Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Month: April, 2016

April 11, 2016

Fred Patten Presents: What the Well-Read Furry Should Read – early 2016 Update

by Pup Matthias

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Back in September 2015, Fred Patten gave us his list of anthropomorphic books Furries should read, all of which he has reviewed. But even that list only scratches the surface. So after many months, Fred gives us an update featuring over 100 new entries, listed by author and title, plus over 20 special articles he has written during that time. Enjoy sinking your teeth and claws into some new reading obsessions. For those who missed out, here’s the original including Fred’s Top Ten.

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April 8, 2016

“Furry Film Festival” idea expands with the [adjective][species] team.

by Patch O'Furr

Scene-from-Fantastic-Mr-F-001Last year, I shared the fantasy concept of a “Furry Film Festival“.  It was inspired by many potential reasons for why it could happen for real.  Fred Patten recently shared a response article – and that brought even more response.  It’s very encouraging to see the idea catch on for discussion with other super dedicated fan publishers.  In time, hopefully it could lead to a festival for real.

Thanks to JM, editor of [adjective][species]:

“The [adjective][species] team think that the furry film festival idea is a fantastic one, and we would like to humbly submit the following suggestions (in screening order). This short list is a collective recommendation from several of our contributors.”

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April 7, 2016

Your art wanted for furry art gallery show in Santa Ana, California.

by Patch O'Furr

We got a note from Scale, the Italian furry artist.  His lush paintings and gallery shows have been featured here: “Scale’s paintings push the limits of furry art, with surprising mainstream crossover.”

villa_amoretti_2012aHi! I hope you are doing well! Just a quick note for something you might be interested in promoting: historical fans Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley are organizing for the third year in a row a furry art exhibit at the Avantgarden Art Gallery in Santa Ana (CA). There is not much time left – (the art needs to be there by the end of April) – but they still have space in the exhibit.  They are looking for art from any furry artist or collector willing to join with either original art or limited edition prints.

Here are the relevant journal entires on FA:
Furry Art Gallery Show in Santa Ana
Still Seeking Framed Art!

Later,
Scale

Rod O’Riley runs InFurNation and can be contacted at rodso64@hotmail.com. His partner Mark Merlino runs the Prancing Skiltaire furry house.  Both organized ConFurence, the first furry con, and are founders of furry fandom.

A third art show makes promising establishment of a new outlet for furry creativity.  This kind doesn’t seem to have been done very much before.  Shows are a staple of every con, but rubbing shoulders with more traditional gallery artists is a little different.

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April 6, 2016

Cat Crimebusters and Other P.I.’s on Paws, Part 5 – Book Reviews by Fred Patten.

by Patch O'Furr

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Cat Crimebusters, Part 1

Cat Crimebusters, Part 2

Cat Crimebusters, Part 3

Cat Crimebusters, Part 4

As far as I am concerned, all of the other “cat cozy” series with cat detectives are phonies. The only two that “sort of” qualify are (1) the Magical Cats Mysteries by Sofie Kelly.

51lAhNCv3iL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_51PrlAw68UL._SX307_BO1,204,203,200_51XL0-l2BkL._SX308_BO1,204,203,200_Curiosity Thrilled the Cat. February 2011.

Sleight of Paw. September 2011.

Copycat Killing. May 2012.

Cat Trick. February 2013.

Final Catcall. October 2013.

A Midwinter’s Tail. October 2014.

Faux Paw. October 2015.

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April 5, 2016

2015 Ursa Major Awards voting is open until April 15 – here’s the final ballot.

by Patch O'Furr

UMAweb1_2aThe annual awards of furry fandom are open. Getting an award is only a pat on the back… the real reason is to gather things that furries love, and promote them as a creative community. Don’t be sad if something you love isn’t on the list or doesn’t win an award, because it’s not so much a contest as a celebration for everyone.

Or maybe I’m not revealing the Ultimate Power of the award before I ask this…

Please vote for Dogpatch Press for Best Anthropomorphic Magazine.

The precious award will be mine!  Actually ours.  Fred Patten’s writing makes it possible to put out a post every week day.  Managing the editing and writing other original articles is really hard work.  It’s basically a part time job.  Not just for me, but also with help from Pup Mathias and great guest posters (most recently Dronon.) It’s a team effort to maintain an info source this active.

So please do give a minute to vote, and throw one our way if you liked or shared any article from here in 2015.

Fred shares more…

Voting for the 2015 Ursa Major Awards, for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of the 2015 calendar year in eleven categories, is open from now until April 15.  The awards will be announced at a presentation ceremony at What the Fur 2016, in Montreal, Quebec, on May 20-22, 2016.

The eleven categories are: Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture, Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short or Series, Best Anthropomorphic Novel, Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction, Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work, Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story, Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip, Best Anthropomorphic Magazine, Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration, Best Anthropomorphic Game and Best Anthropomorphic Website.

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April 4, 2016

Soldiers of Ice, by David Cook – book review by Fred Patten.

by Patch O'Furr

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

BKTG00231Soldiers of Ice, by David Cook. Map. (Forgotten Realms – The Harpers, Nº 7)
Lake Geneva, WI, TSR, Inc., December 1993, paperback $4.95 ([2 +] 312 pages), Kindle $7.99.

There are anthropomorphic novels hidden among the authorized books of popular fantasy-role-playing games. Case in point: TSR’s 1987 Forgotten Realms spinoff of Dungeons & Dragons.

According to Wikipedia: “Forgotten Realms is the name of an imaginary fantasy world that exists somewhere beyond the real world. The setting is described as a world of strange lands, dangerous creatures, and mighty deities, where magic and seemingly supernatural phenomena are quite real. The premise is that, long ago, the Earth and the world of the Forgotten Realms were more closely connected. As time passed, the inhabitants of planet Earth have mostly forgotten about the existence of that other world—hence the term Forgotten Realms.”

The Forgotten Realms merchandising includes well over two hundred novels and short fiction anthologies from 1987 to September 2012, in hardback and paperback editions, from TSR, Inc. (Tactical Studies Rules) and its successor, Wizards of the Coast (including one by furry author Paul Kidd, The Council of Blades). Soldiers of Ice by David Cook, the seventh in the subseries about The Harpers, features the fierce doglike gnolls of the valley of Samek.

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April 1, 2016

La Saga d’Atlas & Axis, T. 3, by Pau – Book Review by Fred Patten

by Pup Matthias

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

51u-in0SJhL._SX344_BO1,204,203,200_La Saga d’Atlas & Axis, t.3, by Pau.
Roubaix, France, Ankama Éditions, November 2015, hardcover €12.90 (60 + [3] pages).

Once again, Lex Nakashima & I present our conspiracy to get you to read French animalière bandes dessinées that aren’t likely to be published in English.

Has it really been 2 ½ years since I reviewed tomes 1 & 2 for Flayrah? Well, Jean-Marc Pau has been busy. Not only has he written & drawn this volume, he has made a “movie” of the whole series. If you look closely, you can find a little animation in it. The 3:25-minute “movie” starts with images from the first two albums; tome 3 starts at 2:09 minutes.

I described La Saga d’Atlas & Axis as “Their world looks like a doggy version of Astérix & Obélix …” Cutely drawn but without the humor. The setting, allowing for the anthropomorphic animals, is around the 9th & 10 centuries when the Vikings were taking over Armorica so thoroughly that it’s been called Normandy ever since. This series also differs from Astérix & Obélix in being one continuous adventure rather than standalone albums.

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