Tagged: Cartoon

M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series Arrives in August

  • News
  • June 20, 2011

One of the earliest comics series I inherited as an editor was M.A.S.K., based on the toys and cartoon series. I have no recollection how or why DC Comics acquired the comics rights but it was handed to Mike Gold shortly after he arrived on staff. He tapped the versatile Mike Fleisher as the writer, helping burn off contractual obligations. Better, he assigned the artwork to Curt Swan who needed something regular to produce after losing the Superman assignments. Inking was Kurt Schaffenberger so at least it looked good. I helped Mike get the series up and running then edited it a few issues before I handed it off to Mike Carlin to wrap up.

I never played with the toys or watched the cartoon, but thanks to Shout! Factory that can be rectified as seen in the following press release:

This Summer, loyal fans and collectors can finally bring home one of the most enduring animated adventures from the 80’s when the long-awaited M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series DVD box set debuts nationwide on August 9, 2011 from Shout! Factory, incollaboration with FremantleMedia Enterprises. Poised to attract an audience of kids, young adults and parents who grew up with this animated series, this 12-DVD box set contains all 65 action-packed episodes – known to fans as the original series aired in 1985, as well as insightful bonus features.  A must-have for collectors to complete their pop culture video library, M.A.S.K.: The Complete Original Series is available for pre-order now from Amazon.com and major retailers. (more…)

Superman The Complete Anthology

It’s interesting to watch how time and again, writers, artists, moviemakers, and studio executives struggle to find ways to adapt the very first comic book super-hero. Superman was something readers (and rival publishers) had never seen before, and he served as the template for the heroic fantasy that followed these last seven decades. When you have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men, you need visionaries to bring the character from the printed page to other media. Robert Maxwell figured out how to do that with the popular radio serial. In fact, Maxwell came up with various characters and concepts that seeped into the comics, a symbiosis that made both stronger.

I was given to considering Superman in his many forms when the eight-disc Superman The Complete Anthology Blu-ray set arrived for review. Warner Home Video has taken all the previous versions and spruced them up a bit, added some new features, and placed them in a handsome box. Despite the uneven content, this is a must-have for fans.

When the Fleischer brothers got a chance to animate the Man of Steel, they set the standard that all other animators have emulated or strived to match. It certainly raised the bar when Superman came to the movie serials, with Kirk Allyn looking the part but the low budget and low-tech kept his feats to the above-average, not super-human. Things got somewhat better with the George Reeve television series of the 1950s, imprinting the archetype on two generations of television watchers and comics readers. Again, Maxwell receives credit for his serious translation to the half hour demands of syndicated television before he left and it got dumbed down in subsequent seasons. (more…)

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Ultraforce

It’s personal history time folks. This is 100% guilty pleasure from me to you. Ultraforce was the cartoon that led me to my love of comics. You see I saw this cartoon, and days later, my best friend (Unshaven Comics’ own Matt Wright) bought me issue 1 from the back issues at our local comic shop. Thinking that I’d been given a rare gem, I reveled in owning it; And soon thereafter purchased a good chunk of the Malibu comic backlog. All because of this little lost toon.

It only made it 10 or so episodes on syndicated stations. And yes, I know now that these “Original Heroes” (or “Ultras” as they were referred to) were simply allegories for far more popular characters. But hey, based on this opening sequence how could you not love it? From the “swiped directly from the X-Men Cartoon” montage of each character leaping mightily from his or her own nameplate, to the “burst from random building to show your evilness” villain rolecall… You could tell this was a masterpiece in the making. And bonus! This clip gives you a little taste of Prime, Hardcase, and Marvel’s Deathlok some evil mechanical guy!

Plenty To Do At This Year’s MoCCA Festival!

  • News
  • April 10, 2010

Today and tomorrow, you and your loved ones can have a mighty good time at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art’s annual festival! This year’s festivities include an amazing array of panels and programs to tickle the fancy of plenty of comic, sci-fi, and cartoon fans alike. With a gaggle of exhibitors, and professionals there to sign all your ebay-able wares, there’s plenty for you to do! Highlights include:

Saturday, April 10th
11:30 AM Titans of Comics: Living Cartooning Legends with Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth, Gahan Wilson and Danny Fingeroth!

2:00  PM The Art of the Superhero: When Singular Vision Meets Popular Mythology with Paul Pope, Jaime Hernandez, Frank Miller, Kyle Baker and Dean Haspiel!

5:15  PM The MoCCA Live Strip Show: Actors Perform Indie Funnies Featuring the art of: R. Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman, Kim Deitch, Gabrielle Bell, and Emily Flake with the voice talents of Sam Seder, Sara Benincasa and Jon Glaser!

Sunday, April 11th
10:30 AM  How To Create A Cartoon Character with Rick Parker
In this workshop for kids of all ages, Rick Parker (Pekar Project, Beavis & Butthead, Dead Boy) will show you how to create your own cartoon character from scratch, in one hour and that if you can draw one character, you can draw them all!

11:30 AM James Sturm and Paul Karasik in Conversation

3:15 PM A Scandinavian Comics Primer with Johannes Klennell (Sweden, Galago), Mats (Sweden, Galago), Espen Holtestaul (Norway), Ville Hänninen (Finland) and Henrik Rehr (Denmark) moderated by Shannon O’Leary.

For complete show listings, admission and ticket info, and more… click here to visit the MoCCA Festival Homepage!

Happy 69th birthday, Bugs Bunny!

  • News
  • July 28, 2009

wildhare-2132524On this day in 1940, A Wild Hare was released in theaters, which was written by Rich Hogan, animated by Virgil Ross, and directed by Tex Avery. It was in this cartoon that Bugs Bunny first emerged from his rabbit hole to ask Elmer Fudd, now a hunter, “What’s up, Doc?” It was also the first meeting of the two characters, and the first cartoon where Mel Blanc uses the version of Bugs voice that would become famous worldwide.

The film would go on to get an Academy Award nomination for best short film, alongside Puss Gets The Boot, which introduced Tom and Jerry. Both lost to Citizen Kane.

Transformer Title Fight: Devastator!

  • News
  • June 19, 2009


Transformers… more than meets the eye. This, we know. But what happens when the mighty all-spark malfunctions and sends the Michael Bay Monstrosities to wage war against the Autobots and Decepticons of our shared youth? We’ve got a few battles in our back pocket ComicMixers… let’s let ’em duke it out, shall we?

Round Three: Green and Purple Devastation Vs. The Rainbow Bright Beast

Face it… if it’s a robot, or even robot-like, and from Japan? It can combine with any other robot-like device, if it wills it. Case in point? The mighty Decepticon combiner Devastator! In the cartoon and comics, 6 construction vehicles (after a long day building stuff and whistling at a passing Arcee) formed a mighty bot of devastation. The only issue? Despite being of normal bot intellect in their own robot-modes… the combining somehow stupified Devastator into a veritable Green Hulk. But why? Because my fellow fans… the early combiner technology didn’t have the capability of decision making! All six parts of Devastator had to agree on an action before doing it. So, even with robo-brains… the cartoon version of this mighty bot could beat you up at recess, but would probably need to cheat off of you during class.

Little is known thus far about the Bay-birthed-behemoth. But what we do know is this: the new Devastator is a veritable giant, standing ten stories tall! Coincidently this robotic hulk also wears purple around his midsection. Interesting, no? In explosions-over-exposition land (the Bay of Robots if you will)… Devastator is made (we question this, but wikipedia is helping today…) of 6-10 possible construction bots, all found in the Egyptian desert. When combined, this new bot forms a more “Gorilla-esque” tower of power. Who apparently has a thing for sucking up sand… and Autobots into it’s giant craw. Past this, we can only assume that this combiner will be loyal to Megatron, and do a ton of damage. It will be nice to see Michael Bay actually blow stuff up. He tends to do quiet films, and this fan for one thinks he would do better to let some shrapnel fly in a cloud of fire and ash.

So folks, who wins? Will the first Generation Green Meanie pound the Sand-Sucking Sycophant into submission? Only you, the cosmically-conscious Comic Mix commenters can conclude! Now cast your votes!

… And don’t forget to vote in the previous rounds, for the Buzz-worthy Bumblebee, and then for your favorite Vocoder-voiced-villain, Soundwave!

ComicMix Quick Picks – what day is it? March 32nd?

What it’s been like here recently…

sifting-through-ideas-1600105

Just way too much stuff to go through, and we’ve been very busy with the print announcement and rushing to get things ready for the Previews catalog, and I have dozens of tabs open to blog about and consolidate. Wheeee!

So this will be more of a high-speed link dump from the last few days. Onward:

  • The cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica at the United Nations – "We are all Cylons. We are all Colonials." Alex Epstein’s take on the last episode of BSG: Seriously? That’s What You Got? My favorite comment on the finale, from Sabrina: "There can be no more spoilers for BSG, because they spoiled it themselves."
     
  • Don’t forget tonight’s Family Guy/Star Trek The Next Generation crossover.
     
  • Non-comics link of the day: John Mellencamp on The State of the Music Business:
    Over the last few years, we have all witnessed the decline of the music business, highlighted by finger-pointing and blame directed against record companies, artists, internet file sharing and any other theories for which a case could be made. We’ve read and heard about the "good old days" and how things used to be. People remember when music existed as an art that motivated social movements. Artists and their music flourished in back alleys, taverns and barns until, in some cases, a popular groundswell propelled it far and wide. These days, that possibility no longer seems to exist. After 35 years as an artist in the recording business, I feel somehow compelled, not inspired, to stand up for our fellow artists and tell that side of the story as I perceive it. Had the industry not been decimated by a lack of vision caused by corporate bean counters obsessed with the bottom line, musicians would have been able to stick with creating music rather than trying to market it as well.
    Hmm– maybe it is a comics link after all.

    14576phantom-md-3224377

  • ‘The Phantom’ will be on SciFi or SyFy or whatever they’re calling it. Impress me: get Billy Zane to do cameos.
     
  • Speaking of SciFi’s name change: SciFi Founder Hates Syfy, Issac Asimov would have hated it, and yo9 for the win.


  • Dharma wants you… since the 70’s apparently.
     

Anything else? Consider this an open thread. (Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.)

Ted Rall Gets Animated

  • News
  • September 19, 2008

lil-rall-5884648It’s been a good week for cartoonist / columnist / bon vivant Ted Rall.

The Mad Magazine regular and incendiary editorial cartoonist was named president of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists. GIven how some newspapers are dropping their local editorial cartoonists in an organized effort to trim down their page count while chasing away their readership base, the position is perfect for an advocate/rabble-rouser like Rall (and, of course, I say that with the utmost respect).

Now he’s got himself his first animated editorial cartoon.

Ted wrote and drew a four-minute cartoon revealing what President Barack Obama’s first day in office might be like. In typical Rallian fashion, what you see might not please Obama’s supporters. Or McCain’s, for that matter.

Animation was provided by David Essman, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (ahem; my alma mater) and it’s available at YouTube… and, of course, by clicking right here.

 

 

Online Animation: An Olympic Train Wreck?

  • News
  • August 7, 2008

Cartoonist / animator / musician Joe Fournier has been doing some sweet stuff online, including this clever black-and-white cartoon about Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics… something about a… train wreck?

Joe’s illustrations have appeared in all sorts of places – Playboy, Forbes, Premiere, and all sorts of newspapers – and he plays a vital role in the burgeoning online animation field. His cartoons have been seen on the Sci-Fi Channel, at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, and the National Gallery of Art.

It’s good stuff. Check him out. 

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks