruffalo. After the book became enormously popular in the U.K. and elsewhere, Magic Light Pictures and Studio Soi made The Gruffalo into a 30-minute CGI film, which was broadcast on U.K. television for Christmas 2009. It featured (among others) the voices of Helena Bonham Carter (as the mother squirrel), John Hurt, and Robbie Coltrane (as the Gruffalo). The BBC has a trailer for the show on-line, and there’s also a making-of video from Magic Light.

image c. 2011 Axel Scheffler

Cartoon Brew is reporting that Robert Downey Jr. has been tapped to play the voice of none other than Mr. Peabody in a new live action/CGI film from Dreamworks, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. For you young folks who don’t know: Mr. Peabody is a genius-level talking dog, and Sherman is his loyal human boy assistant. The original animated cartoon was part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon series, animated by Jay Ward Productions. This new version is being written by Jeffrey Ventimilia and Joshua Sternin (from the recent Yogi Bear movie) and directed by Rob Minkoff (from The Lion King). There’s a wait to see how this turns out: The film isn’t due until 2014.

image c. 2011 Jay Ward Productions

More CGI news from across the Atlantic… French director Pascal Herold (The True Story of Puss ‘n’ Boots) is working on a new anthropomorphic version of the story of Cendrillon… known to the English-speaking world as Cinderella. Here’s a quick re-cap from Animation  World Network: “Based on Charles Perrault’s novel, this Cinderella story is set in the American Wild West and follows a cute tomboy named Cinderella who loses a tooth during a fight with pirates at Prince Charming’s ball. The characters are humanoid animals.” Animation Magazine recently had a character portrait of the “cute tomboy” antelope who stars in the film. It’s set for release this June. A company in Toronto, Canada is representing the film for world release; no word yet on if that includes the USA.

Triggerfish is the name of a successful animation production house in South Africa near Capetown. Originally founded by Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye in 1996 to produce short films and commercials, Triggerfish are celebrating their 15-year anniversary in 2011 by announcing two upcoming CGI animated films. The first out of the starting gate is Zambezia, slated for world-wide release this year. It’s the story of a young falcon named Kai, who seeks freedom from his over-bearing father by escaping to a legendary paradise of birds… where he soon discovers that paradise may be more complicated than he thought. Up next is Khumba, the story of a strange “half-zebra” who journeys across South Africa to “earn his stripes”. Triggerfish have the trailers for both these films on their web site (Triggerfish Animation), as well as show-reels for their many short works.

In case it passed you by: Summer Wars is a very popular and successful Japanese anime feature film conceived by Mamoru Hosoda, written by Satoko Okudera, and directed by Hosoda.  It was produced by Madhouse, and released  in 2009 by Warner Brothers Pictures Japan. The basics of the story: Kenji Koiso is a shy and awkward high school math-wiz, employed part-time as a sysop for a massive virtual world game called “Oz”. The first problem — Kenji is falsely implicated in hacking the game. But then he and his friends stumble upon a much bigger conspiracy at work… and he, they, and all of their avatars must work together to keep the real and virtual worlds from colliding destructively! Why should Furry Fans care about this? Check out some of the avatars in the picture below!  That’s why! The good news is that an English-language version of the film has been completed for Blu-Ray and DVD release. Funimation Entertainment will be bringing the DVD/Blu-Ray edition to North America on February 15th, and Manga Entertainment will be releasing it in the U.K. in March.

image c. 2010 Warner Brothers Japan

You have been warned… Here’s the description that comic book writer and creator David Hayes put up on his web site: “April 2011 is the debut of Rottentail. This 60-page graphic novel from Creators Edge Press, written and created by David Hayes, tells the bizarre tale of young Peter Cotton, who grew up in the town of Easter Falls and loves rabbits. Peter’s science project on rabbit breeding is ruined when the school bullies beat up and actually kill his rabbit. Years later, the kindly but still shy Dr. Cotton works steadily, gently with his rabbits to cure human infertility. Unbeknownst to Peter, the military is perverting his work, developing fierce soldiers with strength far exceeding a human of their size, and with Peter’s fertility serum, the ability to breed in the field. Peter discovers the true nature of the experiment and tries to stop it. But in an accident of poetic justice, a bite from an experimental rabbit combines with Peter’s own serum to transform him into the evil Rottentail. This creature heads to Easter Falls to exact revenge for the wrongdoings of his youth and to finally lay claim to the love of his life. His timing could not be better since Easter Falls biggest day of the year is coming up and the entire town will be there to watch the annual Easter Parade.” How could we top that? This black & white graphic novel was written by David Hayes and Kevin Moyers, illustrated by Kurt Belcher and Heinrik Horvath, with pin-up art by Michael Bracco. Look for it this coming March.

We missed this the first time around (it arrived in 2009), but now it’s offered again by Kids Can Press. The Binky Adventures are a series of full-color graphic novels written and illustrated by Ashley Spires. We’ll let Ashley describe Binky the Space Cat, the first book in the series — she does it far better than we could. “Binky is a space cat – at least in his own mind. He’s really a house cat who has never left the family ‘space station’. Unlike other house cats, Binky has a mission: To blast off into outer space (outside), explore unknown places (the backyard) and battle aliens (bugs). Binky must undergo rigorous training so he can repel the alien attacks that threaten his humans. As he builds his spaceship, he must be extremely careful with his blueprints – the enemy is always watching. Soon Binky is ready to voyage into outer space. His humans go out there every day and he’s sure they need a certified space cat to protect them. But just as he’s about to blast off with his co-pilot, Ted (a stuffed mousie), Binky realizes that he’s left something very important behind — and it’s not the zero-gravity kitty litter.” Check it out at Amazon.com.

Evidently, some bad puns are just too good (or bad) to pass up… That, or some comic book companies don’t check with each other very often! It seems that not one but two different comic book companies have come up with parody one-shots called Justin Beaver — making fun of teen pop heart-throb Justin Bieber, of course, as if you couldn’t guess.  Even stranger, they’re releasing them to comic book shops almost simultaneously! Antarctic Press’ Justin Beaver is illustrated (in black & white) and written by Ben Dunn (Ninja High School), while Archie Comics’ Justin Beaver is the full-color cover story of Archie & Friends #155. Comics Alliance has an article on their web site explaining the whole thing, sort of.

This March, IDW Publishing will bring us a brand new comic book series celebrating the King of the Monsters himself, Godzilla — or Gojira, to his original fans in Japan! Godzilla: Monster World is a new full-color series following the exploits (and explosions) of Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and a host of other giant city-stomping monsters made famous by Toho Movie Studios since 1955. The Goon creator Eric Marsh is writing and illustrating the first story arc, assisted by Tracy Marsh and Phil Hester. Fifty percent of the issues released will feature a special variant cover by the celebrated artist Alex Ross. IDW has a preview and press release on their web site.

It’s not too soon to start thinking about Free Comic Book Day this year. Not with titles like The Intrepid Escape Goat coming our way. If you’ve not heard, every year during the first weekend in May, comic book publishers from all over flood your local comic book shops with miniature versions of their upcoming titles to give away for free to prospective buyers. There’s a web site dedicated to the event where you can find out all about it. And this year one of the titles to look for is an anthropomorphic steam-punk adventure written and illustrated (in full color) by Brian Smith, Mike Raicht, and Charles Paul Wilson III. It’s published by Th3rd World Studios. “It is the dawn of the 20th Century, and one brave soul dares to walk the line between the worlds of science and the arcane; he is Thomas Fleet… The Intrepid Escape Goat! Touring with his ward and assistant Isis (a 2,000-year-old mummy girl), Escape Goat performs to sold-out crowds around the globe… but it’s what happens off-stage, when locals call upon him to solve the paranormal mysteries plaguing their cities, that provides the most peril! Also in this issue: A special preview of The Stuff of Legend Volume 3, continuing the saga of the New York Times bestselling graphic novel!” The Stuff of Legend, of course, is Th3rd World’s continuing series about an army of loyal toys out to save their missing master — and children the world over — from an invasion of nightmare demons.

image c. 2010 Th3rd World Studios

It’s another new year, and once again it’s time to take a look back at the year before… and decide what we really liked about it, from the point of view of Furry Fandom.  The Ursa Major Awards are the furry fans’ answer to the Hugo Awards ™ from science fiction fandom, the Bram Stoker Awards from horror fandom, and so forth. In other words, these are the awards the people choose themselves, celebrating the best of what we have to offer — in this case, anthropomorphic characters and their creators. Every year hundreds of furry fans the world over take part in nominating and awarding their favorite furry games, comic books, comic strips, artwork, TV series and shorts, movies, and more. The first step is what’s called The Recommended List.  This is just a reminder of what cool furry-themed pieces came out in the qualifying year — in this case, 2010, January to December. We’ve reviewed numerous items over the last year on this very web page, and most if not all of them could qualify for the awards — if you, the fans, nominate them. So visit the Ursa Major Awards web site and add your favorite items to the The Recommended List.  Remember though, the List is not a nomination — it’s just a reminder of things that exist, sort of a “Fur Your Consideration” listing if you will. Proper nominations begin this spring, and the awards themselves will be handed out at a furry convention this summer.

Slipping under the radar for a lot of folks — including, yes, yours truly! — is the CGI animated film Animals United, recently coming out of Germany. It’s directed by Reinhard Klooss and Holger Tappe, known among fans of European animation for Impy’s Wonderland. In this new film, animals of various species must work together when the effects of human industrialization (read: Global Warming) threaten their supply of clean water. And yes, it’s a comedy. One look at the trailer will tell you that. So far there’s no word on a North American release, but an English language version has been created for the U.K., featuring well-known voices like Jim Broadbent, Dawn French, and Stephen Fry.

And with that bit of news: Let us wish a Happy and Joyful New Year to all you furry fans the world over! We hope to see you back here all through 2011… and beyond!

Erin Hunter is a collective writer (yes, “she” is a team) best known for the Warriors series of cat fantasy novels. More recently, Erin has been creating the Seekers series, a set of fantasy novels featuring bears of various sorts. Now, this coming February brings us Seekers: Kallik’s Adventures, an illustrated black & white graphic novel co-published by Harper Collins and Tokyo Pop. The illustrations are by Bettina Kurkoski. “Polar bear cub Kallik and her brother, Taqqiq, live in a cozy den nestled into the side of a snowy hill. Their mother, Nisa, tells them stories of the great world beyond their little den: stories of other bears, endless snow, and flecks of ice in the sky called stars. Kallik and Taqqiq can’t wait to explore everything, though Nisa says they’re still too little to venture out. But when the two cubs sneak out one day, they discover some startling new things about life in the wild and make a new friend—whose life may be in danger!” Amazon. com has more about this new softcover book.

Bone: Legacy is a new trilogy of illustrated fantasy novels set in the universe of Jeff Smith’s award-winning Bone comic book series. The first novel, Quest for the Spark by Tom Sniegoski, is being released by Graphix this coming February. It’s illustrated by Jeff Smith himself, too. The story goes like this: “Twelve-year-old Tom Elm is just an ordinary turnip farmer from the Valley, but he’s always felt destined for something bigger. So when he discovers everyone in his village is asleep and plagued by nightmares, he assembles a band of unlikely heroes. They must fight to preserve the Spark — a divine light born at the core of a vast, dark nothingness called the Nacht.” That band of heroes includes new members of the Bone folk, young rat-creatures, and Roderick the Raccoon, among other popular Bone characters.

Creators Edge Press is releasing a new full-color 4-issue mini-series this coming February. It’s called Warriors of the Dharuk, and here’s the description we found from the creators: “From the mind of Stephen Lindsay of Jesus Hates Zombies fame, and amazing art by Dave Myers and Alfredo Lopez Jr., comes an epic adventure all-ages book just in time for the holidays! Warriors of the Dharuk is the tale of Jody, a young warrior-in-training among the Clan of the Dharuk – a Koala clan that lives in harmonious existence with nature. As Jody prepares to enter The Trails — the tests of manhood for all warriors to-be — he is thrust into the middle of a brewing conflict between the Clan of the Dharuk and the Shak-ta, a technology-obsessed clan of Sugar Gliders. The Shak-ta have no respect for the ways of the Dharuk and see them as archaic hold-outs of a world long gone. For the Shak-ta to progress further, they need the Dharuk moved off of their lands or eliminated all together. To the Shak-ta, either end is acceptable. When a failed Dharuk warrior turns traitor, the very existence of the Dharuk is threatened. But the Dharuk holy man, Yuan — a blind skunk — tasks Jody and his new friend and protector, a wandering armadillo warrior named Ota, with finding a way to stop the Shak-ta.” Heavy Ink is taking pre-orders for the first issue on-line.

image c. 2010 Creators Edge Press

This coming February, in preparation for the return of artist Ladronn to the pages of Elephantmen, Image Comics will be presenting a special art collection, Elephantmen: Cover Stories. It’s 64 pages of Elephantmen and Hip Flask covers and cover sketches by Ladronn, page-flipped with covers and cover sketches by current Elephantmen artist Boo Cook. The collection also includes a 5-page preview of Elephantmen Volume 4 by Ladronn.

Cover to Elephantmen Volume 4 by Boo Cook, c. 2010

Merry Christmas, Blessed Solstice, Joyful Kwanzaa, and in general Happy Holidays to all of you. And of course, good wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.

For those looking to learn more about Furry Fandom, or perhaps just to see what some folks think, you might want to look at Furries — An Inside Look, a new student film by Curt Pehrson that’s up on Vimeo. Here’s his description: “This documentary gives an inside perspective on the strange and interesting subculture known as the furry fandom. Filmed at Midwest Furfest 2010, a major furry convention, the fandom is explained by furries in their own words. This project was both a personal and an academic undertaking. The concept and production was my own, but I also got college credit for producing it, as an independent study at Bradley University.” The film has, needless to say, sparked a lively debate in the fandom already. Check it out at Vimeo and join in the discussion.

Fantasy author Robin McKinley (well-known for Dragonhaven) has a new book on the shelves, simply called Pegasus. The idea is simple: For a thousand years, humans and pegasi have lived in a magical alliance. Unfortunately, neither can speak the other’s language, and so they must rely upon a special guild of wizards to communicate. But things are different for Princess Sylviianel and her winged-horse friend Ebon: They can read one another’s minds. That fact alone, they find, makes them some powerful enemies… who consider them to be very dangerous. This hardcover fantasy novel is available now from Putnam Juvenile. Here’s a description from Amazon.

And with that, let us wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Holiday Season. Bright blessings.