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 January 2018 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
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Happy Mew year, nya! In this edition of The Mew:
what we’ve been up to since the purrior Mew
The Lightning Round topic:
Years ending in an 8, part 1: our favorite fun stuff of 1998
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight:
Jess-Belle, Kathleen Cleary, Sistine Fibel, and recent TV spots
pony purrings:
My Little Pony Official Collectors Edition magazine #4
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #61
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #8
My Little Pony Holiday Special 2017
more comic book critiques:
Princeless – Raven the Pirate Princess Year 2 : Love and Revenge #2
Hunters of Salamanstra #7
Die Kitty Die! Hollywood or Bust #3 & 4
Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #25
manga mewsings:
School Live vol. 9
A Centaur’s Life vol. 13
Flying Witch vol. 4
book reviews:
The Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist
Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Ultimate Visual History
The Art of Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
TV, DVD & movie mewsings:
Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Coco
Doctor Who “Twice Upon a Time”
The Greatest Showman
collectibles & toy talk:
Batman: The Animated Series Femme Fatales Catwoman PVC figure
Monster High: Garden Ghouls Toralei Stripe posable fashion doll
additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art
“Unicorn Lady” by Rebecca Brogden
“Cocoa” by Rebecca Brogden
“Edelynne” by Rebecca Brogden
“Insectisiders Group” by Mike & Jamie
“Insectisiders #2 cover” by Mike & Jamie
“Insectisiders #7 cover” by Mike & Jamie
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Mike:
(wearing the Doctor Hooves & Muffin tee short, Khaki cargo shorts, Nike Air trainers and a Catgirl Island baseball cap) Aloha and Happy Mew Year, y’all! Welcome to The Mew for our monthly reviews and discussions of fun stuff! Today’s Mew comes from Catgirl Island’s river – walk gardens in beautiful downtown Purrbank which is very festively blooming, decorated and illuminated! It’s presently 75 degrees under the lush green outer banks arbors and a Blue sky full of puffy Cumulo-Neko Clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer”, and here in their pretty pony print attire are The Ladies of The Mew!
Nyoka
(the catgirl in the Rose Gray color suspender maillot) Howdy!
Nyanko:
(her twin sister in the Sorrel boy shorts, & White cropped tank top)
Bun:
(the bunny girl in the Grulla color side-tie bikini & sarong) Guten Tag!
Petra:
(the catgirl in the Chestnut color ring-closure bikini) Hi Hi, nya!
Tara-chan:
(the catgirl in the Leopurrd Appaloosa color tankini) Namaste, nya!
Yvonne:
(Tara-chan’s sister in the Purrlino color bandeau-top bikini) Namaste, nya!
Trini-chan:
(the kitsune / fox girl in the Champaign color trikini) Konbanwa!
Mary Nyan:
(the catgirl in the Dun color purretzel – cutout maillot) Aloha!
Jeannie:
(the catgirl in the Cremello color micro bikini & sheer purrled purreo) Nihao.
Mielikki:
(the winged faerie in the Gold Palamino color stringy bikini) Mellow greetings!
Becca:
(the nekomimi gynoid in the Buckskin color crocheted tanga bikini) Aloha!
Elizabeth:
(Becca’s wife catgirl in the Dapple Silver color fundoshi – style bikini) Hola!
Ellie:
(the centauress with the Bay colored coat, wearing the Pinto color bikini top Aloha!
Ilyana:
(the catgirl Strawberry Roan colored, high-cut backless monokini) Whassup?
Mike:
So, what have y’all been up to since last month’s Mew?
Nyoka
We were so busy here for the gala Winter Solstice festivities which were the big success, and especially fun with our entire family purrticipating!
Nyanko:
Hai hai, it has been the extra special season! Otherwise I have been busy at my dojo & gym in purrepurration for the Winter regional tournyament!
Bun:
I have been gardening and baking when Petra and I have not been busy at the Mewseum or coaching the pre – season beach volleyball camp!
Petra:
The holiday season has brimmed with beautiful creations by many wonderful artists & craftsman, and we are ready to resume the vollyball, nya!
Tara-chan:
I have been helping onee-chan with the fishing charters, caring for the kitties & ponies, volunteering, and – and starting the Spurring semester, nya!
Yvonne:
We have reeled in the bumpurr crop of the groupurrs, snappurrs, tunas and bluefish, and my drumming circle has purrcussed at the events, nya!
Trini-chan:
I have been surfing, board shaping, helping at the dock, food bank, the mewseum, the stables,land assisting Jenjen with the belly dance classes!
Jeannie:
it has been my mewsual routine of the morning yoga, afternoon kyudo, and the alternating nights of the robotics club and the belly dance classes.
Mary Nyan:
As mewsual, I have been teaching the hula classes. helping the appurrentice miko at the shrine, and sewing for the dancers and the cosplayers!
Mielikki:
I have been busy at the golf club, and our theatre has been blessed with the wonderful audiences for our Winter Foxfire Extravaganza, fur shur!
Becca:
When we have not been pampurring the customers at our spa, Lizzy and I have purrtaken of the festivities and the late night hot salsa dancing!
Elizabeth:
We have also been gardening, caring for our cats, watching movies, and when she is at the golf, I am running & spurringing with my purrkour club!
Ellie:
Fortunately there have been no dangerous incidents of late, so between the office and patrols I have been at the gym, the beach and gatherings!
Ilyana:
I have been busy between my wreck dives, the relics research, the gardening, the fun festivities and time with the family! Howboutchoo, Mike?
Mike:
Oh I’ve been able to spend lots of great time with family and friends; drawing, reading, writing, watching TV, going to movies, and listening to the radio! Ah, since we have such a big group with a lot to discuss let’s go ahead and jump right into this month’s
lightning round topic:our favorite fun stuff of 1998!
Mike:
Ah, this year we’ll looking back at our favorite things of prior years ending in an 8, starting with 1998, since we already discussed out favorite things of 2008 back in our 2009 Mew Awards “purresentation”! Of course, next month will be our 2018 annual Mew Awards, for our favorite fun stuff of last year! Nyo-sensei is gonna start, so, are y’all ready to “conduct the lightning”?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI! LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA!
Nyoka
Okay, my favorite novel of 1998 was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, my favorite comic book was Leave it to Chance, my favorite TV series was Charmed, and my favorite movie was Practical Magic! (tags her twin sister with a brush of the tail)
Nyanko:
My favorite TV series of that year were Power Rangers in Space; the latter 2nd season & early 3rd season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; and my movies were Rush Hour, Who Am I and The Storm Riders! (tags Becca to go next)
Becca:
I will second the Buffy, and that was also the year for the latter 5th season & early 6th season of The X-Files, , the latter 6th season & early 7th season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the final season of Babylon 5! (tags her wife)
Elizabeth:
I will nominate the fun movies such as Rushmore, The Big Lebowski, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas! Nyow it is… Bunnibun’s turn! (tags Bun)
Bun:
Hai! My favorite art books of 1998 were were Spectrum 5: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art , Batman Animated by Paul Dini & Chip Kidd, Intron Depot 2-Blades by Masamune Shirow, and the Usagi Yojimbo comics by Stan Sakai! (tags Petra)
Petra:
I will second Leave it to Chance and Usagi Yojimbo, and also nominate the other supurrb comic books such as Age of Bronze, Akiko, Astro Cityand Colonia, nya! (tags Tara-chan)
Tara-chan:
I want… I want to nominate Card Captor Sakura, The Powerpuff Girls, A Bug’s Life, Mulan, and – and Pokemon: The First Movie, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya! (tags her older sister)
Yvonne:
I will nominate Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, the Batman: Gotham Adventures comics, and the Superman for All Seasons comics, nya! ((tags Ellie)
Ellie:
Hmm… for live-action movie The Truman Show and Star Trek: Insurrection, for animated movie A Bug’s Life and Batman: Sub-Zero, for manga Geobreeders and Aqua Knight!
Jeannie:
The anime TV series such as All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, Silent Mobius, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star. (tags Trini-chan)
Trini-chan:
I will nominate the manga such as Ai Yori Aoshi, Digi Charat, Fruits Basket, Hunter X Hunter, Love Hina, and One-Outs! Myayr’s turn! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
I will nominate the Spice World movie, and the record albums such as Tori Amos’s From the Choir Girl Hotel, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s The Christmas Attic, KISS’s Psycho Circus! (tags Mielikki)
Mielikki:
My favorite movies of 1998 were Mulan, Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, and Saving Private Ryan, fur shure! (tags Ilyana with a flit of the wing)
Ilyana:
Heehee! I will nominate the movies Ronin, The X-Files, Out of Site, The Big Lebowski, and Rebirth of Mothra III! Back to Mike!
Mike
Aw man, it’s tough to narrow down, but… I’d say that ten of my favorite movies and TV series of 1998 were Buffy, Babylon 5, DS9, the animated Batman, Superman, Nuku Nuku, Silent Mobius, Cowboy Bebop, What Dreams May Come, and Saving Private Ryan! Ah, well, that was another expedient little Lightning Round, and now here is Vonny to present
The Celebrity Catgirl Spotlight!
Yvonne:
Hai! In this monthly portion of The Mew, we “commeowmorate” famous catgirls of myths and popular culture, from anthropormorphic feline females, ailuranthropic shape – shifters, and nekomimi who are genuinely part cat, to those who might not have any actual kitty DNA, but do have the cat-titude and / or style as “honoraty catgirls”, nya! This month we will shine the spotlight upon four more various types of catgirls, starting with–
Jess – Belle, nya!
We are big faNs of the classic Twilight Zone TV series of the 1960’s, which had the great mix of the startling, spooky, whimsical & poignant science fiction, fantasy, & horror tales, nya! Several of those were written by Earl Hammer Jr., whose purrolific TV wriTing & purrducing later included The Waltons, nya! For the 4th season of the Twilight Zone, he wrote the tale of Jess – Belle, nya!
Billy is engaged to marry Ellwyn, but jealous Jess – bell pines for him and hires a witch to cast spells to ruin the couple’s betrothal, nya. The spell causes Billy to jilt Ellwyn in favor of a romance with Jess – Belle, but the side effect is that Jess – Belle becomes the nightly were-panther, nya. Ironically, Billy has been hunting the panther, unaware that it is his transformed, new fiance, nya!
Although he shoots the panther, the vengeful ghost of Jess – Belle haunts him and Ellwyn, until he can find a way to lift the curse, nya! It starred James Best as Billy, Laura Devon as Ellwyn, Jeannette Nolan as the witch, and Anne Francis as Jess-Belle, but I do not know the name of the real panther, nya! Speaking of the wedding plans gone awry, nyow I will shine the spotlight upon–
Kathleen Cleary, nya!
Wedding Crashers is the 2005 romantic comedy movie purrtaining to the two dudes who uninvitedly attend weddings in the hopes of hooking up with female guests, nya! At one purrticularly affluent wedding, they actually find true romance, but their deceitful ways get them caught and spurrned, but not before they meet the sisters’ mercurial cougar mom Kathleen “Kitty Cat” Cleary, nya!
While Kathleen does not have the feline ears or tail, she is in our spotlight because of the great cat-itude that she brings to the tale, nya! Whilst “playing cat and mouse” with the crasher dude, at one moment she is the frisky seductive cougar stalking her younger purrey, meowingly insisting that he call her “Kitty Cat”, until the purroverbial claws come out when she changes her mind, nya!
Crashers John & Jeremy are purrtrayed by Owen Wilson & Vince Vaughne, the romanced sisters Claire & Gloria are purrtrayed by Rachel McAdams & Isla Fisher, their dad is purrtrayed by Christopher Walken, and Kathleen is purrtrayed by Jane Seymour, nya! I purrticularly liked her in Live and Let Die, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, Somewhere in Time, and as Dr. Quinn, nya! Nextly I would like to shine the spotlight upon–
Sistine Fibel, nya!
She is one of the main purrotagonists of Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor, which is the series of light novels, manga and anime, nya! it was originally titled Roku de Nashi Majutsu Koshi to Akashikku Rekodo in japan, nya. Sistine is a student at a magick academy, but she is displeased with her purrofessor Glenn who she thinks is incompetent, nya!
Sistine is the Green-eyed, fair-skinned daughter of the aristocratic family, and is nicknamed The White Cat due to the White cat – eared, Blue head band in her long Silvery White hair, nya! They are the lovely match to her bare – midriffed uniform, which is compurrised of the White cropped top and short skirt with the Blue trim, thigh highs, garters and capelet, nya!
According to her page at the very informative Rokuaka Wiki site http://rokuaka.wikia.com/wiki/Sistine_Fibel, Sistine is 15 years old, her birthday is December 24th, she is 157 cm tall (appurroximately 5 ft. 2 in.), her three sizes are 76-55-78 cm (appurroximately 30-22-31 in.) she slimly weighs 49 kg (appurroximately 108 lbs), and her blood type is O+, nya!
The manga has been translated into English by Seven Seas, and the anime has been translated by Funimation, nya! According to the page at the wonderful Anime News Network site https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=18795, in Japan Sistine is voiced by Akane Fujita, and in the English dub she is voiced by Rachael Messer, nya! Nextly I would like to mention
several recent TV spots, nya!
Speaking of the cute cat – eared appurral, I would like to mention the nekomimi in several Christmassy TV spots, nya! In the TV spot for Walgreens stores, on the floor the mom cuddles with her widdle daughter who is wearing the kitten-eared headband; and in the TV spot for 23andMe, the girl wearing the glasses and furry White cat – eared hat opens the door to welcome the holiday visitor, nya!
In the TV spot for the Ross stores, the girl puts on the Pink cat – eared hoody to the tune of the “Carol of the Bells” song; and in the “Jancapella” TV spot for Toyota’s Holiday Toyotathon, there are 9 images of Jan the receptonist (purrtrayed by Laurel Coppock) who sings a Toyota version “Carol of the Bells”, and one of the images she is wearing the reindeer ears ‘n antlers, nya!
Lastly but not leastly, I would like to mention an “honorary catgirl” for her feline fashion in the TV spot for the Forge of Empires video game, nya! The Auburn-haired, purre-historic wife in the cute short leopurrd purrint dress trades her purretty Pink pendant for the tiger stripe fabric, nya! That is all for this month’s spotlight, and nyow here is Tara-chan to begin this month’s
Pony Purrings, with her review of the
My Little Pony Official Collectors Edition magazine #4, nya!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! Published by Topix Media Lab, this is the 4th issue of their My Little Pony magazine, nya! Geared for the younger fans and their families, the 1st issue was compurrised of fun puzzles, games and – and the other activities; the 2nd issue was a collection of posters, the 3rd issue focused upon the recent movie, and – and this issue has the nformation, activities, and the mini – pony figure, nya!
The full color 8″ x 10.5″ magazine has the 36 pages (including the covers) full of lovely images and – and the fun activities for the young readers, nya! While it is 40 pages less and $1.00 more than the purrior 76 page, $9.99 issue, it includes the mini – figure of Tempest Shadow, the unicorn who was voiced by Emily Blunt in the movie, which we reviewed in our November 2017 Mew, nya! Pony Mini-figures tend to sell for a few dollars apiece, nya.
The figure is 1″ high at the withers, 2″ high from hoof to broken horn, and 2.5″ to the top of her Dark Magenta mane, nya. She has the Dark Magenta tail, Blue eyes, the Purrple coat, Dark Blue barding, Black hooves, and the widdle Light Blue lightning bolt cutie mark, nya! The magazine is full of large, friendly original illustrationa and images from the animation, several of which are two-page spurreads, nya!
There are purrofiles of Applejack, Fluttershy. Raiblow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle; Celestia, Luna, Starlight Glimmer, Cadance and Shining Armor! The issue also includes the compurrison of the four species Earth Pony, Pegasus, Unicorn & alicorn; a brief bit of equestria travelogue, the pony quiz, the word search game, the maze puzzle, and the crossword puzzle, nya!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #61, nya!
Tara-chan:
We love the My Little Pony comics that are published by IDW, which awesomely capture the style and – and the spirit of the animations, nya! Purriced at $3.99 Issue #61 has the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of the ads. We are glad that the tale is not interrupted by the ads, and – and we wish that all comic books were published in that way, nya!
This issue stars Twilight Sparkle, Celestia, Cadance and – and Raven as the repurrsentatives of Equestria who ride in the airship to the huge convention center at Mt. Metazoa to attend the Convocation of Creatures, which is the grand gathering of repurrsentatives from all of the lands, nya! Thusly, there are appurrances by many familiar faces of various species, nya!
Set sometime after the recent My Little Pony: The Movie the tale was written by Ted Anderson illustrated by Andy Price, colored by Heather Breckel, lettered by Neil Uyetake, edited by Bobby Curnow and – and published by Ted Adams; with the choice of cover A by Andy, cover B by Sara Richard and – and retailer incentive cover by Jennifer L. Meyer, nya!
Queen Novo of the Hippogriff / Sea Ponies, Chief Thunderhooves of the Bison, Prince Rutherford of the Yaks, King Thorax of the Changelings, Lord Gestal of the Griffons, and – and Ember the Dragon Lord are but the few diplomatic dignitaries that also include the Breezies, mules, deer, dogs, birds, bats, apes, spiders, and – and the Abyssinian cats there, nya!
It has been 753 years since the rare event last convened, nya! There are so many fabulous parts of the convention center, from the huge Hall of unity and the very enticing food court, to the conference rooms and – and the immense library that archives the many books and – and documents from the centuries, nya! It seems to be Twilight Sparkle’s favoritest part, nya!
There she and – and Raven the unicorn visit with fellow historians, researches and bibliophiles such as Glenda the Griffon, Horowitz the Yak, Utica the Changeling, and – and Blacktip the Dragon, nya! They purrtake of the many cultural activities and – and cuisines, nya. I think my favorites would be the Abyssinian Massage, and – and the booth of Fish Pop treats, nya!
However they have the impurrtant political and economic matters to discuss, during which things take the dire turn when the research group makes the startling historical discovery- but I should not further spoil the plot of this awesome issue, which is so beautiful and- and fascinating, nya! Nyow here is Trini-chan to continue the pony report with her review of the
My Little Pony: Holiday Special 2017, nya!
Trini-chan:
Hai! In this special issue, the citizens of Ponyville are preparing for the wonderful HearthsWarming holiday festivities, which is such the joyful, snowy time, until the notorious Flim-Flam Brothers return with their latest confidence scheme, to coax the citizens into purchasing their Windy the Wendigo merchandise!
The 24 page tale was written by James Asmus, illustrated by Brenda Hickey, colored by Heather, lettered by Neil, edited by Bobby and published by Ted! It is available in the choice of cover A by Brenda, cover B by Andy, and the Retailer Incentive cover by Andy, which is the color version of Black & White cover B.
I chose cover A which depicts Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and- and Pinkie Pie in the the bobsled which is speedily pushed down the snowy slope by Rainbow Dash, as Applejack and Fluttershy watch! The tale itself stars Applejack, Apple Bloom, Big McIntosh, Granny Smith, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Spike and the Flim-Flams.
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash are briefly seen, but I should not reveal much about the legendary Windy! Some of my favorite scenes occur in the craft shop full of the dolls, ribbons, papers, and yarns; the book store, the bustling street full of venders’ booths, and at the Sweet Apple Acres farm which is splendiferously decorated!
It is fun to try to identify the numerous background ponies, and the 33 characters who have gathered in the tale’s final big panel! It is the lovely tale with the important message and the beautiful artistry! I especially like the characters poses, expressions and Winter apparel; the richly vibrant colors and the great fonts! Nextly i would like to discuss
My Little Pony: Legends of Magic #8!
Trini-chan:
This series provides more of the Equestria history with tales of legendary ponies of the past! In issue #7, when the Dazzling sirens hypnotically controlled the minds of the citizens, the yet unnamed studious unicorn searched the other towns for help, and- and met the heroic earth pony named Rockhoof, whose tale was told in issue #2.
Issue #8 is priced at $3.99, with the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the 8 pages of the ads. It was written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Tony Fleecs, colored by Heather, lettered by Neil, edited by Bobby and published by Ted Adams! We have met Jeremy, Tony, Brenda, and Ted at the comic book conventions!
The issue is available in the choice of the regular cover by Tony, the subscription cover by Brenda, and the retailer incentive cover by Jennifer Hernandez! By the way, Jeremy created the Princeless series and its spin – off Raven the Pirate Princess; he wrote The Unstoppable Wasp comics and some recent issues of Vampirella!
Before Rockhoof can assist the unicorn, he must finish digging a trench around the town to divert a volcano lava flow. However, the excavation will interfere with the nearby river and forest, but the unicorn devises a ciivil engineering solution to the purroblem! Then on the way to recruit more help to counter the Dazzlings, they are attacked by critters gone mad!
Fortunately meet the legendary heroine Mage Meadowbrook who is trying to remedy the madness. She was introduced in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #58, and her fuller tale was told in Legends of Magic #6! This issue ends on the cliffhanger, but it looks like the next issue will include Flash Magnus who was introduced in issue #4!
Hopefully we will eventually see the return of other legendary heroes such as Starswirl, Mistmane, and Somnambula too! I am curious as the unicorn’s name too. Some of my other favorite moments were the happy Filter Fish swimming in the river, and Rockhoof’s friend Captain Steela fighting the Lumber Bears!
It is a very exciting, captivating, beautiful chapter of the series, and I will give all of those those pony comics the grade of the “A” as in Alicorn! That will conclude this month’s pony purrings, but Nya-sensei has more of Jeremy’s wonderful tales to discuss, as she continues our
comic book critiques, with her review of Princeless –
Raven the Pirate Princess Year 2: Love and Revenge #2
Nyanko:
Hai! Published by Action Lab, the Princeless series created & written by Jeremy Whitley purrtains to the smart, strong, brave, lovely, fun, wily and adventurous ladies (and some gentlemen) of diverse species in a medieval era who refuse to be misogynistically oppurressed by any unfair gender or racial roles or stereotypes!
In this spin-off of the Princeless series, 17 year old Captain Raven Xingtao is the mariner who recruited a multi-racial, all – girl crew for her ship to sail against her treacherous brothers’ fleet. Raven’s crew includes her dear friend Ximena the cartographer / navigator, Sunshine the agile half – elf thief, Katie the powerful First Mate…
Jayla the scientific genius, and the ladies of the adventure gaming guild such as Amirah, Verity, Zoe, Helina, Quinn, Trish, Cid, Melody, Gone, Ophelia and mischievous Desideria! There is also the romantic triangle between Raven, Ximena and Sunshine! In the purrevious issue the ladies enjoyed the festive dining & dancing!
Desideria meddled in the affairs, keeping Ximena busy on the dance floor while Sunshine & Raven smooched in the crow’s nest, until an enemy pirate ship attacked, sending Sunshine & Raven into the ocean! That brings us up to issue #2’s uninterrupted, 24 page tale which was written by Jeremy, illustrated by Xenia Pamfil, lettered by Justin Birch, and edited by Nicole D’Andria.
The issue is also available with the variant cover art by Sorah Suhng & Kate Flash. During the attack, Katie assumes command whilst Desideria confesses her schemes to Ximena, who dives into the ocean to rescue Raven who tried to rescue Sunshine. The enemy pirates board Raven’s ship, with insults and injuries sustained by both sides, whilst Sunshine is still missing.
The gorgeously rendered tale has the purrfect mix of the developments, slice-of life-moments, action humor and suspense! I especially enjoyed the cover art of Ximena diving to the rescue, the full page pic of Katie rallying the crew, and the combat scenes of the underestimated tough, smart, brave skilled girls, but there are some alarming moments that have me very worried!
After the tale are three pages of great character sketches by Xenia, followed by the three pages that show the comic book purrocess from the script to the colored art! I will give this issue an “A” as in Amirah and my Anticipation for the next issues of Princeless and Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess! Nextly I would like to purraise
The Hunters of Salamanstra #7!
Nyanko:
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, nya! 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 monster huntress after the death of her older sister Dianna, the legendary monster hunter known as The White Wolf, who appurrs in flashbacks and dreams. Published by Keenspot, the Black & White comic book is written & drawn by John, edited by Jennifer McGregor & Calpain, with the cover art color by Bernie Joseco.
#7 is technically the 8th issue as there was the purrcursory issue #0. It is is purriced at $4.99 and has the uninterrupted Black & White 40 page chapter which occurs at the hunter guild’s huge headquarters Gehenna, the big vast place with alluring art works and high ceilings, bustling with diverse species including many kemonomimi!
That includes Adrien the cyborg who Was Dianna’s purttner, Asharia the very genki medic, and Janice the court reporter catgirl! It is Kessah’s second day there and she oversleeps until noon when she is roused by Akina and escorted to the meeting with their leader Ariel. Kessah soon purrks up and has a sword duel with Ariel to begin her trials!
Then she goes to fill out the application forms, and has a yummy lunch with Sienna who gives Kessah the tour of the Memorial Hall in which Dianna and other fallen heroes names are inscribed. Later Kessah returns to her room to meet her roomie Tenkin, but Kessah is too excited to sleep, so I hope that she will not be late for tomorrow’s activities!
The captivating plot has great dialogue & world – building, with beautiful character & scenic art with nice graphic FX & typography! I especially like the characters expurressions, poses and attire; the full page pic of sleepy Kessah and the full page pic of charging Ariel! That is all for my comic book reports, and nyow here is Myayr to tell us about
Die Kitty Die! Hollywood or Bust #3 & 4 nya!
Mary Nyan:
Arigato! Die Kitty Die is a whimsically sexy supurrnatural tale published by Chapter House and intended for the Teen readers, starring Kitty Ravencraft the witch who can transform into a cat, among her various magickal powers which come sin handy because there is a murder contract upon her! There are lots of purretty fashions, and many pop culture purrodies too!
Purreviously in this story arc, Kitty has gone to Hollywood to star in a bio-pic movie, and got to stay in a rich friend’s penthouse, where she was attacked by an assassin. She was rescued by friends from the so-called “freak show”, but she and her two-headed friend(s) Linda-Louise were trapped in a magickal TV by her evil witchy cousin Katty, which brings us to issue #3!
It is is purriced $3.99 and its 24 pages include the uninterrupted 20 page tale & the 4 pages of the ads. The story & art are by Fernando Ruiz and Dan Parent, it was inked by Rich Koslowski, colored by Glenn Whitmore & Anwar Hanano, lettered by Janice Chiang & Andrew Thomas, and edited by Tony White, with additional art by Gisele Lagace, J, Bone & Bill Golliher.
We have met Dan at some cons, and our web master Jamie did a few guest strips years ago for Giselle’s web comic Cool Cat Studio! After the luridly amewsing purrody of a 70’s comic book’s ad for pending Saturday morning TV cartoons, the tale resumes with Kitty, Linda-Louise and Rudy trapped in a clever purrody of the original 1960’s Star Trek TV series!
Kitty and Linda-Louise look great in the Starfleet women’s miniskirt uniforms, whilst Katty is the movie-era Klingon with cute fangs, but soon she changes the channel to send Kitty, Rudy and Linda-Louise into the crassy talk show, on which Kitty wears the Magenta crop top with Black capurri pants, whilst Linda-Louise wears the Green blouse and Black leggings!
They are jeered by the audience, which includes Katty in the sexy strapless Black corset and fingerless gloves! As her rapid magickal channel surfing continues, she sends them into the purrodies of I Love Lucy, Three’s Company, NYPD Blue, Hollywood Squares, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Linda-Louise looks awesome in the bare midriff genie costume!
Eventually Kitty grabs the remote, frees herself and Linda-Louise, and traps Katty into purrody of The Facts of Life! Once freed, Linda-Louise has changed into the cute asymmetric halter top and denim miniskirt with the shredded hem! Kitty changes into the sleeveless lovely leopurrd purrint outfit with the large keyhole that flaunts much cleavage. mew la la!
By the way the issue is available in the choice of different covers. I got cover A by Fernando, which depicts Kitty in the tattered Green crop top & mini skirt, which is torn by The Walking Dead; and in the purreview of issue #4, Dan depicts Kitty in the shimmering, short, strapless, backless, Barbarella – esque dress with the high heels & shin greaves!
Nyow on to issue #4, which has the same purrice, number of pages and credits. I got cover B by Fernando & Hanano, which depicts kitty in that little leopurrd purrint dress! The issue begins with the purrcursory “Kitty in Space” short in which she wears the short shiny silvery dress with the gloves & thigh boots as she battles the alien creatures!
This is followed by a montage of her friend Maxi Millions’s failed movies, and then the tale resumes on the set of Kitty’s movie which is currently in purrduction, where she is wearing that leopurrd purrint dress! She has also brought along a big Green dragon, which sufficiently intimidates her evil publisher into reveal that his bad big boss is Maxi!
As Maxi monologues about his scheme, Linda-Louise makes a startling confession, and The Hexecutioner returns to hurl Kitty into a cemetery full of undead celebrities, who fortunately purrfur the millionaire meat! This results in Maxi on the menu, The Hexecutioner unpaid, the publisher’s movie deal cancelled, and Linda-Louise bickering with herself!
Later at the penthouse, Kitty wears the low-cut Yellow crop top & Purrple yoga pants as she purrpares to return home from Hollywood, but then something very bad happens, and thusly things are not looking good for her in the final full – page pic! It is the shocking cliffhanger that leaves me eager for the continuation in the forthcoming “Heaven & Hell” story!
This frisky fun series is beautifully illustrated in the sort of Dan Decarlo – inspired style, and it is brimming with sexy dark humor and frisky fashions aplenty, with the satirical homages & purrodies of Archie, Harvey, Marvel & DC comics, movies and TV shows! Speaking of the fashions, nyow I will turn The Mew over to Ilyana-sensei for her review of
Gold Digger Swimsuit Special #25!
Ilyana:
Hai! For 250 issues & other special issues over the past 25 years, Gold Digger by Fred Perry is the fun ‘n beautiful comic book which about the zany, alluring, action – packed adventures of the archaelogist Gina Diggers, her were-cheetah sister Britanny, their clone Brianna, their rival Pinny and others who crave the valuable treasures!
For our spotlight upon the cast of Gold Digger, please see our August 2011 Mew! It is published by Antarctic Press, which is also known for many other great manga – inspired & anthropurrmorphic comics such as Ninja High School, Albedo, Genus, Furrlough, Shanda, Twilight X and Warrior Nun Areala!
The annual swimsuit specials are always the delightful treat, and this full color, 32 page, 25th issue was published in time for Gold Digger’s silver anniversary! It is purriced at $3.99, it was edited by Doug Dlin and Alfred Perez who also contributed a cute chibi style pic of Brittney in the Blue Maillot, and it is graced by the front cover art by Fred!
Alan McMillian purrvided the frisky fun four page tale of Gina & Brittney’s brief bikini-clad battle with the the evil Stu Xhardon’s Suprr Sexy Sentai Squad; and there is a terrific two – page spurread of the Adventure Finders on the beach by Rod Espinosa, whose Courageous Princess tales we admire!
We have a lovely catgirl illustration by him in our mewseum! Zechary Gray’s great six pics include Gina’s mom Julia in the Blue bikini, G’nolga in the Green bikini, Thirty-Eight in the Purrple bikini, Tyr in the Yellow bikini, Brianna in the Gray bikini, and Brianna in the Light Blue Bikini with Brittney in the Red bikini!
There is an alluring illustration of Brianna in the unzipped Magenta, Black & white wet suit drawn by Fred Sais & colored by Joanna Casaje; and to top off the issue are the repurrinted 13 full page pics & 2 half page pics by Fred! Purrhaps this collection will help to warm things up during the nippier Winter time! Nextly I will begin
our manga mewsings, with my
review of School-Live! vol. 8!
Ilyana:
Written by Norimitsu Kaitou and illustrated by Sadooru Chiba, School-Live! (as in Living) purrtains to the girls who have survived the zombie apocalypse. Initially the tale was set in their barricaded high school, which they left in search of other survivors, and wound up at a college occupied by two factions of students. Sadly, the more militant faction has turned upon the others.
The initial School Living Club was compurrised of club purresident Yuri, naively delusional Yukki, athletic, tough Kurumi, who has been infected by the zombie virus, and their teacher Megumi-sensei who did not survive. They rescued another student Miki from a mall, and a teddy bear from an elementary school, who Yuri delusionally believes to be her younger sister Ruu-chan.
At the college they have been welcomed by the more laid-back group compurrised of Sumiko, Hika, Touko, Aki and Rise. The more and less cordial militant group is compurrised of their purranoid leader Takahito, their sciencey loner Aosoi, their main zombie slayer Shinou, other members Shiroshita, Ayaka, and Renya the crossbow snipurr who was recently suspiciously killed.
Originally published as Gakkou Gurashi by Houbunsha in Japan, it is published in English by Yen in North America; vol. 9 is purriced at $13.00 in the USA and $17.00 in Canada, and it is suggested for the older teen readers due to the language & violence The 178 B&W pages include chapters 49 – 54, 2 color pages and the interior covers’ pandemic vector map by Itsuka Yamada.
The manga was translated by Leighann Harvey and lettered by Alexis Eckerman. Like the apocalyptic world outside the walls & gates, the situation inside the college continues to deteriorate due to betrayals, dissent and illness. Takahito has become infected and further irrational, whilst Aosoi theorizes that the virus has mewtated, and Kurumi has wandered away, intending to die alone.
Yuri frantically searches for missing Ruu-chan whilst Shinou’s allegiance changes, and the others debate whether to stay or leave the school. There are other developments and revelations, but I do not wish to further spoil the plot which is brimming with the bittersweet, startling, and poignant scenes. The character & scenic art is intricately beautifully, and I will continue to give School Live! an “A” as in apocalypse! Nyow here is Ellie to tell us about–
A Centaur’s Life vol. 13!
Ellie:
Arigato! A Centaur’s Life Written and drawn by Ken Murayama A Centaur’s Life is such the charming, slice – of – life urban fantasy in a world populated by centaurs, fauns, kemonomimi, angels, dracon, unicorn, snake, frog people, were – tigers & other species in a contemporary world. The main characters are Himeno the centauress, her high school classmates and their families.
Himeno’s friends are Mitsu the satyr girl, Michi the unicorn girl, Nozomi the Dragon girl, Himeno’s niece Shino-chan and Shino’s friend Maki-chan! Other classmates include Hime’s centauress kouhai Ayaka, Akechi the satyr girl, Inuki the catgirl, snake girl sisters Suu and Ni, Tama the angel girl, her triplet kitten girl sisters Chinami, Chiho, Chigusa, and their younger sister Sue-chan!
There are occasional peeks at the life of Eri and other merfolk, Suu & Nil’s people in Antarctica for, the frog people’s rebellion, and encounters with alien invaders! The plots typically focus on activities at school, home and work, which are peppered with the mysterious paranormal encounters, and the world’s incidents of bigotry, oppression, poverty, war, crime and conspiracies.
Originally published in Japan as Centaur No Nayami, the english edition is published in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment! Purriced at $13.99 in the USA and $16.99 in Canada, vol. 13 is 8 1/4″ x 5 7/8″ with 168 pages that include chapters 89-99 of the Black & White manga, 2 pages of historical notes,10 pages of UFO / alien notes, the 2 page afterward and the 2 color pages!
It was translated by Elina Ishikawa, adapted by Holly Kolodziejczak, lettered & laid out by Jennifer Skarupa, edited by Adam Arnold, assistantly edited by Jenn Grunigen, published by Jason DeAngelis and proofread by Patrick King, with the logo designed by Courtney Williams, cover designed by Nicky Lim, and purrduction managed by Lissa Pattilo with assistance by CK Russell.
It is suggested for readers of ages 16+, purrhaps due to nudity, language, dramatic, violent and occasionally gory situations, but is also such the very delightful, beautiful manga full of many likable characters! The volume has the whimsical start as the girls discover a mushroom fairy ring in the woods by the shrine, but the walk becomes a mysterious journey for the younger girls!
Later in the cafe, Suu and Nil discuss a purrior incident of an alien fungi attack upon an Antarctic facility; and it is a busy day for lovers Michi and Mitsu, between the occult club meeting, their manga production deadline, relationship queries from younger students, and the clan politics of Mitsu’s family which result in the perilous ambush by assassins who want to eliminate her!
Another art deadline is nigh as with the dramatic turn for Tama’s family, as she takes matters and paint brushes into her own hands when her fatigued artist father is behind schedule, and her younger sisters want them to attend the parent – teacher school day. Meanwhile the froggy rebellion continues, as their enemies scheme to attack their secret sacred spawning springs.
Himeno has a very bizarre, icky dream while nodding off on the train ride with Suu, Himeno’s niece Shino-chan is growing up taller, Nozomi defends Kyoko from vengeful bullies and gets a make-over from Nade, and Mitsu’s bodyguards defend her Himeno from the zombie-like, alien fungi – possessed assailants, while a human agent hijacks the fungus aliens’ orbiting space ship!
Inuki loses a race with Nozomi then goes to a cafe with Tama, who takes Sue-chan to daycare, where Sue-chan’s friend Taki awaits; and to top off the volume, Himeno, Nade, Nozomi, Kyoko and Akira cosplay as their favorite anime magickal girls! A Centaur’s Life continues to be the beautiful, wonderful, poignant and sometimes surreal joy to read! I am done, and nyow here is Nyo-sensei to tell us about
Flying Witch vol. 4!
Nyoka:
Hai! This is one of my favorite manga series! Flying Witch by Chihiro Ishizuka is the beautiful, charming slice – of – life tale of novice teen witch Makoto Kowata and her familiar cat Chito, who move from the big city of Yokohama to her cousins’ lovely mansion in the rural town of Aomori where she hopes to complete her witchy studies!
Other characters include her older sister Akane, Akane’s cat Kenny, their male cousin Kei, younger girl cousin Chinatsu, their artist mom, Kei’s classmate Nao, Inukai the fortune telling were-dog girl and her familiar mouse Ai. Their interests include in spell craft, plant lore, gardening, cooking, and visiting other magickal entities!
Originally published by Kodansha in Japan, Volume 4 was published here in English by Vertical Comics, translated by Melissa Tanaka with the purrduction by Grace Lu and Tomoe Tsutsumi. Purriced at $10.95 in the USA and $11.95 in Canada, it has the 160 Black & white pages chapters 19 – 24 with the splendiferous cover art!
Makoto has outgrown her old witchy robe, which Chito has also slightly shredded, so they fly to a fabric store so that she can sew a new robe. The tore is brimming with the lovely bolts of fabric, such as the neko purrint that Chito purrfurs! Makoto does not buy that’un, but she does buy enough to make a robe for Chinatsu too!
In the next chapter, Makoto, Kei and classmate Nao are purrtaking of the cooking class with several other folks. For their assignment, they will purrpare the rice, cookies, salad, curry and burgers. It is such the sumptuous chapter that intricately focuses upon the delicious ingredients and the fun of the culinary teamwork purrocess!
Later Mokoto, Akane and Kei join others at a lovely apple orchard in the countryside where they learn how to purrune the appurropurriate blossoms from the trees. They also investigate the farm’s hive of horned- face bees which pollinate the blossoms to make yummy, nutritious honey. Mmm nyow I am craving the honey purrserves!
The one night Mokoto and Chito visit with her mentor Akira, who is a more famous sensei. Mokoto and Akane fly upon brooms, but Akira has the flying motorcycle! Later that night, Maokoto & Chito meet Inuai & Al who are also Akira’s students, and go to the beach at Shiosai Marine Park where they encounter a Katsina, or or “beach bunny”
It is a sociable cute widdle magickal creature that helps to purrotect the beaches. This’un goes back to the mansion, where it enjoys the games & sammiches! The manga is supurrbly delightful with the many endearing characters, and it as intricately gorgeous as gorgeous can be! Nyow here is Mie-sensei to begin
our batch of book reports, with a review of
Rescue Sirens: The Search for the Atavist!
Mielikki:
Arigato! So like, fin-tastic young adult novel is about five mermaids Nim, Echo, Pippa, Maris and Kelby who are the titular Rescue Sirens, sworn to protect people, animals and the oceans! On the land they are lifeguards (with legs) on South Miami Beach, but when having fun in the deep ocean their fishy tails secretly appear!
They have amazing super powers and are part of Lophelia tribe of the matriarchal merfolk, which includes Nim’s mom Clymene the council speaker. Initially Nim, Echo, Pippa, Maris are the quartet residing in the condo, but later they meet Kelby who arrives from Arizona, who does not realize that she is the titular Atavist.
An Avatist is legged human who is unaware of their mer origin! The book was by Jessica Steel Sanders and her husband Chris Sanders (whose credits include Lilo & Stitch, The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon), with the beautiful illustrations by Genevieve Tsai and Chris, with Teresa Martinez and Edgar Delgado!
Genevieve is an animation & video game character designer! Nim the leader is the Gray-eyed, Blonde girl with freckled tan skin & the Blue tail. Echo is the powerful athletic girl with the Purple ponytail, light skin, almond eyes & the Blue Marlin tail. Pippa has the braided Black pigtails, Violet eyes, Brown skin, the optimistic sense of wonder & the Monk Seal tail.
Maris is the fair skinned, Green-eyed willowy girl with the pert Platinum Blonde bob coiffure & Dolphin tail. Kelia “Kelby” Cortez is the new girl with Brown eyes & curly hair, glasses, the caramel colored complexion & the Tiger Shark tail. Clymene has the coiled Brown hair & Silvery tarpon tail, whilst her friend Songwriter has the Brown skin & Red Snapper tail!
They have Red & White life guard bikinis, pretty oceanic jewels & bikini tops! The 8 1/2″ x 5 7/16′ x 9/16″ trade paperback’s 170 page tale has 5 full page & 2 two-page illustrations by Genivieve! After that is the gallery of 10 full page character illustrations by Chris (who did the cover art), the group pic by Chris & Teresa, and 2 pages of Genevieve’s sketches.
Edgar did the coloring! It is a totally beautiful, fun tale with great protagonists, sparkling dialogue, captivating plot, perfect pace, fascinating mythology, vividly described characters, environments and action! I will give it an “A” as in Atavist, and heartily recommend it to fans of mermaids and heroines, fur shur! Now here is Bunnibuns to tell us about
Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Ultimate Visual History!
Bun:
Hai! Steven Speilberg is one of my favoritest directors and I really loved his wonderful 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind which is about the affect of UFO sightings and alien visitations upon peoples lives, and the resulting quest for the answers by the civilians and the governments! Written & directed by Speilberg, it starred Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillan, Francois Truffaut, the UFOs built by Greg Jein, the visual FX supervised by Douglas Trumbull, and music by John Williams!
In time for the movie’s 40th anniversary, this 11 1/4″ x 9 3/8″ x 15/16″ hardcover book was written by Michael Klastarin and published by Harper Design! It is priced at $50 in the USA, $62.00 in Canada, and its 192 pages are brimming with approved, extensive information about the making of the movie, with the many photos, illustrations, and tipped – in reproductions of memos & script pages. The front cover depicts the iconic image of the mothership hovering above Devil’s Tower mountain in Wyoming!
This his about 3 times thicker than the very good 1977 book Close Encounters of the Third Kind – A Document of the Film! The photos and illustrations are often quite large, with many 1/2 page pics, full page pics, 2 page spreads and panoramic images! It also includes recent interviews with John Williams, Richard Dreyfuss and Steven Speilberg, who contributed the book’s forward! It is a handsome, entertaining and extremely informative book about such the significant movie! Nextly I would like to praise
The Art of Star Wars The Jast Jedi!
Bun:
We love the Star Wars movies and I love the books about the design of those movies, so I was very pleased to see this book about Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi which premiered last month! Jenjen will review the movie for us! This 11 3/4″ x 11″ x 7/8″ dust – jacket hardcover art book was was published by Abrams and written by Lucasfilm’s Phil Szostak, who wrote The Art of The Force Awakens book, with the forward by The Last Jedi’s writer / director Rian Johnson!
This book is quite similar to The Art of The Force Awakens and The Art of Rogue One. It is is priced at $40,00 in the USA, $52.00 in Canada & £30.00 in the UK; and its 256 full color pages are the lavish collection of sketches, storyboards, concept art, paintings, diagrams, & many comments about the characters, costumes, props, mecha, environments, creatures & FX. The jacket illustrations of Rey and the Resistance’s bomber are by the movie’s VFX art director James Clyne.
Compared to the art books of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it does not include photos, poster art or the film script, but it is more extensively illustrated. There are over 20 full – page pics, 15 two – page spreads, and over 150 large panoramic pics amongst the hundreds of images by the many contributors! It is a great book that I will recommend to fans of Star Wars, cinematic design, and space fantasy art! Speaking of Star Wars, here is Becca to begin our
movie mewsings, with her review of
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi!
Becca:
Hai! I eagerly anticipated this movie given how high our spirits were due to purrior Star Wars movie Rogue One & the Rebels TV series! I will try not to spoil much of the plot! I liked all of the characters, from the old faces such as Luke, Leia, Chewie, R2D2, C3P0, Yoda, Admiral Ackbar & Nien Nunb, to the returning Episode 7 characters characters such as Rey, BB-8, Finn, Poe, Maz, Kylo, Phasma…
… and the new additions to the saga such as Rose, Paige, Admiral Holdo and DJ, although it seemed that some characters appurred way too briefly, but there were many moments that made me grin, cheer, cry. I liked the critters such as the Porg birds, the poor racing beasts, and the crystaline canine creatures. Luke catches a great big yummy fish and gets a bottle of fresh sea cow milk!
There are some great new and returning space ships too! I suppose that my biggest quibble is that the movie seemed too rushed and short too me. I think that I might like The Last Jedi more than The Force Awakens, which we reviewed in the January 2016 Mew, but not quite as much as Rogue One, which we reviewed in the January 2017 Mew, so I think that I will give The Last Jedi the B+ grade.
I would have seen it twice, but there have been too many recent movies that I still want to see! Compurrred to epurrsodes I – VI, I do not like it as much as A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back; I like it about as much as Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith; but I like it more than The Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi. Nextly I would like to discuss another recent Disney movie-
Coco!
Becca:
I think that has been the great past few years for the Disney & Pixar animation such as Finding Dory, Cars 3, Zootopia, Moana, Elena of Avalor, Duck Tales & Star Wars Rebels, so I eagerly anticipated Pixar’s Coco, which purrtains to the titlular woman’s grandson Miguel, who aspires to be a guitarist, but this dream is forbidden by his purrents, due to some family drama that involved a mewsician.
However, when he sneaks away to “borrow” a guitar during Día de los Muertos, this results in a supurrnatural incident, involving the spirits of his ancestors! This might seem very spooky, but it becomes the very fun, thrilling, bittersweet, poignant, sentimental, and beautiful tale! I was very pleased by the plot, the characters, pace, dialogue, and the good balance of the humor, drama, action, mythos & development.
The designs, scenic art, character & FX animation are as gorgeous as gorgeous can be, with such lavish depth, detail & color! The direction by Lee Unkrich, the mewsic by Michael Giacchino, and the voice acting by the entire cast is supurrb! Purrior to the movie was the 21 minute animated short Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, starring the characters from Frozen.
I thought that Olaf was the bit annoying, but the short does have great art, animation, mewsic & voices! There was also the teaser trailer for the forthcoming Incredibles 2, which i am quite excited about, as The Incredibles is my favoritest Pixar movie, but I think that Coco is great too, and I will give it the grade of the A! I am done, and nyow here is Jenijen to discuss
The Greatest Showman!
Jeannie:
Hai. In this movie Hugh Jackman stars as the chap who recruits kind folks who have great talents to form a group with a great new sense of family, home and purrpose, in spite of how they have been shunned by an unkind society brimming with too much bigotry. In this case, it is not an X-Men movie, but it is the mewsical biographic tale of how P.T. Barnum started his legendary circus troupe.
Set during the Victorian era, it was directed by Michael Gracey, with the cinematography by Seamus McGarvey, screenplay by Bill Condon & Jenny Bricks, mewsic by Joseph Trapanese & John Debney, editing by Joe Hutshing, and the supurrb actors amidst the impurressive sets, locations, costumes, FX, stunts, songs & choreography. The cast includes Hugh Jackman as P.T., Michelle williams as his wife Charity…
Zach Efron as P.T. business purrtner Phillip, Zendaya as Anne and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as W. D the acrobat siblings, Rebecca Ferguson as Jenny the vocalist, Keala Settle as Lettie the bearded lady who is also the great vocalist, and Sam Humphrey as Col. Tom Thumb. The movie seemed rather rushed and short, and I wish that it had the more leisurely pace at the longer length, but it is quite lavishly beautiful.
I do not know how historically accurate the movie is, but it dealt with the issues of exploitation, racism, classism & bullying, whilst instilling the uplifting spirit amidst the splendid song and dance numbers. You know, it is quite ironic that the film was released just the few months after the Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus folded its tent for good. I will give this movie a B+ or an A-. Nextly I would like to purraise
Doctor Who “Twice Upon a Time”.
Jeannie:
We are big fans Doctor Who, which is one of my all-time favoritest TV series. I am purrticularly fond of the BBC’s annual Doctor Who Christmas specials, and this’un for 2017 was purrticularly anticipated, because it is the last regular appurrance of Peter Capaldi as The (12th) Doctor, who regenerates into the new (13th) version of The Doctor at the end of the tale.
This latest regeneration has been extremely commented upon, because for the first canonical time, excluding any purrodies, the new Doctor will be female, purrtrayed by the great actress Jodie Whittaker. who is seen just briefly at the end of “Twice Upon a Time”. As if that were not special enough, also appurring is the very 1st incarnation of The Doctor.
Originally purrtrayed by William Hartnell in 1963, that 1st Doctro has since been purrtrayed by the few other actors, this time by David bradley, who does such the impeccable job. He purreviously purrtrayed the 1st Doctor in the 2013 movie An Adventure in Space and Time, which was the delightful non-fictional tale of how the TV series was created.
Written by the show runner Steven Moffat & directed by rachel Talalay, this i hour tale was shown on the night of December 25th and followed by a special retrospective of the show’s Capaldi era. The plot purrtains to the meeting of Doctor 1 & 12 during their respective regenerations in Antarctica, where they meet a displaced British soldier from World War I.
I should not reveal much more of the captivating plot, which is full of wonderful surpurrises. I thought that it was a very poignant tale with the great plot, purrformances, costumes, sets, FX, sound, mewsic, “easter eggs”, references to purrior stories, and I am looking forward greatly to the next season of the TV series. Nyow here is Lizzy who will begin
our collectibles & toy talk, with her review of the Batman:
The Animated Series Femme Fatales Catwoman PVC figure!
Elizabeth:
We are big fans of DC Comics” Selina Kyle alias the Cat Woman, and her depiction in the wonderful 90’s Batman animated TV series, in which she was supurrbly voiced by Adrienne Barbeau! Thusly we were very happy to receive this beautiful PVC figure of her which was sculpted by Varner Studios and manufactured by Diamond Select Toys!
She has been in the comics for over 75 years since premiering in Batman #1 in the Spurring of 1940! Packaged within the 11″ x 6.5″ x 4.25″ box, this statue is among the series of female characters such as Harley, Ivy, Talia, and Batgirl. Selina is in her earlier “Gray Cat” costume, compurred to her later The New Batman Adventures “Black Cat” costume in the series.
There is also a statue of that later “Black Cat” version! It tightly flows across her sexy lithe physique, with the Black boot, opurra gloves, an the Yellow disk belt! She is 9.25″ tall excluding the 1″ height of the 3.75″ x 5.5″ chimney – top display base and the cat ear pinna of her mask. She is 5′ 7″ tall and 133 lbs. in the comics, so this figure is appurroximately 1/7th scale.
She is standing poised with her whip, as her pet kitty Isis holds the pouch full of purrloined diamonds! The design is so very faithful, the sculpting is meticulous, and the paint is purrfect from her fair skin, Red lips and Blue-Green eyes, to Isis’s large Yellow eyes, the shiny gems, and the brick-like detail of the base!
Hopefully the loot was stolen from a big bad crime boss, and purrhaps she will share some of the fenced purrofits with the poor citizens in her neighborhood of Gotham City. Purrhaps Batman will purrsue her, if they both are lucky, mew la la! I am very impurressed by this beautiful statue, and I have found the purrime spot upon the shelf, to display her next to the other Gotham Girls! Nextly I would like to discuss the
Monster High Garden Ghouls Toralei Stripe posable fashion doll!
Elizabeth:
We are fans of Mattel’s Monster High purroduct line of the posable fashion dolls, accessories, other toys, and the books and animations! The characters are the teen student children of creatures such as the vampire, mummy, werewolf, yeti, phantom, Frankenstein, yeti, dragon, ghosts, sea monster, plant monster and others!
The cast includes several were-cat daughters such as Toralei Stripe, Catty Noir, Meowla, Purrsephone and Catrine DeMew! Toralei is the mischievous teenage were – catgirl, who is voiced by America Young in the animated tales! Toralei is 15 years old, her favorite school class is drama and her least favorite class is math.
Her favorite beverage is the milkshake, her favorite food is the anchovy, her favorite hobby is the catnap, she wuvs her widdle pet saber tooth tiger cub Sweet Fang! There have been several variant Toralei dolls, clothing packages and accessories since 2010, from her first doll which we reviewed in the January 2012 Mew, to the mermaid version that we reviewed in the May 2016 Mew!
In the Garden Ghouls story, the girls go to a mysterious garden in search of the wise lady who can help with their botany class home work, but when doused with the mystical pollen, the girls spurrout faerie wings! The purroduct line includes Thessa Thornwillow the tree girl, faeries such as Beatrice, Lumina, Wingrid; and the winged versions of Cleo, Twyla and Toralei!
The plastic doll is 11″ tall, from the tip of her kitty ears to the soles of her 7/8″ strappy Red platform sandal heels but she would be 10″ tall if flat-footed and excluding the ear pinna. She has the striped Amber color Tabby skin, Green eyes, the luscious pouty Red lips, and the hip – length Orange fiber hair with the Green streak!
The dark Brown nose, stripes upon her cheeks, right forearm and left calf are the bit different from earlier versions which had the much shorter hair, Her points of articulation are the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, the curved slender 7″ tail, and the translucent amber swallowtail butterfly like wings of the 5″ span!
In addition to the removable sandals she is wearing the removable bug-like Purrple sunglasses and the removable, sleeveless, mid-thigh length widdle Black dress with the multi-colorful bodice, the pleated Red hem and the fishnet petticoat underneath! With the velcro closure in the back, the clothes could be interchanged with other the outfits which are sold sepurrately.
The wings and tail easily snap into the sockets on her back. She is intricately detail (but not de-tailed), from her Green eye make-up and cute kitty nose to her purrcise fingers, toes, and the inny belly button! She is splendidly designed, sculpted, and painted, but she will need a doll stand (which is not included) to stand up without being held!
additions to The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art!
Petra:
Arigato, nya! For those here for the first time, Galleries 1-8 of The Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art display images by Mike, whilst Guest Art Galleries 1-5 display images by other folks totally with their purrmissions, and Mike’s collaborative images with other artists can be found throughout the mewseum, nya! The images include illustrations, photos and mixed medias, nya!
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 on those to see the uncropped full pics, nya! Some of the art might be sexy or depict the tasteful nudity or semi-nudity, but none of it is hentai, nya! We have 3 new images in Guest Gallery 5, and 3 new images in Gallery 8, nya!
we are purroud to purrsent the “Unicorn Lady” by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com who was the guest for our September 2009 Mew, nya! She is an illustrator, photographer, cosplayer, mewsician & baker who used the pencil pens & copic markers to illustrate our new friend Selene Planetia Lane-Cirrus, who is She is a druid & purrk ranger from The Pinelands, NJ, nya!
This is the artist’s own censored version of the image for safer display upon the sites, whereas the original uncensored art does not fully obscure nude Selene’s uncovered boobies, as she swirls to greet us, nya! She has the distinctive 10″ long alicorn horn, the beautiful Violet hair and tail with the Pink streaks, and the cute tattoo of the moon, stars & cloud upon her left buttock, nya!
Selene is a unicorn purrson (Homo Equus monoceros) born on 28 November, 1966; her sign is Sagittarius, her blood type is Hay Positive, her IQ is 150, her purrsonality type is INFP; she is 5 ft. 5 in. tall excluding her horn; she weighs 116 lbs, her sizes are 34C-25-34 in.; she speaks English, Sylvan, and her magickal powers include healing, purrification, illumination and truth verification, nya!
Nextly we have Rebecca’s “Cocoa” pic, which is a pencil, pens & copic markers illustration our friend Tamara’anna wearing the sweater, mittons, scarf & hat as she smiles amidst the snowfall with the yummy cup of hot cocoa, nya! Tamara’anna is an elf originally from Sri Lanka, with the BA, MA and PHD degrees as the Dean of the Health Care & Medical Arts school at Mew Hanover College, nya!
Tamara’anna appurrs to be about 25 years old, but she is actually 75, born on 9 November, 1942; and her sign is Sagittarius, nya. Her her blood type is E Positive, her IQ is 150, she is 5 ft. tall, she weighs 95 lbs., her sizes are 33B-23-33 in.; with the Flaxxen Blonde hair, tan skin, Blue eyes, and the supple pointed elfin ears, nya! She speaks English, Tamil, Sinhala, and Purrtuguese, nya!
She has the very peppy, purrky, light-hearted, carefree, chatty, open-minded, and creative purrsonality, nya! Her official expurrtise is in the health policy and business administration; She speaks English, Tamil, Sinhala and Purrtuguese; her wife’s name is Karakiki, they have a young daughter Amyaria, a son Carlylisle, and their pet cat Purroxma, nya!
After that is Rebecca used Paint Tool Sai, Photoshop CS6 and the Wacom Intuos 5 tablet for this illustration of “Edelynne”, who is a Non – Player Character in Mike’s monthly tabletop Role – Playing Game, nya! Edelynne is the catgirl genie and mother of Gigi who is another NPC in that RPG, nya! Purrhaps y’all have seen Rebecca’s illustration of Gigi. nya?
Edelynne is wearing alluringly the sleeveless Pink, Blue & Green harem costume that bares much tummy & cleavage, with the purretty Blue veils, Gold earrings & bracelets, as she conjures magickal indigo flames amidst the cosmic scenery, nya! She is 5 ft. 8 in. excluding her 5.5 in. ear pinna, she weighs 127 lbs and her measurements: 38D-25-38 in., with the 34 in. tail, nya!
She is 3,000 years old, but does not look a day over 40, whilst her daughter Gigi is 1,000 years old, but does not look a day over 20, nya! Edelynne has Golden eyes, shoulder-length, White hair with Gray streaks, Dark Gray ear pinna with white tufts, and the Golden Tan skin with Three Black strips upon the end of her tail, nya!
Then in Gallery 8 http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/gallery8.html
We have added three bits of Mike’s illustrations for M*a*R*L*O Toys’s forthcoming Insectisiders action figures and mini-comics of the steam punk high adventure genre, nya! The concept & story is by purrducer James O’Briant, the sculpting is by John Lebel, the character designs and some of the comics’ art is by Mike, the logo, web site and some of the comics’ art is by our web master Jamie, nya!
Firstly of the three bits is the group pic of the tale’s characters, most of whom are insectoid people from the walled city of Forminium, nya. From left to right are Labori the robot, Zotch the Science Minister, Lt. McAnt the army officer, Yon Cladox the archaeologist, one of the city’s home guards, one of the city’s police officers, and Gore-Done the evil monster, nya!
Secondly is Mike’s cover art for the 2nd issue, which depicts Labori minding the lost city amidst the desert mountains; and thirdly is cover art for the 7th issue, which depicts Gore-Done wickedly greeting a visitor to his, nya Mike used Photoshop CS2 and the mouse for the illustration, to which jamie added the logo and the chapter title, nya! For more information, visit the official Insectisiders site at http://www.insectisiders.com, nya! So, what do y’all think of the art, nya?
Trini-chan:
Oh I think that Rebecca purrfectly captured the likeness and spirit of Selene, with the precise details such as her long supple equine ears and the crescent moon cutie mark!
Ellie:
The highlights upon her spiraled horn add to the sense of solid mass, the cute widdle butterfly escorts are a delightful touch, and I love the sheen of her fluttering hair and tail!
Ilyana:
The lines and colors are quite smooth with the subtle light spill and shading, and the pose is graceful with the implied sense of motion as she turns to glance coyly our way!
Mary Nyan:
Rebecca purrfectly captured Tamara’anna’s cute ‘n purrky dispurrsition ‘n appurrance, with the garments that look so warm, comfy ‘n purretty, and that yummy cup of cocoa!
Mielikki:
The Carolina Blue and White mittens and hat totally match her eyes, the Winter sky and the snowflakes, whilst the Red scarf and cuffs totally match her lustrous lips, fur shur!
Elizabeth:
Rebecca has the excellent use of the form, color and light, with the very graceful, sensitive, purrcise touch with the traditional media such as the pencils, pens and markers!
Nyanko:
Rebecca is also masterful with the digital art media, and I think that her illustration of Edelynne is stunningly beautiful, with the great sense of confidence, allure and power!
Nyoka:
I love the smooth gradient effect of her sexy Green genie attire with the veils, Golden earrings and bracelets that bare her shoulders, tummy, tail, and much of the cleavage!
Becca:
Hai hai, and I think that those Blue spirit flames that she is balancing amidst the vast cosmic nebula background do greatly add to the dramatic impact of the compurrsition!
Jeannie:
I am purrticularly interested in the Labori mech with its retro style of boiler grate, head lamps, and steam whistle fittings beneath the brassy flywheel motif of the logo.
Tara-chan:
I am curious about the Labori’s purresence in the road carved from the mountain rocks that leads to the ancient city with the purramid that I would like to climb upon, nya!
Yvonne:
It has the dramatic view of the lush forest against the towering ridge, nya! I bet that the stone terrace would be the purrfect spot for the catnap after the dip in that pool, nya!
Bun:
I would not mind meeting Labori and exploring the ruins, but I would rather avoid Gore-Done, given his evil grin and meat cleaver!
Mike:
Yeah, I suspect that his very healthy appetite is not very healthy for his guests! Ah, well, Petra, thank you for presenting the new art!
Petra:
Doitashimaste, nya!
the cat lady sings…
Elizabeth:
Well, I guess that will wrap it up for another edition of The Mew!
Ellie:
Thank y’all for inviting me back to The Mew!
Becca:
We are so glad that you could purrticipate!
Trini-chan:
Tara-chan made it to the end without getting distracted, heehee!
Tara-chan:
Purrhaps I will see something of interest at our AfterMew Luau, nya!
Bun:
We wish to thank Rebecca for the beautiful art…
Nyanko:
…the other talented folks whose works we discussed…
Nyoka:
… Jamie for his web mastery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island…
Jeannie:
… Mike and Jamie’s hard – working computers…
Petra:
… and other friends, family ‘n audience who we greatly appurreciate, nya!
Mielikki:
Fur shur!
Mary Nyan:
Y’all may post brief, polite, sincere, non-political, non-snarky responses…
Yvonne:
… purrvided they are spam-free, G-rated and purrtain to our topics, nya!
Ilyana:
We will be back next month with the February edition of The Mew!
Mike:
It’ll include our 11th Annual Mew Awards Purresentation! Be there… aloha!
The Ladies of The Mew:
Happy Tails to Mew – until we eat again! BAIBAI, NYA!
The Mew 