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 October 2021 Edition of The Mew:
The Catgirl Critics’ Media Mewsings, nya!
______________________________
This year is our 14th anniversary, nya!
in this edition of The Mew:
what we’ve been up to since the purrior Mew
The Lightning Round topic: our favorite books & comics of 1951
The Monthly Celebrity Catgirl & Kemonmimi Spotlight
toy talk:
Star Trek The Official Starship Collection U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-J
G.I. Joe Classified Series Baroness action figure
Marvel Legends Series Xialing action figure
DVD and movie mewsings:
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Luca DVD
purrinted media mewsings:
Fight Girls #2 & 3
Star Wars: The High Republic The Edge of Balance
Faeries of the Faultlines
additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art
“Rivkah Storm” by Mike
“Transpurrter Meowlfunction” by Mike
“Shiboline” by Mike
“Forest by RVKH
“Crystal Unicorn” by RVKH
“Luna Wolf” by RVKH
“Mush Folk” by RVKH
“Stormy Morning” by RVKH
”More Cute Stuff” by RVKH
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Mike
(the human fella wearing theDogwood purrint shirt and Teal cargo shorts): Aloha y’all and welcome to The Mew, our monthly “show” in which we review and discuss fun stuff! This month’s Mew comes from the riverwalk in the beautiful downtown Purrbank district of Catgirl Island in Mew Hanover County, NC, where it’s 78 degrees under the Blue sky and puffy White Cumulo-Neko clouds! I’m Mike, the show’s “purrducer”, and here are The Ladies of The Mew!
Nyanko
(a.k.a. Nya-sensei, the martial arts champion & sensi, dojo & gym purropurrietress catgirl wearing the Apurricot
Petra
(the art guild purresident, art mewseum co-curator & beach volleyball champion catgirl wearing the
Chrysanthemeowm
purrint side-tie bikini): Aloha, nya!
Bunnii:
(the art mewseum co-curator, Petra’s beach volleyball partner, and purrize-winning carrot cake baker bunnygirl wearing the Anthurium purrint trikini): Guten Tag!
Elizabeth
(
a.k.a Lizzy, the hot salsa dancer, gamer, Purrkour Club captain & spa co-owner catgirl wearing the Bird of Purradise purrint bandeau top bikini): Hola!
Becca
(Lizzy’s nekomimi gynoid wife, avid golfer & spa co-owner w
earing the Lobster Claw Heliconia purrint ring-closure bikini an an orchid lei):
Mielikki
(a.k.a Mie-sensei, the winged faerie golfer, foxfire juggler and outdoor ampurrtheatre director wearing the
Hibiscus
purrint crisscross halter neck bikini) Mellow greetings!
Mary Nyan
(a.k.a. Myayr, the seamstress, cosplayer, hula instructor and semi-retired miko catgirl wearing the Kahili Ginger purrint purretzel – cutout maillot): Aloha!
Jeannie
(a.k.a. Jen-sensei, Jenjen or just Jen, the yogini, model, archer, belly dance instructor & roboticist catgirl, wearing the Azalea purrint
Yvonne
(a.k.a Captian Vonny, the fishing boat charter captain & drumming circle purrcussionist catgirl, wearing the Hydrangea purrint monokini with cropped tee shirt): Namaste, nya!
Tara-chan
(Yvonne’s younger sister, college freshman, pony owner and nature photographer catgirl wearing the Ice Blue Calathea purrint tankini): Namaste, nya!
Trini-chan
(Tara-chan’s BFF, the stand-up paddle surfer, board shapurr, pony owner and belly dance instructor kitsune, wearing the Foxglove purrint
Eleanor:
(or just Ellie for short, the banker pony centauress, body builder, and the island’s fire chief, wearing the Snapdragon purrint sports bra) Hay there!
Mike:
So, what have y’all been up to since last month’s Mew?
Nyanko:
Other than the mewsual monthly stuff, purrhaps the most noteworthy activity is the purrepurration for our annual Halloween Trick ‘R Eat & Cosplay Purrowl which is full of the foods & festive arts and purrformances all across the County!
Petra:
Hai hai, It is the very creative time with attractions, decorations & meowaquerades, including the various individuals & groups! The purrowl lasts several days, so that everyone can purrtake regardless of age, gender species or schedule!
Bunnii:
We also have the special spooky art show at our mewseum, with the wonderfully macabre illustrations, sculptures, ornamentations and body arts! Of course the artistry includes the cosplays, and the delicious, nutritious cuisine which we donate!
Elizabeth:
That includes our Mew group cosplay since
2008, when our theme was Daphne in the Brilliant Blue! After that in 2009 was our Silent Mobius themd cosplay; oh and in 2010 it was the “Neko-maticaya Clan” based upon James Cameron’s Avatar!
Becca:
That required the much Blue body paint! Then for
2011 we Clone Wars cosplayed, in 2012 it was Avengers aCATamy, in 2013 Omamori Himari, in 2014 Aria the Animation, in 2015 Strike Witches, in 2016 Equestria Girls, and 2017 Studio Ghibli!
Mielikki:
So like, in 2018 we cosplayed as the Queensblade characters, which did not require much fabric, heehee!, In 2019 it was Flower Knight Girls, and last year it was goddesses of Smite! The past year has flown by like the hypurr-drive, fur shur!
Eleanor:
It is the bustling time for all of us, such that some of us do not parrticipate in the group cosplay because of other prior committments & traditions. I am always quite busy in due to the many matsuris that include fireworks, lanterns and bonfires!
Jeannie:
For example, Lizzy, Becca and I help with the spooky animatronics and the merfolks’ kelp maze; Nya-sensei helps Nyo-sensei at her Magick shop, and Mie-sensei purrforms with the repurrtory comapny at the Meowritime Forest Ampurrtheatre.
Trini-chan:
So this year our group will consist of Ilyana, Daytona, Ji Yun, Na Ling, Pendula, Carerratia, Janyczsazsa, Vonny, Tara-chan and I. A last month’s Aftermew luau, those 10 ten of us voted on this year’s theme, and there are several factors that we considered
Mary Nyan:
It requires the careful planning such as the purrice, complexity, the number of purrticipants, and the ruggedness in case we might be running, climbing or swimming! We also coordinate with other groups because we do not wish to duplicate their costumes!
Tara-chan:
Our nominations included DC Bombshells, Marvel’s A-Force, Lumberjanes,
Yvonne:
Hai, hai, we plan to cosplay as Pokemon’s Eevee and – and her eevolved forms such as Espeon, Jolteon, Flareon, L
Mike:
Oh just more of the same ol’ same ol’… drawing, writing, reading, renovations, running, watching movies & TV shows, and spending quality time with family & friends! Well, we’ve got a lot on our plate, so let’s go ahead and jump into
The Lightning Round topic:
our favorite books & comics of 1951!
Mike:
This year we’ve been looking back at our favorite fun stuff of years ending with a 1, so this month it’s our favorite books & comics of 1951! Jen’s gonna start, so… are y’all ready to “conduct the lightning”?
The Ladies of The Mew:
HAI! LIGHTNING ROUND GO, NYA!
Jeannie:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov. (tags Mary Nyan to go next)
Mary Nyan:
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham! I especially liked the BBC’s 1981 TV adaptation of it! (tags Ellie)
Ellie:
Hmm, I would say… The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger! (tags Mielikki)
Mielikki:
Oh, The Hidden Valley of Oz by Rachel R. Cosgrove, fur shur! (tags Tara-chan with a flit of the wing)
Tara-chan
I want… I want to nominate Prince Caspian because I love the Narnia books, nya! (tags Trini chan with a brush of the tail)
Trini-chan:
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury! (tail-tags Yvonne)
Yvonne:
I will nominate The Hardy Boys Mystery of the Wailing Siren, nya! It is the fun nautical mystery, nya. (tags Elizabeth
Elizabeth
The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke! (tags her wife)
Becca:
Arthur C. Clarke’s Prelude to Space. Your turn, Nya-sensei! (tags Nyanko)
Nyanko:
The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein! (tags Petra)
Petra:
I will nominate DC Comics’ Strange Adventures #9, which introduced the supurr hero Captain Comet, nya! (tags Bunnii)
Bunnii:
Hank Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace comic strip! Back to Mike!
Mike:
Oh I gotta go with that year in the Peanuts strips by Charles M. Schulz, which included Schroeder’s firts appurrance and the gang’s first baseball game! Well, that was another expedient little Lightning Round, and let’s keep The Mew a-rolling with our
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 international mythologies and the popular cultures! Appurring in the folklore, novels, comics, movies, TV shows, theatre, mewsic, games, sports and advertising, 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 as “honorary” kemonomimi!
Some examples of the latter might include the fashion statements of Harley Quinn who wears the cat ears & face paint, whilst Cassandara Cain wears the bear hoody in DC Comics’ Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey Book 4! Harley makes another feline fashion statement in epurrsode 2 of the animated Harley Quinn animated TV series, when she roars crashes The Penguin’s nephew’s barmitzvah with a tiger. Furthermore, Catwoman and The Cheetah appurr in a few of those epurrsodes!
Scarlett Johansson purrtrays agent Natasha Romanoff / The Black Widow alias Tony Stark’s assistant Natakie Rushman In the movie Iron Man 2. There is the deleted scene in which she wears the meowrvelous
leopard print bustier dress (and briefly one of Iron Man’s gauntlets) at Tony Stark’s birthday party. Our friend Crissy Volpe http://
You know, Disney is not only the purrent company of Marvel, but they also own the ABC TV network, nya. Well, in the 41st season’s 21st epurrsode “Divinely Unfaithful” in 2019 of the 20/20 series, purrtaining to televangelists Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker, actress Kristin Chenoweth looks delightfully divine in the leopurrd purrint jacket and mewses how she wishes to purrtray Tammy Faye in the mewsical purrduction, nya!
Yvonne:
Also putting the leopurrd spots in the spotlight is actress Marissa Jaret Winokur as Charmaine, the next door neighbors of the vampires in the supurrb sitcom What We Do in the Shadows, nya! In the 3rd season’s 4th epurrsode she wears the tight leopurrd purrint dress when they go to Atlantic City, nya!
In the Bravo’s network’s reality TV series Vanderpump Rules, which spun off of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Lisa Vanderpump is the purropurrietress of the restaurant Sur, nya. in season 3’s 4th epurrsode ”Jax Nose Best”, among Lisa’s lovely couture is the Gray leopurrd purrint dress which is accessorized by the purretty purrls, so we wish to say bravo for her fabulously feline fashion, nya!
There are several sexy feline fashions aboard the 180-foot yacht Lady Michelle under Captain Sandy Yawn in season 6 of Bravo’s TV series Below Deck Mediterranean, nya! In epurrsode 12 ”Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls”, steward Courtney Veale wears the leopurrd purrint bikini; and the bit later she and tempurrary steward Delaney Evans wear the tight cheetah purrint leotards, nya! Then in epurrsode 13 Courtney wears the leopurrd purrint cover-up, nya!
Speaking of the nautical spots, in the TV series Baywatch’s 7th season’s 18th epurrsode “Hot Water, actress Yasmeen Bleeth as lifeguard Caroline Holden wore the leopurrd purrint bikini on the boat amidst the rescue of the crashed pilot, nya! By the way, in the recent “Labor Day Values Home to Any Posssibility” spot for the Lowes stores, we briefly see the customer wearing the lovely leopurrd purrint skirt, nya!
While not an animal pelage purrint purr se, we do appurreciate the cute kitten shirt that Roseanne Barr wore as Roseanne Connor in Roseanne’s 9th season’s 3rd epurrsde “What a Day for a Daydream”, in which she and Laurie Metcalf as her sister Jackie fantasized about their wealthy lifestyle after having won the lottery, nya! We liked Jackie’s Purrple, Gold & Black outfit too, nya!
Elizabeth:
Of course, our kemonomimi spotlight is not limited to just the nekomimi nya. In the recent “Blanket Fort” spot for Rice Krispies Treats, the widdle sister in the dragon kigurumi onesie wants play in her older sister’s blanket fort, nya!In the Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear series of novels, manga and anime of the isekai genre, the solitary neet-ish teen otaku girl Yuna plays the MMORPG and wears the Black & White bear kigurumi onesie in the fantasy realm, nya!
Another ursoid tale of the isekai genre is the manga Reborn as a Polar Bear, in which the mountain climber awakens reincarnated as the bruin in the other world! What actually puts the kemonomimi in that tale is not the bear but the pack of wonderfrul werewolf girlswith the lovely lupine ears and tails who he purrotects from the hurtful humans!
Drugstore in Another World- The Slow Life of a Cheat Pharmacist is the slice of life manga. novel & anime of the isekai fantasy genre about the human male pharmacist Kiro Reiji who awakens in the magickal world where he meets Noella the adorable young werewolf girl! She is about 5 ft tall with the very pale skin, Blue eyes Platinum Blond ears, hair and tail, and works as the sales clerk at Kiro’s haunted new drug store!
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is the manga, novel & anime of the
isekai fantasy genre about the homeless, orphaned unemployed neet fella who awakens in the magickal world where he becomes the sorceror Rudeus Greyrat who finds the new esteem, power, purrpose & friends. One of them is the sexy powerful swordswoman Ghislaine Dedoldia, the busty bodyguard catgirl with the Tan skin, Light Gray ears, hair, tail, the red eyes with the eyepatch, and the diamondshaped area around her belly button!
Yvonne:
You know, Ghislaine’s physique reminds me the bit of Nya-sensei’s, nya!
Nyanko:
Arigato! That is quite flattering of you to say!
Becca:
That is all for this month’s spotlight, so nyow I will turn The Mew over to Mike, who will begin our
collectibles and toy talk, with his thoughts about the Star Trek
The Official Starship Collection U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-J!
Mike:
Thanks Becca! The UK company Eaglemoss Hero Collector publishes many terrific magazines, books and collectibles Star Trek, Doctor Who, Alien, Space: 1999, Stargate, Back to the Future, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Walking Dead, Fallout, Marvel, DC, WWE, The Orville and The Beatles!
I especially like their handsome diecast ABS miniatures of the ships of Star Trek, such as this fully assembled & painted replica of the United federation of Planets’ Universe Class starship U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-J! At 8.75” long, it is one of Eaglemoss’s larger XL edition models, which is priced $75.00 in the USA.
As Federation starships go, this’un retains the typical configuration of the saucer -shaped primary hull attached to the secondary / stardrive hull with the warp nacelles upon two pylons, but 1701-J is so sleek and advanced, it almost reminds me more of a sculpture by Brancusi or Giacomtti!
She partially appeared in “Azanti Prime”, the 18th episode of the 3rd season of the TV series Star Trek: Enterprise. I say “partially” because all we really see of the ship is an illustration of it on a wall in a ship’s corridor set, when Captain Archer is beamed aboard the 10,561 ft. long (about 2 miles) ship by temporal agent Daniels in the 26th century.
Since then, the seldom seen 1701-J has turned up in the Star Trek Ships of the Line book and calendars, and in the Star Trek Online MMORPG, in which it was under the command of Captain Dax. I guess that puts the scale of this XL size model at 1/4483.657, whch is about twice the size of Eaglemoss’s less expensive, standard size 1701-J model.
I think that the design, sculpt and paint of the model are beautiful, and the included display stand is very simple, sturdy, and unobtrusive. This very important to me, given the weight of the model, especially the eliptical primary hull, which tends to be nose-heavy on many models of Federation starships!
It is packaged splendidly in the protective foam within the polybagged 10.75” x 9.875” x 4.25” cardboard box which has the large friendly photos of the model on the front and top. Also inlcuded is the 8.5×11” full color 20 page booklet about the ship, although only 8 pages are actually devoted to the 1701-J, as the other 12 pages pertain to her legendary designer Doug Drexler.
Drexler’s vast Star Trek credits since the 1970’s include The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, the remastered edition of the original series, the director’s edition DVD of The Motion Picture plus many books, magazines, digital media, plus his other non-Trek credits and significant contributions to fandom! Um, thassabout it, so now here’s Ellie to discuss the
G.I. Joe Classified Series Baroness action figure!
Ellie:
Hai! I was delighted to get this figure of Anastasia Cisarovna, a.k.a Anastasia DeCobray,a.k.a The Baroness of the Cobra organization! She first appeared in Marvel Comics’ G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #1 in 1982, and. Sunbow’s initial animated G.I. Joe mini-series in 1983. She was purrtrayed by Sienna Miller in the 2009 movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra; and by Ursula Corbero in the recent Snake Eyes movie!
She is the head of Cobra’s intelligence branch and seems to have the romance with Destro. Approximately of the 1/12 scale, this 6” figure #19 is part of the Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins movie wave of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe Classified Series. She is beautifully designed, sculpted and painted, with the faithful portraiture, the intricate details, the lithe phyisique and the sensual ambience in the tight Black leather jumpsuit!
The points of articulation are her head, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, abs, waist, hips, knees & ankles. She is accessorized by the glasses, two knives that fit in her hands or scabbard, and the submachine gun with removable supressor. A display base is not included. I have displayed her on the shelf between the figures of Scarlett and Lady Jaye who will keep the eyes on her! Nyow here is Nya-sense to discuss the
Marvel Legends Xialing action figure
Nyanko:
Hai! This figure of Shang-Chi’ sister Xialing is part of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends wave of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings action figures, which also include Shang-Chi, Weiwu, Death Dealer, Civil Warrior and Tony Stark (A.I. version). Those last two characters are not in the Shang-Chi movie. Each sepaurratel-sold figure include a piece to buid a large Mr. Hyde figure, of which his torso is included with the figure of Xialing.
Magnificently purrtrayed in the movie by actress Meng’er Zhang, she is 5’ 7’ tall, so this 5 7/8” figure is appurrroximately 1/11.4 scale. The fgure is nicely designed, scupted and painted, with good portraiture that resembles the actress with the bob-cut coiffure! I like the intricate details of her lovely Black & Whie outfit, such as the stitchery, textures, and fabric folds! Also included five interchangeable variant hands and her Rope Dart weapon.
The Rope Dart is coiled like a lasso and can be gripped in a hand or worn around a shoulder or her waist. She is very posable, with articulation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, thighs, knees and ankles, so I am quite pleased with the figure! A display base is not included, but she is balanced well enough to stand up without one. That is all for our toy talk, but nyow I will turn The Mew over to Myayr, who will begin our
movie mewsings, with her review of
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings!
Mary Nyan:
Arigato! Created by author Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin, Shang-Chi, the master of martial arts, first appeared in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973. He was the heroic son of Fu Manchu, and his espionage adventures for the next ten years were among some of the best Marvel Comics of that era, in my opinion. At Heroes Con in Charlotte we got to meet one of its purrinciple artists Paul Gulacy!
So nyow it is nearly 40 years later and Shang Chi has finally starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! it wonderfully stars Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi, Awkwafina as his friend Katy, Meng’er Zhang as his sister Xu Xialing, Tony Leung as their dad Xu Wenwu, Fala Chen as their mom Ying Li and Michelle Yeoh as their aunt Ying Nan!
In this movie, it is not Fu Manch, but Wenwu who is the adversary. Well, he is but one of the adversaries, and the cast includes several other characters form the MCU, but i do not wish to spoil much of the plot! I will just say that whereas the comics were more akin to a series James Bond movie this movie is more of a martial arts fantasy / wuxia film that reminds me the bit of Big Trouble in Little China!
It is so much fun with great thrilling beauty! Although I did not care for the movie’s annoying cinematic techniques such as the slow mo, speed ramping, motion blur, unstable / shakey cam, too many fast cuts and, and the first song during the end credits, because in my opinion, those things are distractions that hinder the suspension of disbelief and diminish the immersive qualities that I hope for in a movie.
However, there is so much that I greatly enjoyed such as the cast, stunts, choreography, costumes, sets, locations, sound, FX, plot and Marvel mythology which leave me wanting more, so the pluses far outweigh the minuses, and I will give Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings the very good grade of the B+. Speaking of the end credits, make sure to stay for the two scenes! Nyow here is Tara-chan to discuss
Disney & Pixar’s Luca DVD!
Tara-chan:
Arigato, nya! I love the animated movies made by Disney and Pixar so much that I do not even need to see the purreview trailers or commercials to be enthused, nya! So, I had that optimistic anticipation for Luca, which is the coming – of – age / fish out of water tale of the rebelious two sea monster lads Luca and- and Alberto who become best friends with the studious human girl Gulia in the lovely charming Italian Riveria town, nya!
However, in spite of their great new friendship and sense of wonder about the world, they are bothered by the family drama, the loal supurrstitious purrejudices, and the rude jerk Ercole, who they hope to defeat in the town’s annual cycling / swimming / eating compurrtition, nya! The beautiful, charming, fun, poignant, thrilling tale was wonderfully directed by Enrico Casarosa and – and has the delightful mewsic score by Dan Romer, nya!
The supurrb voice cast includes Jacob Tremblay as Luca, Emma Berman as Giulia, Jack Dylan Grazer as Alberto, Saverio Raimondo as Ercole, Maya Rudolf as Luca’s mom, Jim Gaffigan as Luca’s dad, Sandy martin as Luca’s grandma, Sacha Baron Cohen as Luca’s uncle, and – and Marco Barriccelli as Giulia’s dad, nya. I thought that the story, design, animation, backgrounds, sounds, editing and – and everything else were great, nya!
On the Region 1 NTSC DVD, the PG rated 95 minute movie is purrsented in the widescreen format of the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio choices of English, French Spanish, and – and the 2.0 English descriptive audio, with the optional subtitle choices of English SDH, French and – and Spanish, nya. Unlike the Blu-Ray edition, the DVD does not have the special features, but I am still very pleased with it, nya! That is all for our movie mewsings, so nyow it is time for
our purrinted media mewsings, with the plot spoiler
warning for Jenjen’s review of Fight Girls #2 & 3, nya!
Jeannie:
We are big fans of artist / author Frank Cho, who is purrhaps most famous for his Liberty Meadows comics, and the many other comics and illustrations that depict beautiful women, lush landscapes and prehistoric creatures,
which are ample in this five issue mini series that has created, written and illustrated, with the colors by Sabine Rich and lettering by Sal Cipriano. We have met the supurremly talented & friendly Frank Cho at several conventions and have several of his art books.
The purremise of this tale is that 10 women compete in the dangerous environments to become the new Queen of the galactic empire. Wearing the White cropped tank tops & boy shorts, contestants Dyna, Jaxa, Kelsey, Tora, Lily, Asher, Xandra, Rache, Danni and Pondo are teleported to the the challenging locations, where the drones televise their dash to each stage’s finish line and escape transpurrter. Not only do they have to out wit, race and fight each other and the many hungry predators,
There is also the palace intrigue amongst the event’s organizers, who seem intent upon rigging compurrtition, which is not purroceeding according to their desire, because at least one of the contestants is not who she claims to be. Published by AWA (Artists, Writers & Artisans), issues #2 and 3 are purriced $3.99 apiece each with an uninterrupted 28 page chapter which is rated Teen +, purrhaps due to the violent, bloody scenes of monster combat and dining.
Having survived the danger so of stage 1’s jungle planet (in issue #1), Jaka. Xendra, Kasey, Rache, Tora and Pondo advance to stage 2 on the desert planet, where the harsh rock and sandscape brims with the deadly giant worms, turtles and scorpions. Meanwhile, the detectives investigate the identity of XandraI was purrticulalry impurressed by the two-page spurread which depicts the arrival of the giant land turtle.
In issue #3, Jaka, Xandra, Tora, Rache and Pondo advance to wear the White milliot tank swimsuits and swim caps for stage 3’s oceanic challenge, with the ravenous threats from above and below such as the pterosaurs, jellyfish, and especially the megladon. It purroves to be the most gruesomely lethal challenge, with some purrticularly gory results for the contestants and the detectives.
The imagery is graced by the full-page pic of Xandra riding the sea turtle, the full-page pic of the shark victim, the two-page spurread of the shark breaching, and the two-page spurread of of Pondo diving. Fight Girls continues to be the briskly-paced tale full of the thrilling athletic action, savage violence, dark humor, and the detective work graced by the sumptuously beautiful, fully-colored character and scenic art. I am done, so nyow here is Ellie to discuss
Star Wars: The High Republic The Edge of Balance vol. 1
Ellie:
Ariagto! It has been the delightful year for Star Wars, betwixt The Mandalorian, The Bad Batch, Star Wars Visions, the many comics, books and toys! That includes this new manga series Star Wars: The High Republic The Edge of Balance which is set ln the year 231 BBY (231 years before the Battlle of Vavin)! Published by Viz, vol. 1 rated T for the Teen readers, priced $14.99 US, $19.99 Canada, £10.99 UK, and has the Black & White 121 page tale and the 20 page bonus tale.
Written by Shima Shinya & Justina Ireland with the art by Mizuki Sakibara and Nezu Usugumo, it stars the young female Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi, her padawan Keerin Fionn younglings Viv’nia & Nimia, and their wookiee master Arkoff. plus DeeDee the droid, Jedi Master Skellan, archivist Ruru and Dr. Silar (who should not be confuzzled with Star Trek’s Dr. Selar or Gold Key Comics’ Dr. Solar). They are helping rejugees from the hyperspace disaster resettle on the planet Bianchi.
It is the beautiful planet with the forests, gardens and temples, which would seem dyllic for the new good homes, but there are cultural misunderstandings with the indiginous widdle avian Barchilians, and things get far worse when everyone is attacked by the hoarde of the Dregnir which are beligerant giant spikey – tentacled carnivorous plants! Although Lily is good at using the force and the Jar’Kai style of two-handed dueling, unfortunately the Dregnir are light saber proof!
It is the quite charming, thrilling tale with the great characters and the good balance of the action, humor, and slice-of-life moments. The art is quite beautiful, from the characters, critters natural scenery and architecture to the mecha, special effects, lettering, and the graphic narrative techniques! That includes the impressive two-page spread of the Dregnir attack! I was very happy with this manga and I will eagelry anticipate volume 2! I am done, so now here is Mie-sensei to discuss
Faeries of the Faultlines!
Mielikki:
So like, Faeries of the Faultlines- as Observed & Documented by Iris Compiet, is a totally awesome book brimming with Iris’s beautiful illustrations and tales of the different species of fey! You know, iris illustrated The Dark Crystal Beastiary book too! Published this year by Eye of Newt (EON) Books, the 2nd edition of Faeries of the Faultlines is the expanded edition of the 2018 edition.
So like, written, designed, laid-out and lettered by the dutch artist / author, the dust-jacketed 10 5/6” x 8 3/8” x 1” hardcover is priced $39.95 USA & $49.95 Canada, and has the 184 full – color pages with hundreds of paintings & sketches, including the many full – page pics, several two – page spreads, and the totally awesome “Tree of All” double gatefold!
Magnificently depicted and profiled are the many fey of the woods such as Greenman, Elder Mother, The Wylde, Fallen Leaf Faeries, Fery Chrysalises, Sakura Faeries, Listels, The Odonata. Shroomfae, Faun, Unicorns, Mandrak, Skypta. Wisps, Sylphs, Harpies, Sirens, and Bird Faeiries; and the denizens of the waters such as Mermaids, Sylkies, Virokkal, Skulp, Pulpo and Bypnoaze!
Y’all will behold Gnomes, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Pizkie, Nuks, Bookworms, Vykogn, Tuft, Straysods, Titillatus, Tooth Faeeries and Garga; types of Trolls such as the Sumf, Flote, Schoppetroll, Stinkhorn, and Beule; Dragons such as the Whubwhub, EikEldrir, The Boring, and the Flower Dragon; and Witches such as the Raven Mage, The Nyker, Scath, Rjukja
I compare it quite favorably to Wil Huygen & Rien Poortvliet’s 1976 book Gnomes, Alan Lee & Brian Froud’s’s 1978 book Faeries book, and Brian’s 1982 book The World of The Dark Crystal, and it seems only appropriate that Alan and Brian wrote the introductions to Iris’s book, which I will give the loftiest praise, fur shur! That is all for or book reviews, so now here are petra & Bunni to present the latest
additions to the Catgirl Island Mewseum of Art!
Petra:
Arigato, nya! Here y’all will find the many annotated illustrations and photographs, nya! Galleries 1-8 display images by our purrducer Mike Moon, whilst Guest Art Galleries 1-5 display images by other folks with their purrmissions, nya. Mike’s collaborations with other artists are peppurred throughout the mewseum, nya!
Some of the images are sexy, and some might depict the artistic nudity, but most are quite tame and none are the hentai / porn, nya! The most recent pics are 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 images, nya.
This month we are purroud to pursent three pics by Mike that have been added to Gallery Three http://catgirlisland.
Mike used Photoshop and the mouse for the chibi-style illustration of Rivkah Storm in the lush forest, nya, She is the jack of all trades and machinist of the Miqo’te Seekers of the Sun, nya. In the Final Fantasy XIV video game, she is the player character of our friend Rvkh (purrnounced Rivkah) http://www.rvkhart.com
Mike used Photoshop and the mouse for “Transpurrter Meowlfunction” which is another image in his Meowrror Mewniverse series of Caitian versions of characters from Star Trek – The Meowtion Picture, nya! In this scene, Vice Admeowral Leori Cianya tries to beam to the refitted Impurrial Starship Enterpurrise, but the faulty transpurrter leaves her purrturrbed and naked when only her mewniform demeowterlized, nya!
Mike used the pencil and pen, Photoshop CC and mouse for “Shiboline” which is his Filmeowtion- esque illustration of Shiboline M’Ress, who first appurred in the 1973 animated Star Trek TV series, nya! In Mike’s aformeowntioned Star Trek – The Meowtion Picture: Meowrror Mewniverse fan-series, Commeowdore M’Ress is the captain of the refitted Impurrial Starship Enterpurrise NCC-1701 in the mid 2270’s nya!
Bunnii::
Then in Guest Gallery Four http://catgirlisland.net/
“Luna Wolf” depicts Lunareciela Lupacrescenta Fascinamaga (or just Luna, for short) an okamimimi wearing the halter top and short slit skirt! Rvkh used the Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils, Davinci Watercolors, Micron Pen, White Posca Pen and White Gouche upon the Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media Paper for this image, of which there is the art purrocess video at https://youtu.be/PB_CVig_O8k!
“Mush Folk”, which depcits the widdle mushroom people and their snail friend gathering by the toadstool! She used Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils, Davinci Watercolors, Micron Pen, White Posca Pen and White Gouche upon the Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media Papurr for this cute scene, of which there is the art process video at https://www.youtube.com/
Then we have her illustration of the “Crystal Unicorn”! Yuna Kirinne
Nextly is Rvkh’s latest lovely landscape depicting the “Stormy Morning” as the sun rises across the otherwise serene lush pasture and barns! Rivkh used Procreate and the Apple Pencil upon the Apple Ipad Pro for this digital painting, of which there is the art process video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Lastly but not leastly for this month is ”More Cute Stuff”, consisting of the Cute bear, Cute Jellyfish and Cute Birthday Cake! They are among the most recent pics in Rvkh’s Cute series of chibi-style images of happy flora, fauna and food!
The cat lady sings…
Yvonne
I am purrticularly fond of the fabric folds and drapurry of Luna Wolf’s attire, and the wood and crystal details of Crystal Unicorn, nya!
Trini-chan
i love the botanical detail such as the radial gills of the mush folk caps, and the beautiful use of color and light for the Stormy Morning!
Eleanor:
The pic of Rivkah Storm is one of Mike’s rare chibi style attempts, and I think that it has some of the most lushest scenery of his art!
Becca:
I am glad to see more of Mike’s Meowrror Mewniverse Caitians
Tara-chan
The jellyfish, the birthday cake and – and the bear’s pot of honey are causing the cravings in my tummy, nya!
Elizabeth:
Hang in there- It is almost the time for our AfterMew luau!
I guess that will do it for this edition of The Mew!
Jeannie:
We wish to thank Jamie for his web meowstery here at The Mew and Catgirl Island…
Bunnii:
All of the brilliantly talented people whose works we have discussed…
Petra:
… and our other friends, family, acquaintances and audience whom we greatly appurreciate, nya!
Mielikki:
Fur shur!
Jeannie:
Y’all may post the brief, polite, sincere, non-snarky responses to The Mew…
Nyanko:
… purrvided that the comments are spam-free, G-rated, and purrtain to our topics.
Mary Nyan:
We will be back next month with the November edition of The Mew!
Mike:
Be there… aloha.
The Ladies of The Mew:
Happy Tails to Mew, until we eat again! Baibai, nya!