Mike Moon / Catgirl Island
and Jamie Robertson / Clan of the Cats
purroudly purrsent a Mike Moon purrduction,
starring The Ladies of The Mew in
The June 2017 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
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in this edition of The Mew, we discuss:
what we’ve been up to since the purrior Mew
The Lightning Round: our favorite fun stuff of 1957
movie & TV mewsings:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Alien: Covenant
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Vixen The Movie DVD
The Red Turtle DVD
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter DVD
our favorite recent purreview trailers & TV spots
collectibles & toy talk:
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Windblade warrior class action figure
Kotobukiya’s Emma Frost ArtFX+Statue
Marvel Legends Polaris action figure
Invisible Woman and H.E.R.B.I.E action figures
DC Multiverse Batgirl of Burnside action figure
DC Comics Icons Wonder Woman action figure
pony reports:
Classic My Little Pony Glory & illustrated book
My Little Pony magazine #2
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #53
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #2
more comic book reports:
The Unstoppable Wasp #5
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! #17
Goldie Vance #12
Hero Cats: MIdnight Over Stellar City vol. 2 #1
Siren School
Die Kitty Die: Hollywood or Bust #1
The Hunters of Salamanstra #4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 11 #7
Catseye Comics #7
manga mewsings:
Today’s Cerberus vol. 3
Spirits & Cat Ears vol. 2
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight
White Wolf’s Bastet Book
magazine mewsings:
our favorite recent seafood images on magazine covers
additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art:
“Cave Dweller”, “Shy Fairy”, “Gigi” and “Nystia’s Wedding Gown”
by Rebecca Brogden;
“Stella & Terry”, “Minka & Niru”, “Shannon” and “Southpaw”
by Mike
… and an intermew with our special guest
designer, artist & author Sean Martin, nya!
________________________________________________
Mike
(wearing the Carolina Panthers tee shirt, Nike trainers and Catgirl Island baseball cap): Aloha y’all, and welcome to The Mew for our monthly reviews and discussions of fun stuff! Today’s Mew comes from the river walk in beautiful downtown Purrbank at Catgirl Island, where it’s 85 degrees under Blue skies and Cumulo-Neko clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer”, and here are The Ladies of The Mew!
Mary Nyan (A.K.A Myayr)
(the hula instructor / cosplayer / seamstress catgirl in the Bengal Tiger purrint purretzel – cutout maillot): Aloha!
Jeannie (A.K.A JenJen or Jen-sensei)
(the belly dancer / yogini / roboticiest / archer / model catgirl in the Puma purrint micro bikini & sheer purrled purreo): Nihao.
Mielikki (A.K.A Mie-sensei)
(the golfer & ampurrtheatre manager faerie in the Cheetah purrint crisscross halter neck bikini): Mellow greetings!
Yvonne (A.K.A Vonny)
(The fishing charter boat captain & drummer catgirl in the Serval purrint bandeau-top bikini): Namaste, nya!
Tara-chan
(Yvonn’e sister & recent graduate catgirl in the Iriomote Cat purrint shorts & cropped tabby tank top): Namaste, nya!
Trini-chan
(the SUP surfer / assistant belly dance instructor kitsune girl in the Jaguar purrint suspender maillot): Konitiwa!
Elizabeth (A.K.A Lizzy)
(the spa co-owner & Purrkpour Club captain catgirl in the Snow Leopurrd purrint fundoshi – style bikini): Hola!
Becca
(her spa co-owner / nekomimi gynoid wife & avid golfer in the Asiatic Lion purrint crocheted bikini): Aloha!
Petra
(the mewseum curator / beach volleyball catgirl in the Iberian Lynx purrint ring-closure bikini): Hi Hi, nya!
Bun
(the assistant curator / beach volleyball MVP bunny girl in the Geoffroy’s Cat purrint side-tie bikini & sarong): Guten Tag!
Elaenor (or just Ellie, for short)
(the island’s Fire Chief, a banker pony centauress wearing her official badge on her Bobcat purrint bikini top): Hay hay hay!
B.B.:
(the island’s Purrk Ranger catgirl in the Tuxedo Cat purrint jog bra, compurression shorts & athletic sandals) Aloha!
Ilyana:
(the underwater archaeologist / nautical historian catgirl in the Ocelot purrint tanga-style bikini): Whassup?
Mike:
So what have y’all been up to since last months’ 10th anniversary Mew? I can imagine what Tara-chan and Trini-chan have been preoccupied with!
Trini-chan:
Hai, we love our Banker Ponies that we got last month! My pony’s name is Jimbo! Tara-chan and I have been spending much time at Rica and Niko’s farm where they are stabled. We have been photographing the ponies and other critters there too! However, I have still managed the SUP surfing, board shaping, volunteering, and assisting Jeannie with the belly dance troupe!
Tara-chan:
I love my adopted pony and – and her name is WildStar Blaze, nya! It is the big responsibility, but I have not forsaken the care for my two cats, volunteering at the art mewseum, the food bank, and – and of coursely helping onee-chan with the yacht and – and the charters, but I am still undecided about what I want to do since graduation, but I do not wish to stray far from the island, nya!
Yvonne:
They are almost insepurrable from the purretty ponies, nya! I have been spending the bit of time at the food bank, Rica & Niko’s, and watching the Americas Cup, nya. My drumming circle continues to purrvide the purrcussion for the dance troupes, and my charters have reeled in the delicious, nutritious bumpurr crop of the groupurrs, snappurrs, mackerels, croakers, cobias and wahoos, nya!
Jeannie:
In spite of the ample attention given to the ponies, Trini-chan continues to be the dedicated assistant. In addition to the belly dance classes and purrformances, and watching the Monaco Grand Purrix, my routine continues to be compurrised purrimarly of the mornings at the yoga studio, afternoons at the kyudo range, alternating evenings at the robotics club, and the occasional modeling.
Mary Nyan:
I have been at the shrine to assist with the matsuris, soon I will greet my new and returning students for the Summer semester of the Hula class and I have been sewing costumes for the dancers and cosplayers! The recently finished costumes repurrsent characters from Your Name and Riverdale, whilst currently in purrogress are the Tekken 7 and Mercy Thompson costumes!
Mielikki:
I look forward to those latest costumes! So like, when I have not been rehearsing for the upcoming Summer Shakespeare at our ampurrtheatre, teaching the foxfire juggling I have been preparing my workshop for the gala Solstice event at Nyo-sensei’s magick shop, part – timing as a pro at the golf club, and I have been enjoying the totally awesome LPGA and NCAA women’s golf, fur shur!
Becca:
I look forward to the Shakespeare! I get in the few rounds of golf when Lizzy is out running with her Purrkour Club, but most of our wonderful days Lizzy and I are busy at our spa which has stayed well-booked with the visitors from the mainland! Aside from that we have been at the late night hot salsa dance, gardening, caring for our two kitties, and enjoying our DVD binges!
Elizabeth:
I cannot believe that it has been over the year that we have been married! The time has flown by like the hypurr drive, but it has been the bestest time of my life! I think she purretty much summed up what we have been up to since last month’s anniversary celebration,, although for our next DVD binge we will watch movies starring the late Roger Moore! So how are things with Petra & Bun?
Petra:
Things are fine and we have been curating the exhibits at the mewseum, and we appurreciate the wonderful community of dear friends, patrons and artists of our mewseum, nya! I will have the surpurrise announcement about the mewseum later in The Mew, nya! We are also grateful for the fans who cheer for our victories at our beach volleyball matches, where Bun is still the MVP, nya!
Bun:
Hai hai, we are also very grateful the officials, event staff and the tough competition that are wonderful parts of our rec league! Let’s see… otherwise aside form the volleyball and the mewseum I have been tending to my garden, baking the carrot cakes, helping with the donations, reading more books, and I will have the honor of intermewing our special guest later in The Mew!
Ellie:
I had the great time at the last month’s Mew, where it was so wonderful to see so many friends, relatives and new acquaintances amidst the joyful festivities! Since then things have been rather pleasant without any fiery emergencies, so when I have not been on the patrols or in the office I have spent time with my mom, and we got to meet Nyoka and Nyanko’s mom and dad!
Ilyana:
Hopefully they will join us later for our AfterMew luau! Since then I have resumed my typical affairs, and for the luau I have brought the platter of the anago sushi, which was formerly the eel that tried to nip my tail while I was diving for relics amongst the ancient ship wreck My tail seems to be the purrfurred live bait, so purrhaps I should rent myself to Vonny, heehee!
B.B.:
You would not need the purrmit for that deep sea bait! Things have been fairly routine at my office and on the purrtrols of the maritime forest and the lake! I have been leading the educational nocturnal nature hikes, officiating the amphibious orienteering meets, watching the French Open Tennis matches and listening to mewsic by the Allman Brothers. Howboutchoo Mike?
Mike:
Ah, aside from my art and writing, and spending time with family and friends, there was my monthly RPG, the weekly trivia night, I saw some new movies, watched some NCAA baseball, softball and lacrosse, and I had a great time visiting several comics, game and toy shops on Free Comic Book Day! Well once again we’ve got a lot on our plate, so let’s go ahead and jump right into
the Lightning Round topic:
our favorite fun stuff of ’57!
Mike:
Since May was the 10th anniversary of The Mew, we’ve been looking back at favorite things from the past decades. Previously we’ve looked back at 2007, 1997,1987, ’77 and ’67, so for today we’re looking back at some of our favorite things of 1957! Becca will start, so, are y’all ready to “conduct the lightning”?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI- LIGHTNING ROUND GO– NYA!
Jeannie:
I will nominate the beautiful, powerful legendary aircraft that entered service that year, such as the Bell X-124, the Boeing KC 135 StratoTanker, Boeing 707, Cessna 150, Grumman F 111 Tiger, McDonnell F101 A Voodoo, and the Vought F8U Crusader. (tags Becca with a brush of the tail)
Becca:
The classic TV shows such as I Love Lucy, Leave It to Beaver, The Mickey Mouse Club, Dragnet, and the Adventures of Superman! (tail-tags her wife)
Elizabeth:
I will nominate the movies A Face in the Crowd, 12 Angry Men, The Spirit of St. Louis, and Old Yeller! (tags Petra to go next)
Petra:
The Bridge on the River Kwai, Paths of Glory, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and 3:10 to Yuma… and nyow it is…Ilyana’s turn, nya! (tags Ilyana)
Ilyana:
The movies such as The Incredible Shrinking Man, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The Black Scorpion, and The Mysterians! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
1957 was the good year for the Hammer horrors such as The Curse of Frankenstein, The Abominable Snowman, and Quatermass 2! (tags Tara-chan)
Tara-chan:
I want… I want to nominate that year’s assorted Looney Tunes and – and Merrie Melodies animated shorts, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya! (tags her sister)
Yvonne:
I will second those, and include the Tom Jerry and Jerry shorts, The Sad Sack, The Pajama Game, and Jailhouse Rock, nya! (tags Trini-chan)
Trini-chan:
Oh gosh, that was such the great year for mewsic, including the pop, rock, rockabilly, country & jazz, but it would be such the long list! (tags B.B.)
B.B.:
Hai hai- don’t forget the folk, classical, opurra, the broadway and the film scores! Nyow it is Mie-sensei’s turn! (tags Mielikki)
Mielikki:
Hai hai, that was a fine year for musicals, such as West Side Story, Cinderella and The Music Man, fur shur! (tags Ellie with a flit of the wing)
Ellie:
Hee! I would like to mention novels such as From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming, On the Road by Jack Kerouac! (tags Bun)
Bun:
I would like to mention the innovations of the (then recent) Silver Age of DC Comics, such as the debut of The Flash’s enemy Leonard Snart, alias Captain Cold, who has since become one of my favorite characters of the Legends of Tomorrow TV series! Back to Mike!
Mike:
Speaking of the comics, in The Complete Peanuts vol. 3: 1957 – 1958, Snoopy began to sleep atop his dog house, play baseball, grab Linus’s blanket, and do his imitations! Well that was an expedient little Lightning Round, and now I’d like to start our
movie mewsings, with my review
of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2!
Mike:
I thought Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 was fantastic and every bit as good and as the first Guardians of the Galaxy, which we reviewed in the August 2014 Mew! This time Peter, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, Drax and Nebula are joined by Pom Klementieff as one of my favorite Marvel characters Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as the aggrieved Ayesha who sends her fleet after the Guardians, Chris Sullivan as Taser Face who leads a mutiny amongst the Ravagers, Sylvester Stallone as Stakar and Kurt Russell as Ego the god-like Celestial being who claims to be Peter’s father.
There are appearances by many other Marvel characters from across the galaxy, surprises during several mid-credits scenes, It was marvelously written & directed by James Gunn, who directed the prior Guardians, and it is an epic, sprawling production with the great plot, pace, dialogue, performances, stunts, make-up, costumes, props, sets, location, cinematography, editing, sound design, the score and use of popular songs. I shouldn’t reveal much more of the plot, but I will add that more things I’ve hoped for are foreshadowed during the amusing med-credits!
I saw the regular 2D version so I can’t comment on the 3D version. I loved almost every thrilling, fun, sad, bittersweet, poignant, beautiful, and dazzling moment, and If i have any slight quibble, I wish the movie was bit longer, and I didn’t prefer some of the slow-mo shots, but that’s the worst I can say about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. I give the movie an A Minus, and I immediately bought the Awesome Mix Vol. 2 CD afterwards! The office catgirls are particularly fond of the “Guardians Inferno” space-disco song!Um, next I’d like to say a few words about
Alien: Covenant
Mike:
Once again, director Ridley Scott shows us what happens when a big space ship’s human crew (including an android) investigate a planet on which the deadly face-hugging, chest-bursting xenomorphs lurk. Set about 10 years after the movie Prometheus (which we reviewed in the Juky 2012 Mew), the colonist crew of the Covenant encounter the android David (portrayed by Michael Fassbender) who survived the encounter with the xenomorphs and the humanoid Engineers in Prometheus. Fassbender also portrays The Covenant’s android crewman Walter!
The fine cast also includes Katherine Waterston as Daniels the terraformer officer, Danny McBride as Tennesee the pilot Billy Crudup as Oram the executive officer, Amy Seimetz as the landing vehicle pilot, and a brief appearance by Guy Pierce as Weyland. We get to see more variations of the xenomorph, along with other grisly discoveries inspired by the designs of the late artist H.R. Giger. The creature designs and FX are terrific as we learn more of the Alien mythology, but many human characters do very stupid things while exploring and fleeing from stuff!
That’s my biggest complaint about the movie, which was also rushed and predictable, with too under-saturated a pallet, but with the gorgeous FX, ship, mecha, costumes, sets and locations, in many nicely composed yet too quickly cut shots. Compared to the other films of the series, it’s most similar to Prometheus. I don’t think that it’s nearly as good as Alien or Aliens; it’s maybe on par with Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection,; but I like it more than Prometheus, Alien Vs Predator, and Alien Vs Predator: Requiem. Ah, now I’d like to say a few words about
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales!
Mike:
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 14 years since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie introduced us to Captain Jack Sparrow! I’ll go ahead and say that the 1st one is still by far my favorite of the series, but I do like the 4th film and this 5th, final film more than the 2nd and 3rd films of the series.
This time Will Turner’s son Henry and Carina the astronomer / horologist team up with Jack, 1st mate Gibbs, Capt. Barbossa and their crews in search of a legendary relic that might end any and all oceanic curses, but they are pursued by the British Navy and the ghostly Spanish Capt. Salazar!
The splendid cast includes Johnny Depp as Jack, Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, Kevin McNally as Gibbs, Javier Bardeem as Salazar, Brenton Thwaites as Henry, Kaya Scodelario as Carina, David Wenham as Scarfield, and Golshifteh Farahani as Shansa the witch. The monkey is back too!
There are appearances by Orlando Bloom as William Turner, Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swan, and Paul McCartney as Jack’s Uncle! The movie seemed a wee bit rushed and short, but it is lavish with the terrific costumes, make-up, props, stunts, sets, locations, FX sounds and music!
Make sure to watch the end credits, as there’s a post-credits scene! I think that it’s a beautiful, thrilling, fun movie with some very poignant, sentimental and surprising scenes, and I was very pleased with how it concludes the Pirates of the Caribbean series! Now here’s Trini-chan to tell us about
Vixen The Movie!
Trini-chan:
We like most of the DC animated movies! For our review of their recent Justice League Dark, please see our March 2017 Mew! Mari Mccabe alias The Vixen first appeared in Action Comics #521 in 1981, so last year was her 35th anniversary! She was born in Zemesi in West Africa but moved to foster families in Detroit, as the fashion designer by day and crime fighter by night,
Her mystic amulet gives her the abilities of animals, from bugs & fish to birds & mammals. She is very peppy, feisty, brave, tough, smart, graceful and has the beautiful costume! This movie is her origin tale in DC’s CWverse co – starring characters from The Flash, Arrow & Legends of Tomorrow – but alas no Supergirl, as Mari’s sister Kuasa and a warlord name Eshu try to steal her amulet!
I will not reveal much more of the exciting plot, but I will say that there is combat violence, property damage and harsh language in the unrated 75 minute movie, which is in the widescreen format on the Region 1, NTSC DVD, in English audio with the optional English SDH, French, Spanish & Portuguese subtitles! The movie’s great music score is by Blake Neely & Nathanial Blume!
It was written by Wendy Mericle, Brian Ford Sullivan, Sarah Tarkoff, Nolan Dunbar and by the story editors Keto Simizu and Marc Guggengeim. It was executively produced by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg and Marc; line produced by Amy Mckenna & Tony Salma, edited by Christopher D. Lozinski & Nick Reczynski, and it was directed by Curt Geda & producer James Tucker!
Voice directed by Wes Gleason, the great cast includes Megalyn Echikunwoke as Mari, Anika Noni Rose as Kuasa, Toks Olagundoye as their mom, Kimberly Brooks as young Mari Neil Flyn as Mari’s dad, Hakeem Kaw-Kazim as Eshu, Sean Patrick Thomas as Dr, Macalester, Maria Canalsas Dr. Vargas, Kari Whurer as Patty, Grant Gustin as The Flash, Stephen Amell as Green Arrow…
… Katie Cassidy as Black Canary, Franz Drameh as Jax, Victor Garber as Professor Stein, Brandon Routh as The Atom, Carlos Valdes as Cisco, and Emily Bett Richards as Felicity! The movie seems a bit rushed, but it is thrilling and bittersweet, with the beautiful character designs, animation, FX, sounds & scenic art!
The DVD’s nice but rather sparse special features include the 6 minute discussion about Vixen by Valdez, Garber, Guggenheim and comics historian Alan Kistler; and there are two great episodes from the wonderful Justice League Unlimited animated series, which are about 23 minutes apiece.
in “Hunter’s Moon” Vixen, Hawk Girl & Vigilante fight a gang of Thanagarian villains; and in “Grudge Match” Vixen, Hawk Girl, Black Canary, The Huntress, Fire, and Wonder Woman are forced to fight in the villainess Roulette’s arena! I will have another discussion later in The Mew, but now here is Ellie to tell us about
The Red Turtle DVD!
Ellie:
Hai! The Red Turtle is a 2016 internationally animated feature film about shipwreck survivor on an island, with only the wildlife for company, until a mysterious woman arrives and the family results! Years pass for them as they enjoy happy times and survive the hardships, but it has a very timeless quality, depicted in the very realistic art style but with the dreamlike ambience!
It was written, designed & directed by Michael Dudok De Wit, co-written by Pascale Ferran with the animation supervised by Jean-Christophe Lie, backgrounds supervised by Julien De Man, editing by Celene Kelepikis, sound by Piste Rouge, and music by Laurent Perez Del Mar. There are four members of the voice cast, but there is little dialogue spoken in the tale!
It combines beautiful hand drawn and CG animation! It was produced by Studio Ghibli’s Isao Takahata and by Prima Linea Productions, and animated by Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch, Studio Ghibli, CN4, Arte France Cinema and Belvision with contributions by several other studios! For our review of Studio Ghibli’s Ocean Waves movie, please see last month’s Mew!
The captivating, poignant, bittersweet movie has won and been nominated for several awards, and it released here last month on DVD by Sony! The 81 minute, PG-13 movie is presented in the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen format in English audio, with the optional audio commentary by Michael Dudok De Wit, and the descriptive audio read by Leilani Jones Wilmore!
For the movie there are optional subtitles in English, English SDH, Spanish & Portuguese; plus subtitles for the commentary in English. Spanish & Portuguese. There are special features about the making of the movie: “The Birth of the Red Turtle” which is 56.5 minutes & “The Secrets of The red Turtle” which is 17.75 minutes. Both are in French with English. Spanish & Portuguese subtitles.
After that is the 20.75 minute Q&A session with the director at the AFI Fest, which is in English with English. Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD is topped off by the movie’s trailer, and previews for three other movies that I want to see, such as Our Little Sister, The Eagle Huntress, and Dark Horse! Nextly, I would like to say the few words about the
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter DVD!
Ellie:
We are fans of superb actress / singer / model Milla Jovovich and her character Alice, who is one of the cinema’s greatest heroines! Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, is 6th live-action movie based upon the Resident Evil video games. There are also several CG animated movies, but they are of a separate story continuity.
In this finale, Alice and friends battle the Umbrella Corporation’s villains and monsters amidst the global zombie apocalypse, coming full circle as she returns to the underground Hive research center beneath the ruins of Raccoon City, ironically aided by the Hive’s Red Queen A.I. in search of an alleged T-Virus antidote!
Set 10 years after the events of the 1st movie, it was written, produced & directed by Milla’s husband Paul W.S. Anderson, who has produced, written or directed the prior live – action Resident Evil movies, except for the 2nd which was directed by Alexander Witt, and the 3rd which was directed by Russell Mulcahy.
Also returning are Ali Larter as Alice’s friend Claire Redfield, Shawn Roberts as the villain Wesker, Iain Glen as the evil Dr. Isaacs. The cast includes Milla and Paul’s daughter Ever Gabo Anderson as The Red Queen, Ruby Rose as Abigail, Rola as Cobalt, Lee Joon-Gi as Lee, Eoin Macken as Doc, and Willaim Levy as Christian.
The R rated, 107 minute movie was released upon home video by Sony Pictures last month, and it is presented on the Region One, NTSC standard DVD in the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen format. It does not include the appreciative little greeting from Milla and Paul that preceded the movie in its theatrical release.
The spoken language choices are English, English descriptive audio (read by Roy Samuelson), French, Spanish, Portuguese and Thai; with the optional subtitle choices of English, English SDH, Cantonese, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Malay, Vietnamese and Thai.
The special features sparsely consist of 2 shorts about the making of the movie. “Explore the Hive” is about 4.25 min. long, with comments by Milla, Ali, Iian, Paul, producer Jeremy Bolt & production designer Edward Thomas. “The Bad Ass Trinity & the Women of Resident Evil” is about 6.5 min. long, with comments by Milla, Al, Ruby & Paul.
I wish those were longer documentaries, because so much more could be said about the movie, the Resident Evil mythology and its great heroines. The DVD also includes trailers for Spider-Man Homecoming, Underworld: Bloodlines, Life, Trainspotting 2, and the animated Resident Evil: Vendetta. Speaking of which, now we wish to mention a few of
our favorite recent purreview trailers & TV spots!
Mary Nyan:
Hai! We are not necessarily endorsing the advertised purroducts or services in these recent trailers and TV commercials that we like for various reasons, purrhaps due to purretty imagery, visual FX, favorite celebrities, humor or sentimentality! For example, I like Old Navy’s spot with the hula girl figurine, and the spot for MTV’s Teen Mom OG series with the cute widdle kittengirl cosplayer!
Petra:
I like that “Come to Life” commercial for the Atlantis Bahamas resort, with the numerous folks colorfully body painted and costumed for the festivities at the beach, and the spots for The Crystal Coast which is very close to here, nya!
Trini-chan:
I will nominate the TV spots for the United Mileage Plus Explorers card, athe Boost drink, and the Truly drink which depict the surfing; the and the TV spot for MTV’s The Challenge: Champs Vs Pros which is graced by the famous inspirational surfer Tia Blanco!
Bun:
Speaking of the sports, I will nominate the TV spots for The Honest Company’s products, which are graced by my idol the inspirational, legendary professional & olympic beach volleyball champion Kerri Walsh!
Mielikki:
The LPGA spot with golfer Brooke Henderson, The Golf Channel’s spots for The Open golf tournament; the spot for the Women’s College World Series, and the NCAA’s “Genders don’t play sports- athletes do” PSA, fur shur!
B.B.:
I will nominate the Chase Mobile spot and the Tempur Pedic spot with Serena Williams; the Eyelove spot with Jennifer Anniston to the tune of The Beatles’ “All You need is Love”; and the spot for Sirius XM’s Beatles channel!
Jeannie:
The Bridgestone tires spot featuring olympic archer Katuna Loric, the Ram trucks spot featuring the Curtis-Wright P-40 Warhawk. and Supergirl’s “nice boots” purromo with Melissa Benoist, Lynda Carter, Teri Hatcher and Chyler Leigh for the Wonder Woman movie.
Elizabeth:
I will second that, and I will nominate those ads for the Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice which have the archers, the samurai, the giant and the dragon! They remind me of the encounters in my Dungeons & Dragons campaign!
Yvonne:
I would like to mention the Farmers Insurance “Coup Soup” spot with the delicious – looking octopus, and there are some delicious looking sharks in the trailer for the movie 47 Meters Down, but the fish is supposed to go into my tummy, not the other way round, nya!
Tara-chan:
I want… I want to mention the Red Lobster, Outback and – and the Golden Corral restaurant commercials with the shrimp, nya! Nyow I am craving the odori ebi (shrimp) and – and tako (octopus) sushi, nya!
Becca:
I will nominate and the purretty fashions, peppy mewsic & genki ambience of Target’s “It Takes Two” spot; the happy fun scenes of the family gardening, dining & putting in the Lyrica spot; and I am excited by the spots for Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy ride and the Pandora: The World of Avatar attraction!
Ilyana:
I would like to mention the exciting purreview trailers for upcoming movies and TV shows such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Lightning, Cloak and Dagger, Cars 3, Baby Driver, Dunkirk, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi!
Ellie:
In addition to the ones on the Red Turtle DVD, I like the trailers for War for the Planet of the Apes, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, and the Kedi the cat documentary! Howboutchoo, MIke?
Mike:
I guess lately the trailers that have impressed me the most are for Star Trek Discovery, Thor: Ragnarok, Blade Runner 20149, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets! Well, that’ll conclude our movie & TV topic, but now here’s Jen to start our
collectibles & toy talk, with her review of the
Transformers: Robots in Disguise Combiner Force
Windblade warrior class action figure!
Jeannie:
Hai. I like to collect the action figures & the statues of Hasbro’s female Transformers characters such as Arcee, Chromia, Elita One, Blackarachnia, Strongarm and WindBlade, purrticularly the versions from the comics & animations, so I was happy to find this figure of Windblade, which is version of her from the Robots in Disguise series, in the toys’ warrior class size and complexity.
She is one of the heroic Autobots, and has the distinction of being the first “fan – built bot” of the Transformers, when Hasbro let the fans determine several of her aspects, traits & characteristics. In her bipedal, humanoid robot mode, she is the slender, Black & Red lady with the White Japanese Kabuki style face, the graceful canards on her flared legs, and the swept wings upon her back.
She carries the Stormfall sword, transforms into the sleek, tilt – wing, VTOL turbofan jet, and in the various tales, she has the psychic link to communicate with the sprawling, city-sized Titan Metroplex bot. On the scale of 1-10, Windblade’s main attributes are the strength of 7, intelligence of 8, speed of 8, endurance of 7, rank of 8, courage of 7, fireblast of 6 and the skill rating of 9.
The toy is recommended for folks of ages 5+, not intended for folks under 3 years due to the small parts, Akin to the 2014 figure of her, excluding the wingspan, she is approximately 6″ tall, with the 4 1/8″ sword & 4 1/4″ scabbard which can be gripped by either hand. She is beautifully designed, intricately sculpted and meticulously painted with a very elegant appurrance.
There are design differences between the 2014 version and this’un. The most obvious difference is in the paint, with many of the Red and Black colors reversed; the Black & White colors of her face reversed, the Blue stripe on her tummy instead of the Blue collar & cuffs, and the added Yellow accents to her chest and knees. The new sword is opaque Black instead of translucent Purrple.
The nose of the jet fuselage is now White, the canopy is Black; the wings are trimmed in Silver, and thereis a large White Autobot emblem upon her chest. There are many sculptural differences from her head, chest, shoulders, arms and legs to her scabbard, wings, winglets and variable pitch turbofans, with the jet fuselage parts higher on her back and the tail on her back instead of her calves.
She is very posable, and in robot mode the points of articulation are in her neck, wings, turbofans, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips and knees. However, another difference compurred to the 2014 is the articulation in her thighs instead of her wrists. In addition to the sword & scabbard is a small battle fan. The scabbard attaches to either hip and the weapons will fit in either hand.
The newer figure seems better balanced, and will easily stand up unassisted. On the back of the package’s card are the photographic instructions for the very intuitive, simple, 7 step purrocess for transforming her from robot to vehicle mode. I am very pleased with this figure, which will be purroudly displayed beside her fellow Autobots. Nextly i would like to discuss the
Kotobukiya’s Emma Frost ArtFX+ Statue.
Jeannie:
Hai. Created by author Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne, Emma Frost, A.K.A. The White Queen first appurred in Uncanny X-Men #129, published by Marvel Comics in January 1980. This was about the same that Kitty Pryde debuted, at the start of The Dark Phoenix saga.. Emma was the supurr villain, CEO of the Frost International corpurration, and a member of the Hellfire Club which captured the X-Men.
She was also the headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy and leader of their Hellions team, who were rivals of The New Mutants and the Xavier School. Later ironically she became a leader of the X-Men and the co-headmistress of the Xavier School. She has several mewtant abilities, such as the telepathy and the ability to transform into a diamond body with supurr strength, stamina and invulnerability.
This statue of her is a purre – painted, snap – fit, 1/10th scale kit, sculpted by Junosuke Abe. The 5 pieces head/ (torso, hips / legs, arms / hands, base) are polybagged within the plastic clamshell inside the 10.78″ x 4 7/8″ x 6 3/4″ cardboard box which has splendid illustration and photos. The pieces easily, snuggly fit together, and with the magnets in her boot soles, she easily stands atop the Black 4 1/16″ x 4 1/16″ x 3/8″ base.
Excluding the base, the figure is 7 1/4″ tall, including her 7/16″ high heels. If she was standing flatfooted. the figure would be 6.8″ tall. At 1/10th scale, that would put the character’s height at 5 ft. 8 in. tall. In the comics Emma is supposedly 5 ft.10 in. tall, so it is very close, although the 5 ft. 8 in. size might be closer to the height of actress January Jones, who purrtrayed Emma in the movie X-Men: First Class.
Standing dramatically with legs spurread whilst telepathically gesturing and coat tails fluttering, she is meticulously designed, sculpted and painted. She has the slim, firm physique with the pale skin, Blue eyes, Red lips and Ash Blond hair in contrast with the Black coat, gloves, belt, thigh boots, and sexy tight, strapless bustier with the deeply – plunging neckline that reveals much cleavage and her inny belly button.
She is in her normal body, not her diamond form. The details are quite intricate, from the coat’s padded shoulders with the etched Red X emblems, the fabric folds, creases and the drapurry, to the tone of her abs, the buckle and grommets of her belt, the seams, straps and buckles of her boots. That is all for my reviews, but Lizzy will continue the toy talk portion of The Mew with her review of the
Marvel Legends Polaris action figure.
Elizabeth:
Arigato! We like to collect the action figures of strong, inspurrational heroines. We have recently reviewed figures of Marvel’s Spider-Gwen, Silk, Nico, Kitty, Phoenix, Rogue, Ms. Marvel, Angela and Dazzler, and nyow I would like to discuss Hasbro’s figure of the mewtant supurr heroine Lorna Dane A.K.A. Polaris, who first appurred in The Uncanny X-Men #49 in 1968!
She has the magnetic powers like her dad Magneto! Her family tree has included siblings Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Anya & Zaladane. She is an aunt to Luna, Ahura, William, Thomas; and her in-laws include The Vision and The Inhumans’ Royal Family! Had Polaris married her fiance Havok, then her in-laws would have included the Summers and the Grey families!
This figure of Polaris is part of the Douglock Warlock build-a-figure wave, which also includes Cyclops, Colossus, Sunfire, Shatterstar, Dazzler and the Old Man Logan version of Wolverine. Each figure is sold sepurrately, and includes a piece to build the figure of Douglock Warlock, not to be confuzzled with Adam Warlock, who we hope to see in the Marvel movies!
Polaris is the impurressive sight with in the sleeveless tight late 60’s style Dark Green costume with the boots, gauntlets, tiara, cut-out sides and the flexible, removable mid-calf length cape that match her lush Dark Green hair, eyes and lips! From her soles to her hair, the figure is 6 3/8″ tall. Since she is 5′ 7″ tall in the comics, I guess this figure is about 1/11th scale.
She is very well – designed, sculpted & painted with the intricate details of her lush hair, purretty portraiture, her lean lithe physique, and the drapurry of the cape! She is very posable with the articulation in her neck, abs, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, thighs, knees and ankles. Also included are 2 circular “magnetic waves” that can clip on to her wrists or hands!
They are similar to FX that came with the Dazzler and Nico figures. I am very pleased with this figure, but she is not balanced enough to stand unassisted, especially with that cape. A display base is not included, so I have purrchased a small doll stand so that I can display her upon the shelf next to her fellow heroines! Nextly I would like to offer the purraise for Habro’s
Invisible Woman and H.E.R.B.I.E. action figures!
Elizabeth:
Originally known as The Invisible Girl, Susan Storm Richards is the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four team, who first appurred in Marvel Comics’s Fantastic Four vol. 1 #1 in 1961, so last year was her 55th anniversary! She can turn herself or others invisible, and she can create the extremely powerful psionic shapes, objects and barriers!
As a member of the Fantastic Four and other teams, Sue has many allies, and access to lots of amazing gadgets, mecha and vehicles. She is the wife of Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards, she is the brother of Johnny “The Human Torch” Storm, she is the dear friend of Ben “The Thing” Grimm, and she is the mom of Franklin and Valeria Richards!
in the four live-action Fantastic Four movies, she has been purrtrayed by Rebecca Staab, Jessica Alba (twice), and Kate Mara! Sue has been voiced also by many different actresses in the cartoons and video games. This latest figure of Sue in the Blue tights with Black, collar, gloves belt & boots is about 6 1/4″ tall, which is about 1/2″ taller than the purrior Jessica Alba version!
Since Sue is 5′ 6″ tall in the comics, then I assume that this lovely figure of her- from the soles of her boots to the top of her Honey Blonde hair – is of the 1/10.75 scale. She is very well – designed, sculpted & painted with the intricate details of her hair, portraiture, physique, her confidently determined smiling expression, and the gradual translucent effect of her left arm!
She is balanced to stand unassisted, and very posable with the articulation in her neck, abs, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, thighs, knees & ankles. H.E.R.B.I.E. is 3″ tall with the articulated neck and the 3″ display stand as if hovering, so that they are the same eye level! Nyow she can join Polaris and other heroines on the shelf! Nyow here is Vonny to tell us about the
DC Multiverse Batgirl of Burnside action figure!
Yvonne:
Hai! are purrticularly fond of the DC Comics supurr heroines too, nya! For our review of DC Collectibles New Batman Adventures Catwoman action figure, please see last month’s Mew, and for our reviews of the DC Multiverse Suicide Squad Katana action figure and DC Bombshells Halloween Batgirl statue, please see our December 2016 Mew, nya!
Mattel’s 6″ tall figure (including the mask’s bat ears & the boots’ heels) of Barbara Gordon, alias The Batgirl of Burnside (a hip district near Gotham City) is part of Mattel’s wave of build- a – King Shark series, nya. Thewave includes The Joker (Dark Knight Returns) Jim Gordon as Batman, Zoom, Jay Garrick (The Flash TV series) and Hawkman, nya!
Each figure is sold sepurrately and has one of the pieces to build King Shark, nya. This version of Batgirl is the recent post-New 52 version, wearing the Dark Sea Blue Gray tights with the Black stripe, Yellow emblem, belt & pouches, Yellow boots with Black laces & soles, the Black half-mask, and the flexible Black cape with the Yellow lining, nya!
The figure nicely evokes her peppy, purrky, smart, strong, brave heroic dispurrsition, nya! The sculpted & painted details are meticulous, from her purrt wavy brown hair, her sly grin expurression, and her lean lithe physique, to the drapurry & scalloped edges of her cape, the laces of her boots, and the intricate lashes of her purretty Blue eyes, nya!
She is very posable with the articulation in her neck, abs, waist, hips, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees & ankles, nya! The two widdle accessories are her phone and the bat – shaped shuriken. I am very pleased with this figure, and I have found a good spot for her beside Harley and Katana, nya! Nextly I would like to discuss the
DC Comics Icons Wonder Woman action figure!
Yvonne:
It as been quite wonderful to see so much attention and merchandise for Wonder Woman, who celebrated her 75th anniversary in the comic books last year and nyow finally stars in her own theatrical movie, nya! This lovely action figure from DC Collectibles bears the faithful resemblance to the movie version of Wonder Woman as supurrbly purrtrayed by Gal Gadot. nya!
The figure was beautifully designed by Ivan Reis and intricately sculpted by Sam Greenwell, nya! Including her boot heels and her the top of lush Black hair, the figure stands 6 1/4″ tall, but if she was flat – footed then she would be 6″ tall. So, since Wonder Woman is supposedly 6 feet tall and 165 lbs. in the comic books, then this figure is of the 1/12th scale, nya!
I love the sculpted and painted details from her Blue eyes, Red lips, and her mid-back length hair, to the layers of her strapless short Red, Blue and Silvery costume with the tiara, boots, greaves, gauntlets, fingerless gloves, straps, arm & leg bands, nya! She is very posable with the articulation in her neck, abs, hips, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees &ankles, nya!
Also included are the extra pair of the interchangeable hands so that she can grasp or punch, nya! She is accessorized by the 1 5/8″ diameter shield which can fit on her back arms or hands; the 4″ longsword which fits on the belt or in her hands and 2 versions of her golden lasso (coiled and as the lariat) which can hang on the belt or in her hands, nya! Nextly i would like to discuss the
Classic My Little Pony Glory & illustrated book, nya!
Yvonne:
We are fans of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic era of the ponies since 2010, but we are also fond of the purrior generations of the ponies going back to 1983, nya! Thusly we are glad that those generations have not been forgotten amidst the toys, books & collectibles such as this Glory kit, nya! Glory the unicorn is one of the ponies from the first animated My Little Pony tale, nya!
That makes her Generation One pony. and for more information about the character, I recommend her page at the My Little Wiki site http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Glory, nya! Licensed by Hasbro, made by Running Press and packaged in the widdl Pink cardboard box, this kit includes the plastic replica figurine, the Pink plastic brush for her rooted fiber hair, and the tiny book, nya!
It is similar to the purrior Firefly kit, nya! The figure is 1 3/4″ high at the withers or about 2 1/2″ from hoof to horn tip, nya. She is faithfully designed, sculpted & painted, with the White coat, Blue eyes, intricate lashes, the subtle pink cheek blush, and the shiny Silver shooting star cutie marks on her flanks, nya! Her neck turns, she has the Purrple tail & the Blue-streaked Purrple mane, nya!
Designed by T.L. Bonaddio and edited by Jennifer LeczKowski, the 2 1/2″ x 3″ book has 32 full color pages that repurrduce the purretty vintage art, nya! I am very pleased with this pony, who has found the good spot between her friends Firefly and Cotton Candy on the shelf, nya! Nyow here is Tara-chan to continue the pony report with her review of
My Little Pony Magazine #2, nya!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! Published by Topix Media Lab, this 2nd issue is purriced $9.99, it has 150 color pages and – and it measures 7″ x 9 1/8″, so it is slightly smaller in size but has about twice the pages of the 1st issue, nya! Whereas the 1st issue was purrdominantly of the puzzles and – and other fun activities for kids, this’un is compurrised of over 16 full – page pin-ups, the character purrofiles and – and the 16 piece puzzle poster. nya!
There are over 80 purrofies from A.K. Yearling to Zesty Gourmand, nya! Each purrofile has the illustration flanked by the quote, the fun fact and – and the widdle biographical purragraph, nya. Not every character from the TV series is repurrsented, as I did not see the purrofile for Muffin, but it does include very recent characters, such as cute widdle Flurry Heart, nya! Purrhaps there will be more purrofiles in future issues, nya!
The puzzle poster is compurrised of the the sixteen 6 3/16″ x 8 1/16″ images to cut out and – and adhere together to form the huge 24 1/4″ x 32 1/4″ group pic of the many characters, nya! Each image is numbered on the back for the easy assembly, although I have not decided whether we will cut them out or keep the magazine intact, but I am very pleased with it nevertheless, nya. Nyow I will discuss
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #53, nya!
Tara-chan:
it is hard to believe that has been about the 5 years since IDW started to publish the various pony comic book series and – and micro-series, nya! Issue #53 concludes the current story arc which began in issue #51, in which the antagonistic unicorn Shadow Lock has been erasing information and – and conjuring creatures from books in the library, castle, mewseum and- and school, nya!
Issue #53 is purriced at $3.99, with the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of ads, nya. I wish that all of the other publishers placed the ads after the tales, nya! It was written by James Asmus, illustrated by Tony Fleecs with the garage Art Studio, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetake, edited by Bobby Curnow, and published by Ted Adams, nya!
It has the choice of the 4 different covers : the regular cover by Tony, the subscription cover by Sara Richard, the retailer incentive cover by Christine Larson, and – and the IDW con exclusive cover by Sara, nya! We met Tony at the Oak City Comicon back in March, nya! Twilight Sparkle tries to purrlay with Shadow Lock, who telepurrted Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and – and Spike into the ancient history book, nya!
Whilst Twilight Sparkle learns of Shadow Lock’s origin, Rainbow Dash – and Rarity meet Queen Cleopatrot in her purramid, whilst Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and – and Spike encounter the cave ponies and- and the dragon which is much bigger than Spike, nya! I think that he characters, scenery, fonts and – and FX are so beautifully rendered, with the very richly vibrant colors and – and the splendid animation cel – like shading, nya!
The plot adds to the Equestria mythology, with the good balance of the action, humor, and the clever pop cultural references, nya! The compurrsitons are very impurressive, with the fascinating angles, purrspectives and – and the minute details of the books, purramid, caves, antique shop and – and the mewseum, nya! Meanwhile in Celestia’s study the journals of Starswirl the wizard pony continue to be examined in
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #2, nya!
Tara-chan:
Issue #2 is purriced at $3.99, with the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of the ads, nya. I wish all other publishers placed the ads after the tales, nya! It was written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Brenda Hickey, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetake, edited by Bobby Curnow, and – and published by Ted Adams, nya!
Jeremy created the Princeless series, its spin – off of Raven the Pirate Princess, and – and he also writes the Wasp comics, nya! We met him and – and Brenda at the Oak City Convention in Raleigh in March, nya! The issue is available in the choice of the 3 different covers: the regular cover by Brenda, the subscription cover by Zachary Sterling, and – and the retailer incentive cover by Caytlin Villibrandt, nya!
Nyow for a taste of the plot, nya! Luna’s friend Sunburs thas been researching the history of Equestria, especially form the books by Starswirl, the magicikal sensei who mentored Celestia and – and Luna, nya! Sunburst wears the neat glasses and – and the cape, nya! This time she has been reading about the legend of Rockhoof, who saved the pony towns from the volcanos, nya!
However, according to Starswirl’s notes which are not the common knowledge, there was the time of weakness for Rockhoof, who got carried away with the carousing and over eating with his pals at the taverns and – and the restaurants, at the expensive of his training regime, so he had to learn the valuable lesson of balancing the food and – and leisure time with the exercise and- and work time, nya!
There are intense scenes of the dining, napping, heroics training, and – and the charming monster scene too, nya! Also appurring are Luna and – and Steela, nya! This was another great issue with the purrfect pony poses, expurressions, colors, shading, scenic details, FX, fonts, humor, and – and the message, nya! I will give both of those pony comics the “A” as in Alucorn, nya! I am done, but Becca has more
comic book reports, with her review
of The Unstoppable Wasp #5, nya!
Becca:
Arigato! This is one of our favorite comics! The tale stars Nadia Pym, the orphaned Hungarian genius daughter of Hank (Ant Man) & Maria Pym, nya! She first apeared in The Avengers Civil War II Free Comic Book Day issue in May of 2016, so she has only been around for the year. After that she has appurred in All-New All-Different Avengers, and in the current Avengers series!
Nadia was trained in a secret Russian Red Room research facility, where she invented her own Wasp costume and escaped, but the Russian agents including her friend Ying keep trying to take her back to there. Edwin Jarvis the Avengers’ Butler has been helping her get settled, and she got to meet her step mom Janet Van Dyne, who is Hank’s 2nd wife, and the original Wasp!
Nadia is so peppy, ingenious, heroic and stylish with the lovely accent and cute house, but she still has the citizenship papurrwork to settle, with the help by lawyer Matt Murdock, alias Daredevil! She has been trying to recruit the various other girl geniuses for her heroic G.I.R.L. (Genius in Action Research Labs) group, but the purrogress has been hindered by several villains!
Published by Marvel, rated “T+” and purriced at $3.99, issue #5 has the 28 pages which are compurrised of the 20 page tale, the recap / credits page, the purreview page for issue #5, the 5 pages of the ads, and the Agents of G.I.R.L. page in which Nadia intermews real girls such as Dr. Tracy Fanara the environmental engineer, and Tamara Robertson the chemical / biomolecular engineer!
The tale was written by Jeremy, illustrated by Elsa Charretier, colored by Megan M. Wilson, lettered by Joe Caramanga, edited by Alanna Smith and Tom Brevoort, with the cover art by Nicolas Bannister and Elsa! The tale picks up where the purrior tensely issue left off, as Nadia tries to deactivate soonly the tiny explosive that the Red Room villains implanted in her friend Ying’s head!
Fortunately she has the brilliant team of Miranda, Taina, Alexis, Lashayla, Priya and Jarvis to help at the house in Cresskill which she inherited from her late father, which has the laboratory full of amazing equipment! Matt is there too! Much of this tale purrtains to the genius teamwork in the lab to rescue Ying, but I should not further spoil the plot of the captivating & beautifully written & illustrated tale of the strong, smart heroines!
I am purrticulalry fond of the poses, expurressions, the dialogue, and the two-page spurread of the passage of time in the lab! The intermews with Tamara and Tracy are the delightful bonus! I will give this issue and the entire series thus far the “A” as in Ant Man, and my anticipation for the next issue! Nextly I would like to offer the lofty words of high purraise for
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. HellCat! #17!
Becca:
Patsy is one of our favoritest heroines, and this has been one of our favoritest series of the past year and the half, during which she started a hero job agency and became roommates with Ian who dates Tom, whose bookstore sells the Patsy Walker comic books that were authored by her estranged mom. Unfortunately Patsy’s frenemy Hedy used to have the rights to those comics!
Whilst Patsy’s best friend Jennifer A.K.A. She-Hulk was comatose in the hospital (after the Civl War 2 battle), Jubilee has helped at the office, where they trained former villain Bailey, A.K.A. Attache . Patsy has continued to suffer more trouble from not just Hedy, but also from her ex-husbands Damian Hellstrom and Mad Dog, Felicia Hardy. The Black Cat gang, Arcade and a sorceress!
That brings us to issue #17, which is the bittersweet final issue. It is rated T for teen readers, purriced at $3.99, and includes the 20 page tale “Th End of All Things”, the recap / credits page, 3 pages of the comments & photos, the Berni Wrightson tribute page, and the 3 pages of the ads. The tale was written by Kate Leth, illustrated by Brittney Williams, and colored by Rachelle Rosenberg!
It was lettered by Clayton Cowles, edited by Kathleen Wisneski, supurrvisingly edited Jake Thomas, executively edited by Tom Brevoort, and the front cover art by Brittney happily depicts Tom, Ian, Bailey, Sharon, Jubilee and Patsy playing the video game of Hell Cat defeating The Black Cat! This meta-fictionally reflects their visit to the mall which is amongst the tale’s wonderful situations!
After Patsy awakens to the morning coffee with Ian and Tom in their apurrtment in Brooklyn, she cries the happy tears upon reading the mail, which includes the loving letter from Jen and the enriching royalties check! Thusly they reconvene with Jubilee at the mall for the shopping and the makeovers, but the fun is interrupted when they are oddly confronted by The Somnabulisters!
I should not further spoil the plot, but I will just say that there are very poignant, amusing results to conclude the purrfect series, with the brief appurrance by about 20 other friends in the final full-page pic! My favorite scenes are Patsy’s bedroom cutely decorated with the neko motif, the latter opening, the makeover, the Patsy papurr doll page, the unmasking, the lunch, and the finale!
I assume that this issue occurs soon after Patsy’s awkward reunion with recently revived Jen in Hulk #3.. Speaking of the amewsing, surpurrising, tearful and poignant moments, the comments pages include the delightful letters and photos from the fans with the replies by Kate, Kathleen and Brittney! The fans have often sent photos of them and / or their cats admiring the comics!
This series has consistently, joyfully entertained us with its supurrbly written & illustrated characters & tales, with the slice – of – life & supurr heroic plots, purrogressive cat-itudes, the neko motifs & manga – style humor! We will give this issue and the entire series the high purraise grade of an “A” as in Aragorn, and we wish to thank the great cats and crew of of Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!
The Ladies of The Mew:
DOMO ARIGATO GOZAIMASU, NYA!
Becca:
By the way, HellCat appurred the few months ago upon one of the many variant covers of U.S.Avengers #1. So did her friends Tigra and White Tiger! Nyow here is Myayr to tell us about a wonderful comic book that Brittney Williams co-created with author Hope Larson
Goldie Vance #12!
Mary Nyan:
Hai! In this series published by Boom! Box, 16 year old Marigold “Goldie” Vance is a peppy, brave, smart detective girl of color in the mid 1960’s who assists Walter the detective at the Crossed Palms Resort in St. Pascal, Florida, when she is not valet parking the guests’ cars with her friend Rob, who wants to date Cheryl the concierge who wants to be an astronaut!
Goldie’s mom Sylvie is an underwater purrformer at a mermaid – themed supper club, and she is sepurrated from Goldie’s dad Arthur, who is the manager of the resort, which is owned by the wealthy Mr. Maple, whose daughter Sugar does not get along with Goldie, but Skunk the street racer seems interested in those ladies, who are both quite fond of fine fast cars!
The lovely early 60’s cars, coiffures & couture amidst the south Florida scenery & climate during the space – race era are so lovely! Some other recurring characters have included Walter’s girl friend FBI agent Ladner, Cheryl’s friend Millie the pageant winner / astronaut trainee, Millie’s mom the fashion designer / boutique owner, and Sugar’s all-girl pit crew!
One of my favorite characters is Goldie’s friend Diane who works at the record store! Initially the 4 issue mini – series, this ongoing series, has had the three story arcs. Issues #1 – #4 purrrtained to the mysterious medallion & Russian spies; issues #5 – #8 purrtained to the undersea mystery, and issues #9 – 12 purrtain to the investigation of the race car sabotage!
Purreviously, Sugar hired Goldie to investigate the sabotage at the speedway, and not only has it been the dangerous, mysterious situation, but it has been the awkward social situation, because the relationship betwixt the Vance and Maple families has been difficult; however, things seem to be impurroving, and Goldie has enjoyed the detective work and the cars!
Issue #12 is purriced $3.99, and has the 28 pages, including the uninterrupted 22 page tale which was written by Jackie Ball and Hope Larson, illustrated by Noah Hayes, colored by Sarah Stern, lettered by Jim Campbell, edited by Dafna Plebon and Shannon Watters, and assistantly edited by Sophie Phillips-Roberts, with the issue’s design by Jillian Crab!
In addition to Goldie, Sugar and her Maple Leaf P-1 race car, also appurring are Diane, Cheryl, Arthur, Walt, Agent Ladner, Lazlo, Mr. Maple, Sugar’s sister Red, and the pit crew compurrised of Meredith, Courtney, Gwen, Bonnie, and crew chief Minny! It is the purrticularly exciting, scary, poignant, amewsing and satisfying tale on the day of the big race!
I will just say that they are hot on the trail of the saboteur, as the tale heads towards the fiery finish line!, but I should not spoil more of the plot, which has the captivating characters, dialogue & developments at the good pace! The characters, cars & scenic art are gorgeous, especially the poses, expurressions, the panels & the manga – inspired style!
The colors are wonderfully bright, with the cel – type shading, great graphic FX & fonts! My favorite scenes are at the garage, the race, the stake out, the hospital, court room, resort, the road trip scenes, and the wraparound cover by Brittney! I will give this issue an “A” and as in my anticipation for the next story arc! Nextly I would like to discuss
Hero Cats: MIdnight Over Stellar City vol. 2 #1
Mary Nyan:
The Hero Cats are among the purrotectors of their town of Stellar City, and the team is compurrised of Midnight the Black cat, Ace the White cat, Belle the Siamese cat, Roco the Gray cat, Rocket the Tabby, Cassiopeia the Orange & White cat, and her brother Bandit the tuxedo cat, who is on a sepurrate mission with his robot friend on another planet!
Cassiopeia is the pet of Galaxy Man and his daughter Cosmic Girl, but they are unaware of the cats’ heroic adventures! At the 2014 Heroes Convention in Charlotte, we got a sketch of Cassiopeia http://catgirlisland.net/art/guest3/6.html by Marcus Williams! The series was created by author Kyle Puttkammer, who we have met at several conventions!
We got some lovely hero cats purrints from him at the recent Oak City Convention in Raleigh- but I digress! In late 2015 began the bi – monthly, three issue spin – off mini series of Midnight Over Stellar City vol. 1, which was set betwixt Hero Cats of Stellar City #7 – #10, and nyow Midnight’s 2nd mini – series has begun!
Published by Action Lab Comics, ivol. 2 #1 purriced $3.99, and it has the uninterrupted 20 page tale which is followed by the 8 bonus pages! Starring Midnight and co-starring Cassiopeia, the tale was written by Hero Cats’ creator Kyle Puttkammer, illustrated & lettered by Alex Ogle, colored by Julie Hadden Barclay.
Occurring upon a night of the full moon night, this tale has the noir-ish style of the color and lighting, which suits Midnight’s first – purrson narration amidst the criminals’ purrison break! Mewsually Midnight might get the help from Galaxy Man and Cosmic Girl, who just happen to be away at a base upon that full moon!
With valuable information Cassiopeia who reads their journals, Midnight is able to appurrehend several escapees, such as space pirates Dogstar Diego and Big Bang Bart who attempt to leave on flying motorcycles! They used to work for the interstellar space pirate Silver Beard, who we have purreviously seen in Rocket’s origin tale!
Unfortunately, another escaped criminal is Doctor Rex, the mad scientist who purreviously attacked the city with his animated dinosaur skeletons, and instead of leaving town, his vengeful plans bring him too close to Cassiopeia’s home! I quite like the plot, pace and dialogue of the tale, which is mewsing, thrilling and suspenseful!
It has great character information and continuity too! Midnight is the serious kitty with the sad origin, but his grim dispurrsistion can be amewsing, in the great contrast with Cassiopeia’s cheerful purrsonality, although there has been sadness in the lives of her owners, given that Cosmic Girl’s mom has been missing.
Midnight dislikes criminals in general, but seems to view space pirates as rather pathetic purrey. When Diego & Bart waste valuable escape time by arguing about the bikes, this would fortunately seem to confirm Midnight’s assessment! The art is quite lovely with the great poses, expurressions, fonts and color pallet!
The 8 bonus pages include more information about the cats, and a gallery of 4 full-page pics which repurrints the cover art from Midnight vol. 1! I was very pleased with this issue, and I look forward greatly to the next issues of the Hero Cats, Midnight, Galaxy Man & Cosmic Girl comics! Nyow here is B.B. to discuss
Siren School!
B.B.:
Hai! Published by Silver Sprocket http://www.silversprocket.net, Siren School is a 5.5″ x 5.5″ full color 24 page comic by illustrator / cartoonist Isabella Rotman http://www.isabellarotman.com in which several siren mermaids discuss and demonstrate their style and techniques for coaxing the sailor men to leap into the watery grave!
Giving the lessons by the chalk board is the sensei mermaid with short Black hair and Caramel Tan skin with the purrl – strand strap upon her Turquoise glasses that match her tail and starfishy pasty bra! For the demonstrations, she is assisted by five other lovely ladies of the deep, who have the effective expurressions and dialogue!
The five assistants include the beautiful Blue – eyed, Auburn – haired, topless fair-skinned mermaid with the lovely freckles and the clever ploy to lure the fan boys; the gorgeous Brown – eyed, Black- haired, Chocolatey Brown – skinned mermaid with the Purrple shell bra and stranded / broken – down car scheme to woo the male victims…
… the alluring Brown – haired, Light tan – skinned mermaid with the glasses, Orange clamshell bra, and the trick to tempt the video gamer guys out of the boat; the Black – haired, Mocha-skinned mermaid with the purrly- strapped Magenta shell bra, the irresistible eyes and the cunning plan to trap for the fantasy sports league player…
… and the winsomely Blue – eyed Blonde mermaid wearing the Pink & Green lei with the forlorn play for sympathy that will lead the hapless purrey to her sharp fanged and clawed clutches! I think that it is mewsing satire with the dark humor and the playfully beautiful mermaid art! Nextly i would like to say the few fond words about
Die Kitty Die: Hollywood or Bust #1!
B.B.:
Die Kitty Die is a whimsically ribald occult tale published by Chapter House, starring Kitty the witch who can transform into a cat! Within the tale’s first four – issue story arc, in recent years her fame and purrofits have dwindled, so the evil business associates put a murder contract upon her, in hopes that her demise would result in more publicity and profit for her associates!
Fortunately for her the murder attempts have thus far failed, but her fame has surged, This frisky fun series is filled with the sexy comedy, and the clever satirical homages and purrodies of Archie, Harvey, Marvel & DC comics; and in this 2nd story arc there are plans to make a Kitty movie… although the plans are rather unscrupulous with more deadly danger for Kitty!
Hollywood or Bust #1’has the 20 page tale plus the two – page spurread of the pool scene, and the 8 pages of the ads, The story and art are by Fernando Ruiz and Dan Parent; it was inked by Rich Koslowski and J. Bone, colored by Glenn Whitmore, lettered by Janice Chiang, and edited by Tony White, with additional art by Gisele Lagace and J. Bone.
Each issue begins with a faux repurrint of a Kitty tale from a purrior decade, such which foreshadows her purresent situation! Thusly, this issue’s purrologue has the 90’s flare when her wicked uncle & aunt coerce her into the audition, but it does not go well, especially for the uncle & aunt! Unfortunately, her new movie is not off to the good start, given the shady deals!
It worsens rather painfully when a villain named Hexecutioner tries to kill her! However, Kitty has several sexy outfits such as the tight, low – cut sleeveless dress upon the front cover; the low – cut Red outfit for the comic book store signing, the bra & panty for the flashback panel, the bare – midriff keyhole top with the Blue peddle pusher pants for the business meeting…
… the strapless Red, White & Blue maillot for the pool scene; the cropped Purrple top and Gray capurri pants for the stay in Beverly Hills; the Pink kitty tee shirt with the Pink & Black thong for the fight scene; and the dappurr girl tux for the purreview page! I was very pleased with the beautifully rendered tale which brims with the sexy satire and dark humor! Nyow I would like to purraise
The Hunters of Salamanstra #4!
B.B.:
The Hunters of Salamanstra http://salamanstra.keenspot.com began in 2014 as a manga style web comic by creator/ artist/ writer John Joseco, editor Memj & assistant editor Calpain which stars numerous kemonomimi characters! The tale purrtains to Kessah Orlianne, a feisty 19 year old swordswoman of the Canae species with the lovely ears, tail, petite fangs and Lavender hair!
She becomes a purrofessional monster huntress after the death of her older sister Dianna, the legendary monster hunter known as The White Wolf who appurrs in flashbacks, visions and dreams. Published by Keenspot, the Black & White comic book is written and drawn by John, edited by Jennifer McGregor and Calpain, with the different cover illustrations color by Bernie Joseco.
Issue #0 chronicled Dianna’s final day and her cyborg purrrtner Adrien’s journey to meet Kessah; in issue #1 Adrien told Kessah about her sister and her home was destroyed in a fight with an assassin; in issue #2, they travelled to an airship bound for hunters guild that Kessah intends to join; and in issue #3 they escape from the airship which is destroyed by a huge monster.
That brings us up to issue #4 which is purriced at $5.99 and has the uninterrupted Black & White 50 page chapter and the choice of 3 full color covers. Kessah & Adrien’s escape pod crashes in the
inhospitable Salamanstran wasteland which is populated by huge monsters and purrtrolled by enemy guilds. After escaping those threats, Adrien tells Kessah the tale of how he lost his arm.
Thusly follows the very tragic flashback of four years purrior when a monster chomped his arm and killed his purrtner Kary. Adrien was rescued by Dianna, and after he got a bionic replacement arm they became purrtners, The bittersweet tale is emotionally intense between the very sad, scary, violent, gory, cute, peppy, charming and heroic moments that are not for the widdle kitties!
The plot is captivating with the great dialogue, mythology, and world – building; whilst the art is beautiful from the scenery and creatures. to the mecha and the very expurressive characters that make us smile and sob, as we cheer and purray for Kessah and Adrien’s success. That is all for my comic book reports, so nyow I will turn The Mew over to Ilyana-sensei, for her review of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 11 #7!
Ilyana:
Arigato! Dark Horse Comics’s Buffy Season 11 has thus far been off to the very entertaining yet alarming start, since the oppurressive government diminished the civil rights and sent thugs out to register and impurrison all magickal folks in the desert internment camps. Giles, Dawn & Xander are still free, and Andrew left the country, whilst Buffy, Willow and Spike are in the camp.
Purrduced by Buffy’s creator Joss Whedon, issue #7 is purriced at $3.99 and has the uninterrupted 22 page tale plus the 6 pages of the ads. The tale was scripted by Christos Gage, pencilled by Georges Jeanty, inked by Dexter Vines, colored by Dan Jackson, lettered by Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt, edited by Freddye Miller and assistantly edited by Kevin Baurkhalter.
The graphic designer was Justin Couch, the digital art technician was Christianne Goudreau and Mike Richardson is the publisher at Dark Horse! The main cover art is by Steve Morris, and the variant cover is by Georges, Dexter, Dan, Christos and Comicraft. At the start of the tale, the government notifies folks that if they agree to be drained of magick, they will be released from the camps.
This would be a dire violation, and there are many magickal entities that cannot exist without the magick. Willow, Buffy and Spike debate the cons and worse cons of exchanging their power for so-called freedom, and the debates amongst other purrisoners has resulted in further brawls, and it is quite upsetting for Willow’s coven, although Calliope seems to have frisky feelings for Willow!
Fortunately, the romance betwixt Buffy and Spike continues too, and she is visited by Riley and Samantha who hope to be of some help, but Jordan the slayer is still quite the thug! Xander, Dawn, Giles and Andrew were not in this chapter. There are fascinating developments, great dialogue and the good balance of the humor, romance, action, drama, myth building, and action!
The art is supurrb, and I especially like the portraitures, expurressions, poses and clothing. Willow has a lovely outfit with the Gray top and Brown skirt! which suits the desert! The scenery, FX, colors, fonts and the graphic narrative across the panels are also splendid, but I am curious as to what is transpiring with Angel, Faith, Fred, Ilyria, Nadira, Koh, Sophronia and Lavinia!
There are so many other wonderful characters in the Buffyverse that we wonder about in season 11, such as Lake, Kennedy, Satsu, Harmony, Clem, Drusilla, Billy, Devon, Katie, Sky, Anaheed, Dowling, Clive, Julie, Olivia, Morgan, Vicky, Tricia, Rory, Aluwyn, Dylan, Oz, Batamaa, Lila, Venobia, Dracula, Butterfield, the faeries, and Spike’s insectoid crew! Nextly I would like to discuss
Catseye Comics #7!
Ilyana:
Published right here in North Carolina, Catseye Comics http://catseyecomics.com try to support various charities and star the supurr heroines who are purrimarily located in the fictional town of Liaison in Louisiana, plus various amazons, valkyries, demons & alien catgirls. They have a closely knit community and strong sense of family!
The 8.5″x11″ comics are available in full color editions and in less expensive B&W versions, and there is a companion series of purrose pulp fiction tales. The editor in chief is Ai Kikuchiyo, the head writer is Razor Indigo, the publisher / office manager is Steve Stone, the content editors are Anitra Stone, Mamma Kikuchiyo & Hubby Indigo!
We have met some of them at the conventions! Each tale build upon purrior plots, but it is intended to be quite accessible to new readers, with the character purrofile pages and the charity purrofile page in each issue! Issue #7 has the 143 pages, and ten purrcent of the purrchase purrice will be donated to Equality Now by Catseye Comics, Inc!
In issue #1 the heroines rescued the tiger and fought poachers, in issue #2 they rescued slaves and fought monsters; in issue #3 they fought seven devils; Issue #4 had spooky tales for Halloween, in issue #5 the Zeta aliens invaded The Earth, in issue #6 there was much healing & rebuilding, and the double-sized issue #7 is the Angel Quest!
This time the altruistic healer Angel is the main purrotagonist as she rescues people on the global trail to find Uriel; whilst Catseye, Whiskers, Cheetah, Aya, Rose, Senet, Rave, Haven, The Captain and the Amazon Sisterhood fighti against villains such as Chlorophyl and The Four Horsemen team of Omega, Vapor, Mindstorm and Cybercide!
Fortunately the many brave, tough, smart, selfless heroines are aided by new hero Silver Dragon, whilst Zia Clue has the enigmatic encounter with another new character Nemesis who has the connection to Angel! Gizmonda and Mayor Lilian briefly appurr; and we are introduced to The Captain’s daughter Debbie and Rev. Savannah Baker!
Liason’s trouble shooting TV journalist Kandy Kane shows that you do not need to have supurr powers to be the hero, as she exposes a dishonest mewspapurr’s fake mews about Cheetah & Angel, and numerous other good citizens of Liason speak out against the notion of homophobic bigotry, in this tale which spans over 7 weeks!
There is much thrilling action and drama, character and mythology development, amewsing and sexy bits, the great sense of continuity, and I purrticularly like the sense of family and community camaraderie! As mewsual, I like the bright, colorful and dazzling character, scenic, FX and typographic artistry, including the fun neko motifs!
Not appurring in this issue are Miss D, Saeko, Geek Girl, The Wisp, Psi-Kick, Ghost, The Lady of The House, Father Nature, Oceanus, Diana’s Mom, Bastet, Sensei, Amber, Black White & Red, the Valkyries or The Mau felinoids… but Sekhmet is channeled, there is one Zeta alien purrisoner, and The Mau will return in issue #8! Yattahh!
I will give this supurrb issue the high purraise grade of the A as in Angel; and I hope that later the heroines can celebrate at The Cat’s Lair, with purrhaps more of Saeko’s delicious double layer chocolate cake, and Rave’s yummy choco milk with the whip cream & cat nip! I am done, so nyow it is time for Mie-sensei to begin
our manga mewsings, with her
review of Today’s Cerberus vol. 3!
Mielikki:
So like, Today’s Cerberus by Ato Sakurai stars the famous legendary three – headed dog Cerberus who guards the entrance to hades in Greek mythology. Years ago, she bit a boy named Chiaki, thus vanquishing part of hi soul, which has left him like totally lonely & sullen, with another side – effect of attracting other lonely spirit folks.
So like, years later, as a 15 year old high school student Chiaki is revisited by Cerberus in her cute human dog girl version which is physically manifested in 3 distinct female personas: cute peppy Kuro , feisty tough Shiroganel, and shy quiet Rozal. If one’s tail is tugged like a lamp chain, she will transform into one of the other personas!
They want to be helpful, but it has been difficult for Chiaki’s miko maiden classmate Hinata, who has romantic feelings for him. Kuro, Roze & Shirogane try to adjust to their new identities as school girls, especially when playing, eating & napping is more fun than studying, bur there are some dangerous moments when other spirits arrive!
Some just want to be friends, such as Hako the nekomata catgirl and her master Idora (another classmate), but an exchange student named Rir Rir, is actually the dangerous mythical enemy wolf girl named Fenrir- The Great Norse Wolf! She controlled the student’s minds (including Hinata) to assist in her hunt for Chiaki and Cerberus!
There are dire situations, but it is mostly the charmingly whimsical occult manga! Originally published by Square Enix in Japan, it is published in English by Yen Press, which has published many other titles we like, such as Spice & Wolf, Omamori Himari, Sunshine Sketch, Ichiroh, Shoulder-A-Coffin Kuro, School-Live, G.A., and K-On!
Volume 3 is priced $13.00 in the USA & $17.00 in Canada; it has 228 pages of Black & White manga (including the inside covers) plus the color exterior covers (Roza & a chibi Chiaki on the front, Kuro & Shirogane on the back) and the 2 color pages, including the image of Kuro, Roze, Shirogane, Hako & Hinata in bikinis at the beach!
Translated by Caleb Cook & lettered by Bianca Pistillo. the manga is rated T for teen readers due to the language & violence. Now for a taste of volume 3’s plot, but I will try to not spoil the taste! In chapters 10 – 14 the battle continues as Fenrir sics the many mind-controlled students upon her purrey, but the heroes have the clever plan!
So like, things get further complicated with the arrivals of Fenrir’s sisters Hel and Jormung, their dog Garm, and Chiaki’s old friend friend Minnie, with action, humor, pretty clothes and delicious food aplenty at the school, home, maid cafe, cake buffet, the festival, and the cat conference where Hinata wears the provisional cat ears, fur shur!
So like, each chapter is accompanied by a cute widdle comedic cartoon, and a page of notes tops off the volume! This was yet another exciting, fun volume full of lovely character, scenic and FX art, with many character, plot and mythology developments, fur shur! For my next manga review, I would like to discuss
Spirits & Cat Ears vol. 2!
Mielikki:
Ha!! We are particularly fond of tales of kemonomimis and mikos, so I was totally anticipating volume 2 of the Spirits & Cat Ears manga, which was written & drawn by by Miyuki Nakayama! It is about the young priestesses and their familiars who live at the lovely Waka Clinic, where they train to memorialize, exorcise or dispel evil spirits in addition to their usual school studies!
So like, the main character Neneneko Iizuna is a petite nekomimi with the fair skin, Red eyes, short Platinum Blond hair and the kitty ears! She is shy, lacking in the self – confidence, and possessed by a Kuda fox spirit, but things seem to be perking up for her of late! Unfortunately, she is often chained to her familiar Shichikage, who is totally pervy, manipulative and possessive, fur shur!
He has magickal powers and excellent sewing skills, which result in outfits and costumes for Neneneko. The other main characters are the Blonde – haired, Purple – eyed priestess Miya and her familiar Shingetsu; Purple – haired, Amber – eyed purriestess Meme and her familiar Enishi; the clinic’s 27 year old Blue – haired proprietor Yukari and her familiar Mirai.
So like, the familiars are usually in human form, but they can assume other forms, and help the young priestesses to channel the powers. Recently a dark – haired, mysterious priestess named Chiya has been spying on the clinic with unknown intent! The manga was originally published By Kadokawa in 2014, and this English translated version was published by Yen!
Volume 2 was translated by Leigham Harvey, lettered by Rochelle Gancio, purriced $13.00 USA & $17.00 Canada. It has 202 pages including the Black & White manga chapters 5-9, additional art, notes, and 10 color pages of art. The tale is rated for the older teen readers due to the language, violence, sexuality and nudity.
So like, in volume 2 we learn that Meme has been sneaking away to look after a stray guardian dog, and the group finally meets Chiya.Enishi wants to make a booze run, Shichikage continues to be the creepy lech, and the group helps at an elderly woman’s booth at the festival, which is haunted by the ghost of a boyfriend!
Neneneko has several totally awesome wardrobe changes, from her school and gym uniforms, yukata and kimono to the short cheongsam, the outfit with thigh highs and suspenders, and the dog girl costume! One of the color images depicts Neneneko, Miya, Meme and Yukari cutely wearing the totally cute neko paw gloves!
There are the few brief lewd moments, disturbing behaviors and dangerous spooky encounters, but there are charming, cute and poignant moments aplenty, as Neneneko growsy braver, stronger, happier and more social, so I am eager to see the next volume, fur shur! That is all of our manga mewsings and here is Trini-chan to present
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight!
Trini-chan:
I am back! In this monthly portion of The Mew, we commemorate famous catgirls of various myths & media, from movies, games & TV to comics, novels & toys around the world! Such ladies might range from the ailuranthropic & anthropomorphic feline females, to those nekomimi who might not have any kitty DNA, but do have the cat-titude or style to be considered as “honorary catgirls”!
This month we will shine the spotlight upon White Wolf Publishing’s Bastet book which was published in published in 1998! White Wolf is famous for their Vampire: The Masquerade game and their Streetfighter role – playing game, and this 60 page trade paperback is the players guide to ailuranthropes (were-cats) for use with their Werewolf: The Apocalypse role playing game!
It was authored by Phil Brucato with Bill Bridges, Richard Dansky, several other artists, designers & contributors. It includes history, legends, species, magic, abilities, terminology & characters of the secretive neko purr-suasion; with many B&W great illustrations & the color 16 page comic book, but it is not for widdle kitties due to the language, violence, scary & sexy content!
In this multicultural mythos, the tribes have included the Bagheera (leopurrd) Balam (jaguar), Khan (tiger), Pumonca (cougar), Simba (lion), Qualmi (lynx), Swara (cheetah), Ajaba (hyena), Khara (sabertooth), Bubasti (Egyptian cat) & Ceilican (faerie cat). Each type can be of different breeds, such as the human – looking hominids, the half – breed Metis, & felines born of cats.
As the shape shifters, the ailuranthropes can appear in 5 different forms, such as the full human, 1/4 human, 50-50 human / cat, 3/4 cat & 100% cat. There are also several special abilities & magickal spells purr tribe too, such as the Cobra’s Dance of the Bagheera, the Asuras’ Bane of the Khan, the Thunderbird’ Cry of the Pumonca & the Diamond Claws of the Swara!
At least 16 of the images by various artists depict feline femme fatales, such as a jaguar girl perched upon the tree limb, a leopurrd lady with her lover, a romantic couple on the veldt, a Cahlash mom nursing her baby, a sullen Egyptian woman, and a lounging lass of the large cup size! Steve Bryant illustrated a meditating Egyptian girl, and a jaguar girl watching men drown!
Paul Phillips illustrated the Ceilican girl and the snake, the Balam girl healing her injured fellow felinoid friend, and perhaps there are more catgirls on the way, in his pic of the pregnant catgirl! There are several illustrated sample character archetype templates, such as Riddling Stranger (a Qualmi catgirl of the forest) and the Beastmaster (a Simba catgirl of the circus)!
A chapter pertaining to famous were – cats includes 4 ladies, such as Anya Z the gothy “Dark Bubasti Siren” chanteuse of the dance clubs; Columbian crime boss Ten Thunders A.K.AQ. “The Lord of the Bleeding Night”; Momma Treebender the Chippewa proprietress of lodges across the pacific Northwest; and Rucksack Mary A.K.A. Maria Caliper A.K.A. Maureen Jones!
She is a multiple – personalitied faerie catgirl, who is a vagabond, corporate spy or computer expert, depending on the season! I will heartily recommend this book to the [adult] fans of were-cat characters, tales and art! That is all for this month’s spotlight, but it will return next month to shine upon further famous catgirls, and now here is Petra to purrsent the latest additions to
Catgirl Island’s Mewseum of Art!
Petra:
Arigato, nya! For those who might be here for the first time, Galleries 1-7 of The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art display images by Mike, whilst Guest Art Galleries 1-4 display images by other folks totally with their purrmissions, and Mike’s collaborative images with other artists can be found throughout the mewseum, nya! The images include illustrations, photos, and the mixed medias, nya!
Some of the images are quite sexy, but none are hentai, 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! This month we have added several new images to Guest Gallery 4 and to Gallery 6, nya!
we are purroud to purrsent the “Cave Dweller” by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com who was the guest for our September 2009 Mew, nya! She used the pencils, pens and copic markers to illustrate this sexy sultry succubus named Lorellai who is wearing the Red bikini, thigh boots and opurra-length gloves to match her lovely eyes and wings inside the deep cavern, nya!
Lorellai was born on Apurril 23 in Kathmandu, Nepal; she is 5′ 5″ tall and weighs 115 lbs. with the 35C-25-36″ sizes and the 5″ chiropteran wingspan, nya. She is smart, sultry, mischievous and organized; she speaks several languages, she knows several magickal spells, she can fly up to 80 MPH, and her hobbies include singing, dancing, reading, carousing and treasure hunting, nya!
Then we are delighted to display Rebecca’s illustration of the “Shy Fairy”, nya! Rebecca used the pencil, pens, and colored pencils upon the toned papurr to depict the blushing, wary but adorable widdle fairy who is comfortably purrched upon the yummy – looking mushroom, nya! Her Pink & White striped thigh highs are in cute contrast with her short, backless, halter -neck dress, nya!
Then we have Rebecca’s pencil sketch of “Gigi” the frisky nekomimi genie, nya! Co-created by Rebecca & Mike in homage to I Dream of Jeannie, Disney’s Aladdin, and the delightful Purrsia Press comics, Gigi is an NPC in Mike’s monthly tabletop fantasy RPG, which is full of amewsing pop culture purrodies, nya! She is 5′ 2″. tall, weighs 105 lbs. and her 3 sizes are 34B-29-35″, nya!
Gigi is a pansexual female of great magicikal wish powers, undisclosed religion and unknown age, nya. She appurrs to be purrhaps 30ish, but she is quite ancient and her birthday is on May 13th, nya. She has long Blonde hair, Blue eyes, Light Brown skin, Pink & White ears, and a White tail with 3 Blue stripes, nya! Her current mistress is Rebecca’s character Nystia Nightshade, nya!
Speaking of Gigi’s mistress, nextly we have Rebecca’s quick widdle pencil sketch of “Nystia’s Wedding Gown”, nya! Purrhaps y’all have seen the other images of Nystia in our mewseum, nya? She is a winged, vampurric dark faerie, a small town sheriff, an idol purrformer, an alchemist, and Rebecca’s purrotagonist character in Mike’s game, nya!
Nystia is engaged to marry her boyfriend Jonni, so she has designed this very gorgeous, elegant gown for her faerie wedding, nya! It is strapless and backless with the plunging neckline, the ruffled detached sleeves, the tapurred bodice, and the long train, nya! It is accessorized by the veil, the floral tiara, bouquet, the necklace and the diamond ring, nya!
we have added Mike’s fan art of catgirls “Stella & Terry” from Saturn who are purrofessional dancers at the Cat’s Meow club on The Moon during an interplanetary war in the Moonbeams & Stardust novellas of the erotic science friction genre, written by Raelynn Blue http://raelynnblue.blogspot.com and published by Mocha Memoirs Press http://mochamemoirspress.com, nya!
Stella is on the left, and Terry is on the right, nya! They might not purrfer their situation, but purrhaps it is somewhat better than being cold, hungry. lonely and abused on the mean lunar streets… and sometimes they do find the friends, fortune respect and romance, so we will purray that things will impurrove for them, nya. Mike illustrated this with Photoshop CS2 & the mouse, nya!
Then to commeowmorate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, we have Mike’s fan art of “Minka & Niru”, nya! Long, long ago… in a galaxy fur, fur away… Minka (the Gold catgirl in the Bue bikini) and Niru (the White catgirl in the Red bikini) were among the rebel catgirls from Cantros 7, who met Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Purrincess Leia Organa in the “Catspaw” tale, nya!
It was written by Jo Duffy, drawn by Sal Buscema, inked by Tom Palmer, lettered by Rick Parker, colored by Peter Scotese, and edited by Ann Nocenti in Star Wars vol.1 #93, which was published by Marvel Comics, nya! Mike used Photoshop CS2 and the mouse to illustrate Minka & Niru enjoying the fresh fishy feast to celebrate the defeat of the evil galactic empurror, nya!
After that is Mike’s illustration of our friend “Shannon”, who is the shipping clerk at The Kitt Inn, our island’s lovely ryokan, nya! Shannon is a petite, androgynous, Indian/ Asian- American cat purrson of the cordial, wise, mystical purrsonality, the , and appurrs to be appurroximately 25 years old, but has worked at The Kitt Inn ever since it was built 145 years ago, nya!
Seen here wearing the knotted white shirt at the inn’s convenient shipping counter near the concierge desks, Shannon has the great purrowess at the shipping and receiving, with the expurrtise in math, geography and various languages; the purredilection for curling up in boxes and popping the bubble wrap, nya! Mike illustrated this with Photoshop CS2 and the mouse, nya!
Lastly but not leastly, we are pleased to purrsent Mike’s illustration of the “Southpaw” pitcher who hopes to strike out the batter, whilst the runner hopes to steal third base, in the bottom of the 9th inning of the island’s women’s softball rec league tournyament, nya! The runner is very quick ‘n stealthy, but the pitcher, catcher, 2nd baseman and shortstop are quite alertly athletic, nya!
With the in-field pop fly rule in effect, it is the suspenseful moment as the crowd cheers “Banzai, Banzai, Banzai, Nya!” Mike used Photoshop CS2 and the mouse to illustrate this image, which not only tops off this month’s additions, but it will fill up Gallery 6, while we purrpare soonly to open the new Gallery 8, hopefully next month, nya! So, what do y’all think of the lastest art, nya?
Ellie:
I love the sheen on Lorellai’s long silky hair, the luster of her Red lips, the gleam in her Ruby – like eye, the scalloped cut of her wings, and the supple curves of her curvaceous body!
Mary Nyan:
I especially like her sexy bikini and how she is framed by the geological formations in the composition, with metallic gold veins that are unfortunately in-obvious in the scan of the art!
Mielikki:
The Shy Fairy is like totally pretty with the lovely coiffure, the cellular wings, and the ruffled hem of her dress that splendidly echoes the ruffled ring around the stalk of the mushroom!
Trini-chan:
Gigi has the cute yet mischievous expuression, the lovely large ear pinna and twin-tailed coiffure to frame her sexy bare-midriff outfit of the bandeau top, panty, vest & harem pants!
Jeannie:
Hopefully she will be the more magnanimous and lessly manipulative genie, whilst Nystia and her other friends plan the gala wedding amidst their busy trials and adventurous quests.
Elizabeth:
I thought the Moonbeams & Stardust Stella were quite captivating, entertaining and steamy! I hope that the author is pleased with Mike’s fan art of Stella & Terry!
Becca:
Hai hai- hopefully they close n faithful to how Raelynn envisioned them! I like Stella’s naughty grin, Terry’s long honey- Blonde hair and their delightful whiskers!
Yvonne:
Minka and Niru have the lovely whiskers too, nya! I think that he Pink rebel beach blanket bikini nicely accents the Pink of Niru’s ears and her bikini. nya!
Tara-chan:
Minka’s string bikini is the good match for the sky, ocean and the Blue milk, whilst the Orangey fishes seem to complement her Gold skin and hair, nya!
Ilyana:
I think that the pic of Shannon faithfully captures the physique, purrtraiture, details, style and spirit!
B.B.:
I like the portrait type of compurrsition for the pic of Shannon and the wide landscape compurrsition for the softball scene!
Bun:
I think that the softball scene captures the color and excitement of the suspenseful athletic compurrtition!
Mike:
Thank y’all for the kind words, and Petra, thank you for presenting the art!
Petra:
Doitashimaste, nya! Nyow it is time for us to mention
our favorite recent seafood images, nya!
Yvonne:
Hai hai, in this occasional portion of The Mew we mention our favorite images of seafood that grace the recent magazine covers, such as the lobsters on the cover of Wine Enthusiast, nya!
Tara-chan:
I have the craving in my tummy for the tasty Tarpon on the cover of Angler’s Journal vol. 4 #2, and – and the one on the Spurring cover of Fly Rod & Reel, nya!
Trini-chan:
I like the tantalizing Trout on the cover of Fly Fusion vol. 13 #2, on the Spurring cover of Trout, and on the cover of Fly Fisherman’s 2017 Beginner’s Guide!
Becca:
I will nominate the supurrb Snapper on the cover of Saltwater Sportsman vol. 78 #5, and the Sunfish on the cover of In-Fisherman’s 2017 Panfish Guide!
Elizabeth:
The Cutbow caught from Montana’s Clark Fork River on the Spurring cover of Trout, and the Sea Trout on the May cover of North Carolina Game & Fish!
Mary Nyan:
The colorful crunchy piscine snack on the May / June cover of Harvard Business Review, and the the bite – sized morsels on the cover of Happinez #7!
Jeannie:
There is a yummy Yellowfin Tuna to tempt my tummy on the cover of Florida Sport Fishing vol. 16 #3.
Ilyana:
How ’bout that appurtizing Octopus on the cover of Souse-Vide #2, and the lovely Largemouth Bass on the June cover of Field & Stream!
Ellie:
I don’t eat fish, but I do think that Doug Schermer’s “Cabbage Monster” is a gorgeous illustration on the April / May cover of Musky Hunter!
Mielikki:
“Almost in the Net” is a beautiful painting by Frank Hoffman to grace the cover of Gray’s Sporting Journal vol. 42 #2!
Bun:
I will nominate Larry Tople’s illustration of the “Balsa Buster” taking the lure on the cover of In-Fisherman vol. 42 #3!
Mike:
Those grilled fish tacos on the June cover of Diabetes Self Management magazine look pretty good!
B.B.:
I will nominate the Cobia, Bass and Sunfish on the May cover of Carolina Sportsman!
Petra:
Lastly but not leastly I will nominate the delicious – looking fish on the cover of Ambrosia magazine #3, nya! That is all for the seafood portion of The Mew, but nyow for the main course, here is Bun to intermew
our special guest Sean Martin, nya!
Bun:
Sean Martin http://www.joey-aristophanes.com is a designer, artist and author whose work includes exhibit design, theatrical costume and scenic design; editorial and graphic art; illustration, cartooning and animation. He has written several books, and his comic strip Doc and Raider http://docandraider.com celebrates its 30th anniversary this year! His work has benefitted various events, organizations, charities and causes, and it has been archived by some prestigious institutions.
Three of his Doc and Raider illustrations grace our island’s Mewseum of Art: “It’s Awards Season!” http://catgirlisland.net/art/guest3/77.html, “Runway 2017” http://catgirlisland.net/art/guest4/41.html, and “Doc and Raider in the Dojo” http://catgirlisland.net/art/guest4/55.html. Sean has rescued and adopted cats, he is a great cook, a worldly traveler, and now he is our special guest for this month’s Mew! Aloha Sean, and welcome to The Mew!
Sean:
Thanks for having me! I brought brownies. Low-sugar. Hope that’s okay.
Bun:
Itadakimasu! But firstly, we want to thank you for giving those cats a good home!
Sean:
Hey, all living creatures deserve a home. And once you take in a life, you’re responsible for it. So I make sure my girls are cared for as bestly as possible.
Bun:
Yay! You seem to take good care of yourself too! What are your favorite work outs in the gym?
Sean:
I’m especially proud of the fact that I can benchpress 350 pounds. It took a lot of work to get there, but it’s great fun freaking out people with it. LOL
Bun:
As a Canadian citizen and quite the world traveller who has lived in several cities in North America! What brought you here to North Carolina?
Sean:
Well, a contract job with a university teaching theatre design and marketing communications — and, at much the same time, love. The latter didnt work out. LOL Neither did the contract job, actually. But I stuck around because, at the time, I couldnt afford to move back to Canada, I bounced around to a few jobs before landing this one with an exhibit firm — I’ve been with them now for almost ten years, and yes, now I can afford to move back to Canada. LOL
Bun:
Have you ever been to Prince Edward island? Our friend Formality is from (near) there.
Sean:
Yes!! Wonderful little place. The whole Maritimes region of Canada is quite wondrous, both for its natural beauty and its amazing Celtic culture.
Bun:
What are some of your favoritest places in the world?
Sean:
Well, Canada of course tops the list. It doesnt get much better than that, truthfully. Montréal is the place I consider home. After that, Paris — I’ve been twice. Srockholm. Southern Germany. They each have their draws — scenery, culture, cuisine — in a distinct way.
Bun:
I understand that you have been a guest at some conventions…?
Sean:
I have. I was a presenter at Queer in Comics in NYC a couple of years ago. They have to make room for old timers like me, you know. It was…. interesting. I had a great time, and I was thrilled to meet cartoonists like Donna Barr whose work I have loved for, well, decades. Her comic “The Desert Peach” is one of those take-no-prisoners type of humour that I love.
Bun:
Oh I love Donna Barr’s works especially her Stinz comics! So, when was it first apparent that you had artistic talent?
Sean:
First grade, maybe? I remember my teacher getting all excited over a drawing I’d done of a cowboy on a horse. Ironically, that seems to be a theme that has followed me since — my first job in advertising, I was asked at the interview, “So you feel you can sketch out anything? Like, say, a cowboy on a horse?” LOL
Bun:
I do want to ask about cowboys and horses, but who has artistically influenced or inspired you the most?
Sean:
There are so many: a now little-known cartoonist named Guindon who has a wit so dry that it’s almost arid; Jean-Jacques Sempé, who taught me that you can use the same character over and over as long as you have something interesting to say; John Held, an artist/cartoonist from the 20s and 30s who visually defined The Flapper Girl — and of course every issue of The New Yorker I could lay my hands on. Back in the 70s and 80s, it was a breathtaking education in humour. Now… well, not so much so, but back then, every panel was a slam home run.
Bun:
What art training did you have?
Sean:
None. I’m self-taught.
Bun:
Gosh! What was your first professional artistic work?
Sean:
his is terrible to say, but I honestly dont remember. I think it might have been an illustration I did for a brochure/catalog for an exhibit of “corporate art”. I had this cartoon of all these cookie-cutter businessmen milling about a gallery filled with empty frames. I dont think the art director ever quite figured out I was making my own comment on the vacuousness of that art form. :-)
Bun:
What are your preferred art & design tools & media?
Sean:
I work pretty much exclusively digital now. A wrist injury prevents me from holding a pencil or a bruch for extended periods of time.
Bun:
Aw, I am so sorry to hear about that! Well, could you tell us about your studio / work space(s)?
Sean:
It’s a set up in the corner of the bedroom: a computer, a 27″ monitor, and a mouse. I have a huge working library of over 650 CDs of digital “stuff” that I use on an as-needed basis, but I can tell you that if you need something in digital form, I either have it already built or can crank it out pretty quick.
Bun:
Do your cats help?
Sean:
My worst critics. LOL
Bun:
Oh, you should see Jamie’s cat Rascal, who likes to sprawl upon the scanner / printer! So, please tell us more about your cats!
Sean:
Tuxxie and Lady Grey are both about 12 now, although Tuxxie (who is, of course, a tuxedo cat) is a Perpetual Kitten. Lady Grey is the long-haired dowager of the group. Then Nukkie (whose name is an anacronym for “New Unnamed Kitten” and just kinda stuck) who’s four, a white and orange tabby with a rambunctuous personality — she loves to play and play hard. Finally, Cinder, who’s now about three, solid black, and still a bit paranoid about being around the others. They were all foundlings, but Cinder was probably dumped, and has never quite gotten over it, I think.
Bun:
They must be well-fed, because you are good at the culinary arts too!
Sean:
Many thanks! It’s a recently acquired skill set, but I’m enjoying it a lot.
Bun:
We are certainly enjoying the yummy brownies a lot! What are some of your other favorite things to cook?
Sean:
I’m big on baking, although I try to temper the sugar content so my friends dont get fat on my account. LOL I recently hosted an all-vegetarian dinner party, which was a first for me. I was surprised at how much work can go into that — but the results, as I was told, were pretty spectacular.
Bun:
What are your favorite foods and beverages?
Sean:
Just about everything, even anchovies. Except olives. I draw the line there. I’ll use olive oil in cooking, but the actual olive itself? Uhm…. no.
Bun:
Oh, I love olives, but Mielikki, Mike and I do not have the taste for anchovies like the rest of the group here! So… what are your favorite books, comic books and strips?
Sean:
My all-time favourite book is a short chap book from 1957 called “David and the Phoenix”. It’s about this boy named David who meets a phoenix who decides David is in need of a “classical education” (for example, how to tell a grypphon from a grypphen). It was the first “big” book I’d ever read, and I was entranced by it. Even now I still keep a copy, and it has yet to lose its charm.
Beyond that, I’m a serious reader of ancient literature— Homer, Aristophanes, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” (which I’ve illustrated, BTW — 30 plates, some of my best work). “Candide” is another one of those books I can re-read a hundred times and never gert bored with. Oh, and Michael Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time series: an awesome trilogy of speculative fiction that’s also brilliant satire.
Comic books? I was excited hear that we’re finally getting Book Three of the Mage series. (And about time!). One of my all-time faves is It’s Science with Doctor Radium, which is really screaming for the big-screen treatment. I think every artist has a crush on the Starstruck books: gorgeously detailed illustration work that we’ve not seen since, IMHO.
Bun:
Oh that is some great stuff, and I need to see your Gilgamesh art! What are some of your favorite movies?
Sean:
I binge-watch TV shows when they come out on DVD, so right now: Black Sails, Spartacus, Game of Thrones (although I confess I’m losing interest in that one — it’s basically “Dynasty” with big fur costumes). Lots of BBC stuff: Musketeers, Mister Selfridge, and The Last Kingdom. You probably noticed it’s a lot of period stuff, huh. LOL
Bun:
I am rather fond of Black Sails and Game of Thrones, too! How about your favorite movies?
Sean:
I have a few all-time faves there — All That Jazz, Camelot (yeah, everyone hates it, but I love that film), Twice Upon a Time, (a wonderfully demented piece of animation from the late 70s — Trivia Point: it was funded by George Lucas from some of the profits from Star Wars). Oh, and to that inevitable question — Star Wars or Star Trek — neither. They’re both getting run into the ground, IMHO.
Bun:
Camelot did have a lovely Bob Peak poster… and I have seen Twice Upon a Time too! It is on our annual DVD wish list!
Sean:
Lord knows, the incredible Lord of the Rings movies. Those are just straight-up awesome. I also enjoy a lot of computer animation films — The Peanuts Movie is a big fave, as is The Book of Life, Kubo and The Croods. There’s also this wonderful studio that’s done some remarkable 2D animation —Book of Kells is my favourite of theirs, just for its sheer design audacity.
Bun:
I have not yet seen The Croods, but I think that those others are all great! What is your favorite music?
Sean:
I wont turn down much of anything, but Celtic music from the Canadian Maritimes (like the Rankin Family) and well-performed grand opera. I’m a hopeless Carl Orff fan. LOL
Bun:
What are your favorite plays, musicals and operas?
Sean:
Aristophanes, Georges Feydeau (who gave us the door-slamming bedroom farce), and Jean Giraudoux, a French playwright from the 30s and 40s whose last play, La Folle De Chaillot is still a lovely piece of work. I hope to translate his plays someday.
Musicals? Well, what gay boy doesnt love his Sondheim? Company, Folles and A Little Night Music. I’m also a huge fan of George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Noel Coward — they all appeared at just the right time in the history of musical theatre and gave it a serious snap that it needed.
I also have a fondness for vintage shows, like The Pink Lady, which premiered in 1902. Beautifully written comedy with a wonderful salon-orchestra score. Opera? Well, how much time do we have? LOL Carl Orff’s Der Mond is one I’ve loved for many years; I actually did an illustrated version of the libretto. Magic Flute, Carmen, Turandot. They just dont write ’em lke they used to.
Bun:
What are some of your theatrical designs that you are proudest of?
Sean:
I had the pleasure of working on a world premier that was produced at a 2,000 year old Roman theatre in southern Spain. All of the scenery was projected and blended with the architecture such that you never knew what was real and what wasnt. We worked on that thing for well over a year.
Bun:
Wow!
Sean:
The other is probably Man of la Mancha for a regional theatre in Iowa. It was a fairly traditional production, but I had this wall that blew apart when we entered the world of Don Quixote — every night it was great fun watching the audience’s response to that.
Bun:
Say, didn’t you write a handbook or manual about that sort of thing?
Sean:
I did. Big Show, Tiny Budget — a guide to show high schools how to take these monster musicals and whack them down to a scale where the school can afford to do it.
Bun:
How would you compare / contrast theatrical design with industrial design… such as sets and props compared to exhibits, furnishings and products?
Sean:
Well, obvously, in theatre, you get to play more, take more visual chances, be more creative — after all, that’s why you’re there in the first place. Exhibits? Well, it’s steady money. LOL
Bun:
What are some of the other biggest or most elaborate things you’ve designed?
Sean:
I designed about half the stuff used at Skatefest in Vancouver in 1992. That was a monster job, and of course, everything had to be approved by fourteen committees and thirty-two government officails. Looking back, it’s amazing we got it done at all. LOL But it was a huge effort for everyone.
Bun:
I’ll bet! That is huge! Do you still use light tables, masking films, screentones, dry tansfer lettering, and waxers for graphic art, or is it all digital for you?
Sean:
All digital. I wouldnt go back to those days even if you paid me a lot of money… LOL
Bun:
Heehee! I did not forget about the cowboys and horses! I understand that you’ve done graphic design for rodeos!
Sean:
I was a volunteer for the Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association in Calgary and created their marketing materisla for about seven or eight years. I saw it as just another desgin job, but it turned out to have raised the bar for everyone on the gay rodeo circuit, because ours were just more… well, professional. I put more emphasis on the “rodeo” and less on the “gay”, and it made for some really nice work. In 2000 I was given a Lifetime Achievement award by IGRA, the governing body. That was pretty cool.
Bun:
Congratulations! Have you been to the Calgary Stampede, where the X-Men fought Alpha Flight in Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #121?
Sean:
LOL — I have indeed. The Stampede is incredible: the whole city shuts down for a week and parties very hard. The Rodeo is almost an afterthought. You eat a lot of pancakes for breakfast. :-)
Bun:
Num num num! Have you ever ridden a pony, horse or bull?
Sean:
I have indeed ridden a horse — many times. I was on a bull for about four seconds before it decided it didnt like me on there and threw me off.
Bun:
Yikes!
Sean:
Of course, considering the rules are you only have to stay on for six seconds, I think I did pretty well. LOL But that was it: no more after that one time.
Bun:
Tara-chan and Trini-chan finally got ponies last month! But I digress, Back to the arts, what animation have you done?
Sean:
I’ve done a lot of short-short animations and one much bigger one, a three minute animation that’s hit a few LGBT festivals around the world. It’s my cartoon cdharacters, Doc and Raider, when one wants to go to bed while the other is mindlessly reading something on the internet. All silent, with a music score from a 1920s Big Band recording. I’m in the process of revisitng it and polishing it up.
Bun:
How would you compare / contrast animation story boarding with drawing comics?
Sean:
Animation is tough work, especially in 3D. I enjoy the final product, but the process is incredibly tedious. Of course I say that knowing I have a 90-minute one more or less in the works of The Nutcracker. I’ve done an animatic of it, and someday I’ll finish the full out thing. But it’s tedius, tedious work…
Bun:
Good luck! By the way, speaking of Doc and Raider, congratulations on its 30th anniversary! How are you celebrating that?
Sean:
By keeping it going into the 31st. LOL Yeah, it’s been a long haul on that one, but my boys are worth it.
Bun:
So how did you come up with the idea for Doc (an author from Quebec) and Ray (A.K.A. Raider, a construction worker from Saskatchewan)?
Sean:
Picture it: 1987. I was living in Vancouver, and one of the local gay papers asked if I’d ever considered doing a panel cartoon. So I cranked out a bunch of samples, and they took three of them. It was also the paper’s last issue. LOL But I shopped it around, and places like Toronto and Halifax and Saskatoon took it on, and then it went international.
At its print height, it was on five continents, with an estimated readership of about 750,000. The panels were published in two compilations —Incredibly Life-Like and Caught on Tape (I never understood that title: it was my editor’s contribution). Now, as a web comic, it’s about to hit 4,000 episodes. I have a few things in mind to celebrate that, but we gotta get to that point first.
Bun:
What is your process for writing and drawing Doc and Raider… and how has it changed over the years?
Sean:
Originally it was pretty domestic humoir — very New Yorker-ish. They were both terribly witty. Interestingly enough, they were roommates when the series began. The relationship end of things didnt start until Year Two, I think. It was also single-panel, so I had to make it work fast and concisely.
I started doing multi-panel story arcs around 1996: it was a difficult thing, given the weekly frequency — but the readership in Toronto loved it. Unfortunately, I had a falling out with a newspaper editor who didnt like one of the storylines dealing with issues of jealousy and domestic violence, and I foolishly stopped drawing it.
I picked it up again about three years later, in its earliest digital format. The cartoon was starting to get more political at that point, since activism in Canada was on the rise. When I formally launched the webcomic in 2006, the characters were still a little clunky and ill-designed, with the proportions all wrong… but I got better at it.
Now, they’re pretty polished pieces of work. The strip has also enlarged its focus: it has a core cast of nine, and the story lines cover everything from serious domestic issues to parodies of current movies and pop culture, not to mention a lot of political fun. It’s gotten BIG.
Bun:
The strips are not only beautiful and entertaining, but I understand that they have promoted and benefitted various events, organizations, charities and causes?
Sean:
Thanks. Yes, the boys were used a lot to benefit everything from AIDS awareness to an LGBT country dance convention. Also, during the print era, the relationship I had with my papers was that they would not pay me for using the strip. Instead, they would donate that amount to a local chairty —
— and as such, my guys have helped everything from an AIDS hospice in New Zealand to a gay theatre festival in Scotland. It raised some serious cash around the world. Now it’s part of the National Archives of Canada and the Pride Archives at the University of Western Ontario. I like knowing my boys have a home after I’m no longer around to give them one.
Bun:
That is so wonderfully poignant and profound! Thank you for your philanthropy! We also liked your screenplay-ish novella of The Brothers Voltaire novella too! How did that come about?
Sean:
It was just a fluke. I wanted to write something, and the idea of these two losers cruising around in a rust bucket of a space ship was just intriguing. The story built pretty quickly; I htink I finished the first draft in about three weeks.
Bun:
I particularly liked the characters Daphne and Amynias. Can you tell us any more about them that is not in the book?
Sean:
Oh, poor Daphne. She *is* the spaceship, you know, and she’s got enough AI that she’s hopelessly in love with one of the Brothers. But of course it can never be… Amynias is actually the film’s real love interest, a d it was fun writing a woman who comes into her own and makes her man want her for all the right reasons.
Bun:
Haven’t you also written and / or illustrated some other novellas or anthologies?
Sean:
Yes, but we cant talk about them here. LOL OK, yes we can, except for one, which was written when I needed the cash, okay? I’ve written a number of books over the years: Maybe, a novella about a man dealing with loss as he writes this terribly British murder mystery; The Littles, a series of short short fictions about little people suddenly trapped in Big Events — I think it’s some of my best writing, bar none.
I’m currently completing work on Teapot, a sprawling, Tom-Wolfe-ish political satire that has something like eighteen plot lines and perhaps thirty major characters. There’s a couple more books in that series, but I just want to finish the first one for now. And I’m working on a one act musical called Friday Night Dances, about the *second* time Raider and Doc met. A friend in South Carolina is wriiting the score. We’re pretty hopeful with it.
Bun:
Wow! Good luck! Well, we are almost done. In closing, do you have any creative, technical or business advice for other artists or authors?
Sean:
Well, two things. First, persevere. You have to be relentless in perfecting your craft. You cant just say, “Oh, it’s a pretty day; I think I’ll go to the park”, when you know you should be working. Being an artist in particular means you have to focus, focus, focus, and then focus some more. It’s a lot more work than people think, and if you’re not willing to put in the hours, dont get started.
Now, second: know when to walk away from something. You may have put ten years on that graphic novel, but if it’s not working, and you know it’s not working, then it aint working. Walk away. It’s not failure. It’s simply saying, “Okay, this didnt work… but the next project might!”
Bun:
Thank you for visiting us, and we hope that you have a wonderful time here!
Sean:
Thanks for having me! I’ll get the brownie pan back next trip, okay?
Bun:
Oh, it will be washed and dried in time for tonight’s AfterMew Luau which we hope that you will enjoy!
The cat lady sings…
Tara-chan:
AftterMew, nya! I already have the craving in my tummy for — SOUTHERN EMERALD, NYA!
(The easily distrracted catgirl with her camera scampurrs after the widdle Green moth)
Yvonne:
TARA-CHAN— NYA!
Trini-chan:
She may have graduated, but some things have not changed for her — SWALLOWTAIL!
(The fox girl with camera scampurrs after the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, the state butterfly)
B.B.:
There they go again, heehee!
Elizabeth:
Well, I guess that will wrap it up for another edition of The Mew!
Becca:
We wish to thank our special guest Sean Martin…
Bun:
… Rebecca Brogden for the lovely art…
Ilyana:
…the other talented folks whose works we discussed…
Ellie:
… Jamie for his web mastery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island…
Jeannie:
… Mike and Jamie’s computers…
Petra:
… and our other friends, families and audience whom we greatly appurreciate, nya!
Mielikki:
Fur shur!
Mary Nyan:
Y’all may post brief, polite, sincere, non-political, non-snarky responses to
The Mew, purrvided they are spam-free, G-rated and purrtain to our topics!
Mike:
We’ll be back next month with the May edition of The Mew! Be there… aloha!
The Ladies of The Mew:
Happy Tails to Mew – until we eat again! BAIBAI, NYA!
