Joe Strike

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Joe Strike, also known as Komos (born April 22nd 1950), is a writer and artist who is a longtime participant in furry fandom. He grew up in Brooklyn and remains a resident of New York, USA.

Fandom involvement[edit]

Like many furs, Joe had a lifelong interest in anthropomorphic animals, primarily cultivated by exposure to Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, Disney animation and the "funny animal" comic books he read in his parents' Brooklyn NY candy store. He discovered furry fandom in 1988, not long after the fandom's birth when he received an unsolicited invitation to a "furry party" being held at Philadelphia's Philcon science fiction convention.

Joe is a former contributor to Rowrbrazzle, and his anthropomorphic art continues to appear on websites including Fur Affinity. As a freelance writer, he has reported on animated TV shows and movies for the New York Daily News and the entertainment industry website Animation World Network.

"Furry Nation" and "Furry Planet"[edit]

Joe is the author of Furry Nation, The true story of America's most misunderstood sub-culture, a non-fiction book tracing the birth and growth of furry fandom and its relationship to the various forms of anthropomorphic representation that have been part of civilization throughout human history.

In March 2015 he secured a literary agent to seek a publisher for the book; in June 2016 he signed a contract with Cleis Press, which published the book in October 2017.

Furry Nation received praise from Uncle Kage and Boozy Barrister, among others. Joe gave several interviews to promote the book, such as in the December 2017 issue (#63) of Britain's Huck magazine. Furry Nation won Best Non-Fiction at the 2017 Ursa Major Awards.[1]

In 2022 Joe finished writing a sequel, Furry Planet: A World Gone Wild, which saw print in August 2023.

The Incredible Hare[edit]

Joe has completed a children's novel, 'The Incredible Hare'. His 2013 Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to self-publish was unsuccessful, but he is seeking a literary agent to present his book to mainstream publishers.

The Incredible Hare was originally conceived of as a children's TV series in the mold of Sid and Marty Krofft's various TV shows. Unable to interest TV networks or production companies in the project, Joe decided to write the character's origin story as a children's novel targeted to kids in the 8-to-12 age range. The novel tells the story of shy teenaged lab assistant Harold Hopper. The victim of an unauthorized lab experiment gone wrong, Harold is now subject to unpredictable and unwanted transformations into "Harry," an anthropomorphic, human-sized rabbit - an irrepressible trickster and mischief-maker. Thanks to his live-on-TV rescue of Harold's boss Professor Burnside from a hazardous bungee jump on the reality series America's Most Dangerous Amateur Stunts, Harry quickly becomes a world-wide celebrity.

Thanks to his rescue, the self-important Burnside now sees himself as Harry's 'confidant and partner in adventure,' a role already taken by Harold's adventurous kid sister Cindy. Meanwhile, Nicky Nesbitt, Stunt's venal host, sets out to exploit Harry's fame - but Harry has other ideas...

Inspiration[edit]

Joe describes The Incredible Hare as "The Nutty Professor meets Bugs Bunny by way of The Incredible Hulk." While those three fictional characters are the basis of the book's premise, the inspiration for the concept originated with an advertising poster for Rabbit Test, a 1978 movie starring Billy Crystal. The poster's rabbit-themed parodies of then-contemporary movies sparked the idea of a similar parody of The Incredible Hulk TV series.

"Komos"[edit]

Originally uninterested in fursuiting, Joe grew intrigued with the possibility of commissioning a suit of his anthropomorphic komodo dragon character "Komos", who debuted in drawings from 2008. Eventually, in early 2016, he commissioned fursuit builder Artslave to construct the suit, which he first wore to the Anthrocon convention in June/July of that year.

Joe in fursuit as Komos appeared on the cover of Huck magazine #63, published in December 2017.

Komos is the co-star of Komos & Goldie, an superhero comic co-created and written by Joe and British fur Oliver Coombes, and drawn by Karno and others. Komos is a sinister and superpowered anthropomorphic Komodo dragon who undertakes various missions on behalf of his mistress Circe. The legendary enchantress transformed him from his previous human form and gave him the power to shapeshift and temporarily transform others into animals.

It can be read online, and printed copies have been distributed at conventions Joe attends, such as Anthrocon 2017 and Midwest FurFest 2022.

References[edit]

  1. 2017 Ursa Major Award winners announced at FurDU 2018 - dronon, Flayrah (5 May 2018)

External links[edit]

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