Your Guide to the World of Furry Fandom
That’s how the artist known as Kiriska says it. On their web site they describe themselves as a “… Seattle-based artist specializing in surreal and macabre wildlife art, as well as monsters, creatures, and anime-inspired illustrations.” To that end they have t-shirts, prints, stickers, and other materials for sale through a variety of outlets like Redbubble, Inprnt, and Society 6.
image c. 2018 by Kiriska
Okay, so how about this: A fur-suit maker who also creates a great deal of 2D art. Or, is that the other way ’round? We don’t know! But the artist known as Tsebresos has plenty of both to show. According to her web site she’s taking a year off from fur-suit making, but she has plenty of art she’s going to be working on — and plenty of furry fan conventions where she plans on putting in an appearance in the Dealers’ Den. Look her up!
image c. 2018 by tsebresos
As usual with larger furry fan conventions, at Further Confusion there was a good selection of fur-suit makers showing off their works and looking for new commissions. Among them was an artist named Rachel Converse, who operates a shop called Dragon Soup. She puts it this way: “Dragon Soup is a California-based fur-suit studio owned and operated by Rachel Converse. Rachel earned a BFA in Craft from Virginia Commonwealth University with a focus in textiles. She has been making costumes for over 10 years and started making fur-suits in 2012.” And she works well in a variety of materials. (Advice for fur-suit makers: Want to wind up advertised on sites like this one? Have your own web site!)
image c. 2018 by Rachel Converse
[And we’re back from Further Confusion with lots to talk about…!] Kea Swartz is an artist who works under the name Talenshi, creating colorful works of fantasy that often feature anthropomorphic animals — and other just plain strange and interesting creatures. The front page of her web site shows you a lot of what we’re talking about. She also illustrated a children’s book called The Little Orange Man which you ought to check out.
image c. 2018 by Talenshi
Sometimes you just gotta admit when other people say it better. This is direct from Comics Alliance: “Over the past few years Zac Gorman has made a name for himself paying tribute to his favorite video games with his comic Magical Game Time. This October the cartoonist will be spreading that same magic into his first graphic novel, Costume Quest: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers, a companion narrative to Double Fine’s 2010 Costume Quest RPG. While Costume Quest followed a human kid and their friends as they battled candy-stealing monsters called Grubbins to recover their kidnapped sibling from another dimension, Invasion of the Candy Snatchers will flip the script and see what the non-evil Grubbin Klem got up to that Halloween.” What he got up to, it seems, is joining up with some of his fellow young Grubbins to sneak into the human world and try and steal candy — for their own sugar-starved world. Costume Quest: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers is out now in trade paperback from Oni Press.
image c. 2018 Oni Press
[Heading out of 2017, and wishing you all a happy and safe New Year in 2018. Stay Furry!]
In case you haven’t caught word of it yet: Trollhunters, created by none other than Guillermo Del Toro for Dreamworks TV and Netflix, is coming off a very successful and award-winning year. Now Dark Horse Comics have announced a new full-color tie-in graphic novel. Trollhunters: The Secret History of Trollkind is written by Richard Hamilton and Marc Guggenheim with art by Timothy Green II and Wes Dzioba. “Trollhunters: The Secret History of Trollkind explores Jim’s journey as the first human Trollhunter — defender of good trolls. The secrets of the great troll warriors of the past are crucial tools for the new Trollhunter, and the time has come for Jim to appreciate the battles of Kanjigar the Courageous, who through his own struggles, triumphs, and failures lead the trolls after the Battle of Killahead Bridge through unknown territory, across oceans and continents, and past fearsome foes! With his friends by his side, Jim continues the fight against the Gumm-Gumms and their allies!” SyFy Wire has a detailed article about it. Look for it this February.
image c. 2017 Dark Horse
[Belated, but: Merry Christmas and a Blessed Solstice to all of you!]
He may have dropped below the cultural radar as of late, but there was a time when Gumby was the superstar of stop-motion animation. Now Dynamite Entertainment have brought together the story of Gumby, his friends, and their truly unique creator, Art Clokey. Gumby Imagined: The Story of Art Clokey and His Creations is a new 300-page hardcover book compiled by Art’s son Joe Clokey and daughter-in-law Joan Rock Clokey. “Clay animated superstar Gumby has made an indelible impact on our culture and continues to enchant and entertain generations. Filmmaker Art Clokey’s personal story is one of mystical adventure, tragedy, triumph, art, and most of all, love. This lavish career-spanning retrospective explores the legendary creator’s life and complete works. All of his many creations, including Gumby and Davey & Goliath, are interwoven with a rich tapestry of rare photos and stories — the ingredients for a fascinating tale.” It’s available now from Dynamite, Amazon, and elsewhere.
image c. 2017 Dynamite Enertainment
Sorry, sorry… too obvious. Thanks to some friends on Facebook, we stumbled across an upcoming fantasy film called Hanson and the Beast — from China, no less. Drama Panda has a preview. The story goes like this: “Yuan Shuai (Feng Shaofeng) is a a man who is drowning in debt. In order to pay up, he goes on blind dates with daughters from wealthy families but ends up falling in love with Bai Xian Chu (Crystal Liu), a fox demon who’s come to the human realm to repay a debt. However, relationships between humans and demons are strictly forbidden. Bai Xian Chu is dragged back to the demon world and Yuan Shuai sets out to rescue her.” So who’s Hanson? We don’t know yet. Written and directed by Xiao Yang, Hanson comes to theaters in China right at the end of December, then everywhere else on January 5th. Check out the trailer on YouTube as well.
image c. 2017 CKF Pictures
Do you recall the Hanazuki cartoon short that ran in front of My Little Pony — The Movie this last summer? It was based on a popular on-line animated series created by Titmouse. Well now IDW Publishing have gotten into the act, bringing out a new Hanazuki: Full Of Treasures full-color comic book series. “Based on the hit animated series, Hanazuki the Moonflower comes to life in this hilarious, action-packed origin tale. See her first encounter with the lovable, pet-able (and only sometimes sassy) Hemkas! Watch her grow her first treasure trees! Witness her run ‘afowl’ of the Chicken-Plant! Enjoy as Hanazuki learns how to harness her emotions to affect real change and save her moon from the forces of darkness!” Got all that? Look for it before the end of December.
image c. 2017 IDW Publishing
