Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Writer and artist Ian Jay refers to his on-line black & white comic Crossed Wires as an “anthro cyberpunk hacker romance action” story. We’d be hard-pressed to find a better description! Visit his official Crossed Wires page to see what he means. While you’re at it, take a look at his on-line store. There you will find (among other things) collections of Ian’s previous anthropomorphic comics, including Epiphany and Megahertz.
image c. 2015 by Ian Jay
A new science-fiction role-playing game has appeared on the scene, called HC SVNT DRACONES (a variation on hic sunt dracones, or “here be dragons” in Latin). “HC SVNT DRACONES puts you in the body of a human experiment that outlived its creator, and has gone on expanding into the galaxy while trying to heed the lessons of a race that fell to ruin. It’s about exploration and fear, expansion and conquest, intrigue and subterfuge, and ultimately, it’s about you, learning to be you, when all the trappings of humanity you define yourself with are dead and gone. A unique character generation system allows you to assemble you Vector layer by layer, from their family to their species to the unique anatomy that defines their appearance. Interact with your story on two legs or four, from 6 feet up, or less than one. Explore new character interactions and problem solving possibilities when your party can range dramatically in size and shape from person to person.” After a (very!) successful Kickstarter campaign by HSD creator Pierce Fraser, the game manual is available now as a download at Drive Thru RPG — with the hardcover edition soon to follow. Also, make sure to check out HSD’s official page at Tumblr for updates.
image c. 2015 Pierce Fraser
[ From Fred Patten: ] Fans of anthropomorphic/furry fiction can begin nominating for the 2014 Ursa Major Awards on January 15. The instructions are here. Wondering what to nominate? The 2014 Recommended Anthropomorphics Reading List contains all of the works first published or released during the past calendar year that have been recommended by furry fans. The list is divided into eleven categories: Motion Picture, Dramatic Short Works or Series, Novel, Short Fiction, Other Literary Work, Graphic Story, Comic Strip, Magazine, Website, Published Illustration, and Game. Nominations close at the end of February. Voting on the finalists will take place from March 15 through April 15. Voting and nominations are open to all. The presentations of the 2014 Ursa Major Awards will be made at Morphicon 2015 in Columbus, Ohio on April 30-May 3, 2015.
image c. 2015 by Foxenawolf
Image Comics have been proudly announcing their new fantasy graphic novel Hinges, written and illustrated by Meredith McClaren. “This graphic novel introduces the nuts and bolts of a city called Cobble, where one girl new to the city, Orio, must depend on help wherever she can find it. Her assigned familiar, Bauble, has his own agenda however. As the two explore the walls of the city, they find they are not the only new arrivals. ” Her “assigned familiar” appears to be a cat, and Orio herself appears to be… constructed. What does it all mean? Find out when Hinges comes to comic book stores this February. Or, take a read through the interview with the creator over at All-Comic.com.
image c. 2015 Image Comics
Writer C.R. Grey has created a new fantasy series for young readers that’s described as “Drawing on the traditions of Harry Potter and His Dark Materials… a fantastical boarding-school adventure with steampunk sensibilities and political intrigue…” The first book in the Animas series, Legacy of the Claw, goes like this: In a world where everyone eventually hooks up with a non-human animal, known as a “kin”, in a spiritual connection known as an “animus bond”, 12-year old Bailey Walker fears that he will become an outcast if he doesn’t find his own kin soon. But darker forces are at work in his world… forces that seek to enslave all the kin and destroy the power of animus forever. This new series is available now from Disney-Hyperion. Check it out over and Barnes & Noble.
image c. 2014 Disney-Hyperion
In 2012 John Claude Bemis (author of the Americana-Fantasy series The Clockwork Dark) brought us a new post-apocalypse novel for young readers called The Prince Who Fell From The Sky. “In Casseomae’s world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago. Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients’ sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?” Published by Random House, check this out over at the author’s web site.
[And with that, of course, we wish you a Merry Christmas, a Blessed Solstice, and a Happy Holiday Season!]
image c. 2014 Random House
Here’s another one of those “how did we miss this?” young-adult fantasy book series. Tui T. Sutherland is part of the author collective that, under the name Erin Hunter, created the Seekers and Warriors series of cat-based fantasies. In 2012 though, she returned to her own name to bring us the Wings of Fire series, beginning with The Dragonet Prophecy (published by Scholastic, Inc.) “The seven dragon tribes have been at war for generations, locked in an endless battle over an ancient, lost treasure. A secret movement called the Talons of Peace is determined to bring an end to the fighting, with the help of a prophecy — a foretelling that calls for great sacrifice. Five dragonets are collected to fulfill the prophecy, raised in a hidden cave and enlisted, against their will, to end the terrible war.” As you can well imagine, things don’t turn out as planned when the five young dragons escape. Their adventures have thus far lead us through six books in the series, and at least two more books are being written even now. Check out the first book over at Barnes & Noble.
image c. 2014 Scholastic, Inc.
Recently a new young-readers’ book series premiered, courtesy of Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. Starfire is the first book in her new series The Guardian Herd, featuring a society of talking pegasi. “Once every hundred years, a black foal is born, prophesied to either unite or destroy the five herds of flying horses that live in Anok—fated to become the most powerful pegasus in all of the land. Star is this black foal. Even though Star has malformed wings that make him unable to fly, the leaders of each herd will take no risks and want to execute Star before his first birthday. With the help of his friends, Star must escape the clutches of the powerful leaders, and his epic journey of self-discovery turns into a battle between good and evil that will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.” They’ll have more pages to turn this coming April when Stormbound (the second book in the series) hits the shelves. Check out the official page from Harper Collins Publishers to find out more.
image c. 2014 Harper Collins
Yet another creative discovery from the CTN Animation Expo: Meg Park, designer and illustrator. Or as she puts it on her personal web site, character designer and visual development artist. Besides examples of her work you’ll find a link to her Etsy Store where you can purchase various prints — many of them toony and anthropomorphic — as well as her art collection book, Fluff & Fangs.
image c. 2914 by Meg Park
