I Wanna Hold Your Paw

Vincent and Catherine of CBS “Beauty and the Beast” fame will soon be seen in a “graphic story adaptation” from Chicago-based First Publishing--meaning a comic book.

Due in May, the 56-page “Beauty and the Beast: Portrait of Love” will be written/illustrated by Wendy Pini, creator of the popular “Elfquest” comics series. Olivia DeBerardinis--known also as Olivia, and for her erotic art--will do the cover illustration.

“It’s very sensuous, very evocative--but there’s no nudity,” said a publisher’s rep. “It’s a portrait of the two of them standing. He’s got his arms around her shoulder.”

As for how the duo’s delicate love story will be handled--he is, you’ll recall, part animal--the rep said: “You know how the series has that sexual tension? Well, at the end of our comic, they’ll still be real tense. . . . This is sensitive ground we’re treading.”