These are some of the places I like
visiting, separated into categories. They're worth checking out!
General Interest
Crazy Cat Gifts
– This is a great page to check out! The
jewelry here is beautiful, unusual, and very interesting. Take a look – you’re almost certain to find
something that catches your fancy…
Sinfest
- Calvin & Hobbes for grown-ups, sorta.
A lot of fun, and a lot of food for thought. Tatsuya
Ishida does some interesting things with calligraphy, philosophy, and a
delightful sense of playfulness.
Exploitation
Now - Okay, a word of warning right now. This one
is NOT FOR CHILDREN, of any age. Michael Poe frequently makes fun of some of
the more graphic Japanese animation out there, which means on any given day you
could encounter (in the words of Ray Stevens) "language, violence, nudity
and sex" on his page. But it's all cartoons, so those of you with a sense
of humor should be able to enjoy it - or at least see the funny side of things.
Ozy
& Millie - This one IS safe for kids - and a
good thing, too, because a lot of adults are going to need it explained to
them. Dave Simpson shows us the world through the eyes of a pair of
eight-year-old fox-furries (neighbors and friends,
not relations) and their friends and family. A look back to the days when the
world was new and (usually) wonderful, and the sense of delight it can bring to
the heart of a child.
General
Protection Fault - Well, I'm not quite sure how
to describe this one. It's generally safe for readers of all ages, though the
humor is heavily skewed towards the technical - "nerd jokes", they called them when I was in high school. Still, if
you've made it this far on the internet, you'll at least understand them. Not
for everyone, though.
Bruno the
Bandit - No problems describing this one! This
is aimed at role-playing gamers everywhere. The hero, bumbling burgler Bruno Bunkleyutz, tries
again and again to pull off the crime that will set him up for life. All it's
gotten him so far is a miniature dragon for a sidekick, the strangest
collection of friends, enemies, and relatives you could imagine, and some
truly... unique stories of failure. Definitely worth reading, particularly if
you've ever laughed at a particularly bad fantasy movie. (The
Barbarian Brothers, anyone?)
Gene
Catlow -
Hard to come up with an easy description of this one. It's definitely an
ongoing story (a well-written one, incidentally), but I'm not sure of what type
yet. There are elements of sci-fi, fantasy, politics, and slice-of-life drama
mixed all through it. The best I can do is to tell you to read for yourself.
Maybe you'll come up with a better description than I can.
College Roomies From Hell! - Okay, this
one's just strange. Dorm life through the eyes of six of the strangest
characters I've seen in quite some time - these kids are strange even for
college students. Another warning is in order here - there's quite a bit of
violence in this one, as well as some occasional (usually accidental) substance
abuse. Adult situations are frequently mentioned, but seldom shown - and then
in a fairly low-key manner. This one should be fairly safe for most kids, but
uptight adult types might want to avoid it.
The
Suburban Jungle - A
furry soap opera, though funnier than the soaps on TV. "The life and loves of Tiffany Tiger", as the subtitle
goes. It's a great deal of fun, though - John Robey
has created some delightful characters here, and they're a lot of fun to read
about. The discussions on the forum board get to be pretty intense and
in-depth, too.
It's Walky! - Riiight. If CRFH is strange, this one is two or three steps
beyond strange. Part 'Men in Black', part 'Keystone Kops', with a bit of human
interest mixed in. Fun to read - though if you're the type to get attached to
characters you read about, use caution. David Willis has a distressing tendency
to kill off characters - and unlike certain big-buck$ comic publishers, he
displays no tendency to bring them back.
The
Class Menagerie -
College dorm life, sorta. These kids mean
well, but somehow they get involved in more destructive hi-jinks than can be
believed - thank Heaven for cartoon logic. Great fun.
Avalon
- A high-school soap-opera, along the lines of 'Saved by the
Help Desk
- Ever had a problem with a computer? Ever worked in a job where
you had to FIX problems with computers? Ever worked for a giant, faceless,
money-hungry corporation? If you can answer "yes" to any of these
questions (or even know someone who can), you'll understand Help Desk. You may
not LIKE it, but you'll understand - and laugh.
Faans!
- This one is for everyone out there who's ever enjoyed science
fiction, fantasy, or role-playing. Or the X-files, for that
matter. This brings out the truth to the question, "who better to
deal with the wierdness of life than those who
immerse themselves in it for fun?" Just make sure you read all the
archives - if you don't understand what's gone before, current events will
leave you totally lost.
Inktank.com
- This is actually two comic strips - Angst Technology and
Weekend Warriors. I'm not even going to try to explain them - just check out
the archives for yourself. Enjoy!
Megatokyo
- 'The Odd Couple' meets 'The Innocents Abroad', plus some a
little bit of 'Thelma and Louise'. A pair of video-game
and anime fanboys decide in a drunken haze to
run off to
Fuzzy
Things - More comics
in the same line as 'Ozy & Millie', only not
quite as innocent. Where O&M focuses on wonder and innocence, this
one focuses on the sheer mischief six youngsters can get themselves into.
Still, it's a lot of fun. NEWS: Because writer/artist Jonathon Sario is moving, Fuzzy Things is going on indefinite
hiatus. Here’s hoping he can resume the
story sometime soon. But in any case,
good luck, Jonathon!
Kevin & Kell - Originally, this one
started out as the chronicles of the Dewclaw family: a rabbit father, a wolf
mother, a wolf-fox hybrid son (first marriage), and an adopted daughter who's
either an American porcupine or an English hedgehog. From there it's grown to
encompass their friends, families, and lives. Fun reading, with some decidedly
quirky looks at what life in a furry world would have to be like.
Nip and
Tuck - One of three comics by Ralph Hayes. All
three are worth reading, and the forums are well worth visiting, as well.
Under the
Lemon Tree - The second of the Ralph Hayes
comics. No, I'm not going to try to describe them. I couldn't do them
justice...
NPC
- Ralph's third comic offering. This one's fairly new, and only
comes out on Sundays, so it's a little early to start analyzing it. Not that
that's stopped some of us on the forum...
Sabrina
On-line - Oh, boy. This one deserves a category
all of it's own. Eric Schwartz has started a
phenomenon with this comic. Be sure you go back to the beginning and read the
whole story - particularly if you plan on reading the online fanfictions, since they pretty
much all assume you know the characters already.
Angel Moxie
– This is a new webcomic, but well worth taking a
look. Very cleanly
drawn, with a nice style. The
story looks like it could become very interesting, too.
Chris'
Foxx Den - Home to two wonderful stories, one
about Sabrina and one about her little sister Tabitha. Sabrina's story is
primarily a romance tale, while Tabitha's (which is co-written by James Bruner)
is more of a science-fiction story. Both are well worth reading, though
'Tabitha' is strong material. Nothing adult, just very highly charged
emotionally.
ZZ Studios
- An incredibly good story: the tale of Sabrina's boss Zig Zag. Written by James Bruner,
and very well written. The forums are also quite lively, though closely
moderated - I can well understand why, as I've wandered off-topic a time or three.
At least James is willing to edit rambling posts instead of simply deleting
them.
Rava's
Place - This site is home to two of three
closely related stories: Rava's
A
Fox's Tale - And this is the third story. If
you're going to read any of these three, read all of them; otherwise, you'll
only be getting part of the picture. All three writers (Rava Purr, Joshua Fox,
and Cateagle) are also very nice people; they've all
offered me encouragement and friendly words at one time or another.
The
Raccoon's Bookshelf -
Identity Crisis
- Hm... this
one defies description. The author,
The
Panthera Residence -
The home site for 'Victoria & Tygon', written by
Serina - A science fiction story which takes place
partially in the same world as 'Sabrina' and 'Zig Zag'. Kinsfire writes some
thought-provoking ideas - I know he's provoked me into thinking a few times.
Hybrid
Theory - Something a
little different. Tyler Leone is writing about a group of friends in a
heavy metal band. The six chapters he's posted so far constitute the story's
introduction - I can hardly wait to see where he plans to take it from here.
The
Taigas Chronicles - Another new story, two
chapters along at this point. Some intriguing possibilities,
involving some familiar character and some new ones. I'm awaiting the
next chapter with a fair amount of eagerness...
(NOTE: the website is currently down in the aftermath of a server
changeover. Hopefully, it’ll come back
up soon. In the meantime, you can read
the story on The Raccoon’s Bookshelf, listed above.)
From
the Depths to the Heights - Shirh
Khan's story about a doctor trying to rebuild his life after tragedy, and the
lives he touches. This is very emotional, very stirring stuff, impossible to
read without being affected. And some words of warning: the two prequel
chapters and the intermission chapter are even stronger - these can hit you in
the emotions just as hard as the strongest scenes in 'Tabitha'. Which is intended as a complement of the highest order.
Beau Wolff's
Lair – Beau Wolff is another Portland-area fur who’s writing a highly
intriguing story. Well worth checking
out. He’s also got two other stories in the
starting stages, as well as an extensive list of book reviews on a wide range
of topics. Heaven for the dedicated
bibliophile…