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Interview With Azoth - Comic Panels, ADHD, & Tokenism
Resources, Social Media & Donation Links
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On January 11th 2021 I sat down with Azoth, a skilled black trans artist creating their dream web comic Revenant at an astounding pace of 5 pages per week. Not only does he manage to write in a black protagonist to head this fantasy world, he also creates something totally unique: spinning an urban fantasy adventure that criticizes colonialism and doesn't hold back from going all out on the art.
Of course it's not all fun and games. As an artist struggling with a recent ADHD diagnosis he goes into detail weighing the pros and cons of the affliction from 10 hour days of straight drawing to struggling with executive dysfunction. He goes over the steps to creating a successful page with tips on how to panel a scene.
It's obvious Azoth isn't gonna let anyone get in his way. And as you'll hear in this interview, they've tried before.
Thanks everyone for the support over the past few months. We're glad to be back! Don't forget to subscribe to get the latest episodes delivered to your device as soon as it drops.
"Robin Hood & Her Valkyrie" read by The Voice of Dog Podcast | Audio Drama by Tempe O'Kun
A short story that was included in a promo Culturally F'd zine, read by The Voice of Dog podcast host Khaki. Learn more about The Voice of Dog podcast: https://www.thevoice.dog/ Art by Slate: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/slate Merch, Sweet Tees and stuff: http://www.culturallyfd.com https://teespring.com/stores/culturally-fd-merchandise Support Culturally F'd: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd Plus a Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/gsz8us7 Listen in on TEMPO TALKS with Tempe O'Kun https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPyIK2c7mK-LpbvfDNqfcSW Check out Tempe O'Kun's books "Sixes Wild" and "Windfall" here: http://furplanet.com/shop/?affillink=YOUTU2907 Here's a playlist of his other Culturally F'd videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPS7tnT4hdJwBI-CeLF8Kb_
Cartoons For Grown-Ups
… or at very least, for adult persons. Over at Animation World Network there’s a new article about a slate of upcoming adult-themed animated TV series in development for HBO Max. Sandwiched right in the middle of the set is word about one particular show of furry interest: “From creator and musician Sean Solomon, Hello Paul features a neurotic millennial cat whose intense job and freeloading mouse roommate stress him out.” That’s what we know so far. “In development” is often a fancy way of saying there’s no planned release date yet, but you’ll find out more as soon as we know it.
image c. 2021 HBO Max
Ep 69 – Fun Bags! - What’s better than a barrel of monkeys? A barrel of authors! Original Air-Date: September 10, 2016
Ep 68 – Anthrocon – SWS - A group of writers sit down at Anthrocon 2016 and talk it out. Come have a listen. Original Air-Date: August 1st, 2016
Ep 67 – Reading/Writing - The hosts talk about reading and writing, the two things every author should be doing. Original Air-Date: July 12, 2016
Ep 66 – Scene it, Wrote it - Come listen to the hosts talk about writing scenes. Original Air-Date: May 23, 2016
Ep65 – A Feral Scene - Special guests Dalan and KC Alpinus join the hosts as they talk about the difference between ferals and anthros. Original Air-Date: April 25, 2016
Ep 64 – Technically Correct - The hosts discuss the technical aspects of writing with a special guest. Original Air-Date: May 2nd, 2016
Ep 63 – Work/Life Balance - We discuss the technical aspects of writing with a special guest. Original Air-Date: April 5, 2016
Ep 62 – Furry Niche! - The hosts talk about what it’s like writing in their niche bubble. Original Air-Date: March 13, 2016
Ep 61 – Slice of Romance - Listen to us talk about slice of romance. What do we mean by that? Come have a listen to find out. Original Air-Date: March 16, 2016
Ep 60 – The Ursa Majors & Coyotls - Come listen to us talk about the Ursa Majors and Coyotls awards. Original Air-Date: February 15, 2016
Bearly Furcasting #42 - Finn/TraaaashPanda, History with Bearly, Math, and Really Bad Jokes
MOOBARKFLUFF! Click here to send us a comment or message about the show!
Finn/TraaaashPanda and founder of Fuzznet World joins us this week to discuss their involvement in the fandom and all the things they do in the fandom. Taebyn tries really, really hard to set up a failed joke. Bearly relates a story about when he found his first mailbag. Bearly Sings a song…yep…Bearly! Does Majira listen to our podcast? Did a cockatiel want to go to schoool? We chat a bit about Statler the Flying Fox, the Ursa Major Award, Taebyn has a lot of questions, and tells us a story, and we once again tell some really bad jokes. Just what happens when Taebyn is left alone for a few minutes? So join us and spend some time without a care!
Thanks to all our listeners and to our staff: Bearly Normal, Rayne Raccoon, Taebyn, Cheetaro, TickTock, and Ziggy the Meme Weasel.
You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com
From Paw to Print, compiled by Thurston Howl
If you’ve ever wanted a conglomeration of great writing advice from established writers and publishers in the furry fandom, “From Paw to Print” is your book. It’s like a mini-anthology with the theme being writing, but now the authors are free to talk candidly about their experiences for the sole purpose of educating aspiring writers about the good, the bad, and the unspoken aspects one will probably find in their journey to put a published piece in someone else’s hands. Or paws. I thoroughly enjoyed all eleven essays in this book, and I believe I will be coming back to them several times as I try to wade through the (less) daunting waters of publishing.
“From Paw to Print” is a book about the process of taking a piece of writing and turning it into a published work. Each essay inside was written by a different writer or publisher, with topics ranging from the differences of sex, erotica, and porn to the importance of having a writer’s platform. Most of the essays serve as a place to start for beginning writers while others serve as food for thought. “Furry Erotica and Pornography: Art, Yiff, and the Self” by Katav, for example, was a particularly compelling essay about harmful preconceptions we may have about writing and reading sexual stories. “Small Press vs. Self Publishing” by Weasel, on the other hand, served as a helpful guide about what to expect, as well as what to avoid, when using small press to publish your work. So if you’re curious about where to start or what to expect in the writing world, try reading this book. It’ll give you a lot to think about.
A daring, but much needed, essay about the differences between romance, erotica, and porn starts off the book. Tarl “Voice” Hoch explains that, on a basic level, the difference is how much eroticism goes into them. A helpful tip for deciding which to write is to think about what your audience is there for. Overall, I found this essay extremely helpful in deciding which of the three I’d personally like to write about, and I’m sure the same will happen for you. If you want to, that is.
Next is an essay about worldbuilding by J.F.R. Coates. He separates his essay into four parts, with each one being an important starting point to creating your own world. Knowing what to leave out, Coates states, is just as important as what to put in. He also gives a few pointers on how to not be racist when creating your world, which can be tricky if you’re considering putting stereotypes from the real world into your fictional world. I would have liked a bit more from Coates into how he goes about worldbuilding in his own stories. I think a few examples from his own work would have been nice to read about.
Amy Claire Fontaine details a very helpful guide about animal behavior in her essay titled “Animal Attributes in Furry Writing.” Using her experience as a wildlife biologist, Fontaine writes about topics like sensory perception, cognition, and communication—aspects of animal behavior that differ greatly from our own. I really liked this essay; there was a lot to learn, and a lot I would like to implement in my own writing. I especially liked how she talked about the “spectrum of zoological realism” we find in furry media, and how differing levels of anthropomorphism can achieve different kinds of effects in furry writing.
Where Hoch talked about the overarching differences between romance, erotica, and porn, Katav’s essay talks more about how our views of such topics say a lot about ourselves. Not only that, but there are pitfalls we may stumble into if we don’t think critically about these topics. Even as I’m writing this, I’m trying to treat this with the importance I’ve learned since reading Katav’s essay. Our preconceived notions about each type of writing—romance, erotica, and porn—do affect us. I thoroughly enjoyed this essay and plan on coming back to it whenever I think about these genres.
“Small Press vs. Self Publishing” by Weasel kicks off the Publishing portion of the book. Weasel’s essay is filled with tips and pointers for those considering either method of publication. He breaks down the task of publishing into specific points to consider, and then gives monetary examples of each to give you a real world example of the cost of publishing. In addition to financial things, he also warns us about the possibility of being taken advantage of. I really enjoyed the tips Weasel gave, but not as much as his voice. It was a fun essay to read.
Rayah’s essay about submitting work is a good read for anyone who is vaguely considering writing to submit or publish their work. It’s a shorter essay, but, nonetheless, it’s helpful to think about the proper practices any writer should incorporate into their creative flow. I think Rayah’s essay could have also benefited from a few examples of their own experiences, just to let me and the readers know what to do if we get stuck somewhere along the way.
Andrew Rabbit gives us a brief look into how the publishing world has changed in the twenty years Rabbit Valley Comics has been around. The pictures and descriptions were a nice touch, but overall I think this essay could be expanded into a full story. It was hard for me to grasp what some of the terms meant in the few pages this essay crossed. There’s history here, and where there’s history, there’s a story. It was a nice break from some of the more critical essays though.
The next two essays are by Madison “Makyo” Scott-Clary. The first one is about layout and design, a super important part in all publishing journeys. She mentions how things you may not notice, like margin length and odd lines that stick out at the bottoms and tops of pages, are actually huge factors in how the reader, well, reads. (I took a book arts class in college where I had to learn about margin length, text size, font, kerning… Let me tell you, it’s not easy.) There’s a ton that goes into the way a page looks. The point, she says, is to not let it be distracting. I would have liked to know so much more about the designing process, but I also know it’s very technical, so I really appreciate the way she broke it down into easily digestible words.
In her next essay, she talks about problems you may run into if you plan on running an anthology. The process is not easy and takes a lot of time, but with careful time management and communication, you can make a masterpiece. Like her previous essay, I really enjoyed this one. Again, it serves as a simple introduction to the process of creating an anthology, but having a generic step-by-step process is extremely helpful to those starting out.
Moving along the anthology train, Thurston Howl writes about how to give an anthology cohesion. First, they refute a couple preconceptions that may be popular in the writing field, then they share a few tips to keep in mind when editing the anthology, like including trigger warnings and varying the types of stories you’ve accepted. It’s a pleasant essay that is sure to help anyone considering making an anthology.
Tarl “Voice” Hoch finishes us off with a longer essay about writers’ platforms and why they’re important. What happens after someone reads your book for the first time? They google your name. Which is why, Hoch states, that it’s important to have something that comes up in Google’s search engine. Book reviews, blog posts, anything to give your new fan a better read on you as a writer, and more content that you hope they will like. Underneath it all, Hoch says the best thing you can do is to be professional, and I fully agree. This essay was extremely helpful, and it was wonderfully written.
The essays in this book were super helpful, but not in the way I expected. Like I said before, every essay is a helpful start at the writing and publishing scene, but it’s the fact that they’re essays and not stories that kept me reading. Most of the time when you read books, you’re reading the most polished version of a journey that someone wanted to take you on. Which is great! But rarely ever do you see those authors producing short-form content that aim to help people. At least, I haven’t seen much of that, and that’s why I really like this book. Not because what they’re saying is helpful—although that’s also a huge reason I like it—but because I feel like I’m getting to know the authors’ voices a little better. There’s a lot more personality shining through the words that you don’t always get to see. This doesn’t come as a surprise. Rather, an observation I wanted to share. Such is the way essays tend to be.
Aside from the amazing content, I really liked how the book was organized. The table of contents categorizes the topics into four themes: writing, publishing, anthologies, and other. More importantly, the bios section at the end of the book lists each author by name and tells you a little about them, as well as where you can find them. There were a fair amount of typos here and there, but nothing that really broke me out of my ramen-fueled concentration.
“From Paw to Print” is great for anyone who wants to dip their toes into the writing world. That being said, there are some adult themes so I wouldn’t recommend it for minors.
From Paw to Print, compiled by Thurston Howl
Dog Gone… Over the Rainbow
We got this straight from Animation World Network: “Animal Logic has announced that the next project produced in their Vancouver studio will be Toto, the animated musical adaptation of Michael Morpurgo and Emma Chichester Clark’s 2017 book, Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz. A family film told from the perspective of Dorothy’s beloved companion, the screenplay was written by John August, with two-time Tony nominee Alex Timbers attached to direct… The Vancouver studio is currently in production on an animated film based on the DC Super Pets franchise, directed by Jared Stern and set for release in 2022.” Check out the original Toto book from Harper Collins.
image c. 2021 Harper Collins
快報：FF主辦發出〈場內防疫公告〉與繪師竹本嵐宣布缺席本次活動！
撰文／澍星；審稿／藍風
武漢肺炎疫情自2019年12月26日至今，已持續延燒將近有一年兩個月的時間。第37屆FancyFrontiera開拓動漫祭在2月10日於官網發布〈場內加強防疫措施公告〉，要求參與活動的設攤單位「排隊隊伍不可超過三人」及「不得進行非販售之活動」，如：簽名、合照、握手會、拍賣⋯⋯等。
知名繪師竹本嵐於同日當晚發出聲明，宣布本次活動將不會出攤，原因是近期的身體狀況不佳及諸多考量下做出的決定。本人也特別表明不是肺炎，且在調整飲食與休息的狀況下情況已有好轉，請各位粉絲不用擔心！
目前未有更多創作者發布缺席聲明或表態，本報將會針對後續消息持續追蹤！
Black History Month Spotlight: Rhyner
Hello again everyone! It’s February, so in honor of Black History Month, the FWG wanted to feature interviews with Black authors, publishers, and creators within the furry fandom. Today we’ll be interviewing Rhyner — a Black/Mexican transmasc queer dragon who hosts the What The Fuzz?! podcast which interviews furries of color to ask “real questions to dig into the people under the fur.”
In the world of furry writing, Rhyner actively updates Rhyner Writes, a blog where he discusses general topics for furry audiences. He was also a member of the inaugural Oxfurred Comma Inclusivity Award committee.
With this in mind, just one last thing from Rhyner before we get to the interview — “Please keep in mind: no one person can represent an entire group and that includes myself. I can only speak to my experiences and shared experiences as a mixed person. One story doesn’t paint the picture.”
FWG: What is your favorite work that you have written?
Rhyner: Normally you’d think it’d be a story I’ve written, but honestly nothing I’ve written has ever given me as much joy as the articles I have up on my website. The one in particular that folks seem to love is about overcoming anxieties to chat with others over Telegram or forums. While it’s something incredibly small it means a lot to me to be able to help someone with something that is so easily overlooked.
FWG: What do you think makes a good story?
Rhyner: A “good” story to me is a plot driven by realistic, grounded characters. They can have fantastical powers or be facing the annihilation of the universe, but if they don’t have relatability it’s not going to keep anyone invested in what’s going on. For instance “Breaking Bad” and “A Silent Voice” are wildly different stories that have pretty much nothing in common. Why am I so drawn to the plight of some old boomer selling meth on the side? Why do I care about what happens to some deaf girl? It’s because I can understand their struggles, and I latch onto them little by little. We see them at their worst, we see them do terrible things, but we see them do great things too. It’s that heavy helping of humanity that makes a story resonate with me no matter how recycled the plot itself is. But hey, if you want to throw some lore in there too it sure wouldn’t hurt!
FWG: What does Black History mean to you?
Rhyner: Black history at this moment means to me… Retreading my footsteps. It means going somewhere I’ve been before but things don’t look the same. People like me who grew up in “liberal California” were told racism was over when MLK gave his speech. We were told they desegregated schools and everything was fine after that. The Civil War being fought over slaves? “No, of course not! That was about states’ rights.” Since the start of June I’ve started to learn the real history. The resurgence of BLM flooded my timeline with things I never heard about before. The MOVE bombing, the rise and fall of Black Wallstreet, mass incarceration, and the list goes on and on. It’s painful to have to go back and re-learn your own history. Like getting bleach out of your clothes. But I’m glad to learn and I’m hungry to learn more.
FWG: Do you feel that your Blackness has affected your writing?
Rhyner: Yes. Normally I’d say it wouldn’t, but I have to write every script for my podcast. It wasn’t easy to come to terms with the fact that people will treat me differently simply because I’m black, but thanks to this Summer I quickly understood how the world saw people like me. I’ve had to make it clear why these things affect me since it could very easily be my black mother or black roommate or black best friends that end up meeting an unfortunate and untimely demise. With that in mind, going forward with writing outside of the scripts I don’t think I could go back to writing with a main character who doesn’t face similar struggles.
FWG: Do you feel that issues in the outside world affect your writing in the fandom?
Rhyner: Yes. Although racial issues specifically really only pop up in the scripts for my podcast as mentioned before I find themes of social anxiety to be a prevailing topic amongst my blog posts. There isn’t a lot of furry literature to my name, but the stories I have started out there on SoFurry that aren’t just, well, erotic have themes of feeling unable to connect with others.
FWG: If you could convince everyone to read a single book, what would it be and why?
Rhyner: The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It is nothing short of incredible how much information and thought was put into the careful articulation of every page in this book. It paints a massive, overwhelming picture of what black people are facing and have been facing in the United States from the start of slavery to now. It painstakingly goes over how the drug war started, how it was used as a weapon against black people, and what effect it’s had on us today. It’s a must read if you care about civil rights. Period.
FWG: You interview a lot of BIPOC furs for your podcast. Have they ever mentioned furry writing or publishing? If so, what kinds of comments have you gotten about it?
Rhyner: Yes, some have. For example one guest known for his outlandish NSFW drawings, is also something of a storyteller. I thought to get his perspective on why writing tends to be overlooked in the fandom and he remarked that it was quite simple, really. Fursuits and art are instantly satisfactory while reading a story takes time – time that could be spent looking at 30 or more pictures in the same time span. It’ll be continually be difficult to get noticed as a writer in the fandom. All we can do is make it easier to get the works out there and put it front and center.
Another guest on the show described the struggles of starting up a furry driven publishing business. Despite this, I found his drive to be inspiring. After all when forced to compete with Sofawolf, Furplanet, and others – why not have some fun with it?
FWG: Is there anything the furry writing community could be doing to be more welcoming to Black creators?
Rhyner: The best thing the furry community can do is to be open and uplift. Be open to the storylines brought on by BIPOC creators of all backgrounds. If you’re a publisher, feature black creators during black history month, Indigenous furs during their month, and so on. If you’re a reader and happen upon a story you enjoy that’s from a black person or another person of color be sure to share their work.
Don’t be afraid to call out bigotry when you see it.
FWG: Do you have any projects incoming you’d like to tell people about?
Rhyner: Well, What’s The Fuzz?! Is available on all platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and you can see the full list on my website again rhynerwrites.com anything else I’ve got cooking will be posted up on my Twitter @whatsthefuzz_
FWG: Any last words for our readers?
Rhyner: 2020 was a hard year for everyone and BIPOC individuals in particular. Police brutality raided our timelines. Ignorant questions cornered us at every turn whether it be at the mall, at work, or at home. The audacity of it all. To shepherd BIPOC people, as a monolith, into the role of reluctant teacher to quench the curiosity of the average white moderate.
In the end, we were expected to dust ourselves off and bounce back like nothing happened. Everything changed, but also nothing changed at all. It’s 2021 now.
Don’t shield the racist in your group chat. Ban them. Keep Nazis out of furcons, group chats, furmeets – everything. They have no place in this fandom and never will. Don’t just use the hashtag #BLM to make your account prettier. Act on it. We need people to understand the difference between an anti-racist and the person who says they aren’t racist.
My advice to you? Check out blacklivesmatters.carrd.co sometime and look through the educational resources. There are articles, books, movies, TV shows, documentaries, plays, interviews, audiobooks, and more about the topics of racism in all of its ugly, insidious forms.
Don’t forget that no BIPOC person owes you an education. You have everything at your disposal to educate yourself. Looking forward to seeing you at Howlfest. Take care.
We would like to thank Rhyner once again for taking the time to sit down and talk with us. We hope you’ll join us again next week as we interview another Black creative within the furry fandom. Until next time, may your words flow like water.
Ally and Her Allies
Another graphic novel for young readers, this one written and illustrated by Norm Feuti. “Ally the alligator is perfectly happy being alone . . . until one day a noisy bird named Beak lands on her snout. Beak thinks Ally is lonely and needs a friend. He has all sorts of friendship goals in mind, like riding bikes together, going to the movies together, and even solving mysteries together! But when a Long-Billed Party Pooper crashes Beak’s nest-warming party, Ally decides to show Beak something important to her: Sticking up for what’s right.” Beak & Ally Volume 1: Unlikely Friends is available now in hardcover from Harper Collins.
image c. 2021 Harper Collins
Werewolf: The Anthropology - Bloodfacts | Episode 73
The tabletop RPG Werewolf: The Apocalypse teaches players to relate to people from very different cultures than their own. Arrkay does the talking but Tempo did the writing. You can support our fight to educate the masses about Gaia's fuzzy protectors by pledging on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd NOTES 0:31 - Ron Spencer 0:39 - Ron Spencer 0:42 - Steve Prescott 0:57 - Ever After High (2013) 1:50 - Cursed (2005) 1:55 - Ron Spencer 2:15 - Steve Prescott & Sherilyn van Valkenburgh 2:30 - Alex Sheikman 2:33 - Steve Prescott & Sherilyn van Valkenburgh 3:24 - Gingitsune (2013) 4:40 - Underworld (2003) All other art is Dark Natasha. Tempo wrote this episode. You can find his books here: https://furplanet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=798 Official Art: White Wolf Games, Onyx Path Publishing, Renegade Games https://www.renegadegamestudios.com/ Additional Art: Dark Natasha https://www.darknatasha.com/ https://www.patreon.com/Darknatasha Preview Image: Slate https://www.furaffinity.net/user/slate Music: "From the Dark" Epsilon Zero https://epsilonzero.bandcamp.com/album/requiem Merch, Sweet Tees and stuff: http://www.culturallyfd.com https://teespring.com/stores/culturally-fd-merchandise Support Culturally F'd: https://www.patreon.com/culturallyfd Plus a Newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/gsz8us7 Listen in on TEMPO TALKS with Tempe O'Kun https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPyIK2c7mK-LpbvfDNqfcSW Here's a playlist of his other Culturally F'd videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPk-itLl1jPS7tnT4hdJwBI-CeLF8Kb_