January 2020 Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings

Mike Moon / Catgirl Island

http://www.catgirlisland.com & http://www.catgirlisland.net

 

and Jamie Robertson / Clan of the Cats

http://jamiecotc.com & http://clanofthecats.com

 

purroudly purrsent a Mike Moon purrduction,

starring The Ladies of The Mew in

 

The January 2020 Edition of The Mew:

The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!

________________________________________________

 

Happy Mew year, nya!

It is Catgirl Island’s 20th Anniversary, nya!

in this edition of The Mew:

 

what we’ve been up to since last time

 

The Lightning Round topic:

our favorite movies of 2000

 

The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight

shines on more catgirls of cinema, TV, games & comics

 

collectibles & toy talk:

Star Trek: The  Official Starships Collection Planet Killer miniature

Star Wars: The Black Series Jannah action figure

My Little Pony Pinkie Pie Bishoujo Statue

 

comics & manga mewsings:

Tigra: The Complete Collection

Magical Beatdown vol. 2

Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Year Three Book 7

Sleepless Domain Volume 1

Monster Musume vol. 15

Aria the Masterpiece vol. 4

 

book reviews:

Batman: the Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film and Beyond

The Art of Frozen II

The First Star Trek Movie: Bringing the Franchise to the Big Screen 1969 – 1980

 

sad mews: 

the passing of Syd Mead (18 July 1933 – 30 December 2019)

 

movie mewsings:

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Little Women

Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

Bombshell

Cats

 

DVD / Blu-ray reviews:

Downton Abbey The Motion Picture DVD

Wonder Woman Bloodlines Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Code set

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Seasons 1-3 DVD

Game of Thrones The Complete Eighth Season DVD

 

additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art

“2017 Doodles 05” by Misty Hopkins

“Happy Winter Solstice” by Jamie

“Happy Holidays” by Jamie

Star Trek’s Shiboline M’Ress fan art by Rebecca Brogden

Miraculous’s Cat Noir & Ladybug fan art by Rebecca Brogden

“Dragon’s Brew” by Rebecca Brogden

“Let it Snow” by Rebecca Brogden

“La Blue Dragon Girl” by Rebecca Brogden with Mike

“Lyonessy” by Mike, and the

“Purroject Pallet” series by Mike, nya!

 

________________________________________________

 

Mike:

(Catgirl Island & The Mew’s creator / purrducer, wearing the Lemon Shark purrint shirt and khaki shorts) Aloha y’all and welcome to The Mew, in which we review and discuss fun stuff! This month’s Mew comes from the poolside verandah of Pallet House on the Northeast cape of Catgirl Island, where it’s 76 degrees beneath a Blue sky full of puffy Cumulo-Neko clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer”, and here our web master jamie, our neighbor Dach Savage, and The Ladies of The Mew!

 

Yvonne:

(the catgirl in theRed Snappurr purrint monokini with cropped tee shirt) Namaste, nya!

 

Tara-chan:

(Yvonne’s younger sister in the Groupurr purrint tankini) Namaste, nya!

 

Trini-chan:

(the kitsune in the Wahoo purrint colored side-tie bikini) Konnichiwa!

 

Mary Nyan:

(the catgirl in the Yellowfin purrint purrretzel – cutout maillot) Aloha!

 

Jeannie:

(the catgirl in the Mahi-Mahi purint micro bikini & sheer purrled purreo) Nihao.

 

Petra:

(the catgirl in the Flounder purrint V-kini) Hi Hi, nya!

 

Bunni:

(the bunny girl in the Sailfish purrint bandeau-top bikini) Guten Tag!

 

Becca:

(the nekomimi gynoid in the Striped Bass purrint suspender maillot) Aloha!

 

Elizabeth:

(Becca’s catgirl wife in the Speckled Trout purrint fundoshi – style bikini) Hola!

 

Mielikki:

(the winged faerie in the Sea Mullet purrint tanga style bikini) Mellow Greetings! 

 

Nyanko:

(the catgirl in the 

White Marlin 

athletic bra & boy shorts) Howdy!

 

Nyoka:

(Nyanko’s twin sister in the Blue Marlin purrint athletic bra & boy shorts) Meowy meet!

 

Ellie:

(the banker pony centauress wearing the Red Drum purrint bikini top ) Hay there!

 

Minami: 

(the nekomimi appurrition / catgirl ghost wearing the Croaker purrint bikini) Aloha!

 

Chinatsu: 

(the ningyo yurie / mermaid ghost wearing the translucent bra made of jellfish bells) Shello!

 

Formality:

(the orca girl wearing just the Black purrl in her navel that matches her  dappurr tuxedo-like markings) Bonjour!

 

Dach Savage:

(the anthropurrmorphic dachshund wearing the Spanish Mackeral purrint board shorts) Charmed, i’m sure!

 

Mulch:

(the dryad wearing the stringy bikini crocheted of Sea Grass) Yassou!

 

Jamie:

(our human web master wearing the Black pants & gray shirt) Hi!

 

Mike:

Well, we’re grateful for Minami and Chinatsu hosting us here at Pallet House, and we hope that some other friends will join us after work for our holiday Aftermew luau! So, what have y’all been up to since last month’s Mew?

 

Jeannie:

Since modeling for the photo shoot at Ko Phi Phi Don, my itinerary has resumed of mornings at the yoga studio and afternoons at the kyudo range, with the alternating evenings of purrsiding at the robotics club and teaching the belly dance. By the way, Trini-chan has the good big mews.

 

Trini-chan:

Hai! Aa y’all know, I have been assisting Jeannie with teaching the belly dance classes, but starting in the summer semester I will be the new beginner’s class teacher! Otherwise, I have been stand up paddle surfing with my mentor Carameow’l, board shaping, and caring for the ponies!

 

Yvonne:

When my fishing charters aboard the S.S. TsuriNekoMimi are not reeling in the bumpurr crop of delicious, nutritious King Mackerels, Bluefishes, Red Snappurrs, Groupurrs & Croakerss, my drumming circle has been purrviding the purrcussion for the Winter holiday dances and matsuris, nya!

 

Tara-chan:

I have been caring for TsuriNekoMimi, our cats and – and the ponies; volunteering at the stables and – and at the food bank…and – and I have been snapping the nature photos of the White Tail Deer, Cotton Tail Rabbit, the Raccoon, the Avocet, and – and the Oyster Catcher, but the Piping Plover has eluded me, nya!

 

Becca:

Lizzy, our employees, the cats and I have been pampurring the customers at our spa, which has been bustling steadily with the many customers who retreat from the much nippier mainland tempurratures to purrtake of our purrpetual bikini weather!

 

Elizabeth:

Aside from that we have been still managed to care for our cats and the garden, go to the late night hot salsa dance, and binge – watch the TV shows such as The Mandolorian, Bloom Into You, She Ra, Watchmen, and Game of Thrones!

 

Petra:

The holiday season busted at the mewseum of art, which brimmed beautifully with the creations in the diversethemes,  styles & mediums by many wonderful artists & craftpurrsons across the county, nya!

 

Bunni:

Hai hai, Petra and I are grateful for the friends, patrons & contributors to our art mewseum, and we are starting to train for the springtime beach volleyball season, in which we will defend our championship!

 

 

Mielikki:

We will cheer for your victories, fur shur! So like, when I am not traveling upon the LPGA tour, I have been performing in our maritime forest grove ampurrtheatre’s Fuyu Foxfire Extravaganza, and soon it will be time to rehearse our annual Haru Fantasy Fest, fur shur!

 

Mary Nyan:

I hired 

Carerratia and Janyczsazsa as the 

appurrentices for my increased costume sewing business

! 

Purresently in the queue are the costumes of The Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne), Hellboy’s Blood Queen; Baby Metal’s Su, Yu and Moa; and the Legend of Discord group!

 

Nyoka:

Whilst October might be the busiest time of the year for Myayr, December is definitely the busiest at my magick shop, between the shopuurs and the Winter Solstice celebration, at which we had the special discounts, rituals, seminars and snacks! 

 

Nyanko:

In addition to the holiday festivities, I have been busy at my dojo and the gym in the purrepurration for the upcoming Winter regional tournyament where I expect my students will bring home the many purrestigious trophies! Howboutchoo, Ellie?

 

Ellie:

With the many more visitors here for the season full of the festive fireworks, bonfires & lanterns, my department was extra busy on the patrol & inspections, but there were no harmful incidents, and I still managed to find the time to read, work out and swim!

 

Minami: 

Chi-san and i have been caretaking Pallet House whilst the owners are away on the mainland. The 37,000 square ft. mansion – plus the pool, purrgola, tea house, the golf carts and this gazebo upon the 2 acre lot – are much to keep clean but it is the beloved chore!

 

Chinatsu: 

Its is our home sweet home, so we love to take care of her. Fortunately much of the maintenance is automated, although I think we need to install one of those shishi-odoshi (deer scare) to ward away the critters that nibble at our garden! 

 

Dach Savage:

While my maid Valentinya is still in Kiev to visit her family for the holidays, I’ve just been doing some consulting detective work, and chairing a seminar with Ilyana-sensei at the archaeological conference!

 

Formality:

Oh I hope that Ilyana-sensei will join us for the AfterMew- I want to tell her about the ancient shipwreck that I saw in the North Atlantic on the way back from my pod reunion near Purrince Edward island! I also watched recently some DVDs which i will review later in the show. 

 

Mulch:

My husband Larch and I have been very busy at The Kitt Inn, what with all of the vacationers that Becca and Lizzy mentioned, and we are booked fully for next month’s Mew Awards! However, this was my day off work so I was glad to accept the invitation to participate in The Mew! 

 

Jamie:

In December I restarted my comic, Clan of the Cats!

 

The Ladies of The Mew:

Yattahh, nya!

 

 

Mike:

Oh, I was kinda busy between all of the holidays tuff, a friend’s wedding, preparing for the island’s 20th anniversary celebration… and I ran in the Santa’s Showdown: Elves vs. Reindeers 2.5K race, which preceded the Lewisville Christmas parade! That was a lot of fun! Ah, well as usual, we’ve got a lot on our plate, so let’s go ahead and jump into this month’s

 

Lightning Round topic: our favorite films of 2000!

 

Mike:

This year we’re looking back on favorite things of years ending with a zero, so this month we’re listing our favorite films of 2000! Those might include theatrical, TV and direct – to – home video releases. Um, Vonny’s gonna start, so are y’all ready to conduct the lightning?

 

The Ladies of the Mew:

HAI- LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA! 

 

Yvonne:

I will nominate Fantasia 2000, The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and Chicken Run, nya! (tags Tara-chan with a brush of the tail)

 

Tara-chan:

I want… I want to nominate The Emperor’s New Groove, Dinosaur, An Extremely Goofy Movie, and – and The Tigger Movie, nya! (tail – tags Minami)

 

Minami:

Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, Pokemon The Movie 2000, and Digimon The Movie! (tail – tags Chinatsu)

 

Chinatsu:

I will nominate Best in Show, Almost Famous, and Holiday Heart! (tags Mary Nyan to go next)

 

Mary Nyan:

That was the good year for the horror & science fiction such as X-Men, Pitch Black, Dracula 2000, Ginger Snaps, and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus! (tags Jeannie)

 

 

Jeannie:

Mission to Mars, Titan A.E., Maetel Legend, and Steel Angel Karumi. (tags Petra)

 

Petra:

Quills, Erin Brockovich, and Pollock, nya! (tags her beach volleyball purrtner)

 

Bunni:

I would say… Escaflowne, Love Hina, and One Piece: The Movie! (tags Becca)

 

Becca:

Cast Away, Papa’s Angels, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?! (tags her wife)

 

Elizabeth:

I will nominate Coyote Ugly, Bring it On, and Miss Congeniality! (tags Mielikki)

 

 

Mielikki:

Billy Elliot, David Copperfield, and The Legend of Bagger Vance, fur shur! (tags Dach Savage with a flit of the wing)

 

Dach Savage:

Gladiator, Homicide: The Movie, and Murder She Wrote: a Story to Die For! (tags the dappurr orca girl)

 

Formality:

I would have to say… Children of My Heart, The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge, and Le Chapeau! (tags Nyanko)

 

 

Nyanko:

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Chocolat, Ju-on and Drunken Master 2! (tags her twin)

 

 

Nyoka:

Ah My Goddess: The Movie, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and Blood the Last Vampire! and Ju-on! (tags Ellie)

 

Ellie:

I will nominate the Indian films such as Biwi No. 1, Taal, Sarfarosh, and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam! (tags Mulch)

 

Mulch:

Heavy Metal 2000, The Road to Eldorado, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins! (tags Trini-chan)

 

Trini-chan

Rip Girls, Run Wild in the Fields, Witchblade, and Gen13! (tags Jamie)

 

Jamie:

The 9th Gate, X-Men, 28 Days, Shadow of the Vampire, and Best in Show. (tags Trini

 

Back to Mike!

 

 

Mike:

Oh, I gotta go with Geobreeders, X-Men, Ah My Goddess: The Movie, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker! Well, that was another expedient little Lightning Round! Now here is Becca to present this month’s–

 

Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight! 

 

Becca:

Hai! In this monthly portion of The Mew, we commeowmorate the catgirls and other kemonomimi (animal girls) of myths and popular culture, here broadly – defined to include anthropurrrmorphic females and shape – shifters, to those who might not actually have beastial DNA, but do have the cat-titude and / or couture to be considered by us as “honorary” catgirls and other kemonomimi!

 

Barcroft TV’s “My Girlfriend Identifies as a Cat” video on Youtube introduces us to the romantic couple of Rob and Kat. They are cosplayers, and 31 year old Kat loves to dress and act the nekomimi! She has several outfits, but featured most purrominently in the 8+ min. video is her Black midriff top, kitty thigh highs and pleated short Red tartan skirt to match her Black ears, tail and hair with the Red Ombre!

 

She is a model and works at Catgirl Manor in Colorado Spurrings, which we shined the spotlight uponin our June 2019 Mew! You know, from the commercials for the forthcoming 2nd season of WE TV’s Extreme Love (which starts this month) she is not the only alluring catgirl cosplayer whose love life will be video documented!

 

We are also looking forward to the movie Wonder Woman 1984 which is the sequel to the 2017 Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot! In the trailers we are teased with the brief glimpses of Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva who becomes The Cheetah! Although her Cheetah side is not revealed in the trailer, we are quite enthused with the anticipation! 

 

On the CBS network’s show The Talk, for co-host Marie Osmond’s 60th birthday, her brothers Donny, Alan, Wayne, Jay and Merritt Osmond made the special appurrance! She wore the leopurrd purrint dress that was accessorized with the platform sandals and the Gold hoop earrings!

 

Last month, the Bravo network aired its cast reunion talk show for the 14th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County reality TV series, in which the galmorous Kelly Dod wore the lovely leopurrd purrint dress that was accessorized with the high heeled sandals and the large Gold earrings!

 

“Exodus” was the 13th epurrsode of the 7th season of Bravo’s reality series Below Deck, in which Valor yacht charter guests wanted the birthday party and the fishing trip in the beautiful Kon Pha-ngan Thailand waters. Adding to the allure of the scenery and swimwear were the clouded leopurrd purrint bare – midriff pant suit!

 

On the very next morning’s epurrsode of the MSNBC network’s Morning Joe show, co-host Mika Brzezinski had the delightful chat with her journalist / sister in law Natalia Brzezinski who is the CEO of the Brilliant Minds Foundation. Not only was it the fascinating topic, but her sfabulous outfit included the Red leopurrd purrint jacket!

 

In the 2008 comedic movie Four Christmases starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, there is a church’s nativity sequence graced by several kids in the kigurumi (onesie) kemonomimi costumes, purrtraying the various animals at the manger, such as the usagimimi (bunny), hitsujimimi (sheep), robamimi (donkey), butamimi (pig), and ushimimi (cow)!

 

In the 2019 movie Bombshell starring Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Charlize Theron and John Lithgow, Charlize purrtrays TV journalist Megyn Kelly, whilst the twin sisters London and Sedona Guller purrtray 

Megyn’s daughter Yardley. During the scene in which Megyn is greeted by her family at the political convention, Yardley has the cute mekomimi make-up!

 

Purrior to the movie in the theatre we saw the spot for the Tik Tok app for mobile phone videos, in which several pairs of friends are posting their fun videos. They include the two peppy sisters frolicking in the store, wearing the unicorn mask and the gorilla mask! 

 

The TV commercials  for Ibi the smart digital photograph manager are purrticularly delightfiul, especially the “Your Inner Circle” which not only includes the joyful soccer girls, the fire fiighter girls, and the beachy family, but the elf girl amongst the medieval larpers and the cat – eared girl amongst the scholary S.T.E.A.M. girls!

 

Published here in the US by Yen Press, Reborn as a Polar Bear: The Legend of How I Became a Forest Guardian is the manga written by Chihiro Mishima, and illustrated by Houki Kusano, with the character designs by Kururi, which purrtains to Kumada the mountain climber who becomes a polar bear on another world, where he purrotects the okamimimi (wolf girl) sisters)!

 

Mulch:

In the sword & sorcery light novels, manga & anime series Arifureta created by author Ryo Shirakome, the high school students wind up in the other realm full of magick & monsters, where they meet Shea Haulia the bunny girl purrincess! She has the purrecognitive powers, skill with the war hammer, and wears the Light Blue bikini armor & skirt that are accessorized by the White greaves that match her fair skin, White ears, Blue eyes and Platinum Blond hair!

 

Neko-Nin exHeart is the series of visual novels for the PC developed by Whirlpool and published by Seki, in which the adorable nekomimi (catgirl) kunochis (female ninja) Yura (with the Pink hair) and Tama (with the Blue hair) of the Futuma Clan dote upon and are well – fed by the human teen guy Haruki who they regard as their new Daimyo!

My Girlfriend is Shobitch is the romantic comedy seinen manga & anime about the novicely dating high school students Haruka Shinozaki (voiced by Mitsuhiro Ichiki) & Akiho Kosaka (voiced by Aoi Yuki) and their amewsingly meddlesome classmates. Haruka’s doting frisky, flirtatious younger sister Kanata (voiced by Yuki Yagi) has the feline mannerisms, wears the nekomimi hoody and even has the cat-eared phone!

 

Haurka’s childhood friend Shizuku Ariyama (voiced by Larissa Tago Takeda) does not wear the ears but she is quite the tease who often has the mischievous “cat smile”! In the 1st epurrsode, Akiho wears briefly the cat-eared headband whilst trying to purrvoke Haruka’s aroused response; and 3 such headbands accompanied by the nyan (meow) sound serve as one of the “eye catches” between the scenes!

 

Often in anime, an otherwise human girl might become temporarily the “honorary kemonomimi” due to her attire or behavior. For example, In epurrsode 1 of Girlish Number, novice voice actress Chitose Karasume (voiced by Sayaka Sanbongi) has the mischievous momentary “cat smile” expression whilst contemplating the delicious Korean barbeque.

 

In epurrsode 12 of Revue Starlight, purrforming arts academy students Kaoruko Hanayagi (voiced by Ayasa Ito) & Karen Aijo (voiced by Momoyo Koyama) & are respecetively referred to as “the picky cat” and “the chasing dog” by friends as they savor the tempura, shrimp & crab tendo supper. Kaoruko’s cat smile is accompanied by the nyan (meow) sound effect, whilst Karen cutely woofs “wan wan”!

Created by Sankaku Head, Himouto! Umaru-chan is the manga & anime series about the teen highs chool girl Umaru who has the split purrsonalities; to most of the world she is the kindly compassionate, industrious & talented “A” student, but at home she is the lazy, greedy brat who just wants to be supplied snacks, manga, video games! It is quie infuriating for her older btother!

 

However, we are mentioning her because of her distinctive Orange hamster hoody, which her home persona wears, and it is particularly cute because at those tiems she is drawn in the chibi style!

That is all for this month’s spotlight, but it will shine again next month! Now I will start the collectibles and toy talk,

 

with my review of Eaglemoss’s Star Trek Official 

Starships Collection’s Planet Killer Special issue!

Mulch:

Eaglemoss publishes the many great books, magazines, pre-assembled / pre -painted miniatures, statues and figurines of characters and vehicles from the franchises such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, Alien, Battlestar Galactica, The Wizarding World, Lord of the Rings, The Walking Dead, James Bond, Ghostbusters, Marvel, DC and WWE!  

 

For our review of The Official Starships Collection’s V’Ger, please see our June 2019 Mew! Purriced at $54.95 and packaged with the display stand in the 10.5” x 5” x 4.15” box, this 8.5” miniature is the diecast ABS replica of the Planet Killer from the Hugo – nominated Star Trek original series epsiode “The Doomsday Machine”, which first aired on October 20th 1967.

 

Written by Norman Spinrad & directed by Marc Daniels with the mewsic by Sol Kaplan, it guest starred William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker, captain of the starship U.S.S. Constellation, a sister ship of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Both ships battled the cone-shaped Planet Killer, which was believed to originate from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy.

 

The robotic device was made of scan-proof solid neutronium; it had the self-sustaining total conversion drive; it was armed with the tractor beam, subspace distortion field, and the antiproton energy weapon, destroyed many planets. Based on how it looked on TV, I will guess that the Planet Killer was about 2 miles long compurred to the 947’ ships.

 

So, if that is accurate and If my math is correct, I guess that would make this miniature to be of the 1/15200th scale? I think this might be the first ever officially licensed model or toy of the Planet Killer!

It is faithfully designed, sculpted & painted with the internal lighting effect, which requires the batteries which are not included. 

 

The battery compartment and switch are concealed by the magnetic hatch on the bottom! Also Included is the 11 3/4″ x 8 5/8″ full color 20 page magazine which is full of the photos, illustrations & information about the Planet Killer and “The Doomsday Machine” tale. I am done, and now here is Tara-chan to tell us about Hasbro’s

 

Star Wars: The Black Series Jannah action figure!

 

Tara-chan:

Arigato, nya! We like to collect the figures, statues and dolls of the inspurrational heroines, so I was quite pleasetot purrchase this lovely 6 in. action figure of Jannah the rebel who is purrtrayed by Naomi Ackie in the movie Star Wars Epurrsode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, nya! The design, sculpting and painting of this 1/11.5th scale figure is quite meticulous and visually faithful, nya!

 

Wearing the Gray capurri pants, Red sandals, Beige sleeve shirt, Brown hooded cloak, the low – slung Brown holster belt, the White head and- and arm bands, she is accessorized by the removable pistol, bow, quiver and –  and the arrows, nya! The details are quite splendid, such as the fabric folds and creases, snaps, seams, buckles, her purrtraiture and – and her hair, nya!

 

She has the hopefully optimistic expurression, nya. The weapons will fit in either hand, the arrows fit into the quiver and the bow, the bow and – and the quiver can be slung over her shoulders, nya. She is very possible too, with the articulation in her neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, abs, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. A display stand is not included, but she is balanced well enough to be posed without one, nya.

 

However, I will recommend getting the doll stand or the action figure display base, should she be posed in the more dynamic stances, nya. I am very pleased with this love figure, which is #98 in Hasbro’s Star Wars: The Black Series, and I have found the purrfect spot to display her next to Leia and – and Rey upo on the shelf, nya! Nextly i would like to purraise 

 

Kotobukiya’s My Little Pony Pinkie Pie Bishoujo Statue Figure, nya!

 

Tara-chan:

I love the My Little Pony animated series, the books, comics and – and the toys, so I was thrilled to get this beautiful figure of Pinkie Pie, who is voiced by Andrea Libman who also voices Fluttershy in Hasbro’s animated tales of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and in the Equestria Girls spin-offs, nya! Actually this statue includes both the pony version and the human version of Pinkie Pie, the latter based upon her Equestria Girls purrsona, nya!

 

Made of the PVC and – and the ABS, this genki purretty statue was designed by Shunya Yamashita, the pony was meticulously sculpted by Wataru Orita and the bishy human girl was sculpted by :ke(comacow), nya! The grinning happily pony measures 1 1/2” high at the withers or 3 1/2” high from bottom of hooves to top of the mane; whilst the purrancing bishy human girl would measure 8 1/4” If she was standing up straight and flat – footed, nya. 

 

Including her boot heels and the 1/4” thick 4” diameter circular base, the statue is  8 3/4” tall overall, nya. Posed standing one one foot with the very gleeful expurression, she is gorgeously designed, meticulously sculpted and – and painted, with intricate details of her lithe physique, face, coiffure and cute street attire, which purrfectly evokes her hypurr genki dsipurrsition and zestfully festive ambience, nya! 

 

The details are so very purrcisely intricate, from the Pink umamimi headband in her lush thick hair to the ruffles of her matching cupcake papurr-like skirt, nya! she also wears the Blue knee –  high boots with the Yellow soles & laces to match the Blue bolero jacket and the Yellow bracelets; the V-neck White tee shirt with the yummy sweet cuocake emblem; and – and the lavendar ribbon around her waist, nya1

 

She even has the ballons cutie mark upon the middle tier of the skirt, nya! The statue is packaged in clear plastic clamshell within the very colorful 6” x 6 1/8” x 10 3/4” box, which has the windows and the purretty art on the sides, nya! She is so purretty, and – and I will give the statue the high purraise grade of the “A” as in Applebuck, nya! I am done, so nyow here is Myayr to begin

 

our comics, books and – and manga mewsings, with

her review of Tigra: The Complete Collection, nya!

 

Mary Nyan:

Arigato! Greer Grant Nelson alias Tigra is my favorite Marvel Comics character, so it was glad to see this book which collects many of her starring appurrances! Nyow, by “Complete Collecion”, it is not every appurrance of the supurr heroic werecat widow mom, but her major tales from 1972 – when she was originally the supurr heroine known as The Cat (before she became Tigra) –  to her 2002 mini-series.

 

After Greer became Tigra, her friend Patsy Walker inherited The Cat costume to call herself HellCat!! Both ladies are members of The Avengers. If this book attempted Tigra’s every appurrance, that would include many issues of The Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Avengers Academy, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, Fearless Defenders, Uncanny X-Men, Ms. Marvel, Civil War, The initiative, Hulk, and others! 

 

That would not even include the animated series, video games, and toys! Born in Chicago, Greer is 5’ 10” tall and 180 lbs as Tigra, with Green feline eyes, Auburn hair, Orange fur, Black stripes and lovely tail. She is very agile and has sharp claws; she can lift 5 tons, run 50 miles purr hour, her senses are 10x keener than average folks’, and she has the widdle son named William.

 

Her mystic amulet allows her to change back to the human form, but she purrfurs to remain the catgirl! She most recently appurred in The Unstoppable Wasp and in West Coast Avengers. Published by Marvel, this 10 1/8” x 6 5/8” x 1/2” trade papurrback is rated T+ for the older teen readers; it is purriced $39.99 US & $52 Canada, and has 424 pages full of Greer Grant goodness!

 

It is all in full color, except for the 16 pages of “The Serenity Stealers” from the Black & White 1973 magazine Monsters Unleashed. Thusly this great book includes The Cat # 1-4 (Greer’s first appurrance, as The Cat), Giant Size Creatures #1 (co-starring with Jack Russell the Werewolf by Night for her first transformation into Tigra), Marvel Chillers #3-7 (her first solo tales as Tigra), Marvel Two-In-One #19 (teaming up with The Thing)…

 

Marvel Team-Up #8, 67, and portions of #125 (teaming up with Spider-Man), and Tigra mini-series #1-4! Also appurring in the tales are Red Wolf, Kraven, Super Skrull, The Owl, The Cougar, Kraken, Man – Bull, Man – Killer, Surisha the Mistress of the Dark Circle, Aeskla the were-rat, The Rat Pack, The Brethren of the Blue Fist, Hydra Agents, Dr. Joanne Marie Tumulo and other Cat People!

 

The tales were written by Linda Fite, Chris Claremont, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Bill Mantlo, Ed Hannigan, John Warner, Jim Shooter, Tony Isabella, J.M. DeMatteis & Christina Z! The penciled art was by Marie Severin, Paty Greer, John Byrne, Mike Deodato Jr., Jim Starlin, Alan Weiss, Tony deZuniga, Kerry Gammill, Will Meuginot, Sal Buscema, Jim Mooney, Don Perlin, Mike Vosburg, Frank Robbins and  George Tuska!

 

The inking was by Wally Wood, & Mike Deodato Jr., Tony Dezuniga, Ernie Chan, Sam Grainger, Jim Mooney, Bill Everett, Frank McLaughlin, Vince Coletta, Frank Springer, Sal Trapani, Don Heck, Dave Hunt, Mike Esposito and  Frank Chiramonte! It was colored by Marie Severin, Janice Cohen, Petra Goldberg, Stan Goldberg, George Roussos, Hugh Paley, Don Warfield, Dave Hunt, Francoise Mouly, Bob Sharen, Chris Sotomayor & Sotocolor!

 

The lettering is by John Costanza, Charlotte Jetter, Jean Izzo, Denise Wohl, Artie Simek, Jim Rosen, Irving Watanabe, Karen Mantlo, Annette Kawecki, Diana Albers & Dave Sharpe! The front cover depicts Tigra pouncing  from the rooftop under the full moon by Berni Wrightson, Howard Chayken & Veronica Gandini; whilst the back cover art is by Mike Deodato Jr. & Chris Sotomayor!

 

The tales were edited by Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, Archie Goodwin, Tom DeFalco, Jim Shooter Don Mcgregor and Tom Brevoort; assistantly edited by David Anhony Kraft, Linda Grant, Jeff Youngquist and Marc Sumerak. The collection was edited by Mark D. Beazley and assistatntly edited by Caitlin O’Connell!

 

There are also 16 bonus pages of art by Mike Deodato Jr. & various other artists; Tony Isabella’s 1974 article on Tigra, and Tigra’s page from the 1983 Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #11! I wish she had her own series again. She most recently appurred in The Unstoppable Wasp and in West Coast Avengers! I am done, and nyow here is Vonny to discuss

 

Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Year Three Book 7: Date Night!

 

Yvonne:

Arigato, nya! Created and written by Jeremy Whitley and published by Action Lab Comics, the Princeless series purrtains to the adventurous diverse ladies who refuse to be oppurressed by unfair gender and racial roles or stereotypes in the medieval era, nya! It introduced the 17 year old Captain Raven Xingtao who would later star in this wonderful spin-off series, nya!

 

We have met Jeremy at several of the conventions and Free Comic Book Day events, nya! He has also written the many other comic books such as such as my Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Vampirella, Sea of Thieves, Thor vs Hulk, Freedom Foundation, and The Unstoppable Wasp, nya! Well, Raven 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! The girls have the new sense of family, romances, adventures  and purrpose as they take control of their destinies, nya!

 

Raven’s crew includes Ximena, Sunshine, Katie, Jayla, Amirah, Verity, Zoe, Helena, Quinn, Trish, Cid, Melody, Gone, Pirate, Ophelia and Desideria, nya! Recently they were joined by  Honaka the kunoichi who used to work for Raven’s evil brother magpie, and by Sunshine’s girlfriend Ananda, but Sunshine & Ananda are not the only shipboard romance, mew la la, nya! 

 

This full color 124 page trade papurrback is purriced at $14.99 and it collects issues #1-4, of the year Three: Monsters of the Deep story arc, plus the Halloween Comics Fest “Drowned Witches” issue, and the 8 pages that demonstrate the comic’s creative purrocess, from the script to the inked & colored art, nya! The wonderfully beautiful tale is rated ’T” for the teen readers

 

It was written by Jeremy, illustrated by Christine Hipp (issues 1-3), Telenia Albuquerque (#4), & Megan Huang (HC issue); colored by Xenia Pamfil (issues 1-4), lettered by Justin Birch (1-3 & HCF)  & Alex Scherkenback (#4); and edited by Nicole D’Andria, with the front cover art by Xenia, nya! The cover depicts the longly – waited smooching embrace of Raven and Ximena, nya!

 

The ship has reached the neutral island town of Mirga which is ruled by Raven & Ximena’s old friend Charani, who purromises the crew the lovely shore leave! However, you might think that some of them wer dreading the fierce naval battle, because there is much nervousness in anticipation of the date night for Raven + Ximena, Katie + Verity, Sunshine + Ananda and Quinn + Zoe, nya!

 

However, their friends are quite enthused about the purrospects, as the makeovers, dress making and snooping ensues, nya! Raven + Ximena go to the elegant restaurant, Katie + Verity go to the theatre, Sunshine + Ananda go  for the moonlit swim, and Quinn + Zoe go to the poetry slam, whilst Amirah + Honaka enjoy the pleasantly conversational tea time, nya!

 

I am purrticularly fond of the character designs, poses, expurressions and dialogue; and the art includes the geat two – page spurread and the couple of full-page pics which wonderfully showcase the  scenery and the garments, from the gowns and bikinis to the pajamas and the saree, nya! I especially liked Katie’s purretty off-shoulder dress with the slit skirt, nya!

 

She reminds me somewhat of Gwendoline Christie who purrtrays Brienne of Tarth in the game of Thrones TV series, but I have stray ctted opff of the topic, nya! The tale is vso ery beautiful, charming, whimsical and romantic, and Raven the Pirate Princess continues to be one of my favoritest series, soI will give this book the “A” as in Amirah, nya! Nyow here is Nya-sensei to discuss

 

Magical Beatdown vol. 2

(warning: has plot spoilers), nya!

 

Nyanko:

Hai! Created by Jenn Woodall https://jennwoodall.format.com and published by Silver Sprocket http://www.silversprocket.net, Magical Beatdown is the 5×7” two-color indy mini comic book that might of the widdle size, but it packs quite the whollop with its tale of Fujiko the cutely freckled Japanese teen girl who purrfurs the video games to her high school studies.

 

Purreviously she was accosted by the gang of delinquent guys on the way to the Shibuya arcade but the thugs quickly regretted fatally their crime as she magically transformed for the counter – attack! Her (sailor fuku) school uniform’s top shortens to bare her midriff as she grows in stature, her short purrt bob-cut coiffure becomes the long flowy knee-length hair,

 

her glasses become the eyepatch, and her satchel into the katana and the spiked baseball bat! Furthermore, her unassuming polite dispurrsition becomes the tougher, tattooed, trash – talking, cigarette smoking femme fatale who can also conjure the motorcycle! Purrofanity and graphic bloody combat violence ensued in vol. 1, as she slayed them effortlessly.

 

The tale continues in vol. 2  which is 42 pages and purriced $8. The months have passed, and the deaths of several Snake Gang members at the hands of the mysterious vigilante have made the mews. Fujiko has been collecting the mewspapurr clippings, which report the outrage and purraise for the vigilante who fights crime and defends the victimized girls.

 

By the way, you can actually read all of those clippings that are tacked to her closet! The evil vengeful Snake Gang leader issues a televised challenge for a duel in the city park under the full moon, and although Fujiko would purfer to spend the time gaming and purrhaps romancing with her friend Kyoko, she does not hesitate to accept the challange! 

 

After the transformation is depicted in the impurressive two-page spurread, the gory score is 5 – nil as the body count continues! From that point, the pages are tinted as Red as if painted by the arterial blood spurray of Fujiko’s enemies! She does not just use the bat, bike and sword to smite them, but her bare hands as well. She is quite fast, agile and strong!

 

There are more transformations, as she combines her katana and bat into the scythe intended for the gang leader who becomes the huge slimey tentacled monster. Hopefully any remaining purredators will cease repentently their evil ways! The epurrlogue of vo. 2 is the much tamer, happily cute romantic scene of Fujiko & Kyoko enjoying  video games & pizza! 

 

Whilst it is not for the widdle kitties, the squemish or the purrudish readers due to the langage, violence & gore, I thought that Magical Beatdown was the beautifully drawn and thrillingly over – the – top action tale at the very brisk pace, and I am curious to see what happens next! I am done, so nyow I will turn The Mew over to Fire Chief Ellie for her review of

 

Sleepless Domain Volume 1!

 

Ellie:

Sleepless Domain https://www.sleeplessdomain.com is the wonderful web comic of the young adult category & maho shojo (magickal girl) genre by Mary “Cube” Cagle http://www.marycagle.com with Oscar Vega https://raspbeary.artstation.com, Isabelle Melançon https://www.deviantart.com/secondlina and Joseph “Jojo” Stillwell. https://twitter.com/Tautologicaly!

 

The tale purrtains to the idolized super heroines of Team Alchemical, who defend their city from the nocturnal monsters. It is the prestigious yet tough life given the normal teen, school & celeb pressures combined with the very deadly battles. The diverse protagonists are Tessa Quinn the leader (Pink costume), Sally Fintan (Red costume), Sylvia Skylark, (Gold costume), Gwen Morita  (Green costume) and Undine Wells (Blue costume)!

 

They each have the different elemental type of powers: Tessa’s is aether, Sally’s is fire, Sylvia’s is air, Gwen is earth and Undine is water! Chapter 1 begins with the photo op prior to their battle with the cylopean spider monsters, but in chapter 2 after the drama at school, the next night’s battle is the horrifying disasater for Team Alchemical, of which only Tessa & Undine survive, and Tessa has lost her powers.

 

It is the sad, confusing, lonely and frustrating time for Undine, who meets another heroine Kokoro a.k.a Heartful Punch (purple costume) and a bullied girl Zoe who are fellow studens at The Future’s Promise School for Magical Girls, but I shouls not reveal further the plot of this quite excellent tale, which has the great balance of the humor, drama, action, tragedy and slice – of – life qualities amidst the character developments & world building!

 

The bittersweet plot is captivating, the pace is perfect, the characters are endearing, the dialogue is sumptuous, and the art is as gorgerous as gorgeous can be, with the great poses, expressions, compositions, graphic narrative, colors and fonts for the beautifully designed characters, creatures, scenery, fashions and FX, so I will give Sleepless Domain the grade of the “A’ as in Alchemical!

 

Mary writes & draws the tale, although Oscar did much of the initial designs and drew the first two chapters, whilst Isabelle & Joseph are the editors. Isabelle, Joseph & Erin Burt are the directors at Hiveworks https://hiveworkscomics.com, the creator-owned host & publisher of many faboulous, free – to – read comics, such as Sleepless Doman, which began in 2015!

 

It updates on Tuesdays & Thursdays, so the tale is over X pages into its 14th chapter by now.  I was introduced recently to this tale by our friend Jeff the meterologist & avid gamer who gave us volume 1 as the gift! The full color 122 page trade paperback collection includes chapters 1-4, plus the 10 pages of concept art & Mary’s comments, so I will heartily recommend it!

 

By the way, Mary’s other web comics include Kiwi Blitz https://www.kiwiblitz.com (with Grace Liu https://nargyle.tumblr.com) and Let’s Speak English; whilst Isabelle’s oher web comics include Namesake http://www.namesakecomic.com (with Megan Lavey-Heaton https://twitter.com/savvyliterate); and Oscar is the artist / designer whose credits include Riot Games! Now her eis Myayr to tell us about

 

Monster Musume vol. 15!

 

Elizabeth:

Hai! Written & drawn by Okayado (who is also the author of 12 Beast and Ma ma Mia) 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 often renovated house they reside!

 

They 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 amongst the many other recurring characters!

 

There are more tales of them in the companion four volume anthology series of Monster Musume: I Heart Monster Girls! Published here in English by Seven Seas, Monster Musume is great fun, but it is rated for older teen readers of ages 16+, purrhaps especially due to the nudity, skimpy attire, sexual themes, slapstick violence, fan service, lewd and dark humor aplenty!

 

It was translated by Andrew Cunningham, edited & adapted by Shanti Whitesides, purroof read by Janet Houck & Dawn Davis, published by Jason DeAngelis, edited managingly by Julie Davis, edited in chiefly by Adam Arnold, lettered & retouched by Meaghan Tucker, with the purroduction managed by Lissa Patitillo, cover design by Nicky Lim & logo design by Courtney Williams.

 

Purriced $12.99 in the US & $15.99 in Canada, it has the 160 B&W pages and the 4 full – color pages of the manga , all sammiched betwixt the covers that depict cheerfully Mii and other alluring lamia ladies! Miia’s (Japanese metric) BWH sizes are 86F-55-90 cm, Maru’s BWH sizes are 71A-53-77 cm, Shequa’s sizes are 99I-58-92 cm, and Sanka’s sizes are 85E-57-88 cm. 

 

Most of the tale ocurrs in Miia’s homeland which is amidst the political dispute betwixt the various serpentine species such as the Lamia, Echidna, Medusa & Melusine. The situation has dire consequences for the interspecies cultural exchange purrogram, which might mean that Miia would have to go away, so the gang travels to there to help reach the good diplomatic resolution.

 

The success hinges upon how well Kimihito purrforms in the “manliness tournyament” which is the snake girl sex olympics, because the tribes are all female and they need the verile males to purropurrgate! Thusly his stamina will be pushed to the limit whilst Miia’s friends and rivals slither sensually upon him! 

 

Meanwhile Lala boards the wrong plane and winds up in Italy, but she does eat very well there, though! Also returning for the frisky frisky fray are Miia’s mom and Draco! In addition to chapters 60 – 63 and the 4 color pages of the selfie photo plot are the 2 pages of the epurrlogue and the 2 pages of biology notes. 

 

The beautifully drawn characters and amusing FX are amidst the intricate scenery, including some writhing crowd scenes, but the many bared boobies imight not be for the widdle kitties, purrudish readers, or those who care not for the purrvy harem trope! I am done, so nyow here is Trini-chan to tell us about-

 

Aria the Masterpiece Edition vol. 4!

 

Trini-chan:

Hai! Kozue Amano’s Aria was voted by many of us at The Mew as our favoritest manga and anime TV series of the past decade! It is the charming, slice of life / utopian science fiction tale set on the planet Mars in the future, 180 years after it was terraformed such that the polar ice melted and covered 90% of the surface in water, so the planet was renamed Aqua, whilst The Earth has been renamed Manhome.

 

 

Mainly in Aqua’s city of Neo Venusia, which is the replica of Venice, Italy, the main character is Akari, an apprentice gondolier trained by her senpai Alicia at the small Aria gondola tours company, which is named after their martian mascot cat. The other major recurring characters are Aika, Akira and Hime the cat of the Himeya gondola company; Alice, Athena, and Maa cat of the Orange Planet gondola company…

 

 

….plus  the other workers, residents, visitors and cats who Akari meets! Originally published in Japan in 2002 by Mag Garden, after 2 columes the Aqua series was re-titled as Aria. It was first translated into English in 2004 by ADVision, but they only published 3 volumes of it. Then in 2004 Tokyo Pop published it here, but only got up to 8 volumes. The anime TV series was released here on DVD by Nozomi!

 

Tokyo Pop has started over with the lovely larger 6.125″ x 8.5″ omnibus editions of the manga, including the Aqua tales! Volume 4 is purriced $24.99 and has the 354 pages of chapters 31-40 plus the special chapter, including 14 color pages. It was translated by Katie McLendon, retouched & lettered by Vibrraant, edited by Lena Atanassova, copy edited by Massiel Gutierrez, and in-chiefly edited by Stu Levy…

 

…with the quality control by Daichi Nemoto, associate marketing by Kae Winters, licensing by Akira Yanaka, and the graphic design by Phillip Hong. Set in the autumn of the year 2302, it has been 1.5 years since Akari came to Aqua from Manhome to joyfully train as the undine, explore the wonderful city, and brighten the many lives!

 

The wonderful encounters and adventures of Akari and her friends include helping “Granpa” to deliver the mail; meeting Athena who is one of the legendary undines along with Akira & Alicia; the sleepover at Orange Planet’s dorm; Akira teaching the three cohei; viewing the spectacular meteor shower; meeting the glassblowers and delivering the Venetian Glass; “chasing the shade” at Caffe Florian…

 

enjoying the yummy Margherita pizza and walnut bread; the snowy arrival of Winter, the bittersweetly poignant introduction of Maa; the mysterious night cat railway, and the flashback to younger days of Alicia, Akira & Athena! The characters are endearing, the art is beautiful, the situations are rather charming, the environments are glorious, and the mythology is wonderful! 

 

Aria also occasionally surprises us with the unexpected dashes of the surreal and perhaps magickal moments, especially when the cats and certain endemic martian phenomeon is involved! Thusly, I will give I will give Aria The Masterpiece Edition volume 4 the lofty A Plus grade!! I am done, and now I will turn The Mew over to Savage-sensei for his review of

 

Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film and Beyond!

 

Dach Savage:

Thank you, Trini-chan! Published by Insight, this big beautiful book by Andrew Farago & Gina McIntyre is aptly titled! Priced at $75 US & $101.99 Canada, the 13” x 9.5” x 1/75” dust-jacketed hardcover is quite hefty with 400 full color pages that are somewhat chronologically devoted to Batman, extensively covering the comics, movies, TV series, video games & merchandise of the past 8 decades!

 

With the forward by Michael Keaton, preface by Denny O’Neil & introduction by Kevin Conroy, this massive tome includes comments & quotes by those and many of the authors, artists, designers, editors, actors, directors, producers, composers, executives, journalists & historians who have contributed to the mythos, such as Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Paul Dini, Bruce Timm…

 

… Lea Hernandez, David Mazzucceelli, Jim Starlin, Bob Garcia, Larry Hama, Devin Grayson, Jeff Parker, Mike Tiefenbacher, Scott Snyder, Tom King, James Tynion IV, Steve Englehart, Bob Greenberger, Chris Sims, Dan Greenfield, Brian Cronin, John Semper, Paul Levitz, Alan Brennert, Grant Morrison, Gary Esposito, Marv Wolfman, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka…

 

… Mark Evanier, Mike Friedrich, Doug Moench, Graham Nolan, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, J.M. DeMatteis, Bob Schreck, Diana Schutz, Peter Sanderson, Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin, Victoria Price, Mark Hamill, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Chris O’ Donnell, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito, Ben Affleck, Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Michael Uslan…

 

… William Dozier, Peter Gruber, Sam Hamm, Peter MacDonald, Danny Elfman, Eliot Goldenthal, David Goyer, Rick Baker, Lidy Hemming, Patrick Tatopoulos, Nathan Crowley, Di Novi, Bo Welch, Tom Duffield, Akiva Goldsman,  Alan Burnette, James Tucker, Mitch Watson, Glen Murakami, Jeff Robinov, Charles Roven, Sefton Hill, Paul Crocker, Bruno Heller and Zack Snyder.

 

The hundreds of images include the many photos & illustrations, including over 75 full – page pics and several two-page spreads. Among the image is art by Bob Kane, Fred Ray, Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang, Georeg Roussos, Charles Paris, Win Mortimer, Sheldon Moldoff, Jack Burnley Jim Mooney, Lew Sayre Schwartz, Curt Swan, Stan Kaye, Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson…

 

…Mike Sekowsky, Joe Giella, Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Dick Giordano, Tatjana Wood,  Marshall Rogers, Terry Austin, Alex Toth, Jim Aparo, Jon Calnan, Mike Kaluta, Joe Staton, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopes, Walt Simonson, Joe Kubert, Walt Simonson, Din Newton, Gene Colan, Rodin Rodriguez, Alfredo Alcala, George Perez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, Lynn Varley…

 

…David Mazzucchelli,Todd McFarlane, Alan Davies, Paul Neary, Pablo Marcos, Chris Warner, Mike Decarlo, Norm Breyfogle, Kim DeMulder, Jerry Bingham, Mark Bright, Steve Mitchell, Brian Bolland, Bob Ringwood, David Russell, Anton Furst, Jerry Ordway, Dave McKean, Ed Hannigan, George Pratt, Kelley Jones, Malcome Jones III, Luke McDonnell, Geof Isherwood, Tim Sale, …

 

… Pepe Moreno, Alex Pascenko. Ian MacDonald, Mike Mignola, Pat Broderick, John Beatty, Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti, Kevin Nowlan, Glenn Fabry, Eduardo Barreto, Thomas W. Lay Jr., Martin A. Kline, Jacques Rey, Michael Anthony Jackson, Tim Flattery, Miles Teves, Susan Zarate, Carlos Rosario, Sean Hargraves, Anthony Tolin, Harald Belker, Buce Timm, Alex Ross, Jock…

 

…Glen Murakami, Alex Maleev, Tom Grummett, Ray Kryssing, Graham Nolan, Wayne Faucher, Jim Lee. Scott Williams, Dave Johnson Howard Poreter, Dre Geraci, Michael Lark, Dustin Nguyen, Richaed Friend, Matt Wagner, Henri Ducard, Jeff Matsuda, Dave Craig, James Tucker, Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, J.H. Williams III, Chris Burnham, J.G. Jones, Doug Mahnke,Tony S. Daniel…

 

… Sandu Flores, Ryan Winn, Greg Capullo, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Danny Miki, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Mondo, Ken Taylor, Ariel Olivetti, Ryan Sook,  Rob Christie, John Glaser, Josh Quinn, and John Guydo (who did the book’s front cover art). That is a lot of comics covers, interior pages, posters, graphics, concept art, storyboards, animation art, production & costume designs. 

 

That is in addition to the wealth of publicity and behind- the scenes photographs. plus over adozen neat inserts which splendidly reproduce much memorabilia. The inserts include the facsimile of Detective Cmics #37, the 1950 Batmobile blueprint, the 1965 print by Carmine Infantino & Murphy Anderson, the 1966 fan club card, SuperFriends storyboards, the 1989 movie storyboards…

 

… Batman Year One script pages, Poison Ivy costume designs, Gotham City map from No Man’s Land, a 2013 SDCC promo cardboard mask, Bob Kane’s Return of Batman treatment, and several widdle booklets of photos and concept art! It is the magnificent collection of information, stories & imagery to which I will give the highest praise! Now here is Mie-sensei to tell us about–

 

The Art of Frozen II!

 

Mielikki:

For our glowing review of the movie Frozen II, please see last month’s Mew, but for now I will just say that I think the movie is totally awesome, and I think I liked it even more than the first one! So like, it has such totally beautiful character, scenic and FX art and animation, so I was quite eager to see this glorious book, fur shur!

 

Published by Chronicle Books with the  jacket design by Toby Yoo / t42design, this lovely dust – jacketed hardcover book was written by Walt Disney Animation Studios’s vice president of creative development Jessica Julius! Measuring 11 3/8” x 9 3/8” x 3/4”, it has 156 full color pages, and it is priced $40.00 US / £20.00 UK.

 

It has the forward by Frozen & Frozen II’s writer, co-director & Walt Disney Animation Studios’s chief creative officer Jennifer Lee; Frozen & Frozen II’s co-director Chris Buck; and Frozen & Frozen II’s producer Peter Del Vecho. Including the concept art, storyboards, graphics and color script, there are over 300 images of all sizes!

 

That includes the many full – page pics, two – page spreads, and the clear acetate cel of of Elsa’s lovely final epilogue oufit, fur shur! Betwixt the book’s introduction and the acknowledgements, it consists of five chapters, starting with the Arendelle chapter’s loo at Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, Olaf and the other citizens of Arendelle.

 

“Air” looks at Mattias, Agnarr, Iduna, the wind spirit, the shipwreck and the Enchanted Forest. “Earth” examines Yelana, Honeymaren, Ryder, the other Northuldra folk, and the giants. “Fire” covers the fire spirit, and the lost caverns; whilst “Water” includes Ahtohallan, the Dark Sea, Elsa’s magic, and the water spirit, fur shur!

 

So like, members of the movie’s crew who contributed comments and / or imagery include Justin Cram, Brittney Lee, James Finch, Lisa Keen, David Womersley, Mac George, Jack, Fulmer, Jin Kim, Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay, Jean Gillmore, Alexander Alvarado, Marc Smith, Becky Bresee, Bill Schwab, Steve Goldberg…

 

… Nick Orsi, Ian Butterfield, Dan Abraham, Jesse Erickson, Sean Jenkins, Mac George, Jim Martin, Hyun Min Lee, Gregory Smith, Annette Marnat, Mark Henn, Tony Smeed, Chad Stubblefield, Dale Mayeda, James Woods, Eric Hutchison, Jack Fulmer, Lissa Treiman, Scott Beattie, Iker De Los Mozos Anton, Mohit Kallianpur…

 

… Erin Ramos, Normand Lemay, Mark Hammel, Dan Lund, Brian Kesinger, Marlon West, and Michael Giaimo; with contributions by artists such as Alberto Abril, Chris Anderson, Virgilio John Aquino, Cameron Black, Ramya Chidanand, Johann Francois Coetzee, Trent Correy, Nikki Mull, Charles Cunningham-Scott, Erik Eulen…

 

…Colin Eckhart, Jennifer R. Downs, Christopher Evart, Joshua Fry, Frank Hanner, Jay V. Jackson, John Kahwaty, Hans-Joerg Keim, Si-Hyung Kim, Kate Kirby-O’Connell, Brandon Lawless, Richard E. Lehmann, Suki Lee, Hubert Leo, Vicky Yutzu Lin, Chris McKane, Terry Moews, Rick Moore, Michael Anthony Navarro, Derek Nelson…

 

… Zack Petroc, Joseph Piercy, Svetla Radioeva, Liza Rhea, Jason Robinson, Brian Scott, Samy Segura, Rattanin Sirinaruemarn, Justin Sklar, Jennifer Stratton, Lance Nathan Summers, Marc Thyng, Timmy Tompkins, Mary Twohig, Wayne Unten, Jose Velasquez, Elizabeth Wiley, Michael Woodside, Walt Yoder, Alena Wooten and Xinmin Zhao!

 

So like, it is such the informative, beautiful book about the very entertaining, beautiful movie. I will give it the “A” as in Anna, and I will totally recommend it to the fans of Frozen, animated movies, or fantasy art, fur shur! For our next book report, here is Mike to tell us about–

 

The First Star Trek Movie: Bringing the Franchise to the Big Screen 1969 – 1980!

 

Mike:

Thanks Mielikki! As many of y’all know, Star Trek – The Motion Picture is my all time favorite movie (Trek or otherwise), and last month was it’s 40th anniversary, so it was only appropriate to commemorate the event by watching the movie yet again, and by reading this book!

 

This 232 page, 5 7/8” x 8 13/16” trade paperback is priced at $35.99; it was published in 2019 by McFarland and wriiten scholarly by author / librarian Sherilyn Connelly, who also wrote Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016.

 

While this book does not examine every aspect of the movie’s production, what it does explore thoroughly is the history of the movie’s development, from initial ideas after the original Star Trek TV series was cancelled in 1969, to the aftermath of the movie’s theatrical release. 

 

That includes an in-depth look at the movie’s evolution from TV movie and TV series to the theatrical release; its publicity, marketing, merchandising, critical responce, box office results, impact upon fandom and the film industry, and how it would shape the Treks to follow.

 

There’s tremendous coverage of he movie’s initial 16 week theatrical release, from the premier gala in Washington DC to many other theatres around the country. As much as I’ve studied the movie over the decades, I learned quite a lot from this book!

 

It evoked a lot of stuff that I hadn’t thought about in a long time, such as Susan Sacket’s official newsletters, official merchandise such as the LED-laden shirts & jackets, the initial home video releases, and articles in magazines such as Starlog, Trek, and Fantastic Films.

 

The highly researched book has about a dozen photos, and cleverly includes a vast wealth of facts and opinions (the author’s and others); carefully distinguishes between them, dispels a great number of myths, and cites the many sources with extensive footnotes.

 

I loved the book! I hope that she’lll write a follow-up, and I look forward to reading her pony book! For those of you who have an interest in how Star Trek was revived after the original series and how that first Trek movie was made, I highly recommend this terrific book!

 

As books about that movie go, I think it’s up there wih The Making of Star Trek – The Motion Picture by Susan Sackett & Gene Roddenberry, Chekov’s Enterprise by Walter Koenig, Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek – The Motion Picture by Preston Neal Jones; Star Trek – Creating the Enterprise by Paul Olsen; Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series, and The Art of Star Trek by Judith & Garfield Reeves – Stevens. 

 

Oh, speaking of publications about that movie, I’d like to thank IDW for commemorating the movie’s 40th anniversary by publishing the nearly – identical facsimile of the comic book adaptation of Star Trek – The Motion Picture, which was originally published in Marvel Comics’s Super Special magazine #15 in 1979!

 

It was scripted & edited by Marv Wolfman, pencilled by Dave Cockrum, inked by Klaus Janson, lettered by John Costanza, colored by the late Marie Severin, consultingly edited by Rick Marschall and Jim Shooter, with the cover art by Bob Larkin! Of course, many brilliant artists were associated with The Motion Picture, several of whom are no longer with us (including Cockrum and Severin); and sadly that includes 

 

Syd Mead, who passed away last month at

age 86  (18 July 1933 – 30 December 2019).

 

Jeannie:

Our longtime viewers have probably noticed over the years that we often offered lofty words of purraise for the life and works of Syd Mead http://sydmead.com, the legendary influential, inspirational, lindustrial designer & visual futurist who has envisioned products, games, cars, yachts, planes and other vehicles, mecha, architecture and urban environments.

 

Jamie:

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Syd Mead. He is often mentioned as the designer behind such movies as Blade Runner and Star Trek TMP. His work also inspired countless other endeavors, including my favorite game series, Mass Effect.

 

Trini-chan:

He was born on 18 July, 1933 in St. Paul Minnesota, graduated from high School in Colorado Springs in 1951, and then had his first commercial art job. 

Then after enlisting in the US Army, during the war time, he attended and graduated from the Art Center College in California and was recruited by the Ford Motor Company. 

 

Bunni:

In the 1960’s he illustrated books, catalogues, brochures and portfolios such as Concepts, Fashion in Steel Function in Design, Innovations, Interface, Land of Power, Perspective and Projections for corportions such as US Steel, Celanese and Allis Chalmers.

 

Petra:

In 1970 he started his own design company in Detroit; and later relocated to Los Angeles in the mid 70’s. We first saw his dazzling artistry in Future magazine #6 in fall 1978, and his book Sentinel in 1979 the same year that The Motion Picture was released, for which he designed V’ger, nya.

 

Nyanko:

The next movies to be graced by his art and vision were Blade Runner and Tron, which were both released in 1982! That was the awesome year for movies, also including Star Trek II, E.T., The Road Warrior, Conan the Barbarian, Cat People, Rocky III, First Blood, Firefox, and Sword and the Sorcerer!

 

Nyoka:

The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIMH, T

he Dark Crystal, Poltergeist, Tenebrae, Tempest, Pink Floyd- The Wall, An Officer and a Gentleman, Fast Times at Ridgemont High,The Verdict, The Year of Living Dangerously, Summer Lovers, Ghandi, Fitzcarraldo and Monty Python at Hollywood Bowl, … ah, I think we have stray – catted off of the topic!

 

Mielikki:

Fur shur, however speaking of Monty Python, it was also sad that their frequent musical and comedic collaborator Neil innes passed away last month at the mere age of 75. He was in several wonderful sketches and performed several great songs in Monty Python at Hollywood Bowl. I believe that Mike was about the time that Mike first met Syd Mead?

 

Mike:

Yep, when I was a cinema student at USC, I had the honor of visiting him at his home in North Hollywood in February 1983, and that’s when I decided to change my major from cinema to indistrial design, closer to home at NCSU where i got my bachelor & masters degrees. He also inspired me to start using an Iwata HPC airbrush loaded with Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache.

 

Over the years that changed; at the School of Design I started using Illustrator, Photoshop, Prismacolor Markers and pencils, which later in turn gave way to Copic markers and more Photoshop / less illustrator – but I digress. I chatted with him by phone a few times, and met him twice again, when he had presentations sponsored by the IDSA at NCSU.

 

The last time I met him was on May 18th, 2006 at NCSU’s Witherspon Theater, at his presentation where it was also great to see my former department head, studio professor & thesis committee chairman Haig Khachatoorian; Brian Lafitt- another of my professors & masters thesis committee members, and Syd’s partner Roger Servick. Syd signed my copy of his rare book Mead Gundam.

 

Dach Savage:

That rare book is the collection of his concepts for the 1999 Japanese anime TV series Turn A Gundam! Syd Mead’s other anime credits included the unfinished 1994 OVA miniseries Yamato 2520, and the Grand Odyssey animation done for the 2005 Aichi Expo in Nagoya, Japan. 

 

Mulch:

There was an art book for Grand Odyssey, toys and model kids for Turn a Gundam and for Yamato 2520, oh, oh and the Yamato 2520 Original Theme Music 1 CD had the illustrated slipcase with the booklet full his designs and illustrations for that anime!

 

Mary Nyan:

His other movie, TV & game credits included 2010, Short Circuit, Gundam, Yamato 2520, Time Cop, Strange Days, Johnny Mnemonic, Mission to Mars, Grand Odyssey, Cyber Race, The Core, The Jetsons, Mission Impossible III, Elysium, Tomorrowland and the Progressions augmented reality app!

 

Ellie:

His other books included Oblagon and Techno Fantasy Art in 1985, Sentinel 2 in 1987, Studio Image 1 in 1988, Studio Image 2 in 1989, Kronoteko and Kronovecta in 1991, Car Styling vol. 89.5 Future Concepts: The World of Syd Mead in 1992; Studio Image 3 in 1994, Sentury in 2001, Sentury 2 in 2010, and The Movie Art of Syd Mead – Visual Futurist in 2017.

 

Elizabeth:

Mostly recently was Syd mead’s autobiography A Future Remembered vol. 1 in 2018. We got the signed copy from his official web site! I read in that book that his mom lived in Hillsborough NC, which is just about the 2.5 hours from here! We have dined at several good restaurants there! A Future Remembered vol. 2 was in purrogress, so i hope will be published! 

 

Becca:

There were Syd Mead calendars for 1989, 1991 and 1993; cards, posters, limited edition prints and jigsaw puzzles that are graced with his beautiful images of the thrilling, believable world of the future societies, architectures vehicles and mecha, from his typical utopian visions to the more dystopian retro-fitted cyberpunk images!

 

Formality:

He contributed to The Blade Runner Sketch Book, The Art of Tron, The Art of 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Elysium: The Art of the Film, The Guide to Fantasy Art Techniques, Omni’s Screen Flights Screen Fantasy Flights, Visions of The Final Frontier, Star Wars Art: Visions, and Jean-Rodolphe Piccard’s book Dream Cars!

 

Yvonne:

Published by Hero Collector last year was Ben Robinson’s book Star Trek Designing Starships vol. 2: The USS Voyager and Beyond which included the chapters about Syd Mead and Robert McCall’s beautifully amazing V’ger concept art or Star Trek The Motion Picture, nya! 

 

Tara-chan:

Syd Mead contributed to many magazines too, such as Automobile Quarterly, Car Styling, Playboy, Future Life, Print, Starburst and – and ImagineFX, nya! There are the videos too, such as Kronovid,Gnomon workshop’s series of 4 tutorial DVDs and- and the Syd Mead: Visual Futurist documentary, nya!

 

Minami: 

There have been also the nice toys and model kits based upon his mecha and vehicle designs by Mattel, Bandai, Neca, Fujimi, Hiya, and Monsters in Motion… and most recently were last year’s V’ger miniature from Eaglemoss and the Blade Runner Police Spinner ornament from Hallmark, nya!

 

Chinatsu: 

That is lots of publishing and merchandising of beautiful creations, but of course Syd Mead’s greatest legacy is the profoundly postive impact that his genius artistry and great kindness will have upon his spouse Roger, the rest of his family, friends, fans, the many artisans, scholars and dreamers who he will inspire into the far future, nya! Nyow here is Jamie to begin our

 

movie mewsings, with his review of Little Women!

 

Jamie:

Little Women, the novel by Louisa May Alcott, is revered both as a children’s classic and as a vindication of women as more than their gender. The 2019 movie, directed by Geta Gerwig (Lady Bird), follows the path of the latter with style and grace. The film, a lush and beautiful depiction of 19th century America, stars Saoirse Ronan (Jo), Emma Watson (Meg), Eliza Scanlen (Beth) and Florence Pugh (Amy) as the March sisters as they journey from childhood to womanhood. Dreams and responsibilities are treated with equal value as each sister adjusts to adulthood in her own unique way. 

 

In this the acting talent of each actress shines through, particularly Florence Pugh as Amy. Gerwig ads a fresh take by employing puzzle-like flashbacks to her interpretation and inserting a somewhat modern viewpoint. While nothing like Clueless, Gerwig’s Little Women does have a buoyancy reminiscent of Lady Bird.  Such as the case, the perfect costumes and locations might seem a contrast to the movie. Instead they only compliment the style. Next i’d liike to say a few words about

 

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.

 

Jamie:

The Rise of Skywalker is rushed and often clumsy. The first half especially falls flat as it feels like a group of hurried action sequences more worried about the destination than the journey. When it does get to where it wants to go, the film often tosses out a few bones rather than the buffet the series deserved. Despite the pitfalls, the film is still fun at times and shines when focusing on Rey and Kylo Ren. Now here is Chinatsu to discuss

 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.

 

Chinatsu:

Hai! We are big fans of the late great Fred Rogers, his Mr. Rogers’s Neighborhood TV series and the Daniel Tiger spin-off, nya! I am also the big fan of Tom Hanks, so I was rather eagerly anticipating this movie. I must admit that I was expecting it to be more about Mr. Rogers, but the movie actually focuses more upon journalist Lloyd Vogel who interviewed Rogers and wrote the 1998 article about him for Esquire magazine, nya!

 

So basically, the cynical Vogel is initially sketpical about the sincerity of Mr Rogers, who does genuinely want to get to know Vogel better. This thrills Vogel’s wife Andrea while they take care of their newborn child and Lloyd’d ailing, estranged father Jerry. Ultimately, Fred helps Jerry to better cope with the angry angsty drama, which after all is one of the many postive things that Mr. Rogers is legendary for, nya!

 

The great cast includes Hanks as Mr. Rogers, Matthew Rhys as Lloyd, Susan Kelechi Watson as Andrea, Chris Cooper as Jerry, Wendy Makkena as his girlfriend Dorothy, Maryann Plunkett as Mrs. Joanne Rogers, Enrico Colanato as the TV show’s company president Bill Isler, Tammy Blanchard as Lloyd’s sister Lorraine, Noah Harpster as her husband Todd, andMaddie cormanas as Lady Betty Aberlin, nya!

 

Daniel Tiger and the othe puppets are there too, nya! Based upon Lloy’d’s Esquire article, the captivating, uplifitng tale by Noah Harpster & Micah Fitzerman-Blue was wonderfully directed by Marielle Heller. Oh oh , and another star of the movie are the beautiful, charming models of the neighborhood and the other cities such as Pittsburgh, which are quite faithful and extensive as they bridge the movie scenes, nya!

 

Make sure to stay for the end credits, because there is footage of the real Mr. Rogers, nya! I will give this movie the high purraise of the “A” grade, and I recommend it to be paired with the supurrb documentary Won’t You be My Neighbor, which was one of my favorite movies of 2018, nya! Nextly I would like to discuss

 

Bombshell, nya!

 

Chinatsu:

Written by Charles Randolph who wrote The Big Short and directed by Jay Roach who directed the Austin Powers trilogy, this 2019 bio pic purrtains to the women who are sexually harrassed at the TV network, so they eventually expose the culpurrit whom they sue in court, nya!

 

Among the brilliant cast are Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, John Lithgow, Malcom McDowell, Stephen Root, Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Tricia Hefler, Alice Eve and Ashley Greene, nya!

it is excellently photographed, edited, and has great sets and wonderful mewsic, nya!

 

To cleverly show and tell the tale, the movie switches from 1st purrson to 3rd purrson narrative and direct address as it combines the actor purrtrayals with the archival footage and the clever graphic visual FX. It is quite captivating with the humor, drama, triumphant, sad and creepy scenes, nya!

 

I hope that this tale will not only successfully entertain the many audiences, but to help to deter the harassments and to inspire folks to stand against the rudeness and crimes, nya. That is all for my reviews, and nyow here is Min-san to tell us about the movie version of 

 

Cats!

 

Minami:

Cats (1981) is my favoritest mewsical and I loved the 1998 video version of it, so I eagerly awaited this 2019 movie adaptation directed by Tom Hooper, who should not be confuzzled with director Tobe Hooper whose movies I also like, nya! It is has the impurressive cast as the Jellico Cats, which includes Francesca Howard as Victoria, Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella, Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots…

 

Taylor Swift as Bombalurina, Judi Dench as Deuteronomy, Ian McKellen as Gus, Idris Elba as Macavity, James Cordon as Bustopher Jones, Jason Derulo as Rim Tum Tigger, Laurie Davidson as Mistoffelees, Steven McRae as Skimbleshanks, Mette Towley as cassandra. Danny Collins as Mungojerrie, Naoimh Morgan as Rumpleteaser. Ray Winstone as Growltiger, Robby Fairchilds as Munkustrap, nya!

 

They do such the great job with the acting, singing and dancing, and it was such the treat to hear many songs such as the “Overture”, “Jellico Songs”, “Memory” and “Beautiful Ghosts” in the theater, nya! Among the differences betwixt this version and the purrior stage versions are some of the numbers, the sets & locations with the oversized purrops, the character designs and the many visual FX, nya.

 

Whereas the hair, make-up and costumes for the stage purrductions was more of the minimal body paint & furry tights, the movie versions are the muchmore elaborate purrosthetics combined with the CG FX, for the more animated ears and tales, nya! I heard that some of the FX were actually spurriced up just the few days after the purremier, so I assume that I have seen the spurruced – up version, nya!

 

I am not sure how the versions might differ. So I enjoyed the movie and I hope that it will be released upon the DVD or the Blu-ray with lots of bonues special features! Nextly I would like to say the few words of purraise for

 

Downton Abbey The Motion Picture DVD, nya!

 

Minami:

We loved the six seasons and the movie of the wonderful British Downtown Abbey TV series, nya!  Set in the 1910’s & 1920’s, it depicts the lives of the Crawley Family and their servants of Downtown Abbey, a lovely castle in Yorkshire. Much of it is shot at the Highclere Castle! For our review of the movie, please see our October 2019 Mew, nya!

 

Set in 1927 after the events of the TV series, the PG rated 121 min. movie depicts the frantic readiness for the gala visit by King George & Queen Mary which is an honor to some an an annoyance to others, nya. I was eager to purrchase the R1 NTSC DVD which purrsents the movie in the anamorphic widescreen of the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, nya.

 

The audio is Dobly Digital 5.1 with the spoken language & optional subtitle choices of English, French & Spanish, nya. The single disk is packaged in the plastic case with the outer cardboard sleeve, nya. In addition to the movie, there is about 24 min. of bonus features, including the optional audio commentary by director Michael Engler, nya!

 

There are the 8 deleted scenes which total to about 5.5 min.; and totalling the bit over 11 min. are the four short widdle featurettes of “Welcome to Downton Abbey”, “The Royal Visit”, “True to the Twenties”, and “The Brilliance of Julian Fellowes” (who is the creator & writer of Downton Abbey), nya. To top off the bonuses are the conversations with

 

Elizabeth McGovern (who purrtrays Cora Crawley), Hughe Bonneville (who purrtrays Robert Crawley), Michelle Dockery (who purrtrays Mary Crawley Talbot), Laura Carmichael (Edith Pelham), Phyllis Logan (Elsie Hughes),  Alan Leech (Tom Branson), Michael C. Fox (Alan Carter), Jim Carter (Charles Carson), Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates)…

 

 Imedla Staunton (Maud Bagshaw), Sophie McShera (Daisy Mason) and Robert Collier (Thomas Barrow), which total to about 8 min. nya! That does not add up to a lot of bonus features, but they are quite pleasant and the commentary was quite splendid, nya! I am done, so nyow I will turn The Mew over to Forma-san for her review of the

 

Wonder Woman Bloodlines Blu-Ray + DVD + Digital Code set, nya!

 

Formality:

Arigato! I tend to enjoy the animated DC movies and TV series; I have been enjoying the recent Wonder Woman comics, including the regular series and the Come Back to Me mini-series; I love Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in the live-action movies, and look forward her pending sequel! I am also a fan of actress Rosario Dawson, who voices Wonder Woman in this OVA which I was eager to purchase! 

 

Packaged in the plastic case in the outer cardboard sleeve, the 2 disc set set includes the nearly 83 minute movie, special features & digital download instruction card. The movie, preview trailers & sneak peeks are on both discs, but only the Blu-Ray has the nearly 11 minute Cheetah documentary, the nearly 11 minute Death short, and the two nearly 23 minute episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

 

Bloodlines is another origin tale for Wonder Woman, who rescues pilot Steve Trevor who crashed on Themyscira island. She defies her mom Queen Hippolyte by returning him to the USA, where she becomes the super heroine who defends against the villains and disasters! Also appearing are The Cheetah, Silver Swan, Giganta, Dr. Cyber, Dr. Poison, Etta, Julia, Vanessa, Veronica, Medusa and the Minotaur, 

 

The movie seems the bit short and rushed, which is often the case with the animated DC movies, but otherwise it has the good balance of the drama, humor, action and myth – making with the excellent characters, story, art, animation, sound, mewsic & voices! Presented in the 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, there are several spoken and subtitle language choices.

 

On the Blu-Ray, the movie’s spoken choices are English, French, Spanish & German, with optional subtitle choices of English SDH, French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Finnish, Netherlands, Dansk, Swedish, Dutch & Norwegian. On the DVD, the movie’s spoken choices are English, French, Spanish, Portuguese & Thai, with the optional subtitle choices of English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese & Chinese. 

 

I wish the Cheetah documentary was longer, but it is rather entertining and informative! The 2 episodes of Batman: The Brave and The Bold are very humorous and thrilling. in “Triumvirate of Terror”, Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman vs. The Joker, Luthor & The Cheetah. In “Scorn of the Star Sapphire”, Batman, Green Lantern & Steve Trevor vs. Star Sapphire, Major Disaster & The Tattooed Man!

 

 I was especially glad to see the DC Showcase: Death short, in which Death (voiced by Jamie Chung) meets an artist who struggles with his inner demons. I hope that there will be further animated or live-action tales of her! Not only am I very pleased with the quality of this Blu-Ray / DVD/ Digial set, but last month i got it luckily on the holiday sale for just $10! Nextly I would like to discuss the

 

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Seasons 1-3 DVD!

 

Formality:

In this animated series by Dreamworks on Netflix which is the reboot of She-Ra, the spin off of Masters of the Universe, the heroic Princess Adora finds the magickal sword which embues her with the super powers which she uses in the alliance with other heroes in the fight against the evil Horde that has subjugated her homeworld!

 

Now in it’s 4th season, it has the delightful diverse characters, exciting plots, important themes, beautiful art & animation with the anime influence, all accompanied by the great voices, sound & music! I especially like the characterdevelopments & relationships for Adora, catra and Scorpia, so I was eager to purchase this DVD set!

 

Presented in the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio, the 26 episodes of seasons 1-3 are on the 3 disks, totalling about 10 hours of gorgeously fun entertainment! The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio’s spoken language choices are English, European French and Latin Spanish, with the optional English, European French and Latin Spanish subtitles.

 

The three disks are easily removed from – yet are securely clenched by – the three hinged inner trays of the plastic case, which is inside the outer cardboard sleeve. The interior of the insert gives the brief widdle synopsis of each episode. There are no special / bonus features, but there is a widdle decal of Adora, Glimmer and Bow!

 

I would like sto have pecial features such as commentaries, documentaries or galleries, but I am not complaining about the lack of frills, because it has the many episodes that my friends and i will watch again and again, for the low price of $14.99, which is the great deal that I will give an “A” as in Adora! Now here is Jenjen to discuss the 

 

Game of Thrones: The Complete Eighth Season DVD!

 

Jeannie:

Hai. I loved HBO’s Game of Thrones TV series based upon the novels by George R.R. Martin. Seasons 7 & 8 seemed too short & rushed, and I 

did not care for how 

certain things were resolved, certain characters’ decisions and fates, but season 8 still had the many magniicent scenes amidst the great purrformances, purrduction values, lavish spectacle, costumes, locations, FX, sound & mewsic.

 

Thusly I was pleased to purrchase the DVD set, which is compurrised of the series’s final 6 epurrsodes which total the 425 minutes, purrsented in the 1.78:1 screen aspect ratio, in the audio choices of English, French, Spanish & Brasilian Purrtuguese, with the optional subtitles in English SDH, French, Spanish, Brasilian Purrtuguese,Chinese, Thai & Korean.

 

Additionally, there is the great weahth of bonus features including the 5 deleted scenes, the 3 documentaries, and the 10 audio commentaries. Totalling  nearly 8.5 minutes, the deleted scenes are “Soup in the Trenches”, “Davos & Fergus”, “Alys Karstark”, “Tyrion & Sansa in the Crypts”, and “Grey Worm & Missandei at the Feast”.

 

With the ample behind – the – scenes footage and comments by many of the cast & crew, the very entertaining & informative documentaries are  “When Winter Falls” at  just over 29 minutes,  “Duty is the Death of Love” at the bit over 31.5 minutes, and “Game of Thrones: The Last Watch” at nearly 113 minutes.

 

Disc 1 has the commentary for season 8’s epurrsode 1 “Winterfell” by co-purrducer / writer Dave Hill & purrduction designer Deborah Riley; and epurrsode 2 “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” by co – executive purrducer / writer Bryan Cogman & actor Daniel Portman  who purrtrayed Podrick Payne.

 

Disc 2 has 3 commentaries for epurrsode 3 “The Long Night”! Firstly is the commentary by director Miguel Sapochink. director of photography Fabian Wagner & camera opurrator Sean Savage; secondly is the commentary by executive purrducer Bernadette Caulfield, FX purrducer Steve Kullback & VFX supurrvisor Jow Baur; 

 

… and thirdly is the commentary by stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam & actor Richard Dormer who purrtrayed Beric Dondarrian. Disc 3 has commentary for epurrsode 4 “The Last of the Starks” by director of photography David Franco, with actors Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandre) & Pilou Asbiek (Euron Greyjoy)…

 

… and there are 2 commentaries for epurrsode 5 “The Bells”: firstly is the commentary by Miguel Sapochink, Fabian Wagner & actor Conleth Hill (Varys); and nextly is the commentary by purrducer Chris Newman, SFX supurrvisor Sam Conway & FX supurrvisor Joe Bauer.

 

Disc 4 has 2 commentaries for epurrsode 6 “The Iron Throne”; firstly by actor Emila Clarke (Daenerys) with executive purrducers / writers / directors David Benloff & D.B. Weiss; and secondly by director of photography Jonathan Freeman & camera opurrator Ben Wilson! To top off the set is the handsome packaging.

 

The 4 disks are snugly secure yet easily removed from their individual trays that are affixed to the quadruple gatefold boards which are adorned on the outside with beautiful photos of Sersi, Jon, Daenerys, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, Jamie, Brienn and the Night King, each of them sitting upon the Iron Throne.

 

Inside of the gatefold opens to reveal the 7.25’ x 29” panaromic photo of Drogonthe dragon flying above King’s Landing. Also inside is the card which lists the epurrsodes & the bonus features. The gatefold fits into the sturdy slipcase, which in turn slides into the embossed outer sleeve.That will conclude our reviews, amd yow here are Petra and Bunni to purrsent the latest

 

additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art.

 

Petra:

Hai! 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 illustrations, photos and mixed – media imagery by other folks totally with their purrmissions, and Mike’s collaborative images with other artists can be found throughout the Mewseum, 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 the hentai / 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!

 

In Gallery Two http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/gallery2.html

 

we are pleased to purrsent several selected illustrations from Mike’s “Purroject PALLET”, nya! These are concept sketches of the island dream home named PALLET (for the owners’ initials) which the friends commissioned, nya. The mansion has the four stories of the brutalism style, plus the rooftop items, the swimming pool and the out – buildings upon the 2 acre beach – front lot, nya!

 

This batch of over 30 images includes B&W and color pics of the onsen, kitchen, dining room, living room, library, theatre, game room, conference room, gallery, green house, water slide, uppurr deck, verandah, pool, purrgola, chashitsu, gazebo, garage, vehicles, and the purroject’s crew, nya! These were done with the pencil, pens, colored pencils, markers, water colors and Photoshop, nya!

 

After those images is Mike’s tastefully nude pic of “Lyonessy” the gynosphinx with the magick, cleric & psionic powers, who is one of the NPCs in his monthly tabletop fantasy RPG The Adventures of Nystia Nightshade, nya! She is the sheriff of an isand on which she manages the temple turned into the free clinic & medical school, nya. 

 

She is 8 ft long plus the tufted 4 ft tail; stands 4 ft high at the withers and weighs 650 lbs. She resembles an African Lion with a catgirl head & torso, paw-like hands, Ochre wings with White stripes and the 16 ft wingspan, the Tawny coat, Black hair and Golden eyes, nya. She enjoys puzzles, games, riddles, catnaps, and snake meat, nya!

 

Then In Guest Gallery Three http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/guest3.html

 

we are delighted to display “La Blue Dragon Girl” by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com and Mike, nya! Born in the Uusimaa region upon the southern coast of Finland, Dr. Velmiinna Katariina Jarvinen, DRPH (or just Velma, for short) is the Blue Dragon Girl and mom of 12 kids who are all adults nyow, nya. At 1200 years old she is middle aged, but still appurrs to be in her 20’s, nya!

 

In the humanoid form, Velma is 5’ 6” tall with the 5’ tail,11’ wingspan, BWH sizes of 35D”-24”-36” and the weight of 200 lbs, nya. She resides here at Catgirl Island, where she is Dean of Mew Hanover College’s School of Health Policy & Management, nya. Rebecca used ProCreate on the iPad for the character, whilst Mike used the camera, Photoshop CC, the Mac and mouse for the background, nya!

 

Then we are elated to exhibit 5 more illustrations by Rebecca, who was the guest for our September 2009 Mew, nya! Firstly of those is her supurrb ProCreate fan art of Lt. “Shiboline M’Ress” who was the Caitian catgirl communications officer aboard the starship USS Enterprise during the 4th & 5th years of Captain James T. Kirk’s command in the 1973 animated Star Trek TV series, nya! 

 

Bunni:

Then we have Rebecca’s wonderful chibi – style fan art of teen high school students, Adrien Agreste & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, alias “Cat Noir” & “Ladybug”, who are the titular super – heroes of the Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir animated TV series! This pic was done with ProCreate & iPad!

 

Also done with ProCreate on the iPad is the gorgeous pic of Rebecca’s original character who wants to “Let it Snow”! Cynthialyssa is the Metis – Canadian / American faerie from Yellowknife in Northwest Canada; hovering amidst the snowy forest. She was born on 12 November 1819, and recently celebrated her 100th birthday!

 

She is from Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada; stands 5 ft. 3 in. tall with the 5 ft. wingspan, BWH sizes of 31B-25-33 in., and weighs 100 lb. with the 140 IQ, Fae Positive blood type, the inny belly button, excellent navigation and flying abilities, with the 100 MPH horizontal flight speed, and the 200 MPH diving speed!

 

With BSC & MA degrees in Atmospheric sciences, she is smart, wise, agile, purrceptive, hardy and charismatic with the healing and regenerative powers, hypnotic charm, resistance to cold and magick; she speaks, reads and signs fluently English, French, Michif & Sylvan, and casts the wintry mix of mist, fog, frost, snow & ice spells!

 

Her hobbies include yoga, belly dancing, flying, curling, and her favorite band is Rush. Her favorite foods are grilled arctic char; tomato, asparagus and brie eggs benedict; rhubarb – cheese strudle with vanilla cream; espresso with hazelnut syrup and whipped cream; and maple apple pecan oatmeal topped with caramelized bananas.

 

Nextly, Rebecca’s “Dragon Brew” beautifully depicts the original character Adrianna Valentina Antirrhinueve Kaydarossa (or just Adrian for short),  the tiny Chihuahuan Desert Dragon Girl, who is wearing the cute ruffled short dress whilst playfully perched within the cup of coffee! This pic was done with the pencil, pens, Copic markers and the salty water colors!

 

Born near the city of Satillo in Coahuila Mexico, Adrian is the multilingual, pansexual, cisgender, Mexican – American, Chihuahuan Desert Dragon Girl;  a US citizen with the general nursing degree from UNC-Wilmington, and resides here at Catgirl Island NC where she is a registered nurse at Mew Hanover Medical Center.

 

She has the 160 IQ, Fae Positive blood type, and an inny belly button. She is 8 in. tall with the 8 in. tail, 8 in. wingspan, BWH sizes of 4-3-4 in. and weighs 2.5 lb, but if she magickally grows to the proportionate human size, she would be 5 ft. 4 in. tall with the BWH sizes of  32B-24-32 and weight of 145 lb. 

 

She is very athletic, and her favorite sports are soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, softball and beach volleyball. Her favorite foods are sweet potato souffle, honey garlic butter shrimp,  mushroom – sauced pheasant, cran-apple nummy berry cocktails, and hot dark truffle chocolate with coconut sprinkles & whipped cream! 

 

Then we have Jamie’s lovely snowy scene of the “Happy Winter Solstice” starring Chelsea Urania Kate Chattan, the heroic witchy were-panther star of Jamie’s urban fantasy web comic Clan of the Cats http://clanofthecats.com, which recently celebrated is 20th anniversary! Chelsea, her family and friends were guests of the August 2007, January 2009 & November 2009!

 

Adding further to the holiday seasonal artistry is Jamie’s “Happy Holidays” illustration which depicts Chelsea and her Russian Blue familiar cat Sebastian! In this purrticularly amusing scene, Sebastian has over-fed whilst Chelsea is fed up! She is disgruntled at Sebastian, who groans with the bloated tummy after devouring the whole turkey dinner and stuffing himself with the stuffing!

 

Lastly but not leastly for this month is “2017 Doodles 05” by Misty Hopkins http://bunnychai.blogspot.com who was one of the guests of the March 2008! It is the batch of 16 widdle doodles of various human, gynoid & anthropurrmorphic characters includes original characters such as Strawberry & Gary the Fox, and fan art of Empowered and Hikaru no Go! So, what do y’all think of the art?

 

Minami:

Misty draws the awesomest character poses, expressions and details!

 

Chinatsu:

I love how Chelsea’s flowy White dress becomes the snow drift!

 

Jamie:

Thank you very much!

 

Tara-chan:

The Happy Holidays image is causing the cravings in my tummy, nya!

 

Ellie:

Oh, I love the lushly dazzling scenery of the M’Ress pic, with the moons in the vivid sky reflected in the crystal clear pond!

 

Yvonne:

I love gradient color of Velma’s wings, and that is quite the captivatingly short strapless, sideless widdle dress, mew la la, nya!

 

Mulch:

The fan art of Cat Noir is so very faithful in the appearance the spirit, with the great pose and expression!

 

Trini-chan:

Hai hai, and that goes for the pic of Ladybug too! she is so peppy, perky, pretty, and with the cute proportions in the chibi style!

 

Becca:

I love every aspect of “Let it Snow”, from the richly vibrant use of color and light, to the intricately elegant, flouncy fashion details!

 

Elizabeth:

Rebecca equally excels at the illustrative mediums, whether it is those digital works, or the traditional media for the pic of Adrian!

 

Mielikki:

I will also praise the concept, composition, symmetry, and the salt watercolor technique of the totally awesome Adrian pic, fur shur!

 

Nyanko:

It is great to see how the Pallet House purroject is so well documented, including those images of the team that built the house!

 

Nyoka:

Those many illustrations of the purroject certainly do convey the happy ambience for the many visitors there on the opening day!

 

Formality:

I noticed that Star Trek – The Motion picture and Space Battleship Yamato were watched in the living room and the home theatre!

 

Petra:

I think the rooftop might be my favorite part of the home, what with the green house, the uppurr deck, and the water slide!

 

Bunni:

For me it is the lawn with the pool, purrgola, gazebo & tea house. I look forward to seeing it when the flowers are in bloom!

 

Dach Savage:

I got to meet the owners of Pallet House with Dr. Linde whose urban archaeology students researched the property.

 

Mary Nyan:

Oh gosh, those students are wild and adventurous! They are like the Meowy Purranksters on their caravans!

 

Jeannie:

Mike splendidly captured Lyonessy’s spirit & appurrance and I rather like the lush forest with the crepuscular rays of sunlight.

 

Mike:

Ah, well, thank y’all for the kind words and for presenting the art!

 

Petra & 

Bunni:

Doitashimaste, nya! 

 

Yvonne:

Nyow we wish to say the few words to commeowmerate the

 

Catgirl Island official web site’s 20th Anniversary, nya!

 

Minami:

We will each mention things that we appurreciate about it, such as all of the good family, friends and acquaintances that we are blessed with!

 

Chinatsu:

Some of us are of the afterlife, but we are so very grateful to have happy homes to haunt as we co-exist with the living and the undead friends!

 

Trini-chan:

Hai, and it is the wonderfully harmonious community of the diverse identities, orientations, ages, ethnicities, cultures, breeds, species and so forth!

 

 

Mielikki:

So like, everyone here enjoys the highest ideal of freedoms & equality, and goes out of their way to ensure that each other is treated with the utmost kindness, dignity & respect, fur shur!

 

Bunni:

Our sincerely altruistic southern hospitality and aloha spirit is not limited to our island and the rest of Mew Hanover County, as we try to export that sensible kindness beyond the borders!

 

Mary Nyan:

We hope that everyone will be safe, healthy, happy, and well-fed, all together with the good home, the educational oppurrtunities, the fun activities, and – and purrospurrity aplenty, nya,

 

Becca:

I am quite grateful for being rescued, restored, adopted and married with much love amidst the purropurr balance of the work, leisure and catnaps, and I hope that I can pay it forward!

 

Elizabeth:

Aw, I do not know what I would do without her or our other relationships, purrofessions, aspurrations and inspurrations that all contribute to the very postive sense of purrpose!

 

Mulch:

We are also grateful that thanks to the great care we take, coupled with the scientific reasons, this place is the unpolluted environment wherein we enijoy the purrpetual bikini weather!

 

Dach Savage:

The mystical geothermal activity along the ley lines not only feeds the county’s soothing hot springs and hot vents, but it makes the golf course’s hazards a lot more challenging!

 

Formality:

The county’s nifty local hydro-magickal affect upon the Gulf Stream expedites the ocean travel to and from here, and it deters harmful invasive and toxic aquatic organisms too!

 

Ellie:

The efforts to aid the threatened or endangered species of the fauna and flora, including the stray or abandoned critters that we will rescue & adopt to thrive in the new good homes here!

 

Nyoka:

I am glad that there so much magick that helps to purrify the air, land, water, energy and organisms, combined splendidly with the many different paths towards the spiritual enlightenment!

 

Nyanko:

We have the healthy tempurral respect for our generations, cultures & resources with much learning of the past, the vivacious seizing of the moments, and the shrewd plans for the future!

 

Petra:

There is also the encouragement aplenty for everyone’s creativity and artistic expurression aplenty, conveyed through the many different mediums, techniques, styles and tools, nya!

 

Jeannie:

I also purrize the beautiful technologies that we smartly and wisely embrace transpurrently and cleanly here, without any beligerant beliefs, invasive intentions or dishonest objectives.

 

Mike:

Of course, Catgirl Island would not be as widely experienced by others were it not for marvels such as the internet, computers, the folks that keep ‘em going, and our web master Jamie, who’s been my dearest friend since fourth grade!

 

Jamie:

Thanks pal! I—

 

Tara-chan:

PLOVER, NYA!

(the easily distracted catgirl with the camera scampurrs after the small shorebird)

 

The cat lady sings…

 

Yvonne:

Ah!  TARA-CHAN… NYA!

 

Ellie:

There she goes again, heehee!

 

Trini-chan:

I wanna see it too!

(scampurrs after the Tara-chan intersting avian)

 

Dach Savage:

It is a nice specimen of Charadrius melodus!

 

Becca:

It is almost time for the AfterMew luau anyway!

 

Elizabeth:

I guess that will wrap up another edition of The Mew!

 

Petra:

We wish to thank Rebecca, Misty and Jamie for the beautiful art, nya!

 

Bunni:

We wish to thank the many other talented folks whose works we have discussed…

 

Nyanko:

… our other friends, family, acquaintances & audience whom we greatly appurreciate…

 

Trini-chan:

… and Jamie for his web mastery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island!

 

Jamie:

Thank you very much!

 

Formality:

We also wish to thank Minami and Chinatsu for so graciously hosting us!

 

Minami & Chinatsu:

Dooitashimaste, nya!

 

Mulch:

I had the much fun!

 

Mielikki: 

Fur shur!

 

Nyoka:

Y’all may post brief, polite, sincere, non-snarky responses to The Mew…

 

Jeannie:

… purrvided the comments are spam-free, G-rated, and purrtain to our topics.

 

 

Mary Nyan:

Next month is our 13th Annual Mew Awards purresentation, for our favorite fun stuff of 2019!

 

Mike:

Be there… Aloha!

 

The Ladies of The Mew:

Happy tails to mew, until we eat again! Baibai, nya!