My mother is a pretty amazing woman, having married a man with ADHD and subsequently rearing two children with him--one frequently depressed and anti-social, and another rebellious and hot-headed. All of this on top of being a third grade teacher and having to deal with screaming children as part of her work.

As her kids fly the coop and she approaches retirement, she's turned to raising horses and chickens, and will likely raise some goats as well. She (and my father) grow and can their own vegetables as well, with the intent of becoming mostly self-sufficient by retirement. She's also an amazing cook to boot--her fudge brownies have sent several to the ER with acute chocolate poisoning.

But the reason why she wins all the awards? Her acceptance of my strange mindset. Example: a few weeks ago, NYC was hit by a Nor'Easter that dropped six inches of snow overnight. My mother called me from the hospital where she was recovering from a heart problem (!) to remind me to wear a coat, not to freeze to death, and all those other common sense things mothers are fond of reminding their grown children of.

Right before she hung up, she paused and said "Oh! And don't forget to make a snow crow for me! But don't fall off your roof trying to fly!"

I don't think she knows how much those words meant to me. Thanks, ma, for sticking with me through the good times and bad and taking all my weird mental states in stride. Get well soon, I'll see you for Christmas.

Then this is for you.

Master of the retropsych gif, Mr. Div collaborated with classical composer Aldo Arechar to produce the most beautiful music video you've seen in a while. Watch now. Enjoy.

Today I attempted, as I do every few weeks, to make my way to Broadway's "vestment boutiques" and exchange some currency for clothing that would hopefully make it seem that I have some semblance of fashion sense, rather than the torn, dirty, and mismatched melange that I call "my wardrobe."

Of course, I failed miserably in this venture and ended up blowing my clothing budget on comic books at Desert Island. I was lucky to find a couple volumes that I had been searching for, including Bryan Talbot's Grandville Mon Amour, R. Crumb's Felix the Cat, and two anthologies by Jason, a Norwegian cartoonist known for his distinctive laconic style. Looking over my purchases, I realized that all of these books deal exclusively with anthropomorphic characters.

I was talking over my choices with a friend that I've been desperately trying to drag into the comics scene, and the question of why all these things I read have animal people in them naturally arose. I've never had a straight answer for this, other than "I like them" and "Look at how awesome they are," which is what I reiterated to him. However, formulating the answer gave me pause to reflect on just why anthropomorphic animals have become such a big part of my psyche, my entertainment, and to some extent, my life.

Permit me to postulate on the role of anthropomorphism in literature, specifically in comics. Chime in with a comment if you'd like. I enjoy talking, if you hadn't gathered.

A human creator's natural tendency is to write about what they know best and what they want to explore further: humans. Animals, being of a less talkative bent, are largely overlooked and primarily used in a symbolic fashion. (i.e. crows around the scene of a death, wolves representing nature's silent ferocity, domestic dogs as symbols of innocence and playfulness) Anthropomorphism rose out of the realm of fantasy as a way to "safely" delineate fantasy races, as well as a tool to allow reflection on the symbolism of animals. For example, foxes are seen as symbols of trickery and natural wisdom. Give a fox an anthropomorphic form and the ability to reflect, and you can have a fox thief contemplate why he's so adept at stealing and leaving his mark confused.

Attributing the characteristics of various species to anthropomorphic characters is another fun tool to add spice to a narrative, as well as a method for allowing a reader to determine the personality of a character with a glance. If one sees a fox character in a comic, one can assume that character will be a trickster and wise to the ways of the world. Predatory species can tend to be aggressive, while prey species can be more meek. Animal symbolism is a well-known literary tool, applying it to characters by making them anthropomorphic can open up a range of possibilities for a writer.

On a personal level, I enjoy reading anthropomorphism in this way. Exploring an existential theme with a cast of non-humans is engaging. Exploring the interplay of species as an analogue for race relations is also a neat way to drive a narrative, one that Blacksad does to a T.

On top of that, animals are simply awesome. Humans have always had a fascination with the creatures they share a planet with, applying the aforementioned symbolism, studying their ways closely, and even learning from them. It seems a logical next step for us to picture worlds populated by animals with the human abilities to reason, self-reflect, and speak. If an animal were a human, imagine how it would act! Imagine the questions you could ask it!

This, I feel, is the appeal of anthropomorphism. It's more than a convenient design choice, it's more than just a fringe interest. There's something inherent in humans that causes us to latch onto the idea of a "human animal" and take it to its logical extension, the anthropomorph. It makes for interesting literature and exciting characters. What do you think?

French animation studio IP4U (a heh heh) produced a Flash-animated series about a cat man. Naturally, it's called Catman.



Needless to say I have downloaded all three seasons and will proceed to immerse myself in them until, weeks later, I emerge from my cocoon as a fully-formed cat person.

THUNDERPAW : Ambitious, animated, minimal palette comic about two lost wolf boys. Spectacular.

Farmer's Dilemma : Short b/w comic about what it means to be a fox raised by chickens. Sad stuff.

Alpha Princess Garou Shoujo : Rowdy teen wolves living in the woods dealing with teen bullshit in a rowdy wolf way.

I also made two GIANT FURRY WEBCOMIC REVIEW GRIDS that I've sown unto Reddit, complete with alphabetization!

ROUND 1
ROUND 2

Check them out. Read more comics.

I guess I'm going to check this site again. You know. For reasons.