From: niall@kavishar.umd.edu (SERVAL)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.furry
Subject: Furry Northern Reviews 4 (Part I -- Long)
Date: 4 Oct 92 01:57:08 GMT
Reply-To: niall@kavishar.umd.edu
Organization: A Safe Haven For Wolves

FURRY NORTHERN REVIEWS  issue 4                                                 
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Yes, it's back, and bigger than ever!  Reviewed this time:  Centaurs            
Gatherum 26, Yarf 21, WildLife APAzine 1, Gallery 11, GoldDigger 1,             
Tales from the Aniverse volume 2 no. 3, Champion of Katara 2, Hepcats 9,        
Sleepers book 2, and Bestiary 15.  Whew!                                        
                                                                                
Due to the large number of books, I will curb my rambles to a minimum,          
and accent as much as possible what I find good and not so good in each.        
But be warned that I usually review books that I either like well enough        
to buy, or tried out and was really disappointed;  so most of the comments      
will be positive in nature.  It's just my way of informing others out there     
of possible good books they might be passing up.                                
                                                                                
This said, let's start...                                                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
Centaurs Gatherum 26                                                            
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Published by Victor Wren, 116 1/2 North Wheeling, Tulsa Oklahoma, 74110-5240    
$2.25, I believe postpaid (but a couple of stamps wouldn't hurt), May 1992,     
32 pages, digest-sized (half-letter).                                           
                                                                                
  Returning thanks to Victor Wren, at the proposed pace of two issues a year    
until 1995, when Ed Pegg Jr. hopes to pick it up again, Centaurs Gatherum (CG)  
is looking great.  Its absence was sorely missed by the contributors and        
subscribers alike.  This truly is a major meeting place for hexapodal           
artists of every kind, pro or amateur alike.  And some of the amateurs are      
definitely pro quality!                                                         
  This issue is a bit thinner than usual at 32 pages, but the quality of        
the material more than makes up for it.  Terrie Smith, Quinton Hoover,          
Natasha Dahlberg,  Jordan 'Greywolf' Peacock, even one from Schirmeister        
and Donna Barr;  all fine, fine artists presenting a wide variety of            
styles, ideas and techniques.  There's even a European artist with a            
one-page sampling of a human-centaur German military team.  No, this            
is completely different from Stinz or anything Barresque.  Makes good           
practice for all those who are learning German, though.  *grin*                 
  The presentation, as usual, is impeccable.  Clean, crisp layouts, folios      
(page numbers and title strip on every page, for the uninitiated) are clear     
yet not intruding.  The artwork carries the page, as it should.                 
  This is THE place to explore 'taur ideas and meet other similarly-minded      
artists (and writers, too).  For anyone who likes the concept, this is          
a definite must-have.  And I don't say that often.                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
YARF! 21                                                                        
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Published by Jeffrey Ferris, P.O. Box 1299, Cupertino California, 95015-1299,   
$5.00 plus $1.00 P&H, July 1992, 50 pages, full letter sized, thermal           
binding.                                                                        
                                                                                
  Under the very nice cover by Greywolf (mistakenly referred as "Jason"         
instead of Jordan), there is the usual eclectic mix of fiction and art.         
This is an anthology, and as such there will be stuff in each issue that        
will leave you cold, even though others love it.  This issue starts a long      
novel by Watts Martin, deftly illustrated by Jimmy Chin.  There is also         
a Wormholes story exploring the rise and fall of the clinic that was            
mentioned in a previous explanatory segment of that world.  The biggest         
complaint of the issue is here in this story, where there is some text          
missing between the next-to-last and last page.  It is a very unfortunate       
oversight from the editors, although I know enough of desktop publishing        
to understand this kind of thing is hard to detect in a last-minute ditch       
to get the issue done on time.  Just be more careful next time, hmm?  And       
how about reprinting the missing text in a subsequent issue?  *smile*           
  Artwise, there is another wonderful installment of Buffalo Wings.  John       
Nunnemacher is, in my opinion, one of the discoveries of this publication.      
He has immensely improved since his debut, and he started good!  Cliff's        
live is something he's definitely having trouble catching up with...            
  Empires has a behind-the-scenes look again, explaining a few more details     
of the Centrality-Irrykanoi universe.  As Grant did his own inking this time,   
the style is definitely not the same as before.  His skills *have* improved,    
though.  Keep going!                                                            
  "Ralph the Wonder Hamster" is the oddest of the issue.  Fast-paced, maybe     
even frenetic-paced storytelling took me a couple of reads to understand.       
James Alves has a mind of his own, that's for sure.  *grin*  The inking by      
Roy Pounds II ("Knight of the Short Pen Stroke") is actually very fitting       
to the style of the story.  I'm a bit unsure about this one.  I'll see.         
  No Nitrocoon.  Rats.  I admit I adore David Cotelessa's rendition of NC       
and Suzy.  Crisp, stylish, action!  :)  And judging by the uninked page of      
the previous issue, even his pencils are *incredibly* tight!                    
  The other illustrations are the usual kind found in Yarf, with Monika         
Livingston's "Cerina Maren-Kyn" definitely standing out.                        
  So, in short, a good issue.  Good stories, good assortment of pin-ups         
and continued stories.  For me, I have enough for my money.                     
                                                                                
                                                                                
Wildlife APAzine 1                                                              
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Edited by Matthew High, 1200 Patricia Avenue #1208, San Antonio Texas, 78213,   
$6 + $1.50 postage, full letter page, side-stapled, cardstock covers,           
66 pages, August 1992.                                                          
                                                                                
  A new apazine?  Do we need one?  Well, judging by this first issue,           
this is definitely not a rehash of old stuff nor an exhibition of a group       
of fans.  Many small press Big Names here, high quality content and look,       
impressive.  Ted Sheppard, Watts Martin, Kjartan Arnorsson, Mel. White,         
Brian Sutton, Joe Rosales, even Mark "Riley" Swindell are only a few of         
the 15(!) first members in this first issue.  No continued stories yet,         
except for Jim Drew's fourth chapter of his furry soap "Straight From the       
Hart".  It does have a complete short story from Martin, set in the same        
planet as "Gift of Fire Gift of Blood", which is definitely good.               
  A lot of this issue is an introduction by the members to each other.          
The quality is Very High (not surprising, considering the editor.. *grin*),     
and it is to Matt's credit that he managed to assemble all these people         
together, considering many of them are very busy themselves (like Jim Groat).   
  I highly recommend this zine.  It is a bit pricey, but it _does_ have 66      
pages, which is definitely a lot.  It is also shipped well protected, and       
my copy was undamaged by both US and Canadian postal systems.                   
  One caution:  some of the material is definitely x-rated (with Karno, it      
cannot be anything _but_...) so include an age statement.                       
                                                                                
                                                                                
Gallery 11                                                                      
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Edited by Richard Chandler, 843 Locust St, Apt. 110B, Herndon Virginia,         
22070-4958 (also reacheable at "mauser@intercon.com"), $9.50 cover price,       
accounts can be set up for subscribers (it's cheaper!), full letter size,       
124 pages, August 1992                                                          
                                                                                
  Well, at long last.  *grin*  I'll make this simple:  in my opinion,           
this is THE APAzine to get your hands onto.  Terrie Smith, Ted Sheppard,        
Jimmy Chin, Joe Rosales, Alex Schlarmann, Susan Van Camp, and many              
many others all contribute some of their best work (or, in the case             
of William Haas, their most bizarre), making this a treat to the eyes           
and the imagination.  Matt High has taken this zine as an inspiration           
(at least in form) for his own Wildlife, and he certainly went to the           
top.  As with CG, Quality is the main ingredient here.  Top-notch               
illustrations, a few stories here and there (too bad Chuck Melville's           
story won't be continued for a while).  The cover underwent a redesign          
making it sleek as hell (it looks cool, Rich! :), and the artists are           
now presented in alphabetical first name order, adding a touch of               
familiarity ("Where's that pic I inked...  Umm, under Jeremy, that's            
it..  *flip *flip*  Ah!") which is very nice.                                   
  I cannot recommend this zine enough.  You can set up an account               
which enables you to a reduction from the cover price, and lets                 
you get the issue hot off the press.  You even have a detailed                  
list of how much the issue cost you, and how much you have left.  Now           
that is dedication from the editor.  There should soon be reprints of           
the early issues, although I don't know how many would be available for         
the general public for cover price and all.  But try it.                        
  Another warning:  as with Wildlife, there is no material policy, so           
anything goes.  Mature readers and all that...                                  
                                                                                
                                                                                
Gold Digger 1                                                                   
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By Fred Perry (all of it, so only him to blame :), published by Antarctic       
Press bi-monthly, four-issue series, $2.50 ($3.25 Cdn), 32 pages (no ads!),     
available in better stores or through AP, P.O. Box 290221, San Antonio          
Texas, 78280-1621 (add $1 for postage)                                          
                                                                                
  Some of you may have seen this series in Mangazine, AP's anthology zine.      
It was one of the most popular ones in a while, so Fred Perry got a chance      
to strut his stuff solo for 128 pages.  Go for it!  :)                          
  The premise of the series is the archeological adventures of Gina             
Diggers (nicknamed Gold Digger by her arch-rival archeologist, Penny            
Pinser who Diggers calls Pennypincher) and her ward-sister Cheetah,             
a were-cheetah.  The full story on those two is in the issue.                   
  It's sort of a female Indiana Jobnes, but set in modern day, and with         
women who go around in swamps and jungles in skimpy tank-tops and               
cut-off jeans, yet never get a scratch, of course (although Pinser does         
show Diggers a definite drawback of such clothes in a priceless scene..         
Pinser has real clothes, although the same high cleavage).                      
  The furry aspect is, of course, Cheetah.  This should appeal to the           
fans of scantily-clad, muscled and rather uninhibited female furries.           
Which is to say, at least half of you out there..  *sarcastic grin*             
Anyway, aside from that point, the story flows very well, with good             
layouts, a strong sense of pacing which doesn't leave the reader confused,      
and some imaginative plot twists here and there.  Several detail touches        
also add to the general book.                                                   
  Unfortunately, there is again the seemingly omnipresent lack of               
editing in the lettering, which lets slip many spelling errors.  This           
is sad, but alas much too widespread in just about every small book             
today, furry or not.  I hope that after being informed of the fact,             
the people responsible will pay closer attention.                               
  Oh yeah, another furry draw is that the lost city they are trying             
to discover is inhabited by (ta-dah) a race of cat-like humanoids,              
one of which Cheetah falls completely over.                                     
  The art is very light, almost sketchy, but that is Perry's style,             
and he knows how to use it.  He brings a lot of washed tones which              
complement his style very well.  It might be called "Japanese" in               
general style, using speed lines and face designs reminiscent of                
it;  but they are just tools which Perry uses to blend with his own             
imagination, and the result is quite successful.                                
  Perry has been a bit of a fan-favourite through the years, with               
Mangazine and his stories in the Ninja High School specials.  I am              
glad, for one, that he has this chance to establish himself and get             
more recognition.  He deserves it.                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
This is the end of part one.  Soon I will post part 2, with the rest            
of the aforementioned books.  Comments are invited, both on a.f.f.              
and through e-mail at niall@kavishar.umd.edu.  Thank you.                       
                                                                                
--Serval