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The 2011 Ursa Major Nominees!

Mar 16th, 2012
by rodney.
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The Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA) announced the 2011 nominees for the Ursa Major Awards on March 15th, the day that voting for the final awards opened. Voting will be open until May 4th, then the winners will be announced at a ceremony at CaliFur.8 in Irvine on Saturday, June 2nd. What, you haven’t heard of the Ursa Major Awards? Shame on you! Here’s what they say on their web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Award, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Award, and so forth. Anyone may nominate and vote for candidates for the Awards. These Awards are decided by the fans, not by a committee.” Last year more than 1,200 fur fans world wide took part in the final voting for the 2010 Ursa Major Awards. (To put that in perspective, that’s nearly one-quarter of the entire voting body of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — you know, the Oscar people?) Again from the Ursa Majors web site: “There are five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place. To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2011; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination.”

Without further ah-doo, here are the Ursa Major nominees for 2011.

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture:

Bitter Lake (Directed by Shay)
Kung Fu Panda 2  (Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson)
Puss in Boots  (Directed by Chris Miller)
Rango  (Directed by Gore Verbinski)
Rio  (Directed by Carlos Saldanha)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Series or Short Work:

Mongrels  (Directed by Adam Millar, Jon Brown, Daniel Peak)
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  (Directed by James Wootton)
The Regular Show  (Directed by Benton Conor, Calvin Wong, Kat Morris, Sean Szeles, J. G. Quintel, Minty Lewis, and others)
Simon’s Cat  (Directed by Simon Tofield)
ThunderCats  (Directed by Michael Jelenic, Todd Casey, Tab Murphy, and others)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Novel (40,000 words or more):

Black Dogs, Part 2, by Ursula Vernon
Death Drop, by Sean Allen
Isolation Play, by Kyell Gold
Red Sails in the Fallout, by Paul Kidd
Smiley and the Hero, by Ryan Campbell

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction (less than 40,000 words):

“A Safety Weasel Christmas”, by Gene Breshears
“Argo”, by Rick Griffin
“Fetching Asteroids”, by Mary E. Lowd
“How to Get Through the Day”, by Kyell Gold
“Let’s Play Musical Chairs”, by K. M. Hirosaki
“Shreddy and the Zomb-Dogs”, by Mary E. Lowd
“Where the Heart Is”, by Mary E. Lowd and Daniel Lowd

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work (Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books):

Dragon’s Hoard #1, by various (published by Rabbit Valley)
Fur-Piled #5, by Leo Magna
In the Doghouse of Justice, by Kyell Gold
Nordguard, Book One, by Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, Omnibus 1, by various (published by the Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project)

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story (comic books and serialized on-line stories):

Endtown, by Aaron Neathery
Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna
Furthia High, by QuetzaDrake
Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler
Red Lantern, by Rukis and Alector Fencor

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip:

Ballerina Mafia, by Immelmann
Doc Rat, by Jenner
Faux Pas, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken
Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
Sandra and Woo, by Powree and Oliver Knörzer

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Magazine (both in-print and on-line):

Alasso
Anthro
Flayrah
South Fur Lands
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Web Site (galleries, story archives, directories, blogs, and personal sites):

Equestria Daily
Fur Affinity
Furry Writers’ Guild
Inkbunny
WikiFur

In the category of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration:

Blotch, cover of Isolation Play
Blotch, cover of Nordguard, Book One
Jason Chan, cover of Red Sails in the Fallout
Sara Palmer, cover of Weasel Presents
Rosenthal, FBA 2012 season opener painting
C. D. Woodbury, cover of Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #48

And finally in the category of Best Anthropomorphic Game:

O-kamiden (Developed by Mobile & Game Studio, Inc.)
Pokemon: Black and White (Developed by Game Freak)
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (Developed by CyberConnect2)
Sonic Generations (Developed by Dimps and Sonic Team)
Star Fox 64 3D (Developed by Nintendo EAD and Q-Games)

Congratulations to each and every one of the nominees! At the Ursa Majors web site you’ll discover helpful links to find out much more about each of the nominees, as well as information on how to sign up for the voting. Remember, everyone is free to cast their vote — and  you should! The more folks who participate in these awards, not only the more they will represent the broad spectrum of Furry Fandom, but the more that folks who chose what kind of stuff gets made (and released!) will start to pay attention.

 

Angry Birds on Paper

Jan 22nd, 2012
by rodney.
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If you’re not busy flinging feathered folk at pig castles, you might check out these new Angry Birds tie-in books (from rovio.com, of course). How best to describe Angry Birds: Bad Piggies’ Egg Recipes? Here, we’ll let them do it: “Be a pig for a day, no worries in the world, no Angry Birds trying to knock you down. The kitchen is your pigpen and life’s good! So go ‘head, crack an egg or two and fling your awesome self to new levels of egg-cellence with these easy and fuss-free (for the most part) recipes, addictively fun activities and impressive party moves. From the classics to off the wall, these top-secret egg recipes will fill your tummy and tickle your brain!” You heard ’em. Also available are the Angry Birds Big Red Doodle Book and Angry Birds Big Green Doodle Book, filled with fun drawing activities for Angry Birds fans of all ages.

image c. 2012 Rovio Entertainment

Sonic Turns 20 in a Big Way

Dec 27th, 2011
by rodney.
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As part of SEGA Games’ big 20th anniversary celebration for Sonic the Hedgehog, Archie Comics have released Sonic Genesis, written by Ian Flynn. This “story reboot” collection of all-new Sonic adventures is illustrated by various artists, including the return of fan favorites Tracy Yardley and Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante. After running in the Sonic comic book series this summer and fall (starting with issue #226, below), Archie will release Genesis as a hardcover graphic novel this coming April. You can pre-order this foil-covered new collection at the Barnes & Noble web site.

image c. 2011 Archie Comics (from the comic book series)

Battle Bears!

Jul 31st, 2011
by rodney.
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It’s a game series, a comic book, a collection of plushies, an animation project in the works… It’s Battle Bears! It tells the story of a well-armed little bear named Oliver — and his well-armed companions — who crash-land on an alien world populated by cute pink teddy-bears called Huggies… who, if they get your mitts on you, will promptly hug you to death! Fortunately Oliver has guns to spare — he’s well-prepared to blow off the huggies’ heads, at which point rainbows shoot out of their necks. Yes. It’s all the creation of one Benjamin Vu (a graduate of the animation program at Cal Arts) and his company, SkyVu Pictures. Seriously, this just scratches the fuzzy surface of what SkyVu is up to. Visit their Battle Bears web site to find out more about new games and other projects they’re still busily developing.

Battle Bears at San Diego Comic Con. Photo by your ever-lovin' Ed-Otter

 

Play the Game. Then See the Movie. Soon…

Oct 14th, 2009
by rodney.
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Elysian Tail is a new creative property (with some decidedly anthropomorphic touches) from Dean Dodrill and Humble Hearts. Here’s how they describe it on their web site: “Elysian Tail is a series of loosely interconnected stories in the beautiful yet dangerous world of Falana, told across several mediums. At the moment they consist of a film and video game, both in production. The web site will eventually feature an in-depth look into the stories, world, and characters of Elysian Tail, and feature an ever growing gallery of artwork and media. The news page will serve as a production diary, and give insight into the creation [of the game and film]. ” First up the movie: “Elysian Tail is a traditionally animated feature film. The film follows a young girl, Bonnie, who must help her reclusive friend Leddinger rescue his daughter Tika, and in the process bring order and life back to their dying world. With the aid of an ancient sword, Leddinger must thwart a regime bent on taking over the lost kingdom of Elysium. As their adventure unfolds, Bonnie learns of the incredible potential not only within Tika, but in herself as well.  This film is currently in production, with release to be announced. ” First up though is the game, which has already been making the rounds on the Internet: “Dust: An Elysian Tail is  a 2D action-RPG video game created for the Xbox 360 platform, and available soon as a downloadable title. It has won the grand prize in Microsoft’s 2009 Dream.Build.Play competition. Set in the beautiful yet mysterious world of Falana, this game chronicles protagonist Dust’s journey to liberate an oppressed village, and rediscover his past. He is aided by an ancient sword, Ahrah, and his helpful if unreserved sidekick, Fidget. Meticulously hand-animated and painted, this episode of Elysian Tail welcomes exploration, platforming, and above all else, mastery of a fighting system that rewards skilled gamers.” You heard it all here, people. Check it out.

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