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Template:/box-header Furry fandom is a fandom devoted to anthropomorphic animal characters. Since the 1980s, the term furries has come to refer to such characters. Members of the furry subculture are known as furry fans, furries, or simply furs.

Fictional work celebrated by furry fandom typically attributes high-level intelligence, human facial expressions and anatomy, speech, bipedalism, and clothing to otherwise animal characters. Work in any medium that includes such characters may be considered part of the furry genre, although they are most often seen in comics, cartoons, animated films, allegorical novels, and video games.

Key topics: Furry convention • Fursuit - Lists: Comics • Conventions • Role-playing games Template:/box-footer

A furry convention (also furry con or fur con) is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and recreation centered around this concept. Originating in California, USA during the mid-1980s, there are now over 35 annual furry conventions worldwide, mostly in North America and Europe.

Furry conventions offer a range of volunteer-led programming, usually focusing on anthropomorphic art, crafts, music and literature. Some raise money for charity. Attendees often dress up and wear artistic name badges for identification, though the majority do not bring fursuits. They may also spend money on the work of amateur and professional artists, both directly and at auction.

Furry conventions are often closed to public media, due to television and magazine coverage which implied the events were sexually oriented. As of 2007, some permit the local news media to attend, usually under close supervision.

Frederick Walter Patten (born December 11, 1940) is known for his work as a historian in the anime, manga, and furry fandoms, where he has made contributions to both print and online books, magazines, and other media. He has received honors from several fandom organizations, including the LASFS Evans-Freehafer Award, Westercon's Sampo Award, Inkpot Award, Ursa Major Award and the Worldcon Life Achievement Award.

Patten learned to read with comic strips in the Los Angeles Times and Examiner. At age 9 he began to collect books from Ace Books, Ballantine Books, and other science fiction publishers of the time, as well as magazines such as Astounding, F&SF, and Galaxy Science Fiction.

Patten entered the University of California at Los Angeles in 1958, and its graduate School of Library Science in 1962. He became active in science fiction fandom on discovering the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society in 1960, starting to publish his own stories and write for sci-fi fanzines. He received a Master's degree in Library Science in 1963 - his thesis was on the books of Andre Norton - and worked as a technical catalogue librarian from 1969 to 1990.

In 1972, Patten partnered with Richard Kyle to create the Graphic Story Bookshop in Long Beach, California. He discovered manga at Westercon in 1970, and began to import it from Japanese publishers through the bookshop. He was a founder of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization in 1977. Over the years he contributed to several books on animation history, and wrote dozens of articles for publications such as Albedo Anthropomorphics, Furrlough, and the Comics Buyer's Guide.

From 1991 to 2002 Patten was employed at anime production company Streamline Pictures, where he acted as writer, translator or publicist for over twenty animation films. He subsequently wrote Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews, and edited Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction.

In March 2005, Patten suffered a stroke which left his right arm and leg paralyzed. No longer able to keep his collection, he donated almost 900 boxes of comic books, records, tapes, paperbacks, fanzines, anime, manga, convention programs and T-shirts to the Eaton Collection.

• Elysian Tail game wins $40,000 prize in XNA Dream-Build-Play competition
• Anthrocon 2009 psychological survey team releases preliminary results
• New hotel aids Califur revival
• 2008 Ursa Major Award winners announced
• RMFC seeks $30,000 to survive
• Anthrocon wins 2008 "Missy" Award on ABC's Good Morning America
• WikiFur reaches 10,000 articles; adds portal to highlight multilingual efforts
• Gorillaz create 'Journey to the East' for BBC Olympics coverage
• Anthrocon 2007 draws thousands to Pittsburgh for furry weekend
• Pittsburgh playwrights pen furry musical, invite Anthrocon attendees to observe reading
• Furry fans flock to Further Confusion 2007

• ... that the first volume of printed strips from the furry "Slice-of-life" webcomic A Doemain of Our Own won the 2006 Ursa Major Award for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work"?

• ... that the creators of stage musical Furry Tales were inspired by Anthrocon, the world's largest furry convention?

• ... that Kyell Gold, a furry homosexual erotic literature author, has won six Ursa Major Awards, equaling Usagi Yojimbo author Stan Sakai?

• ... that T.H.E. Fox, drawn on a C64 KoalaPad and published on CompuServe, Q-Link and GEnie, is among the earliest online comics?

• ... that in Bryan Talbot's graphic novel Grandville, France won the Napoleonic Wars, invaded Britain and guillotined the British Royal Family?

Jack is a furry webcomic by David Hopkins. It is set in a world populated by anthropomorphic animals and focuses on judgment and afterlife, which function according to Christian beliefs, and is noted for its depiction of "rape, drug use, swearing, graphic sexual acts, incest, cannibalism, nudity, savage violence, and images of Hell."

Jack focuses on its title character, a wizened green rabbit who lives in Hell. He is the embodiment of the deadly sin wrath, whose punishment is being the Grim Reaper. In life, the unfairness of some deaths, particularly towards the ones he loved, made him angry. In his position as Grim Reaper, he now has to witness more death, the cause of his wrath. Jack attempts to remember the sins he did in life in order to be forgiven for them. This is hard for him as his other punishment is having no memory of his life on Earth.

Jack was joint winner for the award for at the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards in 2004. It is one of the most read webcomics on the internet; in the top 100 according to BuzzComix, TopWebComics and The Webcomic List.

Fursuit parade at Anthrocon 2007

Most furry conventions include a fursuit parade. It is often routed through the dealers' room so that everyone gets to see it.

• BerliCon (website) - Berlin, Germany

A small convention held annually around June since 2004. Attracted 35 in 2007.

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