Action and Horror in the community

[Mariobros88]

Alright so, I just gotta ask something.

I used to be part of the fandom but left a while back, but I never thought to ask so I might as well now.

Why is the such little content for Action, sci-fi and horror in the furry community in comparison to the amount of adult, slice of life, fantasy and comedy comics in the community?

I just gotta ask

 

[Ziggy Schlacht]

Adult - You don't need to ask, do you?
Slice of life - Easy to make thing relatable, particularly given that furries are often stand ins for people, and lets you explore concepts and give people good analogs. Exploring sexuality is a very common theme for this reason... and makes for easy porn. But also concepts like fitting in, or dealing with school, and so on.
Fantasy - Fantasy, by virtue of access and exposure, is just more popular than sci fi. If the original DnD was sci fi, that might be different. But also people play WoW, Skyrim, and so on. I looked at some top 10 game lists, and of the most common top 10, 5 were fantasy. Only 1 was distinctly sci-fi.
Comedy - Most people don't unwind watching a brutal murder, comedy is far more appealing. But also, everything else done wrong winds up as comedy.

Action & Horror stuff is hard to do well. There's lots of things, mind you, that might be horrifying, but the effort to write good horror is high, and most people would rather something comedic. Now, good comedy is probably just as hard to write as good horror, but bad comedy can still be funny, while bad horror becomes comedy. As far as action goes - that tends to drift towards comedy anyhow, particularly when trying to communicate it in stills. Or you end up making it super edgelord... and we're back at comedy.

Sci-fi - the problem with sci-fi is, unlike fantasy, it's harder to cleanly communicate. Fantasy you toss some armor on guys and remove TV screens and there you are. We have a pretty well defined visual language for fantasy. Sci Fi, on the other hand, takes a lot of world building and background details to make work. And even if you do do it, it can look a lot like modern unless you make it cheesy or over the top.

 

[Mariobros88]

Adult - You don't need to ask, do you?
Slice of life - Easy to make thing relatable, particularly given that furries are often stand ins for people, and lets you explore concepts and give people good analogs. Exploring sexuality is a very common theme for this reason... and makes for easy porn. But also concepts like fitting in, or dealing with school, and so on.
Fantasy - Fantasy, by virtue of access and exposure, is just more popular than sci fi. If the original DnD was sci fi, that might be different. But also people play WoW, Skyrim, and so on. I looked at some top 10 game lists, and of the most common top 10, 5 were fantasy. Only 1 was distinctly sci-fi.
Comedy - Most people don't unwind watching a brutal murder, comedy is far more appealing. But also, everything else done wrong winds up as comedy.

Action & Horror stuff is hard to do well. There's lots of things, mind you, that might be horrifying, but the effort to write good horror is high, and most people would rather something comedic. Now, good comedy is probably just as hard to write as good horror, but bad comedy can still be funny, while bad horror becomes comedy. As far as action goes - that tends to drift towards comedy anyhow, particularly when trying to communicate it in stills. Or you end up making it super edgelord... and we're back at comedy.

Sci-fi - the problem with sci-fi is, unlike fantasy, it's harder to cleanly communicate. Fantasy you toss some armor on guys and remove TV screens and there you are. We have a pretty well defined visual language for fantasy. Sci Fi, on the other hand, takes a lot of world building and background details to make work. And even if you do do it, it can look a lot like modern unless you make it cheesy or over the top.

I get cha, but it would be cool to see more of that kind of stuff in the community, it was kind of one of the reasons why I left, lol. Not to say I don't like the art but a bit of diversity in the genres would be nice.

I am planning on doing an anthropomorphic action comic in the future, though.

 

[Ziggy Schlacht]

I mean, the front page of FA completely turns over like ever 30 seconds... There's a lot of art. I'm betting there's whatever you want buried in there, you just gotta find it.

Failing that, be the change you want to be, though it sounds like you'd need to draw smut-free scifi action-horror story without a single joke, making it easier to avoid commenting on the day-to-day, all while ensuring there's not a single talking tree?

 

[Frank Gulotta]

Can't stay away, eh?

 

[Mariobros88]

I mean, the front page of FA completely turns over like ever 30 seconds... There's a lot of art. I'm betting there's whatever you want buried in there, you just gotta find it.

Failing that, be the change you want to be, though it sounds like you'd need to draw smut-free scifi action-horror story without a single joke, making it easier to avoid commenting on the day-to-day, all while ensuring there's not a single talking tree?

Umm...wat?

I mean it's not gonna be over the top or anything, just a kind of wandering group in a post apocalyptic world type thing, maybe some sprinkles of comedy and drama (and a pinch of gore for obvious reasons). I personally like doing worldbuilding and backstories to be honest so it right up my alley, ya know?

Plus if the exuse is there I'm totally gonna add some boobage and lewd moments here and there, lol.

 

[Mariobros88]

Can't stay away, eh?

Nah just needed to ask real quick and this is the only furry torum I know I'll get a good response with.

 

[JuniperW]

Oh man, I feel ya. I personally find slice-of-life to be really boring unless it has some fantastical elements (even then, it's unlikely that it'll hold my attention anyway, since there's usually a whole lot of nothing happening.) Earlier this year, I wanted to read some furry fiction, but was disappointed to find out most of it seems to be niche erotica that doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. I think I only found one or two works which could actually count as sci-fi.

Here's a furry book which counts as sci-fi, action and horror. It's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head which might appeal to you: GR2113 by Jack Hammer
There's a bit of NSFW in there, but it's not the main focus. Also, be warned, it's extremely gory.

 

[JuniperW]

One more thing! There's also a series called the Thurian Saga: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thurian-Sa...ian+saga&qid=1607470859&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

I haven't read it yet, but I'm aware it's space-opera themed furry fiction.

 

[Mariobros88]

Oh man, I feel ya. I personally find slice-of-life to be really boring unless it has some fantastical elements (even then, it's unlikely that it'll hold my attention anyway, since there's usually a whole lot of nothing happening.) Earlier this year, I wanted to read some furry fiction, but was disappointed to find out most of it seems to be niche erotica that doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. I think I only found one or two works which could actually count as sci-fi.

Here's a furry book which counts as sci-fi, action and horror. It's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head which might appeal to you: GR2113 by Jack Hammer
There's a bit of NSFW in there, but it's not the main focus. Also, be warned, it's extremely gory.

"extremely gory"

Man that's all you had to say! I'll definitely check that out. Love me some good gore

 

[Ziggy Schlacht]

I was mostly trying to figure out what the most direct opposite of common was.

 

[Mariobros88]

I was mostly trying to figure out what the most direct opposite of common was.

Getchi gotcha

 

[oappo]

Why is the such little content for Action, sci-fi and horror in the furry community in comparison to the amount of adult, slice of life, fantasy and comedy comics in the community?

Gotta echo Ziggy here - I'd say its merely a reflection of the popularity of those genres in general and action, sci-fi and horror are harder/require more work to do well

 

[Jaredthefox92]

I see more action in the Sonic fandom, where elements like sci-fi and fighting are natural to games and comics about well, science with Dr.Eggman and trying to stop him through boss battles. However, the "real" issue I see is a lot of furries simply cannot think outside their niches. It's the same on Deviantart, there's always that cheerful style, and most of them are not serious or action based. Also, you usually have an artist who just happens to be a furry and are into guns and technology, otherwise you're not going to find a lot. Oh, and a lot of furries I'll be honest, they simply cannot handle plots that are action based or based around having the bigger and more advanced weapon. There is a mental aspect to this question, in that some people simply cannot handle such themes mentally.

 

[Jaredthefox92]

Oh man, I feel ya. I personally find slice-of-life to be really boring unless it has some fantastical elements (even then, it's unlikely that it'll hold my attention anyway, since there's usually a whole lot of nothing happening.) Earlier this year, I wanted to read some furry fiction, but was disappointed to find out most of it seems to be niche erotica that doesn't appeal to me whatsoever. I think I only found one or two works which could actually count as sci-fi.

Here's a furry book which counts as sci-fi, action and horror. It's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head which might appeal to you: GR2113 by Jack Hammer
There's a bit of NSFW in there, but it's not the main focus. Also, be warned, it's extremely gory.

I personally count genetically altered super-characters as sci-fi, meaning a lot of heroes and villains I have that as their gimmicks. Sci-fi can be more interesting than just techno-babble. It isn't all lasers and cybernetics, a lot of it could be "hey, let's have Superman's powers explained like this, or this is how this character can do that."

My main villains, Grief and Scylla use lego genetics and magical sci-fi handwaves to turn giant size, which this is a genetic power they got from their mother, thus there's the aspect of sci-fi having to relate to the "mystical" element of a character, the crazy part. In a way, look at Fallout, a lot of it's shit is basically "magical" in a sense it really doesn't have a lot of basis in reality, but they try to explain it with speculative science. If you like fantasy, you may like speculative science.

It's how I explain Scylla being able to do this. Instead of "it's magic, I don't need to explain it!" I go with "well she can manipulate matter and increase her mass and decrease her mass by fortifying and defortifying her molecular structure while ingesting large quantiles of human junk food allowing her to have massive qualities of calories that she can then displace into her endocrine system via the use of brainwave signals translated from her amygdala. Oh and her mass buildup allows her to withstand kinetic rounds, but not energy rounds. Her clothes also being hit by her matter altering properties within nanometers of her body."

Scylla: That's smart-talk for "Scylla gets BIG!"

 

[Ziggy Schlacht]

Something else that comes up with action type - a lot of plots end up rather trite. Show up, shoot thing, leave, *guitar solo*. Or honestly, boring - they're fighting, oh hey, they're fighting more, oh hey, they're still fighting. I mean, that's kind of the running plot behind a lot of manga. Dragon Ball Z comes to mind, though I distinctly remember the parts where they weren't fighting far more clearly than the fights. But the mangas that do it well throw it in with a lot of story it's not just fight-fight-fight-fight.

The thing is - that story is rather difficult to communicate in a short series. There are a number of long comics, but those are rare compared to short ones. I see most comics at 10-20 pages, which doesn't let you give a lot of story room. So you end with just a fight. Which falls on "trite." It's not a mental capacity problem, it's people find just a fight "boring."

Come to think of it - there's a whole different, but very simple reason for action/horror not being as common. Action, to have it more than "just a fight" needs more than 10 pages. Horror definitely does - suspense is what makes things scary. You need build up. There's not a lot of build up possible in a short number of pages.

 

[Pomorek]

For a *very* personal perspective, the cutesy animal people don't fit well with very violent ot unsettling stories. As I was starting to mess around with art, I was fully expecting I'll be making dark pieces, maybe even some horror theme. Me, the (at that time) angsty and edgy fan of more extreme forms of metal... However, it never panned out like this. I found myself making these cute happy muzzles and peaceful scenes almost as if on autopilot. And as I greatly dislike forcing things in my art, I just let it develop that way... *shrugs* I also noticed the value of the seemingly boring slice-of-life things. For those who, like me, dream about being an anthro creature in an anthro world, slice-of-life provides much welcome "immersion". Which doesn't need to have any heroic themes to be enjoyable.

Now, with that said, I'm surprised you haven't found enough of the things that interest you, cause they certainly are out there. I keep running into mentions of various furry space opera themed stories, actually more often than fantasy. For example, I think Rick Griffin was making illustrations for such a book series, possibly wrote things himself. There have been some artists with rather unsettling imagery around as well, but can't tell any name off the top of my head. Also, the series which has started it all, "Albedo Anthropomorphics", is essentially a military sci-fi.

 

[ConorHyena]

Alright so, I just gotta ask something.

I used to be part of the fandom but left a while back, but I never thought to ask so I might as well now.

Why is the such little content for Action, sci-fi and horror in the furry community in comparison to the amount of adult, slice of life, fantasy and comedy comics in the community?

I just gotta ask

It's out there. I don't like the 'cute' approach either, and it be reflecting in the stories I write (I'm more in the action/noir/horror corner writing-wise) and the worlds I build.

There's content like this on FA and other furry sites as well, you just got to be looking for it.

 

[Frank Gulotta]

I would love to see more slasher stories in this community, you could even still have all the sexual content you want in it. In fact now that I think of it, this community is perfect for taking the slasher concept in all sorts of creative directions

 

[2deek]

Something else that comes up with action type - a lot of plots end up rather trite. Show up, shoot thing, leave, *guitar solo*. Or honestly, boring - they're fighting, oh hey, they're fighting more, oh hey, they're still fighting. I mean, that's kind of the running plot behind a lot of manga. Dragon Ball Z comes to mind, though I distinctly remember the parts where they weren't fighting far more clearly than the fights. But the mangas that do it well throw it in with a lot of story it's not just fight-fight-fight-fight.

The thing is - that story is rather difficult to communicate in a short series. There are a number of long comics, but those are rare compared to short ones. I see most comics at 10-20 pages, which doesn't let you give a lot of story room. So you end with just a fight. Which falls on "trite." It's not a mental capacity problem, it's people find just a fight "boring."

Come to think of it - there's a whole different, but very simple reason for action/horror not being as common. Action, to have it more than "just a fight" needs more than 10 pages. Horror definitely does - suspense is what makes things scary. You need build up. There's not a lot of build up possible in a short number of pages.

So the reason there isn't alot of action stories in the community is because people find it boring? That's still not much of an excuse though, you can make fight and action series intresting and story-driven. If anything that still makes it seem like writers and artist can't venture out of their niche and at least take a chance at writing action or horror or sci-fi. Also I think OP was implying about full on action/horror series and not just a 10-20 page one-off.

 

[Ziggy Schlacht]

So the reason there isn't alot of action stories in the community is because people find it boring? That's still not much of an excuse though, you can make fight and action series intresting and story-driven. If anything that still makes it seem like writers and artist can't venture out of their niche and at least take a chance at writing action or horror or sci-fi. Also I think OP was implying about full on action/horror series and not just a 10-20 page one-off.

In 10-20 page comic bite size chunks? Yes, the community tends to find them boring. You need to care about the characters first before you can care about action. Without that, you end up with a comic that means a ton to the writer and very little to everyone else. As such, they don't take hold.

And while you can complain that folks won't venture out of their niche, I don't see that as valid. It's unreasonable to expect people to change from something they are getting attention for and (I assume) enjoy doing.

Now, if you specifically mean comics long enough to establish a story with action, there aren't enough such comics to really argue that action/scifi/horror aren't represented. Those length comics are definitely in the minority. Now what does exist does also tend to fall into slice-of-life/porn, but that's for the same reasons that dominates in short comics too which I mentioned a few posts up - slice of life is relatable which makes it appealing. Porn, well, is porn. And you can easily combine the two.

 

[2deek]

In 10-20 page comic bite size chunks? Yes, the community tends to find them boring. You need to care about the characters first before you can care about action. Without that, you end up with a comic that means a ton to the writer and very little to everyone else. As such, they don't take hold.

And while you can complain that folks won't venture out of their niche, I don't see that as valid. It's unreasonable to expect people to change from something they are getting attention for and (I assume) enjoy doing.

Now, if you specifically mean comics long enough to establish a story with action, there aren't enough such comics to really argue that action/scifi/horror aren't represented. Those length comics are definitely in the minority. Now what does exist does also tend to fall into slice-of-life/porn, but that's for the same reasons that dominates in short comics too which I mentioned a few posts up - slice of life is relatable which makes it appealing. Porn, well, is porn. And you can easily combine the two.

I get what you mean, man. Although, when it comes to genre combination you can easily do the same with horror and action with other genres. Also I feel that the whole "It's unreasonable to expect people to change from something they are getting attention for" seems to be a forego of artistic imagination and ideas simply for clicks and views. I'd understand if it were for a job but if this was even then those with a sizable presence shouldn't stop someone from doing something that might be an interesting idea for a story.