Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
Feverish

Woo! I'm a little loopy from illness. In fact, looking over my previous post, I can see I was somewhat incoherent even then. I'll get back to my love for the Warner Bros. cartoons when my brain works again.

In the meantime, Flat Earth has obviously been in such bad shape that it's been a few weeks since anyone has linked to me (with the exception of Motime, the sweetheart). Thankfully I can't imagine doing this for the paltry fame running a blog in the comics ghetto would potentially create, which is why it amuses me to see people worry about their "popularity". Nevertheless, I do it for the love, and it's just as nice to return that love as to receive it.

it seems that both Pop Culture Gadabout and Johnny Bacardi somewhat enjoyed the latest Free Comics Thursday offering, and provide even more in the way of info on Klaus Nordling. I'm not 100% sure at this point, but I think the three of us debuted our blogs at about the same time, before the big "comic blogosphere" explosion, so I've always felt a kinship. Great stuff from both of them, covering everything under the sun, including the Mad Mod (thanks for the heads up, Johnny), the spolierific representation of God in the Marvel Universe (i choose "e", all of the above) and stuff that isn't even related to comics. What a concept!

The good Captain Bruce Musaka of the oddly compelling Air Pirates blog called Flat Earth "brilliant", an occurance that has never happened before and which will surely never happen again. If it does, rest assured it will go straight to my head. This I swear!

Look! High atop the hill! The Lone Slam Dancer! My transatlantic penpal, Auntie Skater, has started up a new blog, starting with an appreciation of The Happy Tree Friends. Obviously, this leads her to mentioning yours truly, as can be expected when discussing disturbingly subversive flash cartoons. Nice to hear from you again, Auntie! When can we expect posts on the Cute Little Bunnies cartoon or Kingdom of the Spiders?

Some bloggers refer to me as Steve, while others refer to me as Steven, and some alternate between the two. Which do I prefer? You will never know!
posted by Steven at 12:47 PM

 
The Boys of Termite Terrace



Over at Motime, David Fiore has started letting more discussion on cinema filter into his writing. This began a couple of days back, and between reading his list of favourite movies and being depressed by all the idiocy making the rounds in the comics blogosphere right now, I thought I'd take a break and join in the film fun.

You wouldn't know it by my blog, but I have seen an awful lot of movies, most of which would be considered absolute trash. I very rarely think in terms of directors, but rather go by the genre (or, more accurately, the sub-genre or sub-sub-genre). I've seen more zombie movies then you can possibly imagine, specifically underwater-nazi-zombie and Japanese-alien invasion-zombie love story-rock and roll-jet movies with magic whistles. I have a fondness for 50s sci-fi b-movies, especially ones involving giant insects, though I have little affection for modern sci-fi. I also like 70s and 80s horror, nature run amok, film noir and screwball comedies, especially those of Preston Sturges. Then there's random one-off films, like selected Shaw Bros. films, anything with Mifune or Marvin, and classic Hollywood fare.

But if I had to pick any one film, well, I wouldn't be able to narrow it down completely, but I'm sure the movie in question would be less than 8 minutes long. Sorry, David, but I'm talking about Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts.

I'm by no means an expert on animation, even though that's how I make my living. While growing up I absorbed a fair amount of information on the history and personalities behind comics, while my education in animation has been something of a three-year crash course (in more ways than one). A little bit of knowledge isn't just a dangerous thing, but can also be equally exhilirating and frustrating. Knowing how it's done hasn't reduced my enjoyment of cartoons in the slightest, in fact, it's heightened it. Now, when I watch a cartoon that I've enjoyed many times in the past, I will often sit slack-jawed in amazement as I see animators pull off some of the trickiest, almost impossible posing, balance, composition, timing and general appeal and yet make it seem so easy, noticable only on a subconscious level. It's hard to comprehend just how well-crafted many of the best Warner Bros. shorts are (and many other cartoons, certainly, like Avery's MGM shorts for example).

People wonder why modern cartoons aren't able to compete with animation's Golden Age (for animation the title is appropriate, unlike comics' Golden Age). Imagine, in a ramshackle little hut nicknamed Termite Terrace, teams of animators, storymen, layout artists, voice artists and composers working closely together for decades with almost no turnover, churning out unimaginable amounts of footage with almost no supervision beyond which characters they had to animate and when, and even that wasn't always enforced. They didn't create classics out of the gate, but were afforded years of hard work, co-operation and experimentation to become fucking miracle workers, something they weren't compelled to do by the higher-ups, but which they took on themselves, for themselves. I see articles on long-lasting collaborations in cinema all the time, like Scorsese/Deniro or Kurasawa/Mifune, but I doubt live-action has the equivalent to the shoulder-to-shoulder working camaderie the Boys of Termite Terrace had.

Obviously these factors won't necessarily create success, but it don't hurt either.
posted by Steven at 12:36 PM

 
Free Comic Thursday - Lady Luck



You might think that I'm a day late, but that's only if you've already stopped drinking.

Today we're offering up a double shot of Lady Luck, originally a four page back-up feature in Eisner's Spirit supplement, a pretty nifty idea in which a 16-page comic was placed as an insert within the Sunday newspaper. More information on this, one of comicdom's first female crimefighters, can be found here

Our first story is by Nick Cardy, who we've already touched on previously in this feature. This is his first Lady Luck story for Eisner, back when he signed his name Nicholas Viscardi.

The second story is by Klaus Nordling who took the feature into less representational territory. Nordling helped with the pencilling duties on the Spirit after Eisner returned from military service, eventually taking over full pencils when Eisner moved on.
posted by Steven at 12:06 AM

 
Argh!

Remember when I complained about my life drawing class? I could devote a whole blog to my hatred for this class.

I have to hand in my mid-term tomorrow, a collection of conte drawings. The problem? The amount of drawings we have been instructed to hand in exceeds the amount of drawings actually done during that period.

The end of April can't come quickly enough for me.
posted by Steven at 3:06 PM

 
Martin Emond R.I.P.



Over on The Comics Journal message board, Dylan Horrocks has posted that New Zealand cartoonist Martin Emond aka Marty Fuck has taken his own life. In the same thread you will also find numerous links to his many and varied works, though I suggest his official site for a large sampling of his art. The promo material for The Cross St. Crossbones and Rolling Red Knuckles, both of which were in development for animation, are worth the visit alone. It's tragic that someone who had so much going for him would end his life so suddenly. Emond's friend and publisher Kevin Eastman has also posted his thoughts on his passing at the Heavy Metal site (scroll down).

Condolences to his many friends and family on their loss.
posted by Steven at 3:47 AM

 
Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

I mentioned a month ago that my two favourite animation websites, Cartoon Research and Animation Blast, would be joining forces to create an unstoppable animation blog. Well, the prophecy has come true.

Cartoon Brew promises to be quite the blog. To me one of the most interesting things about this joint venture is that both Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi seem to have very different interests with little overlap, which was why it was necessary to keep up with both sites to get the full scope of what was happening in the world of animation. I'm looking forward to seeing how well they play off of one another.

The most recent entries include news of Pixar story artist and comic creator Enrico Casarosa's new online strip, Haiku5-7-5.com, the infamous Duck and Cover turtle, and what it takes to get South Park onto broadcast television. The duo also promise industry artists and historians as guest bloggers in the future.
posted by Steven at 3:21 AM

 
Lifestyles of the Poor and Obscure

Ever wonder how cartoonists compare in terms of annual income? Rumble Girls creator Lea Hernandez submitted her financial information to Parade magazine for a comparative survey (Warning : the link above is to an online quiz that makes you guess whose income is higher. You have to play the game to find out how Lea rates).

The Parade piece is being discussed at The Comics Journal message board with comments by numerous comic professionals, including Evan Dorkin.

"So, you might not make any money, but you won't pay much in the way of taxes, and, again, I can't stress this enough, you'll never die in a boating accident."
posted by Steven at 3:44 AM

 
We Miss You, Man.

"I do know that if you're going to use "cocksucking faggot" as an insult on a message board, however, you really should be sure and check to see if one isn't running the place." - Dirk Deppey
posted by Steven at 5:08 PM