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steampunk

Review: 'April and the Extraordinary World', animated film

Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (11 votes)

A woman and a cat leap across rooftops, with twin Eiffel Towers in the background. April and the Extraordinary World [trailer] is the English dub of a 2015 French animated film, originally titled Avril et le monde truqué. There was a limited North American theatrical release in April 2016.

Furry-wise, it's borderline: a likeable talking cat sidekick, plus a little extra anthropomorphism that I can't discuss without spoiling. Its main appeal is for steampunk fans. If that's your thing, it's definitely worth a look!

Add a Dash of Childish Delight

With the help of Marvel Comics, Disney is bringing a fan-favorite character back — in his own steam-punk comic book adventure! “This summer, journey into the exciting depths of your own imagination in Figment #1, the new Disney Kingdoms series created by the unique collaboration between Marvel and Walt Disney Imagineering. This five-issue series, created by rising star writer Jim Zub (Skullkickers), fan-favorite artist Filipe Andrade (Captain Marvel) and blockbuster cover artist John Tyler Christopher, weaves an all-new steam-punk fantasy adventure that reveals the never-before-told origin of the inventor known as Dreamfinder and his trusty dragon companion!” Said dragon is Figment, if you didn’t know! Find out more at Inside the Magic, and look for this full-color miniseries starting in June.

image c. 2014 Marvel Comics

image c. 2014 Marvel Comics

Review: 'Tails of a Clockwork World'

Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (4 votes)

Tails of a Clockwork World This second annual anthology of stories by and for the fans at Seattle’s annual RainFurrest convention had a theme of “Steam Punk, Weird Science/mad science”. Authors were requested to write a G to PG story of 5,000 to 8,000 words with a first deadline of February 2012, for revision and publication in time for the convention on September 27–30. The result is this neat little booklet published by FurPlanet Productions.

As before,

This Anthology was created and written by the fans of Rainfurrest. All the writers and artists have waived all fees, so that all the money will go to charity, so that our furry friends can have a better life. We want to thank all the writers involved, the artists and their brilliant images, and for FurPlanet for helping us put this together. This is a dream come true, and we hope to be able to continue this unique tradition.

(The charity of Rainfurrest 2012 was Rabbit Meadows, a Seattle-area rodent [and presumably lagomorphs] rescue society and clinic.)

“Tails of a Clockwork World: A Rainfurrest Anthology”.
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, September 2012, trade paperback $10.00 (119 pages).

Video games: 'Girl Genius and the Rats of Mechanicsburg'

Your rating: None Average: 3.5 (2 votes)

Phil and Kaja Foglio’s Hugo Award-winning Girl Genius Internet steampunk comic strip recently started a Kickstarter campaign to raise $7,500 to create the first Girl Genius video game for iOS and (eventually) Android. It features Krosp, Agatha Heterodyne’s anthropomorphic white cat, versus the Maus King and his army of clockwork rats.

With $18,109 already pledged and 22 days to go, the question is not whether the campaign will succeed but what new goals will be added. There is a 1’57” video on their website.

'Grandville Bête Noire' world premiere in London

Your rating: None Average: 4.2 (5 votes)

Grandville: Bête NoireGrandville Bête Noire, the third in the Grandville series of graphic novels by British artist and writer Bryan Talbot, debuted last Friday at Foyles in London's Charing Cross Road. Talbot discussed his work in conversation with Kim Newman (Anno Dracula) before participating in a Q&A session and a book-signing. (Questions on the night included an incredulous "How do you make animals sexy?", to which no answer was given.)

The Grandville series is set in a steampunk-style, alternate-Victorian era where robots stalk the streets and messages are delivered by 'pneumail'. Britain is slowly emerging from a long subjugation by France following defeat in the Napoleonic Wars, while Paris, known as Grandville, is the glittering centre of the world. Most of the characters in the series are anthropomorphic animals, birds and fish, with the rare human 'doughfaces' treated as an underclass. The hero of the stories is Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard, a badger whose brilliant deductive abilities are matched by his strength and ferocity in a fight.

The three books so far released have been in a full colour, hardback format, with covers inspired by the art nouveau movement. Bête Noire weighs in at 95 pages. A digital version is also available from Dark Horse Digital for e-readers and tablets.

TV3's 'Swedes' Secret Life': steampunk, cosplayers, furries

Your rating: None Average: 3.8 (5 votes)

Sweden's TV3 is currently showing Svenskars Hemliga Liv - a program on the secret life of Swedes [in Swedish], featuring segments on a group of steampunk fans, a Final Fantasy cosplayer, and a fursuiter from Örebro meeting fellow fans for the first time. [tip: Emprah]

Update (15 Dec): A streaming version is available for the next few days. The furry segments are at the start, 22:40, 28:20 and 41:14.

Third 'Grandville' book confirmed

Your rating: None Average: 4.8 (4 votes)

A third book in the Grandville series of graphic novels by Bryan Talbot has been confirmed.

Talbot revealed on his Twitter account that the new book, set in a steampunk world with an alternate history and with a population mostly of anthropomorphic animals, will be called Grandville: Bete Noire. There are plans for a total of five books in the series.