Fred Patten Mark Merlino Steve Gallacci Stan Sakai Carl Barks Walt Kelly Osamu Tezuka Beatrix Potter Chuck Jones Richard Adams Jeff Smith Brian Jacques
Fandom historian and writer Early furry fandom organizer Furry comics pioneer Creator of Usagi Yojimbo The Good Duck Artist Creator of the Pogo strip The God of Manga Author of Peter Rabbit Legendary cartoon director Novelist of Watership Down Creator of the Bone comics Author of the Redwall series
Fred Patten (1940-2018) was a Los Angeles librarian, writer and the great chronicler of furry fandom.
In 1977 he helped found the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization, a pioneering American anime fan club.
He edited the funny-animal zine Rowrbrazzle for years and wrote Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015.
Fun fact: he gave his huge collection of comics and fanzines to UC Riverside's Eaton Collection.
Mark Merlino (1952-2024) was one of the founding organizers of furry fandom in Southern California.
In 1977 he helped form the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization, an early American cartoon and anime fan club.
With Rod O'Riley he threw furry parties at sci-fi conventions, which led to ConFurence Zero.
Fun fact: ConFurence Zero, widely called the first furry convention, was held in Costa Mesa in January 1989.
Steve Gallacci is an American cartoonist who launched the comic anthology Albedo Anthropomorphics in 1983.
Its lead feature, Erma Felna: EDF, is a military science-fiction story starring a feline officer.
Albedo is credited with helping start the furry comics genre, and it ran until 2005.
Fun fact: Albedo carried the first appearance of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo in 1984.
Stan Sakai created Usagi Yojimbo, the saga of a rabbit ronin in early-1600s Japan.
Usagi debuted in 1984 in Albedo Anthropomorphics #2, a landmark funny-animal comics anthology.
Sakai is also an award-winning letterer, known for his work on Groo the Wanderer.
Fun fact: Usagi has crossed paths with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Carl Barks (1901-2000) wrote and drew Donald Duck comics, giving talking ducks real adventure and humor.
His comic book career began with Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold in 1942.
He introduced Scrooge McDuck in 1947, plus the Beagle Boys and Gyro Gearloose, and built Duckburg.
Fun fact: fans called him the Good Duck Artist before they knew his name.
Walt Kelly (1913-1973) created Pogo, a witty comic strip starring animals in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp.
He worked as an animator at Walt Disney on films like Pinocchio and Fantasia before turning to comics.
Pogo became a daily newspaper strip in 1948, and Kelly later served as president of the National Cartoonists Society.
Fun fact: Pogo's swamp pals include Albert the Alligator, Howland Owl and Churchy La Femme the turtle.
Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) was a Japanese cartoonist nicknamed the God of Manga.
His animal epic Jungle Emperor began as a manga in 1950 and became known as Kimba the White Lion.
Its 1965 TV version is called Japan's first color animated TV series, starring a cast of talking animals.
Fun fact: he also created Astro Boy and founded the animation studio Mushi Production.
Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) wrote and illustrated Peter Rabbit, with clothed, talking animals in lifelike settings.
She printed it herself in 1901, and Frederick Warne published it in 1902.
In 1903 she patented a Peter Rabbit toy, an early example of a licensed character.
Fun fact: she left over 4,000 acres to the National Trust to protect the Lake District.
Chuck Jones (1912-2002) directed Warner Bros. cartoons starring some of animation's funniest animal characters.
He created Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, Pepé Le Pew and Marvin the Martian.
His 1957 short What's Opera, Doc? was later chosen for the National Film Registry.
Fun fact: he received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996.
Richard Adams wrote Watership Down, a 1972 animal fantasy novel about rabbits searching for a new home.
Seven rejections came first, then Rex Collings, a small publisher, accepted it.
It won the Carnegie Medal in 1972 and inspired an animated film in 1978.
Fun fact: Adams first told the story to his daughters on long car journeys.
Jeff Smith created Bone, a funny fantasy adventure starring cartoon cousins and many odd creatures.
He self-published it through Cartoon Books for 55 issues, from 1991 to 2004.
Scholastic's Graphix imprint began releasing full-color editions in 2005.
Fun fact: Out from Boneville, the first Bone volume, kicked off the new Graphix line.
Brian Jacques (1939-2011) was an English author from Liverpool who created the Redwall animal adventures.
The first Redwall novel was published in 1986, set in an abbey home to brave woodland animals.
The stories grew from tales he told to pupils at the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind.
Fun fact: he also hosted a BBC Radio Merseyside show for twenty years.