Cartoon SNAP

Tennessee Tuxedo Complete Collection on DVD

2012-01-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Oooo! I LOVE Tennessee Tuxedo!

I'm looking forward to this complete DVD collection :)

Tennessee Tuxedo And His Tales:
The Complete DVD Collection

O Batman Where Art Thou?

2012-01-17T10:30:00.000-08:00

I just came across this picture (left) from the upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises" movie. They're calling it "Batman," but it's so far removed from the image of classic iconic hero (right) that it's unrecognizable. Looks like Iron Man climbed out of a collapsed coal mine.

Just because a movie studio calls it "Batman," doesn't mean it's Batman.

Funny Fun with Milt Stein's Supermouse & Coo Coo Comics

2012-01-11T13:59:00.001-08:00

Fun Comics!
The joyfully exhuberant
cartoony wonderments of Milt Stein

So much fun...so much LIFE! You can see two full stories in all their MiltSteinian glory at:

http://www.bigblogcomics.com/2012/01/two-stories-by-milt-stein.html

A great way to start of the new year with a smile :)

Storyboard JOB opening at DisneyToon Studios...

2012-01-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Storyboard JOB news! Yet another job opening announced for Storyboard Artists! This time at DisneyToon Studios...
http://storyboardsecrets.com/blog/storyboard-job-opening-at-disneytoon-studios/

Click HERE or on Mickey to find out more...

The Yellow Kid -- Limited Edition Figurine now on Ebay

2012-01-09T16:29:00.000-08:00

The Yellow Kid on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280804008807

The Yellow Kid - 5" tall figurine -- Dark Horse Classic Comic Character Series #30 based on the character by R.F. Outcault, sculpted by Yoe! Studios.

# 384/600 Complete and like-new in original packaging. Sculpted by Yoe! Studios, this statuette comes packaged in a full-color tin box with pinback button and booklet as extras.

Condition: Like new -- tin has barely-visible scuffs from storage

Original Release Date: April 03, 2002

Format: 5" tall, packaged in full-color tin box w/certificate,
pinback button, and info booklet.
Limited to only 600 numbered copies

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280804008807

Storyboard Artist JOB Openings at Film Roman

2012-01-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

Storyboard artists rejoice! It's a brand new year and there's already some storyboarding job openings at one of the biggest TV animation studios: Film Roman announced that they're hiring for positions of Storyboard Artist and Storyboard Revisionist. Check out all the details here:

http://bit.ly/FilmRomanStoryboardJobs

I don’t know…you tell me

2011-12-31T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Spectre by Jim Aparo -- Comic Books Don't Get Any Better Than This!

2011-12-28T10:21:00.000-08:00

Jim Aparo, man...I'm tellin' ya: The Spectre and The Brave and the Bold. 1974 was a great year to be a comic book-reading kid.

http://stevedoescomics.blogspot.com/2010/03/gasmen-and-spectre.html

http://marvelmasterworksfansite.yuku.com/topic/12127/The-Jim-Aparo-Library

I don't even have the ability to talk about how great these comics are without descending into incoherent joyful blubbering, so check out this great tribute to Jim Aparo's Spectre comics:

http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-splash-jim-aparos-spectre.html

That whole delicious Jim Aparo Spectre saga
from 1974-1975 was collected in paperback back in 2005!
It's out of print, but you can still find a copy for about twenny-five bucks at Amazon.com

Krazy Kat, Ignatz Mouse and Offisa Pupp Statuettes for Sale - Ultra-Rare Figurines

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Now on eBay...Set of all three Krazy Kat figurines from Dark Horse Classic Comic Characters series sculpted by Yoe Studios. Each statuette is extremely rare, and --since they were released individually over the course of three years-- they have never been offered for sale as a complete set.

Check out the Ebay listing here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/280790315670

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280790315670

Check out the Ebay listing here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280790315670

Click on any image to see it in high-res detail

Extremely Limited Editions..

These are ultra-rare, and
have never been sold all together as a set.

Check out the Ebay listing here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/280790315670

1933: How Comic Cartoons Make Fortunes – Vintage Magazine Scans

2011-12-09T11:41:00.000-08:00

The Modern Mechanix blog reprints many great illustrated articles from the 1930’s and 40’s. One of my favorites is this look at Depression-era income opportunities in cartooning and animation!

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/04/19/how-comic-cartoons-make-fortunes/
Click on any of the thumbnails below
to open up a crisp and clear high-resolution scan

ALL of these pages are available to download at SUPER-SIZE over at
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/04/19/how-comic-cartoons-make-fortunes/

…and aside from the great article, check out all the beautiful advertisements on these pages.

PS…there are MANY more articles on cartoons and cartooning and animation at the Modern Mechanix blog. Just click HERE to jump right over!

Goofus The Gopher –– Funny Animal Comics from 1947 Tick Tock Tales #11

2011-11-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Goofus The Gopher
Funny Animal Comics from 1947
Tick Tock Tales 11

SpongeBob the "Lowbrow" vs. Squidward the "Arteest"

2011-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, the Village Voice decided to use a SpongeBob theme for their year-end "Best of New York" issue. I got the opportunity to create the cover and eight full-page illustrations for the inside.

This one was created for the article on "Best Art in NYC," about the best art in New York City. I had a great time contrasting the childlike unfiltered creativity of SpongeBob with the uptight artsy-fartsy self-importance of Squidward.

Drawing and inking by me, color by Peter Bennett

Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson -- Some of the Greatest Cartooning Ever!

2011-10-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

Mickey Mouse: Trapped on Treasure Island -- Floyd Gottfredson comic strips from 1932 -- More great cartooning per page than just about ANY book on the planet -- The staging, the stories, the posing, the compositions are all out of this world! I exaggerate not...

You can download a preview PDF here: http://www.fantagraphics.com/images/stories/previews/wdmm02-preview.pdf

And there's a nice article about the project HERE: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=31054

Powerhouse Pepper by Basil Wolverton -- Who’ll Guard the Bodyguard?

2011-10-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Powerhouse Pepper 4-pager
from Tessie the Typist #10 June 1947
story and art by Basil Wolverton

Basil Wolverton's Powerhouse Pepper appeared in various comic books published by Timely Comics, the 1930s and 1940s precursor of Marvel Comics, from 1942 through 1952. The strip was characterized by alliterative, rhyming dialogue, screwball comedy and throwaway gags in background.

Storyboard Artist JOB Alert: SpongeBob Needs Storyboard Revisionists

2011-10-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Nickelodeon is looking for storyboard revision artists to work on SpongeBob SquarePants! For all the information on how to apply, see: http://bit.ly/SpongeBob-Storyboard-JOB

SpongeBob Storyboard Job Info HERE:

http://bit.ly/SpongeBob-Storyboard-JOB

Stumble Inn by George Herriman

2011-10-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of George Herriman's Krazy Kat being reprinted these days, but not so many people are familiar with one of his other newspaper comic strips from the 1920's, Stumble Inn.

Stumble Inn is kind of like Fawlty Towers in that it all takes place in a small hotel with a small cast of regular characters...

The Main characters are:
Uriah Stumble,

-- the long-suffering proprietor of the eponymous hotel...

Mr. Owl-Eye,

the "house dick"
(or hotel detective, if you please...)

Mr. Weewee (oui, oui)

the French chef who works in the kitchen

and Joe Beamish --

a character who does absolutely nothing but sleep in the soft chairs in the lobby. I gather from the strip that he's not a paying guest, but rather just a lazy local who takes up space. It's amazing how much mileage George Herriman can get out of a character that never so much as opens his eyes!

Oh -- and a never-ending supply of "guests"

that can "stumble in" to the strip for added comedy situations.

Okay -- enough intro!
__________________________________

On with today's Stumble Inn comic strip ...

Here's the whole Stumble Inn comic strip at 300dpi...

Yes, folks...this giant 6-panel strip is a DAILY comic strip! It measure about 6 inches tall by 12 inches wide. Too big to fit in my scanner. It's bigger than today's Sunday strips! I bought a small run of 26 consecutive comic strips on eBay a few years ago, and every single one of them has just as much love and detail and early 20th century urban funkiness as this one does.

I love when Herriman is drawing in this mode. It reminds me of his illustrations for the Archy and Mehitabel books.

His pen strokes are so assured and bouncy, filling his cartoons with vim and vigor!

According to Allan Holtz at The Stripper's Guide, George Herriman's Stumble Inn ran 10/30/1922-1/9/1926. That's right in the middle of his Krazy Kat output. George Herriman worked on at least 27 different comic strip titles in his life, and oftentimes many different strips ran at the same time. During his 1913-1944 run on Krazy Kat, he also concurrently created strips such as this one and Baron Bean ( I always liked that play on words: barren bean = empty head. I love it when people called someone's head their "bean.")

There's a nice example of a Stumble Inn color Sunday page HERE.

On a personal note, it is the cartooning genius of George Herriman (along with Roy Crane, and Harvey Kurtzman) that got me really excited about the boundless possibilities of cartooning. Now that there are so many reprint projects going on, I urge you to seek out the work of these "old masters" of cartoon art.

Mister Breger and the Beaurocratic Genie

2011-10-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Dave Breger was the creator of the WW2-era comic strip, “Private Breger Abroad,” which later morphed into “G.I. JOE” for the U.S. Army’s own “Yank” newspaper. (Breger created the term GI Joe…but had nothing to do with the toys or cartoons that came much later)

When his character, “Private Breger” got out of the army after the war, his comic strip was reborn as “Mister Breger.”

This One-page filler comic is from the Katzenjammer Kids comic book #6, Autumn 1948

Here’s the whole page…click for a BIG version!

…and here’s a bonus page from the same comic…
”Right Around Home” by Dudley Fisher

“Tremendous Urgent Demand for Cartoonists” and other Vintage Art and Cartooning School Ads

2011-10-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

“Regardless of how little you know
about cartooning now, you can easily qualify
for a position in this attractive,
high-salaried business.”
---------
“New Method Makes Cartooning
Astonishingly Easy to Learn!” -------

“You will be amazed at how quickly it teaches you to draw salable work…”

”Enjoy the fascinating life of a successful cartoonist – easy hours, freedom from routine, your own boss, and $3,000 to $15,000 a year for this work that is play!”
…and that’s in 1925 dollars! Sign me up!

…and see more ads like this at:

http://bit.ly/ArtistsMakeBigMoney
http://bit.ly/MasterCartooningAtHome
and http://bit.ly/AnimatorsNeeded
and http://bit.ly/HiddenTalent

Animation Jobs: DisneyToons seeks Previs/Layout Artist

2011-10-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

DisneyToon Studios is seeking a Layout artist to translate sequences from Storyboard into CG with an emphasis on flying.

This position reports to the Previs/Layout Lead.

They are looking for a senior layout artist with extensive experience staging flying and fast action sequences. They would work directly with the Director, Art Director and the Previs/Layout Lead.

Examples of the type of camera work we are looking for:
Sky Crawlers
Avatar
How to Train Your Dragon

Requirements:

Bachelors degree or equivalent experience desired
Knowledge of Animation is a must
Clear, Professional communication skills
Able to field and address complex notes
Experience with Lighting preferred
Extensive knowledge of Maya is necessary

Additional Job Responsibilities may include:

Working with Layout Lead and Art Director to design and build simple schematics for set models
Preliminary Camera blocking to verify set feasibility for sequence needs.
General sequence/shot layout responsibilities

TO APPLY:

Send resume and cover letter to td.jobs@disney.com

How to Draw Cartoons the "Old-School Way" by animator Bill Nolan

2011-10-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago, our pals at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive scanned in this "how-to-draw" book by animation pioneer William C. Nolan: "Cartooning Self-Taught"

Update: seems like all the old links to the Archive site are broken, so I'm posting all the images right here until they return to the Asifa Archive blog.

Bill Nolan is one of the hugest unsung heroes and animation -- is often credited with creating the rubber hose style of cartoons. It was Bill Nolan that helped Otto Messmer refine Felix the Cat into the bouncy, round, cartoony character that he became in the mid-20s.

I just love the giant hands on all these characters, reminding me of Bud Fisher's Mutt& Jeff, Elzie C. Segar's Thimble Theater (Popeye) and George Herriman's Stumble Inn. It's kinda strange how different decades have different cartooning styles. I wouldn't mind at all if this old-timey "bigfoot" style started to make a comeback!

This book is a quick survey of the most basic building blocks of how to draw cartoon characters: There are different mini lessons on how to draw the head, hands, feet, full figures, action poses, animals and kids. Like a lot of books of this type, it doesn't go into great detail, but it's fun for what it is!

Joe Kubert - Son of Sinbad - 1950

2011-09-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

A fun comic featuring “Spine-Tingling Tales

of Perils, Passions and Plunder!”

Son of Sinbad by Joe Kubert – Vol 1 Number 1

First tale: “Ransom of Shipwreck Shoals”

Published by St. John – February 1950

“Make Big Money - Become an Artist” 1950’s Correspondence Art & Cartooning School Ads

2011-09-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

“Make Big Money - Become an Artist”

“No Skill Needed!”

“Plastic template with cut-out spaces and holes
lets you make over 200 different cartoons”

“Be popular – wow your friends!”

…and see more ads like this at:
http://bit.ly/MasterCartooningAtHome
and http://bit.ly/AnimatorsNeeded
and http://bit.ly/HiddenTalent

Sherm Tells All on Animation Insider Today

2011-09-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

Today on Mike Milo's "Animation Insider": The most in-depth interview I've ever done...Mike got me to talk about stuff I've never talked about before (because he asks the questions nobody else asks).

Mike Milo created Animation Insider in the last year or so, and the website is already packed full with fantastic interviews with the "working-joes" of animation. Mike is a veteran animator and storyboard artist who personifies the notion of the "guy working in the trenches." I finally had the chance to get to know him a bit when he was working on Phineas and Ferb.

In Mike's own words, "Animation Insider’s goal is to focus on the blue collared worker of animation; the back bone of the industry. We want to focus on the real people in the trenches who make the award winning stuff we love."

Find out more about me than you ever wanted to know at http://www.animationinsider.com/2011/09/sherm-cohen/ I think you'll find it's a fun read!

“If YOU Have Hidden Talent, Your future is Secure!” More 1950’s Art School Ads

2011-09-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

If YOU have hidden talent, your future is secure!

See How Easy It Is!

…and finally three different variations on an ad from The Cartoonists’ Exchange

More like this at http://bit.ly/MasterCartooningAtHome
and http://bit.ly/AnimatorsNeeded