Frederick Walter Patten (December 11, 1940 – November 12, 2018) was an American writer and historian known for his work in the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

, and

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...

s, where he gained great distinction through a substantial contribution to both print and online books, magazines, and other media.

Background

Patten was born in Los Angeles on December 11, 1940 to Shirley Marie (Jones) Patten and Beverly Walter Patten. He had two younger sisters: Loel Anne Patten (born 1943) and Sherrill Clare Patten (born 1947). He learned to read at a young age, starting with comic strips in both the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

and Examiner, and later was introduced to ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'' around 1945. Much of his early reading also came from magazines and books, and he showed an interest in superhero

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

as well. Science fiction became a key interest around age 9, and Patten began to collect books from

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scien ...

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains p ...

, and other publishers, as well as major science fiction magazines including

Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

F&SF ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiva ...

, and

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...

. In the late 1950s, he became involved in science-fiction fandom. Patten entered the

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

in 1958, and its graduate School of Library Science in 1962. He became active in

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

after discovering the

Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be found on thLASFS website LASFS is the oldest continuously operating scienc ...

in 1960. By the time he graduated with a master's degree in

Library Science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...

in 1963, Patten had been writing for

science fiction fanzine A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" wa ...

s and publishing his own stories for three years. His Master's thesis was on the books of

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...

Work in anime, fantasy, and science fiction fandoms

In 1972, Patten partnered with Richard Kyle to create Graphic Story Bookshop in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. In an interview posted on the (now defunct) website of '' Pulp'', Patten said he had discovered manga at

Westercon Westercon (occasionally WesterCon; long version West Coast Science Fantasy Conference) is a regional science fiction and fantasy convention founded in September 1948 by Walter J. Daugherty of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. The original ...

, one of the largest science fiction conventions on the West Coast, in 1970. At the time, he had been aware of television shows like ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

,'' but had no idea then that they were Japanese. Through his bookshop, Patten wrote to Japanese publishers, asking to import their manga, achieving some success and in the process becoming a pioneer in the anime and manga fandom. He was one of the founders of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization, the first American anime fan club, in 1977. During this time, Patten worked in numerous library positions, notably that of technical catalogue librarian at

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other ...

's Company Technical Document Center (CTDC), in El Segundo, Calif., from 1969 to 1990. After leaving that position, he served from 1991 to 2002 as the first employee of Streamline Pictures, one of America's pioneering anime specialty production companies, founded by

Carl Macek Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter, script editor, producer and voice actor on numerous English language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s. His work is considered by many to hav ...

and

Jerry Beck Jerry Beck (born February 9, 1955, in New York City) is an American animation historian, author, blogger, and video producer. Beck wrote or edited several books on classic American animation and classic characters, including '' The 50 Greates ...

in 1988. He has been a presenter at major conventions and guest lecturer at universities in the U.S. and Australia. Patten wrote numerous monthly columns and individual articles for

Animation World Magazine Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

, Newtype U.S.A., the

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

, and other magazines, including serving as the Official Editor for the Rowrbrazzle

Amateur Press Association An amateur press association (APA) is a group of people who produce individual pages or zines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. History The first APAs were formed by groups of amateur pr ...

, until March 2005, when he suffered a stroke. No longer able to keep his collection, which had grown over more than 40 years, Patten donated everything – almost 900 boxes (~220,000 items) of comic books, records, tapes, anime, manga, programs from science-fiction conventions dating back to the 1930s, convention T-shirts, paperbacks, and an array of sci-fi fanzines back to the 1930s – to the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban dist ...

, which houses the world's largest collection of science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Death

Patten died on the morning of November 12, 2018, at the age of 77.

Bibliography

; As author * ''Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews'' (2004) * ''Funny Animals and More: From Anime to Zoomorphics'' * ''Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015'' (McFarland, 2017) ; As editor * ''Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction'' * ''Already Among Us; An Anthropomorphic Anthology'' * ''The Ursa Major Awards Anthology; A Tenth Anniversary Celebration'' * ''What Happens Next; An Anthology of Sequels'' * ''Five Fortunes'' * ''Anthropomorphic Aliens; An Interstellar Anthology'' * ''The Furry Future: 19 Possible Prognostications'' * ''An Anthropomorphic Century: Stories from 1909 to 2008'' * "Cats and More Cats: Feline Fantasy Fiction" * "Gods with Fur: And Feathers, Scales, ..." * "Dogs of War" * "Symbol of a Nation" * "Dogs of War II: Aftermath" * "What the Fox?!" * "Exploring New Places" ; As contributor * ''Animation Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the History of Cartoon, Anime & CGI'', edited by Jerry Beck. * ''The Animated Movie Guide: The Ultimate Illustrated Reference to Cartoon, Stop-Motion, and Computer-Generated Feature Films'', edited by Jerry Beck.

Comic books

Stories by Fred Patten have appeared in comics including ''Mangazine'', ''The Ever-Changing Palace'', '' Albedo Anthropomorphics'', and ''

Furrlough ''Furrlough'' is a furry comic book originally published by Antarctic Press and continued by Radio Comix. It is edited by Elin Winkler and is nicknamed (dubbed) "Your Funny Animal Anthology". First published in 1991, ''Furrlough'' originally feat ...

'' (which included the series "Theriopangrams," in 36 issues between 1997 and 2003). Patten adapted into English volumes 2–7 of ''The Skull Man'' by

Kazuhiko Shimamoto is a Japanese manga artist. He attended college at the Osaka University of Arts in the fine arts department. While in college in February 1982, he debuted in the spring special issue of Shōnen Sunday with Hissatsu no Tenkōsei. At this point h ...

; created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

Filmography

Anime staff

:'' Tekkaman: The Space Knight'', (1984, TV) – Writer/adapter :''

Robot Carnival is a Japanese anthology original video animation (OVA) and anime film released in 1987. The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has ...

'' (1991) – Publicity :''

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 ' ...

'' (1991) – Publicity :''Vampire Hunter D'' (1992) – Marketing and Promotion :''

The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...

'' (1992) – Translation :''Nadia'' (1992–1993, TV) – Story Editor :''Neo-Tokyo 2099'' (1993, featurette) – Unit Publicist :''

Silent Mobius Silent may mean any of the following: People with the name * Silent George, George Stone (outfielder) (1876–1945), American Major League Baseball outfielder and batting champion * Brandon Silent (born 1973), South African former footballer * C ...

'' (1993, featurette) – Unit Publicist :'' Golgo 13: The Professional''(1993, featurette) – Unit Publicist :''Wicked City'' (1993) – Unit Publicist :''Lupin III: Tales of the Wolf'' (1993–1994, TV) – Story Editor :''

Crying Freeman is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. ''Crying Freeman'' follows a Japanese assassin hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia (called the "108 Dragons") to serve as its agent and covered in ...

'' (1993–1995, featurette) – Publicity :'' Doomed Megalopolis'' (1993–1994, featurettes – Story Editor :''Dirty Pair: Project Eden'' (1994) – Story Editor :''Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy'' (1994) – Story Editor :''8 Man After'' (1994, featurettes) – Script Editor :''Lily-C.A.T.'' (1994) – Publicity :''

8 Man or or is a manga and superhero anime created in 1963 by science fiction writer Kazumasa Hirai and manga artist Jiro Kuwata. 8 Man is considered Japan's earliest cyborg superhero, pre-dating ''Kamen Rider.'' The manga was published ...

'' (1995, live-action) – Script Editor :''Lupin III: The Mystery of Mamo'' (1995) – Story Editor :''Crimson Wolf'' (1995) – Story Editor :''Babel II'' (1995, featurette) – Story Editor :'' Casshan, Robot Hunter'' (1995, featurettes) – Story Editor :''Barefoot Gen'' (feature, 1995) – Story Editor :'' Megazone 23, Part 1'' (1995) – Story Editor

Accolades

* Evans-Freehafer Award, 1965 – presented annually by the

, Inc., for service to the Society. * Sampo Award, 1971 – presented annually at the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (

) for "unsung" services to s-f fandom *

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

, 1980 – presented annually at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

in various categories; "For Outstanding Achievement in Fandom Services/Projects". * Ursa Major Awards, 2003 ("The Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Awards") – presented annually at an anthropomorphic convention in various categories; to Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction, edited by Fred Patten (Sofawolf Press, July 2003); for "Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work of 2003". * Life Achievement Award,

64th World Science Fiction Convention The 64th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as L.A.con IV, was held on 23–27 August 2006 at the Anaheim Convention Center and the nearby Hilton and Marriott hotels in Anaheim, California, United States. The organizing com ...

(LA Con IV; 2006) – awarded in recognition of a lifetime of service to the fandom. * Forry Award, 2009 – presented annually at the Los Angeles Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (LosCon) "for lifetime achievement in the field of science fiction". * Furry Hall of Fame, 2012 – inducted annually at the MiDFur convention in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...

, for a lifetime of service to the Furry fandom.

References

External links

Fred Patten News Page
* * *
Fred Patten's book reviews
at ''

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Specifically, AWN co ...

''
Fred Patten's stories and reviews
at ''Flayrah''
Fred Patten's stories and reviews
at ''Dogpatch Press''
Fred Patten's "Funny Animals and More" column at Cartoon Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patten, Fred Science fiction fans Historians of animation Furry fandom people 1940 births 2018 deaths American male writers Anime and manga critics Inkpot Award winners Writers from Los Angeles University of California, Los Angeles alumni