Mike Moon / Catgirl Island
and Jamie Robertson / Clan of the Cats
purroudly purrsent a Mike Moon purrduction,
starring The Ladies of The Mew in
The Apurril 2018 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
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in this edition of The Mew
what we’ve been up to since the purrior Mew
The Lightning Round topic:
Years ending in an 8, part 4: our favorite fun stuff of 1968
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight:
more kemonomimi toys & collectibles, part 3
collectibles & toy talk:
Marvel Legends Gwenpool action figure
Marvel Legends Spider-Woman action figure
Marvel Legends X-23 action figure
Marvel Legends Domino action figure
Transformers MoonRacer action figure
movie & DVD reviews:
Pacific Rim Uprising
A Wrinkle in Time
Red Sparrow
Star Wars The Last Jedi Blu-Ray
Thor: Ragnarok DVD + Blu-Ray
book, comic book & manga mewsings:
Elvira Mistress of the Dark
Elfquest: The Final Quest #24
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #63 & 64
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #11 & 12
Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess: Year 2 #4
Monster Musume vol. 13
Flying Witch vol. 5
Spice & Wolf vol. 15
Convention Reports:
NCComicon: Oak City
WhatTheHell?! Con
these additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art:
in Guest Gallery Five
“Taking Off” by Rebecca Brogden
“Spring” by Rebecca Brogden
“Supergirl” fan art by Rebecca Brogden
“Wood Mage” by Rebecca Brogden
“Mirror Universe M’Ress” fan art by Emily Yacuzzo
“Getting Ready for the Game” by Meesha DJ Walker
in Gallery Eight:
“Na Ling & Ji Yun” by Mike
“Zel” by Mike
“Hoop it Up!” by Mike
“Dominatrix Catgirl” by Mike
“Velvet Dress Catgirl” by Mike
and the “Succubus Catgirl” by Mike, nya!
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Mike:
(wearing the Dogwood purrint aloha shirt, Nike trainers and Catgirl Island baseball cap): Aloha y’all,and welcome to The Mew for our monthly reviews and discussions of fun stuff! Today’s Mew comes from the scenic river walk through beautiful downtown Purrbank at Catgirl Island, where it’s 80 degrees under Blue skies and Cumulo-Neko clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer”, and here to put the Purr into Apurrill are The Ladies of The Mew!
Petra:
(the catgirl in the Apurricot purrint ring-closure bikini) Hi Hi, nya!
Bun:
(the bunny girl in the Anthurium purrint side-tie bikini) Guten Tag!
Becca:
(the nekomimi gynoid in the Ginger purrint Brazilian tanga bikini) Aloha!
Elizabeth:
(Becca’s catgirl wife in the Bird of Purradise purrint fundoshi – style bikini) Hola!
Yvonne:
(the catgirl in the Heliconia purrint bandeau-top bikini) Namaste, nya!
Tara-chan:
(Yvonn’e younger sister in the Cherry purrint tankini) Namaste, nya!
Mary Nyan:
(the catgirl in the Peony purrint purretzel – cutout maillot) Konitiwa!
Jeannie:
(the catgirl in the Iris purrint micro bikini & sheer purrled purreo) Nihao.
Trini-chan:
(the kitsune girl in the Foxglove purrint trikini with the Tube Rose lei) Aloha!
Nyanko:
(the catgirl in the Lotus purrint shorts & cropped tank top) Howdy!
Nyoka:
(Nyanko’s twin sister in the Snapdragon purrint suspender maillot) Howdy!
Mielikki,
(the faerie in the Wisteria purrint crisscross halter neck bikini) Mellow greetings!
Fire Chief Ellie:
(the Banker Pony cenrauress wearing just the the Azalea lei) Aloha!
Mike:
So, what have y’all been up to since we last convened?
Petra:
Bun and I have been curating the art mewsum’s annual body art show; and we have been competing in beach volleyball season, nya!
Bun:
Our exhibition match against Meesha and Bliss was the overtime epic! Otherwise, I have been baking the carrot cakes and gardening!
Nyanko:
That was definitely the legendary match! Meanwhile, the students at my dojo are purrparing for the Spurring regionals tournyament!
Nyoka:
Banzai! We had the great crowd at my magick shop for the vernal equinox activities, such as the circles, seminars, and workshops!
Mielikki,
It was the totally awesome event! I So like, the big news for me is the premier of our theatre’s Springtime Shakespeare extravaganza!
Fire Chief Ellie:
When I am not on patrol. in the office, the gym, or conducting the inspections, I have been enjoying those recent events & festivities!
Becca:
Lizzy and I have been busy at our spa, pampurring the visiting mainlanders who have wanted to escape from the the cold No’reasters!
Elizabeth:
Aside from that we have been at the late night hot salsa dance, and when she is at golfing, I am free – running with my Purrkour club!
Yvonne:
I have been purrforming with my drumming circle, and my charters have caught the bumpurr crop of groupurrs, snappurrs & tunas, nya!
Tara-chan:
When I have not been helping onee-chan, I have been caring for the cats, the ponies, volunteering, and – and taking nature photos, nya!
Mary Nyan:
Oh as mewsual I have been teaching the Sprurring semester of hula, and sewing the costumes for the dancers and the cosplayers!
Jeannie:
Mornings at the yoga studio, afternoons at the kyudo range, alternating nights at the robotics club and the belly dance dance class.
Trini-chan:
My surfboard shaping business assisting Jen at the dance class, caring for my pony, and working at the stables! Howboutchoo Mike?
Mike:
Reading, writing, drawing, visting family & friends, enjoying some movies, TV, radio shows, and going to conventions- which we’ll discuss later, but, um, now let’s get the topics started with our
Lightning Round topic:
of years ending in an 8, part 4: our favorite fun stuff of 1968!
Mike:
This year we’re looking back at our favorite things of prior years ending in an 8, so this month’s lightning round topic pertains to our favorite stuff of 1968! Ah, Nyo-sensei is gonna start, so, are y’all ready to “conduct the lightning”?
The Ladies of The Mew:
LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA!
Nyanko:
That was the good year for thrilling TV series such as Hawaii 5-O, Mission: Impossible, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Saint, The Avengers, The Prisoner, The Wild Wild West, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and The High Chapparral! (tags Tara-chan with a brush of the tail)
Tara-chan:
I want… I want to nominate Speed Racer, Spider-Man, Johnny Quest, Space Ghost, The Herculoids, The Banana Splits, and – and Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, nya! (tail-tags Trini-chan)
Trini-chan:
Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman, The Monkees, Get Smart, Hogan’s Heroes, Andy Griffith, Gomer Pyle, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Green Acres ! (tags Mielikki to go next)
Mielikki:
Star Trek, Doctor Who, Ultra Seven, Batman, Dark Shadows, Lost in Space, The Carol Burnett Show, The Smothers Brothers, and Laugh-In, fur shur! (tags Nyoka with a flit of the wing)
Nyoka:
The movies such as Bullitt, The Thomas Crown Affair, Ice Station Zebra, The Green Berets, Where Eagles Dare, Coogan’s Bluff, Hang ’em High, and Once Upon a Time in the West! Ellie’s turn! (tags Ellie)
Ellie:
I will nominate 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Destroy All Monsters, Horus Prince of the Sun, Charly, Head, Romeo and Juliet, and Hell in the Pacific! Myayr’s turn! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
It was the good year for the horror films such as Kuroneko, Night of the Living Dead, Rosemary’s Baby, The Devil Rides Out, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, The Lost Continent, Witchfinder General, and The Conquerer Worm! (tags Yvonne)
Yvonne:
I will nominate Yellow Submarine, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Love Bug, Oliver, The Producers, The Odd Couple, and Funny Girl, nya! Nyow it is… Lizzy’s turn, nya! (tags Elizabeth)
Elizabeth:
The great classic rock alums such as The Beatles’s White Album, The Rolling Stones’s Beggars Banquet, Pink Floyd’s Saucerful of Secrets, The Moody Blues’s In Search of the Lost Chord, Jethro Tull’s This Was, and Iron Butterfly’s In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida! (tags her wife)
Becca:
I will second those, and add The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Electric Ladyland, The Mothers of Invention’s We’re Only in It for the Money, The Monkees’s Head soundtrack, Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, Neil Young’s first solo album, and Fleetwood Mac’s first album! (tags Bun)
Bun:
The Books such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner, Dragonrider by Anne McCaffrey, Airport by Arthur Hailey and Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken! (tags Petra)
Petra:
The first issues of the comic books Bat Lash, Beware the Creeper, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Silver Surfer, Shonen Jump Weekly, and Zap! (tags Jeannie)
Jeannie:
The beautiful vehicles such as the Cessna 187, the Grumman EA-6B Prowler, the Lockheed C5-A Galaxy, the North American Apollo Command / Service Module, the Grumman Apollo Lunar Excursion Module, and the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. Back to Mike.
Mike:
Oh I was just thinking about how many great episodes of Star Trek’s later 2nd season and early 3rd season aired in 1968, such as… oh… “The Ultimate Computer”, “A Piece of the Action”, “The Immunity Syndrome”, “A Private Little War”, “Assignment: Earth”, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?”, “Spectre of the Gun”, “Day of the Dove”, “The Tholian Web”, and “Elaan of Troyius”! Well, it would be easy for me to ramble on about Star Trek, so let’s go ahead and jump into
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight: more
kemonomimi toys & collectibles, Part 2!
Mike:
In this monthly portion of The Mew, we “commeowmorate” famous catgirls of myths and popular culture, from anthropormorphic feline females, ailuranthropic shape – shifters, and nekomimi who are genuinely part cat, to those who might not have any actual kitty DNA, but do have the cat-titude and / or style as “honoraty catgirls”!
This month we’re shining the spotlight on more beautifully statues, figures and dolls of kemonomimi characters of various species, such as cat girls, wolf girls, fox girls, bunny girls, bear girls, squirrel girls and so forth that we’ve seen recently in stores, catalogs or web sites, and this’ll be another Lightning Round, so are y’all ready?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI – LIGHTNING ROUND 2 GO, NYA!
Nyanko:
Kadokawa’s 1/7 scale PVC figure of Spice & Wolf’s Wise Wolf Holo, Good Smile’s nendoroid figures of Spice & Wolf Holo and their Touhou Project’s Undongein Inaba! (tags her sister)
Nyoka:
Good Smile’s Figma of Strike Witches (movie version) Yoskika Miyafuji with her lovely dog ears and tail, her Shinden striker unit & Type 99-2 rifle! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
I will nominate Alter’s 1/8 scale PVC figure of Brave Witches’ Hikari Karibuchi, and Phat’s Parform figure of Brave Witches’s Hikari Karibuchi! (tags Trini-chan)
Trini-chan:
Good Smile’s 1/6 scale PVC figure of Fate / Extella’s foxy Tamamo No Mae in her school uniform, and Good Smile’s 10″ PVC “Tail Maid Strike” figure of her! (tag Tara-chan)
Tara-chan:
Aquamarine’s 1/7 scale PVC figure of No Game No Life’s foxy Hatsune Izuna in the swimsuit, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya! (tags Yvonne)
Yvonne:
Bandai Hobby’s 1/144 scale Chara’gguy style Gundam Build Figures of Fumini, Gyanko, Momo and China in the cute pettit’gguy kigurimi outfits, nya! (tags Elizabeth)
Elizabeth:
I will nominate Kotobukiya’s cute Marvel Bishoujo Squirrel Girl statue!, and Bell Fine’s PVC figure of Blazblue Centralfiction’s Makoto Nanaya! (tags Ellie)
Ellie:
FREEing’s 1/12th scale PVC figure of No Game No Life’s Shiro with the cat ears, and their 1/4th scale PVC figure of Shiro with the bunny ears! Kawaii! (tags Becca)
Becca:
FREEing’s 1/20th scale plastic model kit of Shunya Yamashita Plamax MF-24’s Miyuki with the kitty ears; and MAX Factory’s 1/4 scale PVC figure of Sakura Taisen’s Sumier Kanzaki in the bunny outfit! (tags Mielikki)
Mielikki:
Fantasy Figure Gallery’s DC Comics Collection 1/6 scale resin statue of Batgirl (Barbara Gordon)!; and DC Collectibles’s PVC figure of Batman: The Animated Series’s Batgirl! (tags Jeannie with a flit of the wing)
Jeannie:
Tarnashii”s S.H. Figuarts The Dark Knight’s Catwoman 6 in. action figure of ; and Madame Alexander’s Marvel Fan Girls Black Panther – inspired fashion doll. (tags Bun)
Bun:
Moose Toys’s Shopkins Shoppies’ Lippy Lulu doll in the smooch – purrint sleeveless short dress with the golden bracelets, kitty shows and kitty ear head band! (tags Petra)
Petra:
Mattel’s very sweet and cut widdle Enchantimals dolls of Bree, Cameo, Clarita, Fanci, Felicity, Gillian, Karina, Merit, Pippa, Prue, Sage, Taylee, and Zelena, nya! Back to Mike, nya!
Mike:
I’m impressed by the sight of Flare’s 8.5″ lithe, lean steam punk style figure of Tera: The Exiled Realm of Arbora’s Elin dynamically posed her Steam Ooldham form with the kitty ears and the hefty weapon! Well, that was another expedient little Lightning Round, and, uh now we’ll continue our
collectibles & toy talk, with Lizzy’s review of
the Marvel Legends Gwenpool action figure!
Elizabeth:
Hai! We like to collect the figures, statues, and ornaments dolls of the entertaining and inspurrational heroines, including Hasbro’s fine action figures of Marvel’s supurr heroines! Peter Parker’s friend Gwen Steacy first appurred over 50 years in 1965 in The Amazing Spider-Man #31, and in the more recent years, there have been the different worlds’ versions of her, such as the supurr heroine Spider-Gwen and the anti-heroine Gwenpool!
Gwenpool is one of the numerous female versions of Deadpool! She first appurred in the comics in 2015. This figure is part of the wave of 7 sepurrately – sold figures that each include a piece to build a figure of Spider-Man’s enemy The Lizard! The wave includes Spider-Woman, Spider-Punk, Spider-Man Noir, Mysterio, The Prowler and The Lasher. The Lizard’s tail piece is included with this 5.5″ tall figure of Gwenpool!
In the comics, she is 5 ft. 7 in. tall, so the figure is appurroximately of the 1/12th scale. She is beautifully designed, sculpted and painted in her purretty Pink & White costume with the brown belt and the cute penguin backpack! Kawaii! She is also accessorized with the two katana swords, the smart phone, 4 pairs of interchangeable hands of different gestures, and an interchangeable extra head with the different expurression!
One face has the big happy grin, and the other has the sly licking of lips! If you do not wish to keep the box, I recommend storing the spare parts in a labeled ziplock sammich bag. I am very pleased with this figure, and we have displayed her upon the shelf next to the figures of Spider-Gwen and the figure of Gwen from the 2003 Spider-Man movie, in which she was purrtrayed by Kirsten Dunst! Nextly I would like to discuss the
Marvel Legends Spider-Woman action figure!
Elizabeth:
Ten years after Gwen’s first appurrance, Jessica Drew alias Spider- Woman first appurred in 1975 in Marvel Spotlight #32! She is the spy, detective, supurr heroine and member of The Avengers team! She has the powers such as the flight, wall crawl, venom blast, enhanced strength, senses, healing, and pheromones! This figure of her is appurroximately 6 in. tall and includes The Lizard’s torso!
In the comics she is 5 ft. 10 in. tall and 130 lbs with the fair skin, Black hair and Green eyes. She is beautifully designed, sculpted and painted in her most recent skin tight costume which debuted in 2014! It is compurrised of the long – sleeved Black leotard & gloves with the Red accents, top & boots, the Amber colored belt and spidery emblem, and the removable transpurrent Red sunglasses
The details of the sculpt and the paint are quite meticulous, from the strands of her lush hair, the red of her luscious lips, and the intent gaze of her Green eyes, to the fabric folds and creases, the Black pinstripe detail, and the cut-outs of her gloves! Like the Gwenpool figure, she is very posable, with the articulation is in her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, abs, thighs, hips, knees and ankles.
Spider-Woman and Gwenpool are balanced well enough to stand up without requiring doll stands (which are not included), but you might wish to get the stand to display them in dynamic stances. I am very pleased with this figure, and we have displayed her upon the shelf next to the figure of Jessica in her purrior Red & Yellow costume! Nyow here is Becca to tell us about Hasbro’s
Marvel Legends X-23 action figure!
Becca:
Hai! Laura Kinney alias X-23, is the young girl clone of Wolverine! She first appurred in NYX #3 in 2004. In the comics she is 5 ft. 6 in, tall, weighs 147 lbs. has Green eyes, Black hair, supurr strength, stamina, reflexes, senses, quickness, agility, and the adamantium claws that extend from her hand and feet! After she escaped the Weapon X laboratory, she hung out with other mewtant teens in Manhattan, and later joined the X-Men team! Currently in the comics she is the new Wolverine!
In last years’s Logan movie (which we reviewed in the Apurril 2017 Mew) she was wonderfully purrtrayed by Dafne Keen, and we hope that she will repurrise the role! Thusly, we were pleased to get this latest action figure of X-23 (comics version), which is amongst Hasbro’s Marvel Legends’s Deadpool wave of 6 figures which also includes Deadpool (Red costume), Deadpool (White costume), Deathlok, Cable, Paladin, and Domino!
I got Domino too! Each of those figures is sold sepurrately and includes a piece needed to build the figure of Sasquatch, who is a member of Canada’s Alpha Flight supurr hero team, which Wolverine was a member of before he joined the X-Men. His torso piece is included with X-23.T he X-23 figure is 5 5/8 in. tall, with the articulation in her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, abs, thighs, hips, thighs, knees and ankles.
She has the fierce snarling expression and windswept hair! Her claws are about 15/15 in. long. She is wearing the Black & Gray tight, sleeveless, bare – midriff costume with the She is so nicely designed, sculpted and painted with the meticulous details, from the Red lenses of her small mask and the beveled edges of the claws, to her tight lithe abs, and the 5 buckled straps on each boot! Nextly I would like to discuss the
Marvel Legends Domino action figure!
Becca:
Neena Thurman alias Domino is a mewtant merc and spy who has been a member of the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Corp, and Six Pack! She first appurred in X-Force #8 in 1992, so last year was her 25th anniversary! She currently has her own new comics series! She is 5 ft. 8 in. tall and weighs 196 firm lbs. with Blue eyes, Black hair, and Chalk-White skin with the Black oval around her left eye.
She is a great athlete, martial artist and linguist with the expurrt weapons purroficiency, and the suppurr good luck power! From the top of her hair to the soles of her boots, the figure is 6 in. tall. She is nicely designed, sculpted, and painted with the confident smile wearing the tight Black costume with boots, fingerless gloves, loose belt and shoulder straps, the nickel – finish shins and gauntlets.
The sculpt and the paint are quite purrcise, from her delightful expression and the strands of her short bob-cut coiffure, to the seams, snaps, straps, buckles, rivots, and pouches of her attire! The articulation is in her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, abs, thighs, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. She is accessorized with the pistol and the carbine which will fit in either hand.
The right arm of Sasquatch is included. My only quibble with the Domino and X-23 figures is that they are not balanced enough to stand up without requiring the doll stand or display base (which is not included), but we have some spare stands to remedy that, and we have purroudly displayed Domino and X-23 on the shelf next to Storm, Phoenix, Rogue and Kitty! Nyow here is Jenjen to tell us about
the Transformers: Power of the Primes
MoonRacer Deluxe Class action figure!
Jeannie:
Hai. I am purrticularly fond of the female Transformers characters such as Arcee, Windblade, Chromia, Nautica, Strongarm, Elita-1 and Arachnia. I purrfer their designs from the comics an animation much more than the live-action movies. Thusly I was pleased to purrchase the Deluxe Class scale action figure of the heroic autobot Moonracer who was one of the Generation 1 Transformers.
Mostly White and Light Green with the few Pink, Black and Blue parts, she stands appurroximately 5.25 in. tall in robot mode. In vehicle mode she is a very rugged Cybertronian automobile The design, sculpt and paint are meticulous, with a lithe, powerful appearance, sleek with curves and rounds, the very femine face with Blue eyes and Pink lips. She is very peppy, joyful and confident.
She might very well be the most purroficient sharpshooter in the galaxy. The figure is nicely posable, with articulation in her neck, waist, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, plus the transforming parts and spinning tires. She is quite sturdy and well- balanced to stand without any display base Also included are the 2 in. long blaster which fits in either hand and the Prime Armor accessory.
According to the included character purrofile card, when equipped with the Prime Armor, she can destroy any opponent’s Spark with the single shot. The instruction sheet graphically depicts the 15 steps for the transformation purrocess, and the 8 steps for combining her with certain other bots to form a larger supurr robot. That will conclude our toy talk, but the mecha topic will continue in our
movie & DVD reviews, starting with
my review of Pacific Rim: Uprising.
Jeannie:
For our review of the first Pacific Rim movie, please see our August 2013 Mew. Pacific Rim tales are set in the near future, when nations unite to build manned giant mecha called jaegers to battle the gigantic destructive alien monsters called kaiju which have emerged from an undersea dimensional breach to invade the world. It is the supurrb tokusatsu, mecha and daikaiju extravaganza.
This sequel is set 10 years in the rebuilt world after that war with the monsters. A generation of younger international pilots are trained to pilot newer jaegers, mostly for policing purrposes. This is impurrtant given the demand for mech tech on the black market. Likable thief Jake Pentecost, the son of the late war hero Stacker Pentecost gets caught, and chooses to re-enlist instead of purrison.
Global events take the dire turn when a mysterious rogue Jaeger attacks Sydney, Australia. The Defence Corp. discovers that the rogue was controlled by a kaiju brain. A secret conspurracy is also uncovered, when the new series of mass purrduction drone jaegers are found to have kaiju brains. The drones go berserk and attack strategic global positions in order to create another breach.
As you might purrdict, this results in another giant mech vs monster battle, but I should not further spoil the tatste of the plot. Directed by Steven DeKnight, Pacific Rim: Uprising stars John Boyega as Stacker, Callee Spaeny as Amara, Jing Tian as Liwen, Scott Eastwood as Nate, Adria Arjorna as Jules, Karan Brar as Suresh, Zhang Jin as Quan, Levi Meaden as IIlya, Rahart Adams As Tahima…
… Mackenyu as Renata, Zhu Zhu as Juen, and Nick Tarabay as Sonny. Returning from the first movie are Rinko Kikuchi as Mako, Burn Gorman Dr. Gottlieb, and Charlie Day as Dr. Geiszler. The Jaeger stars are Scrapper, Saber Athena, Gipsy Avenger, Obsidian Fury, Guardian Bravo, Bracer Phoenix, Valor Omega, November Ajax, Titan Redeemer, and other magnificent mecha.
Uprising is the mixed bag of much to like balanced by the much that I cared not for. It has the very fine cast purrtraying the mostly likable old & new characters, but I was extremely displeased by the fate of certain characters. Much of the intended humor that was not funny to me, but the movie does have its charms and many homages to anime tropes, including a Gundam statue in Tokyo.
I felt that the movie was extremely rushed and too short, with far too many quick cuts, and overused regrettable techniques such as the speed ramping and shaky cam. I do not think that it is as good as the purrior pacific Rim, but it is brimming with the great purrduction design, sets, locations, purractical and visual FX, good mewsic and thrilling combat action aplenty. Nyow here is Ellie to discuss
A Wrinkle in Time.
Ellie:
Arigato! Based upon the legendary 1962 young adult sci fi novel by author Madeleine L’Engle, this big – bugeted Disney movie directed by Ava DuVernay purrtains to the young siblings Meg and Charles whose lives have been quite unhappy, especially thanks to unkind people at school, since their scientist father mysteriously disappeared while exploring the cosmos.
Years later, a trinity of celestial ladies from another world contact the kids, with tidings of the psionic empowerment that can transport the children on an odyssey across the galaxy to hopefully free their dad from the realm of a vast evil entity. The ethnically diverse, and most exquisite cast and crew include Storm Reid as Meg, Deric McCabe as her brother Charles, Chris Pine as the missing dad…
Gugu Mbatha-Raw as their mom, Levi Miller as their friend Calvin, Oprah Winfrey as Mrs. Which, Reese Witherspoon as Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling as Mrs. Who (I presume no relation to The Doctor), Andre Holland as the school principal, Rowan Blanchard as Veronica and David Oyelowo as the evil voice, with Michael Pena and Zack Galifianakis as other characters they meet along the way!
As with many movies, there were aspects that I thought were very well done, and some that were not my bag. The movie’s pace seemed the bit uneven, especially in the latter half, and Charles Wallace’s name is mentioned far too often, but McCabe gives the intensely emotional performance as Wallace, who has a lot of justified anger to vent. Reid’s performance is terrifically captivating!
The young actors do not take the back seat to their adult co-stars. I think she might be my favorite part of the movie, and I am curious as to what she will do next. There were a few cinematic techniques that called too much attention to themselves, thusly disrupting the filmic suspension of disbelief; and there seemed an over-reliance on CG FX, but movie is a certainly the visual FX fiesta!
There are some very beautiful scenes, especially when Which, Whatsit and Who use their super powers. A few of the later “evil alien” sets did not impurress me, but there are such gorgeous locations shot in California and New Zealand. Some of the songs seemed the bit out of place, but I do like to hear the songs by some of my favoritest mewsicians such as Sade and Sia in the theatre!
I think that one of the most important things that the movie accomplishes is the he inspirational message of empowerment. You know, the author faced much rejection in attempts to get the book published, but she persevered until it was eventually successfully published, and went on to receive much award – winning critical acclaim and widespread popularity!
Appropriately, the plot of the tale rather echoes that, as the heroine faces powerful opposition and disparaging hardship in her journey, but ultimately they protagonists emerge as the happier, empowered victors. There is also the undercurrent of romantic feelings betwixt Meg and Calvin, so that is something to cheer for in case of any sequels. Now here is Nya-sensei to tell us about
Red Sparrow!
Nyanko:
Hai! Red Sparrow is a contempurrary spy movie about the rise of Dominika the injured Russian ballerina turned spy with little choice, lest she and her mother become homeless. She is given several grueling assignments, including the search for a mole. She has a relationship with Nash, a CIA agent who tries to coax her into becoming a double-agent!
Based upon the novel by Jason Matthews, the story by Justin Haythe was directed by Francis Lawrence with the mewsic by James Newton Howard. It stars Jennifer Lawrence as Dominika, Matthias Schoenarts as her uncle Ivan, Charlotte Rampling as the Sparrow School director, Jeremy Irons as their boss, Mary Louise Parker as Stephanie the Senator’s aid, and Joel Edgerton as Nash.
It is the very serious, captivating tale set mostly in Moskow and Budapest, with excellent purrformances, sets, locations, choreography, cinematography, mewsic and FX; however, it is brimming with nudity, sex, harsh language, and violence, so I would not recommend it to anyone who would be squemish about such things, purrticularly some torture scenes.
Compurred to other female spies, Dominika lacks the humor and gadgetry of The Black Widow or Agent Carter, but she is still very smart, sympathetic and ruthless. The movie is less about style, fight or chase scenes compurred to Atomic Blonde, but it is purrhaps the more intimate plot, with the unfortunate girl turned spy purrhaps akin to La Femme Nikita.
Fortunately the pace is not rushed nor are there annoying cinematic techniques such as the shaky cam, speed ramping, snap zooms, lens flares, under-saturated colors, or too many edit cuts that call too much attention to themselves! Nyow we will go from contempurrary Russia to the galaxy far, far away in my review of the
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Blu-Ray!
Nyanko:
We love the Star Wars movies, animated series, novels, comics, cosplay and toys, so we were eager to get the home video release of The Last Jedi which we reviewed in the January 2018 Mew! ! It has been released in the different packages such as the DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K, but I am just discussing of the Blu-Ray edition with the movie disk, the bonus disk, and the digital download instruction sheet.
The PG-13 rated, nearly 152 minute movie is purrsented in the 1980p HD, 2.39:1 widescreen, with the audio choices of English 7.1 DTS HD audio, English 2.0 descriptive audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, the optional audio commentary by writer / director Rian Johnson, and the optional subtitle choices of English, French & Spanish for the movie and the commentary.
There are no ads or purreview trailers, but the cute widdle Porg dances purrior to the main menu! The bonus disk has over 207 minutes of very informative & entertaining stuff! “The Director and the Jedi” is Anthony Wonk’s delightful 95+ minute documentary on the making of the movie, with lots of behind the scenes footage and comments by about 2 dozen members of the cast & crew!
“Balance of The Force” is Rian Johnson’s 10+ minute mewsing about The Force; and “Andy Serkis Live” is the nearly 6 minute look at Andy’s purrformance as Snoke which is great! The “Scene Breakdowns” are the look at the making of the “Showdown on Crait” (almost 6 min.), “Snoke and Mirror” (14+ minutes), and “Creating the Space Battle” (almost 13 minutes)!
There are 14 deleted scenes, with Rian’s quick introduction! Totallng over 23 minutes, those include the Alternate Opening, “Paige’s Gun jams”, “Luke has a Moment”, “Poe, Not So Much a Sewer” (Finn returns Poe’s jacket), “It’s Kind of Creepy That You Recorded That” (Poe & BB8) , “The Caretakers Size Up Rey”, the Caretaker Village extended scene (at almost 3 minutes, one of my favorite scenes)…
… the extended Fathier Chase (which is the longest of these deleted scenes at about 5.75 minutes, with some unfinished FX), the Mega Destroyer Incursion extended version (which is the 2nd longest at almost 4 minutes, get at with Rose, Finn, DJ & BB8), “Rose Bites the Hand that Taunts Her” (Rose bites Hux), “Phasma Squealed like a Whooping Pig” (Finn trash talks Phasma)…
… “Rose & Fin Go Where They They Belong” (in the shuttle to Crait), “Rey & Chewie in the Falcon”, and “The Costumes & Creatures of Canto Bight”! I was very pleased with the quality of this home video release and the ample bonuses, so I will recommend it to my my fellow Star Wars fans! That is all for my reviews, and nyow I will turn The Mew over to Trini-chan for her review of the
Thor: Ragnarok Blu-Ray DVD Digital combo pack!
Trini-chan:
Hai! Thor: Ragnaork, which we reviewed in the December 2017 Mew, was one of my favoritest movies of last year! Set 2 years after The Avengers; Age of Ultron and about the same time as Captain America: Civil War, this 3rd Thor movie is so much thrilling fun! This Region One NTSC combo pack includes the Blue Ray disk, the DVD, and the instructions for the digital download.
The 139 minute, PG-13 movie is presented in the 2.40:1 widescreen. The Blu-Ray’s language choices are English, English descriptive audio (by Matthew Vicker), French, Spanish & Portugues, with the optional subtitles in English SDH, French & Spanish. The DVD’s language choices are English, English descriptive audio, French & Spanish, with the English SDH, French & Spanish subtitles.
Both disks include the preview trailers for Black Panther, the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 video game, Marvel Contest of Champions and Marvel Future Fight game. The DVD has no bonus features, but the Bu-Ray has a bunch, including the optional introduction & humorous audio commentary by director Taika Waititi, whose 2 year old daughter Matua adds some comments too!
The commentary has optional subtitles too. There are 5 deleted scenes which total about 5.75 minutes, including Skurge Finds Heimdll, Hulk Chases Thor Through Sakaar, the extended scene of Thor meeting the Grandmaster, the extended scene of Grandmaster’s banter with Topaz, and the extended scene of “Stupid Avenger ” (Hulk) vs “Tiny Avenger” (Thor) in The Hulk’s apartment!
The two “8 Bit” sequences are neat old-school video game – like representations of the Sakarr spaceship battle (almost 1 minute) and the final Bifrost Bridge battle (about 2.25 minutes); and then there is the amewsing Team Darryl short about The Grandmaster succeeding Thor as the housemate of a chap named Darryl is about 6 minutes long!
There is an amewsing 2.25 minute gag reel, and the five entertaining, informative featurettes about the making of the movie, which total about 34.5 minutes: “Getting in Touch with you Inner Thor”, “Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie”, “Finding Korg”, “Sakaar on the Edge of the Known and Unknown”, and “Journey into Mystery”!
They have behind – the- scenes footage with the comments by Chris Hemsworth, Kate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Karl Urban, Taika Waititi co-writer Eric Pearson, dialect coach Andrew Jack, producer Kevin Feige, executive producer Brad Winderbaum, visual FX supervisor Jake Morrison, production designer Dan Hennah and costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo!
Finally there is the nearly 5.5 minute Marvel Studios: The First 10 years featurette, with the comments by Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Johansson, Cumberbatch, Feige, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chadwick Boseman, Elizabeth Olsen, executive producer Louis D’esposito, directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo!
If you just want the movie and not the bonuses, then I will recommend the no-frills DVD which is less expensive, but if you want the movie and those bonus features, then I will recommend this combo pack! If you do not need both the Blu-Ray and the DVD, then you could share it with the friend! That is all for our movie mewsings, and now here is Myayr to begin our
book, comic book & manga mewsings, with her
review of the Elvira Mistress of the Dark book!
Mielikki:
So like, there are so many totally awesome horror movie hosts on TV, but my favorite is Cassandra Peterson, a.k.a. Elivira, Mistress of the Dark! Since 1981, she has accentuated the presentations with her wonderfully sexy image and the dark humor, and now thanks Cassandra and by Tweethead Publishing there is a large hardcover coffee table book about her, fur shur!
Priced $45.00, this full color 13.25″ x 10.25″ x 1″, 240 page book with the dust-jacket is brimming with hundreds of photos that span 35 years! Many of them are full page pics, and there are two-page spreads aplenty, from some of the famous poster, calendar and magazine images of Elvira, to the rare and never – before- seen candid photos and behind – the – scenes pics!
That includes photos from her two movies, and some costume designs too! She wrote the book’s forward and annotated the photos with her sparkling, witty and informative comments! In the Calendar Ghoul chapter, there are two pages of her wearing the easter bunny ears, and the two-page spread of her wearing the leathers, chains and cheetah print bra on the chopper bike!
Hmm, we just might have to consider her as an honorary bunny girl or cat girl! Those photos were by David Goldner, who is one of the almost two dozen great photographers whose fabulous images are in the book! I will heartily recommend this big beautiful collection to the fans of the iconic Elvira, and to the fans of the glamorously macabre and amewsingly sexy photography!
Elfquest: The Final Quest #24!
Mielikki:
We are big fans of Wendy and Richard Pini’s Elfquest, and Wendy’s other beautiful works of art! A lot has changed for the elves and other peoples of the planet Abode, a.k.a The World of Two Moons since Elfquest began 40 years ago in February of 1978, and this story arc from Dark Horse Comics has brought them many major changes. It is hard to believe that the final issue is already here!
The Final Quest began in January 2014, although technically issue #24 would be the 25th issue, including the precursory 2013 Special that was publlshed in the autumn in 2013. Previously, many friends of various tribes mingles one last time before going sepurrate ways, some aboard the palatial crystal starship, whilst others remained to fight against the evil Djunslander army.
It has been the totally tumultuous time of births, deaths, evolutions, revelations, departures and unions. After many casualties on both sides of the war, the Djunslanders have finally been defeated, but not before they firebomb felled the elves’ Father Tree. Issue #24 is priced $3.99, it has the uninterrupted 28 page tale written by Wendy and Richard, scripted and illustrated by Wendy…
… colored by Sonny Strait, lettered by Nate Piekos, edited by Spencer Cushing and assistant editor Kevin Burkhalter, with the issue’s graphic design by Sarah Terry and digital artistry by Allyson Haller. Mike Richardson is the publisher at Dark Horse. Cutter, Leetah, Rayek and Shuna play highly significant roles, whilst the tribes try to put out the fire and decide the fate of any surviving enemies.
So like, also appearing are Nightfall, Redlance, Ember, Teir, Strongbow, Pike, Skywise, Timmain, Savah, Sunstream, Dewshine, Ekuar, Winowil, Clearbrook, Treestump, Windkin, Scouter, Tyleet, Dewshine, Freetouch, Dart, Mender, Yun, Dre-Ahn,, Pool, Petalwing, Shenshen, Oddbit, and Two-Edge, plus several other elves, humans, trolls and wolves, fur shur!
It is an especially poignant, emotional, bittersweet, surprising, cosmic, major turning point and conclusion. As usual, the character, scenic, FX and typographic artistry are as totally awesome, including the 3 full – page panels and 2 two – page spreads, and I will give this grande finale the grade of an A as in Ahdri! I am done, and now here is Tara–chan to tell us about
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #63!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! We love the My Little Pony comics that are published by IDW, which capture the style and – and the spirit of the animations, nya! Purriced $3.99, Issue #63 has the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of the ads. We are glad that the tale is not interrupted by the ads, and – andwish that all comic books were published in that way, nya!
The tale was written by Christina Rice, illustrated by Brenda Hickey, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetake, edited by Bobby Curnow and – and published by Greg Goldstein; with the choice of cover A by Brenda, cover B by Sara Richard and – and retailer incentive cover by Jen Vaughn, nya! We have met Brenda at the conventions, nya!
It is the merry time at the Sugar Cube Corners bakery owned by The Cake Family where Pinkey Pie works, nya! Gathered with them are Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Mayor Mare, Gummy, cute widdle Pound Cake and – and Pumpkin Cake, but the jubilant mood is ruined when Temprance Flowerdew arrives, nya!
She is the raving leader of the Anti-Sugar League there to smash desserts and – and ban the sugar, nya! She is rude and – and destructive as her fear – mongering mob picket the bakery, seemingly impurrvious to reason or partying, nya. This causes the purrohibition which turns Sweet Apple Acres’ barn into the speakeasy for those crave sweets, nya!
It is the chaotic situation when the streets of Ponyville turn mean, laden with the fanatical zealots, the grumpy diners who are denied the sweets, and – and the woozy ones who have Over – Deserted, but the plot twists when Temprance Flowerdew’s origin is revealed, nya! It is the very amewsing tale with the impurrrtant message about the extremes, nya!
There are many background ponies to identify too, nya! As mewsual the art is quite lovely with the great expurressions, poses, FX, scenic details, with the purrfect fonts and – and the richly vibrant color, nya! Thusly I will give this issue the high purraise grade of the A as in Applebuck, nya! Nextly I will continue our pony report with my review of
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #11, nya!
Tara-chan:
Set in earlier days of Equestria when Celestia and – and Luna were younger alicorns, and – and their castle was still under the construction, Legends of Magic is the longest story arc thus far in the pony comics, nya! In issue #7, when the Dazzling sirens controlled the minds of the citizens, a scholarly unicorn named Stygian went to the other towns to get help, nya!
He met the heroic earth pony named Rockhoof, who was introduced in issue #2, nya! In issue #8, they met the earth pony Mage Meadowbrook who was introduced in Friendship is Magic #58, and – and her fuller tale was told in Legends of Magic #6, nya! Then in issue #9 the quartet met pegasus Flash Magnus who was introduced in issue #4, nya,
In issue #10 they met peppy pegasus Somnambula, who was introduced in issue #5, and nyow in issue #11 they meet Mistmane, the botanist unicorn who was introduced in issue #3, nya! Issue #11 is purriced $3.99, with the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of the ads, nya.
It was written by Jeremy Whitley, has also written other pony comics, The Unstoppable Wasp, Vampirella, Princeless, and – and Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess, nya! It was illustrated by Tony Fleecs, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetake, edited by Bobby Curnow, and – and published by Greg Goldstein, nya!
We have Jeremy and – and Tony at the conventions too, nya! Before Stygian, Rockhoof, Meadowbrook, Flash Magnus and – and Somnambula can meet Mistmane, they have to get past the overpurrotective plants in her huge greenhouse, nya! It is quite the tussle, after which the six ponies go to Canterlot to meet Starswirl the unicorn, who first appurred in the animated TV series, nya!
This is the next – to – last issue of Legends of Magic, with the impurressive two – page spuread of the greenhouse battle, and – and the full – page pic which has all seven ponies, nya! It was a lot of fun with the beautiful art, which I will give the high purraise grade of the A as in Applebuck, nya! That is all for our pony report, and – and nyow here is onee-chan to tell us about
Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess: Year Two #54, nya!
Yvonne:
Arigato, nya! Created and written by Jeremy and published by Action Lab Comics, the Princeless series purrtains to the diverse adventurous ladies who refuse to be misogynistically oppurressed by unfair gender and racial roles or stereotypes in the medieval era, nya! It introduced 17 year old Captain Raven Xingtao alias The Black Arrow, who later got her own spin-off series, nya!
Raven Xingtao is the cunning, agile mariner, archer daughter of the pirate king, nya. She recruited her own multi-racial, all – girl crew for her three mast ship to sail vengefully against her evil brothers Crow and Magpie’s ships, and thus reclaim her rightful inheritance, nya! They have the new sense of family and purrpose as they take control of their destinies, nya!
The crew includes her Ximena the cartographer, Sunshine the half – elf thief, Katie the First Mate, Jayla the scientific genius, and the ladies of the adventure gaming guild such as Amirah, Verity, Zoe, Helena, Quinn, Trish, Cid, Melody, Gone, Pirate, Ophelia and mischievous Desideria, nya! There is the romantic triangle between Raven, Ximena and Sunshine, nya!
However, some of the girls were injured, and Sunshine went missing into the depths during the battle with other pirates, nya. While the ship and crew’s damages, injuries and traumas were attended to, Sunshine was purrsumed dead and thusly eulogized, but they are unaware that she is alive as a guest the realm of Pavarti the Sea Queen, nya!
That brings us up to issue #5 which is purriced $3.99 and its 32 pages include uninterrupted 24 page tale, the title & indicia / credits pages, and the 6 page look at the comic’s creative purrocess, nya! Set 1 month after issue #4, it was written by Jeremy, illustrated by Christine Hipp, colored by Xenia Pamfil, lettered by Justin Birch, and edited by Nicole D’Andria, nya!
The front cover art by Christine & Ximena depicts the awkwardly smiling romantic moment betwixt Raven & Ximena, as viewed by Sunshine via Queen Pavarti’s magickal scrying pool, nya! That is a significant moment in this chapter, as Sunshine accidentally discovers that she has magickal powers, but she does not know how to use or control the power, nya!
This hs the dangerous results, nya! While she is in Pavarti’s realm which is populated by by girls of various species such as mermaids, centaurs, faeries and so forth, things resume normalcy aboard Raven’s ship, as Raven & Katie have the pull-ups contest, but Desideria is up to more mischief when she finds and reads someone’s love poem without purrmission, nya!
This causes the angsty drama for Zoe who wrote the poem for Quinn, but the passionate romance seems to result, mew la la, nya! Purrhaps they are aboard a true love boat, nya! There are some nice conversational moments amongst other girls, and back in Pavarti’s realm Sunshine meets the new characters Aneeka and Ananda, nya!
This series to be such the wonderfully fun, captivating tale of so many very likable heroines, with the great balance of the humor, drama, action, character developments and myth making, nya! The dialogue is snappy, the pace is purrfect, the characters, clothes, scenery, FX and typography are beautifully rendered, with the great sense of action choreography, nya!
I especially like the impurressive two-page spurread of Pavarti’s purretty mansion, the full page pic of Raven & Katie’s athletic contest, the full page pic of the magickal lightning strike that interrupts Raven & Ximena, the full-page pic of Quinn kissing Zoe; and I am glad that the tale is not interrupted by any advertisements that might disrupt the flow or suspense, nya!
I think that it is is so neatly informative to see the pages that reveal the creative purrocess from the script to the finished art, nya! I will give this issue of Princeless: Raven he Pirate Princess the grade of the A as in Amirah and my anticipation for the next issue, nya! That is all for me, and nyow here is Bunnibuns to tell us about
Monster Musume vol. 13!
Bun:
Arigato! Written & drawn by Okayado (who is also the author of the 12 Beast manga) and originally published by Tokuma Shoten in Japan, Monster Musume is a sexy comedic urban fantasy manga of the harem trope & ample fan service, starring the liminal ladies (monster girls) who are romantic rivals for Kimihito, the human guy in whose house they reside!
Residing in Kimihito’s often renovated house are Centorea the centauress, Miia the lamia, Papi the harpy, Suu the slime girl, Merou the mermaid, Rachnera the spider girl and Lala the Dullahan. Also recurring are their government case worker Ms. Smith and the Monster Ops team of Manako the cyclops, Tio the ogre, Doppel the doppleganger and Zombina the zombie.
Other occasionally recurring characters include Kii the dryad, Draco the dragon girl, Yukio the yuki-onna, Polt the kobold, Kinu the oni, Liz the lizardess, Lilith the demoness, Cathyl the minotaur, Octo the Scylla, Merino the pan, Yuuhi the zombie, Ils the kitsune, Killa the hornet girl, Kino the mushroom girl, Ton and Cott the dryads, Cure the vampire girl, Miku and her Shikigami minions.
We have also met some of the girls’ moms too! There is also the four – volume anthology series titled Monster Musume: I Heart Monster Girls which has those characters in side-stories! Published here in English by Seven Seas, Monster Musume is rated for older teen readers of ages 16+ , due to nudity, ample bared boobies, skimpy attire, slapstick violence, lewd and dark humor aplenty!
Vol. 13 was translated by Ryan Peterson, adapted by Shanti Whitesides, proof read by Janet Houck, published by Jason DeAngelis, edited by Adam Arnold & assistantly edited by Jenn Grunigen, with lettering by Meaghan Tucker, purroduction management by Lissa Patitillo, purroduction assistance by CK Russell, cover design by Nicky Lim & logo design by Courtney Williams.
Purriced $12.99 in the USA & $15.99 in Canada, It has 160 B&W pages of manga chapters 52-55 which focus upon Suu, plus the sadly cruel 2 page Laying Eggs side story, 2 pages of character notes, the credits page, 4 pages of the ads, and the amusingly frisky color 4 page Nighttime Booty Call side story, all sammiched betwixt the color covers.
Kimihito, Lala, Miia, Centorea, Rachnera & Ms. Smith try to rescue Suu, who has been kidnapped by the Black Lilly research labs company which hires liminal ladies. The company’s president claims they are a legit outfit, but they seem suspiciously exploitive. Papi, Merou, Manako, Tio, Doppel & Zombina are only briefly seen, whilst Kii, Kino, Cure, Merous’s mom & Mr. Priest are only mentioned.
However, there are brief appearances my many other liminal ladies at Black Lilly, which is in pursuit of the mysterious Nega-Suu, a giant slime girl. This results in the giant monster girl battle when Suu clashes with Nega-Suu, with Kimihito caught between them! I think that the art is quite lovely, with the beautifully drawn characters and amusing FX amidst the intricately detailed scenery!
It is not for the widdle kitties, and I would not recommend it to prudish readers, or to those who care not for the pervy comedic harem trope or some sad tragic moments, but most of the characters are sympathetic and care for each other, with the sense of extended family and community in the largely charming, wacky, sexy fun tale! Now here is Nyo-sensei to tell us about–
Flying Witch vol. 5
Nyoka:
Hai! This is one of my favoritest manga series! Flying Witch by artist / author Chihiro Ishizuka is the beautiful, humorous, charming slice – of – life tale of the 15 year old novice witch Makoto Kowata and her familiar cat Chito, who move from the city of Yokohama to her cousins’ lovely mansion in the rural town of Aomori where she hopes to complete her witchy studies!
Other characters include their mentor Akira, Makoto’s older sister Akane, Akane’s cat Kenny, their male cousin Kei, younger girl cousin Chinatsu, their artist mom, Kei’s classmate Nao, Inukai the fortune telling were-dog girl, her familiar mouse Ai, Ms. Shiina the owner of Cafe Conclusia, her daughter Anzu, Anzu’s owl familiar Ororu and their waitress ghost Miss Hina!
The plots typically include learning spells, artistic crafts, plant lore, gardening, cooking, magickal remedies, day trips, and visiting other magickal entities, with the thorough details! Originally published by Kodansha in Japan, Volume 5 was published in English by Vertical Comics, translated by Melissa Tanaka with the purrduction by Grace Lu and Tomoe Tsutsumi.
Purriced at $10.95 in the USA and $11.95 in Canada, volume 5 has the 168 Black & White pages compurrised of chapters 25-30, with the purretty color cover art! While Chinatsu and Kei play board games, Chito chases recklessly a butterfly through the house, and thusly the damaged shoji wall panels must be repaired. That chapter is like the home repair tutorial!
Later at the cafe, Makoto is hired by Ms. Mizuha to mind her 5 year old son Yomo for a few hours, which is the plasant job until his rain – making powers act up inside the cafe! Makoto, Akane, Chinatsu, Kei, Nao, Chito and Kenny go fishing at a brook, where Akane’s new magickal fishing rod does not succeed, but they do find the bunch of delicious, nutritious berries!
When Kei’s relentless hic-ups are diagnosed as the more potent Pick-ups, so the remedies are researched and attempted, including the playful plushy teddy bear battle, with the amewsing results! After a rainy day, Makoto and Chinato visit Akane, who pays Makoto in gold for helping Ms. Mizuha. They purrchase a potion which allows them to see invisible creatures.
Searching around the small town for such creatures, they find the manta ray – like monster resting amidst the puddles. Back in volume 4, the mansion was visited by the Beachy the Katsina creature, and in chapter 30, they discover that its lost tooth has begun to grow to an inconvenient size and heft, but fortunately Inukai arrives to help shrink it back down!
Meanwhile, Chinatsu’s budding powers are used mischievously, but result in the playful time for the family! Flying Witch continues to be the warm, beautiful joy to read, and I hope that it will inspire folks to find the everyday magick in the family, social circles, home, garden, town and country! I am done, but we have more manga mewsings on tap as Trini-chan discusses
Spice & Wolf vol. 15!
Trini-chan:
Arigato! Spice & Wolf is one of our favoritest anime & manga, which are adaptations oft he novels originally published by Kadokawa in Japan as Ookami To Koushinryou! It is the tale of Holo the Wisewolf, a beautiful, powerful wolf Goddess of the harvest, who travels with Lawrence the savvy traveling human merchant who trades goods and makes deals in the villages & cities!
It is set in the medieval era when the old pagan ways are on the wane amidst the rise of an oppressive theocracy and the complex relationships of the guilds, so Holo wants to return to her ancient homeland of Yoitsu. The manga was written by Isuna Hasekura, illustrated by Keito Koume with the character designs by Jyuu Ayakura, and published here by Yen Press!
Vol. 15 of the manga was translated by Jasmine Bernhardt, lettered by Katie Blakeslee, edited by ASCII Media Works, priced $13.00 in the USA, $17.00 in Canada, and has 162 pages of Black & White chapters 87 – 92 and 1 color illustration. The color cover art depicts Holo and Lawrence happily on horseback in the snowy forest!
The manga is rated “M” for the mature readers due to the tale’s language, the brief bit of nudity as Holo undresses, and some combat violence. during a skirmish. Holo and Lawrence have been sepurrate for several days on the different missions; she has been racing to investigate the threat of mining and timbering to Yoitsu, whilst he has been trying to avert a trade war.
Lawrence and Mr. Hilde, the talking rabbit representative of the Debau Company are traveling with the Myuri mercenary company, which is attacked by the Hugo mercenary company. However, this seems to be just a formality, as merc companies tend not to bother each other unlike enemy governments’ armies. Like the trade guilds, the mercs have the business policies, codes and contracts.
However, there are dissenting factions amongst the groups, and when the companies parlay, Lawrence and Mr. Hilde discover that Myuri has been betrayed by a bribed leader! It is the good timing for Holo and Lawrence to be reunited, because a fierce giant wolf might be the only thing to stop the warfare and environmental destruction amidst the frigid Northern wilderlands!
The tale is the poignantly bittersweet mix of happy and sad occasions amidst travel, commerce, and combat. The characters are fascinating, the pace is leisurely, and the art is so beautiful, from the characters, clothing and critters to the intricate landscapes and architecture! We are cheering for the romantic couple’s happy future together! That is all for our manga mewsings, and now here are
our convention reports, with Myayr’s
review of 2018 NC Comicon: Oak City!
Mary Nyan!
Hai! The Oak City Comicon was a 2 day con on the Spring – like weekend of March 17-18, with purre-con staff, exhibitor artist & guest set up on the 16th, at the Raleigh Convention Center, which is also the home of Animazement. It is called Oak City because Raleigh, the state’s capital, is nicknamed the City of Oaks.
The con is sponsored & staffed by the friendly folks of the three Ultimate Comics shops, which are in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. They also purroduce the Greensboro Comicon in September, NC Comicon: Bull City in Durham in November, and the great shindig for annual Free Comic Book Day in May!
The great guests included Kevin Eastman, Walter & Louise Simonson, Adam Hughes, Allison Sohn, Jen Cohn, Orlando Jones, James “Buster” Douglas, Brenda Hickey, Jeremy Whitley, Richard Case, Tommy Lee Edwards, Tom Fleming, Jeremy Bastian, Cap Blackard, Cliff Bumgardner…
… Erik Burnham, Greg Burnham, Jackie Craft, Shane Davis, Franco, Sarah Gaydos, Tini Howard, Chris Giarusso, Brandon Graham, Joe Hughes, Bill McKay, Scott Reintgen, Rico Renzi, Geoff Shaw, Chris Sims, Brian Smith, Ben Templesmith, Tom Waltz, Marcus Williams and Matt D. Wilson!
There were also over 70 amazing artists in the artist alley, and over 150 exhibitors, including venders, studios, cosplay groups, organizations and sponsors. Publishers there included IDW, Caliber, Keenspot and Lulu. Near the entrance to the main hall were the food and beverage concession counters.
It was great to see friends and acquaintances, including past guests of The Mew such as Meesha, Pacozord, Chef Ron and Ob1! The venders had comics, cards, games, posters, prints, action figures, dolls, statues, collectibles, shirts, buttons, jewelry, trinkets, masks, props, decorative items, supplies and other neat stuff!
The panels, purresentations, workshops and other activities began at 11 am and ran until 7 pm on Saturday & Sunday. Topics included comics, zines, cosplay, animation, video games, podcasting, portfolio critiques, publishing, and various contests, such as the cosplay contests.
Amongst the many fans of all ages, ethnicities & genders were cosplayers who greatly added to the festive ambience, representing characters from comics, games, anime, other movies and TV shows, plus many a kemonomimi, faerie and original characters! There were stations for costume repairs! and well – lit photo ops!
I liked the arrangement and groupings of things within the hall, with the guests interspurrsed amongst the other artists, the artist alley right beside the venders, and the natural segue from the (visual) artists to the (three – dimensional) arts & crafts adjacent to the cosplay groups!
The information booth, food & beverage concessions were close to the entrance and to the elevator and stairs to the 2nd floor panel & conference rooms, restrooms were conveniently at both ends of the hall, and the loading dock was purretty close for the staff & exhibitors!
We had the fun time conversing with the old friends and the new acquaintances, we got to see so many beautiful creations, and we got some great deals during the shopping! Then the very next weekend, it was time for another convention, so here is Mike to tell us about the
2018 What The Hell?! Con!
Mike:
Thanks Myayr! WhatTheHell?! Con is a free little convention at Guilford College in Greensboro NC, sponsored by the nice folks of the Guilford College Yachting Club! I think the con started back in 2001 or 2002; I’ve attended for the past 12 years, and I’ve been honored to be one of the artists there since 2008! After a schedule change from February, this year it was held on March 16th-18th.
The con was in the Duke and Dana buildings, with free parking beside the buildings, numerous restaurants, cafes, grocery and stores right across the street. Friday greeted the lovely Guilford College campus with sunny weather, and it was great to see some familiar faces as the con registration & set-up began at 5 pm in the Dana building, whose charming auditorium is supposedly haunted…
I’m yet to see any ghosts there, but I was glad to see the other artists & venders in the Duke building, including Meesha, author Nicole Givens Kurtz (representing Mocha Memoirs Press), K.D. “bunni” Thompson and her mom of Snow Bunny Studios, artist Marshall Lakes, and Mary & Emily of MEArtand Designs whose first WTHCon this was!
There was a dandy selection of original art, prints, cards, stickers, buttons, jewelry, plushies, and books for sale. I stayed busy doing commissions, which Petra will discuss shortly! It was so nice to visit with old friends & new acquaintances such as Neesa, Dug, Julie, Mel, Hannah, Kenzi, Clarissa, Richard, Chance Palmer, Holly Tillman, con runner Laura Navey and other folks of Yachting Club yore.
As with many conventions, Saturday was the most bustling day, although I’m not sure of the attendance count, as I rarely left the artist / venders rooms, although I did notice the board and role-playing gaming aplenty going on in other rooms, and I took a break from the art to attend the 7 pm Geek Auction, which is the con’s fun annual Saturday night main event to benefit the Child’s Play charity.
This year’s Geek auction was very different from prior years; instead of cosplayers performing on the stage, followed by a dance, the auction consisted of several new AD&D books and other nice items up for bid. Afterwards I returned to the art room, where we were notified that the con would close early that night due to the rain, sleet & snow mix, but fortunately the weather didn’t seem all that bad.
Aside from the understandable weather concerns, the only disappointment was in some miscommunication over what times the rooms / buildings would be locked / unlocked on Saturday & Sunday. So there was a bit of confusion over that, but given how very complicated conventions can be to orchestrate in general, especially when potentially severe weather is a concern, well, that ain’t bad!
Then it was a cool, sunny, clear Sunday as the con to resumed at noon. There were fewer folks lurking about, but it was a pleasant time with a few more sales, commissions & conversations until it was time to pack up. My packing included this and last year’s con tee shirts, so now I have 9 or 10 WhatThe Hell?! Con shirts and 4 Yachting Club shirts, the oldest from their 2006 – 2007 semesters!
It’s hard to believe that this year’s WhatThe Hell?! Con is already history! Once again, I’d like to thank the Yachting Club, the event staff, campus employees, my fellow exhibitors, our kind customers, the nearby businesses, and friends who contributed to the very delightful time, and I certainly hope to be there again next year! Ah, that’ll conclude our con reports, and now here’s Petra to present the latest
additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art!
Petra:
Arigato, nya! For those here for the first time, Galleries 1-8 of The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art display images by Mike, whilst Guest Art Galleries 1-5 display images by other folks totally with their purrmissions, and Mike’s collaborative images with other artists can be found throughout the mewseum, nya! The images include illustrations, photos and mixed medias, nya!
Some of the images in the mewseum are sexy and some of them might depict artistic nudity, but most are very tame, and none of them are porn, nya. On Catgirl Island’s official web site, the most recent pics will be the lowermost row of the cropped widdle “thumbnail” sized portions of the pics in a gallery, and you have to click upon those to see the uncropped full pics, nya!
we are pleased to purrsent “Taking Off” by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com who was the guest for our September 2009 Mew, nya! She used the pencil, pens & colored pencils on the toned papurr for this illustration of our friend Phannjynnasokaaia (purronounced FAN jen ah so kay ah) the winged faerie girl in the Green dress and gold boots who is about to go for the flight, nya!
Phannjynnasokaaia is the editor of our local mewspapurr with the college degree in journalism, nya. She is single with no children, but dotes upon her twin nieces Amyrellyana & Amyrellyana, nya! Her hobbies are sunbathing, yoga, reading, carousing, gym work outs, flying and dancing; and her favorite foods are yams, pears, honey, chocolate, berry tea, cider and wine, nya!
Then we are delighted to display Rebecca’s illustration of “Spring”, nya! She used the pencil, pens & markers for this illustration of Bun’s mom Millicent, the Eastern Cottontail bunny girl amongst the sunflowers, nya! She is married to her bunny boy husband Bobby, and they co-own the wonderful art supply shop at North end of the island’s river walk, nya!
They have two daughters Bun Melony; Melony & her husband Richard have three children Violet, Daisy & Bunina-chan, nya! Millicent was born here on March 1st, 1946; she speaks English, Spanish, Japanese; her hobbies are gardening, ikebana, painting, sculpting, pottery, baking, and she is a fan of various sports especially the beach volleyball matches of her daughter Bunnii, nya!
Aftr that is Rebecca’s fan art of “Supergirl”, nya! She used the pens & colored pencils on the toned papurr for this peppy, purretty illustration of Supergirl, who is Superman’s cousin from Krypton, nya! Supergirl’s Kryptonian name is Kara Zor-El, but here on Earth her secret identity is Kara Danvers, nya. She first appurred in Action Comics #252 in 1959, so 2019 will be her 60th anniversary, nya!
Nextly we are elated to exhibit Rebecca’s illustration of the “Wood Mage”, nya! She used the pens & colored pencils on the toned papurr for this illustration of Ydis (purrnounced Ee-diss) the frisky, peppy Platinum Blonde deer girl wearing the sexy front – lace, bare – midriff Red gown with the Green panty, Brown thigh boots and the wooden staff leaning against the tree stump nya!
She was born in Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway, and resides here as the druid in residence at Mew Hanover College, nya! She speaks Norwegian, Sami, Kven, Rodi, Romani, Sylvan, and English; whilst her areas of expurrtise are zoology, botany, geology, hydrology, climatology, tracking, wilderness survival, folklore, magick and environmental law, nya!
Then we have “Mirror Universe M’Ress” fan art by Emily Yacuzzo of M.E. Art and Designs http://www.instagram.com/detectivedraws, who we met at WhatTheHell?! Con, nya! We could not resist the oppurrtunity to commission this inked sketch of Star Trek’s most famous Caitian catgirl, Shiboline M’Ress, who appurred in the 1973 animated Star Trek series, nya!
Voiced by Majel Barrett, M’Ress M’Ress was one of Captain Kirk’s Communications Officer Lieutenants, but in this fan art of her meaner mirror universe version, we imagined her as the Captain in command of the Impurrial Star Ship Enterpurrise, wearing the sleeveless, bare-midriff uniform whilst peppily pondering her next purrey to pounce upon, nya!
Then to top this month’s batch of guest art is ‘Getting Ready for the Game” by Meesha DJ Walker https://www.facebook.com/meeshadjwalker, nya! We were glad to see her again at the NC Comicon: Oak City and at WhatTheHell?! Con, nya! She used the colored pencils and the Copic Markers for this 9×12″ illustration of herself posing so powerfully, beautifully and gloriously in the floral purrint White string bikini at our beach, purrior to the epic volleyball match with her purrtner Bliss against Bun and I, nya!
Mike used Photoshop CS2 and the mouse for this illustration of our friends “Na Ling and Ji Yun”, who are twin muntjac deer girl sisters who bartend at the Catgirl Island Purrforming Arts Center, nya! Seen here in their Orange bikinis and sheer purreos, Na Ling (left) and Ji Yun are (right) are kind, industrious, cheerful fans of anime, manga & video games, but have some different tastes in mewsic, sports and food, nya!
After that is Mike’s illustration of “Zel” an original character created by TonomuraBix http://tonomurabix.deviantart.com, nya! Bix is an illustrator / cosplayer who was a guest for our March 2008 Mew, nya! Zel is the stoic, tough, ruthless, athletic, secret agent with special abilities, nya. Here she is spying at a fancy party, wearing the strapless Black evening gown, with the plate armor on her Left arm, the short – sleeved Black shrug jacket, strappy Black high stiletto – heeled sandals, as she warily scrutinizes the party’s other guests, nya!
Then we have Mike’s “Hoop It Up”, which is his latest illustration of Sharon Williams’s fan – senshi character Tanya Cambridge, a.k.a. Sailor Sirius http://sailorsirius.webs.com, and Jeff Branch’s fan – senshi character Talia Jasmine Kirk, a.k.a. Sailor Vulcan http://scribeofthemoon.webs.com, nya! Pawsing from their basketball game, Talia is on the left in the #19 jersey, and Tanya is on the right in the #59 jersey, nya!
Sharon was the November 2014 guest of The Mew, and y’all can read her wonderful original fantasy fiction at Shaon’s DeviantArt gallery http://caribbeanrose9.deviantart.com; Jeff was the May 2008 guest of The Mew, and his extensive fan – site devoted to the pop mewsic duo Pink Lady is Pink Lady America http://www.pinkladyamerica.com, nya!
Nextly we have the “Dominatrix Catgirl”, nya! At WhatTheHell?! Con in March of 2018, a nekomimi friend commissioned Mike to do this this illustration of her girlfriend who described the alluring attire, of the studded Black corset with the strappy slit skirt and the machete, nya! Mike used the pencil, colored pencils, pens & markers for this pic, nya. The scan of this pic was color – corrected in Photoshop CS2 with the mouse, nya.
“Velvet Dress Catgirl” was another illustration done at WhatTheHell?! Con, nya! Another delightful nekomimi commissioned this inked sketch of herself, nya! She asked to be depicted in the bell-sleeved, short, low-cut, velvet dress with the calf-high boots and the large puffy tail, nya! She was happy with the art, but Mike parted with it before he could scan it, so this image is a digital re-creation done in Photoshop CS2 with the mouse, nya!
Lastly but not leastly, “Succubus Catgirl” was another commission at WhatTheHell?! Con, nya! The lovely client was dressed just like in the illustration, in the outfit brimming with the straps, studs, grommets ‘n zippurrs, nya! She had the cute fangs too, and for this illustration she requested the added kitty ears ‘n tail as she posed gleefully to pounce upon her pending purrey in the garden at twilight, nya! Mike used the pencil, colored pencils, pens ‘n markers’ and the scan was color – corrected in Photoshop CS2 with the mouse, nya. So, what do y’all think of the latest art, nya?
Bun:
(cries) Oh that is such a beautiful pic of my mommy! Rebecca so very faithfully portrayed all of the details of mom and her prized flower garden!
Mielikki
Rebecca totally captured the portraiture, physique and spirit of Phannjynnasokaaia, from the look in her eyes to her pre-flight stance, fur shur!
Nyanko:
I love every aspect of the Spuergirl pic from her breezy hair and happily determined expurression to her billowy cape and fluttery skirt!
Nyoka:
The pic of Ydis has the graceful lines & symmetry, richly vibrant colors, smooth shading & light spill, the great pose, expurression & details!
Jeannie:
Mirror M’Ress has the exquisitely evil yet cute fangy grin, the scheming swishy tail, the very accurate uniform, and the aire of job satisfaction.
Becca:
Meesha is like the gorgeous goddess upon the shore, in the sexy bikini amidst the splendidly rendered elements of the ocean, beach & sky!
Elizabeth:
Speaking of bikini girls by the water, Na Ling & Ji Yun are quite adorable as they serve the apple nummy berry cocktails at the Laua’e Lounge!
Mary Nyan:
I like Zel’s sheer lace bodice, plunging V neckline, highly slit skirt, the gleaming paldron. rerebrace, couter, vambrace and fingerless gauntlet!
Fire Chief Ellie:
Yay- there is another happy pic of Talia ‘n Tanya! You know, I think Talia is the only person I’ve met who has the heterochromatic eyes!
Trini-chan:
The Dominatrix has the lush mane of hair, the intricately studded corset, and fortunately the sharp edge of the machete is pointing up!
Tara-chan:
I like… I like the widdle details of the Clarissa pic, such as her glasses, tattoo, necklace; the ottoman’s claw and- and yarn ball legs, nya!
Yvonne:
The Succubus has the amazing coiffure, the playful dispurrsition, and the fabulous couture amidst the lush hydrangeas and cherry trees!
Mike:
Well, thank y’all for the kind words! My illustrations were fun to do, and I’m quite grateful for the beautiful creations by those other artists! Ah, Petra, thank you for presenting the latest additions to the galleries!
Petra:
Doitashimaste, nya!
The Cat Lady Sings…
Elizabeth:
Well, I guess that will wrap it up for another edition of The Mew!
Jeannie:
We are glad that busy Ellie could join us again.
Fire Chief Ellie:
Thank y’all for inviting me to participate again!
Yvonne:
Hopefully some other friends will arrive after work for our AfterMew luau, nya!
Tara-chan:
Itadakimasu, nya!
Trini-chan:
Gosh, Tara-chan got through The Mew without being distracted this time!
Mielikki:
Fur shur!
Bun:
We wish to thank Rebecca, Meesha and Emily the beautiful art!
Becca:
We wish to thank Jamie for his web mastery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island…
Mary Nyan:
We also wish to thank the many many other talented folks whose works we discussed…
Petra:
… and our other friends, relatives & audience whom we appurreciate, nya!
Nyoka:
Y’all may post brief, polite, sincere, non-snarky responses to The Mew…
Nyanko:
purrvided the comments are spam-free, G-rated & purrtain to our topics!
Mike:
We’ll be back next month with the May edition of The Mew. Be there… aloha!
The Ladies of The Mew:
Happy Tails to Mew – until we eat again! BAI BAI, NYA!
