Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Painted Dog is the furry name for the artist known as Angyl Kille, creator of one-of-a-kind wildlife and fantasy sculptures. As shown on her FurAffinity page, her work can range from simple character studies to more “practical” applications like shot glasses and Christmas tree ornaments, all with more than a touch of whimsy thrown in. Check her out there, at her Deviant Art page, or at her own professional page, belibou.com.
image c. 2013 A. Kille
Taking a break from matter of Further Confusion for something a bit more unique: A new entry in the slowly-growing pantheon of anthropomorphic live theater. Triassic Parq recently won the Best Musical Award at the Fringe NYC theater festival. Written and directed by Marshall Pailet (with help from Bryce Norbitz and Stephen Wargo), it’s described like this: “… a hilariously inventive and decidedly adult take on the Spielberg blockbuster — as told from the point-of-view of the captive dinosaurs. With plenty of goats around to eat, this tribe of non-breeders is pretty satisfied with life. But when a T. rex suddenly sprouts the male sex organ and falls in love, the dinos’ entire belief system comes into question, evolving into a battle between the Velociraptors of Faith and Science. Narrated by none other than Morgan Freeman (played by Camryn Zelinger), Triassic Parq is a true thrill ride 200 million years in the making, filled with singing, dancing and a wide variety of reptilian hook-ups.” You heard it here. Keep an eye out for a traveling company performing Triassic Parq near you. If you’re currently near Southern California, Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills is performing the play from now until late February. Check out their web site .
image c. 2013 Chance Theater
Another discovery from Further Confusion — and we wonder how we missed this before. Black Beak the Parrot Pirate is a creation of Jennifer Sopranzi, Catherine Van Riper, and Tony Sopranzi, featuring CGI tricked-up photos of real animals as illustrations for their rousing sea adventure stories for young readers. “In the crystal blue waters of the Southern Seas lies the home of the fierce pirate parrot Captain Black Beak. Welcome to Conure Cove, the beautiful Island home of the brave and gentle beasts and birds who live in this mystic land. These are the first seven tales of Captain Black Beak, the greatest pirate parrot to sail the seas. Long may his tales be told in stories, songs and poems.” Now the first seven short books in the series (all of them available on Amazon) have been collected into a single volume, Black Beak: Pirate Saga, which also includes some new material. You can find out more about all of this at the home page of Black Beak Press.
image c. 2013 Black Beak Press
Further Confusion in San Jose hosted well over 3000 fans, and a great time was had by all. Over the next few days we’ll be posting several of the cool items we came across during the convention. Starting with…
After a successful Kickstarter campaign producer, director, and all-around monster fan Frank H. Woodward managed to finish his latest documentary, Men in Suits. It’s the story of several men (and yes, women) who have made names for themselves in Hollywood (and other centers of movie-making) by putting on giant, bulky, uncomfortable rubber suits and portraying giant monsters in movies, TV series, commercials and more. People like Doug Jones (from Hellboy), Haruo Nakajima (from MANY Godzilla movies), Michelan Sisti (from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Bobby Clark (the Gorn from the original Star Trek), and many many more. Some of them are no longer with us (like the great Kevin Peter Hall from Alien and Harry & the Hendersons), but this film interviews a great many actors who still are, letting us in on what it’s like to work in such conditions — and what it’s like to find your job being replaced by CGI. Slash Film has an article about the film project from back in August, which also includes several clips, and you can find out about how to get your copy of the completed film on DVD by visiting Amazon.
image c. 2013 Toho Studios
Well-known fantasy author Charles De Lint has teamed up with well-known illustrator Charles Vess to bring us The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, a new hardcover full-color illustrated book coming this March from Little Brown Books For Young Readers. “Lillian Kindred spends her days exploring the Tanglewood Forest, a magical, rolling wilderness that she imagines to be full of fairies. The trouble is, Lillian has never seen a wisp of magic in her hills–until the day the cats of the forest save her life by transforming her into a kitten. Now Lillian must set out on a perilous adventure that will lead her through untamed lands of fabled creatures–from Old Mother Possum to the fearsome Bear People–to find a way to make things right.” From the review at Amazon, of course.
image c. 2013 Little, Brown Books
And with that, we’ll say TTFN (ta ta for now!) until after Further Confusion in San Jose, California. Take care!
We think it best to let the publisher, Shambhala, explain this one themselves: “The Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts is a classic collection of martial arts parables, written by Issai Chozanshi, an 18th-century samurai. The stories, which feature demons, insects, birds, cats, and numerous other creatures, may seem whimsical, but they contain essential teachings that offer insight into the fundamental principles of the martial arts. This manga version, based on Chozanshi’s text, brings these tales alive in a captivating and immediately accessible way.” It’s translated by Sean Michael Wilson, illustrated in full color by Michiru Morikawa, and coming this March in paperback from Shambhala. Amazon has more information.
image c. 2013 Shambhala
We’ve mentioned the anime and manga known as Kanokon before around here. If you need a refresher: “Innocent country boy Oyamada Kouta transfers to a big city high school in his freshman year, and from day one, his life enters a world of crazy . First, a beautiful second-year student named Chizuru professes her love to him, then reveals that she is in fact a fox spirit. Frisky and flirty, she suggestively teases naive Kouta in front of his classmates, embarrassing him to no end. If that wasn’t enough, a gorgeous wolf spirit named Nozomu suddenly transfers to Kouta’s class and decides she wants the hapless country boy for herself. As fox girl and wolf girl vie for his heart, does Kouta have any say in this?” Now comes the news that Seven Seas Entertainment will release the first Kanokon Collected Omnibus (Volumes 1 and 2) this April, written by Katsumi Nishino and illustrated in black & white by Rin Yamaki. You can pre-order it at the Sci Fi Genre web site.
image c. 2013 Seven Seas Entertainment
We’ve been following this one since we first caught wind of it in Animation magazine, and somehow it snuck by us… and right onto DVD at your local WalMart, no less. Cinderella: Once Upon A Time In The West (known as Cinderella 3D in Europe) is a new CGI feature from France, directed by Pascal Herold. The story is much as you’ve ever heard it before: Cinderella (a pretty pronghorn who can handle her own in a fight) lives with her cruel stepmother and ugly stepsisters (all of them big old hounds)… this time, in a town in the Old West. A handsome prince (also a canine, but much more… handsome) comes into town and… well you know the rest. Or do you? Did we mention the sand pirate monkeys who fly on vultures? Yes, it’s that kind of film! It’s produced by Delacave Studio, and you can check it out at their web site. Oh, the DVD is in English, by the way.
image c. 2012 Delacave Studio
Hey look — we’re back to Free Comic Book Day stuff! First off, did you know that Ice Age: Continental Drift had the highest world-wide box office take of any animated film in 2012? Well it did, by a comfortable margin of millions. Now Boom! Studios’ Kaboom! imprint is carrying on the story and the world-famous characters with their offering for Free Comic Book Day, Ice Age: The Hidden Treasure. “When Crash and Eddie hear about a haunted treasure in a place called Bone Valley, they can’t get the idea out of their heads! After convincing Peaches and Sid to join them on their journey, they set off to become treasure hunters…but what surprise awaits them where X marks the spot?” Crash and Eddie are two rather manic opossums, Sid the sloth is their friend, and Peaches the mammoth is their niece. Yes, it somehow all makes sense! Hidden Treasure was written by Caleb Monroe and illustrated in full color by Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb. Remember, Free Comic Book Day is May 4th.
image c. 2013 Boom! Studios
