Author Ponders How to Use Furries Effectively in Fiction

Dear Papabear,

I’ve been working on this gay furry romance comic, which I’ve decided to fully throw myself into finishing. The script is written, and I’ve completed 22 pages so far. I’m fairly confident in my writing, but my story turned out to be heavier than when I first started. It touches on themes like addiction, creative burnout, grief, and mortality. Throughout this project, I occasionally remember the characters are anthropomorphic animals and I wonder, “Is this too silly?”

It’s not like the whole comic is heavy. There are moments of comic relief here and there. I just worry that the whole furry aesthetic would undermine those themes. Am I overthinking this?

Second, my story has a few sex scenes in it, but they’re not the main focus of the story and are used to show the bond of the two main characters. However, I’m conflicted on how much I should actually show I’m not opposed to romance comics having explicit sex scenes, I just worry people will only read the comic for those scenes. Should I make it softcore, or just go all out and show everything?

In short, do furry characters undermine a story with more serious themes? Also, how much sexual explicitness is appropriate for this kind of story?

Cheers,
Steve

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Dear Steve,

What a great question! There is absolutely nothing wrong with a comic (or graphic novel) that is furry and has mature themes. In a very real way, this is why the furry fandom was founded in the first place. A lot of adults (college age, mostly, at the time) wanted to take the Funny Animal tradition and make it more for adults, which gave rise to such things as Albedo Anthropomorphics, Associated Student Bodies, The Usagi Chronicles, Cerebus the Aardvark, Black Sad, and Omaha, the Cat Dancer, not to mention the non-furry Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer-winning Maus. So, you are on very solid ground here. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, I would suggest you look them up and read, read, read.

Some of these--especially Omaha and ASB--have some pretty kinky scenes, and you can bet that a lot of people bought them just for these. But! A lot of people bought them because they are good stories with well-rounded and interesting characters. ASB deals with some serious themes, too, such as one of the main characters being HIV+. When you are aiming for an adult audience, it is legit to address topics that include violence, drugs, racism, political corruption, sex, and more. It is fine to have sex scenes in your story, especially if it is sex with a purpose. Do you know what the difference is between a mature sex scene and porn? Porn only has one purpose: to get you off. Story and characterization are superfluous to porn. But a sex scene can be used in serious literature to advance the story and motivate characters. So, when you draw these scenes, consider whether what you are drawing contributes to your tale or if you are just doing it to get someone to buy the comic so they can pleasure themselves. When you answer that question honestly, you will know how to draw it.

The same is true with other elements in your story, not just sex. Do the comical scenes serve a function? Or are you just doing something idiotic like putting Jar Jar Binks in the story for slapstick? Is the violence gratuitous for shock value? Or are you making a point for the reader? I am a big fan of subtlety myself. A master writer, artist, or filmmaker can do wonders with suggestion. That's why Alfred Hitchcock was so brilliant. He could do more with a creaky door slowly opening in a hallway than M. Night Shyamalan does with all the buckets of blood and freaky CGI a big studio can afford.

This leads me to another element of your question: Why do people write stories with furries in them instead of human beings? One big reason is that they serve as tropes to quickly express what a character is all about. If you want a clever character, it's a fox; loyal and true, dog; selfish and sexy, cat; scary fierce, dragon; a brave leader, lion; meek but honest, mouse; and so on. It's quick characterization in a suit of fur. Furry characters can also be used as symbolic in expressing a theme. For example, there was an issue of Black Sad about racism in which animals such as polar bears and Arctic foxes and ermines represented (obviously) white people, and animals with black fur were of course representing Blacks. The hero has both white and black fur as he is from a mixed lineage. Here, you can get the clear message and yet avoid stereotypes that are often assigned to people of certain races (a technique Disney grossly failed at when creating the Siamese cat character in The Aristocats--OMG). And, of course, anthros are often seen in fantasy and sci-fi tales simply to create interesting and exotic characters for the reader. However, skilled authors use them with a purpose.

So, when you create your furry characters, do so with purpose. Don't just make your hero, say, a husky because you like huskies. Perhaps make them a hippo with something to prove because they never got over being mocked for being heavy when they were in public school, or make them a homely lizard with a heart of gold. Use the physical form to complement the spirit of your hero or heroine and all the supporting characters in the cast.

Good Luck with Your Story!

Papabear