Innovations in Animation - Part 4 - Gorillaz

Hello folks, this article has been giving me trouble for a while. I've been an on and off fan of the Gorillaz for some time, and they've seemed to have fallen off the pop culture radar. Their music and graphic style from the '90's is still interesting to me, but I've had trouble collecting info on the artists and writers on this unique and outrageous virtual band. Been working on this since the pandemic started, so it's kind of slopped out down below. Publishing it "as is" may provide the spur for me to tighten up my writing here. We'll see.

(original copyright Jamie Hewlett and "Zombie Flesh Eaters")

The virtual band members: Murdoc - bass, "2D" - vocals and keyboards, Noodles -guitar and vocals, and Russel - drums, percussion.

I first heard the Gorillaz while riding along in my sister's truck over the Holidays on a dark winter night years ago, as we rumbled over the snowy back roads in Amish country. "Dirty Harry" came on her truck's sound system, and I was delightfully haunted by the whole bizarre experience. 

 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLnkQAeMbIM

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6841646/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm

 

This track had an enticing trance-dance-pop feel, with some killer rap that came in to break the spell. Later, when I picked up their DVD debut album set, Gorillaz Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, I was struck by the graphic underground comics style of Jamie Hewlett, who created these four bizarre misfits, streetwise, sort of rough and tumble characters, resembling his character designs from his Tank Girl comics.

 

(Gorillaz Phase One: Celebrity Take Down features the animation of director Pete Candeland, Dave Antrobus, and Chris Hauge.)

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0474700/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cl_sm

Who were these bizarre, even frightening characters? They seem to be some sort of gang, or part of some criminal underworld. Again, comic artist Jamie Hewlett oversaw the dark, sinister stylized limited animation, with some 3D CG elements, mostly backgrounds or characters with vehicles.

 

Blank eyes, bad teeth, and some character designs that flirt with racial stereotypes. There's some demonic possession too. But they were also politically aware in a sardonic, but progressive way, and technologically adept as well. Just what EMI, Parlophone, ‎Virgin‎ and later ‎Warner needed to present what is essentially Damon Albarn's studio band work, with rotating members who provided the real music. Sort in method that was used by the Archies, or the Monkees. And yet, their music has polished, professional level of production quality that gives the Gorillaz a successful multi-media foundation.

Musician: Damon Albarn

Artist: Jamie Hewlett

Passion Pictures, animation studio for the Clint Eastwood video

 https://www.passion-pictures.com/project/gorillaz-clint-eastwood/

https://aminoapps.com/c/gorillaz/page/blog/the-evolution-of-gorillaz-art-and-music-videos/MQ1o_7XpckugKn4DeGEYqek83gr6omgMkga 

 But, to sum up: It's good, "clean" dirty fun. The Gorillaz give me a chance to be a vicarious hoodlum. From time to time.

 

(Tank Girl original copyright
Jamie Hewlett - Dark Horse Comics)

Discovery Aquires Warner Media From AT&T

Hello group, I'm grateful to the readers who still follow this blog. Health and work issues have kept me away again, but I felt this article deserved some attention. The course of the old Time-Warner corporation has always has always held my interest, mainly due to its animation history. And the old WB was me bread 'n' butter back in the 1990's.

But now, Bugs Bunny, Batman and the whole Warner media empire will go to work for the Discovery Channel. This group includes the Food Network, Animal Planet and TLC. Do they know they will be inheriting skeletons in the closet like Pepe Le Pew? Will they actually see the real ingredients of a Scooby-Snack? Maybe Superman will show how he bakes one of his giant super cakes? 

I'm just bellyachin' here folks, bear with me.

 (original copyright Warner Brothers)

At first, I was surprised that AT&T would sell off a library like Warner's when they still have all these digital arteries to fill. But now I'm wondering if the ol' "Ma Bell" isn't doing well with streaming. It looks like they have some big bills to pay off. And it's not like Discovery is a young, agile, cutting-edge new media entity like Amazon or Netflix either. This purchase looks more like another incident of buying up competitors, selling off the new surplus resources, and cutting jobs. 

Meanwhile, the remnants of the old Hollywood studios only seem to be flashy accessories that get passed around, like old antiques.

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/?fbclid=IwAR1e3zcxH9IizjuSMSb9MNMs82yKCRYSb0Tz4w4A_YoAloP4q3IvfJw28uw

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-shareholders-approve-1235097326/

Disney Sues Marvel Creators’ Families To Keep Full Control Over Character Rights

Here we go again:

Disney is preemptively suing the families of comic creators to hang on Cap, Spidey and all the rest of the Marvel Universe to keep all of those sweet superhero simoleons. Indefinitely.

(original copyrights of photos unknown, taken from piratesandprincesses.net)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/news/disney-sues-marvel-creators-families-to-keep-full-control-over-character-rights/ar-AAOQw50?ocid=msedgntp

https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/disney-marvel-fights-back-against-copyright-termination-lawsuits/

R.I.P. Fred Ladd - American Producer of Astro Boy

Well, time takes it's toll. Again.

 (photo copyright Anime' News Network)

Sorry to report on geeky stuff, but Ohio native Fred Ladd - American producer of the classic, foundational anime' Astro Boy, has passed away August 3rd. at 94.

I was able to see Ladd speak at an ASIFA-Hollywood presentation years ago in Burbank. While he was known for bringing Astro Boy to the states, here's another show he brought to the U.S. When the other networks saw what a hit NBC had with Astroboy, they tried to make another one with "Space Ace". (Not the video game.) For the U.S., I think they called him "Ringo" at the ASIFA screening. Ironically, it never took off. I guess one Astro Boy is enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgNPPHlcLcc

But here's to the pure enjoyment, and the pathways laid down for practically all the anime' that followed Fred Ladd's lead into the North American TV market. Astro Boy wrote the book on how to present great storytelling, and beloved characters. Developed from manga (comics) the animation was done on a dime, but Osamu Tezuka's classic designs and screen direction still kept us captivated, even with black and white TV.

 Thank you Mr. Ladd!

 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2021-08-10/american-anime-pioneer-astro-boy-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94/.176123

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2021/08/10-1/astro-boy-american-anime-producer-fred-ladd-passes-away-at-94

 

Innovations in Animation - Part 2 - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

 It's been a hard year. As we start to dig out from under the horrors of 2020 and the Covid pandemic, let's take a moment to get back to my topic of Innovations in Animation. After my first entry from the 1980's, ("Twice Upon A Time") I want to jump forward to the 21st Century. Through the years, Sony Pictures was not my top pick as far as animation or superhero film studios go. But Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for the studio. I finally saw it on Blu-Ray, and it definitely caught my attention.

(copyright Sony/Marvel/Disney?) 

Comic book style! Other attempts have been made, with dubious success.

Hand drawn effects over 3D, far advanced from old cell shaders.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/

https://www.imageworks.com/our-craft/feature-animation/movies/spider-man-spider-verse

 https://www.foundry.com/insights/film-tv/into-spiderverse 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXUG_vN540

https://characterdesignreferences.com/art-of-animation-7/art-of-spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-part-1?fbclid=IwAR1iIrNQ4S-zKVtUY0NEt36ya6HTwBJd1dfF6s8C4k-8EGVT5UupxSUXr4E

 Art Direction by Dean Gordon, Patrick O'Keefe

Production Design -  Justin K. Thompson

Danny Dimian - Visual Effects Supervisor

Directed by
Bob Persichetti     
Peter Ramsey     
Rodney Rothman

Writing Credits  
Phil Lord     ...     Screenplay
Rodney Rothman     ...     Screenplay
 
Phil Lord     ...    Story

Paul Watling - Head of Story

 

While it's not a direct part of the MCU, Kevin Feige's hand still seemed to be felt.

San Diego Comic Con

(swiped from Facebook)

 

Sometimes I still get the fear of missing out on Comic-Con, but the stress and expense are too much. And a lot of trains have left the station since then. Comic-Con used to be about talking to artists and writers, and just scrounging thru boxes of back issues, but since it "went Hollywood", the bloom is off the rose for me. I can't deny the success of the MCU. The giants like Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created a modern mythos that Joseph Campbell would understand. But to me, the original Marvel Bullpen seems to be becoming hazy legends like Homer and the Odyssey, or even Shakespeare.

Those times were from my crazy youth, and I'll always cherish them.
But it's time to move on now.

Looking back on the Con from 1994(?)

 Still, enjoy the day!

Dragons and Unicorns - Stuffed Productions

On Sundays I need something fun and witty to look at, so check out "Stuffed", the misadventures of a little girl and her stuffed animals. Sibling rivalry breaks out when the little girl's favorite toy becomes jealous of the newcomer who steals the little girl's heart.

 

(copyright Stuffed Productions)

 

The kicker is that the toys are still inanimate, while still being able to observe their situation, and become sort of a Greek chorus to the little girl's adventures while making witty remarks to each other.

 

Sort of a Toy Story meets Calvin and Hobbes.

Enjoy!

 

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/stuffed/list?title_no=215575&page=1

 

 https://www.facebook.com/StuffedTheComic

And plush toys are also available as well. I support them on Patreon, in the cheapskate section.

https://www.patreon.com/stuffedthecomic/posts

RIP Stan Lee

Here's to one of the greatest parts of my childhood, and development as a cartoonist, and as an artist.

Along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and John Buscema, along with an almost endless list of other editors, writers and artists most comics fans will know by heart, Stan Lee created the most beloved and enduring comic book characters to date. Granted, all the Marvel Bullpen artists did their share of the heavy lifting in creating the Marvel Universe, which finally led to a financial empire of toys, knick-knacks, action figures, books, animated TV shows, and finally feature films so prosperous that an unlikely rival media conglomerate, (Disney) could not pass it up.

(original copyright Simon and Schuster)

Stan also served in the U.S. Army.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/marvel-comics-legend-stan-lee-dies-at-95/ar-BBPCSj8?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/obituaries/stan-lee-dead.html 

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stan-lee-marvel-comics-legend-721450

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Lee

In a Joseph Campbell way, Stan was a modern shaman to me, weaving tales about the Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and Spiderman, to name a few. Not to mention the X-Men, Thor, Dr. Strange and Iron Man. I plunked down many a quarter, then 35¢, and then well over a dollar to travel off to other worlds of mutants, monsters, madmen and gods. Stan Lee also helped me expand my vocabulary. Where else would a kid in grade school read about a "tumultuous exodus"? It helped drive my teachers crazy. Thank God for such pandemonious puffery! Spellcheckers be damned.

It's tempting to call Stan Lee a modern Shakespeare, with his stories of arrogant men falling, being humbled, and then rising again as heroes. But Lee's heroes also kept all of their quirks, faults and weaknesses, whereas most of the DC Comics universe had heroes who were almost always squeaky clean. How dull. No, in the Marvel Universe, Peter Parker struggled with paying the rent, looking after an aunt who always seemed to be at death's door, and an impossible boss who had a personal vendetta against Peter Parker's alter-ego Spiderman. Soap opera writers must have been jealous.

Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Ben Grimm and an entire legion of characters were humbled, stumbled and still rose to the occasion when the Marvel villains, most of whom also had their own stories and issues, threatened New York City, the Earth, or even the entire universe. Victories were won, but often at a price, and revelations of the depth of the characters emerged on both sides of the conflict. I seem to be gushing with Stan's "purple prose" here. And maybe some Jules Feiffer.

Got to wrap this up now, but I still treasure these mementos from my childhood. Being able to learn storytelling, draftsmanship, graphic design and even literacy from the humble, much maligned comic book leaves many geeks in Stan Lee's debt. R.I.P Mr. Lee.

Excelsior!

R.I.P. Adam West

Well, whether it be comics, TV or animation, Batman always held my attention. I didn't get the campy attitude of the 1960's TV show, especially when the cliffhanger endings meant to me that the danger was REAL. My parent's chuckling, and rolling their eyes was lost on me. But here's to Adam West who kept a six year old in suspense every Wednesday night on ABC. To me, the Bat-Signal will never go out.

(Batman's symbol done in Maya. copyright DC comics)

Herman Bear on the planet Solstice

Here's some sketches from July in Canada...

Herman Bear lands on my new planet Solstice...

I didn't want him to be alone on the planet,
so I gave him a new companion.

(Cubcake is also there, but I'm not sure I'll keep her in the story.)

 

The bear has to make a new friend, literally! Herman assembles "Athena" from different organisms to build a composite creature. Sort of a cross between Larry Niven's Pierson's Puppeteers, and Sylvia the "Zbornak" from Disney's "Wander over Yonder".

http://larryniven.net/puppeteer/pupbod.shtml

(It's a long story)

When Herman first sees Athena, she is just some kind of seed pod that drags itself along the ground with some sort of beak. Herman has to put her together as an intelligence test designed by other aliens. Enjoy!

Joker Mashup... with Marcie?

Hello Batfans, and Charlie Brown aficionados, just blowin' off steam with another mashup.

(copyright Time/Warner and United Feature Syndicate)

With everything that's going on in the world, 

I just thought it would be funny to have Marcie assist the Joker for a while.

 The Joker would finally have Gotham City on it's knees, 

only to have Marcie question everything:

"Why did you do that sir?"

"Stop calling me sir!"

Crunchy Bunches- A serial about breakfast!

One more web comic, worthy of further perusal...

http://www.crunchybunches.com/

Follow Munchy as he and his pals go on fantastic adventures to bring home the ultimate crispy, crunchy breakfast experience.

Wild's End Comic

Guilty pleasure time. Think of H.G. Welles "War of the Worlds" meets "Wind in the Willows".

http://www.boom-studios.com/wild-s-end-01-cover-a.html

Check it out!

Poppy O' Possum is back!

And Poppy is back after a late fall/early winter hiatus!

http://www.poppy-opossum.com/comic/poppy-6-page-28/

Commander Kitty is back!

http://www.commanderkitty.com/2016/02/05/communication-error/

One of my favorite webcomics is back online.

Hope it makes to the climax of this story...

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus - CXC

Managed to stumble on this while channel surfing in Ohio before Christmas.

Very good discussion.

Will have to get back down to Columbus someday soon.

Phoebe and her Unicorn

Some nice Magritte action here by Dana Simpson...

http://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2015/11/22

https://www.facebook.com/HeavenlyNostrils/?fref=ts 

One of the most enjoyable and steady webcomics I've found so far:)

Joe Sinnott sketch of Ben Grimm, the Thing.

I don't remember if I went to comic con that year, but I met Joe Sinnott on an Amtrak train going east in the summer of 1995. He saw me sketching, and seemed impressed that I could draw on a moving train. He later gave me this sketch of Ben Grimm, the Thing. I think he said something about not wanting to be deterred by a rocking train.

(Ben Grimm - the Thing by Joe Sinnott, now copyright Marvel/Disney.)

Found this sketch in the bookshelf today. (I have it framed now.) Man, it's been almost 20 years?!

I've lost track of time it seems. Joe Sinnott gave me this beautiful sketch 2 years after I met Jack Kirby. Just wanted to set the record straight. The Thing is truly one of Jack's creations!

Jack Kirby San Diego Comic Con

This was my most cherished memory from the San Diego Comic Con. This was the day I met Jack Kirby. (I think this was 1993.) He was just standing there in lobby by himself. I hesitated, then asked if I could get a picture. He seemed more than happy about it. I was surprised that he didn't have a whole crowd around him. I said thank you to him, but beyond that, we didn't say much. It didn't occur to me much, much later that he might have wanted to have been left alone.

(Photo taken by Mark Evanier for the L.A. Weekly  Suzy Skaar for "The Art of Jack Kirby" (Blue Rose Press, 1993)

This is a collage I put together in tribute to Jack. The newsprint article is from the 1994 L.A. Weekly.

Later that year, In August 1995, I met Joe Sinnott on a train ride going east. Sinnott was Kirby's inker during the Silver Age, I believe. He saw me sketching, and gave me a sketch of Ben Grimm.  Whatta year. Long live the King!

Marvel settles with Jack Kirby estate

(Photo taken by Suzy Skaar for "The Art of Jack Kirby" (Blue Rose Press, 1993)

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/marvel-settles-dispute-over-superhero-rights-with-jack-kirby-estate/#/0

It's taken me more time than I thought to comment on this news item, and I hope I've learned a bit more about the artist/employer relationship. When it comes to Jack Kirby, and all the work he has produced, it stirs up a lot of passion in comic fans.

And that's not a bad frame of mind, but it may not be useful when dealing with our current business climate. (My commentary will naturally be biased towards the artist.)

When Disney acquired  Marvel Comics, it seemed like mixing oil and water. I could not see how Disney's wholesome, family image could be balanced with Marvel's gritty superhero themes. Except for the profit motive, of course.

Marvel Comics had been owned and passed along by quite a few different corporations over the years since the first Lee/ Kirby days.The issues of who created which characters, and who signed their rights of ownership away as work for hire seemed to settled.

No one knew who would create the next Mickey Mouse or Superman, so these guys cranked this stuff out just to earn a paycheck. Comics were considered disposable, like old newspapers. Case closed, or so it seemed.

However, I learned recently from a debate on LinkeIn that the families of Siegel and Shuster, the creators of Superman, had been getting some kind of royalties, or share of the profits that the Superman character had generated for DC comics over the years. 

"With great power comes great responsibility"

(Simpsons copyright Fox)

Even though I'm a comic fan, I missed this information somehow. My assumption is the public having an image of the families of the creators of Superman being "left to starve" created bad press. And so a new arrangement was made to cut the heirs of Shuster, if not Siegel, in for some of the profits. Guess I need to hang out at more comic conventions. 

Oi.

Getting back to the settlement with the Kirby estate, a commentator on LinkedIn noted that this Lee/Kirby feud may have been old baggage that Disney did not want to lug around anymore. I can just picture their reluctant hands going down a little ways into those deep pockets and tossing the Kirby descendents a few bones. 

Whether the DC/Siegel and Shuster settlements set some kind of legal precedent will take more digging on my part. (Hooha!) But knowing the image Disney wants to portray may have spurred them into pouring oil on these troubled waters, even though it's quite late in the game.

Another thing that surprised me was how a faceless organization like Time/Warner could have made such a "warm and fuzzy" move with the Superman heirs. By faceless I mean that Disney had Walt, and Marvel had Stan Lee. But Time/Warner has no real "faceman", other than Bugs Bunny. 

Rant time: Business is business, and a deal is a deal, but maybe the world is getting tired of these huge media conglomerates winning ugly. Or else these corporations just want to avoid any more embarrassment.

But here's to Jack, still the King!