Uncle Kage wants you to donate towards someone's medical bills, because furries.

[Pi]

Stan Sakai is facing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills to care for his wife, who is suffering from a long-term illness. As if this was not enough heartbreak, yesterday came the news that his 20-month-old grandson passed away in his sleep.

Stan has done more than just about anyone to promote our Fandom. He has stood behind us, defended us, and helped introduce us to a skeptical mainstream. Furry Fandom could not have come this far without him. There is nothing we can do to ease the pain of his loss, but we can do our part to help take his mind off of the worries of the mounting bills so that he and his family can deal with this terrible tragedy.

The Comic Art Professional Society is collecting donations for the Sakais. If you would like to help, there is a Paypal link at http://garageartstudio.blogspot.com.....tan-sakai.html

Sad news aside (losing a child is never a fun thing, and I can't honestly be mean about it), who the fuck is this guy? (Edit: apparently, he's relatively famous for having started a comic franchise. Clearly the sort that needs donations from a fandom that's known for being made up of people who live beyond their means.) I've been hanging around this furry lot for some stupidly long amount of time, and I have no clue who this guy is or why we should donate to help pay off his medical bills. If I were feeling less charitable in this holiday season, this would be making my scam alerts go off. Instead, I'll just point out how furries will donate towards any cause, if you pitch it as "it helps promote furries, honest".

[magus]

Usagi Yojimbo is not particularly my cup of tea, but it *is* a cult classic comic, and definitely 'furry' in the old school sense, if not generated from within the fandom. Arguably, and as Pi demonstrates, it's more well-known *outside* furry than within. From Conway's perspective, this has three positives:
-Bolsters their GoH cred (check out panels with big-name guests, they'll often say 'I was unsure about coming here, then they had me talk to Stan Sakai...')
-Is grounded in the oldschool 'furry fan' ideal that Conway was a part of,
-The comic is intensely kid-friendly, thus letting Conway push that good old 'AC is squeaky clean' image.

In other words, promotion, promotion, promotion. At least it's not as creepy as bringing in the DeCarlos...

[Conan]

<Conan|3> you know what's really fucking sad
<Conan|3> there hasn't really been any movement to -do something- for anyone related to the lemonadecoyote thing, but when a sandwich shop goes out of business, the fandom forks over $20k in a few hours.

Still relative ten plus months later.

Someone in the fandom dies, and it's brushed over with some Twitter Sadness. Tragedy in the family of a comic book author popular with the "old guard"? Holy god, break out those checkbooks!!!

[Kindrift]

Stan has done more than just about anyone to promote our Fandom.

he hasn't breathed a word about furry "Fandom" that we have record of

He has stood behind us, defended us, and helped introduce us to a skeptical mainstream.

by this definition hasn't every content creator from peter laird to peter jackson who had an animal looking thing done the same supposed service

Furry Fandom could not have come this far without him.

the same has been said of fernando's bland sandwiches, and right now, a crowd gathers outside vivcorp headquarters, chanting "pr's bad"

[BaconQuicheWithSpinach]

Stan Sakai (and Usagi Yojimbo) are pretty cool, but I wouldn't say he is even remotely related to the furry fandom, as it were...

[Pi]

A couple quotes from the thread:

I'll pitch in even thou im not a full furry yet I am still part of the community I get involved just like everyone else hope this helps him

I didn't know the creator of Usagi Yojimbo was such a big supporter of the fandom. I think I'll look into making a donation, even if it has to be a small one.

One more reason to get off my ass and get employed. Easier to be charitable when you feel like you can afford it. (Or at least that's my lame ass excuse for not donating more. >.< I'll have to change that somehow.)

Way to go, Conway. You're convincing a bunch of people that they aren't "real" furries unless they give these people their money. Money that they don't even have. Fuck you and your snake-oil.

[greaseyote]

I will try to raise a couple commissions after this to donate the funds to his cause, this is horrible and I read the last journal you posted. I familiar with Stan's work and I respect him as a samurai.

...as a samurai.

[SuperBarrioBrothers]

Stan has done more than just about anyone to promote our Fandom.

he hasn't breathed a word about furry "Fandom" that we have record of

He has stood behind us, defended us, and helped introduce us to a skeptical mainstream.

by this definition hasn't every content creator from peter laird to peter jackson who had an animal looking thing done the same supposed service

Furry Fandom could not have come this far without him.

the same has been said of fernando's bland sandwiches, and right now, a crowd gathers outside vivcorp headquarters, chanting "pr's bad"

I really don't think that Stan was the big defender of the fandom Conway's making him out to be.

Sakai would slink around the dealer's room at Confurence, usually there on a one-day pass late Saturday afternoon, up until about CF9. After that, he didn't come around.

He was very low-profile. He'd kiss ass with the AP folks and Ed Zolna, and talk to a few of the other old guard, but wasn't really approachable for the most part.

Last I heard, Mike and Carole Curtis were trying to poach him for content for their vanity comics, but this was the late 90s.

I think he made more money staying away from furry fandom than he ever did by embracing it.

[magus]

By 'helping furry' Kage really means stuff like this. This article, and others like it, is what opened the door to getting the semi-mainstream media guys into AC. AC GoHes before 2004: Furry artists. After 2004: Cartoon VAs, comics artists, etc. And the occasional Japanese fursuiter nobody's heard of.

Sakai hasn't helped Furry, he's helped the AC-industrial complex. Which is what Conway cares about.

[ProvincialTwit]

By 'helping furry' Kage really means stuff like this. This article, and others like it, is what opened the door to getting the semi-mainstream media guys into AC. AC GoHes before 2004: Furry artists. After 2004: Cartoon VAs, comics artists, etc. And the occasional Japanese fursuiter nobody's heard of.

Sakai hasn't helped Furry, he's helped the AC-industrial complex. Which is what Conway cares about.

He'd also like people to believe AC -is- the be-all end-all of 'furry'.  Seriously have to wonder about the legitimacy of their books sometimes.

[greaseyote]

By 'helping furry' Kage really means stuff like this. This article, and others like it, is what opened the door to getting the semi-mainstream media guys into AC. AC GoHes before 2004: Furry artists. After 2004: Cartoon VAs, comics artists, etc. And the occasional Japanese fursuiter nobody's heard of.

Sakai hasn't helped Furry, he's helped the AC-industrial complex. Which is what Conway cares about.

How much have these GoH made Anthrocon the big event that it is? I mean, over years the focus of the fandom has changed tremendously to being mostly about fursuiting and personal characters now. I've heard crazy stories of "insiders" like this guy selling $10 grand, not in commissioned art, but in folios, prints, animation cells, etc. at Confurences of yesteryear, I don't think they could do 1/10 of that now at Anthrocon which is 5 times the size. I don't think very many furries actually have an interest in animation, comics or movies as a career anymore. I went to Antheria, they had Mike Kazaleh for the GoH and with all due respect to the guy, I don't think anybody went because of him. People went to party and fursuit with friends. They would have come if there was no GoH... hey, that might be a new con concept, the GoH is you. I think most people that went on the GoH harbor cruise were more excited about going on a boat than meeting the GoH.

[magus]

How much have these GoH made Anthrocon the big event that it is? I mean, over years the focus of the fandom has changed tremendously to being mostly about fursuiting and personal characters now.

'point and laugh' was the only good reason to go to Antheria.

There's also currently internet slapfights going on elsesite about just that very point - is furry a 'fandom' anymore? But that's outside the scope of this thread. And the point of my original post was not to say that 'big' name GoHes have 'made' AC, it's that Conway thinks that. Or that it strokes his ego. Pick whever you prefer, either is enough for them.

[Conan]

By 'helping furry' Kage really means stuff like this. This article, and others like it, is what opened the door to getting the semi-mainstream media guys into AC. AC GoHes before 2004: Furry artists. After 2004: Cartoon VAs, comics artists, etc. And the occasional Japanese fursuiter nobody's heard of.

Sakai hasn't helped Furry, he's helped the AC-industrial complex. Which is what Conway cares about.

How much have these GoH made Anthrocon the big event that it is? I mean, over years the focus of the fandom has changed tremendously to being mostly about fursuiting and personal characters now. I've heard crazy stories of "insiders" like this guy selling $10 grand, not in commissioned art, but in folios, prints, animation cells, etc. at Confurences of yesteryear, I don't think they could do 1/10 of that now at Anthrocon which is 5 times the size. I don't think very many furries actually have an interest in animation, comics or movies as a career anymore. I went to Antheria, they had Mike Kazaleh for the GoH and with all due respect to the guy, I don't think anybody went because of him. People went to party and fursuit with friends. They would have come if there was no GoH... hey, that might be a new con concept, the GoH is you. I think most people that went on the GoH harbor cruise were more excited about going on a boat than meeting the GoH.

I was going to mention something like this in my earlier post. I don't know why I didn't. You're exactly right, though. GoH's who aren't Fandom figures are usually very obscure artists or "has-been's" from the animation industry, and if a credit as "animator" is all you need to be a Anthrocon GoH, well...

These people provide zero draw to the event, and I'd imagine there are more people going because fucking 2Gryphon is there than because Jim Smith, Storyboard Artist for [90's Cartoon] is going to be there. On that topic, with the internet's "90's nostalgia" movement, you could probably get some has-beens to the convention that people MIGHT actually care about, but certainly they're not going to go BECAUSE they're there.

There's a very short list of active people in the Cartoon industry that might actually draw people to the convention, and, sadly, that list is considerably smaller if you remove people involved with My Little Pony. I think part of the problem is because people picking the GoH's are significantly older than the current average convention-goer, and they still have a long list of people they'd like to meet. Thus, it's easier for them to get "comic book author 5% of the congoers have heard of before" than, say, the guy who created Regular Show, which has a decent following in the fandom.

[greaseyote]

'point and laugh' was the only good reason to go to Antheria.

Hey, I had a great time at Antheria... though not because of the 'official' con programming (which centered around introducing Kage to a west coast audience where he doesn't enjoy the status and popularity he has back home) but because I got to spend time with a lot of great people, made new friends and the venue was pretty cool, by the beach in kind of a 'fun zone' area where most people responded very positively to us. I had a great time despite the number of things that 'went wrong.'

There's also currently internet slapfights going on elsesite about just that very point - is furry a 'fandom' anymore? But that's outside the scope of this thread. And the point of my original post was not to say that 'big' name GoHes have 'made' AC, it's that Conway thinks that. Or that it strokes his ego. Pick whever you prefer, either is enough for them.

What is a fandom anyway? But you're right, I would say the term 'subculture' fits better. Anyway, I would pick the latter. I guess that's a perk of being chairperson of a large (by furry standards) convention. You get to meet your heroes. And I don't think that really affects the con in a negative way, to have a GoH that doesn't interest most attendees, though you could say it's a financial waste.

[Conan]

On the subject of GoH's, Anthrocon recently announced that this year's GoH is... Lee Tockar a voice actor who's, quoting Kindri in IRC, "pretty much done nothing notable, but he's done a shit load of it", probably only being invited because he's the only person tied to My Little Pony that would pay any attention to Kage at Bronycon.

Bringing in someone who is literally credited for "additional voices" will make sure that 95% of the people at the con continue to not care about who the GoH is. I say 95% because you know there will be one or two people there asking him for the backstory of Shopkeeper Pony.

[LordNagetiere]

He was in the documentary no? Irony that out of all the MLP voiceactors, Conway latches onto the giant ultra-gay dragon.

Along with AC always having a pathetic theme and horrible looking shirts, it only makes sense that the non-fandom GoH is someone who is only coming for Kage's sake. Meanwhile the fandom guests usually would have arrived anyway.

[mexxy]

-The comic is intensely kid-friendly, thus letting Conway push that good old 'AC is squeaky clean' image.

Lol, after I seen him trying to get that boy drunk on Zinfnadel at FC.

And come on. Zinfandel? Really???

[magus]

Lol, after I seen him trying to get that boy drunk on Zinfnadel at FC.

And come on. Zinfandel? Really???

Welcome to Vivisector, get out, etc.

One thing you'll notice if you're around us (or reality) for any length of time is the substantial dichotomy between ~Public Kage~ and Actual Kage.