Lumberjanes Is Becoming Even More Animated!

I'm very excited to announce that the graphic novel series ‘Lumberjanes’ is being turned into an animated series for HBO Max. I have nearly all the graphic novels (18 out of 20 released so far) and have been a big fan of the series from the beginning so cannot wait for this to drop. Noelle Stevenson (Of the newly rebooted and highly successful She-Ra and the Princesses of Power fame) is leading production and that’s great as she co-created the series alongside Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis and Brooklyn A. Allen.

I love the series and have nearly all the graphic novels.

I love the series and have nearly all the graphic novels.

The ongoing comic series follows the misadventures of Jo, April, Mal, Molly and Ripley, five plucky young girls as they attend the Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpets camp for hardcore lady types. The girls are trying to earn their pun-ny Lumberjane badges, like the Naval Gazing Badge, Pungeon Master Badge and the Everything Under the Sum Badge… all great stuff, but what sets this series aside from the usual ‘boys’ own adventure’ stuff, apart from the gender (obviously), is the weird supernatural element. The woods surrounding the camp feel like they're just a stones throw from Twin Peaks and just a hop, skip and jump from the island in Lost. In this land a Bear Woman, ancient Greek gods and unicorns rub shoulders with a whole plethora of colourful characters that roam free, bringing this wonderfully eclectic place to life.

The series lends itself well to a Gravity Fall / Over the Garden Wall / Adventure Time -style series where we follow the many (mis)adventures of the girls. Apparently, a 1 hour movie will be released first followed by an ongoing series. The show will be released on HBO Max, which being based in England doesn't mean much but hopefully it will find its way here on one streaming platform or another.

We really are living in a golden time of animation with many amazing animated shows being released Including Hilda, The Hollow, Carmen Sandiego and She-Ra. There are many other series I've still got to catch up on but there's just too much good stuff available but I'm sure I'll get to them eventually, in-between the video games, podcasts, Audible books, actual books and film pile of shame. Anyways, keep an eye out for this one… it’s gonna be amazing!

LINK- Lumberjanes Ongoing Comic Series Review

LINK- Lumberjanes Comic Dub

LINK- Hilda- Complete Series 1 Netflix Review

LINK- Comics in the Classroom

LINK- What Comics Have Taught Me

LINK- Disenchantment- Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Gravity Falls Complete Series Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Complete Series 1 Review

LINK- Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated Series 2 Review

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors- Retro Soundtrack Release

"Go, Jayce, conqueror from afar, look for your father ..."

And with these words Jayce and the lightning league battled the Monster Minds and Saw Boss for 65 episodes. Produced by the hilariously named (at least I thought at the time) DIC studios and overseen by Jean Chalopin (of Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Inspector Gadget and tonnes of other formative cartoons from the 80s) the show was grand and cheesy operatic drama and a big part of this was due to the epic music, created by Shuki Levy.

The soundtrack for the series has never been released… until now. Tele 80 has crowdfunded the OST for a September release on CD and Vinyl. In their words, translated by Google translate from the original French:

The collection would allow us to finance the different stages while having control of the design. For this, we pay special attention to:

  • Different covers, such as vinyl which will be highlighted thanks to its selective varnish which will bring out the characters and the title.

  • The model

  • Mastering and mixing, which will be managed by Erwin, an enthusiast, but also a remarkable sound engineer.

  • A 16-page booklet provided on the CD. It will contain, among other things, an exclusive interview with singer Nick Carr!

  • A box which would bring together the CD, the vinyl and a poster (the "Box Collector" option will only be active if we have 100 orders )

  • Mixing until pressing of vinyl and CD.

  • 24 tracks.

I’ve ordered the vinyl and CD combo pack for about 42 GBP (incl. postage and packaging) and look forward to receiving it. Until then, let’s belt out some hair rock!

The Skeleton Dance- Spooky Kids TV Appreciation Month (Spooktober)

The Skeleton Dance is the first of Disney’s Silly Symphony shorts, an animated cartoon series where music is integral to the whole piece. In this classic animation, as the clock strikes midnight four skeletons rise from their graves and proceed to have merry fun.

Considering that this was released in 1929 the macabre matter is somewhat surprising, however the animation is top notch and incredibly fluid. Check it out!

The Return of Teddy Ruxpin

The 80's were a heady time for toys and animation and one of the highlights of the decade for many was Teddy Ruxpin, a show that had 65 episode and one of the most iconic toys of the time. The Teddy Ruxpin talking toy came with a cassette deck, children would slot in a tape and the mouth of the toy would move and recount a story. Teddy Ruxpin was launched in 1985 and was a massive hit but various financial crises affected the company and it closed.

However there has been a resurrection of the toy and there is s new version coming up. The latest version of the toy will come with a 4GB hard drive which will be able to store 40 stories. Also the toy will be able to be paired with an iPad app so children can read along to the stories as the toy move its mouth and speaks. I have a daughter now and so may purchase the toy for her. I never had the toy as a kid but I do like the idea of it.