Robert Luczun, a grade school art teacher in New Jersey, sent me some photos of his truck - which he’s decorated every inch of with comic book, strip and animated cartoon characters…

I just love doing art that is non-conventional. One of my hobbies is antique cars, my other love is comic art and animated cartoons. The idea hit…why not use a vehicle as a canvas. I chose one of the first Model A’s…a 1928 Ford Model AR Roadster Pickup. I decided to do a DOCUMENTARY ON COMICS on a HISTORIC VEHICLE. I started painting on October 18 2004 on the anniversary of the first published comic “The Yellow Kid” (October 18,1896) and finished on January 12, 2006. As much as possible, the truck was disassembled, a lot of it was painted in backbreaking positions. The only record I kept was on airbrush painting hours: over 2,000. This does not include original restoration of the Model A, research and layout. My goal now is to secure a sponsor so that I may get to the big national car shows and the comic conventions.

Feel free to contact Robert at robertluczun at yahoo.com

ASIFA-San Francisco president Karl Cohen sent me this link (also featured on BoingBoing the other day) to what may be the strangest children’s TV series ever made. It’s not animated, but it’s from Japan with people in costumes - the tender story of an Octopus and a Peanut - only like Pufnstuf made by a drug-crazed Ed Wood. Says Karl:

It is a low budget Teletubby type show with attitude. I have only looked at one episode, Baby Octopus (took 2 or 3 minutes to download) and wait till you see what happens to the baby! I find it hard to believe this isn’t created by a radical subversive underground theater group. I have no idea what the point of it is or why it was made, but I suspect kids somewhere in this world are entertained by it. Or was it created by inmates of a mental institution?

The original show, “KURE KURE TAKORA” made its debut in October 1973. The central character covets everything by saying “KURE! (I want it)” all the time. Each episode runs 3 minutes.

One of my biggest grievances against contemporary animation is that characters won’t shut up. Too often in American animation, dialogue is used as a substitute for storytelling, acting, and communication between characters. It happens everywhere, and I’ve mentioned it frequently, whether it be on TV shows like Cartoon Network’s CAMP LAZLO or trailers for animated films, like DreamWorks’s OVER THE HEDGE. Blame it on whoever you want - animation execs who are visually uneducated and can only understand characters that communicate verbally, scriptwriters (for obvious reasons), or artists who aren’t confident of their abilities to act without dialogue - the fact is that today’s cartoons talk too much. I was really pleased to see historian/critic Charles Solomon tackle the issue in this weekend’s NY TIMES, with a hard-hitting piece about how wall-to-wall dialogue hurts so many current animated features. The entire article is worth reading, but here’s an excerpt:

In “Robots,” eager young Rodney Copperbottom, on arriving in Robot City, meets Fender, voiced by Robin Williams. All the wonder the audience should feel as Rodney beholds the Erector-set metropolis of his dreams is crushed under Fender’s nonstop shtick. The characters in “Hoodwinked” natter constantly, even as their unfortunate mouth movements reveal inadequacies in the design of their faces. And if the trailer is any indication, “The Wild,” coming from Disney on April 14, with voices by Kiefer Sutherland and Janeane Garofalo, among others, looks like yet another gabfest.

American animation wasn’t always like this. Some of its most memorable moments have no talking: Mickey Mouse dancing with the brooms in “Fantasia”; the Seven Dwarfs weeping at Snow White’s bier; Bugs Bunny riding in as Brunhilde on a white charger in “What’s Opera, Doc?” Animation is often funnier, more dramatic and more powerful when words aren’t distracting the viewer’s attention from the stylized expressions and movements.

(Use BugMeNot to bypass NY TIMES registration)

Speedy Gonzales may have been banned (at one time) from the Cartoon Network, but he’s never been more in demand by the public. Now Warner Bros. is licensing the character to Volkswagen for use in an international ad campaign to attract Hispanic drivers who admire the mouse. The ads can be viewed HERE, HERE and HERE.

“The Speedy Gonzales and new GTI Mk V match-up is a natural,” said Kerri Martin, director of brand innovation for Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Both have permeated pop culture. Both have a loyal and passionate fan base. Both have achieved iconic status in a world of high-powered acceleration.”"In the Hispanic market, Speedy Gonzales is our superhero,” commented Creativeondemand founding partner and creative director, Priscilla Cortizas. “Not only is he the epitome of speed, he communicates positive values like altruism, resourcefulness, intelligence and confidence.”

(Thanks, Brian Lutz)

Michael Sporn had the great luck of breaking into the animation industry at John and Faith Hubley’s studio, Storyboard, in the early-1970s. He’s posted some fascinating remembrances on his blog about his time working on the Hubleys’ LETTERMAN interstitials, produced for PBS’s THE ELECTRIC COMPANY. Read them HERE.

It’s also worth noting that last month a 4-disc dvd collection of THE ELECTRIC COMPANY was released. Not sure how much LETTERMAN is on it, but surely, there’s at least a few episodes.

The prestigious Tribeca film festival is spotlighting independent animation from the Big Apple. Included are the world premieres of Patrick Smith’s “Puppet,” Nina Paley’s “Sitayana” (pictured above), Mike Sullivan’s “Sex Life of Robots” (excerpt), Ben Levin’s “She She She She’s a Bombshell,” and Bill Plympton’s “Guide Dog.” The screenings will be held on May 1st, May 3rd, May 4th, May 5th, and May 7th. The filmmakers will be present at all the screenings. Visit the Tribeca Film Festival website for times and locations.

Master animator and artist Oscar Grillo has started a new blog devoted specifically to drawings, paintings and other things that have inspired him as an artist over the years.

As folks may recall, I put out a call for help last December asking readers to offer their suggestions on the cover for my book, CARTOON MODERN: STYLE AND DESIGN IN FIFTIES ANIMATION. We finally finished the cover and you can check it out HERE.