My favorite publisher Chronicle Books just put out their Fall/Winter 2012 catalog and they’re releasing more animation and cartoon-related books this holiday season than ever before. Below are the six titles (including one by myself) that will be of interest to Cartoon Brew readers, followed by the catalog pages with images and descriptions of each book.

The Art and Making of ParaNorman by Jed Alger
August 2012, Pre-order for $21.74.

Sketchtravel by Gérald Guerlais and Dice Tsutsumi
September 2012, Pre-order for $23.52.

The Art of Wreck-It Ralph by Maggie Malone and Jennifer Lee Monn
November 2012, Pre-order for $21.74.

Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal by Karen Falk
November 2012, Pre-order for $16.27.

Full Steam Ahead!: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball by Amid Amidi
November 2012, Pre-order for $29.70.

The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation by Charles Solomon
December 2012, Pre-order for $20.83.

I’ve been picking up a lot of good books lately and though they’ve been classic comics-related, all have animated cartoon connections. Check these out…

Frazetta Funny Stuff edited by Craig Yoe

It wouldn’t be a book round-up without one or two from Craig Yoe. His latest compilation is this remarkable 256 page hardcover collecting much of Frank Frazetta’s (Fire & Ice) funny animal comic art of the 1940s. These comics, which emulate Hollywood cartoons of the era with characters like “Hucky Duck” and “Bruno Bear”, show that Frazetta was equally skilled at exaggerated cartoon line art as he was with his later realistic fantasy paintings. The book devotes over 70 pages to these rare “animated” stories, over 60 pages to his remarkable text-page header illustrations (for such tales as Percy The Pufferfish and Abbott the Rabbit), and another 70 to humorous stories drawn in Frazetta’s more realistic style. Yoe recounts Frazetta’s earlier years in his lavishly illustrated (with rare art) opening essay, and Ralph Bakshi contributes his memories in a sincere Introduction. All in all, its a lot of fun!

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Cartoon Monarch: Otto Soglow and The Little King edited by Dean Mullaney

If you’ve ever admired the art or illustrations of cartoonist Otto Soglow, this book is a must-have. Over 400 pages filled with Little King Sunday strips, including a sampling of his associated characters The Ambassador and Sentinel Louie. The book includes a thorough biographical introduction by Ohio State University comics historian Jared Gardner accompanied by numerous rare Soglow images, animation art, advertising pieces and commercial illustrations. A beautiful package, a wonderful collection.

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The Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s MAD-Inspired Satirical Comics edited by John Benson

If you collect any and all things related to classic E.C.’s original Mad comics – here is the missing link! This 192-page trade paperback is the last word on the bakers dozen of Mad knock-offs produced by Marvel (Atlas), Charlton, St. John, Harvey Comics and others in 1953-54 pre-comics code era. Editor John Benson compiles the best of these humor comics – with art by Jack Kirby, Norman Maurer, Howard Nostrand, Dan DeCarlo and others – and writes an informative and lavishly illustrated essay on the history of these books and their creators. Hilarious fun, The Sincerest Form of Parody is sincerely great.

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Nancy Is Happy: Complete Dailies 1943-1945
by Ernie Bushmiller

Ahhh, the joys of Nancy!
Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy is one of those acquired tastes. Deceptively simple, it’s the comic strip stripped to its bare essentials. The end result may be perfection; there are many who think so. They’ll get no argument from me. This new compilation book is lavishly produced (by Fantagraphics Books), with an introduction by Daniel Clowes, and compiles the daily strip from the wartime years (not that you’d know that; the strip rarely references the war). If you like Bushmiller no explanation is necessary; if you don’t, no explanation is possible. Buy this book and make Nancy happy.

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Popeye Comics by IDW

Finally, I must note IDW’s new Popeye comic book (32 pages, $3.99). It’s cover is a take-off of Action #1 – which is appropriate as some consider Popeye the first comic strip superhero. It’s also available with an “incentive cover” by cartoonist/Popeye screenwriter Jules Feiffer. Craig Yoe, Ted Adams and Clizia Gussoni are editing this four issue series with writer Roger Landridge (The Muppets) and artist Bruce Ozella. Ozella’s art is so authentic you’d think this was a reprint book. If you are going to revive Popeye – this is the way to do it. Five thumbs up, sez I.

This is turning out to be quite the year for historical Disney animation books. We’ve already announced Pete Docter’s Nine Old Men flipbook series and my own biography Full Steam Ahead: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball. Now, available for pre-order are two different Snow White books, in honor of the film’s 75th anniversary, which is this December.

The first is The Fairest One of All: The Making of Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which is written by the incomparable J. B. Kaufman, author of Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney and South of the Border with Disney: Walt Disney and the Good Neighbor Program, 1941-1948. At a hefty 320 pages, this promises to be the final word on the production of that seminal Disney film.

The second volume, also by Kaufman, is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film. More of an art book, this serves as the catalog to a major Snow White art exhibit that will open this fall at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. Both Kaufman books will be published in October.

Also, arriving in October: A Disney Sketchbook. I’m not quite clear about the contents of the book, but judging from the description, it sounds like there will be lots of Disney development artwork in it (hopefully, mostly unpublished):

Imagine if one sketchbook had been passed down through the decades from one Disney animator to the next, with each one making a contribution before leaving it in the talented hands of another artist. That idea was the inspiration for A Disney Sketchbook. The drawings contained within it represent the entire range of animation development, from the origins of ideas to fully conceived characters. Pencil studies of a much-younger Wendy and a serpentlike sea witch reveal the many imaginative iterations that animators create before they ultimately perfect every hero and villain. And comprehensive studies of Mickey and Baloo showcase the dedication that goes into defining the facial expressions and body language of each beloved character. Films and shorts from throughout the history of the company are featured—beginning with Steamboat Willie and ending with Tangled—demonstrating the ingenuity and skill that have remained a constant at Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1928.

April 2, 1934. Seventy-eight years ago to the day, a twenty-year-old kid started working at Walt Disney Productions. His name was Ward Kimball, and animation hasn’t been the same ever since. This fall, I’m celebrating his life in Full Steam Ahead: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball, a coffeetable book that is as much a how-to manual on being a creative innovator as it is a biography of a fascinating individual.

I announced the book last September, and I’m pleased to report that it’s finally available for pre-order on Amazon. The first printing of my previous book for Chronicle Books, The Art of Pixar, sold out in five weeks because of the short print run. The print run for the Kimball bio is similarly limited, so I’d recommend jumping on this if you want a first edition.

Here’s the official jazz from my publisher:

“Ward’s the one man who works for me I call a genius,” Walt Disney once noted. Ward Kimball’s career as an animator and Academy Award-winning director at Disney between the 1930s and the 1970s is legendary, but the work he created outside of the animation studio was equally fascinating, including building a functioning full-size railroad in his backyard and founding a successful jazz band. Director Brad Bird states in his foreword to the book that “Amidi’s meticulous research into Kimball’s life and work…gives a first-time glimpse into the life of one of the true kings of character animation.” With unprecedented access to his personal archives and private journals, celebrated animation historian Amid Amidi unearthed hundreds of never-before-seen drawings, paintings, comics, letters, and photos, including concept art and stories from his occasionally turbulent career at Disney. Featuring interviews with dozens of Ward’s colleagues, relatives, students, and friends, Amidi paints a complex portrait of one of animation’s most irreverent and influential artists in this definitive must-have biography.

Advance praise for Full Steam Ahead from John Canemaker, Oscar-winning animation filmmaker and author of Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men & The Art of Animation: “Capturing Ward Kimball’s long, lusty, eclectic personal and professional life on the printed page is like seizing lightning à la Pecos Bill, a character Kimball once animated brilliantly.  Author Amid Amidi lassoes the electric, essential Ward Kimball in all his turbulent multifaceted glory in this profusely illustrated, extraordinarily candid biography.  The full, intimate portrait that Amidi skillfully paints is supported by impeccable research, including Kimball’s private diaries.  Writing with insight, passion and compassion about his mercurial subject, Amidi takes readers directly into the life and private thoughts of a uniquely modern Renaissance man whose contributions continue to resonate in American popular culture.”

Pre-order on Amazon for $29.70.

As a longtime non-sports card collector, I was delighted when the original series of Garbage Pail Kids stickers came out in 1985. I recall that the characters, a parody of those god-awful Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, were a hilarious spoof in the vein of Mad Magazine. The gags even got funnier in the 2nd and 3rd series before I moved on. I haven’t looked at those stickers in years and my memory of the property has been tainted by the horrible 1987 CBS animated series – so awful it didn’t air for years (it was pulled at the last moment from the CBS Saturday morning line-up, allowing Bakshi’s Mighty Mouse to move into the coveted post Pee-Wee Herman time slot). I’ve embed a sample episode below for your viewing displeasure.

On April 1st, Abrams ComicArts will release a hardcover book featuring full page images of every card in the first 5 series (1985-86) of the popular Topps bubble gum stickers. At first, I didn’t think much about the idea of such a book, but after reading Art Spiegelman’s introduction, and John Pound’s afterword, then leafing through the pages I came to realize these hilarious pieces haven’t lost any of their subversive edge. Alternative (or Underground) cartoonists Spiegelman, Pound, Jay Lynch, Tom Bunk and Mark Newgarden were the brains behind these beauties. The art is way better than I remembered and I had a ball checking these out anew – they actually work great in the book format. It’s lavishly produced, with the book jacket looking like the original wrapper, and an actual set of Garbage Pail Kids stickers included inside. This tome goes on the shelf next to my Mad paperbacks, Kurtzman’s Hey Look and Crumb’s Fritz The Cat. Maybe the new animated movie in development by Michael Eisner and Pes doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all. Check out what all the fuss is about (Amazon is selling it for $11.27 – a steal!). Highly recommended!

As if yesterday’s news of the Nine Old Men flipbook set wasn’t tantalizing enough, there’s also the Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books planned for release on August 7. The volume collects Mary Blair’s essential children’s book illustration, along with a foreword by her biographer John Canemaker. More from the publisher:

Fans of illustrator Mary Blair will cherish this never-before-published treasury of her Golden Books, which includes material that hasn’t been in print in decades. I Can Fly is here in its unabridged glory, as are Baby’s House, The Up and Down Book, and The Golden Book of Little Verses. Many of the finest pages from The New Golden Song Book are included, to round out this gorgeous collection. All of the original artwork has been digitally reproduced, and has never looked more breathtaking!

Pre-order is $13.59 on Amazon.

The Archive Series—Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: The Flipbooks will release on September 18. This pet project of UP director Pete Docter is among the more unique book concepts, and pays tribute to the work of the Nine Old Men in the best way possible: by displaying scenes their animation work. Amazingly, none of the Nine Old Men’s full animation scenes have been made available to the public before, which makes this both a valuable historical and educational project.

There’s no better choice than Docter to spearhead the project; he’s a big fan of the flipbook format and creates a flipbook ever year as his personal Christmas card. Here’s the official book description:

This box set of nine flip books pays tribute to Walt Disney’s original animators–the Nine Old Men: Les Clark, Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, John Lounsbery, Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston, Mark Davis, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Milt Kahl. Each flip book features a scene from an animated Disney feature in its original line-drawn form, having been selected from among a wide range of films for great movement and classic characters. Such iconic clips from the reel of Disney animation history include: Lady and the Tramp’s moonlit spaghetti dinner; Sorcerer Mickey’s ordeal with a horde of mops; and Thumper’s announcement that a prince has been born! In addition to the flip books, the box will contain a booklet providing additional information about the artists.

List price is $60, but pre-order for $37.42 on Amazon.

THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED! We’ll do a random drawing and post the results in the comments section sometime on Saturday afternoon.

I intended to do a giveaway of my latest book last November, but the first printing sold out before we could even consider that. Now with the second printing out, we can finally host a proper giveaway. So today we’re handing out FOUR copies of The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation:

Over the past 25 years, Pixar’s team of artists, writers, and directors have shaped the world of contemporary animation with their feature films and shorts. From classics such as Toy Story and A Bug’s Life to recent masterpieces such as Up, Toy Story 3, and WALL·E, this comprehensive collection offers a behind-the-scenes tour of every Pixar film to date. Featuring a foreword by Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, the complete color scripts for every film—published in full for the first time—as well as stunning visual development art, The Art of Pixar is a treasure trove of rare artwork and an essential addition to the library of animation fans and Pixar enthusiasts.

To enter, just post a comment below. Writing “I love Amid” in the body of the comment won’t improve your chances of winning, but it may enhance my sense of self-worth. Contest will close tonight at midnight (ET).

Rules: Contest is open only to residents of the United States. Do not submit multiple entries or you will be disqualified. You must leave your correct email address in the e-mail field of the comment, otherwise you can’t be contacted if you win. (Your email address will not be publicly visible).

Time for another round-up of recent reads I can highly recommend (How’s that for alliteration?). First up, a magazine: Disney Twenty Three (Special Issue, Spring 2012), the “exclusive magazine of D23: the official Disney Fan Club”. I have not been tempted to subscribe to this publication, despite it’s lavish production values and occasional in-depth articles – but this latest special edition (sent to me for review) may change my mind. Its theme is “75 Years of Disney Animated Features” and its a must-have for all Disney aficianados. It is 64 oversized pages (in color) and loaded with articles and images by many of my favorite Disney historians: John Canemaker on the milestones of Disney feature animation; David Gerstein on The Six Older Men, the animators (Ub Iwerks, Grim Natwick, Ben Sharpsteen, Fred Moore, Norm Ferguson and Hamilton Luske) who mentored the famous “nine”; Jim Fanning takes a fresh look at the famed story meeting notes; Didier Ghez on Disney’s merchandising man, Kay Kamen (this piece is particularly well illustrated with rare materials); Greg Ehrbar on the music and songs of the great Disney Features; Don Hahn on “The Morgue”, where the studio keeps its original animation art; Max Lark on inspirational artist Tyrus Wong; and much much more. Did I mention the cover contains a removable facsimile Snow White animation cel. This commemorative issue is being sold through Barnes and Noble and other retailers, as well as available through DisneyStore.com.

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Stop Motion has certainly made a comeback (with three stop-mo features being released this year alone) and books about the technique keep on coming. The latest is Tom Gasek’s Frame-by-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-traditional Animation Techniques. Gasek, a professor at R.I.T. and former animator at Laika and Aardman, concentrates his book on alternatives to puppetry and model animation: pixilation, collage, time lapse and other down-shooting techniques. The book is peppered with practical advice by top pros and animation artists like PES, Joan Gratz, Jim Blashfield, William Kentridge, Caroline Leaf, Dave Borthwick and others. An excellent reference and text book. If stop-motion is your thing, you need this book.

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Okay, this one really isn’t about animation – but it’s so much fun I know you’ll want it. Author Kirk Demaris (of SecretFunSpot.com) has unearthed the secrets behind ALL those products sold in comic book and monster magazines of the 1960s and 70s. Remember the X-Ray Spex and Amazing Live Sea Monkeys? This book shows you what those products (and about 100 others) really were. The Polaris Nuclear Sub (“Big Enough for Two Kids”) was apparently nothing more than a cardboard box; the 132 piece Roman Soldiers set was actually two thin pieces of plastic; and all that crap in the Johnson-Smith catalog was, well …crap! Who knew? I was fooled too, back in the day – but this book is the real thing: hilarious fun and a rush of nostalgia. Loaded with reprints of the original ads and photographic evidence of their hilarious junkiness. Mail Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Book Ads! is highly recommended!

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And last but not least, Laurel and Hardy’s Animated Antics. I was informed of an earlier edition (above left) but by the time I tracked this down, a newer version (the “A-Z Edition”, above right) came out and I grabbed it. What is it? Well, it’s a little pocket-sized (4 1/2″ by 7″) paperback, 152 pages that obsessively documents any and all animated cartoons with Laurel and Hardy caricatures. Apparently the authors are members of The Sons of the Desert (the International Laurel and Hardy fan Club) and were determined to screen every appearance of Stan and Ollie as cartoon caricatures. They describe each cartoon and what the comedy duo does in it, illustrated with a frame grab if possible. In addition to all the golden age Hollywood cartoons you can think of, the authors also document all the Larry Harman/Hanna Barbera TV cartoons, all the Family Guy, Darkwing Duck, even Phienas and Ferb references, mentions of the characters in various TV cartoons… with crazy thoroughness. Do I recommend it? Begrudgingly Yes, if you are collecting books on cartoons or Laurel and Hardy; but unquestionably No, if you aren’t as obsessed with L&H as the authors (or I am).

What kind of books might an animation artist have kept on their bookshelf sixty years ago? They certainly wouldn’t have owned many animation books. In the 1950s, there was no Illusion of Life or Animator’s Survival Kit, and the entire number of books published about animation could be counted on one hand. Inspiration for the classic animation artist lay beyond the world of cartoons and animated film.

I was reminded of this when I found a photo of Jules Engel, a background painter who started at Disney prior to joining the Modernist studio United Productions of America (UPA). The shot below was taken at UPA circa 1954-’55. Engel later made his own independent shorts and created the CalArts Experimental Animation program, which he ran until his death in 2003.

After examining the image (and a similar photo taken from a slightly different angle), I was able to identify many of the books on Engel’s shelf. (Click HERE for a larger view of the image.) Engel’s books span the spectrum of visual arts from photography to painting to dance and theater. His collection confirms much of what we already know about the artists who worked at UPA, and their commitment to exploring the possibilities of the animation medium. Far from working in a vacuum, they were fully aware of the latest trends and ideas in the contemporary art world.

Below is an inventory of the books that are identifiable in the photo of Engel’s bookshelf. I’ve tried to include the covers of the specific editions that Engel owned:

British Circus Life by Lady Eleanor Smith and John Hinde

New Theatres for Old by Mordecai Gorelik

Read the rest of this entry »

I ran into animator Michel Gagné at the Annie Awards last week (where he picked up an Annie for Best Video Game, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) and asked him about his next project. Turns out Gagne had been toiling on a labor of love (literally) that has just gone on sale this week. Says Gagné:

“I have a new book that just came out. I’ve always had a very particular vision of how books reprinting old comics should be restored and presented, so a few years ago, I decided to put my own historical collection together covering a subject that had never really been documented before. I worked on the project for many years and last year it was picked up by Fantagraphics. The book was released last week.“

That book, Young Romance: the Best of Simon & Kirby’s Romance Comics, is not the usual thing we endorse here at Cartoon Brew – but as a life-long Jack Kirby fan and oddball comic book buff, this project is right up my alley. Gagne writes more about why he wanted to do this project, and how he did the restorations on his website. I’ve ordered my copy and highly recommend it, sight unseen. Thanks, Michel!

I’ve nearly wrapped up my Ward Kimball biography, but to get it just right, I need a handful of images related to his key characters. Please get in touch, if you can provide a hi-res scan of photostat models or animation drawings related to the following characters:

* Matador from Ferdinand the Bull
* Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat
* Jiminy, particularly the two images below
* Lucifer, particularly the one below