Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
Recently we came across Sand Dragon Press, home to several furry comics that are available both on-line and on dead trees. Most of them were created by writer and illustrator Cindy Ramey. The titles include Starfire Agency, Night Shift, and Hellkats, covering the genres from fantasy to horror to high adventure. Sand Dragon also features the creative works of C.A. Wolff and others. Have a look at their web site to see what they currently have to offer.
image c. 2023 Sand Dragon Press
Another creative person we came across at Midwest FurFest: Foxfeather R. Zenkova is a multi-talented artist and crafter from the American Midwest. “I have an enduring love of all things feathered, furred, and scaled. I feel a particularly strong connection to birds of all kinds (especially vultures, corvids, and owls). As a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and conservation educator, animals are a huge part of my life; I hope to help share this connection, respect, and awe through my artwork. My art business, Foxloft Studios, fully supports my volunteer work helping creatures in need.” At their web site you can see their art prints, shirts, dolls, and even animal-themed jewelry they create to that effort.
image c. 2023 by Foxfeather R. Zenkova
Another author we met at at MFF goes by the name of Utunu. Their book is an adult-themed adventure called Rafts. “Kunet, a young human pearl-diver from a small coastal fishing village, seeks to prove himself. Yet when the gods of sea and sky clash, it wreaks havoc on those caught between. In the wake of catastrophe, he finds himself adrift with an unexpected companion. Torn from their homes and everything they once knew, two strangers must now work together to survive, even as an unlikely relationship blossoms between them.” You can see from the cover just what sort of thing that companion actually is! The illustrated novel is available now at their web site.
image c. 2023 by Utunu
Here’s what we got from Animation World Network: “Seth MacFarlane’s hugely popular – and funny – Ted film franchise gets its own Peacock series to ring in the new year. The prequel kicks off in a special streaming debut with all seven episodes on January 11, 2024, giving ‘Ted Talks’ a whole new meaning. In the show, it’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts, with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes [The Orville] and Alanna Ubach) and Cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.” The article has a link to the official teaser trailer too.
image c. 2023 Peacock
Where have we been? We’ve been missing episodes of Fabulous Beasts (aka There Are Beasts), which started streaming back in April. There’s a detailed preview over at Yu-Alexius. “Known in Chinese as You Shou Yan, the donghua promises to deliver another adorable experience for Chinese animation viewers, especially to the fans of Non-Human (Fei Ren Zai), and All Saint’s Street (Wan Sheng Jie) since both shows feature mythological and supernatural creatures living in the modern day world.” [There’s even more we need to check out! — ye ed-otter] “Based on the popular manhua by Xue Xia Mao Yao Zi, There Are Beasts is produced by Bilibili and animated by Studio FENZ. [The show] follows Sibuxiang, a mythological animal who descends to the mortal world to help his fellow creatures survive in a time of scientific advancement. As Sibuxiang encounters a range of fascinating characters, including Pixiu, Tuye, and the Jue brothers, viewers will be treated to a thrilling blend of mythology and modernity, filled with exciting stories and characters that are sure to capture the imagination.” All of which fails to capture the essence of just how cute these characters and their adventures are. See what we mean over on YouTube.
image c. 2023 Bilibili
More cool people we met at Lightbox this year! Amber Aki Huang is a character designer employed at Dreamworks Animation. According to her web site, “Aki mainly works in Character Design and Visual Development for Pre-Development and Production for feature film and TV. However, Aki has also been known to design for toys.” To that latter end, she has her own brand, Deercat & Friends. It features both art and plushies of two of her original species, the deercat and the snoo, plus more general (often furry!) artwork for sale.
image c. 2023 by Amber Aki Huang
So to speak… We’ve been hearing about the new CGI film Under The Boardwalk for a while, but mostly about its release getting delayed again and again. (Seems to be a trend these days.) Now thanks to Cartoon Brew we found out it’s actually coming out — in a rather rushed manner, with almost no advertising. The movie will be coming to Paramount+ streaming in a few days, and today it begins a limited run in theaters… while also today, Paramount released the very first trailer to the Internet. ““When timid Jersey crab Armen meets bold tourist sea crab Ramona, it causes shell-shocking tension in the community. But when the duo are swept away by a storm, they embark on an epic journey to find home. Their courage unites their families, paving the way for great summers to come, Under the Boardwalk.” Director David Soren is known for animated films like Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie and Turbo.
image c. 2023 Paramount Pictures
Remember Luck? Skydance Animations first feature film premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022. Now, from what we found on Animation World Network, it seems that Skydance have inked a distribution deal with Netflix for their upcoming slate of new animated films. First up is Spellbound, which we’ve been hearing about for some time. Now it’s scheduled for release in 2024. “Spellbound follows the adventures of Ellian, the tenacious princess who must go on a daring quest to save her family and kingdom after a mysterious spell transforms her parents, the King and Queen of Lumbria, into monsters.” Even more interesting is Pookoo, looking for release in 2025. “Pookoo is a buddy comedy about a small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of The Valley, that magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime.” And check out this bit of news: “Future films include Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Iron Giant), and an untitled Jack and the Beanstalk project directed by Rich Moore (Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph).” The return of Gigantic?
image c. 2023 Skydance Animation
Lots of people have been talking about the new anime-style TV series that just recently started streaming on Netflix. “Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix is an original animated series mixing alternative Ubisoft characters from beloved franchises such as Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, and Far Cry in a highly-referenced homage to the early 90s.” The story? “Set in the year 1992, the country formerly known as the USA is now called Eden, a technocracy ruled by propaganda and corruption. Super-soldier Dolph Laserhawk has just been betrayed by the love of his life, his boyfriend Alex Taylor, and locked up in Eden’s off-the-grid maximum security prison, Supermaxx. Dolph is forced to lead a team of rebel outcasts on risky undercover missions under the order of the prison’s shadowy Warden.” What that description fails to convey is that there are lots and lots of anthropomorphic characters throughout the series, mostly bad folks but a few good-ish ones. Check out the trailer over at Animation World Network.
image c. 2023 Netflix
