Mike Moon / Catgirl Island
and Jamie Robertson / Clan of the Cats
purroudly purrsent a Mike Moon purrduction,
starring The Ladies of The Mew in
The Apurril 2021 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
________________________________________________
in this edition of The Mew:
what we’ve been up to since last month’s Mew
The Lightning Round topics:
our favorite cinema, TV, radio & mewsic of 1981
The monthly Celebrity Catgirl & Kemonmimi Spotlight
TV, DVD & movie mewsings:
BanG Dream! Season 3 Blu-Ray
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Wandavision
Doctor Who Revolution of the Daleks DVD
Doctor Who Fury of the Deep
purrinted media mewsings
Star Trek: Voyager – A Celebration
America Chavez: Made in the USA #1
Marvel Action: Captain Marvel #1
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #95
Flying Witch vol. 9
additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art:
“NyanHiss” by Mike
“Hikari-chan” by Mike
“Tiamat” by Mike
“Hope” by Rebecca Brogden
“Rivkah” by Rebecca Brogden
________________________________________________
Mike:
(the human blogger / artist / industrial designer chap wearing the Doctor Whooves & Muffin shirt, Khaki cargo pants Brooks running shoes) Aloha, and welcome to The Mew, where we discuss and review fun stuff! This month’s Mew comes from the riverwalk in beautiful downtown Purrbank,
where it’s 74 degrees beneath a Blue sky full of puffy Cumulo-Neko clouds!
I’m Mike, the show’s “Purrducer”, and here to put the “purr” in “Apurril” are The Ladies of The Mew!
Mary Nyan:
(the cosplayer / seamstress / shrine volunter / hula dance instructor catgirl wearing the Rarity purrint purretzel – cutout maillot) Aloha!
Petra:
(the beach volleyball co-champ / mewseum co-curator catgirl wearing the Celestia purrint ring-closure Brazilian-style bikini) Aloha, nya!
Bunni:
(the baker / beach volleyball co-champ / mewseum co-curator bunnygirl wearing the Luna purrint side-tie string bikini) Guten tag!
Becca:
(the hot salsa dancer / golfer / cat owner / spa co-owner nekomimi gynoid wearing the
Sweetie Belle purrint monokini)
Nihao!
Elizabeth:
(her spa co-owner / dance purrtner / purrkour team captain catgirl wife wearing the Scootaloo purrint
slingshot
maillot & orchid lei) Hola!
Jeannie:
(the archer / robotoicist / model / yogini / belly dance instructor catgirl wearing the Fluttershy purrint micro bikini & sheer purrled purreo Nihao
Trini-chan:
(the surfer / board shapurr / belly dance instructor / pony ownner kitsune wearing the Pinkie Pie purrint halter neck bikini) Konbanwa!
Yvonne:
(the fishing yacht captain / cat owner / drumming circle catgirl wearing the Applejack purrint bandeau-top tanga style bikini) Namaste, nya!
Tara-chan:
(Yvonne’s younger sister the pony owner / college student / nature photographer catgirl wearing the Apple Bloom purrint tankini) Namaste, nya!
Ellie:
(the fire depurrtment chief / bodybuilder banker pony centauress wearing the Rainbow Dash purrint sports bra) Hay there!
Mielikki:
(the golf instuctor / foxfire juggler / ampurrtheatre director faerie wearing the Twilight Sparkle purrint suspender maillot) Mellow greetings!
Melanakeami:
(the triphibious tour company purropurrietress / airship pilot mermaid wearing the Spike purrint triangular bikini top) Shello!
Mike:
We’ve got a big group and a lot on our plate, so let’s go ahead and jump right into this month’s
Lightning Round topic: our favorite cinema & TV of 1981!
This year we’re looking back at our favorite funs tuff of years ending with a 1. We’ve already discussed 2011, 2001 and 1991, so this month we’re listting our favorite movies & TV shows of 1981! So are y’all ready to “conduct the lightning”?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI! LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA! RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, NYA!
Mike:
Ah, well, yeah that’s my favorite movie of 1981, but what are some others? Lizzy, howboutchoo start us off?
Elizabeth:
Hai! In addition to Raiders, I will nominate Excalibur, Clash of the Titans, and Dragonslayer! (tags her wife with a brush of the tail)
Becca:
I will nominate Quest for Fire, Caveman, and Time Bandits! (tail-tags Bunnii to go next)
Bunnii:
The Sea Prince and the Fire Child, The Fantastic Adventures of Unico, and Adieu Galaxy Express 999! (tags her partner)
Petra:
The Fox and the Hound, Heavy Metal, American Pop, and the Daicon III mewsic video, nya! (tags Tata-chan)
Tara-chan:
I want… I want to nominate The Great Muppet Caper, History of the World Part I, and – and The Cannonball Run, nya! Onee-chan’s turn, nya! tags her sister)
Yvonne:
Stripes. Arthur, Superman II, and The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island, nya! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
That was the good year for the wolf tales, such as An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, and Wolfen! (tags Mielikki)
Mielikki:
Oh of the horror movies I also liked Ghost Story, The Monster Club, Evil Dead, and Dark Night of the Scarecrow, fur shur! (tags Jeannie with a flit of the wing)
Jeannie:
Galaxy of Terror, Outland, Scanners, and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. (tags her purrotege)
Trini-chan:
For Your Eyes Only, The Road Warrior, and Sharkey’s Machine! (tags Ellie)
Ellie:
Atlantic City, Prince of the City, and Thief! (tags the mermaid)
Melanakeami:
On Golden Pond, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and Chariots of Fire! Back to Mike!
Mike:
In addition to Raiders, I gotta go with Knightriders, Nighthawks, Excalibur, and For Your Eyes Only! Ah, that was a nice movie list, but what about TV shows that premiered that year?
Melanakeami:
I guess Dynasty, Falcon Crest, and Masada! (tags the centaur)
Ellie:
Hill Street Blues, Simon & Simon, and The Fall Guy! (tags Tara-chan)
Tara-chan:
The Greatest American Hero, and – and The People’s Court! (tags Bunnii)
Bunnii:
Urusei Yatsura, Dr. Slump, and Queen Millennia! (tags Petra)
Petra:
Blackstar, Belle and Sebastian, and Danger Mouse, nya! (tags the faerie)
Mielikki:
Sense and Sensibility, Great Expectations, and The Flame Trees of Thika! (tags the kitsune)
Trini-chan:
Bergerac, Brideshead Revisited, and Tenko! (tags Mary Nyan)
Mary Nyan:
Into the Labyrinth, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Day of the Triffids!
Jeannie:
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Yvonne:
I will second the Hitchhiker’s, and add Into the Labyrinth, and The Day of the Triffids, nya! (tags Elizabeth)
Elizabeth:
You know, it was not the purremier year but it was the significant year for Doctor Who starring Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor Who!
Becca:
Hai hai I purrticularly liked “Warriors’ Gate”, “The Keeper of Traken”, and “Logopolis” (which introduced Peter Davison as The Fifth Doctor)!
Mike:
Well. that was another expedient little Lightning Round, but we’ve got a lot on our plate, so let’s go ahead and jump into
the monthly Celebrity Catgirl & Kemonmimi Spotlight!
Becca:
Hai, in this monthly portion of The Mew, we commeowmorate catgirls, nekomusume and other kemonomimi of the various species in the famous international mythologies and the popular cultures! They might include the shape – shifters, anthropurrrmorphic ladies, monster girls, and those who might not actually have beasty DNA, but do have the cat-titude or couture to be broadly considered by us to be “honorary” kemonomimi!
Cinderella Nine is the game, novel, and anime purrtaining to the girls who start the new baseball team at their high school! In the anime TV series, Akane Ukita is the petite shy girl (voiced by Yumiri Hanamori) who is not the most skilled but is the optimistic, invaluable base coach who always wears the cute cat-eared hoody except when she is in the team uniform, when she ears the cat-eared cap!
Stella Womens Academy Division Class C3 is the manga & anime about the girls of the high school’s airsoft combat club. One of the members is Yachiyo Hinata (voiced by Madoka Yonezawa in the anime),
the petite genki freshman snipurr! In epurrsode 1 she is briefly disguised as the catgirl.
In epurrsode 11 she mischievously draws catgirl upon the photo of team captain Rin Haruna (voiced by Asami Seto). The rival Seto Family team’s captain Aoi Seto (voiced by Kana Ueda) does not wear the cat ears, but does have the catlike eyes, the Kansai dialect, and the cute moe feline fang!
Chidori RSC is the manga & anime about the girls of the Chidori High School Rifle Shooting Club, whose rifles fire the harmless beam of light at the targets. One of the members is Hikari Kokura (voiced by Machico in Japan and by Brittney Karbowski in the English dub) who in epurrsode one dons bunny ears and says “Hewwo! I am a cut ewittle bunny girl!” to amews her team mates!
Kandagawa Jet Girls is the video game & anime TV series about the girls who compete in the jet ski race! Each team consists of the driver and the watergunner. The main characters areRin namali & Misa Aoi of the Asakusa Girls High School team, but we are shiningthe spotlight on the opponant team of Hell’s Kitchen!
Aboard their jetski Les Soeurs, Hell’s Kitchen consists of driver Pan Ziyu (voiced by Rumi Okubo in Japan and by Nadine Russell in the English dub) and shooter Pan Dina (voiced by Naomi Ozora in Japan and by Nadine in English) who are also idol stars whose many costumes include Ziyu’s bunny ears and Dina’s cat ears!
Elizabeth:
Created by Natsume Akatsuki, KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World is the comedic sword & sorcery novel, manga and anime about a guy named Kazuma who is reincarnated on a fantasy world which is like a fantasy RPG, where he joins a group of female adventureres which becomes the harem trope!
One of the ladies is Yunyun, a sorceress and frenemy rival of Megumin, the group’s other sorceress. She is voiced by Aki Toyosaki in the original Japanese and by Kayli Mills In English dub. In the anime’s first season OVA, Kazuma purrsuades Yunyun to wear the sexy bunny girl outfit, but later the ladies get even with him!
Created by the manga-ka Bino, Wasteful Days of High School Girls is the comedic slice-of-life manga, anime TV series, and live-action TV series purrtaining to the group of girl friends. One of them is the blonde chunibyo Minami Yamamoto or just Yamai for short (voiced by Miyu Tomita in the original Japanese anime and by Maggie Flecknoe in the English dubbed version).
In epurrode 4 “Lily” she tranforms into one – then two – Schodingers Cat Girls. One of her friends is the Blue-eyed half-Austrian lesbian Lily Someya (voiced by Satomi Sato in the original Japanese anime and by Skyler Sinclair in the English dubbed version), who in epurrode 9 “Fashion” is depicted briefly as the cheetah girl during her flirtatious “hunter mode”!
Created by Yoshiaki Sukeno, Good Luck Girl is the manga & anime purrtaining to Ichiko Sakura (voiced by Kana Hanazawa in the original Japanese anime and by Brina Palencia in the English dub) the 16-year-old high school student who is supurr lucky due the fortune energy which she absorbs from the world.
Thusly she is purrsued by Momiji (voiced by Yumi Uchiyama in the original Japanese anime and by Colleen Clinkenbeard in the English dub), the misfortune goddess who wishes to restore the world’s luck balance by draining Ichiko. Ichiko is depicted as the catgirl during the anime’s end credits, and in one epurrsode Momiji wears the sexy bunny outfit,
Tama (voiced by Ayaka Mori in Japan and by Becca Shivers in English) is Ichiko’s kitten who transforms into the adorable makinekomimi; and Ichiko’s tough tomby classmate Ranmaru Rindo (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu in Japan and by Martha Harms in th English dub) has the brief brush with nekomiminess when she inherits the Tiger eared stethoscope!
Mary Nyan:
Upside-Down Magic is theYA fantasy novel series by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins which purrtains to the students at the magick school. In the 2020 live-action Disney TV movie adaptation, Isabela Rose stars as Nory, the teen girl who cannot control her Therianthropic ability, but it is quite meowrvelous when she transforms into the Dritten (part dragon, part kitten). On the DVD’s flap art we see her in the mostly human form with the cute dragon wings and cat tail!
Coca-Cola recent “Unbelievably Delicious” ad campaign includes the 30 second TV commercial “Pit Stop: Flavors”, in which the thirsty werewolf girl goes into the convenience store for the beverage, noticing the multi-flavored cola such as cherry-vanilla. She asks the store clerk if such dualities are possible, to which the clerk affirms, and is revealed to be the goat-legged faun boy. A happy moonlit howl ensues, and we hope that there might be romance for the demihuman couple!
Andreea Munteanu is the lead vocalist of The Iron Cross, a metal band from Iasi, Romania which was started in 2015 by guitarist Andrei Cerbu! Andreea is the beautiful singer, and she is the honorary kemonomimi because of the photos of her wearing the bunny ears and deer antlers at her facebook page! I purrticularly like the band’s cover vsersions of Barracuda, I Was Made For Loving You, It’s A Long Way To The Top, Highway Star, and Led Zeppelin’s Rock And Roll!
n the late 1980’s, songwriter / ventriloquist Debbie Dewart and her purrtner Cherry the Resurrection Rabbit embarked on the childrens’ christian ministry career, with the many record albums and live purrformances. In 2005 they moved here to North Carolina! Cherry is about 3 ft tall (excluding her lovely bunny ear pinna) with the light beige pelage, the purretty dress, and the peppy dispurrsition!
CBS’s TV game show Let’s Make a Deal is often a good fun place for the kemonomimi sightings! In the series; March 12th 2021 epurrsode, among the many costumed contestants were Jennifer the mom, 2nd grade teacher, and catgirl; Yesha the queen bee girl from Maryland with her beekeepurr purrtner, and Janet the angel girl with the wonderful wings!
Lastly but not leastly in month’s spotlight is Kate Bedingfield, who is Purresident Biden’s White House Communications Director. That is because she wore the lovely leopurrd purrint blouse on the March 10th 2021 epurrsode of MSNBC’s TV series The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell, so we will consider her as the honorary catgirl! That is all for the spotlight, but we have more
TV & movie mewsings, starting with Ellie-sama’s
review of the BanG Dream! Season 3 Blu-Ray!
Ellie:
Ariagto! BanG Dream! is the multimedia franchise of manga, anime, video games, record albums and live concerts starring the various girl bands such as Poppin’Party, Raise A Suilen, Afterglow, Hello Happy World, Pastel Palettes, and Roselia. Poppin’ Party tends to be the main protagonists, consisting of fivestudents at Hanasakigawa Girls’ High School. The anime’s first season (2018) pertains to their formation.
IIn Season 2 (2018), they are more of a framing device, a sort of gateway to meet the other bands. Hello Happy World is a wealthy heiress’s extravagant band primarily aimed at children & family entertainment. Pastel Palettes are an agency produced idol band, Afterglow is a group oh childhood friends, Roselia are a goth rock powerhouse, and Raise A Suilen is top talent hired to perform with their competitive producer.
The 2019 movie BanG Dream! Film Live is an the animated outdoor concert by all of those bands except for Raise A Suilen. All of the bands are friendly towards each other, although Raise A Suilen’s producer has the more aggressive ruthless attitude, which is a major dramatic plot of Season 3, in which the bands prepare to compete in the Girls band Challenge at the Budokan!
I love this anime series which has the wonderfully captivating story, characters, design, animation and music! Rated TV14, the 13 episodes of season 3 total 325 minutes and were released by upon the 2 disc Blu-ray set from Sentai. The 1080p high definition video of the 16×9 format is presented with the Japanese DTS-HD master Audio 2.0 with the English subtitles.
In addition to the various Sentai trailers, the only special features are the “clean” version of the episodes’ opening & closing animation, so while this set is meager in special features, it is of the high A / V quality, the great entertainment value, and I am certainly looking forwad to the next season or movie of BanGDream!I am done, so now here is Jamie to tell us about
Zack Snyder’s Justice League!
Jamie
(in his usual web meowstery attire): I watched the Snyder Cut of Justice League. All four hours of it. It’s better than the Joss cut, mostly. It’s very pretty with lots and lots and lots of slow-mo pose shots. (Like those beer commercials in the 90s). The first two hours, I could lose about 75% of it and not miss a thing.
After the midpoint battle, (about 2 hours in) the pace quickens and a pretty good movie emerges.The story and character development in the Snyder Cut is superior to the Joss cut, especially for Cyborg and Batman. In fact all the heroes shine far more in the Snyder Cut, with maybe the exception of Wonder Woman.
She does shine in action scenes, but doesn’t get the emotional payoff many of the others do. All that said, the Snyder Cut is kind of a mess. There is some great dialog in the film, especially with Batman, but almost every other bit of dialog is a cliche. The amount of green screen in this film is mind boggling.
Some of it is good, some better than the first film, but most feels flat or messy. Then, as I mentioned before, there was the slow mo (to slow somber music, no less). My final thoughts. The Justice League: Snyder Cut is a bloated, over indulgence with flashes of fun and even greatness. Next, I’d like to s a few words about
Wandavision.
Jeannie:
Starring Elisabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Paul Bettney as Vision, Wandavision premiered as the first Marvel television show on Disney+. It also starred Kathryn Hahn (Agnes), Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau), Randall Park (Jimmy Woo), and Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis).
An experiment of sorts, Wandavision began its life as a sitcom. Specifically, it started as a 1950s sitcom in the style of I Love Lucy. There was no explanation why two Avengers were playing house in black and white, but tiny clues began to pop up on the first episode. Set in the town of Westview, the first episode had Vision inviting his boss for dinner, an age old sitcom trope.
The second episode, obviously set in the 1960s, had a Dick Van Dyke / Bewitched vibe where even more wacky hijinks ensued during a magic act for the neighborhood. Also, more clues popped up as to what was really going on. The third sitcom episode mimicked the Brady Bunch, complete with astroturf grass.
It’s the fourth episode, set in the 1980s, where things began to pull away from the sitcom format and morphed into a more standard MCU movie style. By the end, after a pair of parodies to both Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family, the show is full on MCU. Wandavision couldn’t happen on the big screen and it’s a change of pace that Marvel desperately needs,
The Marvel films, while fun, are stifled by their enormous cost. They have to appeal to a broad audience. The Disney+ format gives the MCU heroes room to breath. Elizabeth Olsen, for instance, gives the best performance of any MCU character since the films began in 2008. The story, while not perfect, is far more intimate than anything Marvel has done before. Now here is Jeannie to review the
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks DVD.
Jeannie:
Hai. Broadcast on January 1st, this 71 min. special epurrsode of Doctor Who picks up where the 2020 epurrsode “The Timeless Children” left off. The plot purrtains to the Doctor’s companions Graham O’Brien, Yasmin Khan and Ryan Sinclair discovering a secret threat involving Jack Robertson and the Daleks on Earth, while missing The Doctor who is with Jack Harkness in the Judoon’s galactic purrison.
Written by showrunner Chris Chibnall and directed by Lee Haven Jones, it is also the major turning point for the companions, starring Jodie Whittaker as The Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Mandip Gill as Yasmin, Tosin Cole as Ryan, and The TARDIS as herself, with the return of John Barrowman as Jack Harkness, Chris Noth as Jack Robertson and Nicholas Briggs as the voices of the Daleks.
Releaded on home video by the BBC, the single disk R1 NTSC DVD includes the epurrsode purrsented in the letterboxed format of thr 2:1 screen aspect ratio with the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound in English audio with the optional Enflish subtitles, which are in the White bold sans serif font with the fine Black outline. The disk is packaged in the standard Black plastic snap case with the cardboard outer sleeve.
In addition to the 3 advertisements which total appurroximately 2.75 min., there are 3 special featurettes which total appurroximately 12.5 min. Those include “A Closer Look” (5:08 min.) which has comments about the show by Chibnall, Whittaker, Barrowman, Walsh, Gill and Cole; “Best Moments” (3:03 min.) with Chibnall, Whittaker, Walsh and Cole; and “John Barrowman Plays What’s My Line” (4:15 min.).
The latter featurette is quite amewsing, whilst the others are pleasantly informative but too brief. I will purraise the epurrsode for its excellent story, direction, purrformances,cinematography, costumes, makeup, sets, locations, FX, editing, sound, mewsic and overall purrduction values, but I wish the DVD had more features such as info text and a “making of” documentary. Nyow here is Melana-chan to discuss
Doctor Who: Fury of the Deep.
Melanakeami:
Hai, I watched the recently animated version of Fury from the Deep, which was originally a live-action six part Doctor Who tale in 1968, but it became one of the many “lost” episodes when the BBC used to erased the video tapes. The audio recordings and lots of photos of some of those lost episodes still exist, so in recent years some of them have been re-created with animation to be shown n TV and sold on DVD!
Written by Victor Pemberton, Fury from the Deep starred Patrick Troughton as the second incarnation of The Doctor, with his travel companions Jamie McCrimmon (Frazier Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling). I have seen several episodes with that Doctor and Jamie, but this was the first time I have seen an episode with Victoria. This tale is set at a coastal gas refinery in England in the late 20th century.
The refinery and its offshore oil rigs are attacked by seaweed monsters which spew toxic gas, control people’s minds, and grow to the gigantic size. The tale has the sort of “Quatermass-ish” spooky science
fictional ambience that is neat about the late 60’s / early 70’s tales of Doctor Who. Composer Dudley Simpson’s music score was great as usual!
The animation was OK, but something about the character designs seemed off. it seemed like their arms were slightly too long, and everyone had the same default facial expressions except when they were talking or menacing. I have not seen photos from the original live-action version, but I can’t help but think the animated sets and FX are more impressive looking, given the show’s budget & FX limitations in 1968.
Ironically, given how how too short and rushed most movies and TV shows are these days, I thought this tale seemed the bit too long and ponderous, and I felt the same way about The Faceless Ones, which is another of the recently animated tales. However, it is still quite wonderful to see such lost tales of the first and second Doctors! That is all for our video reviews, so now here is Mike to start our
printed media mewsings, with his review
of Star Trek: Voyager – A Celebration!
Mike:
In the year 2371, The United Federation of Planets’ Intrepid class starship USS Voyager NCC-74656 under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway was launched on it’s maiden voyage, which resulted in a seven year voyage far from home into the mysterious Delta Quadrant of the galaxy. That’s how the TV series Star Trek Voyager began in January 1995. Gosh, that was over 25 years ago!
This series was in some ways a pinnacle for the franchise, as for the first time there were three different Star trek series in production at th same time: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, and The Next Generation.
As you might expect, there was a prolifertation of merchandise including toys, memorabilia, novels, etc, and yet there have been very few books about the Voyager TV series itself.
Fortunately this has been remedied by Eaglemoss Hero Collector, which has published many magazines, books and collectibles about not just all of the eras of Star Trek, but other popular properties such as
Doctor Who, Alien, Space: 1999, Back to the Future, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Walking Dead, Marvel, DC, and the WWE.
Written by Ben Robinson & Mark Wright, this 11 1/4 x 8 7/8 x 1” dust-jacketed hardcover book is priced $29.95 US & $39.95 Canada and has 248 full color pages that are brimming with information and inerviews by many of Voyager’s cast & crew, with hundreds of photos & illustrations of the characters, vehicles, sets, FX and so forth! That includes very recent interviews with:
Kate Mulgrew (Janeway), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (Torres), Robert Picardo (EMH Doctor), (Jeri Ryan (Seven), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Garrett Wang (Kim), Robert Duncan McNeill (Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), co-creator / producer Jeri Taylor, producer / writer Brannon Braga, designers Rick Sternback, Doug Drexler, Mike and Denise Okuda, Jim Martin and Tim Earls…
VFX artists Dan Curry, Ron Moore, David Stipes, Rob Bonchune and David Lombardi; make-up artist Michael Westmore, music composer Jay Cattaway, drectors John Bruno, David Livingston, Mike DeMeritt, scientific consultant Andre Bormanis; writers Ken Biller, Bryan Fuller, Mike Taylor, Mike Sussman, Phyllis Strong, Rob Doherty, Lisa Klink, Mick Sagan, Jimmy Diggs and James Swallow.
Although certtainly fondly mentioned a lot, sadly absent from those interviewed is actresss Jennifer Lien, who wonderfully portrayed Kess in first three seasons and a few very significant later appearances. The book includes a complete episode list, and chapters devoted to several key episodes. It’s a very captivating, entertaining, informative, lovely book that I’ll highly recommend! Ah, now here’s Vonny to start our
comic book reviews, with her review of
America Chavez: Made in the USA #1
Yvonne:
Hai! America Chavez, a.k.a Miss America, not to be confuzzeled with the Miss America of golden-age era, is the latinx- American lesbian supurrheroine who has been in the Marvel Comics sicne 2011, so it is only appurropurriate that for her 10th anniversary she should have this new mini series, nya! America has the supurr strength, stamnia, invulnerability, speed, interdimensional travel and the star blast, nya!
Purrior to this mini-series she starred in the Avengers West Coast series which was sadly cancelled after 10 issues in 2019, nya. Written by Kalinda Valez, illustrated by Carlos Gomez, colored by Jesus Aburtov, lettered by Travis Lanham, and edited by Analise Bissa with the purrduction design by Carlos lao, nya!
The 28 page issue includes the 23 page tale plus the credits / title page, the 3 pages of ads and the next issue purreview page, nya. It is available with the main cover art by Sara Pichelli & Tamra Bonvillain; the variant cover art by Junggeun Yoon, another variant cover by Stephanie Hans, and yet another variant cover by Elizabeth Torque, nya!
The tale starts in Los Angeles where America, her girlfriend Ramone Watts, and Kate “Hawkeye” Barton fight the giant mole monsters, so I assume that America is still with the Avengers, nya. You knowm she has been with quite the few teams including the Ultimates, The Young Avengers, and A-Force, but I digress, nya.
Peppering the tale are the flashbacks to 13 years purrior when she was living with the Santana family in Manhattan, nya. Back in the purresent, her old neighborhood is surrounded by the mysterious force field, nya! She and Spider-Man try to rescue folks, from the burning neighborhood under the force field, but I should not further spoil the tatse of the exciting plot, which ends upon the cliffhanger!
I think that this issue has the good balance of the humor, drama, action, and the poignant character devlopments, which are graced by the beautfiully illustrated characters, attire, scenery, FX and fonts which are all so richly colored, nya! I will give this issue the “A” for America and for my anticipation for the 2nd issue! Nyw here is Tara-chan to discuss
Marvel Action: Captain Marvel #1, nya!
Trini-chan:
Hai! Jointly published by Marvel And IDW, The Marvel Action series are among my favorites comics of the recent years! It is the sort of anthology series, with story arcs that focus upon the diffeent characters.
This time it is carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel, her alien catlike Flurrken friend chewie, An Gwen Stacy a.k.a Ghost Spider who star in “look at Meme Now” Part 1 of 2!
This $3.99 issue has the uninterrupred 20 page tale followed by the preview page, 2 pages of cover art gallery, and the 5 pages of the ads. It was written by Sam Maggs whose book The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy I enjoyed! It was illustrated by Mario Del Pennino & Isabel Escalante, colored by Heather Breckel whose work on IDW’s pony comics we love, and edited by Megan Brown who has edited many of those pony comics!
The design & production of the issue was by Valeria Lopez, the main cover art is by Getel Lusky, and the variant cover art is by Sweeny Boo who has done many of the great Marvel Action covers! Carol and Chewie are out for the stroll when they observe Ghost Spider confronted by who appear to be the villains Doctor Octopus and Mysterio!
It is apparent that they are imposters, but if I reveal much more then I will spoil too much of the plot! I should also not reveal the other villains who show up later, but i will mention that the tale does has appurrances by Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl, Spider Woman, Spider-Man, Sister Grimm, Moon Girl and Star-Lord, although the latter four are only in one panel apiece.
I likd every aspect of the tale, from the plot, pace, dialogue, the action and the humor, to the poses, expressions, costumes, and FX of the characters, with the great scenery, type, and the graphic storytelling from panel to panel and page to page! Iove its wonderful sense of fun, and it just might be my current favorite comic book from either Marvel or IDW, although as a pony owner, I must admit to a bias for the comic book that Tara-chan wants to discuss-
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #95!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! I love IDW’s pony comics which so faithfully capture the style and – and spirit of the animated TV series, but with the different strengths of the comic book medium, nya! it is hard to believe that the Friendship is Magic animated series started ten years ago, that the pony comics have been around for the eight years, and- and that this current series is nearing the 100th issue, nya!
Actually the pony comics ahve been around longer than that if you include the prior minis eries, nya. Heather colored this issue too, nya! They have the great stable of the artists, writers, editors, colorists and the letterers, such as this issue’s writer Thom Zahler, artist Toni Kuusisto, letterer by Neil Uyetake, cover artist Brenda Hickey, editor Megan Brown, and group editor Bobby Curnow, nya!
Purriced $3.99, this issue is available in the choice of cover A by Toni, cover B by Brianna Garcia, and the scarcer Retailers Incentive cover by Erin Hunting, nya.The uninterrupted 20 page tale is followed by the 8 pages of the ads, and I wish that all other comic book tales were similarly uninterrupted, nya! This issue’s tale continues the latest story arc of season 10 of Friendship is Magic, nya.
It is deemed season 10 he animated TV series ended after the season 9, nya. I wish that seasons 8 and – and 9 would be released on DVD, nya! Nyow for the taste of the plot, nya! Purreviously in issue #94, Pinkie Pie and – and Cheese Sandwich were planning Canterlot’s festival, when they discovered the cavern full of Muffletta Moss, which quickly invades the city and absorbs all of the sounds, nya!
That even includes Rainbow dash’s Sonic Rainboom effect, nya! Thusly for much of this chapter, the characters must rely on the non-verbal communication, so it is purrticularly interesting to see the visual storytelling techniques to advance th tale’s graphic narrative without the dialogue, nya! Also appurring are Twilight Sparkle Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike and – and Discord, nya!
I should not further spoil the plot which does have the purrticularly poignant moments betwixt Pinkie Pie and – and Cheese Sandwich, but I will just say that I loved the plot, pace, dialogue, developments, poses, expurressions, compurrsitions, details, fonts, color and – and the graphic FX, so I will give it the “A” as in Applebuck, nya! That will conclude my pony report, and nyow here is Mie-sensei to discuss the
Flying Witch manga vol. 9, nya!
Mielikki:
Arigato! So like, This is one of my all – time favoritest manga series! Flying Witch by the artist / author Chihiro Ishizuka is the beautiful, whimsically charming tale of the teenage novice witch Makoto Kowata & her cat Chito who have moved from Yokohama to her relatives’ The Kuramoto family’s lovely mansion in the rural town of Aomori for her witchy studies!
Other recurring characters include Makoto’s older sister Akane & her cat Kenny, their mentor Akira, cousin Kei & younger Chinatsu, their mom Nana & dad Keiji, Inukai the fortune teller & her hamster Ai, Ms. Shiina the cafe owner, her daughter Anzu, waitress ghost Hina, Anzu’s owl Ororu, Makoto’s senpai Sayo and Kei’s classmate Nao!
The plots typically include learning spell craft, gardening, farming, cooking, day trips, and revealing more of the magickal world! Originally published by Kodansha in Japan, Volume 9 was published in English by Vertical Comics, translated by Melissa Tanaka & edited by Ajani Oloye, with the purrduction by Grace Lu & Tomoe Tsutsumi.
Purriced at $10.95 in the USA and $11.95 in Canada, it has the 168 Black & White pages compurrised of B&W chapters 43-48 with the pretty color cover art! It is summertime as Inukai and Ai cautiously agree to meet with Okuma the journalist who is investigating reports of supernatural occurrences, but they intend to keep such things a secret!
Nao joins the Kuramotos for the trip to the town’s festival, and for the simultaneous matsuri going on in the parallel spirit realm! The wonderful outing is topped off by the totally awesome Chomolugma parfait1
of course as it is the summertime, the beach trip is in order, with the delightful swimwear, fur shur!
Later at the house, some of Nana’s items are mysteriously missing; Okada the samurai ghost visits Hina at the Concreto Cafe,and at the Buddhist temple they encounter the Devendearing characters, delightful plots, mythology and intricately gorgeous art, Flying Witch continues to be the beautiful joy to read! I am done, so now here are petra and Bunnni to present the latest
additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art!
Bunnii:
Arigato! Galleries 1-8 display images by Mike, whilst Guest Art Galleries 1-5 display images by other folks with their pemissions. This includes illustrations and photographs, traditional and digital media, original creations and fan art,. Mike’s collaborations with other artists are interspersed amongst the various galleries.
Some of the images are sexy, and some might depict artistic nudity, but most are tame and none are porn! 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.
Petra:
In Gallery Three http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/gallery3.html
we are delighted to display “Nyanhiss” by Mike, who used Photoshop on the mac with the mouse for this image of his Star Trek inspired fan-character CPO NyanHiss Rand, the Caitian Transpurrter Chief of the
(refitted) Impurrial Star Ship Enterpurrise NCC-1701, nya! Of course, this is a Caitian catgirlish version of Star Trek’s Janice Rand who was purrtrayed in the TV series and movies by Grace Lee Whitney!
Purrched upon her console, she is wearing the Meowrror Mewniverse version of the Starfleet jumpsuit circa 2273, with the dagger and purrscan / agonizer on her tummy above the Life Support Sash, nya. She is smart, agile, tough, resourceful, purretty. highly expurrienced, and not to be annoyed because she might demeowterliaze your molecules at the widest dispurrsion with the least purrovocation, nya!
Bunnii:
Nextly is “Hikari-chan”! Mike used Photoshop CC on the mac with the mouse for this illustration of the 8 year old kitsune Hikari, who is in 3rd grade! An NPC in Mike’s monthly table top role-playing game The Adventures of Nystia Nightshade, she is a nearly identical alternate universe version of our friend Hikari Wakabayash. Perhaps y’all have seen Rebecca Brogden’s “Who Me?” illustration of the other Hikari, nya?
This Hikari lives in the spacious condo above The Alchemy Shop in the village of Shroomi with her adoptive moms Li (succubus), Su-pan (catgirl) and De’en (faerie). De’en is Nystia’s sister, so that makes Hikari-chan Nystia’s newest niece! Born on the February 1st, (aquarius in year of the snake), her IQ is 145, MBTI is INFP, blood type is O+, and her hobbies include fishing, reading, collecting rocks and shells.
Petra:
Then we have Mike’s fan art of “Tiamat”, nya! Mike used Photoshop on the mac with the mouse for this image of the evil dragon goddess Tiamat of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, nya. She is mewsually in the winged dragon form of the gargantuan size with the Red, Black, White, Blue & Green heads, but as the shape shifter, it is her purrogative to appear in the various forms, nya!
This is a scene from Mike’srole-playing game, in which she is depicted in the somewhat chibi-style dragon girl form, with the hair stripes that repurresent her five heads, nya. The sphere behind the loveseat is her Supurrr Dragonball, and via the scrying portal she spying upon Nystia getting and her Dragon friend Cooke, nya!
Bunnii:
Then In Guest Gallery Two http://catgirlisland.net/art/gallery/guest2.html
we are proud to present two images by Rebecca Brogden http://www.rbrogdenart.com who was the September 2009 guest of The Mew! Firstly of those is “Hope”! Having celebrated her 50th birthday on February 27th (Pisces in the year of the Monkey), Hope Ayatenshia Jabameowah is the pansexual ambidextrous Gianistic cisgender female Deva.
Born in Del City, Oklahoma, she presently resides here at Catgirl Island, NC where she is the Captain of the Purramedics! Her supernatural powers include empathy, tongues, communing, healing touch, detect alignment, magickal resistance, flight, and her special flaming sword! When Hope is not at home or work, she volunteers at the animal sanctuary.
Petra:
Rebecca used Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils, Davinci Watercolors, Micron Pen, White Posca Pen and White Gouche upon the Strathmore tan mixed media papurr for this lovely illustration, of which there is the time-lapse video of the art purrocess to see at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKod2UQ4aIA&feature=youtu.be!, nya!
To top off this month’s additions is the screen shot of “Rivkah”, who is Rebecca’s character in the Final Fantasy XIV video game, nya! Wearing the Red halter top with the matching pleated mini skirt, White thigh high stockings and zori sandals, Rivkah Storm is the Miqo’te catgirl of the Seekers of the Sun type, the jack of all trades and machinist with her cute dragon minion Midgardsomrm purrched upon her shoulder, nya!
The cat lady sings…
Yvonne:
I like the intricate details of the Nyanhiss pic, such as the transpurrter, her uniform and her equipment, but I hope that the agonizer does not severely tickle her tummy, nya!
Tara-chan:
The color, light and – and shadow add the playfully arcane ambience to the Tiamat, but I would not want to be in her boots when Nystia finds out about the scry spying, nya!
Trini-chan:
I love the sunset sheen upon Hikari-chan’s fiery red hair and silky tail! She looks so adorably cute and peppy in her schooluniforms amongst the shrubs and cherry trees!
Melanakeami:
Hope is so divinely beautiful and serene, from her lovely honey blonde hair and majestic feathery wings to her pretty Pink gown with the dainty ruffle hem and sleeves!
Ellie:
Rivkah looks so sporty, smart and sexy in that halter top and mini skirts with the ornate rose embroidery and those intricate gadgets!
Elizabeth:
Well, the art was our final topic for today, so I guess that will do it for this edition of The Mew! It is almost time for our Aftermew luau!
Becca:
We wish to thank Jamie his web meowstery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island…
Bunnii:
We wish to thank Rebecca for her beautiful art…
Petra:
… and our other friends, family, acquaintances and audience whom we greatly appurreciate, nya!
Mielikki:
Fur shur!
Jeannie:
… purrvided that the comments are spam-free, G-rated, and purrtain to our topics,
Mary Nyan:
We will be back next month with the 14th anniversary edition of The Mew!
Mike:
Be there… aloha.
The Ladies of The Mew:
Happy tails to mew, until we eat again! Baibai, nya!
The Mew 