"Arrietty" Will Be Ghibli's Biggest US Release Yet
How Much is a Ward Kimball Painting Worth?
"The Space Stallions"
My Favorite Super Bowl Commercial
And finally, 
by Fraser MacLean. I haven’t seen anything from it, but I know Fraser has been working his tail off to finish the book. It promises to be a comprehensive examination of animation layout practices, both past and present.
by Chris McDonnell. Chris has worked on animated series like Yo Gabba Gabba! and Tom Goes To The Mayor and also designed Bill Plympton’s new coffeetable art book. His drawing activity book should be something 
by Amid Amidi. Yes, that’s me. But even though my name is on the cover, there won’t be a whole lot of my writing in the book. The book is almost entirely artwork, which is exactly as it should be since it’s called The Art of Pixar. It’ll be all kinds of classy.
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TAG FOR “Books”Cartoon Brew's home for up-to-the-minute, unedited announcements and press releases direct from industry sources.
August 8, 2011 12:00 pm
Coming soon: London-based graphic novels publisher Self Made Hero (Moomins) will be releasing this fall, an illustrated kids-skewing Popeye Cook Book filled with healthy recipes (I’m sure several will include spinach ingredients). I may pick this up just for the Stephan DeStefano Popeye art. Yum! 19 Comments » posted in Books, popeye 
August 1, 2011 12:05 am
Spent the weekend going over some new book acquisitions (and one DVD) and surprise! most were pretty good – and a couple were really great. Here’s what I’ve been reading (and viewing), in no particular order:
 The Saga of Rex by Michel Gagne (Image Comics). I figure there are two types of people out there: those who know the work of Michel Gagne, and those who don’t. Those who do should already have this graphic novel (it came out late last year and I’ve been remiss at plugging it here). If you don’t have it – get it. What a beautiful “trip” this is. This is pure Gagne psychedelia unleashed on 190 color pages. If you don’t know Gagne’s work – he’s an amazing special effects animator (The Iron Giant, among others), currently living in the Pacific northwest doing his own thing when he isn’t animating or designing games…. The Saga of Rex will introduce you to his world in the best possible way. Don’t let the cute l’il furry cover fool you, this is a mind-blowing sci-fi adventure; visual storytelling at its best; and highly recommended!
 The World of Smurfs: A Celebration of Tiny Blue Proportions by Matt. Murray (Abrams Image). What’s more surprising than a first place box-office win for The Smurfs movie? This book! Self described “Smurfologist” Matt. Murphy (former president of New York’s Musuem of Comics and Cartoon Art – and a student in my 1996 History of Animation class at NYU) has put together an informing and entertaining history of the Peyo, his comic strip and all the subsequent animated adaptations. Lavishly illustrated with pull outs (like my The Hanna Barbera Treasury) that include facsimile reproductions of the first “Schtroumpfs” booklets, cels, model sheets, stickers, et al. It’s the ultimate word on the whole Smurfs phenomenon. I never thought I’d say this, but I highly recommend this book. It’s a lot of fun.
 Uncensored Animation #2: Cannibals! by Steve Stanchfield (Thunderbean Animation). Stanchfield does it again! He’s just released his latest DVD compilation of classic cartoon obscurities, and I hereby order you to buy it. Here’s the link. You will not be disappointed. This time Steve’s collected the rarest, most obscure cartoons based around the theme of Man-Eating Cannibals. Warning: much of this material is Politically Incorrect. These are rare cartoons from the 1920s, 30s and 40s, from various studios, lovingly preserved in their best possible presentation. Oddities include Korn Plastered In Africa (1931) narrated by radio’s Uncle Don, Chiquita Banana and the Cannibals (1947) by Hugh Harman, and Aroma of the South Seas (1926) with Mutt & Jeff paired with its rare 1931 color/sound remake. Incredibly strange and incredible fun. Highly recommended.
10 Comments » posted in Books, DVD, Craig Yoe, Daniel Goldmark, Krazy Kat, Smurfs
July 16, 2011 6:23 am
Tod Polson (El Tigre, The Secret of Kells) announced recently that he’s putting together a book on Maurice Noble that will be published in 2012 by my pals at Chronicle Books. Polson knew him as well as anybody, and I have no doubt he’s going to make this something special. This book will not only give Maurice his due, it’ll also make up for the disappointingly shallow biography of Noble that was published a few years back. Tod describes the project on his blog:
31 Comments » posted in Animators, Books, Chronicle Books, Maurice Noble, Tod Polson
June 9, 2011 6:30 am
To commemorate the 2012 centennial of Chuck Jones’s birth, IDW’s Library of American Comics will publish Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was. This is the new name for the “Crawford” book project we’ve plugged several times before. Now that it’s getting closer to publication, the cover (above) has just been released. The press release says:
The book is being edited by Kurtis Findlay and Dean Mullaney, and designed by Lorraine Turner. Visit the official Chuck Jones: The Dream That Never Was website where all-new, never before seen Chuck Jones art will be added in the coming weeks and months leading up to the book’s release in December. I think you will also “like” the Crawford Facebook page. 16 Comments » posted in Books, Chuck Jones
May 23, 2011 12:05 am
Here are several new publications that were sent my way during the past month that I think Cartoon Brew readers will like, or love or at worst, should be aware they exist:
 The Art of Kung Fu Panda 2 by Tracey Miller-Zarneke (Insight Editions). Whatever your opinion of Kung Fu Panda 2, one thing is undeniable: the artwork, art direction, character designs, color keys and all things visual are simply superb. Just based on “looks” this may be the best animated film of the year. We’ll see, but in the meantime Tracey Miller-Zarneke’s book lays it all out and gives credit where credit is due. Raymond Zibach, Nicholas Marlet, and Bill Kaufman are among the dozens of artists work given the lavish “art-book” treatment here – and their work deserves it. And you deserve to own this souvenir of Dreamworks’ summer blockbuster.
 Archie: A Celebration of America’s Favorite Teenagers written and designed by Craig Yoe, produced by Clizia Gussoni (IDW Publishing). Do we really need another book about Archie? The answer is YES, if Yoe and his wife Clizia are behind it. There’s been several recent compilation volumes devoted to Archie comics, from Dark Horse, IDW and Archie Publications itself, but this is THE BEST one. This is actually the only book about Archie you really need, as it covers everything about the Riverdale characters, their origins, the artists, writers, the nooks and crannies, including the coolest, rarest art, promotional pieces, photographs… the whole shebang! Yoe has a great chapter about Archie on radio, TV and animated cartoons, another highlighting oddball Archie merchandising – and in another part of the book, he offers a rare printing, off the original art, of the unpublished 1952 Andy Andrews, a serious detective story featuring Archie’s previously unknown cousin! It’s one of those books (like my Hanna Barbera Treasury) that you need to see – and when you see it, you’ll buy it. I love this book – take it from me, it’s really great. Highly Recommended!
 The Art of Cars 2 by Ben Queen with Karen Paik (Chronicle Books). To be honest, I’m not revved up about Cars 2. That said, I have no doubt it will be a spectacular international success and huge moneymaker for Disney. Chronicle’s latest Pixar “Art-of” book for Cars 2 follows the formula of the subsequent volumes in this series – and is thus a must-have. There is no doubt that the artists at Pixar are some of the best in the business and, as usual, this book reflects in the incredible talents and passions of their animation pit crew. The book is written by Cars 2 screenwriter Ben Queen with Pixar’s creative development staffer Karen Paik. As they say in Drivers Ed class: Proceed with Caution!
 Working With Disney By Don Peri (University Press of Mississippi). God bless the University Press of Mississippi. They are printing more important books about animators and cartoonists than perhaps any other publisher today. Their latest is this compilation of writer Don Peri’s personal interviews with animators, producers and “mouseketeers” including X. Atencio, Marc Davis, Bill Justice, Ollie Johnston, David Hand, Walter Lantz (!), and Frank Thomas among others. I’d never before read any interviews with animator Lance Nolley or assistant director Lou Debney, and never heard of early animator Gilles “Frenchy” deTremaudan until this book. This is good stuff and if you’re a Disney fan, you’ll want it. That said, it doesn’t compare to Didier Ghez’s more thorough Walt’s People volumes – but Working With Disney is a good companion to that series, and a great addition to the ever-growing well of Disney research. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll take all the information on Disney history I can get!
 The Bozo Chronicles by Tom Holbrook and friends. This book is a mind-blower. Tom Holbrook has assembled a 600 page scrapbook of EVERYTHING to do with Bozo “The Capitol Clown” from 1946 thought 1956 (the year the clown was sold to Larry Harmon). This includes interviews with creator Alan Livingston, comic artist Dan Spiegle; bios on Pinto Colvig, Sara Berner, Billy Bletcher, Dave Barry, Jack Bradbury, Warren Foster and on and on… all surrounded by tons of merchandising art, reprints of trade magazine articles, rare still photos, album covers – no kidding, everything ever published on Bozo the Clown. This book is a limited edition self-published effort and I have no idea how many copies Tom has left, but if you have any interest in the Capitol Bozo and the people who made him famous, this is a must have item. Order it here.
 Constructing Green Lantern by Ozzy Inguanzo (Universe). Last but not least, I just got this behind-the-scenes book on the new Green Lantern movie. I normally don’t review (or buy) these sort of books, but two things about this one – 1. I love the old Green Lantern comics and am actually looking forward to this movie (despite the fact that the trailers are not workin’ for me) and 2. there is apparently A LOT of GC in this film. Author Inguanzo, the films’ on-set Green Lantern expert and “Asset Manager”, didn’t get the memo about writing fluffy movie tie-in books and actually wrote a detailed and intelligent production memoir, loaded with photos from the set, pre-viz art, storyboards and final composite images that at least prove that the filmmakers set out to do the character justice. I have no idea if the film will be any good, but this book is excellent.
Note to publishers: I love books about animation, comics and movies. If you send me your book and I like it, I will tell our readers about it in future posts like this. 8 Comments » posted in Books, Archie, Bozo, Cars 2, Green Lantern, Kung Fu Panda 2
May 19, 2011 2:34 am
My favorite publisher Chronicle Books recently announced their fall publishing line-up and it includes three books that may be of interest to Brew readers: A first of its kind book: Setting the Scene: The Art & Development of Animation Layout
Sasquatch’s Big Hair Drawing Book
The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation
13 Comments » posted in Books, How-To, Illustration, Pixar, Amid Amidi, Chris McDonnell, Fraser MacLean
May 10, 2011 9:00 pm
A few months ago I posted about my friend, animator James “Tim” Walker who was diagnosed with Lateral Parkinsons Disease on his right side. This past week, our local L.A. CBS channel (KCBS) ran this nice piece on Walker (embed below) about his illness and his sketchbook, Drawings From The Left. 8 Comments » posted in Animators, Books, Tim Walker
April 27, 2011 12:05 am
If I can make each and every one of you buy a book this week, it would be one or both of these – Simply put, these are two of the best animation books of the year. Each completely different from the other, both are absolute must-haves for anyone, everyone who loves animation. I’ve personally been a fan of Bill Plympton’s since I first saw his print cartoons in the Soho Weekly News (an NYC alternative newspaper in the 1980s). I actually met Bill at a comic con back then, but he wouldn’t remember that. However, I was lucky enough to become a personal friend of his since the time of his first short Your Face, which I helped distribute through the Tournee of Animation. That said, I had no expectations for this large coffee-table art book, except to see lots of artwork from Bill’s films and comic strips. Boy, was I in for a surprise. First off, Bill got David Levy to co-write the book with him. Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of Levy’s writings and previous books. Chris McDonnell (Meathaus; Bakshi’s Unfiltered) did the layout, so the book is gorgeous. What I didn’t expect was how moved, dazzled and entertained I was by Bill’s story and the abundance of varied art and images. This is Bill’s journey, told through his voice, and every page of this 264 page book is pure joy to read or to look at. Your Face (1987) was the film that introduced us to Plympton and was a breakthrough for him as an artist. It’s fascinating to see his early work fill the first 75 pages, as you can see his many influences (Yellow Submarine, Milton Glaser, David Levine) in his drawings. Your Face really nails what we are to know as Bill’s style – and from there on, in this book, we are able to see how he’s grown as an animator through storyboards, rough comics, production cels and pencil drawings. The text recounts his entire professional career. As “the king of the independent animators”, aspiring artists will find lots of inspiration in his story. Terry Gilliam contributes a hilarious Foreword in the front, and Bill provides a detailed Filmography in the back, along with a list of his personal inspirations (it’s a great list and includes Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Rod Scribner, Hayao Miyazaki and R. Crumb among many many others) as well as his all time favorite and worst films (where Bill counts The Chipmunk Adventure as one of the worst – even though he animated on it!). Independently Animated: Bill Plympton is available now on Amazon.com and at whichever book retailer still exists in your city. Also, New Yorkers can pick up the book directly from Bill on Monday May 2nd. Plympton is opening the doors of his New York City studio (153 W. 27th St. #1005) Monday from 4pm to 8pm to have a gala Starving Animator’s Sale of discounted artwork from all his classics: Your Face, How to Kiss, Guard Dog, The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger, Idiots and Angels. Refreshments will be served! 
Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse: “Race to Death Valley” (Vol. 1) is a brand new hard-cover comic strip compilation from Fantagraphics (Peanuts, Dennis the Menace, etc.). However unlike the others, this should be of particular interest to animators and Disney fans. The book reprints several early continuities (more than 200 pages of comics, all unedited) of the Mickey Mouse comic strip by Floyd Gottfredson (whose occasional collaborators included Win Smith, Jack King, Earl Duvall, Al Taliaferro and Walt Disney himself). The strips themselves are great. In fact, it’s a crime these aren’t more well known. These daily strips are part of why Mickey Mouse became a popular character and world famous icon. The serialized adventures are exciting and fun, establishing a real personality for Mickey beyond what was possible in the animated shorts. The book has lovingly restored these strips from the original negatives and proof sheets – each one crystal clear and absolutely beautiful. If that were all there was to this book, I’d recommend it highly. But that’s not all. Co-Editor David Gerstein has, as he did with his previous Mickey and the Gang volume, loaded this book with over 60 pages of supplementary articles and features that are a MUST for all Disney history buffs. Gerstein has packed the pages with all manner of extremely rare promotional material, newspaper clippings, artwork, rare strips, publicity art, merchandising, still photos, etc. none of which I’ve ever seen published anywhere before. These “sidebar” pieces include an appreciation by Floyd Norman, an introduction by Warren Spector and a Foreword by Thomas Andrae. Gerstein himself writes over 10 articles filling in the backstories of the cast of characters, as well as bios of Gottfredson and his collaborators. I cannot praise this volume highly enough. I want to thank Fantagraphics for sending me an advance copy hot off the press. It will be available next month in book stores and comic shops, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. Order it NOW! You will not regret it. |
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