Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: Personalities

May 28, 2019

The Sprawl: Webcomic Creator Interview with Snowdon – By Enjy

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Welcome to guest author Enjy, who goes above and beyond for any writing mission. I would have tackled this myself but couldn’t have done so well because comics aren’t my forte and neither is music reviewing (Enjy’s previous piece.) The opportunity to work together is part of the magic of fandom. Tomorrow, expect the comic review. – Patch

The Sprawl is a webcomic created by Snowdon. He was the lead artist for a small animation studio and worked on the Teen Nick show Alien Dawn, where you can spot some of his artwork in the series’ titular comic book and unique motion-comic scenes. Needless to say, Snowden has been working on comics for quite some time. His whole life has been spent drawing and creating. Before and after working at Nickelodeon, he was a high school art teacher, a private tutor, and a graphic design consultant. In recent years, he has turned to freelance comics like his creation The Sprawl. Making connections, having a good portfolio, and taking internship opportunities whenever you can get them are Snowdon’s tips for artists like him to get into the animation industry. I got to speak with this creator to help his fans learn more about him, his comic, and where he sees his art taking him.

(Enjy): My first question is, why did you choose for The Sprawl to be a comic featuring anthropomorphic characters?

(Snowdon): The original concept for The Sprawl was an idea I’d had all the way back in art school, in the late 90’s. A lot of my art school friends wanted to make comics and a lot of them were already making anthro art, so I thought it might be fun if we all worked on some comics set in the same world, as like an anthology. The idea didn’t go anywhere, unfortunately, but some years later, one of my art school friends was doing comics for one of the anthro adult sites and offered to put a pitch in front of the people running the site if I could come up with one. I remembered the old anthology idea and still wanted to do something in that setting, so I dusted it off and wrote an outline that included what would eventually be the first chapter of The Sprawl.

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May 14, 2019

Voting for The Good Furry Award has commenced!

by Patch O'Furr

Nominations for the premier Good Furry Award are finalized, and voting has commenced at the Ask Papabear website (www.askpapabear.com/vote-now).

What is The Good Furry Award? It is a prize given to furries who have demonstrated exemplary behavior within the fandom by giving back to the community and by serving as a fine example of what furries are supposed to be about: fun, playfulness, imagination, creativity, and, above all, community.

The Good Furry Award was created by Grubbs Grizzly (Kevin Hile), who runs the Ask Papabear website, which is an advice column for furries and the furry curious. Grubbs (53) began the column in 2012 as a reaction to all the emails he had already been getting from younger furries asking about the fandom and seeking advice. He also runs the Greymuzzle, Outcast Furries, and Bear Furries groups on Facebook. In addition, he is still working on a guidebook called The Furry Book: The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of the Furry Fandom. For those of you who have heard of this project, yes, it has been delayed a long time due to several setbacks in Grubbs’ life, including the unexpected death of his husband and recent death of his mother, but he hopes to finish it soon. The Furry Book will also launch his new publishing venture, Uncle Bear Publishing, which will offer nonfiction titles specializing in the furry community (Grubbs has 30 years of experience in reference publishing and is currently a freelance managing editor).

The winner of the 2019 Good Furry Award will receive $1,000 and a shiny in the form of a handsome trophy. Three runners-up will receive honorable mention certificates, as well. The current nominees are: Aleshka Alejandra, LeighAnn Baca, Troj Bruegel, Damien Coquelle (Timduru), Dai Cymru, Tony Barret (Dogbomb), Courtney Dunn (Dr. Wildlife), Jeff Edwards (Ramseys the Bull), Kat the Leopardess, Shelly McCaw, Courtney Plante, Murphy Slaugh, Rodney O’Riley, Tycho Aussie, Matt VanNest, Noelle White (Wyld), Andrew Willis, and Zorrore.

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May 9, 2019

Interview with Ash Coyote, Chip Fox, and Eric (Ash) Risher on The Fandom and Kickstarter

by Pup Matthias

Can you believe it’s been nearly six months since This is Life with Lisa Ling: Furry Nation premiered? It’s hard to believe it’s been that long already since Furries had such a positive piece done on us. As good as that hour of television was, it could only cover so much when presenting a community with over fortyish years of history to those with no personal connection. If we want to showcase just how diverse and vibrant our community is, we will have to do it ourselves.

That’s what inspired Youtuber/Filmmaker Ash Coyote, her husband Chip Fox, and Filmmaker Eric (Ash) Risher (who also directed the Doc Furries) to create The Fandom. It’s a documentary series for furries, by furries, that just wrapped up their first season. Below is a Q&A with all three of them.

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May 7, 2019

RIP to Downers Grove FurBowl organizer killed in Illinois road accident

by Patch O'Furr

Patch.com, a news source focusing on local communities, reported the death of Jimmy Harbin, AKA Scorch Dragon (not the same as another who uses the name.) The news was noticed with recent filing of a lawsuit to compensate his family. The 49-year old New Lenox, IL resident was the victim of a fatal accident with a semi-truck and trailer that crossed into oncoming traffic in the early morning of Feb. 19, 2019.

Harbin’s obituary page named him as father to a son and daughter and the devoted manager of his small farm. It asked for donations in lieu of flowers to a wildlife rehab nonprofit. It also has a video tribute showing his love of bowling and costuming. He was a volunteer with the Downers Grove Furbowl, an event of the Chicago area L.A.F.F. (Lake Area Fur Friends.)

Scorch’s last tweet was a wish for a sick friend to get better, and years of tweets from his friend Odie (head of the D.G. Furbowl) shows how he is remembered. Read the rest of this entry »

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April 19, 2019

New Zealand’s Southern Paws Fur Con – Q&A with Votter, the con chair

by Patch O'Furr

https://southernpaws.org.nz – now open to register for their event at Waipara Adventure Centre.

Recent world news made me interested in featuring New Zealand furry news. That’s how I found their new con, leading to a positive story with Votter.

Australian and NZ furs have a fairly active scene. Some of the first activity I found in the fandom was 1990’s furry zine South Fur Lands from the late and beloved Marko Rat (site kept by Bernard Doove, prolific creator known for Chakats and the Ursa Major Awards).  And I often love seeing what the Ozfurs do with their annual float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade (street fursuiting is my favorite thing, and I’d call it one of the best examples in the furry world.) Even so, news from Down Under may not reach overseas. I haven’t written much about it (but for previous news, there is this story about animation and a successful fursuit maker.)

When Votter sent thanks for noticing Southern Paws Fur Con, he said: “I never expected to get international attention. It is honestly kind of exciting – we want to try to bring some joy and positivity to the world.”

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April 12, 2019

The Goodest Boy – Dogbomb’s victory lap against ALS

by Rune AngelDragon

Rune’s Furry Blog showcases “people within the Furry Community… their characters, life, thoughts, and beliefs”. Check out her tag for more. – Patch

Vet tech, runner, fursuiter, grease monkey, motorcycle hysteric and full time nutjob. ALS can kiss my fuzzy butt. I ain’t scared! – DogBomb

Words on a profile aren’t even a shadow of the figure that Tony “DogBomb” Barrett would create when he was diagnosed with ALS in March of 2018.

Furries, for all of the negative stereotyping they receive from time to time, have often spread light in many ways throughout their communities. Whether that be placing smiles on the faces of adults and children alike, raising money for animal organizations through their conventions, or, in the case of Tony (DogBomb), raising money and awareness for a very serious disease… Furries have always been there to lend their helping paw.

Tony not only shed light on his condition by documenting it as it happened, he also showed how something so devastating did not have to bring a person down. ALS is a very real and serious terminal condition… but Tony never let it stop him from loving and living his life in the only ways he knew how. Wherever he went, he continued spreading positivity and love, while educating the public on why taking action and pursuing research was important and even crucial to find a cure for future generations.

He took a terminal condition in stride as he continued to walk, boat, ride, and sit down with friends, all the while confessing that he shouldn’t be doing such things, but he had a point to prove, even with his doctor’s disapproval. Through laughter and moments of honesty, and even a few moments of vulnerability- DogBomb had nothing to hide from the community he loved so much. All he ever asked is that we pay it forward, and keep shining that light after he had gone.

“No one should be broken up over my passing. Sadness or anger at ALS is appropriate, but there is nothing to grieve about when you consider the ride that I was afforded. Wag every day, please. Hug your dogs and your friends. Smile when you think of me. No regrets.” – DogBomb

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March 25, 2019

Great accounts to follow: Unintentional Furries

by Patch O'Furr

Announcement – until March 31, vote for the Ursa Major Awards to support the best works of furry fandom!

If you’re a talking animal on social media, Furry Twitter is the place to be. And if you aren’t on there yet, or if you’re new, it may seem like a perplexing jungle of stunning art, cute fursuits, drama, social commentary, memes, nature videos, hitting on corporate mascots, and crazy happenings with a huge fandom of friends who have fun like nobody else. Finding the good stuff could use a guide to bushwhack through the wilderness. Wouldn’t it be cool to get an article series about entertaining and well curated accounts?

These will ask the account owners a few short questions about what they do. Enjoy whether they’re new, or you like learning more about stuff you already love.

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March 8, 2019

Second Life’s philosophy of genuine expression for Furries.

by Patch O'Furr

Announcement – until March 31, vote for the Ursa Major Awards to support the best works of furry fandom!

Luca is a long time Second Life user who recently sniffed her way to my inbox with a news tip: many furries in that world want to show this one what they’re all about. (I noticed that she’s pretty good at this – having appeared on Vice’s Motherboard with a video about the huge size of the world. It tells me that while it may not be as big as it was a while ago, it’s still very active.)

Luca believes that Second Life’s philosophy of Virtual Existentialism / Embodiment allows furries to genuinely, fully express who they are without physical limits. So she made a video to promote their wish to transcend the inner self on the virtual plane of existence.

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February 25, 2019

Interview with LyricWulf, a top furry Youtuber who shares the positive power of music.

by Patch O'Furr

“If you’re someone who’s got something to share with the world, there’s no better time than now”

See more at LyricWulf.com

LyricWulf is one of the top furry Youtubers with over 100K subscribers. What’s special about his music?

Art, fiction and costuming are full of furriness. Music isn’t always recognized as a fandom thing, but a lot of other stuff depends on it. Dance and music videos are a big gateway for newcomers. Con dances are a crossroads for goers and might get the lion’s share of production budgets. Live events are glue that makes fandom stronger than just internet relationships, and furry dance parties are some of the biggest local meets where they happen.

Unlike other things in fandom, a lot of the music comes from outside (although that’s changing). But back in the 1970’s and 80’s, nerdy conventions featured “filk” music – folk songs with fandom inspired lyrics. That’s rare now, and dances are more like a hybrid with separate subcultures (like rave and DJ party culture), which makes “furry music” hard to define.

A recent series at Dogpatch Press asked 10 furry musicians “what is furry music?” It’s hard to say more than “it’s made by or for us”, but think about how it can evoke feeling by using visual aesthetic, being a soundtrack, or even representing animal sounds like Peter and the Wolf does.

A great response came from indie-pop artist ABSRDST.  His cartoon aesthetic (gay ducks with romance lyrics) wasn’t made for fandom, it was just welcomed after he got started (and that was mutual). He put it on a shirt that was especially popular. One of the team for a certain cartoon duck show even wore it to work. That seems like pure furriness, coming from inside rather than intentionally made for a certain target.

Some of the biggest mainstream names who have associated with furries are in music. Many pro musicians use fursuiters in music videos. Jello Biafra (ex Dead Kennedys) and Margaret Cho (from The Masked Singer) did the biggest interviews on Dogpatch Press. For unusual genre crossover, Ronan Harris of cult band VNV Nation gives special appreciation to furry fans, and metal band Periphery let a fursuiter fan sing for them. The biggest names who have used fursonas may be Violent J of ICP and Andrew WK (a wolf). Heavy metal can go well with wolves.

Today’s guest isn’t a metal wolf, he’s the cute and cuddly kind! Let’s look into why music matters with him.

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January 30, 2019

Margaret Cho barks about furries, pride, and costuming on The Masked Singer

by Patch O'Furr

Dogged persistence seems necessary to win success as a standup comedian. In school, the class clown might not be who you expect to become a household name. That’s why one like Margaret Cho can be extra fascinating among mainstream celebrities. She’s got layers. Fabulous, fluffy layers. 

Live touring, TV, movies, fashion and music are all part of her creative canvas, with a palette of adult humor colored by mentors like Robin Williams, 1970’s San Francisco childhood, 1990’s alternative culture, Korean-American experience, female and LGBT identity, and enduring love for non-conformists. Her bio includes Grammy and Emmy nominations, accolades from the New York Times, and awards for representing the LBGT community among other activism for social progress. With such an arsenal of badassery at her disposal, she still graciously got on the phone with a little furry blog. 

Research for our chat turned up a few interesting facts: The show format (guessing the hidden performer) originally came from Korean TV, and she was tuned in to it before being cast. Despite the comedy label, her background includes burlesque and serious study to create comedy music on the level of pros like Weird Al or Flight of the Conchords. You can watch her on Season 1, Episode 4 of The Masked Singer on Fox.com. Enjoy – Patch

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