Greetings, folks! After about a decade or so, I've decided on creating a blog about FANGARIUS in general. Created back in 1977, Fanger's undergone more changes and transformations, from starting as a reluctant sidekick, into a Paranormal Time Lord.
Along the way, you'll also meet some characters I've done before Fanger, as well as some odd spinoffs. But before I welcome you to this blog, I'd thought it best to answer some questions for you, so I don't constantly end up answering the same inquiries.
I've noticed you have three blogs about Fanger, what gives?
Although all three blogs are Fangarian in nature, I'll clarify the distinctions among the three:
The World of Fangarius - The Blog you're in now. Here you'll learn about where Fanger originally came from as well as his separate Incarnations, and how he end up being an extension from Doctor Who. Not to mention also meeting some other characters I've created along the way.
Fanger's Follies - Originally the first Fangarian Blog I did, where Fanger usually spoke about stuff, but the problem here was two things: (1) It wasn't getting enough hits, and (2) I discovered the posts were a bit too controversial. Therefore, it has now regenerated into a place where you can read Tales about FANGARIUS. I'll try keeping it updated a little bit better than my other fiction attempts.
Fanger's Twilight Tales - Inspired by my own attempt: #TwilightZoneThursdays, this Blog focuses on the strange and unexpected, and unlike the other two blogs, interactive, where I hope readers will contribute their tales as well, fact or fictional. A nice place for fans of the Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, the Outer Limits and other anthological tales as well.
Why does Twilight Tales have a Mature Warning while the others don't?
Unlike the other two, Fanger's Twilight Tales will be interactive, and as I've learned with most interactive blogs, though the authors may use discretion, some participants may not. Rather than receive flak from parents, or other readers, I sagely use the warning as a precautionary measure. That way, no one can claim they weren't warned. However, I would like to add the warning DOESN'T mean you can submit crude and vulgar stuff for the sheer pleasure of it.
Instead this warning allows participants in freely expressing their tales without fear of having to censor themselves in the process.
I've noticed the World of FANGARIUS and your MySpace Blogs on Fanger's Origins differ quite a bit. Why is that?
Rather than give you a lengthy explanation, here are the two critical reasons: (1) Failing memory; and (2) keeping Fanger's rights of ownership.
When Ashton Kutcher invited me on obtaining a MySpace account, my true intention was sharing more info about Fanger with other members. However, that was back in 2006, and the true origins I had was written in a folder I had. Unfortunately I started penning Fanger's memoirs about 1997 (his 20th Anniversary) and due to unexpected events, I ended up shelving the folder in a closet for several years.
Thus, I was going with what I vividly recalled with Fanger's Past and just published what came to mind about my character. Currently as I was going through some stuff, I had relocated Fanger's memoirs. Luckily most of it was intact, since where it was stored had suffered some water damage. Rather than go back and tediously re-edit the MySpace Blogs, I've decided on simply putting the revised information here in this blog.
As for the second, one the problems with the Internet is not only Identity Theft, but artist theft as well. Because of this, you have to always copyright your work. Otherwise you get some schmucks with limited talent ripping your work off and getting away with it for the most part. And as we know MySpace, Facebook and DeviantART have been prone victims of this practice.
Regrettably, I was also victim of it in MySpace, thus I've been somewhat protective of my character and other properties. So usually when I started telling people a bit about Fanger, I purposely left some things out, preventing others from prefabricating similar tales. Here in this blog, I'll be able to freely discuss my characters in-depth, hopefully without others deciding on 'borrowing' them without my permission.
Which leads to the next question..
Fangdarius? Who the HECK is Fangdarius?
About March 2007, a person known as Henry Gail, decided on lifting some of my images from DeviantART, opening an account on MySpace and then have the audacity claiming I 'stole' his work. However if you ever come across his page you'll notice some oddities about him.
(1) Apparently he's lifted stats from my friend, Ashton Kutcher; (2) He claims he created his character back in 1985, however, mine predates back to 1977; (3) And he only has laughingly made three or four pics of his so-called character, without providing any real background story to them. They've also been Photoshopped from my pics you can find at http://fangarius.deviantart.com. Which; (4) They're simply altered versions of FANGARIUS with a Jewish motif. And; (5) He hasn't drawn or composed anything since 2007, even though he also has a DeviantART account as well.
Regrettably when I had first confronted him, he made erroneous claims of 'registering' his character at some bogus government site (remember, folks, just because a site has '.gov' at the end, doesn't mean its officially endorsed by the US Government). Then kept insisting I was the thief rather than him, even claiming he was 'inspired by God.'
But what Mr. Gail doesn't know is, I've got his number and discovered he, too, was a prefabrication as well. After having his account traced, I discovered his real place of origin. Meaning he was put up by a former employee I used to work with as a sick, demented joke. The truth is, I'm not Anti-Semetic, nor Anti-Jew, as Gail keeps on insisting to his friends, but I am Anti-Theft.
How did you know Fangdarius/Henry Gail was fake?
Not too hard. Essentially, Mr. Gail's not quite as anonymous as he likes one to believe. When a so-called 'concerned' friend started informing me about Mr. Gail's activities, 'Fangdarius' started mirroring them exactly.
But the real factor was DeviantART. You see, when I started confronting him about it, he claimed he'd never been to the site. However, when the DA Mods helped conjure up an intricate tale for me to post, he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Roughly translated, he started posting about the post, post haste, so to speak. The reason it trapped him was this: whenever you flush out a poser, you usually set up a scenario like a parent or guardian sending you an apology for the poser's behaviour. As a result, the poser usually claims one of two deceptions: (1) The parent/guardian is deceased; or (2) The parent/guardian doesn't speak the language, nor has a computer, nor ever has had used a computer, or doesn't have an account.
Naturally, Mr. Gail selected the 'deceased parent' excuse. Thus, causing his tales to fall apart, the other problem is he does have a DA Account, but you'll notice, he hasn't submitted anything in there. Mainly because, many of my DA Fans are aware of my work, and every time he attempts posting something, it gets reported and deleted from the account. Also, he hasn't really done anything with the account since he opened it.
Truth is, overall, he doesn't really say anything about his characters, and seems more intent on just trying to razz me.
Fortunately, I've done what most do with 'posers' like this: I've blocked him. Primarily on the fact he's not real and I'm not going to waste my time on him. If you ever encounter him, don't worry about it, nor give in to his deception. If he presses on that FANGARIUS' knock off of his character, simply ask him about his character's origins and background, and you'll probably receive some one-line comment rather anything coherent.
In short, just ignore him. After all, many of my friends, including Jeff Smith of Bone, will tell you Fanger's the real deal.
Why is it you have more images of your recent works, but almost nothing of your earlier stuff?
Ironically, unlike most budding artists, I was really modestly shy about my earlier works. Essentially I learned right away, when you usually get noticed, you sometimes get a swelled head. Or worse, you end up dealing with critics who won't hesitate knocking off your pedistal. So for the most part, I rarely kept my early published works, and usually most records of the past publications, they've been lost due to unforeseen circumstances. However I did manage finding some scraps of early versions of characters and redrew them back in 1997. And you have to remember, I came from an era before AutoSave, DeviantART and the Internet.
Also how come you don't have any of the publications you list in your posts like Orange You Nuts?, The New Caney Comic Times and the Fifth Grade Express?
Originally when I started composing FANGARIUS' Memoirs, I had immediately started conducting some research for retreiving some clippings or records. Unfortunately, I discovered during the Seventies, due to ecological and financial reasons, after so many years these places didn't keep these publications recorded. Mainly because they were never considered to be 'official' publications (i.e. newsworthy materials), as well as some never imagined the necessity of storing these publications for posterity.
However, some of my friends did keep early sketches of characters, but since they were on rice paper and badly faded, I promptly went and reillustrated them as they were originally drawn back in 1984.
Truth is, these publications did exist in some form or fashion, and I did different characters before Fanger came into existence.
Anyway, I hope this answered most of your questions. Enjoy the World of Fangarius, and I also hope you'll visit Fanger's Follies as well as Twilight Tales.
Fangarius
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