Chickenhare: The House of Klaus by Chris Grine

Published by Dark Horse Books - A Division of Dark Horse Comics.

Chris Grine brings the reader an adventure featuring a strange little character called Chickenhare. In The House of Klaus, Chickenhare and his friend Abe (a turtle) are not having a good day. They are on a journey to be sold to a collector of animals. This isn't just any collector though, this is Klaus, a taxidermist with a flair for the weird and unusual. Though they try everything to avoid this fate, they find themselves caged, along with two new friends, Banjo, and Meg.

This motley crew decide that they need to make their escape, and fast. They aren't sure what the deeply disturbed Klaus has planned for them but the display of stuffed and altered creations around the place doesn't bode well. Finally they are on their way, out in the bitter cold, nothing but a snowy landscape can be seen, at least until they find a cave to shelter in.

Things would seem to be looking up, except for the weird ghost of a goat named Mr Buttons (who wears a monacle and top hat), and a tribe of Shromph who are convinced that the newcomers are food. Things just can't get any worse, or can they?

Where do I start with this? The characters are cute and unusual, the plot is filled with adventure, humour, fun, and friendship. This is definitely a group of characters that I would love to see further development of. As it happens, I am in luck, as I learned from the site that there is to be a sequel next march. The artwork is all black and white in this book and you can see some samples at the website too. Also included on the site, is the 10 page prologue so you can even preview the book to see if it is something you would enjoy.

A light and speedy read which I know I will revisit again, and again.

Author's website: http://www.chickenhare.com/