Mink's stories

Prehistoric Duck vs. Marauding Monkeys
Wed 7 Mar 2012 - 02:05

Late in May there’s something definitely new and different coming down the pipe from Ape Entertainment. It’s a full-color softcover graphic novel called Dino Duck: Prehysterical. How best to describe it? Hmm, we better let them do it: “The race up the evolutionary ladder is on! But the only duck in the Duck Tribe who knows it is Dino! With the monkeys watching and copying his every move (and his fellow tribesman ignoring him completely), it’s up to Dino to drag his people out of the stone age and into evolutionary superiority before the monkeys beat him to it!” The man behind it all is writer and artist Jay Fosgitt. Check it out over at Things from Another World.


image c. 2012 Ape Entertainment

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Doggie of Death
Mon 5 Mar 2012 - 01:26

Sometimes, all you need to know is the title: Battlepug. Want more? Okay. Some time ago comic book artist Mike Norton created a t-shirt design of a Conan-type barbarian riding the back of a giant-but-cute doggie, which he titled “Battlepug”. The t-shirt design was such a hit that about one year ago Mr. Norton decided to create a Battlepug web comic, which follows the adventures of a muscular warrior, his battle-pug mount, and an old lunatic as they travel the land, yes, battling with the likes of a giant evil baby seal and a colony of gophers who team up to form a giant mega-gopher. You see it’s all a story a naked lady is telling to her two pet dogs… Well, maybe it’ll make more sense if you read it. Or maybe not. Now word is out that the web comic has done so well that Dark Horse Press will be releasing a collected print version of the first year of Battlepug this coming July.


image c. 2012 Mike Norton

Rabbit Samurai vs. Rabid Zombies
Sat 3 Mar 2012 - 01:12

In the latest collection of Usagi Yojimbo comics coming from Dark Horse, the rabbit ronin faces an army of the undead! Here’s the publisher’s description of Usagi Yojimbo Volume 26: Traitors of the Earth — “With hundreds of zombies and an evil wizard to contend with, Usagi finds himself far out of his depth! Fortunately, he has the aid of fan-favorite character Sasuké the Demon Queller, most recently seen in the Yokai graphic novel. This volume also features several action-packed short stories, including the Eisner-nominated “Death of Lord Hikiji”! This volume collects Usagi Yojimbo #117–#123 and stories from Dark Horse Maverick 2001 and MySpace Dark Horse Presents #35.” When it arrives in stores it’ll be available in softcover, and also in a special signed hardcover edition that will be limited to 350 copies. The introduction is by well-known comic book great Walter Simonson (Thor, Orion). All of this brought to you by the multi-award-winning writer and artist Stan Sakai, of course.


image c. 2012 Dark Horse

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Wallace and Gromit come to DVD — Again
Wed 29 Feb 2012 - 19:35

Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention won the 2010 Ursa Major Award (presented at Morphicon in 2011) for Best Anthropomorphic Short Subject or Series. Now Cartoon Brew has informed us that Lionsgate is releasing the entire 6-episode BBC series (created by Nick Park and Aardman Animations, of course) to DVD and BluRay on March 13th. “Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention sees world-renowned inventor Wallace and his faithful sidekick (turned camera dog) Gromit turn their hand to presenting for the very first time, hosting a six-part series from the basement of 62 West Wallaby Street. They take an enthusiastic look at some real life cracking contraptions, from gadgets that help around the home to the mind-boggling world of space travel and much more in between.”


image c. 2012 Aardman Animations

The Lorax
Tue 28 Feb 2012 - 02:57

By now you’ve probably seen the trailers, the billboards, or the general buzz letting you know that a new version of Dr. Seuss’ 1971 parable The Lorax is coming to the big screen. The last time The Lorax was animated was 1972, in a TV special created by DePatie-Freleng (well known for The Pink Panther cartoon show). This time, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment (who most recently brought us Despicable Me) will be releasing the CGI film version on March 2nd. It’s directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda, and stars the voice of Danny DeVito (as the Lorax) as well as Zac Efron, Ed Helms, Betty White, and Taylor Swift. The original story, if you didn’t know, tells of a young boy who meets up with an unseen creature known as the Once-ler, who tells a story of his youth… when he destroyed a tranquil forest in the name of industrialization and commercialism, despite the pleas and warnings of the Lorax, a sort of spirit of the forest. As with the big screen adaptation of Horton Hears A Who, a lot has been added to the basic plot for this new version of The Lorax. It remains to be seen if the new movie will maintain not only the original’s important message, but also the power of it’s hopeful yet rather bleak ending. You can decide for yourself when the film comes out, or by visiting Unversal’s Lorax Movie Site.

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Cats and Dinosaurs
Sat 25 Feb 2012 - 22:58

Okay, so you’ve got a pet dinosaur. Raising one from an egg can be a real pain, er, adventure! Not the very least for your other household pets! That’s the idea behind Kitty & Dino, a new children’s hardcover book written and illustrated by Sara Richard. From the publisher’s press release on Amazon: “When a little boy brings home a dinosaur egg, the cat of the house isn’t too keen on the tiny creature that pops out. But after a few weeks of showing the new baby the ropes, a bond forms between kitty and dino that transcends species.” It’s available for order now, and coming from Yen Press in April.


image c. 2012 Sara Richard

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She Talks to Toys
Fri 24 Feb 2012 - 02:59

Doc McStuffins is a brand new CGI animated series which is premiering on Disney Channel this coming March 23rd as part of their Disney Junior programming. The show was created by Emmy-Award-winning writer and producer Chris Nee (who also wrote for The Wonder Pets) and it’s directed by Emmy-winner Norton Virgien (Rugrats). The show follows the adventures of a 6-year-old girl who discovers that, using her magic play stethoscope, she can talk to toys… and so, she sets up shop fixing them when they’re having troubles. The show is produced by Brown Bag Films out of Dublin, Ireland, with some animation from Sparky Animation in Singapore.  TV Guide on line has some background information on the show and a preview video too.


image c. 2012 Disney Channel

Update (29 Feb): The initial revision of this article incorrectly implied that Chris Nee was the creator of The Wonder Pets, and cited Sparky Animation as co-producers of Doc McStuffins.

Black to the Moon
Wed 22 Feb 2012 - 02:21

Black to the Moon is a 3D CGI animated feature film from Europe, which recently premiered at the Cartoon Movie event in Lyon, France. Originally known as Blackie & Kanuto, it was directed by Francis Nielsen and produced in France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium (!). Currently it’s looking for distribution in North America. Here’s the storyline according to the Internet Movie Database: “Blacky, a black sheep, is the terror of the farm. And she is obsessed with going to the Moon. Kanuto, the sheepdog, gets tangled up in her plans while failing to hide his love for her. They get swept away in an adventure where they meet an opera-singing cow, a fashion designer wolf, illegal sewing spiders, a weird couple of birds from some famous singing TV reality show contest, and a peculiar pack of dogs, the ‘Pastrinos’, who have a rocket ready to launch. And of course, Pinky, the Godzilla-sized sheep, with a bad attitude of lunar proportions.” Seriously.  Maybe it’ll make more sense when you see the English-language trailer on YouTube. But then again, maybe not.


image c. 2012 Art'Mell

Brave Pets vs. the Undead
Mon 20 Feb 2012 - 02:46

Who says there aren’t any original ideas anymore? Even if they involve combining other ideas, still: “In the wake of a zombie apocalypse, a small band of animals, led by a hyper-intelligent Golden Retriever named Rex, and accompanied by a baseball bat-wielding gorilla, begin their cross-country journey in the hope of finding safety…and a home.” It’s Rex: Zombie Killer, a brand new double-thick one-shot comic book that’s coming soon from Big Dog Ink. Written by Rob Anderson and illustrated in full color by Dafu Yu, it’s scheduled for release (escape?) in early April. Check out the Rex: Zombie Killer web site to meet all the characters and find out more about the comic.


image c. 2012 Big Dog Ink

It’s A Racing Snail!
Sat 18 Feb 2012 - 02:53

No, it’s not another addition to the Neverending Story series… it’s Dreamworks Animation’s newest project, Turbo. The folks over at Cartoon Brew gave us a preview of the sneak-peak poster and some background on the story. [Though the write-up quotes 2012, it's actually due in 2013 -- ye ed-otter.] “Set for release in summer 2012, DreamWorks Animation’s Turbo is described as ‘a garden snail with dreams of becoming the fast snail in the world experiences a freak accident that might just allow him to realize his goal.’ Three actors have been attached to do voices: Ryan Reynolds, Marvin Duerkholz and Lil’ Mizerkk.” Dreamworks has also released higher-res versions of the main posters for the films Rise of the Guardians (coming this November) and The Croods (the new project from director Chris Sanders).


image c. 2012 Dreamworks Animation