For fans of computer animation, two new books have hit the shelves: The Art of Pixar Short Films by Amid Amidi (hardcover, from Chronicle Books) uses essays, interviews, and artwork to take a look at Pixar’s groundbreaking shorts, from Andre and Wally B and Luxo, Jr. right up through Presto and Your Friend The Rat. Meanwhile, Imageworks by Michael Goldman (also hardcover, from Insight Editions) takes a look at the history of Sony Imageworks Studios, which brought us not only animated films like Open Season, Stuart Little (well, partly animated!), and Surf’s Up, but also the mad special effects on films like Spiderman and more.
Books and Trade Paperbacks
For Sesame Street fans
Following in the foam rubber footsteps of Sesame Street Unpaved by David Borgenicht comes Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis (published by Viking). This massive (384 pages!) hardcover book was created by former TV Guide writer Davis after an extensive interview with Joan Ganz Cooney, who oversaw production on this world-famous educational TV series for more than twenty years. Some of the stories from the development of the series in 1968 are priceless: Maurice Sendak bored at a seminar on children’s TV, entertaining himself by drawing X-rated cartoons; and Jim Henson, whos long hair, beard, and sandals had producers worried that he might be a Weatherman terrorist. Stories like that abound.
Stone Rabbit Books
Stone Rabbit is the name of a new character (and a new full-color soft-cover graphic novel series for young readers) created, written, and illustrated by Eric Craddock. Stone Rabbit is a bored little bunny living a humdrum existance in the sleepy little town of Happy Glades… until the day when he discovers a Time Portal of Doom under his bathroom rug! In Stone Rabbit Volume 1: B.C. Mambo, our hero finds himself stuck in dinosaur days, trying to find his way back home. In Volume 2: Pirate Palooza, our time-hopping hero runs afoul of the dread pirate Barnacle Bob.
DinoWars Trade Paperback
DinoWars, the full-color science fiction manga series written and illustrated by Rod Espinosa, is now available as a digest-sized trade paperback collection from Antarctic Press. We thought they dinosaurs were dead — but they had simply left our planet. Now a new species of evolved dinosaur has returned… to invade and conquer the Earth!
