What is God Animal?

In an alternate post-apocalyptic 2003, two foxy friends, Cat and Dog, are on the run from a mysterious but extremely destructive presence known as the Monarch Swarm, with beings of all varieties erased in its wake. It is then that on one fateful day, when seemingly all hope of survival has been extinguished for Cat and Dog, the duo encounter a peculiar but friendly deity-like being in the crumbling remains of an old human dwelling...Rebirth Horse. Can Cat, Dog and their newfound mysterious but kind companion survive against all odds and find a place to exist and thrive peacefully, as the Swarm devours what remains of a dying and eerily silent world?

God Animal is a very personal labour-of-love project of mine, written and drawn by a queer autistic bugfox critter who is in a very frequent state of wanting only to sit amongst dense leaf litter in the deep reaches of a forest and think about foxes, bugs and little else. The comic draws heavily from my deep adoration for and fascination with natural history, entomology, foxes (and canids in general), symbiosis of all types, xenofiction, pet-monster media and vintage horror manga from the 1960s-1970s. It is likewise a product of my own reflections and experiences of existing, with themes such as dealing with trauma, the pursuit of finding a meaningful belonging, identity, seeing the world from non-human perspectives and the importance of continued survival and resilience, especially during the most bleak of hardships.

Sound good? Click here to start from the beginning!

The webcomic site template used for God Animal is known as Rarebit, created by geno7 with assistance from Dannarchy. Take a look here if you are interested in using it for your own self-hosted comics!

Questions and maybe some answers!

Who makes this comic?

God Animal is written and drawn by me, a queer autistic buggy-foxy critter who goes by the pen name SupermarketCordyceps, sometimes abbreviated simply as SC or Super. I have an about page on the main section of FoxBugForest, read that if you want to!

What do you use to draw the comic?

The comic is drawn traditionally with ink on paper. I use India ink (Winsor & Newton brand black India ink is my go-to) with dip pens and brushes. In terms of specific dip pen nibs, I often use Zebra and Gillott brand nibs, namely G and Maru/mapping nibs for the former and 303 nibs for the latter. As for brushes, I use very fine-tipped brushes, often sized 00-0000. The comic pages themselves are drawn on heavier cartridge paper (to be more precise, I use cartridge paper with a minimum weight of 180-200 g/m²), specifically on individual A4 sheets. I usually sketch the pages with softer grade graphite pencils (B and 2B grade pencils are my go-to).

Does this comic follow an upload schedule?

Not currently, no. Episodes of the comic will be uploaded in their entirety as and when they are completed. I'd much rather post new episodes in one batch rather than the more typical webcomic format of page by page, though this may change in future. Due to life, work and health commitments on my end, I cannot usually give a very specific ETA of episodes being produced and uploaded. When it is time to do so, I am intending to post announcements of imminently upcoming updates to God Animal on the main homepage of FoxBugForest!

Why do you refer to instalments of the story as "episodes" and not "chapters"?

Aside from the fact that a number of webcomic artists will also use the term episodes instead of chapters (sometimes depending on the format, albeit), on a more personal note it also pertains somewhat to the aspiration I had back in the day of making an animated webseries. As a younger bugfox, I was an aspiring animator and often experimented with making short cartoons using Adobe Flash, as well as traditional pencil and paper animation and claymation techniques. However, I later realised that I had neither the patience, resilience or indeed the resources to produce an animated series in the longer term.

In other words, even if it is not animated, I do nonetheless like framing the instalments of God Animal as episodes in some capacity! You can refer to the instalments as chapters though, I'm really not concerned at all.

Can I draw any of the characters?

Yes, of course! Whilst I am happy for others to draw my characters, if you do so, I ask that you adhere to the following:

• Do not draw anything NSFW or suggestive with any of the characters from God Animal; I feel this should really go without saying (I mean that), but to avoid any chance of ambiguity: please do not do that at all, I'm being completely serious about this.
• Please do not draw any of the characters in humanised or gijinka forms. I really don't enjoy humanised or gijinka forms of characters that are unambiguously non-human as a personal preference (I'm a critter myself, after all!), so please avoid that if you draw them. If you want to draw any of the characters in anthro-furry forms however, that on the other hand is fine. As per the above, please do not draw anything suggestive or sexual.
• Lastly, I also ask that you please avoid shipping any of the characters. Many of the characters in the comic are aromantic in some capacity, including both Cat, Dog and Rebirth Horse. I'm ace-aro myself and would feel very uncomfortable with that.

If you do draw any art of the cast, do feel free to let me know through my Tumblr or my SheezyArt page, I'd love to see it!

Do you ever host guest comics/guest pages?

No.