Vootie

Zine
Title:	Vootie
Publisher:	Reed Waller and Ken Fletcher
Editor(s):
Type:	apazine
Date(s):	1976-1984
Frequency:
Medium:	print
Size:
Fandom:	Furry Fandom
Language:	English
External Links:
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cover of first issue

Vootie is a furry apazine. There are thirty-seven issues. Vootie's cessation led directly to the founding of the Rowrbrazzle furry APA one year later. The transition between "Vootie" and "Rowrbrazzle" is traditionally considered to be when "funny animal" fandom became furry fandom. A video titled "Furries|Down the Rabbit Hole" credited Vootie as being one of the very first- if not the first- amateur press association zines to exclusively accept "funny animal" comics. The initial proposal for the apa stated that mainstream comics were too serious, and that they intended to make an all funny animal comic that embraced silliness. It stated: "If you're like us, you owe Funny Animals quite a lot for the part they probably played in your development as an artist."

Two of the most important founding members of furry fandom are Reed Waller and Ken Fletcher. Together they laid the groundwork for later events. Their innovation was Vootie, a kind of small press co-op called an apa. Vootie was initially a “funny animal” apa because there existed no shorthand for “not an apa for superhero comics”. It was principally a collecting point for artists whose interests were not only funny animals, but also undergrounds, classics, animation and foreign comics. One way or the other, the greater number of contributions were anthropomorphic. But the content was counter-culture. The apa lasted only 37 mailings, the first mailing in 1976 and the last in 1984. In the end, conflicting demands for Reed Waller’s time led to longer and longer delays between mailings, until it was acknowledged dead by default.

External Links

• Confurence archive scans of issues of Vootie
• Scan of 1979 recrutment flyer Page 1