Art Baltazar, James Kochalka + Kaeti Vandorn will bring Dr. Seuss characters to comics

Random House Graphic will release a new line of graphic novels featuring Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and more

Random House Graphic will publish a series of graphic novels featuring Dr. Seuss characters, starting with the Cat in the Hat next year.

Cat Out of Water by Art Baltazar (Tiny Titans) will arrive in stores next April, followed by a Grinch story by Kaeti Vandorn (Monster Friends) next fall and a Green Eggs and Ham spinoff by James Kochalka (Super F*ckers) in 2025.

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‘Felix the Cat’ moves to Bottlerocket + is now up on Kickstarter

Rocketship Entertainment’s new imprint will crowdfund a softcover of the comic by Mike Federali, Bob Frantz and Tracy Yardley.

Rocketship Entertainment, which has brought many webcomics and other projects to print, has announced a new imprint aimed at younger readers — Bottlerocket. And one of their first projects will be Felix the Cat, which was previously announced to be coming from Source Point Press.

The project is already up on Kickstarter, and based on the preview artwork and creative team, it does look like this is the same project that was first revealed last year. The book itself is being created by Studio Stario, which is headed up by the comic’s writer, Mike Federali, who I spoke to last year about the project. He’s joined by Bob Frantz and artist Tracy Yardley.

For the Kickstarter, Bottlerocket is raising funds to publish Felix as hardcover and softcover collections, rather than as single issues, with other tiers offering prints by Thom Zahler and Art Baltazar.

“We’ve put a lot of love and time into this story, and I’m so grateful that it’s making its way to the fans,” said writer and Studio Stario president Mike Federali in the press release. “Felix has always been a favorite of mine, so it was very important to take the time with NBCUniversal to get it right. Being able to bring new Felix stories to life is a dream come true, and I hope the fans enjoy the ride as much as we did.”

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Comics Lowdown: Chinese government upset by Danish coronavirus cartoon

Plus: Changes at Kodansha, Cullen Bunn goes ‘Rogue’ and whatever happened to Lion Man?

Editorial Cartoons: A cartoon in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, depicting the Chinese flag with the stars replaced by coronaviruses, has, predictably, angered the Chinese government. (Jyllands-Posten is the same paper whose cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad caused an uproar in 2005.) The Chinese Embassy in Copenhagen has demanded an apology, but Jyllands-Posten editor Jacob Nybroe has refused, and the Danish prime minister is backing him up.

The Biz: Restructuring at Kodansha USA means a promotion for Alvin Lu, previously the general manager of Kodansha Advance Media. Publishers Weekly reports that Kodansha’s subsidiaries, including its digital arm Kodansha Advanced Media and the manga and novel publisher Vertical Inc., will be folded into Kodansha USA. Lu will be the CEO, and Ivan Salazar, former public relations and events specialist at ComiXology, has been hired as senior marketing director.

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DC shares artwork from ‘Black Canary: Ignite,’ other middle grade projects

Check out previews of books by Art Baltazar and Franco, Gene Luen Yang and more.

During the “Raising Super Readers: Inside DC’s Middle Grade Graphic Novels” panel in San Diego today, DC Comics once again dropped a bunch of artwork from their upcoming “Middle Grade” titles — just like they did yesterday with their YA titles.

Check out previews below for Superman of SmallvilleDear Super-VillainsBlack Canary: IgniteDC Super Hero Girls: Powerless and Superman Smashes The Klan.

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Action Lab announces new kid’s imprint with titles by Baltazar, Chao

‘Powers in Action’ and ‘Alison and Her Rock Awesome Robot’ find at home at the new imprint.

During Comic-Con International in San Diego, Action Lab Entertainment announced a new imprint aimed at kids — Action Lab: Discover. The line will include comics by one of the kings of kid’s superhero comics, Art Baltazar, along with a collection of Fred Chao’s Alison and Her Rock Awesome Robot.

Baltazar is, of course, one half of the amazing duo behind Aw Yeah Comics, Tiny Titans, Superman Family Adventures, Itty Bitty Hellboy and many other titles. His distinctive art style screams “kid friendly,” so having him on board as you launch a new imprint makes a ton of sense. I’m a big fan of Chao’s Johnny Hiro, which came out about 10 years ago now, and was followed by a sequel. He’s been publishing Alison and her Rock Awesome Robot as a webcomic and through Patreon.

You can read Action Lab’s description of each title below. Now ord yet on when they will reach stores.

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