Here’s a graphic novel to tug at your heart: Missing You, written by Phellip Willian and illustrated by Melissa Garabeli. “Following the loss of their mother, Thomas and Lara find an injured deer on the side of the road. Deciding to bring it home with them, they name the deer Lion and quickly become best friends. The new woodland creature soon fills their hearts with warmth and fun, easing their mourning. But when Lion grows more and more curious about the forest beyond their house, Thomas and Lara start to wonder if the forest is where Lion truly belongs. Will they be able to say goodbye to their new friend?” You can find out now — in this trade paperback edition from Oni Press.

image c. 2024 Oni Press

Another in the how-did-we-miss-this category: Pooh vs. Bambi, a new 3-issue comic miniseries. “In war there are rules, but the forest has none. Abandoned by his country, betrayed by those he once called family, and hunted by those who want nothing more than to keep him as a trophy, Pooh is on a mission and no amount of honey will sate his thirst—he wants revenge!” One of the creators is Joe Brusha, long-time mainstay at Zenescope Comics, who has a history of bringing us some unusual and often very violent furry stuff. This one is written by Noah Mitchell, with artwork by Jordi Tarragona and Juan Manuel Rodriguez. Check out the reviews over at League of Comic Geeks.

image c. 2024 Zenescope Comics

All around Furry Weekend Atlanta we found these interesting business cards — each with a character (usually an anthropomorphic) and the name of a planet. So we came home, followed the links… and found our way to Solar House, a science-fiction webtoon written and illustrated by Vanadium Valor. What if the planets, moons, and so forth in our solar system were each a person, with their own foibles and personalities? “It’s like if astronomy and furry art kissed! Follow the lives of the planets (and other objects) as they try to navigate their long company policies and even longer histories!” Each comic comes with some extra science facts to give a background in reality to the current story-line.

image c. 2024 by Vanadium Valor

We spent last weekend at our first Furry Weekend Atlanta, and had a great time meeting new artists seeing new creations. Such as… Wildlife Fuel is a full-color comic written and illustrated by Kelly Latham. It’s been an ongoing web-comic for a while, but now there’s the first issue out on paper! “During the summer between high school and college, Cent the Skunk works at Wildlife Fuel, a gas station that has crazy fun times, but even crazier customers. While trying to survive hectic and humorous retail situations, she must also navigate major life choices during this transitional time in her life.” Visit Kelly’s web site to find out more about this and other comics she’s created.

image c. 2024 by Kelly Latham

WatchDaToast has been developing a furry-themed point-and-click adventure game for a while now, Beyond the Edge of Owlsgard, raising €36,317 from 682 backers on Kickstarter. It's just been released, and VoxelSmash has reviewed it.

You can buy the game on Steam and follow the author on Twitter.

“Anybody can die, evidently.”
-“ABC”, Robert Pinsky, United States Poet Laureate

“Necrophilia is more erotic than that [censored!].”
-SWfan, Flayrah commenter

The ABCs of Death is the brainchild of producer Ant Timpson (an end credit suggests the whole thing was inspired by a nightmare of his): take 26 horror directors from around the world and give them a letter of the alphabet. They then pick a word with that letter, and direct a short film for $5,000 that depicts a death involving that word.

Pretty simple, and a great concept for a horror anthology, but why the review on a furry site? Well, there’s Thomas Malling’s “H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion,” which is basically a live action Tex Avery cartoon. And there are plenty of animal-related shorts available, as well; some of the best shorts on the roster, including “D is for Dogfight,” “N is for Nuptials,” “P is for Pressure” and “Q is for Quack,” involve animals, if not always anthropomorphic.

But are these highlights worth the time for furries?

We’ve been following this one since we first caught wind of it in Animation magazine, and somehow it snuck by us… and right onto DVD at your local WalMart, no less. Cinderella: Once Upon A Time In The West (known as Cinderella 3D in Europe) is a new CGI feature from France, directed by Pascal Herold. The story is much as you’ve ever heard it before: Cinderella (a pretty pronghorn who can handle her own in a fight) lives with her cruel stepmother and ugly stepsisters (all of them big old hounds)… this time, in a town in the Old West. A handsome prince (also a canine, but much more… handsome) comes into town and… well you know the rest. Or do you?  Did we mention the sand pirate monkeys who fly on vultures? Yes, it’s that kind of film! It’s produced by Delacave Studio, and you can check it out at their web site. Oh, the DVD is in English, by the way.

image c. 2012 Delacave Studio

It's not easy to admit feelings for a long-time friend; but for the classmates in Mitti's debut graphic novel, their first admission must be to themselves.

It is 1955 and best friends Clover and Logainne are looking forward to graduating from Lincoln High School and getting on with their lives. However when Clover fumbles for an excuse to avoid going to the senior prom with someone, she blurts out Logainne's name as her intended date. Now the whole school thinks there is more to their friendship than meets the eye, putting both their reputations and Logainne's honors student status at risk. As they scramble to contain the damage, at least one of them begins to wonder where her heart truly lies. (back cover)

Sofawolf Press, January 2012, trade paperback $14.95 (131 + 6 pages, B&W interior)

I wasn’t as proactive as I thought I would be, and I’m pretty sure I missed a couple posted during the first of September, so apologies there. Otherwise, here was last month’s Newsbytes.

Yes, you read that right. An intoxicated elk found himself up a tree with no way down... a situation only cats are supposed to find themselves in. [Newser.com]

According to Sweden's edition of The Local, the elk was grazing on fermenting apples that had fallen off the tree, and became a bit drunk; a common phenomenon. What happened next is anything but: the elk decided to eat the apples located higher up in the tree, and began to climb it. The majestic, antlered creature became entangled within the tree's limbs, and required assistance from rescuers to get back onto terra firma.

After nearly 10 years in the running, webcomic A Doemain of Our Own is shutting up shop and finally coming to an end.

In a statement posted on the site, Susan Rankin - the mind behind the comic - called it an "amazing run" and thanked her readers for making her feel "truly blessed".

The second Doemain book - Shift Happens - was released this month too, to accompany the previous self-titled volume of Doemail strips.

Rankin is planning future projects, however they are yet to be disclosed.

A Doemain of Our Own isn't the only one however, Ozy & Millie is another long-running strip popular amongst fandom members that will be soon coming to an end. The strip is already well into it's finale and is due to end in the next few weeks.

Welcome to the first of what I personally hope will become a series of comic reviews. When I say "comic", I mean comic and webcomic strips, not comedians. After all, there is only really one comedian in the furry fandom that I am aware of and I have already made clear my dislike of this particular ranting moron in previous issues of The Furtean Times.

The first strip I am reviewing is A Doemain of Our Own. Last year, the first collection of strips printed in "dead tree format" entitled simply A Doemain of Our Own: Volume 1, consisting of strips between 1999 and July 2002 won the Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work", beating other respected webcomics such as Ozy and Millie and Gene Catlow. The second collection of strips titled Shift Happens, with strips between August 2002 and mid-November 2005, will no doubt be one of the favourites for the award this year as well.

Deer Me, a comic about the humor of routine, everyday life, hit a milestone of 200 comic strips (not including guest strips) on Friday.

How many comics can brag about having 100 times as many comic strips as readers? ;-)

The "Deer Lady", as she has come to be known, was imprisoned for eight days for breaking a California law which prohibits the feeding of wildlife. Thana Minion is believed to be the only person ever jailed in the state for the crime, which is a misdemeanor.
She previously served a 45 day sentence in 2000 for violation of the same law.

Florida is using a robotic deer to capture off-season hunters. According to this article the hunters can tell the difference, but attack it anyway. One guy even shot at it several times and missed.