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Courtesy of Changa Lion and the Confurence Archive, cover art by Ken Sample. 5 years after it was founded, the club newsletter covered news from 9 American club chapters and the 1982 release of Don Bluth’s Secret of NIMH.

Sy Sable co-founded the first furry con and helped grow a new worldwide furry fandom, with 1970’s roots in a small clubhouse in Los Angeles.

On 4/4/2020, Sy Sable (Mark Merlino) sent this brief history of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization, founded in 1977. His story comes from recent message trading with someone interested in the C/FO and those involved. He couldn’t connect her to people out of contact for over 20 years, but he could tell how the club started. 

Today, there’s a worldwide network we could call capital-F Furry fandom, but some key founders were “proto-furries” who met at the C/FO. The club introduced new and unusual imported Japanese anime that was starting to reach America through rare home video tech. Club members loved anime for featuring adult, science fiction and action themes unlike 1970’s American animation aimed at kids (then dominated by studios like Hanna-Barbera.) There was a lot of “giant robot” anime, but certain fans preferred to combine adult themes plus traditional “funny animal” comics and animation that eventually spun off their own, new hybrid fandom.

Sy was a founder who went on with partner Rod O’Riley to host 1980’s science fiction convention room parties, then ConFurence in 1989, and longstanding monthly parties at The Prancing Skiltaire in Southern California (when not under quarantine in 2020). The C/FO had other chapters and there were other fan groups, but this is a major root. Another founder, Fred Patten, wrote about the C/FO in How Home Video Created Anime Fandom — or check Fred’s review of Joe Strike’s Furry Nation history book that covers this. (Fred was also a writer with Jerry Beck, East Coast C/FO chapter founder and animation historian, tying in much more history.) Sy says: “This is from my perspective and drops names something fierce… but it IS my personal take on things.” ( – Patch)

In the early 1970’s, Star Trek fandom led to fan introductions through Loscon, the LASFS, and ASIFA Hollywood.

Here is how it happened, from the beginning. I attended a Star Trek convention in the 70’s with a friend. I had no previous experience with fan conventions and I was amazed. They had recreated the bridge of the Enterprise, and it was even better than the actual set. It was not made for money, nor for a production, it was built just because they were fans. They eventually used that set (which could be dismantled and moved, unlike the real set) to film promotions for the syndicated TV Star Trek show (and some commercials). The point is that this was my introduction to the concept of fandom. 

I discovered that there were several fan conventions (science fiction and comics, mainly) happening in my area during any year. I went to Equicon/Filmcon which was a fan ran media convention in LA, and volunteered as a projectionist. I ended up running the department. Back then, if you wanted to screen science fiction films, you had to rent 16MM films from places. This is how I got into screening films for fans. It turned out that one of the oldest (literary) science fiction fan clubs in the US was in Los Angeles (started in the 1930’s). The Los Angeles Science Fiction Society (LASFS) met in their own permanent club house in Burbank every Thursday night. That club had an annual convention, Loscon (2 years old at that point). 

I have always been a fan of animation, starting with Disney films (when I was a child) and later including anything animated; Hosted TV shows that showed early theatrical cartoons, even from Europe and the USSR, early animated shows made for TV (basically TV comic strips, they had so little animation) and shows from Japan that were translated for US TV. Amazing 3, Astroboy, Gigantor, Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, Marine Boy, etc. When I was in college and the university, I pursued my interest by tracking down existing animation studios and actually met many of the greats, including Tex Avery, Walter Lance, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and more modern well known creators like Ralph Bakshi. I made friends with a background painter at UPA, Ron Diaz, and he introduced me to others in the industry and in ASIFA Hollywood, the local chapter of the International Animated Film Society (the letters are out of order since the organization was founded in France).

ASIFA Hollywood hosts the Annie Awards, one of the most prestigious animation industry events — Fred Patten’s friend Jerry Beck is president.

From ASIFA Hollywood, I met Wendell Washer, a story board artist for Filmation — and some of his friends, including Judy Niver (also an animator) — and Robin Leyden (a special effects contractor) who was also a fan of Japanese animation and had some B&W video tapes of Astroboy, which had been off the air for many years. Wendell was also very interested in animation, and a collector. He had a Sony Umatic VCR (3/4″ cassette, broadcast equipment). He was recording animation off TV, including shows from Japan that were broadcast on UHF stations in Southern California on Japanese local networks. The shows were recent productions from Japan, 16 MM film that had burned-in subtitles produced by Kiku TV in Hawaii. I had been watching these shows myself, and I was amazed that someone was keeping copies. I had a Umatic VCP (player), and on the last day of Loscon (1972 I believe), I happened to have the player in my car, along with some of Wendall’s tapes of Uusha Raideen and Getta Robo G.

At Loscon, I set up the player with a TV in a meeting room at the hotel and began showing the tapes. Eventually we had about 20 people watching, and really enjoying the episodes. (Including SF authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournell.) Fred Patten was also there. When we were asked to leave the meeting room, we moved the rig to the Dead Dog room party and continued the screening. Afterward, Fred asked me how many episodes and shows I had, and I told him about Wendell’s collection.

Fred suggested we have an “informal” screening at the LASFS clubhouse every month. The 2nd Saturday was available, so I hauled my TV (they didn’t have one, being a “book club”) and Umatic VCP, and the monthly screenings began. 

The weasel mascot for the club was named Fanta. She was a skiltaire, an alien race created by Mark Merlino. Merlino was also known as Sylys Sable, the co-founder of the first furry convention ConFurence in 1989. pic.twitter.com/WQpk02WYHl

— City Pop Possum (@KaiserBeamz) May 29, 2019

Starting the C/FO for anime screenings and importing rare videos from Japan.

At some point (in 1977), we had managed to add material to our screenings, thanks to Marc Kausler, an animator and film collector. People with contacts in Japan began trading tapes with other fans. By that time I had my own VCR (a Sanyo V-Cord II, because it had still frame and slow-motion features, which no other consumer VCR had), and I began making copies for our (my) own video library. In May (I believe) Wendall, Judy, Robin, Fred and I met in a park near Judy’s house and decided to become the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization. I remember the weird name was Fred’s idea (but he later denied it). The reason it was called “cartoon-fantasy” is because they (not me) believed that the term “animation” was too “insider” for typical fans, though everyone knew about “cartoons”. The “fantasy” part was because we were also getting live-action adventure shows from Japan (like Ultraman, Spiderman (Jp), Tiger Mask and many 5 member “transforming ninja” team shows), which were also popular at our screenings. 

After a couple of years Fred told us that the LASFS did not want to host our screenings. He said it was because they could no longer guarantee our 2nd Saturday dates (but I suspect that it was because the club was always anti-media. It was a “literary” club, after all.) Judy Niver suggested we could move to the Animator’s Union Hall (Teamsters), in North Hollywood, and they eagerly agreed to host us. The meetings continued for a couple of years at the hall, including two visits from Dr. Osamu Tezuka and some young animation students from Japan. We even had the first (non-film festival) screening of “Cleopatra, Queen of Sex”, Tezuka’s soft-porn animated feature. It was here that Robin Leyden presented Tezuka with the statue of Astroboy he had made as a gift. At some point Judy decided she was not interested in the club and we had to move again. 

The Prancing Skiltaire youtube channel is curated by Changa Lion, who also runs the ConFurence Archive for vintage materials of the C/FO and more.

For a year or so after leaving the Union hall, we met at the home of Louise Hitchcock, who had set her place up as a pub, with a large meeting room and game room. (Louise and I became a couple for a few years, and that is when we had two skiltaires as co-mascots, based on her and I). We searched for a new venue, and a fellow LASFS fan and friend who had a dance studio in Inglewood volunteered his place (in the Youtube video above). The C/FO met there for a long time, passing it’s 20th anniversary at that location. We have guests like Fred Ladd, creator of the US Gigantor and Kimba, and the founders of the first US TV producers of Giant Robot and SF Japanese shows. 

During all this, I began organizing (myself) screening rooms (using video tape) at various science fiction and comic conventions. I had a lot of problems with some of the convention organizers who claimed I was a “pirate” and would get the convention in trouble for showing “copyrighted” material. Though at the same time, they wanted to add my videos to the convention programming! I was not just showing anime, I was also showing classic cartoons, SF films and TV shows like the comedy SF show Quark (which nobody claimed at that point). Fred suggested that these screenings were “sponsored by the C/FO”, and some were labeled that way.

At the time, I developed a set of rules to protect myself from possible problems with copyright I called “Catch 33” (a pun on the famous WWII story Catch 22). It goes like this: If the video screening room is not promoted in any convention literature, then the video screening room cannot be considered a way to attract attendees. If the video screening room is not a part of the convention program, and takes place in a room open to anyone that happens to be in the hotel, then people are not “paying” to see the screening (you don’t need a con badge to be in the video room). There may be a printed schedule for the room, but it is only available at the con information desk, and also posted outside the video room. These rules worked. In the 20+ years I organized video screening rooms, I (nor the convention organizers) were ever bothered by anyone about copyright or “public screening” problems. At Worldcon Phoenix in 1978, I had an agent from the film security board (looking for bootleg video tapes bring sole in the dealer’s room) in my screening room enjoying the videos, and his colleagues had to come find him. They gave me no trouble. 

So, there you have it, the history of the C/FO, according to me. Of course I left stuff out, but this is how it happened based on my personal recollection. There are still active chapters of the C/FO — Los Angeles and San Diego I believe — and maybe even regular screenings. 

I hope you enjoyed this personal history of the first US anime club. 

– Mark (Sy)

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. Want to get involved? Share news on these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for anything — or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here.

On a lighter note, artificial intelligence definitely is changing the world and so is the way we experience gameplay. Akinator is a French computer and mobile game that attempts to determine what fictional or real-life “character” the player is thinking of by asking a series of questions, similar to the game “Twenty Questions” in the […]

A lot of things happened during this month, as the coronavirus continuously developed. Virtually, all furry conventions in the furst half of 2020 is either deferred to the next half of 2020 or canceled and moved to next year. This included most of the cons in July, although some cons such as Anthrocon have yet […]

Roo is joined by Lokai and Radix of the Bunker Club podcast to discuss the importance of community, and how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impact awareness of and change in our communities! We read your emails, share tips on how to deal with physical distancing, and get through this insane time.








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MUSIC

Opening Theme: RetroSpecter – Cloud Fields (RetroSpecter Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2018. ©2011-2018 Fur What It’s Worth. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Fifty Sheds of Grey: Kevin MacLeod – Spy Glass. Licensed under Creative Commons: by Attribution 3.0. Visit Incompetech for more.
Patreon - The Tudor Consort, Inflammatus, Creative Commons, 2010
Closing Theme: RetroSpecter – Cloud Fields (RetroSpecter Chill Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2018. ©2011-2018 Fur What It’s Worth. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!) S8E25: The Fandom, The Rona, and You - Roo is joined by Lokai and Radix of the Bunker Club podcast to discuss the importance of community, and how the current COVID-19 pandemic is impact awareness of and change in our communities! We read your emails,

The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by Sir Julius Vogel Award-winning storyteller A. J. Fitzwater chronicles the adventures of, which may come as no surprise, Cinrak the Dapper! Cinrak doesn’t start out with this title however. The story begins with a young capybara orphan with aspirations to become a pirate. Throughout the seven stories within this collection, we get to see Cinrak come into herself by making friends, finding family, and going on many marvelous adventures. However, don’t come into this story with expectations of typical pirate adventures. While there is certainly the salt of the sea, these stories are no Pirates of the Caribbean styled affair. Often the story makes some fantastic twists on pirating tropes and the idea of the setting in general. It’s mentioned in the foreword, but these stories are designed with the concept of joy in mind. The stories are designed to have drama surrounded with mysteries, the payoffs with scenes of amazement and emotion.The stories do make some large leaps in time, and we do miss some major moments in Cinrak’s life. For example, we do miss how the love of Cinrak’s life and her meet minus some small details. Some might find this disorienting in ways, though others might also enjoy trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I wasn’t quite sure if this was a negative myself, though it was a bit disorienting at times.Despite this, the book does contain some marvelous strengths. I have rarely seen a world in a fantasy setting truly so fantastical! Everything comes to life, sometimes quite literally things you would not expect. There are countless species present, both animals and fantasy fare like fairies. Each story seems to unlock one of the many small mysteries of the world, all of which are fun to uncover. Several people would be sold on the four-word premise of the book alone: dapper lesbian capybara pirate. For those that aren’t, I want to look at the dedication for the book. “For the wary, weary traveller. Rest a while.” These stories have the power to uplift anyone needing a boost while sailing the stormy seas of life. I can recommend this book to those looking for well-written queer representation and those needing light reading to bring them some happiness. I enjoyed it quite thoroughly and am quite happy to have it on my shelf!

While we’re all huddled in our caves — why not visit with some friendly creatures who dance in theirs? Apple TV+ and the Jim Henson Company have brought back the stars of the beloved series Fraggle Rock in a new collection of shorts called Fraggle Rock: Rock On! “The Fraggles might be apart in separate caves, but they can still find ways to have fun together! Join Gobo, Red, Boober, Mokey, Wembley, and Uncle Traveling Matt for stories and songs that show everyone how we’re all connected.” Fun fact: How do you produce a new show when everyone is still in lock-down? Simple — the entire show is filmed on iPhones from the production staff’s homes and garages. Modern technology! Here’s a review over at Slashfilm, which includes the trailer.

image c. 2020 The Jim Henson Company

Are you a glass half type of person? More banter to keep you hopefully entertained during a difficult time. *hugs*

FurCast is sponsored by Twin Tail Creations. Use coupon codes REDWOLF or BLUEFOX to save 15% on silicone products during checkout. Free FurCast Themed Colorations are also available which can be applied as a color choice to your toy purchase.

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Link Roundup:

• Beastars voice actors do a commentary stream
• Quarantinestars
• Another update from Anthrocon (Since this episode’s recording Anthrocon has officially canceled)
  • (outdated) 2020-04-20 – Anthrocon Update
  • (outdated) Pittsburgh Paper Article
  • 2020-04-27 Cancellation
• Mom makes penis face masks to raise money
• Telegram hits 400 million users

News:

• New Unluckiest Person in Human History
• Museums Battle on Twitter with their Creepiest Objects
• Scientists Shave Spider Legs
• Seashells Pile up on Beaches from Lack of Tourists
• Farmers are Renting Out Animals on Webcams to Crash Zoom Meetings
• I Tried Not to Cum While Playing the Adult Games Advertised on Pornhub

[Live] The Glass Half

another latenight stream w/ our fans! Join us Saturday as Alkali & Boozy play Civ 6 together at 10am! If you enjoy, please throw a buck at us on Patreon! -- https://www.patreon.com/draggetshow all of our audio podcasts at https://soundcloud.com/the-dragget-show You can also find us on Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes & wherever you find podcasts! We have some great newshirts & merch from Merch Minion - https://dragget.merchminion.com/ Dragget Show telegram chat: https://t.me/draggetshow Robecast! - The Final Fantasy 7 Anime Nostolgiabomb - another latenight stream w/ our fans! Join us Sa…

摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸摸

作者: https://twitter.com/ghostfennec

你是個成熟的繪圖板了 該自己畫圖了

不過我不知道平常人有多大就是ㄌ

今年主題

有前途的比利

你這 臭婊
出處: https://twitter.com/foxing_around/status/1161720706247380992?s=20

童年崩壞

我想下地獄了

我想當新人

上萬塊的地毯

阿斯

嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚嗚

沒辦法 只有這件

這超越性別了吧

出處: https://twitter.com/Kitchiki

難受

Oof

不知道ㄟ

恩 對 狐狸

Just recently, a fundraiser organised by the charity wing of European furcon Eurofurence has raised US$8,502, which was then matched 1:1 by LinkedIn to obtain the final amount of US$17,004. This was done to support their 2020 charity Cheetah Preservation Foundation in the face of them facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19 and their country […]

Furrymosa dealer groups’ booth fee refund form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA… In the past two weeks, more furcons, especially those within May-July, have announced event cancellations. This trend treads dangerously close to events such as Anthrocon, one of the biggest furcons in the world, which is set to be held on 2-5 July. If the virus continues to […]

Current news got ya bothered? Take a break with a forgotten 90’s cartoon of total radness!

For many suburban kids in the 80’s and 90’s, riding a bike to the mall was living the dream, along with going to the video store and renting popcorn sci-fi movies, miniature golfing, or playing the TMNT arcade game at the pizza parlor (maybe while rocking out with Chuck E. Cheese.)

Let all of those vibes come at you from Bert and Gert, the bunnies in kneepads with flipped up hats who ride hoverboards, like in Back To the Future Part II. They’re a brother and sister on a mission, but who sent them? Whoever it was, they trust these bunnies to spy on kids using radar wrist watches more advanced than any smartphone yet invented. WHOAH!

Why do they spy on kids? During the boppin’ theme song, we learn that it’s to protect them — from snakes, lightning and optical illusions (??) — but keep watching. This is the 80’s/90’s Stranger Danger genre. It’s not the boring After School Special kind with terrible acting though; this is pure, uncut cartoon magic. It has neon “wonky” aesthetics with the mellifluous voices and irresistible coolness of cereal mascots you wish were your best friends forever.

What kid wants to get in trouble if these bunnies teach them how to stay safe? I know I’M never talking to a stranger again. I love this so much, I wish I had a fursona like this (and it can happen, because that’s what furry fandom is for!)

That’s the full length 7:00 cartoon. Youtube also has :30 TV spots edited from it to air during fun kid shows on Canadian TV. It’s from a VHS handed out by Canadian Tire, which is the other store Canada has besides Tim Horton’s. (Oh, I think they also have a beer store, but kids can’t go there until they’re big enough to ride a moose by themselves.)

Thanks to Hugo The Pink Cat, Quebecs furry artist, for sharing this maple-syrup sweet piece of Canadian animation we chatted about.

Hugo: I think these Canadian PSAs may have had a hand in me being furry later on. They also made me realize I hadn’t seen Block Parents signs in AGES. It was a program in Canada where you could be designated as a safe place where children in a risky situation could go. My aunt was one when I was a kid. After looking up their website, I understand why. You have to pay to become a block parent (but it’s supposed to be a volunteer job.)

Patch: Yay for happy futurebunnies with that wonky 90’s design. Compared to overly rendered furries with abs, I want more cute simple flat color design. I would eat up a whole comic drawn like this. And there’s much great Canadian animation…

Hugo: Actually I want to find out who animated this. I’m pretty sure that whoever voiced the male rabbit I’ve heard more recently in OTHER stuff, like his voice is SO familiar.

Research actually does lead down a rabbit hole. The animation came from “Bear Spots” (as in TV Spots), an advertising branch of Nelvana, the Canadian animation giant that produced hundreds of TV shows including lots with furry interest.

Gert and Bert were the brainchild of a producer there — and came from a real-life tragedy with her child. They actually represent an entire era of culture, and however sad the story behind it is, they help the memory of a kid to live on in a positive way. Buzzfeed has a good article about this — (warning, it does have intense content so I’m only linking out.) Dive in if you want to learn what’s behind the colorful cartoon world where kids don’t just fear strangers, they have radical bunny friends empower them to use their radars for good.

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, please follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. Want to get involved? Share news on these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for anything — or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here.

For some time now well-known illustrator Rod Espinosa has been giving us the latest story arch of his Adventure Finders fantasy comic series, called The Edge of Empire. It features, among many other characters, a friendly and helpful gnoll — basically a hyena on steroids. Well now Action Lab Entertainment have gathered this story arch together into a new full-color trade paperback. Take a look over at Graphic Policy for some preview pages.

image c. 2020 Action Lab Entertainment

For those not in the know, the Cóyotl Awards is an annual award run by the Furry Writer's Guild since 2011 to recognize "excellence in anthropomorphic literature". These works can only be nominated and voted upon by members of the FWG (even if the authors are not part of the guild themselves) instead of the general public, kinda making them like the Oscars but for furry literature. This anthology, edited by the late Fred Pattern, collects both winners and nominees for the Best Short Story category from the first seven years of the Cóyotl Awards and represents pretty much the whole spectrum of furry literature. Do you want stories with feral characters? You have them. Do you prefer anthros? You have them. How about comedy, horror, sci-fi, or fantasy? Yes, yes, yes, and yes.The anthology starts with "The Canoe Race" by Daniel and Mary E. Lowd, winner of Best General Short Story for 2011 (only year when this and Best Mature Short Story were separate categories). First published in Stories of Camp Rainfurrest, this is a typical camping story with handicrafts, fire pits, and, yes, canoe races but with the twist being that the campers themselves are animals, and by that I don't mean anthropomorphic animals like in some television shows, but instead real, feral animals. So, you get to see birds doing macramé, bears singing, and even raccoons trying to bribe bobcats with shiny objects. The descriptions of the animals-imitating-humans are short and sweet, with the story as a whole having a lighthearted and wholesome tone--a rare sight in this collection.Next comes "Best of Breed" by Renee Carter Hall, winner of Best Mature Short Story for 2011. First published in Allaso volume 1: Shame, this is a coming-of-age story about the competitive world of Animal Shows but with the almost opposite twist of the previous story as Mina, the main character of this story, is an anthro cat and therefore a sentient creature. At first, everything goes fine for our protagonist, but her world starts crumbling apart once she starts getting into bigger and fancier shows, not in small part by the way Shawn, her human handler, treats her and her sister. The only story in this anthology with any sort of sexual content, though tame and non-explicit, Hall's way of handling Mia's journey into adulthood was gripping and did not let go until the final parts of it.Closing this section is "Dragonman and Lonesome Woman" by Vixxy Fox, nominee for Best General Short Story 2011. In this self-published story, Dan, a truck driver and veteran soldier, encounters three quirky characters in the middle of the desert and embarks with them in a spiritual journey to help their sister, the eponymous Lonesome Woman. A journey which is as much about healing her as it is to heal himself. Introspective at times and comedic at others, Dan's journey is an interesting one, though, all things considered, this could be considered one of the least "furry" of all stories in this anthology.Next we have "Chasing the Spotlight" by Tim Susman, winner of Best Short Story for 2012. First published in ROAR volume 4, this story stars Alex, a news feed podcaster who tries to score an interview with Lon, a mysterious man who underwent a cosmetic surgery to turn into an anthropomorphic animal. Controlled at first, this story slowly spirals into a more gritty one about regret and conspiracy theories as it goes along. Personally, one of my favorite stories in this collection, even if only because of all the possible setups it presents that I'd hope to see expanded upon eventually.Accompanying the previous story is "Rearview" by Sean Silva, nominee for Best Short Story 2012. First published in Allaso volume 2: Shame, this is also the first horror piece in the anthology. Ben, a troubled pig on the run, meets an aggressive wolf on the road after his car breaks down in this short story about the dangers of hitchhiking. From the onset, we can tell that something's not right in all of this, and Silva's handle of the suspense carries the story perfectly until its inevitable outcome. "Fox in the Hen House" by Mary E. Lowd is the winner of Best Short Story for 2013. First published in Dancing in the Moonlight: RainFurrest 2013 Charity Anthology, this nature vs nurture story focuses on Henry, a feral fox kit who gets adopted by several chickens, neither being aware of what the other’s species is. Just like "The Canoe Race", this is more of a sweet and lighthearted story that progressively gets darker as Henry grows older and it becomes more readily apparent to everyone that there might be something different about him.Closing this section is "Son of the Blood Moon" by Bill 'Hafoc' Rogers, nominee for Best Shot Story 2013. First published in Rabbit Valley's Trick or Treat, this story follows River, an aggressive, dominant, and charming alpha man who goes to a party in spite of his mother's warnings to never go out during a full moon. One of the "Trick" stories in that anthology, River will need to decide what to do after being invited to be part of a ritual by the mysterious Rhiannon, a ritual which involves a hefty price to pay. While a bit formulaic at times, the end was surely able to catch me by surprise."Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher, is the winner of Best Short Story for 2014. First published in Apex Magazine issue 56, this is the story of a boy, his grandma, and a jackalope girl that was caught by the former, or did he? In the end, it's up to Grandma Harken to fix the boy's mistakes and free the jackalope from the pain brought upon by her own blood. Another story that does not feel as "furry" as it could be, but that also makes it up by its modern take on an age old myth.Next is "Pavlov's House" by Malcolm Cross, nominee for Best Short Story 2014. First published in the online magazine Strange Horizons, this story follows the narration of Sokolai, one of several bio-engineered anthropomorphic dog soldiers who, along with his brothers and a human family, is trapped with no food or water sources nearby. Unable to leave because of the revolutionaries patrolling the streets, Sokolai and his brothers must struggle with the programming they received even before they were born. Our unreliable protagonist’s account of the events that happened and their aftermaths can be hard to read at times, but it's this crudeness that makes the story what it is.Changing the formula a little is "The Analogue Cat" by Alice 'Huskyteer' Dryden, winner of Best Short Story for 2015. First published in The Furry Future, this story chronicles the whole life of Tozer, a second-generation Bengal Pet all the way from his birth as a Pet (the bio-engineered organisms created to replace another set of creatures known as Bots) to the drastic changes in his life once the newer generations succeed in getting Pets equal rights. However, what really makes this story stand out is that it uses a second person POV for its narration, making the journey of you, the reader, as The Analog Cat feel more personal.Accompanying the previous story is "Muskrat Blues" by Ianus Wolf, nominee for Best Short Story 2015. First published in Inhuman Acts, this noir story follows Mike Harrison, a pig and private investigator whose old friend Alex Richards was recently murdered. Set in a world where predation is a thing, even if not common; the police dismiss the case and it's up to Mike to sniff out the true culprit. A story that might be a little more familiar to those who are more in the known with the genre, but that kept me guessing with every twist as it unfolded.Next is "400 rabbits" by Alice 'Huskyteer' Dryden, winner of Best Short Story for 2016. First published in Gods With Fur, this is the story of Eighty-Six, one of four hundred Aztec rabbit gods in charge of drinking, drunken revelry, and its effects. However, as we all know, there's more to life than drinking as Eighty-Six, patron god of "attempting to chat up your best friend's betrothed", finds out when he's forced to go sober for the first time in his life, getting a new perspective on the human world and life as a whole. As can be easily glanced by our main character's title, this a comedy through and through, and one that gives an interesting insight of the role alcohol has on our lives, all from the perspective of what could be considered an under-represented culture in the fandom.Closing this section is "The Torch" by Chris 'Sparf' Williams, nominee for Best Short Story 2016. First published in ROAR volume 7, this is the story of Rob Cantor, former star of an old campy television show about a police-affiliated superhero which is soon to get rebooted, though in a darker and edgier fashion (any similarities with real life are purely coincidental). Rob, a dalmatian, is attending the same convention as his replacement and has to come to terms with his life and what all these new changes mean for him. With an air of nostalgia, and I don't mean just when our main character remembers his golden days, this story does a good job going through the nitty-gritty details of what is it that makes a fandom, and how it affects the lives of those involved in it.Finally, the last winner in the anthology is "Behesht" by Dwale, winner of Best Short Story for 2017. First published in ROAR volume 8, this is a post-apocalyptic story of the Dying Earth variety. Farad, a bio-engineered jerboa, chronicles the events and interviews that he experiences alongside a caravan that’s heading towards the eponymous hidden garden—Heaven itself. So, yes, this means that it's an anthology within an anthology! As expected of a story of this genre, the tone can be pretty bleak at times as we see our protagonists continue on their endless journey, which may or may not have the results they're looking for. Another story for which I wish to be expanded upon, whatever its outcome may be.The first 2017 nominee is "The Moon Fox" by Amy Fontaine. First published in the online magazine Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores, this modern fairy tale follows the adventures of the titular Moon Fox after he crashes on Earth as he tries to find his place in our world. Somewhere where he can be himself. Be it at a farm, at a circus, or at an audition, Moon Fox’s always trying his best. One of the most light-hearted and wholesome stories in the whole anthology, with an ending that befits its genre.Last but not least is "The Ouroboros Plate" by Slip Wolf, also nominated for Best Short Story 2017. First published in Bleak Horizons, this story follows Imperial Agent Hallord, a weasel on a mission to check up on a project by the Emperor, but whose plans get a wrench thrown in the works when the scientist he was meant to encounter, Doctor Liskar, is found dead in her office. Complicating matters further is that the space station where they're located is set to destruct in a couple hours. A whydunit where all the pieces fit when you understand its true premise, but that keeps you on your toes until you do.As mentioned near the beginning of this review, pretty much everything you may want to see is here in one way or another with some very few exceptions, and the fact that these were curated by writers and editors themselves means that you can be sure of the overall quality of every story represented. If you're new to furry literature as a whole, this is definitely the book for you. If you're not, even if you've already read all of these, you should try getting a copy too. The quality is there, the variety is there, and you can see how the storytelling styles and the fandom evolved throughout the decade.

Today we chat to Khaki, podcaster and photographer serving the furry community! We talk furry communities, con events and his podcast, The Voice Of Dog. Find Khaki on Twitter! https://twitter.com/khakidoggy Listen to the Voice of Dog! https://anchor.fm/the-voice-of-dog Find us on Twitter: @South-Afrifur, https://twitter.com/southafrifur, on Tumblr, http://south-afrifur.tumblr.com/, and on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/southafrifur Also, for more local news, check out the Zafur forums! http://forum.zafur.co.za/

Newly released this year,  we have a new — or at least “improved” — Usagi Yojimbo series from IDW Publishing called Usagi Yojimbo Color Classics. “This series collects the original early issues of the acclaimed long-running series, now in full color! Every issue will also feature new behind-the-scenes material and art. Whether you’re a long-term Usagi fan or brand new to the adventures of the ronin rabbit, this series will be the perfect addition to your comic library!” Written and illustrated by Stan Sakai, of course, with new colors by Ronda Pattison.

image c. 2020 IDW Publishing

Something interesting has just hit the shelves (so to speak). The award-winning (and Ursa Major Award nominated) game Cuphead has a new tie-in book from Dark Horse Press called — wait for it — The Art of Cuphead. “Get transported back to the golden age of 1930s animation with an art book celebrating the acclaimed run & gun platformer Cuphead! Each page of this curated collection of artwork is designed to capture the vintage look and feel of the Thirties. Take a gander at the game’s traditional hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation. Peek at the early concepts, production work, and early ideas that went into the making of Cuphead’s characters, bosses, stages, and more! And relive the most cherished and challenging moments of Cuphead and Mugman’s adventure to reclaim their souls from the Devil! Guided by personal insights from game directors Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, take a trip through the Inkwell Isles and discover a new appreciation for Cuphead’s animation style and challenging retro game-play.” It’s available now in hardcover from the Dark Horse web site.

image c. 2020 Dark Horse Press