InFurNation!

– June, 1999

“Heddo! Me-sa name-a Jah Jah Binks!

ConFurence Ten came and went – and despite adversity, a good collection of furry fans came along for the ride! Much more on our past and our future later in this issue. But first, here’s the newts…

How successful George Lucas and his film Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace were at taking over the world on opening weekend sort of depends on what your measure is. The film set a records for a one-day box office take ($28.7 million) and made more than $100 million during it’s first five days, but it did not beat the $90 million record for the Friday/Saturday/Sunday period, which was set by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. However, it did beat Jurassic to the $100 million mark by one day (doing it in five and setting another new record). It then went on to set a record for reaching the $200 million mark. What’s it all mean? Ask the bean counters! Critical reviews have been decidedly mixed, but not so the mouth of fandom… for the most part, fans have been ecstatic that the film series they waited years for Lucas to return to (and weeks in line to get tickets for!) has finally come to theaters. Along with a huge marketing campaign of books, CD’s, games, toys, and product tie-ins, of course. Interestingly, there are several characters in The Phantom Menace who are completely computer-generated alien characters, including Watto the flying junk dealer and Sebulba the champion pod-racer. But by far the most screen time is given to Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan (an amphibious species with very long ears!). He stumbles across our friends the heroic Jedi Knights, and proceeds to provide comic relief for much of the film. Since the film’s release, Jar Jar has become something of a flash point on the internet – with folks espousing everything from ‘Jar Jar Must Die!’ to ‘Jar Jar Rules!’ all starting up their own web pages. He’s even gathered so much attention they put him on the cover of Rolling Stone this month.

Another film adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream debuted in theatres this past May. (That’s the
play in which one of the human characters, Bottom, is turned into a jackass.) The cast includes Kevin Kline, Calista (Ally McBeal) Flockhart, and Stanley Tucci (as Puck). Unfortunately it’s not doing the best at the box office, so if you want to see it, hit the theaters while you can!

Miramax has acquired the rights to produce a remake of the Jimmy Stewart classic comedy Harvey, the story of a casual drunkard, whose only friend is a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. Casting and production info has not been divulged as of yet.

Due out in theatres later this year will be a new live-action version of the George Orwell classic Animal Farm, which will have all the animals talking to each other, a la “Babe”. (The last time “Animal Farm” was made into a movie was in the 1950s, when Halas & Bachelor Studios made a feature-length animated version.) This new version will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Geena Davis heads an all-star cast in a feature-length film version of the E.B. White children’s story Stuart Little, the adventures of a mouse with some human qualities, who resides with a family of people. (TRIVIA FACTOID: Many years ago, NBC had broadcasted a one-hour, made-for-TV version of Stuart Little, narrated by [then] Tonight Show host Johnny Carson.) The voice of Stuart is none other than Michael J. Fox.

Besides the full-animation fare Disney will be turning out within the next 12 months (e.g. Tarzan, Toy Story II, and Fantasia 2000), its international television animation studios are hard at work on a sequel to A Goofy Movie. Its tentative title: Max Goes To College.

Actor Jim Carrey has his hands full, as he’ll be two ‘morphic characters in two films in the works: He’ll have the title role in a remake of The Incredible Mr. Limpet (the tale of a man who turns into a fish; Don Knotts starred in the original version) and he’ll also have the title role in the Dr. Seuss holiday classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, adapted for the big screen.

Another piece of family fare worth checking out is Muppets in Space (just in time to compete with Star Wars I: The
Phantom Menace), as Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the rest of the gang go where no other massive pieces of felt have gone before (if you don’t count all those “Pigs in Space” segments from The Muppet Show back in the 1970s). It’s due out this summer.

AND THE WINNER IS: Computer animator Chris Wedge of NYC picked up the 1999 Academy Award for ‘Best Animated Short’ for his unique (and sometimes funny) CGI work Bunny. The Prayer, one of the tunes from last year’s Quest for Camelot, earned a Golden Globe Award in the ‘Best Original Song’ category. It was also nominated for an Academy Award, but it lost out to When You Believe from The Prince of Egypt.

In the “Everything Old Is New Again” Department, watch for all-new TV cartoons with some familiar characters from the past. ABC will debut (later this spring) Mouse Works, an array of new stories with Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, et al. FOX Kids Network will offer all-new shorts starring Walter Lantz’ red-headed hellion Woody Woodpecker. And later this fall, Sonic Underground presents all-new adventures of the world’s fastest hedgehog (once again voiced by Jaleel White).

Now showing on the HBO Family Network is George and Martha, an animated series based on the children’s books by James Marshall (with production by Maurice Sendak). The pair of lead hippos in George and Martha are voiced by Nathan Lane (The Lion King) and Andrea Martin (SCTV). An interesting point in this show, as mentioned in Entertainment Weekly: It features as back-up players two male crocodiles, who live together, named Oscar and Wilde. The whole lot of them are all big fans of Broadway shows.

Currently on the drawing board for Nickelodeon is Fat Dog Mendoza (scheduled for a fall debut), being worked on (in part) by Mike (Captain Jack) Kazaleh. Mike has also worked on episodes of The Brothers Flub for Nickelodeon, as well
as some episodes of The Lionhearts (MGM) for syndicated TV.

Several items of furry interest turned up recently at the Licensing ’99 International trade show in New York. ITV (in Britain) and YTV (in Canada) are jointly planning to release 26 episodes of a new TV series based on the animated film version of Watership Down, this coming fall. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has a new line of mascot animals (a pig, a dog, a cat, a horse, and an owl) which they are planning on releasing on a wide variety of promotional products. Meanwhile in 3D furries, look for Kanga Roddy, a fursuit kung-fu kangaroo who (along with his singing puppet friends) teaches children the value of physical fitness and good citizenship. The producer is none other than Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers. And, on a very different note is Between the Lions, which appears to be a cooking show staring two puppet lions named Theo and Cleo. You heard it here, furs.

Animation Magazine had a recent article on animation companies in France, and several of the projects mentioned are of furry interest. Transylvania Pet Shop is currently a top-rated cartoon in Great Britain. Other recent shows include Inspector Mouse, Archibald the Koala, Pablo the Little Red Fox, 64 Zoo Lane, and an animated TV series based on Brian Jacques’ well-known book series Redwall. Feature films to look for in the near future include A Monkey’s Tale and a Babar feature.

From Canada, look for D’Myna Leagues, a comedy cartoon series about an all-bird baseball team and their adventures on the road. Currently in production.

Just in time to tie in with Disney’s animated Tarzan movie comes the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes trade paperback from Dark Horse Comics. Some thirty years ago, illustrator Russ Manning adapted many of the most well known Tarzan adventures into full-color comic book stories. Here they are collected for the first time, with digital color enhancement. Meanwhile, the comic book adaptation of Disney’s Tarzan, also from Dark Horse (and Greg Ehrbar and Mario Cortes) hits the shelves on June 16.

New from the DC Comics title Wetworks comes the Night Tribes one-shot by Golden, Sniegoski, Chin, and Scott. All the tribes of the world’s monsters must come together and join forces with the humans of ‘Wetworks’ to help fight off a demonic invasion. In full color, 48 pages.

In Tellos, new from Image Comics, the world is again threatened by dark magic – but this world is a fantasy, filled with magical creatures, adventures, and peril. And one of our heroes is a 6-foot tall tiger with a sword! Monthly, in full color, from Mike Weiringo and Todd Dezago.

New in black & white from Avatar Comics is Quantum Mechanics. In a violent future, a lady human adventurer battles the mysterious Church of the Acarine with the help of a renegade warrior mechanic – specifically, a giant reptilian basilisk she refers to as ‘Uncle Munhgo’. With the release of this new comic by Barry Gregory and Jacen Burrows comes the new 8-inch tall Uncle Munhgo action figure as well.

Getting a lot of buzz already is The Adventures of Browser Sequoia, which goes by the under-title Action Heroes from the Ice Age. Richard de Montebello and Gene Gonzales have created this non-violent (and often very funny) black & white adventure comic for the young and the young at heart. A boy in early North America must come to grips with his tribe, a pet wooly mammoth, and an infant saber-toothed cat. From SaberCat Comics, by the way.

Shanda Fantasy Arts has several new black & white comic titles on the shelves, most of them through the S.F.A. International line. Issure #2 features the return of Diane Sasse and Frenchie Doudou in a new adventure, Grove of Evil. Issue #4 collects the Tales of the Morphing Period stories of Richard Thatcher, as well as introducing some new stories (and featuring a new cover by Mary Hanson-Roberts). And issue #5, Zebra, is the first collection of works by writer, illustrator, and humorist Carl Gafford. Also look for the long-awaited premier of Nautilus, a furry science-fiction adventure by Curtis, Frank, and Garcia (with a cover by Carla Speed McNeil).

For a more humorous take on the Quantum Mechanics idea, check out Mojo Mechanics. (In black & white, from Tait, Matt, and Syndicate Publishing.) This comic of ‘science fiction INSANITY’ features the adventures of Ajax Sterling and Bippy – a roving galactic mechanic and his friend, a hippo. Yes.

An independent comic book landmark is reached as Fred Perry’s well-known Gold Digger reaches its 50th issue. To celebrate, Antarctic Press will be releasing it in two editions: One with a regular cover, and one with a special multi-character splash poster included inside. And, don’t forget about issue #1 of Gold Digger Volume 2, now appearing in full-color.

Randy Zimmerman returns with his loud-mouth, sarcastic, politically opinionated (but never correct) character Spank the Monkey, now in his own solo comic book. (Though Spank’s wild-haired brother Shock does show up now and then). In black & white, from Arrow Comics. While you’re at it, check out these new titles from Arrow as well: Dr. Goyle is a scholar, detective, and monster fighter, who just happens to be made of stone. He and his loyal (if inept) assistant are on the case of giant insects who’re eating a town’s prize sheep. You heard it. In black & white, from Mike Stegbauer and Mike Norton. Meanwhile, in Miss Chevious by Steph Graves, the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter (who also happens to be an anthro black cat) faces much more than she bargained for. This four-issue miniseries is also in black & white.

Dark One returns to the world of Animal Mystic with Klor, a new 3-issue limited series from Sirius Comics. It features Dark One’s well-known gray-tone painting style, and tells the story of Klor (an equine centaur warrior/priest) in his early days as a barbaric scoundrel.

Two new manga of furry interest are available now in the U.S. In Kajika by Dragonball Z creator Akira Toriyama, a young hero must seek help to find the legendary last egg of the dragon in order to lift the Curse of the Fox – which has left him with pointed ears and a tail. In Inu-Yasha by Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma ½), a high school girl is spirited back to feudal Japan, where she attempts to locate the pieces of a missing soul-gem with the help of (among others) a canine-like monster.

Speaking of furries of a Japanese sort… the new Usagi Yojimbo trade paperback by Stan Sakai hits the shelves in August (from Dark Horse comics). The featured storyline is called Grasscutter, and finds our lapine hero in possession of the legendary lost sword of the Gods.

Starting in July, DC Comics begins a truly unusual story-arch — JL-Ape: Gorilla Warfare. Try to follow this, okay? Beginning in July’s JLA Annual #3, Flash adversary Gorilla Grodd hatches a plot to not only kill the benevolent ruler of the hidden Ape City, but to turn first the Justice League of America, and then the rest of the human race, one by one into mind-controlled apes! One by one the super-heroes are transformed into gorillas, through the pages of the annuals for Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, and finally Martian Manhunter. Who’s behind all this? A host of DC writers and artists, lead by editor Dan Raspler. Each annual features a full-color cover (and the series features a full-color poster) by Monkeyman & O’Brien creator Art Adams.

Speak of gorillas in comics (July seems to be a month for them!), you’ll want to watch for the premiere of Cy-Gor from Image Comics. Straight from the pages of Spawn and artist Joel Thomas / writer Rick Veitch comes the tale of half-simian, half-machine, all-dangerous monster, and what happens when he escapes from the secret government lab that created him. Appearing monthly in full-color.

Peanutbutter is an office cat, on the run after ruining some important paperwork. He meets up with an obnoxious crow named Jeremy, and together they search for buried treasure. In Peanutbutter & Jeremy by James Kochalka, what seems like a children’s story actually turns out to be a biting critique of modern society, in disguise. In black & white, from Alternative Comics.

New from Bare Bones Studios (in black & white) comes Garou: The Lone Wolf by Purcell, Moya, and Leveaux. In the time of the Spanish Inquisition, a Jesuit priest is bitten by a werewolf… and must struggle against the temptation to join the night beasts himself.

From Mprints Publishing comes the premiere of Ernor by Patrick and Vicky-Morgan Keith. In a primitive world inhabited by sentient wolf-like creatures who call themselves the Fenrae, a young cub must the help of strangers to help avoid the deadly ant-like Chic’tr as he searches for his pack throughout the world of Ernor. In black & white.

Back again from Radio Comix is a new Hit The Beach for 1999. The newest issue of this well-known black & white portfolio of furries in swimsuits features art by the likes of Joe Rosales, Terrie Smith, Kevin Muranaka, Kjartan Arnorsson, Norman Scott, Mark Moore, Michael Vega, Daphne Lage, Ryan Burke, Nami Jarret, Yusaka Toyoshima, Shon Howell, Diana Vick, Louis Frank, Marc Schirmeister, and many more. The whole 48-page collection is wrapped in a full-color cover by Trump.

Finally on the stands from Shanda Fantasy Arts is Nautilus, the long-awaited science fiction miniseries from Curtis, Frank, Garcia, and Fender. Furries and aliens interact on a far-flung spaceship in this combination of adventure, intrigue, and slice-of-life. Also look for New Horizons #6, this time featuring the return of Phantom Bunny by Chuck Fiala, plus more stories and art by Richard Thatcher, Tanamin, Ken Asche, Kevin Mulder, Dann Phillips, Steve Addlesee, and others.

Newly collected in University[2] – The Angry Years is 80 pages of Frank Cho’s well-received collegiate comic strip Liberty Meadows. Beginning in the Washington Post, it has since gone on to newspapers all around the country. This collection features nearly eight weeks of dailies and Sunday color strips, all featuring Brandy and her funny-animal friends.

Here are some new recordings based on traditional stories and fables with various talking animals: Coyote Tales (from Newport Classics) is a magical American Opera, depicting the Creation of the World by Coyote (based on Native American legend). Recorded live at its world premiere performance by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City (Russell Patterson, conducting), this two-act production spans over 100 minutes, with a unique musical score by Henry Mollicone (and a libretto by Sheldon Harnick). For more info on this 2-CD set, write to Newport Classics, 11 Willow St., Newport, RI 02840; or phone 401.848.2442; or fax 401.848.0060 . Also look for Four-Legged Tales (from Lyrichord Discs, Inc.), which offers a variety of animal folktales from Europe, Asia and Africa — all of which are narrated by Laura Simms.

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From the CF Mailbox

From: Robert King < rcking@enteract.com >:

Hi Folks. Just to make it a bit more official, we are planning for 1999 to be the last year that Duckon’s furry track will be part of Duckon. The furry track has gotten too big to just be a “track” any more. For the year 2000, we will split off from Duckon to become the Midwest Fur Fest. At this time we are exploring a timeslot at the end of July.
From: Matt Henry < Madbadger2@aol.com >:

Grrrrrrrrrreetings, all.

Although the fandom has lost a valuable resource, in the form of Mailbox Books’ closure, Bronzebear Media Distribution is now up and open for business. To view our web-based catalog and ordering process, point your browsers to:

www.bronzebear.com

The catalog has a large assortment of comics, fanzines and portfolios by the top names in the fandom (Terrie Smith, Eric Schwartz, Tygger, and Michele Light, to name a few), and the hottest comic and ‘zine titles out (Associated Student Bodies, Yarf, Genus, Gallery, Furrlough, the Shanda Fantasy Arts line, Huzzah!, Havoc Inc…), and is promising to grow tremendously in the future!

To ease in making choices, the catalog contains a single sample cover for each item available, as well as full information on pages, format and cost. Make your choices by comic titles, fanzine titles, artist names, or portfolio
names. An easy to follow order form is ready to be printed out for your convenience!

Didn’t make it to CF10? We did, and we’ve got the lion’s share of the new material (forgive the pun, had to be said *grins*) available in the catalog, at the click of a mouse, or a few strokes of the pen and the lick of a stamp!

Got something you think we’d be intersted in selling? Take a look at the “Vendor Guidelines” section. No web browser? No problem! Send a letter to our address, and we’ll get you a FREE catalog out, for your old-fashioned browsing pleasures! Bronzebear Media Distribution can be contacted by either conventional mail:

Bronzebear Media Distribution
P.O. Box 770742
Orlando, Fl 32877-0742

Or by email: Harry@bronzebear.com

Welcome to Bronzebear Media Distribution!

Harry Bronzebear,
Bronzebear Media Distribution
Anthropomorphic supplier for the new century!
From: Shyravas Snowdawn” snowdragon@BonBon.net :

Hi all. Thought y’all might like to know about this news I picked up:

“ABC Orders Dinotopia Miniseries”

ABC plans to air a six-part miniseries in May 2001 based on the first two books in James Gurney’s illustrated series Dinotopia, according to Variety. The books center around a utopian island where talking dinosaurs and humans live in peace and harmony.

The ABC series is being developed by Hallmark Entertainment, which has signed Gulliver’s Travels writer Simon Moore to pen the screenplay. The project will be executive produced by Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr.,
with a reported price tag of $50 million.

The miniseries will likely be shot in Australia, New Zealand, the Gobi Desert and Mongolia, with a mixture of computer-generated effects and animatronics used to bring the dinosaurs to life. To date the Dinotopia books have sold more than 2 million copies, and HarperCollins plans to publish the third installment in the series, Dinotopia: First Flight, in October.

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A Request to Our Readers:

Hey, got a favorite comic or book store that carries your favorite furry titles, or that you wish would carry more? Give us their address! We’ll send them a copy of In-Fur-Nation each quarter, and keep them abreast of the kind of comics and media that you would like to see on their shelves! Remember, they can’t order it if they don’t know it’s out there! As an alternate: Know of any good comic review zines or web sites that might be looking to trade issues?

Guess what?

In-Fur-Nation still wants Reporters! As an on-going feature, we’re going to present profiles of furry creators and furry-oriented companies that are helping to promote products and media of interest to funny animal fans all over. So, like to help out? Know a comic book creator, animator, publisher, or other such person in the field who’d like to discuss what furries mean to them, or to the world? Talk to them, write down what they say… then give us a write-up, about 300-500 words, and we’ll include it as a blurb in an upcoming INF, and give you credit for it. [We do maintain the right to edit for clarity and length, mind you.] Send hard copies to the ConFurence address, or, you can e-mail your submission to Rod O’Riley at mink@firstlight.net .

Advertising in In-Fur-Nation: For those who’ve been asking, ads in In-Fur-Nation come in these sizes: 1/8-page “business card” size for $5.00 per issue, and 1/4-page size (4 1/2″ tall by 3 1/4″ wide) for $10.00 per issue. Full-page inclusions can also be arranged for $50.00 an issue. Check should be made out to ConFurence. Send camera-ready art and text to P.O. Box 1958, Garden Grove, CA 92642-1958.

(Many thanks to Darrel Exline, Mark Merlino, Jed Martinez, and all the people who helped provide information for this issue both by mail and via Internet!)

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ConFurence has Stuff!

The original Furry Convention and Seminar is proud to present the ConFurence General Store. Three of our popular T-Shirt designs are still available for a limited time: “Furries in Force” (black on honey-color) by Eric Schwartz from CF7, “Furries in Love” (black and pink on grey) by Rachael Cawley from CF9, “ConFurence, the International Furry Con” by Ken Sample and Crassus from CF10. Plus, we still offer our Highlights Videos from ConFurence Seven, ConFurence Eight (Music and Mirth), and ConFurence Nine; plus coming soon – our special ConFurence Five/ConFurence Six combo tape! (Watch this space for an announcement!) Not to mention many cool prints and extra Souvenir Books! Look for the order form from The General Store attached to the back of this very issue of In-Fur-Nation – or, be sure to check out the detailed list on our web site! Hey, remember, look for our NEW addresses – by snail-mail is P.O. Box 84721, San Diego, CA 92138-4721, e-mail is darrelx@home.com , on the web you’ll want www.confurence.net .

How wude! Jar Jar Binks, Gungan, from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

More Furry Conventions All Around!

More Furry Conventions All Around!

Here’s a quick look at some of the many furry gatherings popping up around the country, and around the world… hopefully, we’ll meet YOU at some of them ourselves!

Other Conventions

Feral!, 1999 August 14 – 19, 1999. Kinark Outdoor Centre, Ontario, Canada Those with net access can visit the Feral! web site ( http://www.FurNation.com/Feral/ ) for the latest details. You can also send email to feral@idirect.ca , or write to: Feral!, Box 47008, Sheridan Mall P.O., Mississauga ON, L5K 1T9, Canada.

Mephit Furmeet 1999 September 3 – 6, 1999, Holiday Inn Memphis East in Memphis, Tennessee Your special Guests are Elin Winkler and Pat Duke of Radio Comix (publishers of Furrlough, Genus, Havoc Inc., and many more furry and anime titles) and artist Joe Rosales. Room rates at the Holiday Inn Memphis East are $80.00 for a single, $90.00 for a double, and $100.00 for a triple/quad. Call 1-800-HOLIDAY for reservations, and make sure to mention the Mephit Furmeet at the Memphis Holiday Inn East. Events and stuff at the Furmeet include a Dealer Den, a Con Suite, a Video Room, a Dance, and Special Interest Groups. Membership Registration is currently $30.00, which includes a free T-shirt. Supporting memberships are $15.00, which also includes a free T-shirt. Want to find out more? Check out their web-site at www.mephitfurmeet.org , or snail-mail them at: P.O. Box 771803, Memphis, TN 38177-1803.

ConiFur NorthWest Furries in Seattle! October 1st – 3rd, 1999 Looking for something fun and furry to do this fall? Care to go out and meet new friends, socialize with old chums and even see some nifty furry artwork? Does a furry costume masquerade, pizza feed, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and a Dealer’s Den with 47 tables sound like something worth checking out? If so, then you want to make tracks for CONIFUR NORTHWEST, the Pacfic Northwest’s very own funny animal convention. ConiFur is dedicated to fans of ‘furries’ or anthropomorphic animals in art and story forms. This three day convention is held in Fife, Washington, just 15 miles south of SeaTac International Airport at the Best Western Executive Inn. TIME: October 1-3, 1999 PLACE: Fife, Washington (south of Seattle about 30 miles or so) HOTEL: Best Western Executive Inn GUEST OF HONOR: Jimmy Chin Our Guest Of Honor is the furry costumer and artist, Jimmy ‘Yippee!’ Chin. His zany antics in and out of costume have earned him a place in this strange and wonderful genre. Meet him at the convention and learn more about his experiences as a professional mascot for sports teams as well as checking out his nifty artwork. The Best Western Executive Inn located in Fife, Washington, is a much larger hotel than last year’s Clarion Inn at SeaTac. We have once more reserved every bit of display space available and hope to add a lot more great events to 1999’s convention. Not only will we have the Art Show & Auction, old favorites including the Pizza Feed & Movie, the Cartoons & Cereal, and interactive Clinics will be making their appearance. New to this year will be a *MUCH* larger Dealer’s Den (early predictions are around 40 tables, possibly more), plus a real costume masquerade, a dance, and a few events we can’t announce >quite< yet. Check this space out for more information as it happens! At the Best Western Executive Inn, rooms are $80 a night for up to four people. Be sure to mention ConiFur NorthWest when reserving. This 1-800 number is just for the convention hotel so there won’t be any confusion about which city you’re in. Fife is about 15 miles south of SEA-TAC International Airport and the hotel has a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. The Best Western Executive Inn website is a wonderful one at: www.bestwestern.com . Information regarding membership registration may be had from: Conifur NorthWest, 2406 SW 308TH Place, Federal Way, WA 98023. If you wish to pay by credit card, please contact us directly at: jwbirdsa@picarefy.com .

ZonieCon ’99October 29 – 31, 1999. Best Western Executive Inn, Tucson, Arizona. Call (520) 791-7551 for hotel reservations Author Guest of Honor: Pete Manly Artist Guest of Honor: Mitch Beiro Chief Coyote Wrangler: Michael-Scot McMurry Memberships available for $20.00 until October 1st, and $25.00 after. Supporting memberships (convertible at the door) are $10.00 anytime. For more detailed information, check out ZonieCon’s web site at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Rampart/4608/ . For information on the art show, dealers’ tables, and other such matters send them snail-mail: ZonieCon, 2000 E. Roger (#F25), Tucson, AZ 85733-4285

Further Confusion Y2KWhere? The San Mateo Marriott, San Mateo, California. When? January 27th – 30th, 2000 What? Further Confusion is a convention centered in the San Francisco Bay Area for fans of animals and anthropomorphics. In addition to providing a forum for organized and informational events, convention is designed to promote a sense of community among “furries”. The four-day convention will feature workshops and presentations representing the broad range of interests within Furry Fandom. Events will include costuming (“fursuit”) presentations and a masquerade, an art show and dealers’ area, writing presentations, and evening dances. Registration: Further Confusion is pre-registering attendees for a discount price of $30 for a full membership, good for the length of the convention. This price will be available to people registering before November 1st, 1999, and $35 after that date. For details and a pre-registration form, see our Registration Page. Hotel Reservations Further Confusion will be held at the beautiful Marriott of San Mateo. More information about the hotel, in addition to a map for those driving, is available on our Hotel Page. The Marriott now accepting reservations for the convention. The rates are as follows: $90 for doubles and $109 for quads. But wait, there’s more! You can get a Regency Suite for $109, and a Rotunda Suite for $129. The suites are limited and available on a first come, first served basis, but there are quite a few suites available. Along with our new hotel, we’ve got even more space for dealers, the art show, and programming. We are occupying almost all of the hotel’s event space, so it should make for an enjoyable atmosphere for all. Contact Information If you want to reach us, you can write to us at: Further Confusion P.O. Box 1299 Cupertino, CA 95015-1299 You can also reach us by email at info@furtherconfusion.org .

ConFurence Ten — Aftermath Report

Long before the event itself, Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley had decided that ConFurence Ten (actually the 11th such furry gathering, if you remember your furry history) would likely be their last go-round as co-directors of ConFurence, at least for a while. Simply put, it takes a lot out of you to run such an event for 12 years, in your spare time… and besides, they’ve been saying for a while that, since rumor has it ConFurence can be a pretty neat convention, they’d actually like to attend one or two! So what happened at this, their final bow? Well…

Those Special Guests

This year we welcomed one of the premier fantasy authors in America, Patricia C. Wrede as our writer Guest of Honor. She actually admitted what many of us had suspected: Her comic fantasy novels were often inspired by none other than Jay Ward’s Fractured Fairytales! She also found time to sit in the Den of Dealers at a bookseller’s booth (our first!), meeting many of her fans and signing autographs. (She was also, I might ad, one very sweet and courteous person – Ye Ed-Otter). Artist GOH Mary Hanson-Roberts was celebrating her birthday during ConFurence 10, and spent much of her time letting folks celebrate with her (when she wasn’t at the Shanda Fantasy Arts Table with CF9’s Guests of Honor). Filk GOH Cynthia McQuillin was kind enough to join us for what she says may be one of her last cons away from home – her back is just getting too sore to travel. Given that, she was very kind to join us for our special Filk Concert on Friday nights (more on that later!). And special GOHs Robert & Margaret Carspecken were all over the con, participating in discussion groups and SIGs, and even running some of our art workshops.

It seems like every year more well-known types decide to join us at ConFurence, from a wealth of backgrounds in comics, science fiction novels, movies, computers, TV, and many other forms of media where furries can be found. This year we welcomed Steve Addlesee, Darrel Benvenuto, Mitchell Biero, David Bliss, E.T. and Elizabeth Bryan, Jose Calderon, Jack Cavanaugh, John and Rachel Cawley, Richard Chandler, Jimmy Chin, Mike and Carole Curtis, Pat Duke, Baron Engel, Tim Fay, Jeff Ferris, Leslie Fish, Steven Gallacci, Frank Gembeck Jr., Roz Gibson, Dr. Jay D. Glass, D.A. and Tygger Graf, Jim Groat, Christina Hanson (Smudge), James Hardiman, Harvo, Matt Henry, Shawntae Howard, Lance Ikegawa, Pat Kelly, Robert C. King, Kris Kreutzman, Daphne Lage, Michele Light, James Lomax, Ed Luena, Steven Martin, Michael-Scot McMurry, Carla Speed McNeil, Phil Morrissey, Kevin Andrew Murphy, John Nunnemacher, Joseph and Trish Ny, Tim O’Roarke (Tor), Fred Patten, Michael Payne, C.K. Penchant, Mike Raabe, Dr. Jane Robinson, Lance Rund, Eric Schwartz, Gary Lee Seto, Ted Sheppard, Terrie Smith, Gordon Spurlock, Pete Stoller, Brian Sutton, Jefferson P. Swycaffer, Trump, Susan Van Camp, Diana Vick, Edd Vick, Taral Wayne, Mel. White, Elin Winkler, and Tommy Yune. Not to mention a host of artists, small-press publishers, and other folks whose names you know — or will, soon enough! [And if there’s anyone who’s name we passed over – please forgive us!]

Those Costume Events [NEEDS TO BE UPDATED FOR CF10]

This year marked several important changes in our programming for creators of furry costumes (dubbed ‘fursuits’ by many) at ConFurence. First and foremost was the premier of The FurSuit Lounge, where most of our costuming how-to workshops took place, and the fursuit makers had a chance to relax and unwind (hey, it gets hot inside those things!) Secondly, we expanded the awards for costumes (shown off at our big Costume Event on Saturday) to include not only the traditional ConFurence popular-vote awards (chosen by the entire membership), but also a new selection of ‘Peer Awards’ in various categories, letting the fursuit makers pat each other on the back for good craftsmanship. Both types of awards were divided up into the Intro Division (those who’ve never won a costuming award before, here or elsewhere), and the Advanced Division (those with more experience and awards under their fur). Here then is a complete list of all the costumes honored at ConFurence Nine:

Popular Vote: Intro Division

1st place: Zooma (designed, built, and worn by Jim Brining)
2nd place: Stanley D. Lion (designed and worn by Reggie Jensen, built by International Costumes, Inc.)

Popular Vote: Advanced Division

1st place: Triggur & V’ril (designed, built, and worn by Kevin Kelm and Kit Struthers, respectively)
2nd place: Royal Ice – Frost & Fire (worn by Lance Ikegawa and Heather Riesen; designed by Lance Ikegawa; and built by Lance Ikegawa, Kathy Sanders, and Lynnette Johnson)

Peer Review Voting: Intro Division

Best in Show: Zooma

Best Presentation

1st place: Twinkle Foozle
2nd place (tie): Sly Fox
2nd place (tie): Stanley D. Lion

Best Original Design

1st place: Zooma
2nd place: Trax
3rd place (tie): Twinkle Foozle
3rd place (tie): Stanley D. Lion

Best Re-creation

1st place: Minnie Mouse

Best Use of Materials

1st place: Zooma
2nd place: Trax
3rd place (tie): Chairo
3rd place (tie): Stanley D. Lion

Advanced Division

Best in Show: Royal Ice – Frost & Fire

Best Presentation

1st place: Triggur & V’ril
2nd place: Royal Ice – Frost & Fire
3rd place: Vickey Rabbit

Best Original Design

1st place: Royal Ice – Frost & Fire
2nd place: Triggur & V’ril
3rd place: Big Bad Wolf

Best Re-creation

[no award]

Best Use of Materials

1st place: Royal Ice – Frost & Fire
2nd place: Triggur & V’ril
3rd place: Big Bad Wolf

That Furry Filk Contest

This year, the furry filk contest was won by perhaps the most famous person to enter: Leslie Fish, for her song Invasion. Kitty cats versus space aliens – and the results aren’t pretty. Watch this space in September: We’ll print the winning song lyrics!

We Had Events!

Thursday night once again featured two dances; our ever-popular Club Techno-Fur, and that gothic dance happening, Nevermore. Meanwhile, monkeys and apes got their very own species SIG for the first time.During the day Friday we had several new and interesting presenetations, including Kevin Andrew Murphy helping out Patricia Wrede in several writing workshops; Dr. Jay D. Glass discussing his book The Animal Within Us and his theories on animal/human behavior (to an enthusiastic crowd that wanted more); and the folks from Linker Systems giving a demonstration of their famous Animation Stand software. And once again, Walksfar was gracious enough to lead the Paw-Fasting Ceremony for furry couples who wanted the world to know their lives are now one. Friday night after the Furry Filk Contest was the return of the ConFurence Filk Concert, featuring not only Mid-Life Crisis (i.e. Guest of Honor Cynthia McQuillin and her partner Dr. Jane Robinson) and local folk/filk talent Windbourne, but also fan favorite Leslie Fish and a special (rare!) live performance by filker and furry author Michael Payne. Meanwhile, once again it was time to dance till the walls shake at The Purple Nurple Live. Many thanks to the tech crew, dj’s, and volunteers for all of our night-time events. (Special thanks again to Cargo and Digital Panther!)

Come the busy Saturday, it was time for another colorful and varied Costume Presentation; and a special lecture by folks from the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound in Rosamond, California, about their important efforts to save endangered big cats. That afternoon, professional hypnotist Terry Brussel-Gibbons lead a Guided Imagery seminar to help folks imagine themselves in the body of their favorite animal. It was so popular they had to turn folks away at the door. Saturday night it was time again for the Cabaret Fur le Dance, to bring in another capacity crowd and raise important funds for the Deal Whitley Scholarship at the Du Cret School. This year’s show once again featured a grand spectacle of talented dancers and singers, hosted for the first time by the dastardly and alluring T.J. Once again this year our lighting and effects were provided us by Digital Panthers, and the whole shebang was organized by John and Amanda Geyer and their helpers. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the show crew, all the instant help, and most especially to our dancers – Spark (and his lady friend), Kameo, Shontar, Pandora, Louis P. Looks-Twice, Leslie Fish, and Rod O’Riley (and his Band of Skilled Hands). You’ve all given us another great one to take home! Special thanks to the folks of the ConFurence Choir, who got together and practiced a special song from Simba’s Pride just in time for the con!

We Had Our Sponsors…

Our sponsors are the special folks who help us see that ConFurence takes place; that it has special guests, and that it has a place to be! They do this just by contributing a bit extra above their membership fees, which we apply to transporting, housing, and feeding our guest speakers. Our list of Sponsors for ConFurence Ten included: Rob “Cinderwolf” Alston, Christopher Wendell “WolfWings” Armstrong, Andrew “Loxorion Trypnotk” Beaudoin, Steven Butler, Tim “Talin” Collier, Erik “Schnookums” Dominick, Romano Eberwein, Kay “Wolf” Exenberger, Deen Foxx, Aaron “Delynth” Goulding, Gerrit “Tes-Tui-H’ar” Heitsch, Andrew “Rasta Da Pantha ” Hicks Beach, Ed Hollowell, James “Sardonyx Fox” Hrubos, Michael “Tres Pendel Unicorn” Jacobsen, William “Brombear” Koonts, Matt “Foxlord” Koush, Chris Kuminecz, Doyle Lawson, Kevin “Rott” Lewchuk, Jeffrey “Sylffor” Lind, Oscar Marcus, Eric “Black Wold” Miyoda, Peter A. Murphy, Brian “Tarka” Myers, Barry “Rafflin” Needleman, Kevin Nose, Robert W O’Connor, J M “Porsupah” Paxton, Freddy E. Praul, Orion “Rors” Rainy, Jim “FoxTail55” Rauscher, William D. “Aronel” Ringland, Stephen “Polecat” Roy, Michael “Flafox” Russell, Robert “Sandy Claws” Sanders, Bob “Marauder” Schumacher, Matt “Underdog” Shaw, Jason Short, Lee “T.F. Rabbit” Strom, Jefferson P. Swycaffer, Sven “Cheetah” Tegethoff, Conrad “Kzorith” Thonger, Richard Williams, and Shannon “Shan’slox” Wilson. Thank you one and all!

… and We Had Our Super Sponsors!

These extra-special folks gave some real extra help for our guest speakers’ needs by contributing more than $100.00 each for the care and keeping of our big-name furries. Super Sponsors for ConFurence Ten included Ralph “Rexel” Atwood, James K. Augur, Terry S. “NightGecko” Austin, Stephan “Jumpy” Bartels, Richard Brocaw, Clark “Ferret” Broslin, Michael “VulpesRex” Burlake, Andrew “Renkill” Burt, Jim “Perriloux” Cansdale, Lyon Castro, Caleb “Kymri” Corey, David “Spino” Cotelessa, Andrew “Hercule” Cullen, Dee Davison, Jeff Davison, David “G.I. Joe” Ewell, Tony Ferro, Sydney Fisher, Hanno “Hurga” Foest, Patrick “YiffyFox” Garvey, Heiko “Mran” Gemming, Peter N. “Lochiel” Glaskowsky, Michael “Aiyeska” Grodemaw, Michael “Lionman” Hackett, Brock Hoagland, Masaki “W.Crow” Iwahara, Andreas “Tabalon” Jaekel, Ron Johnson, James P “Krin” Kelley, Boyce Gerald “Admiral Kline” Kline Jr., Chris “Remington Fox” Ladusky, Robert A , “Blars Blarson” Larson, Gary Leasia, Lee Leduc, Shane “Ferian” Longo, Jake McDermott, James McMelhan, Krystian “Melburik” Misztela, Judy “Jwyldragon” Oxford, John “Edward Fox” Pennington, Norbert “Bigwig” Peschel, Christopher Pesl, Timothy “Jurann Foxtail” Rea, Michael R. “Old Husky” Reed, Gary “Sleepy Jackal” Renaud, Herb “Furry Felon” Rickards, Charles E. “Foxiekins” Roe, D.W. “Goat” Souther, Eric “Oskar” Stout, Richard F. “Treerat” Thatchr, Brian “Cinnamon” Thomas, Peter “Whitefire” Torkelson, Kyle “Hartree Fox” Webb, Gary L. Whalen, Terry “Terrybear” Whittier, John “Omega” Williams, and Dave “T’Chall” Wilson. Extra special thanks to all of you once again!

The ConFurence Ten Staff [NEEDS TO BE UPDATED FOR CF10]

They put up with it all through the year, then during the con itself, and they put up with even more to make it all happen! ConFurence salutes our staff and helpers for ConFurence Nine, 1998 (in alphabetical order): Andrea Adams, Rod Basler, Greg Bilan, Eric-Alexander Bitten, David Bliss, Steven Bornstein, Michael C. Braunshasen, Dawn Britt, James P. Callicott, John Cawley, Rachel Cawley, George E. Chaney III, Andrew Clark, Moroni Clawson, L. Grant Cleveland, Gabriel Collazo, Raymond Collazo, Steve Corbett, Brenda Marie DiAntonis, Robert Droz, Darrel Exline, Andrea L. Fiedler, Tim Fitelson, Mark Freid, Kim Gardner, Amanda Geyer, John Geyer, Jonathan Hartman, Eli Harvey, Tim Helphrey, Carol Higuchi, Erin Hurst, Lisa Iennaco, Warren Johnson, Zsanene Klinkler, Kele Kravelin, Lynn Kurtz, Karl Maurer, Paul P. McNutt, David Meacham, Mark Merlino, James Miles, Allen P. Mixson, Lea Mixson, Sheryl Mount, James P. Mullen, Charles Nezzer, Ken Nielsen, Rod O’Riley, Aneke Pachen, David T. Parenteau, Dennis T. Peterson, Don Post, Natalie Powell, Rob Powell, Regan, Ryan X. Saenz, Cari Sandvig, Kay Shapero, Vicky Shapero, DeWayne Stewart, Shannon Stewart, Shawn Strobel, Michael Underwood, Jennifer Vancil, Neil Welchel, Tank Winters, and Mike Yust. (There are other folks whose names we’re liable to forget — plus some non-staff people who stepped in when things got ‘hairy’. Thank you to all of you too!)

And then, again, we welcome you back where you started… and us to a place we enjoyed!

ConFurence 11 – Furries in Asia

It’s a brand new day at ConFurence, with a whole new crew in charge, and lots of great new ideas we’ll be giving a whirl – not to mention, lots of great old stuff we’ll be bringing back! Right now, we’d like you all to welcome the We’ve been at this for a while, and after ten years of gathering furry fandom together, we thought we’d step back and take a look at where we’ve been – and where we’re going! We’d love you to come along and help us.

Please join us in welcoming the brand-new co-directors for ConFurence 11, Darrel Exline and Zsanene Klinkler.