Secret Saturdays 'Graphic Novels'

While this news item is super-exciting, it's a little misleading. These books aren't 'graphic novels' in the conventional sense, but are instead graphic novelizations of episodes of the animated series, using screen shots from the episodes themselves. Still pretty cool. From the press release: “With its rich characters and intriguing stories, The Secret Saturdays is the latest Cartoon Network series to achieve widespread international popularity,” says Mutsumi Miyazaki, director of licensing and acquisitions for Del Rey Manga. “We believe that this new film-comic will bring new fans to The Secret Saturdays, and we look forward to building further success for the franchise while expanding our strong partnership with Cartoon Network.”

Alternate Saturdays

Issue #39 of Cartoon Network Action Pack is out in July with a new Saturdays story and cover. Now would be a good time to mention that the stories in the comics have kind of drifted away from what we do in the show. This was mostly out of necessity, due to the tight plotline running through the first 26 episodes. But I thought it was time to point out that the comics are not considered official cannon.

Squid Lid

Saw my pal James play with his electronic circus outfit Squid Lid Friday night, and it was an awesome display. Several changes of glowing masks, and an onslaught of danceable tunes with samples from the likes of Tod Brownings Freaks. Check them out if you dare.

Field Guide

Coming soon to a booksellers near you, The Secret Saturdays Official Cryptid Field Guide, loaded to the gills with art and info! I gotta tell you, I'm flattered as all heck to be referred to as a 'cryptozoologist' in the credits. Hope it doesn't tick off any of my honest-to-gosh Cryptozoologist pals.

Bosco dei Mostri

The town of Bomarzo in central Italy is another place I need to visit someday. Famous for it's so-called "Bosco dei Mostri" ("Monsters' Grove"), named after the large scale stone sculptures built into the landscape, it's got quite the creepy appeal. Prince Pier Francesco Orsini commissioned Pirro Ligorio to build this "Villa of Wonders" in homage to his deceased wife in 1552. Why it's full of monsters, I guess only the Prince knows.

Saturdays Are Back!

The Secret Saturdays return to Cartoon Network with new episodes beginning this Friday, April 10th at 8:00 PM. Because of where CN decided to break the season up, we come back with two irregular episodes, neither of which feature a cryptid of further the Kur Stone plotline. They are both pretty cool stand-alone stories, though! Because what would've been the next episode, "Eterno", is so particularly unusual, we decided to air it the following week, so this Friday will premiere "Black Monday" instead. They will revert back to the original sequence for future rebroadcasts and DVD collections. Can't wait to see what you all think of the rest of the original run!

Little Monster Factory

Check out this wonderful Art Journal of Sruti and Abhishek Akula, two very creative kids. Abhishek has a penchant for weird monsters, and you'll find lots of exciting, inventive creatures by scrolling down the page.

Monster Rain

Man! Is it ever coming down in my neck of the woods! I think I'd better start collecting up two of each cryptid. (Nice umbrella from Kinderkaboodle, huh?) The CBC is calling the never-ending rain a "Soaker Storm", whatever that is. This is the kind of weather that brings out the Kasa-Obake, or Japanese umbrella Yokai. The gorgeous fiberglass sculpture below is by Colin Christian