No less than animation historian Jerry Beck has assembled The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons, coming this June in hardcover from Insight Editions. How? He polled thousands of animation fans, historians, and animators to gather their thoughts and favorites… and here are the results. From the press release: “Evaluated on their comedic brilliance, innovative animation, historical significance, and creative merit, cartoon historian Jerry Beck and the Cartoon Brew team of animation experts reveal the amusing anecdotes and secret origins behind such classics as What’s Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening, and Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century. Featuring more than 300 pieces of original art from private collectors and the Warner Bros. archives, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons settles the debate on the best of the best, and poses a new question: Is your favorite one of the greatest?” The introduction was written by movie critic (and famous animation fan) Leonard Maltin.
Books and Trade Paperbacks
B. B. Wolf and the 3 LP’s
Rich Koslowski (creator of the Ursa Major-nominated graphic novel Three Fingers) has returned with writer J.D. Arnold to bring us B.B. Wolf and the 3 Lp’s, a new black & white hardcover graphic novel coming this May from Top Shelf. Here’s the press release from Amazon.com: “B.B.’s life seemed simple: farmer and family man by day, blues musician by night, and a drinker of fine spirits at any hour. But his fragile world comes crashing down when the LPs decide to take his land by any means possible. When all is lost, B.B. lashes out, setting into motion acts of revenge that only a big bad wolf could unleash. Set in the Mississippi Delta of the 1920s, B.B. Wolf & the 3 LP’s is a classic story of racism, murder, revenge, and music, all wrapped up in the clever re-telling of a timeless fairy tale.”
Andreas Deja’s Animal Sketchbook
Andreas Deja is a very well-known animator who has worked for Disney animation for 30 years now. He’s known for animating characters like Gaston from Beauty & the Beast and Lilo from Lilo and Stitch, but furry fans probably know him best as the lead animator of Scar in The Lion King. Now Andreas has taken his particular affinity for drawing and animating animals (which he said Lion King was his first opportunity to do as much as he likes to!) and collected together some of his best sketch work into A Different Stripe: Andreas Deja’s Animal Sketchbook (in soft-cover, from Stuart Ng Books). In it he not only discusses his methods of drawing animals (both realistic and anthropomorphic) but also the advice and guidance he received over the years from such animators and teachers as Ken Hultgren and Marc Davis.
Captain Long Ears
New from Amaze Ink and Slave Labor Graphics: 8-year-old Michael has lost his father in a terrible accident. Though his mother is consumed by her grief, Michael insists on keeping a birthday tradition: Putting on his rabbit/spaceman costume and going to the local theme park as Captain Long Ears. If his mother won’t go, then Michael will simply go there with his imaginary friend, a purple gorilla named Jam. Trouble ensues, however, when Captain Long Ears and Jam take it upon themselves to rescue the theme park’s prize elephant… whether it wants to be rescued or not. This new black & white graphic novel was written and illustrated by Diana Thung. Look for it in May.
When Everyone (Literally) Was Doing Funny Animals!
How’s this for a long title: The Golden Collection of Klassic Krazy Kool Kids Komics. Whew! Here’s the publisher’s notes: “The first collection of its kind, this huge, luxurious volume lovingly collects the brilliant kids’ comics that such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Walt Kelly, Dr. Seuss, Syd Hoff, Jules Feiffer, George Carlson, John Stanley, Dan deCarlo, Sheldon Mayer, Carl Barks, and myriad other brilliant geniuses created during the heyday of kids comics in the 1940s, ’50s, and beyond. Astute comic book fans and their eager kids alike will love the funny and beautiful full-color stories of slap-stick superheroes, fantastic fairy tales, and awesome anthropomorphic animals.” We definitely want to check out the awesome anthropomorphic animals! Especially with a group like that creating them! This new hardcover full-color collection was edited by Craig Yoe, and it features an introduction by children’s author Mo Willems. It’s coming out from Idea & Design Works at the end of April.
The Stuff of Legend
Love that title! Here’s part of the description from the publisher, Del Rey: “When a child is taken by the fearsome Boogeyman, his loyal toys (including The General, Max the bear, Percy the pig, and others) must rally to stage a daring rescue operation.” This trade paperback graphic novel was written by Mike Raicht and Brian Smith, and illustrated in black & white by Charles Paul Wilson III. It comes to stores this April.
Stuff of Legend cover, c. Del Rey Publishing
Fafnir the Dragon
Aracana Studio describe their new full-color graphic novel, Fafnir the Dragon, like this: “Mightier than a god, dumber than a rock. While searching for his stolen treasure, history’s greatest dragon is hurled into an apocalyptic future where he and talk-show host Jon Stewart must battle hordes of slavering mutants, prevent the assassination of Barack Obama, and save earth from an Al-Qaeda super-virus!” Do tell. Based on a popular web comic by Thormond Skald and Asta Gunn, this new graphic novel (also described as “South Park meets Jurassic Park“) goes on sale this April. You can find out more about it at Aracana’s web site.
The Return of Banana Tail
Mark McKenna’s strange (but nice) little monkey Banana Tail returns in Banana Tail’s Colorful Adventure, a new full-color hardcover book for young readers (coming in April from Image Comics). Banana Tail, if you didn’t know, is a young monkey who is made fun of for his bright and shiny yellow tail. So, he spends his days hanging around with other unusual young animals in the jungle, including a checkerboard zebra and a rhino who changes colors with her mood. Mark McKenna, if you didn’t know, is a comic book artist who’s worked for both DC and Marvel for decades. Now he brings back his popular children’s book character in a new 3D CGI format with the help of Steve Akehurst and the artists at The Fourth Armada.
The Art of Peter De Seve
The March brings us another art book that furry fans might well consider checking out. A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter De Seve takes a look at the New York-based illustrator best known for having designed all of the characters from Blue Sky’s Ice Age series of CGI films. He has also designed characters for films as diverse as Robots, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt, Mulan, and A Bug’s Life, all of which are represented here in full-color recreations. This hardcover book from Editions Akileos features an introduction by Blue Sky director Chris Wedge and editorial text by cartoonbrew.com’s own Amid Amidi. Check out this new book on Amazon.
