Feed aggregator
A look at furry business with a $17,017 record fursuit auction price, July 2018
(There are many reasons to give this thoughtful discussion and avoid knee-jerk reaction about cost – it will happen, but please read on! – Patch)
MixedCandy gets fandom’s current highest auction price at The Dealer’s Den.
Congrats to MixedCandy for their successful auction. One of the fandom’s highest-powered creative stars has also raised attention for The Dealer’s Den, an online marketplace for this special niche.
This new record price was set 6 months after the previous one: $13,500 for a commission slot by Made Fur You, sold on The Dealer’s Den with 82 bids on 1/29/18. It was preceded by a record that stood for 3 years: $11,575 for Sniper Angeldragon by PhoenixWolf, sold on Furbuy with 187 bids on 2/14/15.
A few years ago, The Dealer’s Den looked like more or less a ghost town when I looked at its activity. Change of ownership to Vitai Slade brought healthy growth. It now roughly compares to the much longer established Furbuy, offering more options to the fandom. Both are free to use. At time of posting, both have around 350-500 active auctions and 1800 Twitter followers. The Dealer’s Den also has a Telegram group of 3,000 users advertising their goods, while Furbuy is doing in-person promotion with con panels and flyering. I’ve personally had good experiences with both.
A look at this auction and why it matters.
MixedCandy’s sale happened in 3 days time, shortly after the onslaught of mainstream media attention Anthrocon brings every year. I wouldn’t call that coincidental – timing an auction that way may be a great strategy! The bidding was most intense among 4 bidders who went way above usual market prices. I’d say $5000-6000 is still in a reasonable range of about double the usual cost of a full fursuit (it depends on features). Over that limit is where it really became a war.
I’m not surprised to see that happen with a character like Manuel Dog. I think he’s super handsome, with personality between fierce and cute. He seems made to make you run away in fear, but run up for a cuddle at the same time. He’s full of oodles of delicious fursuit crush power. I can’t wait to see him in action.
I will never get tired of adorable "were"wolves trying to look all scary but the only thing they succeed in is being cutie patooties :3
Werepups - @LibreWulf and @Dart_fur pic.twitter.com/RLlWwcwkjY
When there’s mainstream talk about movie box-office records, or Zootopia being a billion dollar blockbuster – the fandom equivalent is convention attendance or a fursuit price record. It may be just symbolic, but you can call this a marker for “furry industry”, fandom growth, and how its artists are valued.
If you liked Zootopia‘s success, this is the fandom’s. Fursuits (and massive gatherings of them) are where the subculture flexes creative muscle and visual showstopping power. A con’s group photo can be considered a money shot of the show. There’s a lot more going on with this subculture, and an outsider may only see the surface of it – but a picture is worth 1000 words. That’s part of Manuel’s appeal and price.
Paying that much for a suit is very subjective personal worth. Other hobbies can get way more expensive (like a flashy car nobody needs). This is skilled work, and a serious gallery piece by a painter, sculptor, or other professional can cost more. “You could have gotten something else” isn’t relevant to a unique piece (for pure cheapness, try Walmart.) But such sales aren’t an investment with “high culture” recognition. It’s also for using and participating for the love of it.
Perhaps fandom is catching a generational groove like in the 1980’s and 90’s, when comics crossed a line from disposable trash to massive collectibles. Superman #1 selling for a million didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy comics. It did say a lot about adult geeks rediscovering nostalgia for things they loved but weren’t super free to enjoy as kids. Manuel is like a huggable toy and an adult inside too. Of course, you can’t print millions of Manuels; there’s just one of each.
A fursuit business isn’t a path to riches.
Does a high price mean success by itself?
From tips I’ve gotten, I’m not sure MixedCandy has had a smooth ride behind their high-demand customer queue. If that’s true, maybe this auction will help them breathe a little with relief. Cute art is Grown Up Business now, and sometimes that means Grown Up Problems.
My recent article: ArtworkTee issues and the heart of the furry economy looked at problems of indie business. For what seems like brilliant successes on the surface, there can be killer pressure from liabilities and debts or business backups. Look at Hollywood celebs or music stars saddled with massive tax debts, unpaid by bad contracts, or cheated by managers. I had a friend who took incoming calls for the IRS who helped counsel people on how to ease their burdens, who occasionally dealt with names you may know. One was a famous pop music singer whose finances were in shreds behind a long and lauded career. Creative business has had such issues forever.
Tips I was sent about MixedCandy came from an average fan looking into their business, who asked me to take it further. According to them in March 2018, they saw a Trello queue with a long backlog for commissions. It had to involve a lot of deposits. Turnaround time and outlook on catchup was questioned. But when I revisited the tip in July, they saw progress and counted the auction win as helpful for an upward trajectory. They commented that it could even inspire people with backlogs to overcome them, and wanted it to spread a hopeful message.
To research, I asked MixedCandy for their side, but didn’t get responses to share. Of course a potential customer of any business should do their own research.
MixedCandy clearly love what they do. No fursuit maker would be alone in having business issues. As long as fans want what they create, those issues will be balanced by fandom love over money. Rising from a hobby for the love of it to a reliable living and business is a real achievement.
Higher prices help risky business, and you don’t need “Name Brands” when a smaller maker is a great option.
I’ve casually tracked fursuit makers for years. They have a lot of turnover and full time ones work their tails off. Do you want them to stick around?
Furries put out so much trust to pay thousands, do the DTD thing, and wait years for a suit. On the other side, high labor goes in while some customers expect hobby prices for professional goods. It seems like a pincher.
Scaleup can hurt when a business takes on too many commitments, without charging enough to meet them. Another common problem is unforseen bills or runaway debt, like medical expense that can kneecap a business. A theft or illegitimate refund claim can compound problems. Burnout happens. At the small business level we’re discussing, going to court is unlikely. It just ends up being a mess for everyone. I think this is built in risk with fursuit making.
People who go to art school or come up the independent way may not be taught to plan for this like in business school. They just figure it out. It takes foresight to navigate the obstacles, and many don’t. This is why rising fursuit prices help.
There’s also no need to wait for years for a highly demanded maker… or complain about one auction beyond your budget. With new up-and-coming makers emerging all the time, don’t overlook a close relationship with a small, personal one hungry to get started. They’ll be grateful for support, and you may get a crazy deal with all the personal attention you could want. If you do, Tip Your Makers.
Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward. They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.
Art for the Endangered
Here’s what we learned at Comic Con: “Expedition Art is a team of artists who have joined together to raise awareness for wildlife and nature conservation initiatives through art.” To that end they have created the book In Danger, a collection of art designed to raise awareness (and funds!) for endangered species the world over. And what a collection! Black & white and color works from no less than 51 artists, including among them: Aaron Blaise, Bobby Chiu, Iain McCaig, Joe Weatherly, Terryl Whitlatch, and many many more. Visit their web site to find out how to order your own copy.
image c. 2018 Expedition Art
FC-302 Sky Daddy - To kick off, Alkali, Xander and Maci from The Dragget Show join us for silly shenanigans, followed by news, followed by a live DOS video game review. Gaia is a returning guest this week along with a first time guest, s0ph0s.
To kick off, Alkali, Xander and Maci from The Dragget Show join us for silly shenanigans, followed by news, followed by a live DOS video game review. Gaia is a returning guest this week along with a first time guest, s0ph0s.
Watch Video Improv Collab:Alkali, Xander and Maci from The Dragget Show join us for con stories, discussion of their latest Fox and Pepper Kickstarter livestream, along with crazy plans that are definitely getting us all banned from the next MFF.
Link Roundup:- Ash Coyote “Social anxiety and how fursuiting helped me conquer it”
- BBC Radio 1’s “Meet The Furries”
- Werewolf V Designs – Paradox’s Shirt
- Lion commercial
- Howlr App iOS version released
- Sparky gets to meet Rhett and Link
- Centaur-like robot designed for disaster response
- The Black Sarcophagus
- Oh Dear, There’s A Petition To Drink The Liquid From That Black Sarcophagus
- Some Rivers Are So Drug-Polluted, Their Eels Get High on Cocaine
- “I Saw Kink In God”: Dominatrixes And Their Orthodox Jewish Clients
[Live] Sky Daddy
To kick off, Alkali, Xander and Maci from The Dragget Show join us for silly shenanigans, followed by news, followed by a live DOS video game review. Gaia is a returning guest this week along with a first time guest, s0ph0s.
Improv Collab:Alkali, Xander and Maci from The Dragget Show join us for con stories, discussion of their latest Fox and Pepper Kickstarter livestream, along with crazy plans that are definitely getting us all banned from the next MFF.
Link Roundup:- Ash Coyote “Social anxiety and how fursuiting helped me conquer it”
- BBC Radio 1’s “Meet The Furries”
- Werewolf V Designs – Paradox’s Shirt
- Lion commercial
- Howlr App iOS version released
- Sparky gets to meet Rhett and Link
- Centaur-like robot designed for disaster response
- The Black Sarcophagus
- Oh Dear, There’s A Petition To Drink The Liquid From That Black Sarcophagus
- Some Rivers Are So Drug-Polluted, Their Eels Get High on Cocaine
- “I Saw Kink In God”: Dominatrixes And Their Orthodox Jewish Clients
Should He Stay in Romantic Relationship with a Woman If Sex Is Not Happening?
Let me start off by saying this weighs heavily on me, and has for a time.
When I was 17 I came out as gay, and through the next couple of years after growing up with my sexuality I started leaning more towards bi, with a strong preference for men.
In 2012 I met my current girlfriend, we met on pounced and had the best conversations. We were, and still are, best friends. But the problem is me still struggling with my sexuality. I guess the way to explain it is I have a strong sexual/romantic attraction to men, while its mostly a romantic attraction to women.
So now my sex life has dwindled to nothing, and I find myself resenting even getting into this relationship in the first place. Which is completely unfair to my mate, but I stay with her either out of being scared of being alone or for the fact I cling to some small hope I can fix it/change myself.
It's worth putting in that we have an open relationship, but when I brought up that I would like to start seeing guys she shot the idea down saying that it was selfish of me to want to date men while our sex life together is near dead. And I completely agree with her that it was selfish for me to consider it. But I might need the help of a little blue pill with her, or even men for that matter, due to my problems.
I'm sorry for spilling that on you and I'm not even sure how to formulate a question out of this, except what do you think I should do? She is a dear and beloved friend, but the problem is that she feels more like a friend than a mate. And that's my fault, since the sex died with my arrousal issues, I put her in the friend category
Kreed (age 29)
* * *
Dear Kreed,
News flash: if she is telling you that you can't see people then you are not in an open relationship. Not sure what her definition of "open relationship" is, but that ain't it. Therefore, you are in a monogamous relationship with a woman and you are not sexually attracted to women, only romantically so. The second thing you have incorrect is that you need "fixing." There is nothing wrong with you and you don't need to fix anything. You are sexually attracted to men and that is how you are. VERY unlikely that will change at the age of 29 and beyond. Finally, you are guilting yourself into staying in this relationship because you don't want to hurt her feelings. Wrong again. You are doing your friend a disservice by giving her false hope that you can force yourself to have sex with her, perhaps even resorting to pills. At the same time, this is causing resentment to build inside you. The longer you keep it inside, the more likely it is that it will explode in a hurtful way to both of you. Not healthy.
It is NOT your fault that you don't want sex with her. What IS your fault is that you are continuing to lead her on in a relationship that is almost certainly going to end in disappointment for you both.
This is a wake-up call for you, Kreed. Take out the garbage that is this guilt of yours and show her that you respect her and care enough about her enough to tell her the truth that a romantic relationship that includes sex is off the table. What you need to do is recognize that this can be a wonderful friendship, but that it ends there. This is not a bad thing. Great friendships are to be cherished, but the longer you string her along, the more resentment will build, and the more likely it is you won't even be friends anymore, and you don't want to lose that, do you?
Tell her the truth of how you feel and do whatever you can to preserve your friendship. Now would be a good time.
Hugs,
Papabear
Big Dino, Little Dinos
Here’s a new TV series we found out about through Animation magazine: Gigantosaurus, produced by Cyber Group Studios. “Growing up in the Cretaceous is no mean feat for kids! New volcanoes popping up all the time, long-necked brachiosauruses, meteor showers, enormous triceratopses and… the big bad Gigantosaurus, as the kids would say. Gigantosaurus isn’t actually very well-known but the mere mention of his name is enough to conjure up a range of (conflicting) emotions in our four young (dinosaur) friends: Fear (Bill), fascination (Rocky), laughter (Tiny), and scientific interest (Mazu). In short, Gigantosaurus represents four different ways of finding out more about the world when you’re between 4 and 6 years old.” According to their web site it’s all “based on a book written by the multi-awarded children novelist Jonny Duddle”. Gigantosaurus has already been sold to Disney Junior for worldwide distribution, and it’s in production now. And as you can see from their site, Cyber Group Studios have several other shows of furry fan interest in production as well.
image c. 2018 Cyber Group Studios
Public Suiting at Santa Cruz
Life is Hard and Then You Die
Thanks to a friend we came across The Gnoll Credo, a novel by J. Stanton. Here’s what the author has to say about it: “There are no such things as gnolls, they never kill and eat people, and they can’t read or write — much less write something so stark, so raw, so beautifully bleak. Right? Because if there were, someone might have risked a violent and painful death to find them, study them, and bring back this book. Then you might read it.” So here is a story about someone from the outside world visiting these famously ruthless giant hyena-like warriors… and learning more about them they either side ever thought possible. You can find the book in paperback over at Barnes & Noble.
image c. 2018 Forgotten Realms
FC-301X Features Pilot - To kick off a pilot of our new show, Jesse and Paradox sit down with Hino, chairman of Megaplex, to discuss the con's history, unique stories & future plans.
To kick off a pilot of our new feature interview podcast, Jesse and Paradox sit down with Hino, chairman of Megaplex, to discuss the con’s history, unique stories & future plans.
Megaplex is coming up August 3rd – 5th 2018 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.
This episode is an exciting pilot of our upcoming yet-to-be-named series. Look out for a dedicated site, social media & RSS feeds coming soon!
[Feature] Features Pilot
To kick off a pilot of our new feature interview podcast, Jesse and Paradox sit down with Hino, chairman of Megaplex, to discuss the con’s history, unique stories & future plans.
Megaplex is coming up August 3rd – 5th 2018 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.
This episode is an exciting pilot of our upcoming yet-to-be-named series. Look out for a dedicated site, social media & RSS feeds coming soon!
[Feature] Features PilotClip: Sky Pirates In The Sky
Bonus clip! Don Karnage is back! *Swoon* Ok, No Jim Cummings and his ears are not in the clip ... dammit! Still, I expect he will remove his hat and the dramatic reveal of his most amazing ears. There are so many questions about a Tailspin reboot at this point. [1] [1] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ducktales-don-karnage.jpg
View Video
Chris P. Duck
Liberation Game, by Kris Schnee – Book Review by Fred Patten
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Liberation Game, by Kris Schnee.
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, May 2018, trade paperback, $8.99 (307 pages). Kindle $3.99.
This is both a sequel to Thousand Tales: How We Won the Game, 2040: Reconnection, The Digital Coyote, Thousand Tales: Learning to Fly, and all the other stories in this series, and an independent summation of all of them. It covers the years 2036 to 2040, from when the Artificial Intelligence Ludo was just starting to set up the Thousand Tales/Talespace gameworld, to when it – maybe – becomes a legally recognized independent country. It features new characters, although some previous characters appear in it. (Nocturne, identified in the first novel as a black-feathered griffin-girl, is described more fully; she’s not an eagle-lioness combination but a raven-lioness.)
Liberation Game features three main characters: Ludo, in “her” beautiful human woman form; Robin MacAdam, a young American, a member of the Latter Day Saints/Mormons helping to build a community in the Central American nation of Cibola; and Lumina, a centauroid deer robot (very shiny but metallic; not very “furry”).
As Liberation Game begins in 2036, Ludo has just begun her mission to help humans “have fun”. Lumina is one of the first independent AIs that Ludo has created. She was intended to become the android companion of a German doctor who Ludo hoped to encourage to become a supporter of Thousand Tales and one of its first uploaded residents, but he is killed almost immediately, leaving Lumina at loose ends. She drifts over to Robin’s project.
Robin, the assistant of Edward Apery, are the two Mormons/Americans helping the local natives of Cibola to construct a modern village, Golden Goose. The name is intended as both a symbol of what they hope to accomplish, and as a subtle hint to Cibola’s corrupt government that it can get more over the long run by letting the experimental village succeed than by taking all its assets as “taxes” immediately.
“The village of Golden Goose existed by a strange partnership. The Latter-Day Saints (or Mormons) had pumped money into Cibola in the hopes of winning over some of the local Catholics. The government had eagerly deeded them some land to start economic reconstruction. Robin himself had initially cared more about travel and adventure and damn good local coffee.
The village’s other partner wasn’t human: Ludo the gamemaster AI.” (p. 5)
At this point, Ludo is mostly a silent partner, helping to subsidize Golden Goose’s development for the long-range goal of building one of her centers of Thousand Tales and uploading human minds into Talespace. Edward/administrator and Robin/engineer are the tutors of the local natives, and their representatives to Governor Leopold, their Cibolan government official.
When “General Mosquito”, a warlord fighting the government’s incompetent army and killing everyone his army encounters, decides to conquer Golden Goose and loot all its assets, Edward flees, leaving Robin in charge. Ludo supports him in planning a defense – and more:
“‘I don’t run Golden Goose. I’m just the engineer. Edward will come back once the threat is gone.’
‘Unlikely. Will you look to the long term with me, and be ready to defend this area even against Leopold as the nominally lawful ruler?’
Robin backed away from the racks of computers. ‘Did you just ask me to start a revolution?’
‘The rule of law is a rare thing, and there’s little of it here. I predict that if your people do well, you can be recognized as a mostly autonomous zone that pays taxes and bribes but is mostly left alone to do big things.’
‘Things for you, you mean. What is this immortality miracle, really?’
‘Digital recreation of human minds. Brain uploading. That’s not the important thing here. It’s going to be controversial and I need places where people have the freedom to sign up for it.’” (p. 74)
Robin’s victory over Mosquito, and his fighting alongside the villagers of Golden Goose after Edward fled, wins him the villagers’ support. He continues to build the village, and Ludo begins to develop her center beneath it. One of her first “assistants” is Lumina. Robin is dismissive of the flashy metallic deer-centauroid android at first, but they grow on each other.
Lumina is the only major “furry” character at first, if you consider a metallic android to be furry, but there are many supporting characters such as Delphine, a dolphin-woman:
“The turret detected portals opening in the blazing desert. Lumina disabled it and unlocked the outer door to let the guests trickle in. First was a dwarf, then a living suit of armor and Nocturne the griffin. There was a humanoid otter with a cutlass [Typhoon’s Eye; he becomes important later on], several unicorns and pegasi, and more. There were one hundred and nine people in total.
Nocturne said, ‘Welcome to TalesCon ’36!’, greeting one of the last guests, a French-accented centaur lady with a vest full of cooking tools.” (p. 48)
“‘Thank y’all!’ said a rabbit in shining armor, grinning widely. He turned to the avatars of a kindly Texan woman and her wheelchair-bound friend, who were doing voice acting for some of the characters. The bunny added, ‘Miss Abby, when are you free next? Been wantin’ to show you my mansion.’” (p. 188)
The story gradually becomes more furry, but it doesn’t become really furry until about page 200. It’s an easy read until then because all of Schnee’s Thousand Tales novels are excellent s-f stories, both thought-provoking and dramatic:
“‘This is a dangerous game, Ludo. Last time you encouraged md to fight, it was to protect my people against an incoming threat of violence. You said you wouldn’t suggest it unless there were going to be a fight anyway.’ Robin paced, then looked back at her. ‘Is that what you’re telling me again?’
She nodded. ‘We know that someone is using violence as a provocation already. You should begin to game out several ways that the next few rounds of this dance could go horribly wrong and what you’ll do.’” (p. 280)
Liberation Game (cover by NextMars) is another winner in Schnee’s Thousand Tales series. Don’t miss it.
Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward. They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.
Monstie Shots: The Courtship
Bearly Fiction, Volume One, by Frances Pauli – Book Review by Fred Patten
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Bearly Fiction, Volume One, by Frances Pauli.
Moses Lake, WA, Gastropod Press, May 2018, trade paperback, $5.99 ([2 +] 114 [+ 1] pages), Kindle $0.99.
The subtitle says “a collection of anthropomorphic stories by Frances Pauli”. The back-cover blurb begins, “Eleven animal stories from author Frances Pauli. From dogs to dinosaurs, from the courtroom to the coral reef, follow these critter characters through a wild variety of adventures across genres.”
In her Introduction, Pauli says that these are all reprints, so you may have read some of these before, in several anthologies of furry fiction. They’re still good, and it’s nice to have them all together. Also, this is a thin but tall book, 7.5” x 9.2” – that’s almost as large as a standard sheet of paper. Considering the low price, you certainly get your money’s worth.
Bad Dog – Hellhounds are born at the witching hour exactly. Hatach is born thirty-five seconds after the witching hour. How will this affect his being a hellhound?
Rats – “A rat walked into a bar.” But he says that he isn’t a rat. Or he wasn’t, anyway. The bartender tries to help him figure out why he turned into an anthro rat.
A Temper for Order – “Piper’s beak tipped the bottle with expert care. The liquid oozed through the narrow spout. Not a drop spilled. One of her feet clutched a smaller, hand-blown phial. She needed twenty drops more to get the mix just right. Twenty drops exactly. Balanced on one long leg, the little hen slicked her feathers closer to her body and counted while she poured,” (p. 14) Piper mixes herbal medicines in an avian beachfront community. Her friend Trudy, a weaver, is determined to play matchmaker for her. But Piper is obsessed with neatness, and the cock that Trudy seems determined to match her with is Dash, a seemingly-staggeringly-drunken stork. Is there more to Dash than is apparent?
El Emperador – Jessie is looking to buy a fast horse. The one the horse trader calls El Emperador looks like a broken-down fleabag. But Jessie is desperate, so she buys him and renames him Harry. How can she get the Emperor/Harry to run?
The Scent of Lantana – “Nando wiped a speck of blood from his nose and stepped over his unconscious opponent. He lifted his arms high, raised twin ruby red boxing gloves into the air, and turned to one side and then the other while lights flashed and a thousand female voices shouted, ‘Toro, Toro! Te Quiero.’” (p. 32) Nando, El Toro, is the top bull in Spain. But he’s a boxing champion, not a bullfighting bull. Can he keep winning? Does he want to? Jose, his rooster manager, tries to keep him trained to perfection. But Antonio, a burro sports reporter, knows what he really wants.
Live Cargo – “The spaceport lighting made a kiln of her radiation resistant suit. She flattened triangle Corgi ears against her skull and pulled the quilted fabric away from her neck, not that it helped in the least. The stoat manning the cargo counter blinked beady, unconcerned eyes back through the window at her.” (p. 50) Cici, a Corgi tramp space freighter captain, has one rule: no live cargo. But the only cargo on “the ugliest lump of gravel she’d ever made port on” is live. Poultry. Scrawny chickens infested with fleas. Cici and Barc, her bot, find the chickens both a curse and a blessing (though they can do without the fleas).
The Lion Sleeps – “Stanley flexed tawny knuckles and let the tips of his claws prick pinpoint holes in the leather-wrapped steering wheel. A horn blared somewhere inside the crowd of vehicles wedged together on the freeway. […] He stuffed a furred finger into his shirt collar and tugged the fabric away from his throat. Freed from the constriction of his work shirt, a yawn worked its way into his jaw, stretched his mouth wide. Stanley’s pink tongue curled around it. His eyelids drooped.” (p. 58) But falling asleep on the freeway is not recommended. Is his job worth it?
Domestic Violence – Anni and George are unhappily-married velociraptors. Don’t let the children watch.
Lessons on Chains – Stella is a cinnamon bear who crochets. On a rooftop. With a raccoon. She teaches him to crochet while they discuss their respective abusive relationships.
Seed of a Doubt – “‘Raise your right fin.’ The bailiff fluttered silver gills and rolled one eyeball the size of Ray’s head in the direction of the judge. ‘And state your name.’” (p. 79) Ray Blythe is a little, timid remora testifying in deep-sea court against the large, very toothy gray shark gangster who he was attached to at the time of the crime.
Last Man Standing – “The eggheads always said we’d never do it, but they never once said it wasn’t possible. Sitting on my knapsack in a mud-filled trench, this seems like a ridiculous thing to ponder, but the thought lodges in my brain as soon as our Captain gives the word the monsters are restless. They’d never said we couldn’t do it. They’d only trusted us not to be stupid.” (p. 103) Mack is one of the last Pinkies, the pure humans, left in a transgenic world where everyone is getting themselves turned into animal-men. Wolf-man. Lion-man. Horse-man. Aardvark-man. (Or –woman.) Then Mack is the Last Man Standing, and he’s captured and forced to choose what animal to get combined with. But then the animal-men get augmented further. Predator-men have to get a prey-animal augmentation, and vice versa. A wolf-man gets a ground squirrel augmentation. Where will it stop? What will Mack end up looking like?
Bearly Fiction, Volume One presents a wide variety of anthro-animal stories in a wide variety of settings; all well-written and enjoyable reading. The “Volume One” promises that when Pauli has written enough more stories for the furry-fiction anthologies and magazines, there will be a Volume Two. And, hopefully, more to come.
Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward. They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.
The Little Creatures Don’t Know They’re Ugly
Looks like the popularity of the Uglydolls plush toy line continues to grow. After a graphic novel series several years ago, now there’s a new TV series in production for the Hulu network. According to an article at Deadline, STX will be producing the TV series and also has exclusive rights to the feature film which is also in production (and has been for some time). “Created as a plush toy line by David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, the Uglydoll brand quickly gained a cult following around the world and was named Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association in 2006. Uglydoll characters are distinct for their endearing ‘ugliness’, in a wonderful ‘uglyverse’ where differences are celebrated and embraced.” Look for both the feature and the series in 2019.
image c. 2018 STX
Fall Out Boy: Bishops Knife Trick
Riders of the Realm. 1, Across the Dark Water, by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez – Book Review by Fred Patten
Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.
Riders of the Realm. 1, Across the Dark Water, by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez. Illustrations, maps by David McClellan
NYC, HarperCollinsPublishers/Harper, May 2018, hardcover, $16.99 ([xix +] 417 [+4] pages), Kindle $9.99.
Alvarez’s Riders of the Realm trilogy is a followup to her The Guardian Herd tetralogy. The four Young Adult Guardian Herd novels (Starfire, Stormbound, Landfall, and Windborn, published from September 2014 to September 2016) featured the intelligent, talking pegasi (flying horses, despite the FAQ that “being called a ‘horse’ is an insult to a pegasus”) to the west of the giant continent Anok. More exactly, it featured the five herds there of those pegasi (the Sun Herd, Mountain Herd, Snow Herd, Jungle Herd, and Desert Herd), and the two all-powerful black stallion pegasi, Starfire and Nightwing, fighting to the death for their fate.
Riders of the Realm is about the 140 pegasi from those five herds, led by the mare Echofrost and the stallion Hazelwind, who flee Anok altogether for the unknown southern continent across the Dark Water ocean, and what they find there. They declare themselves a new Herd; Storm Herd. Or rather, since their story takes second place, it’s about the civilization there of the two-legged Landwalkers (humans), their enemies like Gorlan giants, spit-dragons, giant ants, burners (miniature flying, fire-breathing dragons), and other creatures – notably, the pegasi that they have already domesticated – and how they are affected by the arrival of the 140 flying-horse refugees from Anok.
Across the Dark Water is two stories: that of 12-year-old human Rahkki, small for his age, the younger brother of Brauk Stormrunner, one of the officers of the Fifth Clan’s Sky Guard; and of Echofrost, a “sleek silver mare with a mix of dark- and light-purple feathers, white mane and tail, one white sock” (p. x). But it’s mostly about Rahkki and the politics of the Sandwen’s Fifth Clan – about the humans.
The first chapter introduces Rahkki, his adult (21 years old) brother Brauk, and Brauk’s Khilari flyer, Kol:
“Overhead, glittering feathers, shining hides, and polished armor blocked out the sun – it was his brother’s squad of Riders, flying back from patrol. Eighty winged horses, each ridden by a Sandwen warrior, glided in formation, their hooves striking the clouds. There were a total of three squads in the Fifth Clan’s Sky Guard, and Brauk Stormrunner was the Headwind of his. The flying steeds were called Khilari, which meant ‘Children of the Wind,’ and they were sacred in the Sandwen Realm.” (pgs. 2-3)
Across the Dark Water is complex; about the political structure and politics of the Sandwen’s Fifth Clan (of seven clans); about the Sandwen’s relationship with the other species of this southern continent; and about these other species. Riders of the Realm is admirably different from the four novels of The Guardian Herd in that it is about flying horses and humans and how they interact, rather than just about flying horses as was the previous tetralogy, but of less interest to furry fans in that there is so much about humans and not the anthro animals.
Also, while Alvarez tells a good story that will hold your interest to the end – and beyond; this first novel of the trilogy ends on a dramatic cliffhanger – there are some aspects that are not really convincing. The humans who talk and the flying horses who whinny and nicker can’t speak or understand each other’s languages; they’re too different. Okay, this is clever. But we’re asked to believe that the humans have domesticated pegasi for 400 years, and haven’t realized that the tamed pegasi’s constant whinnying and nickering to each other, and reacting with intelligence, is a language rather than just dumb animal noises? We’re asked to believe that the Gorlan giants (nine- to twelve-foot tall humans) are considered dangerous dumb brutes, when they have domesticated and ride elephants and have trained the burners? The story is gripping enough that you’ll accept these rough spots, but you will notice them.
Still, there are enough scenes and chapters with the pegasi to make this worthwhile reading for the furry fan:
“She was about to trot off when a shape leaped at her. Echofrost reared back, and it just missed her throat. Growling filled her ears. She kicked off and hovered near the treetops. A black panther snarled up at her. He jumped again, trying to snatch her feathers in his claws.” (p. 74)
“Echofrost flattened her ears. This stallion let Landwalkers ride on his back; who was he to judge her and Shysong?
‘Where did you come from?’ he continued.
Echofrost said nothing. She was thinking.
‘Answer me!’ he brayed.
‘Are you the over-stallion of this herd?’
He paused. ‘Herd? We’re not horses, wildling.’
The surrounding Kihlari nickered, amused.
Echofrost felt her ears grow hot. Didn’t all pegasi live in herds? She felt confused, unsure; but she was the stranger here, not them. She’d have to study their ways. ‘Tell me what you are and I’ll tell you where I came from,’ she bargained.” (p. 93)
“Echofrost glanced down. The Kihlari roof was beginning to open, and the Sky Guard would be on them in moments, but if they didn’t keep flying, she doubted they’d ever get another opportunity to escape.
‘Head to the heights,’ she whinnied, forgetting all about Rahkki, who weighed next to nothing.
Surging higher, Echofrost and Shysong darted into clouds that were huge and billowing, offering them cover. Far below, the Landwalkers scurried like mice. Inside the barn, Riders quickly buckled saddles onto their mounts. ‘Higher,’ Echofrost neighed.
‘But the princess can’t breathe,’ whinnied Shysong, pausing to hover.” (p. 375)
Riders of the Realm. 1, Across the Dark Water (cover by Vivienne To) is illustrated, but as in The Guardian Herd, David McClellan’s illustrations are tiny and almost-generic chapter-heading drawings. The middle volume of the trilogy, Through the Untamed Sky, will be published on March 26, 2019.
Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon. You can access exclusive stuff for just $1, or get Con*Tact Caffeine Soap as a reward. They’re a popular furry business seen in dealer dens. Be an extra-perky patron – or just order direct from Con*Tact.
This Bunny is a Blast
The things you find at Comic Con… be on the lookout for Black Hops U.S.A. G.I., new from Antarctic Press. He’s a cute little bunny — and he kills for America. Here’s more from Previews: “North Korea has a nuclear warhead aimed at Hawaii, and every last American commando unit sent in to disarm it has gone missing. With the clock ticking, the fate of the Aloha State rests in the paws of U.S.A.-G.I. This dauntless, highly trained special missions leporid must now cross the 38th parallel and take on the Nork forces, both man and animal, to save the world from a nuclear war!” You heard ’em. It’s written by Mark Pellegrini, with full-color art by Timonthy Lim and Brian Denham and a cover by Dave Dorman. And it’s on the stands now. Duck!
image c. 2018 Antarctic Press