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I want pizza now. Dammit.
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Oh Bother.
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Sci fi and horror is a match made in hell. And that's where all furries yiff, right? When Tarl Hoch created the call for submissions for this dark anthology, he knew he was playing with a cross of genres that was ripe for a furry lens, and he was totally right. Bleak Horizons is more than just a loose collection of sci fi horror stories, the anthology stands as a testament to both Tarl's eye for good stories and his ability to organize diverse material into a cohesive structure, built from blood and ink.The anthology opens with Kandrel's "Adrift," a story of the horrors of cryosleep. It is a deeply chilling story and offers a new twist on the often cliche narrative of people not being able to stay unconscious during cryosleep. The emotional evocation throughout this piece was rich, making it a strong start to the anthology. My only real critique of it is definitely that it's probably one of the least furry stories in the anthology. It begins with a furry line, and we're occasionally told the character is a cat every other page, but otherwise we forget.Next is Franklin Leo's "4/13/2060." What we have here plays out like a mystery, not so much a whodunnit as a whyhedunnit. Science experiments on a virtual reality drive a very smart man over the edge, and his assistant is in utter disbelief. This story excels in its fast and gripping pacing, its use of furry elements, and its metaphysical horror of a twist. A fun read for anyone who likes sci fi horror with a touch of Noir."Hardwire" by Ton Inktail begins with, "I love you, Master. Won't you fuck me?" Yes, a furry android built to be a sexual object starts gaining intelligence of its own. The objectification of androids is such a trope of sci fi, it is so refreshing seeing this taken to a sexual level, and, more interestingly, taken to the fetishization level that furries have to their cartoon characters. Such an innovative concept, and it exposes a lot of the ethical horrors in the potentials of our own wish fulfillment. What's interesting with this story, too, is how the perspective of the tale (being from the droid) serves to shame the average furry reader, rather than include them. Stellar writing here.The next story is "The Ouroboros Plate" by Slip Wolf. Agh, this is one of my favorite stories in this collection, and it's so fucked. This is one of the few stories I've read that does time travel right, and it's done to such horrific effect here that it made me queasy. I refuse to spoil any plot details, but definitely make sure you're not reading this on a full stomach. As Slip Wolf told me before I started reading, "Bon appetit.""The First Viewing" by Corgi W. is paws-down my favorite story in this collection and—naturally—the most fucked up of the book. Dark Mirror meets furries in this story of a scientist gone mad with sadism and vengeance. I feel like Corgi W. tried to think of ways to make the worst possible tortures for his characters here. My only critique might be that the final torture wasn't surprising enough by the time we get there. Otherwise, a fucking flawless story in terms of horror and pacing.Next is Ianus J. Wolf's "Clicking," one of a few stories in this collection following the narrative structure of let's-visit-a-planet-that-looks-cool-but-starts-killing-us-so-we-spread-it-to-other-planets. While this isn't the most innovative story in the collection, I loved this story from the way it was written. The sensory details are just so evocative, and even while I knew where it was going from the first page, I was creeped out throughout the piece. The auditory details work exceptionally well in this furry universe, and I wish more furry writers took advantage of senses the way Ianus does here.James Stone's "Blink," however, seems to show how furry can ruin a tried-and-true narrative structure. Don't get me wrong: the piece was beautifully and creepily written, with probably some of the eeriest and most sublime setting and world-building in the anthology. My rub is that the species distinction necessary for the plot spoils the ending super early. Trying not to spoil it as much as I can, imagine if in Prisoner of Azkaban, we had a clear visual of what the caster of the Patronus looked like across the lake. Even if Harry had been confused and thought it was his dad, we wouldn't have been confused. We would have known what was up. Because of furry species, this story is spoiled for us in a lot of ways.In Ross Whitlock's "Pentangle," we get this lovely of Barkerian body horror in which a five-person body is fighting for survival, trying to pretend to be just four bodies—the max socially acceptable bodies in one. This story is grotesque and so action-packed. I think there's a lot of potential for Whitlock's world here, and I would love to see this setting in their future works.We get our second iteration of the let's-visit-a-planet-that-looks-cool-but-starts-killing-us-so-we-spread-it-to-other-planets motif in Searska GreyRaven's "Starless." This story is fun in its in-depth characterization. There are not many avians in this anthology, but this story is one of the rare exceptions. And it's one of the few stories where I actually wanted specific people to survive. Searska does a great job making you care for their characters, even if the plot itself is fairly generic. One of the "furrier" stories in the collection, and the author shows mastery of that kind of distinction here.Frances Pauli's "This Way" is all about intelligent spiders. Plotwise, it's very similar to the let's-visit-a-planet-that-looks-cool-but-starts-killing-us-so-we-spread-it-to-other-planets motif on a smaller scale, so...basically the parasite narrative. BUT I love this story because it's such a creative use of spiders in a sci fi horror furry context. Pauli puts so much attention to detail with their spiders, and it makes such a difference in the reading. The spiders become real, and that can be what makes this story terrifying all on its own. It forces readers into the heads of what they likely fear already.Donald Jacob Uitvlugt continues the let's-visit-a-planet-that-looks-cool-but-starts-killing-us-so-we-spread-it-to-other-planets with his steady mystery, "Outlier." Here, the survivors are telling inaccurate accounts, so you have to solve the mystery of who's telling the truth...and who could possibly still be infected... *cue dramatic music* Great pacing with this story, and, again, despite being a cliche plotline, the author makes it very fresh through this mystery tone.KC Alpinus takes us in a rather unique direction, toward The Twilight Zone, with "Not Like Us." Here, she tackles xenophobia in a small town when all power goes out...even for battery-operated devices. The creepiness of the situation escalates into the social justice/violence of "The Lottery," and even an involved reader will be pointing fingers. Alpinus excels with characterization throughout, and the pacing leaves you on the edge of your seat.Bill Kieffer is largely a TF writer, and he does not disappoint with his story, "Clear and Cruel," in which a cataclysm has deformed a hefty percent of the population, leaving the protagonist with shattered memories and a shattered form. But this isn't just a tale of futuristic transformations and body horror; it's about loss, dealing with that trauma, and facing the real horrors that dwell within us. The pacing for this piece is a bit slow and clunky, but the emotional payoff by the end makes it worth it.Rechan's "Blessed are the Meek" is unfortunately a counterexample in world-building, in which nine proper nouns are introduced in the first two pages, not counting world-specific lingo, too. After getting through the first five or six pages of infodump, the story really does pick up and has a captivating plot similar to The Secret of Nimh. It does not deviate from it too much, just making it with rabbits instead of mice. The ending is sadly also fairly anticlimactic.Chris "Sparf" Williams finishes the anthology out with his piece, "Hollow." This is also the last of the parasite/possession stories. However, what makes this story gripping is the gory detail of it. By this point, the suspense of this potential narrative had worn off for me, but the gore really stood out, making this easily one of the darker stories in the collection. There are images, particularly of the "hollowness," that will stick with me long after this anthology.While this anthology had its fair number of typos, I can see Hoch's clear love of and dedication to this project, and the finished book is a wonderful addition to any furry book reader's collection. Just be careful as the sun starts setting. The more you read, the bleaker and bleaker the horizon becomes...

They might say that this is the Year of the Pig, but as far as I’m concerned 2019 will be the Year of the Beast, with the hugely popular mobile title, Fire Emblem: Heroes, finally getting beast units as of earlier this month! The first confirmed units (all from the Radiant Series) will be Tibarn, Leanne, Reyson and Nailah.
These are all great (especially Tibarn), but this got me thinking though … what fluffs, birbs, or dergons did I want to come to the game? After all, if you include the sprinkling of beast units over the more recent titles, there’s a fair few to choose from. So, here you go, my five picks of beasts I want to see in Fire Emblem: Heroes!

Tiger vs. Nightmare is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers, created by Emily Tetri and published by First Second. “Tiger is a very lucky kid: She has a monster living under her bed. Every night, Tiger and Monster play games until it’s time for lights out. Of course, Monster would never try to scare Tiger—that’s not what best friends do. But Monster needs to scare someone…it’s a monster, after all. So while Tiger sleeps, Monster scares all of her nightmares away. Thanks to her friend, Tiger has nothing but good dreams. But waiting in the darkness is a nightmare so big and mean that Monster can’t fight it alone. Only teamwork and a lot of bravery can chase this nightmare away.” The book is available now in hardcover from Macmillan, and they’ve got a preview up as well.

image c. 2019 First Second

There is nothing in the rule-books that says a goalie can't be a walrus.
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Here’s something new from Europe, published by Cinebook: Distant Worlds is a full-color science fiction graphic novel series created by a team known and Leo and Icar. “18-year-old Paul, his mother, and his sister land on Altair-4, a recently established human colony. They expect to be reunited with Paul’s father there and start a new life, but he doesn’t show up to welcome them at the spaceport… Later, they are rescued from a gang of thugs by a Stepanerk, a member of a sentient alien species. It’s an encounter that will prove invaluable to Paul when he decides to go and look for his father.” Check it out (three volumes so far) over at Comixology.

image c. 2019 Cinebook

Actually, any excuse for a lightswitch rave and I'm there. [1] [1] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/LightSwitchRave2.gif
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Good meowning! Once again, [a][s] will be attending Further Confusion and offering a few panels to choose from. Come stop on by as Makyo meows about data!

• Safer Sex – Friday at 1:00PM in Marriott: Willow Glen I-II
  Interested in what all goes into having a happy, healthy, sex-positive relationship with your partners? Curious on how to stay safe while playing? Safer sex is important for staying healthy, both physically and emotionally. Come join us in exploring ways to enjoy intimacy safely.
• Exploring the Fandom Through Data – Saturday at 1:00PM in Marriott: Blossom Hill
  Join [adjective][species] to explore the ins and outs of the furry subculture through data, prowling through seven years of the furry survey and additional surveys and data sets besides, investigating what makes up the fandom and exploring why.
• What We Like After Dark – Monday at 12:00AM (that is Sunday Midnight, just to be clear!) in Hilton: Santa Clara
  Come explore what we like as furries through the lens of the art site e621. Using more than 10 years of data from submissions and tags, supplemented by data from Tapestries, SoFurry, and the Furry Survey we’ll look at art, artists, species, characters, and media franchises.
• Gender and Furry – Monday at 1:00PM in Marriott: Blossom Hill
  Both gender and furry touch on very important aspects of identity. The fandom often provides a space in which to explore one’s gender in a safe manner. Come join us to talk about what gender is and how it interacts with the furry subculture.

More interesting non-human science fiction. Retrograde Orbit is minimal-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Kristyna Baczynski. “At the outer edge of the solar system, on the mining planet Tisa, Flint and her mother live in the colony of Swift Springs. Displaced by a nuclear event, Flint’s family settled in Swift Springs two generations ago to become miners. Soon Flint will be old enough to begin her apprenticeship at the refinery. But is the home that her family has built for her enough, or will a mysterious, irradiated planet pull her away from them? By following in their footsteps and leaving to forge a new path, is she betraying her family, or honoring their legacy?” It’s available now in softcover from Avery Hill Publishing. Broken Frontier has an extensive review.

image c. 2018 Avery Hill

We’re back after the crazy busy holidays with lots of banter, stories & energy.

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Link Roundup:

• Telegram Furry Language Pack
  • Set Link
  • Details
• Tasting the world’s first test tube steak
• Scientists Find Red Wolf DNA in a Unique Group of Wild Dogs in Texas
• MFF announces official attendance
• Hiyu 10k
• Feral Attraction podcast ends as host faces multiple accusations of abuse
• Blind Coyote taking commissions
• A Furry Convention Offers Lessons in Safe Sex
• Phantom New Years 2
• Elder Scrolls Online 2019 Teaser Trailer

News:

• This Viral 195-Gigapixel Photo Has To Be Seen To Be Believed
• FursaLisa, AI Blending Photos in Style through Adaptive Rendering
• CES Organizers Take Back Innovation Award For Sex Toy, Calling It “Obscene”. Founders Call It Sexism
• Security Camera Catches Prowling Suspect Licking Doorbell For 3 Hours

[Live] Ding Dong Lick

Another new full-color science fiction comic series, this time from Antarctic Press. It’s Stars End, created by Larry Spike Jarrell and Selena McDevitte. “6,000 years ago the Annunaki, visitors to Earth, departed with numerous animals as subjects for study and DNA experiments. Centuries in the future these evolved beasts, collectively known as N’Naki, have created vast civilizations in the Sirius system, with humans serving as their worker bees. One group of N’Naki are given a pre-graduation duty: Scan a mining world of human workers that’s fallen victim to a viral infection before the planet is demolished to stop the disease from spreading. But when a sixteen-year-old Annunaki girl turns up, the mission quickly becomes anything but routine.” If the description doesn’t make it obvious, the covers certainly do: The N’Naki are decidedly feline!

image c. 2019 Antarctic Press

For this fursuit Friday here is a furmeet video at the USS Hornet. This event is now a mini-convention and the next one is going to happen in February: Location USS Hornet - Sea, Air and Space Museum 707 West Hornet Avenue Alameda, CA 94501 Space Camp 2 [1] "Prepare for liftoff with space themed costumes, dancing, DJ’s, fursuiting, The Apollo 11 Test Capsule, a full bar, and waterfront views on the historic USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier." [1] https://www.eventbrite.com/e/space-camp-party-2019-on-the-uss-hornet-aircraft-carrier-tickets-53122000333?aff=Promovideo
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And speaking of Mike Norton (which we were a couple days ago), he’s back as illustrator and collaborating once again with Rafer Roberts on Grumble, a new full-color comic series from Albatross Funnybooks. “When the forces of good and evil are hunting you down, the only logical thing to do is disguise yourself as a dog and go on the run! Eddie is a low-rent hustler who got magically turned into a pug during a con gone wrong. Tala is the part-demon daughter of one of Eddie’s many ex-girlfriends. When Tala finds herself the target of powerful inter-dimensional forces, she goes to Eddie for help–setting off a chain reaction of chaos and destruction that could threaten the very fabric of existence. Can Eddie and Tala put aside their differences long enough to survive the magical mayhem and madness that they started, or will they kill each other first? (It’s probably the second one!)” CBR has a preview with sample pages too.

image c. 2018 Albatross Funnybooks

It's the circle of felines.
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So how did this pass us by? It’s Captain Ginger, a new full-color series from Ahoy Comics. “When the human race died out, the cats inherited the Earth! Or at least one starship. Now the intrepid Captain Ginger struggles to keep his fellow felines united against a hostile universe. But there’s a rival for Ginger’s authority: His second-in-command, the savage Sergeant Mittens! Thirty-five pages of comic adventure — with a bite — created by writer Stuart Moore (Deadpool the Duck, Batman: Noir Alley) and artist June Brigman (Power Pack, Star Wars).” Also featuring extra back-up material by Animal Man creator Grant Morrison.

image c. 2019 Ahoy Comics

While this is just barely furry I really wanted to share this short as It's probably the first Pinscreen animated film in many years. The Pinscreen is one of those styles of animation that is VERY crazy and I personally think one of the most difficult forms of animation out there. A brief history of Alexandre Alexeieff [1] and Claire Parker [2]'s Pinscreen can be found in this short 1973 film on the subject: https://youtu.be/N4u-C8kyUeA This form of animation lends itself to very ethereal stream of consciousness sorts of films. "Film directed on Spruce, pinscreen by Alexandre Alexeïef and Claire Parker, during a research and development residency organized by the CNC. Many thanks to Jean-Baptiste Garnero, Sophie Le Tétour and Nathanaël Bergèse, and Chaïtane Conversat and Sophie Roze. And a special thanks to Michèle Lemieux!" [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Alexeieff [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Parker
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And speaking of compilations… IDW has a big one for fans of Spyro the Dragon and the Skylanders crew in the new Skylanders Omnibus. “A collection of Skylanders adventures tying into some of their most popular games! From the world of Skylanders Trap Team! Discover the history of the Trap Masters and Kaos’ plot for Traptanium that ties right into the video game. Marvel as your favorite characters face grueling tests, outrageous challenges, and the vilest of villains to gain Champion status! Plus, one of Spyro’s most malevolent and powerful enemies makes his Skylanders debut! And nothing Spyro, Hex, Cynder, or the rest of the Skylanders can do will prepare them for the evil that is about the be unleashed—the return of the first purple dragon, Malefor!” At nearly 300 pages, it just hit the shelves too!

image c. 2019 IDW Publishing