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For Your Fashionable Feet
Sara Varon is a comic creator whom we’ve talked about before several times as both a writer and an artist. (Seriously: Look her up!) Now she’s back as both again with her latest hardcover book, New Shoes, published by First Second. They describe it as “… a heartwarming graphic novel about a donkey on a quest to make the perfect pair of shoes.” Really now? “Francis the donkey is the best shoemaker in the village. He uses only the finest materials: coconut wood for the soles, goat’s wool for the insoles, and wild tiger grass for the uppers. One day he receives a special order from his favorite singer: Miss Manatee, the queen of calypso. But he’s all out of tiger grass! To make the perfect pair of shoes, Francis must journey deep into the jungle . . . and that means leaving his village for the first time.” Find it now over at Barnes & Noble.
image c. 2018 First Second
Public Suiting At Santa Monica, CA
“If an idea resonates with you, there’s absolutely an audience for it”- the furry world of Lobst
Welcome to Bessie, of Marfedblog, a comics review and criticism site. There’s furry stuff there, and much more, with devoted curation by a fan doing exactly what they love. If you like this, give it a follow. And expect more syndicated content from Marfedblog reposted here. (-Patch)
Growing up on a diet of sci-fi and fantasy, transformation stories were the ones I loved and could always rely on the writers of most shows to fall back on one of it’s most loved tropes. For me they were always the most frustrating though, as characters spent their time trying either freaking or trying to change back, usually both. Frustratingly they almost never explored a person staying that way, gaining a new perspective on the world. It’s something I’d find renewed interest in when encountering the Furry Fandom and finally found quite literally in the works of Lobst, a furry comics artist who uses their anthropomorphic characters and an individual take on magical realism to express their unique experiences as a trans person.
As with the bulk of their work two of my favourites, both adult comics, prominently feature transgender characters and story lines. A Slightly Different Role follows the exploits of two huskies, Connor and Alex, the latter of which with the aid of a suitably gothic book of curses, magically endows the other with a vagina. The second, more science-fiction orientated That Curious Sensation takes the subject in an entirely different, rarely explored direction. Distracted from work by unwanted erections red panda Clover strikes upon the idea of nullification, quickly achieving his goal with an easily obtainable injection. In both instances the initial transformation is dealt with quickly and often humorously, instead shifting the focus onto how characters react and adapt to the changes, rather than the change itself as a way to explore other parts of a trans individuals experiences and struggles beyond the post surgery aspects that a lot of mainstream representations fixate upon.
Lobst tells stories and presents their trans and gender fluid characters in an interesting and entertaining manner without the fetishization often present in a lot furry comics staring trans characters. Their artwork explores them in entirely different ways, and using the fantasy elements as a springboard to ask more intimate and rarely asked questions about individuals in the trans community through anthropomorphic characters. Despite the ears, tails and fur, the extended cast appears on the page fully rounded and human. Ultimately what sets Lobst’s work apart is the warmth and tenderness it exudes in both the ways their characters interact and the playful way they write about a complicated and multifaceted subject, tackled both playfully and honestly.
We had a chat:
Has art always been a part of you life or something picked up later? How did your art change after coming into contact with the furry fandom?
I’ve always drawn artwork, although it took quite a while for me to start developing original ideas that spread out into stories. I was a furry-in-denial for a very long time, since the “mainstream” of it — at the time, comics like Sabrina Online and Jack — either seemed too cloying or edgy for my tastes. It took a long time for me to realise that like any other fandom, furries comprise a wide spectrum of interests, so there was a gradual shift from anthro-animal comics like Cigarro & Cerveja/Living In Greytown to Gene Catlow/Kit & Kay Boodle to Associated Student Bodies, Circles, and the webcomics by my friend Moult, after which I spent yet another very-long-time producing furry media “ironically” in groan worthy “extreme” ways. And I think it was only around 2007 or so (yes, seriously) when I started actually looking at furry art, that I learned how to successfully draw furry snouts; until that point a besnouted face was seriously just a box in front of the standard comic-artist human face shield.
When you first started out making comics did you feel there was a lack of them out there for, or about trans and non-binary genders? Do you feel there are more online webcomics than in mainstream comics?
Oh, one of my first inspirations was about the wealth of gender swap story arcs in webcomics, and how I felt they handled the subject inappropriately. Not that I considered them trans-phobic (even though many if them, in retrospect, probably were); it’s just that I was baffled at why none of the characters, at all, wanted to stay in their altered state. So I made my own story, which ended up being a total mess, but it also ended up inspiring my real-life transition in the first place, so.
When I first started my transition in 2004, I remember being severely disheartened at the apparent lack of trans voices in webcomics, considering how accessible the storytelling format is to anyone with pencil, paper, and a scanner. Thankfully, these days there are trans-assembled webcomics everywhere you look, due in no small part to how gender is discussed today compared to back then.
There are more trans-focused stories in webcomics today than there ever have been in mainstream comics. I don’t follow comics very closely, but you just have to look at the rest of media to see where depictions of trans people are at in the public consciousness. Netflix, the only major studio I’m aware of which hires trans actors to play trans people, focuses exclusively on the post-surgery experience of trans women who pass, when — compared to the rest of the trans experience — not only is it just one small part of a trans woman’s overall journey, but it’s also a situation most often occupied by trans women who can afford surgery, voice lessons, facial feminization, laser hair removal, and so on. And this isn’t to trivialise the struggles those women face, of course; it’s just one of the few pieces of transness that holds appeal for cis people. Compared to the proliferation of stories by and about trans/nonbinary people (like Drop-Out, Crossed Wires, Electricopolis, and Go Ye Dogs!), there’s really no contest.
What reaction do you get to your own comics either within the furry fandom or from readers in general?
I’d call it generally positive, with the caveat that I’ve long since stopped seeking approval from non-furry spaces, and even from furry spaces where trans-phobic language isn’t frowned upon; I essentially only post my art to my website and a few Twitter/Tumblr accounts: some private, some not. I’ve never been a popular artist, but I’ve gotten comfortable enough with occupying my specific niche that I’m fairly sure at this point I’d reject popularity if it was thrust upon me. (My chronic anxiety is a pretty big factor in this, too.)
My self-promotion skills are virtually nonexistent, but through sheer word-of-mouth I’ve gotten a couple of diehard fans, which — considering it’s been multiple years since I’ve committed to an ongoing webcomic project — is baffling to me. I was approached for the first time by one at BLFC this year; they requested an autograph, much to my surprise. I was so taken aback I responded by writing my name alongside “thanks for the company!”, which, in retrospect, is ludicrously depressing — but we laughed it off immediately afterwards, thankfully.
A few of your more recent comics, definitely “Adjustment to an Emulated Brain” have felt very personal. Do you find making these kinds of stories to be cathartic for yourself?
Oh, catharsis is the main reason I produce media these days. The inspiration for the main character of that comic — my main fursona, these days — was my persistent desire, as a heavily dysphoric genderless trans person, to find some practical way out of the ill-proportioned body I’ve been stuck occupying for my entire life. Not that I consider myself a diehard transhumanist or anything; this fantasy has also been explored (in other media I’ve privately written and not fully developed yet, all starring different self-inserts) in the forms of virtual reality, magic bodyswapping rituals, reincarnation, and good old-fashioned TF.
An aside: Since Moments From My Adjustment is one of my most viral comics to date, I think I should note what I consider one of the most important rules of storytelling: If an idea resonates with you, as a creator, there’s absolutely an audience for it. Everything I’ve written and drawn since 2010 (and there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t make it out) has been for one reason: “This is a neat concept, and I want to draw it.”
Although your work has strong fantasy elements such as magic and TF triggers etc, the reactions and situations your characters find themselves in are often very grounded, what appeals to you about this when you are writing?
Magical realism has always appealed to me far more than fantasy or sci-fi settings, mostly because as fictional worlds get further removed from modern society, they start feeling smaller to me. There’s also a believably factor: setting a supernatural story in a realistic world begs all sorts of questions about why/how the supernatural elements are able to remain hidden, especially in the modern world where information is so easily spread. This sounds like a drawback, but if you’re able to pull off a convincing explanation, presto: the possibilities within your fictional world have suddenly expanded dramatically!
Settings like these also allow for your characters to undergo realistic struggles. The Persona series of videogames, for instance, make it a point to keep their protagonists as ordinary as possible, in the process incorporating fantasy-scary story elements like angry gods, shadow dimensions, and arcane magic (all of which are too heavily-caricatured to take seriously), side-by-side with actually-scary situations like family drama, academic success, and financial trouble. Even non-magical sci-fi benefits heavily if it takes place in the very near future, I think.
A lot of your characters come into contact with each other in various comics or pictures, how important is world building to you in this way and how do you go about it?
It’s important for me that internal crossovers remain plausible, by which I mean that there can’t be more than one connection between previously-separate groups of people, and multiple separate connections (e.g. people getting married) cannot form between those groups afterward — otherwise you run into the small-world situation I described earlier; where everyone’s related to each other and meaningful character change is impossible.
An example: I don’t think this has been formally revealed yet, but Grace (from FoRC) lives in the house That Curious Sensation takes place in. Supernatural stuff briefly happens in what little of FoRC I produced, and TCS hinges on the existence of a unique machine which, setting aside that it’s in a silly sex-comic, harbors significant implications for the fate of gender and physical sex in human society. For Grace to be present during both events, those two situations have to be connected for a narratively consistent reason, related to her in some way; otherwise, it’d be just too much of a coincidence to take seriously.
What would be your fave TF trigger? Do you have a preference for technology or magic or does it all depend on the story and characters?
As far as TF triggers go, a couple of favorites come to mind: first, the idea of being surrounded by people with body shapes that you either explicitly or implicitly desire for yourself, having them overwhelm you, and when they pull back, you’ve somehow become one of them. Another comes from a novel I read last year, “The Showroom: Relationships and Robotics”, where no physical shapeshifting takes place; rather, the person realizes they experience life more vividly with their consciousness processed through a robotic shell, which casts doubt on their own identity as a person. That kind of character dynamic and the internal identity struggle is what I love most about TF as a concept; without it (and there’s more than plenty of TF art that assumes watching the TF sequence itself is enough), TF isn’t nearly as interesting to me.
As for my own work, I definitely prefer technology to magic or spirituality, if only because sci-fi pop culture is in the DNA of actual scientific advancement. Not that I expect my work to play any kind of role in the development of real medical techniques, but well, it couldn’t hurt for an amateur like me to put the ideas out there in a format people might want to read, could it?
A few of your comics have characters only expressing themselves in pictographs, did you find it challenging to convey a story and characters reactions using only them? Were there any first draft ideas that you decided would be too difficult to express in this way?
Pictographs are a great way to set your storytelling apart from others, and a fun challenge; primarily in how it encourages you to tell your story economically/with as few word-balloons as possible. I have an awful habit of getting wordy with my dialogue, so it’s refreshing every now and then to pull away from a panel and see a critical concept expressed in a word balloon people can process in half a second.
I will say, however, that reader feedback is essential for this. That Curious Sensation features a moment where Clover is rejecting being touched; apparently a pictograph of a stop sign comes across as more playful (which is what I was going for) than a hand miming the “stop” signal.
Beyond your Patreon comic, are there any ideas you have for the future in terms of comics? Are there any subjects or ideas you’d like to explore in the future?
Oh, plenty! The most important thing I want to do in the future, however, is give people the tools and vocabulary to deal with various kinds of dysphoria; to let people, if they feel out-of-place in uncommon ways, know that it’s OK to explore, soak into, and even publicly express those feelings; that if this world feels like it wasn’t built for you, you’re not alone; you can find friendship and comfort in the company of others who feel the same.
Lobst’s art can be found at lobstworks.com
– Bessie
Trailer: Dumbo
So the mouse was replaced by kids ... I can assume they are avoiding the crows all-together. The design looks amazing but I'm still worried.
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True Facts : Pangolins Posse
Art for Tiny Paws con, and tail wags for graphic journalism.
What got me into furries was classic and TV cartoons and underground animation, and adventure and fantasy novels (Redwall, Spellsinger). I’d buy them by the armload at the used book store. It was all cool to me whether it came with critical approval or not. I just craved more. A good way to get more is DIY-style and from fandom. I found that in small doses with zines in the 1990’s.
Superhero comics were never my thing (I think the 90’s was a bad time for those). Then I found some indies where muscle-people were as seldom seen as they were for a real bookworm. Indies were a step closer to animation and fantasy stuff I loved. It still didn’t exactly register that there was a divide between supposed lowbrow and highbrow comics. I didn’t care that Art Spiegelman’s Maus got a Pulitzer prize and helped turn “graphic novels” into a regular section in book stores. I did get interested by their connection to that energy of zines.
Now I’d say “graphic journalism” (Maus, Joe Sacco’s Palestine) is a bit of an inspiration. It turned many heads this year when the New York Times got a Pulitzer for a nontraditional graphic story, instead of editorial cartooning.
Would you be into seeing illustrated stories like that here? I’d love to gradually give it a try. Not yet, but if a story really demands it. Up to now this site has been almost exclusively text writing. The visuals are really important and those usually aren’t custom made. But I have the power to give it to you!
Tiny Paws con is getting a little of it. They asked me to make some art, so here it is. If you’re near the con, you should come say hi in August!
The actual Tiny Paws mascot
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Lonely Girl Meets Only Bird
Dodo is a new full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Felipe Nunes. Ostensibly for young readers, it actually has more on its mind… “Laila is six years old and she’s been taken out of school following her parents’ divorce. She doesn’t understand why she can’t go to school with the rest of her friends or why her dad never comes by anymore. Laila comes across a mysterious bird, a dodo named Ralph, and befriends the creature that has been living in the part near her house. Through her friendship with Ralph, Laila starts to notice things, things she never wanted to understand.” Check it out at Simon & Schuster.
image c. 2018 Boom! Studios
Meet the Team That Makes the Mascots
These guys probably need to hire furries. It's kinda weird how there isn't that much crossover between mascott's and furs. "Feathers, fur, dragon’s feet and whiskers—Olympus Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, makes the world’s most beloved mascots, from paper to playoffs. Meet Brittany Jacob and her dedicated team of designers, sculptors and all-around costume enthusiasts as they bring the faces of sports teams and brands to life. With a combination of teamwork, dedication, and the all-mighty lunch break, these creatives produce some of the best known furry faces on Earth. "
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Trailer: Beyond Good And Evil 2 (E3)
TigerTails Radio Season 11 Episode 08
Harnessing the Earthworm
This is a bit of a PSA about ... worms? Sure. https://diy.org/skills/biologist [1] DIY is an online community for kids and seems a bit like a kid maker community. They also have patches so it's got a bit of that cub scout thing going on. [1] https://diy.org/skills/biologist
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The Scales and the Tails
If you haven’t found it yet, The Dragget Show is a furry fandom podcast created by Xander the Blue (dragon) and Alkali Bismuth (the ferret). Lately though, they’ve been expanding their reach beyond their original podcast. Here, we’ll let them tell you about it: “The Dragget Show started as a furry comedy podcast with Xander the Blue & Alkali Bismuth (which we still do!), but we also do a bunch more things too, like Dungeons & Draggets, Cooking With Alkali, Dragget News Network, Xan Rants, & a monthly livestream FIRECAST. We also do live podcasts at Furry conventions!” So in other words: Look for them on line, and near you!
image c. 2018 The Dragget Show
S7 Episode 15 – East Meets West - Roo and Tugs make show history by creating our biggest studio link, ever! Joined by Simone Parker, Husky Wang, Phantom Spark, and Tommy Crash, we learn about Chinese Furries, culture, and how the fandom is the same (and d
NOW LISTEN!
Special Thanks!
Our guests:
Simone Parker
Husky Wang
Phantom Spark
Tommy Crash
Kit
Harker
Dusky
Snares
Patreon Love
The following people have decided this month’s Fur What It’s Worth is worth actual cash! THANK YOU!
Artorias Ichisake and Kit and Cody
Rifka, the San Francisco Treat!
Lokimutt and Guardian Lion and HotSauce and Dusky
Plus Tier Supporters
Skylos
Snares
Lukar Wuff
Simone Parker
McRib Tier Supporters
Hachi Shibaru
Ilya / EpicRive
S7 Episode 15 – East Meets West - Roo and Tugs make show history by creating our biggest studio link, ever! Joined by Simone Parker, Husky Wang, Phantom Spark, and Tommy Crash, we learn about Chinese Furries, culture, and how the fandom is the same (and d
FC-298 Clench and Spin - Tol Wolf and Gaia Weylyn guest this week for an extended news blast, stories & English dialect jokes.
Tol Wolf and Gaia Weylyn guest this week for an extended news blast, stories & English dialect jokes.
Watch Video Link Roundup:- Tolewolf in Buffalo Pride
- Pup Play goes too far
- Anthrocon Hotel Room Reservations Close June 12th
- Anthrocon has “pup registration” but it’s not what you think
- Kip goes Skydiving!
- Anthroholics Podcast
- Hollud’s FURUM 2017 Video
- How 4 College Students Traded Their Nudes for a Very Cute Puppy
- U.S. Library of Congress created two furry subject headings in 2017
- Why You Should Never Kill A Spider In Your Home
- Scientists Are Developing ‘Sexy Plants’ To Protect Crops From Insects
- This Is How Many Hours It Takes to Become Best Friends
- Honey Bees Can Understand The Advanced Mathematical Concept Of Zero
- Great White Sharks Have A Secret ‘Cafe,’ And They Led Scientists Right To It
- MIT Creates Psychopath AI By Making It Look At A Reddit Forum
- Man who needed SHOWER HEAD removing from rectum told suspicious doctors he’d ‘slipped in the bathroom’
- Doctors remove foot-long AUBERGINE from man’s intestines after he shoved it up his rectum for very odd reason
- New York Times Dialect Quiz
[Live] Clench and Spin
Tol Wolf and Gaia Weylyn guest this week for an extended news blast, stories & English dialect jokes.
Link Roundup:- Tolewolf in Buffalo Pride
- Pup Play goes too far
- Anthrocon Hotel Room Reservations Close June 12th
- Anthrocon has “pup registration” but it’s not what you think
- Kip goes Skydiving!
- Anthroholics Podcast
- Hollud’s FURUM 2017 Video
- How 4 College Students Traded Their Nudes for a Very Cute Puppy
- U.S. Library of Congress created two furry subject headings in 2017
- Why You Should Never Kill A Spider In Your Home
- Scientists Are Developing ‘Sexy Plants’ To Protect Crops From Insects
- This Is How Many Hours It Takes to Become Best Friends
- Honey Bees Can Understand The Advanced Mathematical Concept Of Zero
- Great White Sharks Have A Secret ‘Cafe,’ And They Led Scientists Right To It
- MIT Creates Psychopath AI By Making It Look At A Reddit Forum
- Man who needed SHOWER HEAD removing from rectum told suspicious doctors he’d ‘slipped in the bathroom’
- Doctors remove foot-long AUBERGINE from man’s intestines after he shoved it up his rectum for very odd reason
- New York Times Dialect Quiz
Don’t Be A Lonely Hunter Anymore…
At BLFC this year we came across an ad for The Dragon Tax, a new fantasy novel by Madison Keller. “When the King of Thima Island hires Sybil Dragonsbane, the last thing she expects is to be collecting taxes. Sybil has misgivings, but gold is gold. However, tax collecting isn’t as easy as it seems. When a defenseless and handsome dragon begs her for help, Sybil discovers there is more to the tax than simple gold. Now wanted and on the run together, she must protect the dragon while untangling the truth. Worst of all, she may be falling in love.” The book is available now at Amazon.
image c 2018 Hundeliebe Publishing
Brush: A Fox Tale
Studio Killers – Party Like It’s Your Birthday
New Studio Killers track! While the video mostly has humans the band is 2/3 furry ... I have a mild crush on Goldie Fox. #NotAllFoxes
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Start Your Kids on a Fantasy Adventure
And speaking of the young folks… We came across this at a book store. (Remember those?) The Last Firehawk is a new illustrated fantasy series for beginning readers, written by Katrina Charman and illustrated by Jeremy Norton. Here’s what they say about the first book, The Ember Stone, over at Scholastic: “A terrible darkness is spreading across Perodia. Thorn, a powerful vulture, is using dark magic (and his dark army of spies!) to destroy the magical land. A young owl named Tag may be the only one who can save it! Tag dreams of one day becoming a brave warrior, but he is small . . . In this first book, Tag and his best friend — a squirrel named Skyla — meet the last firehawk. Together, the three friends learn about a magical stone. Could this stone be powerful enough to defeat Thorn? This action-packed series makes a great introduction to fantasy and quest stories for newly independent readers. Realistic black-and-white artwork appears on every page!” Already there are four books available in the series.
image c. 2018 Scholastic