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Tag: Matthias

Fursonas and Furries: A Tail of Two Docs (Part 1)

by Pup Matthias

(Note from Patch: thanks to the site’s valued long time contributor, Pup Matthias. As site manager, I don’t put a leash on writing, and this came from his self-motivated effort. Therefore, I’ll add a disclaimer that Matthias is sole author, independent from my previous posts and relationships or understandings with others. I had considered doing a followup about poorly-done mainstream Fursonas coverage called “furry is not a cult,” but then decided that enough conversation was already happening.  Uncle Kage, Dominic, Eric Risher and Matthias are all friends to me and all of them are doing great things for this community. If you only get to hear part of the story, let that say the rest. – P)

1462807202946This has been an incredible year for the Furry Fandom. Zootopia crossed over a billion dollars, fur con attendance continues a healthy rate of growth, more positive news about the fandom has been coming out, and Furry Network has entered the Furry website game. And we’ve got not one, but two documentaries exploring the fandom made by people inside the fandom itself. Yet it’s the last part that has brought on some of the biggest debates in the fandom.

Since the release of the two documentaries, Fursonas and Furries, there has been a lot of praise and criticism towards both, although Fursonas has been getting the more vocal criticism of the two.  Which isn’t surprising.  Fursonas features a lot of topics that depending where you stand, can be seen as exposing an issue most would rather hide, or a sensational attack that continues the negative image of the fandom we’ve been working for years to get over.

The reason?  In the second half of Fursonas, we see director Dominic Rodriguez get pulled over by Anthrocon staff, and he was subsequently banned from Anthrocon for breaking their media policy. The rest of the doc then paints the con chair, Uncle Kage, in a negative light criticizing his practices both with media relations, how Furries should interact (or not) with the media, and the way he “censors” certain figures and topics to make the fandom more acceptable to the mainstream.

Now to make things clear, I like Fursonas. I like that it brings forward issues I believe we should discuss and come to terms with. I think some of the criticism doesn’t come so much from the film itself as that it’s a film the fandom didn’t expect. I’ll go into detail about that later, but this article is not a Fursonas defense piece.  It’s about exploring the topics and reactions that have become clouded with all the drama surrounding the two films. I love that we have two Furry docs that explore two different aspects of the fandom. I’ve even talked to both directors, who wish to express their own thoughts about everything going on. This isn’t trying to end the conversation. It’s to add more and make sure what we debate about is what needs to be debated about.

So let’s first examine the main issue, Dominic Rodriguez being banned from Anthrocon. This bit of information alone has been the deal breaker on whether people should watch the doc. It’s as if because Anthrocon saw fit to ban a film about Furries, then it can’t be worth watching in the first place. When you watch the film, you see the topic of being banned brought up, but also the main reason for them to be banned was because they didn’t agree to a Production Agreement, which would have given some form of creative control over the film to Uncle Kage.

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New Furry Novels Summer Releases

by Pup Matthias

Good day Fluffer Nutters. Around Anthrocon, we did an article highlighting all 25 books being released by Furplanet, but there were and are still more Furry books being released that we didn’t cover from the many other publishers and self-publishers. This list covers the rest that I can find. If you know any that I missed, feel free to mention them in the comments. Hope you enjoy your next furry obsession.

SOFAWOLF PRESS

Franco_front-cover_SC-lgFranko, Fables of the Last Earth by Cristobal Jofre and Angel Bernier (General Hardcover $39.95/ Softcover $19.95)

Franko, Fables of the Last Earth is a collection of six comic stories about Franko, a precocious lion living on the Atacama Desert of Chile with his friend Shin, thousands of years in Earth’s future. Theirs is a vibrant world of animal characters, where humans are long gone, along with much of their technology. Life on this desert, the driest in the world, is difficult, but also full of adventures and mysteries. In each fable, Franko and Shin encounter challenges and riddles that they must solve, and in the process they learn a bit more about themselves, and others. Not every fable ends with an obvious lesson, but each one is thought-provoking and full of surprises.

Franko was originally published in Chile in its native Spanish by Amapola Editores, Ltda. as Franko, Fábulas de la Última Tierra. We at Sofawolf Press fell in love with Franko, his friends, and his gorgeously-illustrated world, and so in 2016 we ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of an English translation of this collection.

The fables included in this volume are:

  • The Fable of Mana and the Treasure
  • Chapter Title Page by Hax
  • The Fable of Cobrafrog, the Merchant
  • Chapter Title Page by Ekara
  • The Fable of Megaboss
  • Chapter Title Page by Martin Caceres (inks) and Ekara (color)
  • The Fable of the Host of Midnight
  • Chapter Title Page by Arashi Takemoto
  • The Fable of the Slave Master
  • Chapter Title Page by Seyorrol
  • The Fable of Behemo, the Hermit
  • Chapter Title Page by Rodrigo Lopez

Due to the success of meeting one of our Kickstarter campaign’s stretch goals, the collection includes three additional black and white comics:

  • Box
  • The Second Rain
  • Florid Desert

This book is suitable for readers from age 7 to 700.

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Waterways is why I Love the Furry Fandom

by Pup Matthias

6412912I love the Furry Fandom. I love how weird, crazy, silly, creative, and open-minded the fandom is. Just like how every other fandom says they’re weird, crazy, silly, creative, and open-minded. But in all seriousness, I do appreciate what the fandom is and what it keeps trying to do. I am indebted to the Furry Fandom. My life would not be where it is today because of it. If I had any regrets in life, one of them would be to wish I knew about the fandom earlier so I could spend more years exploring it, but that’s wishful thinking, and in all honesty, would undermine my personal growth.

The first time I’ve ever heard about the fandom was during a countdown on Animal Planet’s “Weird, True & Freaky” around 2008. Before that, I knew I loved the concept of anthropomorphic animals. Mainly through the Redwall book series and TV show, which was my only “Furry” fix growing up. I don’t really remember if there were other factors like Disney’s Robin Hood or Bugs Bunny, Crash or Ratchet, Swat Kats or Road Rovers. But I do know when Weird, True & Freaky showed Furries I wanted to know more.

I don’t remember much about the segment. I know it was talked about during a countdown of humanimals, looks at how far humans include animals into their lives. The fandom only made number 4 or 3 out of 7, and while it did bring up the topic of sex, it wasn’t the main reason it made the list. Just the whole, “Can you believe people dress up in fursuits? Look at how quirky and weird these Furries be…” blah, blah, blah. In hindsight, considering what most media depictions of Furries were like at the time, this one was fairly open. But once it aired I didn’t really look into it more. I was a senior in high school. My life was more focused about college, scholarships, and getting ready for our high school production of Grease.

It wasn’t till after I started college in the fall of 2009 that I remember the segment about Furries, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember what the fandom was called. So I had to do some really weird Google searches to remember what those fluffy people in suits that pretend to be walking, talking animals called themselves. I began to find results through the web comic scene with works like Better Days, Jack, and Fur-Piled. Which in term lead to me discovering what these weirdoes called themselves and the creative sites dedicated to them. I had found the Furries.

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Furplanet Debuting Over 25 Books at Anthrocon.

by Pup Matthias

REPOST!  Sorry, this went out by mistake with half of the info unfinished.  – Patch

Anthrocon is coming! Where Furries far and wide come together to hang out, make friends, attend panels, dance, drink too much alcohol, and spend way too much money. I am so jealous of you guys. Stupid adult responsibilities keeping me away from all the fluffies. And the fine Fluffer Nutters at Furplanet have not 1, not 5, not 12, but 25 books debuting at AC. A combination of novels, anthologies, comics, and art books from a who’s who of writers and artist.

We at Dogpatch Press now present to you an easy to follow catalogue of all that will be available. So take a look and visit the Furplanet table to support Furry Writers and Artists. Or pre-order now for those like me who can’t. Pre-Orders will begin shipping out on July 22nd. I hope you find your next reading obsession soon and have a nice day.

NOVELS:

rukis-legacy-dawn_smLegacy: Dawn by Rukis ( Mature Hardcover $29.95 and Softcover $19.95)

Kadar was born into one of the lowest castes in his society—the laborers. That is, until a series of unfortunate events trapped him in the only life worse, that of an indentured servant.

Literally collared by the powerful hyena clan that holds his contract, Kadar now finds himself facing a dangerous decision.

Live as a slave, or fight for freedom.

Joined by a hyena held captive by his own kind, a guard with a grudge against the very people he works for, and an indomitable cheetah, Kadar faces an uncertain future in a land where centuries of dependence on slavery and warfare make real freedom of any kind, for any caste, a dream that might be worth dying for.

From the world of “Red Lantern.” Written and illustrated by Rukis.

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The Raccoon’s Den – The First Docudramedy Series in the Furry Fandom.

by Pup Matthias

See The Raccoon’s Den on Youtube. Thanks to Bandit and Pup Matthias for collaborating on this special guest article.  

When I say the word ‘creator’ in the furry fandom, what do you think of?  Mostly likely TRD_2016 Poster (sml)you would think of artist, writers, musicians, animators, game developers, fursuit makers, etc.  One type that doesn’t cross most people’s minds are video creators.  There are examples like EZ Wolf and Duke the Dog with their shorts and music videos, Culturally F’d with their educational videos, and this year has brought us Dominic Rodriguez and Eric Risher with their respected documentaries exploring the fandom. But it’s a relatively small pool compared to the others.

Part of that lies with platform. Most furry sites don’t offer a way for video creators to showcase their work and build a presence like the others. They’re always having to link to YouTube or Vimeo and hope someone will click the link. Furry Network looks to be the only one working on offering video creators a player to support them.  Time will only tell on that front.

(Note from Patch: the medium also brings challenges.  That’s why our ‘Special Features and Top Articles’ just added a section about THE NASCENT FURRY MOVIE SCENE.)

What’s truly sad about this is the way video creators have the best opportunity to explain and showcase what our fandom is.  Capturing the moments of celebration, joy, hardship, misunderstanding, and exploring what makes the furry fandom what it is.

There’s a series for that already. It’s been going on for over seven years, with almost one hundred episodes that explore what the fandom is. That show is The Raccoon’s Den.

Christopher Parque-Johnson, creator of the Raccoon’s Den, is better known as Bandit in the fandom. He was introduced to the fandom from a fan-made forum for the film ‘Over the Hedge’, which inspired him to have a raccoon fursona after the title character of the film.

I got into the furry fandom after seeing “Over the Hedge” in 2006, joined a fan-made forum and a friend on there made an RP account for RJ the Raccoon on MySpace (back when people used it). I joined the fandom on July 20th and up until 2009, I was just another person on the internet who liked being part of the community. I felt welcomed and accepted for being myself here and that was something I wasn’t able to feel outside of it.

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