Dammit!

I recently posted my 'finished' dystopian war story 'But First They Must Catch You'.  In my tale an orphan boy is shanghaied into the Enfantry, the Enhanced Footsoldier Program.  He was altered genetically, chemically and surgically to have a human body with rabbit attributes so that he could use weapons designed for men and possess the speed of a hare.  His assignment is reconnaissance.   The other members of the unit have undergone similar transformation in order to capitalize of the desirable attributes of the animal selected, strength and ferocity emphasized.  The unit is wiped out in an ambush that was carried out by our government as the program was proving an embarrassment.  2 soldiers survived, the rabbit and a panda sergeant.  They were pensioned off and made into heroes after the press got hold of the story.  The government is going to get rid of them at the first convenient opportunity.  The tale is mainly about alienation, although I ended it with a comic book style gunfight that snuffs out both of my protagonists.  I wanted to tell a furry themed story that made sense, there has to be a scientific explanation for such an unnatural device as talking animals.  Whatever it's literary faults, and there are many, I thought it original.  Now I find out that this has been done, sorta, and I'm really disappointed.  One of the books is 'The Constant Rabbit' by Jasper Fforde, anthro rabbits have grown into a million plus members of British society and are facing prejudice and hatred.  The other is the outstanding 3 part comic 'We3', written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Frank Quitely.  In it a dog, a cat, and a bunny have been stolen from their owners and hardwired into combat suits.  After a few assassinations the team is selected for destruction.  One of the scientists frees them, and they slaughter the soldiers sent after them.  It is very sad and very well written, the art is tremendous.  Both of these are close to what I wrote, and boy oh boy am I aggravated by finding out I was scooped.  I bet the editors over at Dark Horse were laughing their collective ass off that I submitted such a story to them.  I mean, golly.  One of my many inspirations was 'Fahrenheit 451', where the fascist suppression of books is carried out against the backdrop of a looming thermonuclear war.  I postulated a brutal society of corrupt politicians and a hedonistic population conditioned to hate the beast men, they are a useful tool for the government to focus anger on something other than their own crimes.  Naturally, such a scenario is complete fiction.  Oops.  I seem to have entitled the story 'Let Us Cross Over The River And Rest Under The Shade Of The Trees', the last words of Stonewall Jackson after he was shot by his own men.  If this rings a bell it's cause Hemingway wrote one of his better books entitled 'Across The River And Into The Trees'.  Not, of course, that I admire Hemingway and would copy him, Heaven forfend!

https://misterscribbles.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-book-of-betrayal.html

 

So, I would never use someone else's concept.  My story, good or bad, is all mine.  But in all fairness I must mention that these other books are out there.  I need to read Constant Rabbit, and you guys need to read We3.  Here it is to be had-

 

http://readallcomics.com/we3-01-of-03-2004/ 

 

Header picture of Tinker the cat by Frank Quitely, from We3 - Vertigo Comics, 2004.  Grant Morrison, writer.  Here, kitty kitty kitty!

Talking animals indeed.

Phooey.