n
the attribution of human form or behaviour to a deity, animal, etc.
anthropomorphist n
I grew up watching Warner Bros cartoons – the original Looney tunes and Merrie Melodies, those cartoons today that are looked upon as being bit morally questionable (there are also the downright racist ones but this is not the post for those).
My favourite anthro character is Daffy Duck, I was (and still am) a fan of Bugs Bunny, but it is Daffy, the forever thwarted and frustrated runner up, that holds my loyalty!
There are also the Gummi Bears
and Ducktales
(never a Donald Duck fan – Uncle Scrooge is my second favourite Duck).
I can still sing the theme songs for the Gummi Bears and DuckTales! No I am not ashamed, if I ever have children I will watch the ‘toons with them – and I will still enjoy them!
Maus by Art Spiegelman portrays Jews as mice, Germans are cats, Americans are dogs and the Polish are pigs.
Blacksad, a French graphic novel series written by Spanish authors Juan Díaz Canales (writer) and Juanjo Guarnido (artist) has a black cat (John Blacksad) as protagonist. The second story in the Blacksad series Arctic Nation deals explicitly with racism and inter-racial violence. The antagonists are an organisation called the Arctic Nation made up of white animals – polar bear, white fox etc.
Usagi Yojimbo is a comic series about a Rabbit samurai set in Edo period Japan – very cool! Based loosely on the exploits of Miyamoto Musashi (look him up he is hardcore!)
Grandville, by Bryan Talbot, tells the story of badger Detective Inspector Archie LeBrock in a post-independent Socialist Republic of Britain. Humans exist in this world – “a hairless breed of Chimpanzee that evolved in the town of Angouleme“ but do not have equal rights and are known as dough-faces by the French.
