2002 Recommended Furry Reading List - final update

The 2002 Anthropomorphic Recommended Reading/Viewing List was first posted on November 1st. This is the fourth and final update, adding the recommendations sent in during the last half of December. There were complaints that the 2001 Recommended List got confusing with too many separate updates, so this year all the additions are being added to the same List. This second annual Recommended Furry Reading List has two purposes. Firstly, it is open for all Furry fans to recommend the best anthropomorphic movies, TV series, novels, artwork, games, etc. that they found during 2002. It is for fans who want to know what anthropomorphic movies, TV series, novels, etc. are worth looking for. The List is open to anyone to add to, so if you know of any 2002 Furry movies or comic books or comic strips, etc. that are worth recommending, please send your recommendations through the end of 2002 to:

Fred Patten
11863 West Jefferson Boulevard
Culver City, California 90230-6322
fredpatten[AT]earthlink[DOT]net

Secondly, this List is to be used as a guide for nominations to the 2002 Ursa Major Awards, which will be presented at ConFurence 2003 in April 2003 for the Best of the calendar year 2002 in the same nine categories on the Recommended List. The List was actually started as an aid to those fans who said, "The Awards sound like a good idea but I don't have the slightest idea what's eligible to be nominated." Read the List and find out what is eligible for the Best of 2002.

The 2002 Anthropomorphic Recommended Reading/Viewing List is also posted at: http://home.earthlink.net/~kayshapero/ReadList.htm That website includes links to as many as possible of the recommendated items that have their own entries on the Internet; so if you want to know more about any of them such as the Greg the Bunny TV series or the Sly Cooper video game, you can go right to its site.

For information about the 2001 Recommended Reading List, and the Ursa Major Awards for 2001 presented at ConFurence 2002 in April 2002, including the list of all recommended titles and the Awards winners, please go to the abovementioned website.

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

1. Balto II: Wolf Quest (Universal Cartoon Studios, February 19, 2002)
2. The Country Bears (Disney, July 26, 2002)
3. Ice Age (20th Century Fox, March 15, 2002)
4. Lilo & Stitch (Disney, June 21, 2002)
5. Scooby-Doo (Warner Bros., June 14, 2002)
6. Snow Dogs (Disney, January 18, 2002)
7. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (DreamWorks SKG, May 24, 2002)
8. Spirited Away (Disney, September 20, 2002)
9. Stuart Little 2 (Columbia Pictures, July 19, 2002)
10. The Wild Thornberrys Movie (Paramount Pictures, December 20, 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic TV Series

1. Between the Lions (WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. for PBS syndication; 2002 new episodes, 3rd season, #56 - #65, September 16 - November 18)
2. Digimon: Digital Monsters (Saban Entertainment/Toei Animation Company for the FoxKids/UPN network; 2002 new episodes, last part of Season 3 through first part of Series 4, #130 - #177, February 9 - December 19)
3. Dinotopia (Hallmark Entertainment and MAT I Production for ABC; 3 episode mini-series, May 12 - May 14). Dinotopia: The Series (Hallmark Entertainment and MAT I Production for ABC; 2002 new episodes, 1st season, #1 - #6, November 28 - December 26)
4. Greg the Bunny (Steven Levitan Productions for 20th Century Fox Television; 13 episodes, March 27 - August 25, 2002)
5. Inuyasha (The Ocean Group, in association with Viz Communications, for The Cartoon Network/Adult Swim; 2002 new episodes, Season 1, #1 (August 31) through #22 (December 28))
6. Redwall; a.k.a. Brian Jacques' Martin the Warrior: A Tale of Redwall (Nelvana Ltd. for Teletoon in Canada, December 2001 and PBS syndication in the U.S., 2002; 2002 U.S. new episodes, Redwall 3rd season #27 - #39; a.k.a. Martin the Warrior 1st season #1 - #13, April 14 - July 28)
7. Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (CineGroupe, in association with Children's Television Workshop and IF/X Productions for PBS syndication; 2002 new episodes, #21 (February 13) to #40 (October 5))
8. Tokyo Pig (Miramax Television, in association with SME Visual Works, Inc., for ABC Family Channel; 2002 new episodes, Season 1, #1 (September 14) through #17 (December 21))
9. The Wild Thornberrys (Klasky Csupo, Inc., for Nickelodeon; 2002 new episodes, Season 4, #82 (February 16) to #83 (June 1))

Best Anthropomorphic Novel

1. Rescue Ferrets at Sea, by Richard Bach. (The Ferret Chronicles #1) Scribner/Ferret House Press, June 2002.
2. Air Ferrets Aloft, by Richard Bach. (The Ferret Chronicles #2) Scribner/Ferret House Press, June 2002.
3. Writer Ferrets: Chasing the Muse, by Richard Bach. (The Ferret Chronicles #3) Scribner/Ferret House Press, October 2002.
4. Ecce Femina, by Raven Blackmane, in TSAT (Transformation Stories, Art, Talk) #25, December 2002-January 2003. (http://tsat.transform.to/stories/ecce.femina.html) [Note: Ecce Femina is published in the format of short fiction, but it is 83 pages/41,300 words which qualifies as novel-length.]
5. You're an Animal, Viskovitz!, by Alessandro Boffa. Translated from the Italian by John Casey, with Maria Sanminiatelli. A. A. Knopf, May 2002.
6. Changespell Legacy, by Doranna Durgin. Baen Books, June 2002.
7. Insect Dreams: The Half Life of Gregor Samsa, by Marc Estrin. Penguin Putnam/BlueHen Books, February 2002.
8. Vampire Voles: A Welkin Weasels Adventure, by Garry Kilworth. Corgi Books, May 2002.
9. Scars: An Ironclaw Novel, by Ted MacKinnon. Sanguine Productions, Ltd., January 2002.
10. Year of the Rat, by Andre Norton (in Mark of the Cat: Year of the Rat, by Andre Norton (Meisha Merlin Publishing, January 2002), a collection of two novels. Mark of the Cat is a reprint; Year of the Rat is a newly-published novel. The recommendation is for Year of the Rat alone; not the combined publication of both novels.)
11. Elvenborn, by Andre Norton & Mercedes Lackey. Tor Books, August 2002.
12. Firewing, by Kenneth Oppel. HarperCollins Canada, April 2002.
13. Anthropomorphic Foxes in Space..., by Otrstf, serialized on Otrstf's Slightly Better Looking Web Page from April 1999 through December 2002; the final chapters (Book 4, Chapters 2 through 7) posted from January 15 to December 29, 2002. (http://home.earthlink.net/~otrstf/index.htm#afis)
14. Doom's Break: The Third Book of Arna, by Christopher Rowley. ROC Books, December 2002.

Best Anthropomorphic Short Story

1. "Bronte's Egg", by Richard Chwedyk, in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2002.
2. "Six", by Samuel C. Conway, in Anthrolations #5, July 2002.
3. "Ailoura", by Paul Di Filippo, in Once Upon a Galaxy, edited by Wil McCarthy, Martin H. Greenberg & John Helfers. DAW Books, September 2002.
4. "Code Blue", by Phillip Eggerding, in Fur Visions #26, October 2002.
5. "Midnight Blue", by Phillip Eggerding, in Fur Visions #24, April 2002.
6. "Our Child", by Phillip Eggerding, in Fur Visions #24, April 2002.
7. "Common Ground", by Phil Guesz, in TSAT (Transformation Stories, Art, Talk) #25, December 2002-January 2003. (http://tsat.transform.to/stories/common.ground.html)
8. "Milk Run", by Jim Hayden, in Yarf! #65, July 2002.
9. "Fast Break", by Quentin Long & Hallan Mirayas, on the Cubist's Stories website, posted September 17, 2002. (http://transform.to/~cubist/)
10. "The Flying Fox", by Karl F. Meyers, in Fur Visions #24, April 2002.
11. "Familiars", by Michael H. Payne, in Sword and Sorceress XIX, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. DAW Books, January 2002.
12. "Treasure Grows There", by Richard Reid, in Fantastic Furry Stories #3, January 2002.
13. "Up From Nowhere", by Kris Schnee, in Fur Visions #26, October 2002.
14. "A Prison of Clouds", by Tim Susman, in Breaking the Ice: Stories from New Tibet, edited by Tim Susman. Sofawolf Press, January 2002.
15. "Skin Deep", by "2", in Breaking the Ice: Stories from New Tibet, edited by Tim Susman. Sofawolf Press, January 2002.

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work

1. Fornax: Outtakes from a Recording Studio, by Gary Akins, Jr. Fauxpaw Productions, July 2002. [Error correction: This was previously listed under Best Novel, but it consists of two separate stories, neither of novel length, plus an extensive article on the Fornax series.]
2. The Alley Cat's Meow, by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by Jon Goodell. Harcourt, Inc., October 2002. (Children's picture book)
3. The Founding of the Commonwealth, by Alan Dean Foster. Science Fiction Book Club, February 2002. (Collection of three novels)
4. A Search for Meaning: The Story of Rex, color edition, by Michel Gagne. Gagne International Press, May 2002. (Children's picture book. Note: there was a 1998 edition with different black-&-white art. Since a children's picture book exists primarily for its art, the completely new art in this edition makes it a new 2002 work.)
5. Zed. Vol. 1, by Michel Gagne. Gagne International Press, May 2002. (Comic book collection)
6. Howard the Duck (Volume 2), by Steve Gerber (story), Phil Winslade & Glenn Fabry w/Garry Leach (art). Marvel Comics, September 2002. (Comic book collection)
7. The Collected Skunkworks, by James M. Hardiman. Radio Comix, September 2002. (Comic book collection)
8. Tank Vixens: Divine Collection, by Paul Kidd (story) & Mike Sagara (art). United Publications, October 2002. (Comic book collection)
9. Three Fingers, by Rich Koslowski. Top Shelf Productions, July 2002. (Cartoon art novel)
10. Micawber, by John Lithgow, illustrated by C. F. Payne. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children, October 2002. (Children's picture book)
11. Ozy and Millie IV: Authentic Banana Dye, by David Simpson. Plan Nine Publishing, November 2002. (Comic strip collection)
12. Breaking the Ice: Stories from New Tibet, edited by Tim Susman. Sofawolf Press, January 2002. (Collection of short stories)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip

Comic Strip

1. 1/0, by Tailsteak (Mason Williams). (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January to December 31)
2. The Adventures of Fifine, by Henbe (Normand Bilodeau). (Comic strip, Internet, irregular but about monthly, 2002 strips from February or March to December)
3. The Class Menagerie, by Vince Suzukawa. (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January 1 to November 16/final)
4. Come What May, by Gaby "Redmoon" Fullerton. (Comic strip, Internet, irregular, 2002 strips from October 27 to November 3)
5. CoyoteVille, by Steven Graziano. (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January 1 to December 5)
6. Dandy & Company, by Derrick Fish. (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January 1 to December 31)
7. A Doemain of Our Own, by Susan M. Parkin. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 4 to December 25)
8. Faux Pas, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January to December 30)
9. Freefall, by Mark Stanley. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 2 to December 30)
10. Kevin & Kell, by Bill Holbrook. (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January 1 to December 31)
11. Latex Blue, by Dragonfly. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 11 to December 30)
12. Master Zen-Dao Meow: The Spiraling Heart, by Patrick Schaefer & Bret Ward. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from March(?) (#1) to December 30 (#115))
13. Modem Problems, by Matthew McAndrews. (Comic strip, Internet, weekly, 2002 strips from January 7 to December 30)
14. Nip and Tuck, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 1 to December 31)
15. Ozy and Millie, by David Craig Simpson. (Comic strip, Internet, daily, 2002 strips from January 2 to December 31)
16. Scrued, by Melissa Jewel. (Comic strip, Internet, irregular, 2002 strips from March 13 to December 23)
17. SpellShocked, by Benjamin Yackley, Charles Caffrey and Mark Freid. (Comic strip, Internet, semi-monthly, 2002 strips from January 1 (#25) to December 15 (#48))
18. The Suburban Jungle, starring Tiffany Tiger, by John Robey. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 2 to December 30)
19. Tales of the Questor, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Comic strip, Internet, weekly, 2002 strips from January 6 to December 29)
20. Under the Lemon Tree, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2002 strips from January 2 to December 30)
21. Unicornography, by Tanamin! (Comic strip, Internet, weekly, 2002 strips from July 28 to December 29)
22. Wild Angels, by G. Raymond Eddy. (Comic strip, Internet, approx. weekly, 2002 strips from August 16 to December 27)
23. The World of Vicki Fox, by Laura Howell & Michael Russell. (Comic strip, Internet, semi-monthly, 2002 strips from January 6 (#38) to December 22 (#57))

Comic Book

1. Animal Farm in Fables, by Bill Willingham (story), Mark Buckingham (pencils) & Steve Leialoha (inks). (Comic book, DC Comics/Vertigo, five-issue story arc in Fables #6-#10, monthly, 2002 issues include Animal Farm, Part 1/Fables #6, December 2002 to Part 3/Fables #8, February 2003 (published December 2002))
2. Anubis: Dark Desire, by various. (Comic book, Sin Factory, one-shot(?), 2002 issues include #1, June)
3. Bureau of Mana Investigation, by Smudge (Christina Hanson) & Ed Garcia. (Comic book, Radio Comix, bi-monthly, 2002 issues from #1, January to #5, November)
4. Circles, by Andrew French, Steve Domanski and Scott Fabianek. (Comic book, RABCO Publishing, irregular, 2002 issues from #2 (dated Summer 2001 but published March 15, 2002) to #3 (dated Fall 2001 but published July 2002).
5. De Cape et de Crocs, by Alain Ayroles & Jean-Luc Masbou. (Comic book, Delcourt, annual, volume 5, Jean sans Lune, published September 13, 2002)
6. Furrlough, by various. (Comic book, Radio Comix, monthly, 2002 issues from #109, January to #120, December)
7. Genus: Male, by Daria McGrain, Miu & Richard Moore. (Comic book, Sin Factory, annual(?), 2002 issues include #1, January 2002)
8. Herobear and the Kid, by Mike Kunkel. (Comic book, Astonish Comics, irregular, 2002 issues from #4, undated but published in January, to #5, undated but published in November)
9. Howard the Duck (Volume 2), by Steve Gerber (story), Phil Winslade & Glenn Fabry w/Garry Leach (art). (Comic book, MAX (Marvel) Comics, monthly, 2002 issues from #1 (March) to #6 (August))
10. Kitty Meets the Furries, by Jen Collins. (Comic book, Kitty Bukkake Productions, one-shot, 2002, published in September)
11. Mutant, Texas: Tales of Sheriff Ida Red, by Paul Dini (story) and J. Bone (art). (Comic book, Oni Press, bi-monthly, 2002 issues from #1, May to #3, October)
12. My Monkey's Name is Jennifer, by Ken Knudtsen. (Comic book, Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics, bi-monthly, 2002 issues from #1, March to #5, November)
13. New Horizons, by various. (Comic book, Shanda Fantasy Arts, irregular, 2002 issues from #12, April to #13, July)
14. Skunkworks Reflections, by various. (Comic book, Sin Factory, one-shot(?), 2002 issues include #1, July)
15. Stan Winston's Realm of the Claw, by Francis Takenaga (story), Gabriel Rearte (#1-#2) & Liam M. Sharp (#3) (art). (Comic book published combined with Stan Winston's Mutant Earth, Image Comics, bi-monthly, 2002 issues from #1, April to #3, September)
16. Tea Club, by "PMBQ" (Phuong-Mai Bui-Quang). (Comic book, Icarus Publishing, bi-monthly, 2002 issues from #1, September to #2, November)
17. ThunderCats, by J. Scott Campbell (#0), Ford Lytle Gilmore (#0-#5) (story), Ed McGuinness & Jason Martin (art). (Comic book, DC Comics/WildStorm, monthly, 2002 issues from #0, October to #5, February 2003 (published December 2002))
18. Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai. (Comic book, Dark Horse, monthly, 2002 issues from v. III #54, January to #62, November)
19. Woof, by Louie Furrywolfy. (Comic book, self-published, 2002, first issue (unnumbered) published in June)

Best Anthropomorphic Fanzine

1. Anthrolations (2002 issues from #5, July, to #6, November)
2. Fang, Claw & Steel (2002 issues from #12, Winter, to #15, Autumn)
3. Fur Plus (2002 issues from #13, January, to #16, October)
4. Fur Visions (2002 issues from #23, January, to #26, October)
5. Huzzah! (2002 issues from #45, February, to #48, November)
6. South Fur Lands (2002 issues from #24, March, to #27, December)
7. Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (2002 issues from #29, March, to #31, December)
8. Yarf! (2002 issues from #63, January, to #65, July)

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration

1. Arnorsson, Kjartan. Cover painting for Huzzah! #45, February 2002.
2. Bruton, Heather. Cover painting for Anubis: Dark Desire #1, June 2002.
3. Bruton, Heather. Cover painting for Furrlough #112, April 2002.
4. Crane, Walter. Cover painting for Sheba v.3 #2, June 2002.
5. "Dr. Comet". Cover painting for Hit the Beach (2002) #9, July 2002.
6. Goodwin, Chris. Cover painting for Circles #2, Summer 2001 [March 2002].
7. Holcomb, Odis. Cover painting for Breaking the Ice: Stories from New Tibet, edited by Tim Susman, January 2002.
8. Howell, Troy. Cover painting for Triss, by Brian Jacques, September 2002 (U.S. edition).
9. Luce, Mike "'T". Back cover of Circles #3, Fall 2001 [July 2002].
10. Luce, Mike "'T". Front cover of Circles #3, Fall 2001 [July 2002].
11. McPherson, Brian. Cover painting for Fornax: Remix 1.1, by Matt J. McCullar, January 2002.
12. Melville, Chuck. Cover painting for Wild Kingdom #13, April 2002.
13. Mleynek, Natasha "Dark Natasha". Cover of Furrlough #109, January 2002.
14. Smith, Brenden. Cover of South Fur Lands #26, September 2002.
15. Tweddell, Kevin. Cover painting for Vampire Voles: A Welkin Weasels Adventure, by Garry Kilworth, May 2002.

Best Anthropomorphic Game

1. Animal Crossing. Developer: Nintendo (Takashi Tezuka, project leader); Publisher: Nintendo, September 16, 2002.
2. Blinx: The Time Sweeper. Developer: Artoon; Publisher: Microsoft Corp., October 8, 2002.
3. JADECLAW: The Anthropomorphic Fantasy Role-Playing Game! Developer & Publisher: Sanguine Productions, Ltd., January 2002.
4. Kingdom Hearts. Developer: SquareSoft; Publisher: Square Electronic Arts, September 17, 2002.
5. Ratchet and Clank. Developer: Insomniac Games; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, scheduled for November 15, 2002.
6. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Developer: Sucker Punch; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, September 24, 2002.
7. Star Fox Adventures. Designer: Rare, Ltd.; Publisher: Nintendo, September 23, 2002.
8. Tank Vixens: The Card Game, by Paul Kidd (writer) & Greg Panovich (artist). United Publications, November 2002. [Error correction: this was previously reported as Tank Vixens: The Card Game, by Paul Kidd & Mike Sagara, which is wrong.]

Changes: The most recent change, at the suggestion of several fans, is to adopt a firm division between the Best Novel and Best Short Story categories instead of just "eyeballing" a title and guessing which category it should go into. We are adopting the division set by the World Science Fiction Convention for its Hugo Awards at 40,000 words. A story 40,000 words or longer is a Novel. Less than 40,000 words is a Short Story. We would like to get feedback on whether we should establish Novelette and Novella categories as the Hugos have; but so far the general feeling seems to be that we already have as many different categories as are desirable.

Problems: We have received some recommendations of titles that were published before 2002 (for example, The Sight, by David Clement-Davies, a Furry horror novel about a supernatural battle between Good and Evil wolves, was first published in Britain in 2001), or in the wrong categories (A Search for Meaning, by Michel Gagne, a hardcover children's picture book, was recommended as a comic book; Kitty Meets the Furries, which the author says is a self-published comic book, was recommended as a fanzine). We have corrected errors where we could get the proper information, but in some cases we have written back to request more information and not gotten a reply for weeks, if at all. This has delayed the addition of the recommended title in some cases, or resulted in the posting of incorrect information which has to be corrected later. We would appreciate those who recommend a title to supply as much information as they can.

We could also use more general feedback to find out whether fans think that we should change some of our guidelines. For example, we felt it was logical that novels should be eligible during their year of first publication whether in America, Australia or in Britain, considering the ease today of ordering books internationally via the Internet. This means, citing The Sight, that a novel published in Britain in 2001 is not eligible when a U.S. edition is published during 2002. Do fans think that this should be changed to allow eligibility in both years? What if a new edition of an old work contains new material? Fornax: Remix 1.1, by Matt J. McCullar (Fauxpaw Productions, January 2002) is a new edition of McCullar's Fornax: Remix (SilverFox Publications, 1999) with new illustrations and a new one-page Introduction; the text is the same. Artist Frank Kelly Freas is preparing illustrations for a new edition of George Orwell's 1945 Animal Farm to be published in 2003. Should these new editions qualify the reprinted story as a 2002 or 2003 Best Novel? Should the new illustrations alone qualify for Best Published Illustration?

We need further fannish feedback to help resolve whether there should be a category for Furry Sculptures/Toys/3-D Art. Many fans feel that the Stan Winston Creatures: Realm of the Claw set of six action figures of Furry felinoid warriors, sold exclusively at Toys 'R' Us, released during January and February 2002, is worth recommending. What category should they fit in? Should a new category be created for them? It has been pointed out that there are other items worth recommending that would fit into such a category, such as the Toy Vault line of plush Monty Python dolls released during 2002: The Rabbit With Big Pointy Teeth, The Bloody Rabbit With Big Pointy Teeth, and The Beast of Argghhh (all from Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and The Live Parrot (from the Monty Python TV "Dead Parrot" sketch). The problem here is that the main complaints the ConFurence received last year were contradictory: (1) There are too many different items in the same categories which should have their own separate categories, like Best Comic Strip and Best Comic Book; and (2) There are so many different categories it is confusing; they ought to be combined into only four or five. So should a new category be created for action figures & plushies? Should they be crammed into the Published Illustration category? Or should they be ignored on the grounds that there are already too many categories?

Please remember that this Recommended Furry Reading List is separate from the Ursa Major Awards nominations, and that sending in a recommendation to this List is not the same as sending in a nomination for the Awards. There is no limit to the number of recommendations that may be made to the List, while the final ballot for the Awards is limited to the top five nominees in each category. Nominations (up to five in each category) for the 2003 Ursa Major Awards, covering the calendar year from January 1 through December 31, 2002, should be sent in between December 1, 2002 and January 7, 2003, to:

ConFurence Group
(attention: Ursa Major Awards)
P. O. Box 84721
San Diego, California 92138-4721

or e.mail to:
[email protected]

And remember: both the annual Recommended Furry Reading List and the Ursa Major Awards are meant for all Furry fandom. Eligibility is international, not just for what is released in North America and Great Britain. And participation is wanted from fans everywhere, not just ConFurence members. E.mail or snail-mail us if you have any questions, suggestions, complaints, and ideas on how to improve them.