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Stories from the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, played out by the animals that would have been there…

From the Dust

A part of me is nervous covering a project with its feet firmly in the world of religion, because that’s a language that geek culture dismisses, by and large. But it’d be a shame to pass From the Dust over as just one more spiritual kickstarter (and there are so many of them!) This Graphic Novel/ebook project‘s art is rich, ambitious, historically informed, and absolutely worth a close look.

The first volume of From the Dust, already in print as an ebook and currently available as a freebie (and dragon fans, take note), is set some 2500 years ago, during the Babylonian conquest of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish temple and ruling dynasty (or the prequel to that time, I’m unclear here), the stories of these chapters of The Book of Mormon share characters and events from those of the Old Testament–royal intrigue in the court, loss of home and wandering in the desert–and dragons. I think Sunday School would have been a lot more interesting if it had this many dragons.

Stylistically, From the Dust is written as an animated movie, a good mode for the epic storytelling author/illustrator/one-man publishing team Michael Mercer is aiming for (and this sort of “foundations of the religion” storytelling defines epic, except of course that the Greeks defined epic). The art has a strong Bluth/Dreamworks vibe, clean, with a little of that faintly unearthly shading of many modern animation projects. Mercer’s background is in the Animation college at Brigham Young University, so the strong animated vibe is reasonable.

The main characters–Sariah, the prophet Lehi, and their families are the sorts of creatures the Israelites might have encountered–striped hyenas, desert cats, an array of lizards, even a fennec on a royal throne. One of the token Evil Priests, Pashur, seems to be a wolf–but we don’t encounter him as a character in volume one…pity, he looks amusingly pointy.

Beyond the graphic novel portion, which is all kinds of epic historical/fantastical fun, the From the Dust project is heavily educational, studded with maps and historical/religious information–pretty typical stuff in religious education material, really, though it’s fairly well-done, if text-heavy at times)–there’s also a few tablespoons of “the artist’s experience,” sketchbooks and procedurals, encouragement, kind of a “DVD Bonuses” approach.

Even if the religion angle isn’t your cup of tea, Dust has strong artwork, and it does make for an interesting and huge story, with the potential for 20+ issues, and that’s really foundational material. Will he move from the African desert to the lost species of the American plains? Time will tell.

Note: Images used above are included to promote the work of crowdfunding artists, and are owned by the original creator.

 

Author: Fred “Coming in 2013!” Many movies that are announced never come out. Two that were announced in 2013 as “coming soon” and then disappeared seem to be unfortunate M.I.A.s, from Flayrah’s point of view. Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie. “Ever since the world was born, two forces have been locked in perpetual battle. […]

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Is there a furry community in the Pasadena area? I live here and wanna have social meet ups with some furs and furry anthro artists of all skill levels... and we can do that over drinks _^

(Yup - new account just for this!)

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This is my suggestion.

Artist SFW? FA DA Weasyl Person1 Yes FA (use link) DA (use link) N/A Person2 No FA (use link) N/A Weasyl (use link)

We put this up in a sticky post, and occasionally add artists on when people throw a name out in the comments.

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Dear Papa Bear,

Let me just say thanks for taking time out of your day to read my messages. Your advice is really helpful! I'm sorry I waited so long to respond to your messages. I've been busy with school, personal stuff, a relative just passed away, etc. 

Anyway, I have another question. I was wondering if you have any advice for meeting furries in real life. I recently joined a Furry forum for furries in the Midwest called Michiganfurs.com. I've only been on the website for a couple days, but so far I dislike it because the interface is, well ... awful. But, I'll keep using it until I make contact with someone. 

I remember I Skyped with a furiend from DA once, but only one time. It was kind of awkward, because we had never spoken before. But, he lives in Nevada and I live in Michigan, so I don't think I'll ever meet him. :(

Anyway, back on topic. I was just wondering if you have any general advice for meeting furries IRL. 

Sincerely, 

Steve

* * *

Dear Steve,

If I were you, I would give Michiganfurs.com (aka Midwest Furries, though most members are in Michigan) more of a chance. When I lived in Michigan this site really helped me to connect to a lot of furries. You’ll get used to the interface. A HUGE benefit of being a member of Midwest Furries is that the site includes a furry locator map. Also, there is FurryMap.net, where furries register their locations. There are quite a lot of us in Michigan.

Other sites you can use to find furries include Meetup.com, where you can search on “furry” to find possible furry meets in your area; however, at this time I don’t see any meet-up groups in your area.

Next, go to a furcon. There used to be an outstanding mid-size furcon in Novi Michigan called Furry Connection North, but, sadly, it has closed. HOWEVER, there is a new one in Grand Rapids called Great Lakes Fur Con (http://greatlakesfurcon.com) that will debut in 2014. I think I’ve heard of another furcon in Michigan starting up soon, but can’t recall at the moment where it is. If possible, you should also attend Midwest Furfest in Chicago (well, Rosemont, technically; http://www.furfest.org/). Even though it’s in Illinois, it is the third largest furry convention in the country and you’re sure to make connections there—provided you’re not the shy type. Many furcon sites allow you to register and search on other people who are going to that particular con, so you can chat with them online and, if you connect to someone you like, you can make plans to meet them at the con.

Another thing you can do is visit www.furry4life.org. Go to “Groups” and search on Michigan and you’ll find three or four groups where you can meet lots of people. You can also go to the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/MichiganFurries/.

Still another option is online gaming. If you play, say, World of Warcraft or some other online game like Everquest or Lord of the Rings, or fiddle around on SecondLife, you are bound to meet furries. Because there are so many doing online gaming, you are quite likely to find some who live in Michigan.

Now, if you are looking for a furry who is more than just a friend, you can also try www.FurryMate.com.

Hope these tips help, and hope you find some local furiends!

Cheers,

Papabear

Author: rodney Stan Sakai is world-famous as the creator, writer, and artist of Usagi Yojimbo, a multiple-award-winning funny animal comic. He has given a lot to our furry fan community, not only from his creation but from his appearances at furry conventions around the country. Now, Stan needs some real help. His wife Sharon has […]

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Author: Fred Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit stop-motion clay (or plasticine) films should need no introduction to Flayrah’s readers. The first, A Grand Day Out, released in Great Britain for Christmas 1989, almost immediately became a sensation in both Britain and America. New short films, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit feature, the Shaun the Sheep […]

Author: crossaffliction It’s another IDW sweep, with two Micro-Series issues (Pinkie Pie and Old Hob are featured this time around), and another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue. Ben Bates returns; he’s the artist behind the aforementioned Pinkie Pie story, despite the fact that I pointed him out as a positive in earlier issue of TMNT. […]

Dan, a trucker and an embittered loner, takes a job which sends him onto a lonely road at night. There he meets some odd people in need of his help and he finds himself pulled into a strange quest.

Dragon Man and Lonesome Woman by Vixxy Fox

Read by Peter Katt 

Music cues by Infinity Squared 

AD 056 - Dragon Man and Lonesome Woman part 1 - Dan, a trucker and an embittered loner, takes a job which sends him onto a lonely road at night. There he meets some odd people in need of his help and he finds himself pulled into a strange quest. Dragon Man and Lonesome Woman by Read by...

Just wondering if there's any fur-related stuff going on for thanksgiving for you guys. Also, I'm away from home unwillingly visiting relatives for thanksgiving, so I'm kind of lonely and wouldn't mind some conversation (on mobile for the week). Thanks.

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