BOOKS WRITTEN BY JERRY BECK

The blue book to the left was the first WARNER BROS. CARTOONS filmography, published by Scarecrow Press in 1981. The green book in the center is the same book (with a new Introduction) reprinted in 1997 (and still available!). To the right is the "bible" of Warner Bros. cartoons, published by Henry Holt in 1989 -- it has just recently gone out of print! You better grab a copy if you can find it. Amazon.com link.

"I TAWT I TAW A PUTTY TAT" (above left) was published in 1991 by Henry Holt in hardcover and softcover. It is out of print, but you can check ebay and amazon.com for a used copy.
"THE 50 GREATEST CARTOONS" (center) was published in 1994 by Turner Publishing. It can still be found in bargain book stores if you look hard, under the "JG Press" imprint. Amazon.com is selling it here.
"WARNER BROS. ANIMATION ART" was published in 1997 by Hugh Lauter Levin Publishers. It was also reprinted under the "Beaux Arts Editions" imprint. Both those editions features a faux "cel" imbetted in the cover. The latest reprint, with a normal "flat" cover under the Barnes & Noble Books imprint, can be found (if you're lucky) in the bargain bins for $15 bucks.

Outlaw Animation (2003)
from Harry N. Abrams

and

Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide (2003) from Dorling Kindersley.

Both are now available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Virgin Mega Stores, comic book shops and wherever fine books are sold.

ANIMATION ART (2 004) covers everything from Little Nemo (1908) to Finding Nemo (2003). Over 23 animation history experts have combined their knowledge to contribute to this project. It's a large format, comprehensive, high quality encyclopedic art book covering the history of animation throughout the world. The book is roughly divided into decades to reveal the clear developments in each era. Cross-referencing shows the increasing globalization of animation from the 1930s, when the industry and creative imagination of Walt Disney began to infect artists and producers the world over. Jerry Beck is the General Editor. Contributors to the volume include Harvey Deneroff, Michael Mallory, Chris Robinson, David Gerstein, Graham Webb, Mark Mayerson, Harry McCracken, Fred Patten, Ray Pointer, and others. Order ANIMATION ART from Amazon.com

Now On Sale from DK Publishing:

PINK PANTHER: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE from Dorling Kindersley is the ultimate resource of all things Clouseau, all things DePatie Freleng, all things Pink Panther. This highly illustrated book covers all the Panther cartoon shorts, The Inspector cartoons, Roland & Ratfink, Tijuana Toads, Ant & The Aardvark, Hoot Kloot, Blue Racer, The Dogfather, Crazy Legs Crane, Misterjaw, and much much more. The book covers all ten Clouseau live action movies including the one with Alan Arkin, and the new one with Steve Martin. The book covers the Saturday Morning TV shows, the merchandising and the comic books. And everything else! It's the coolest book you'll ever own!

It's on sale NOW - or you can order it through Amazon.com today!

Think Pink!

Now On Sale from Chicago Review Press:

THE ANIMATED MOVIE GUIDE is the ultimate illustrated reference to cartoon, stop-motion, and computer-generated feature films. Going beyond the box-office hits of Disney and Dreamworks, this guide to every animated movie ever released in the United States covers more than 300 films over the course of nearly 80 years of film history. Well-known films such as Finding Nemo and Shrek are profiled, as well as hundreds of other films, many of them rarely discussed, are analyzed, compared, and catalogued. The origin of the genre and what it takes to make a great animated feature are discussed, and the influence of Japanese animation, computer graphics, and stop-motion puppet techniques are brought into perspective. Every film analysis includes reviews, four-star ratings, background information, plot synopses, accurate running times, consumer tips, and MPAA ratings. Appendices, guides to made-for-TV movies, direct-to-video releases, foreign films that were never theatrically released in the U.S., and live-action films with significant animation round out the volume.

Written by Jerry Beck and his expert associates - Martin Goodman, Andrew Leal, W.R. Miller and Fred Patten - The Animated Movie Guide, is a 400 page trade paperback published by the Chicago Review Press. It's on sale NOW at your favorite bookshop - or you can order it at Amazon.com right now.

From Dark Horse Books

When I worked for Harvey Entertainment in 1993-94, I discovered they had proofs ("silverprints") of all the original artwork for Harvey Comics dating back to 1952. These early comics of Casper, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Baby Huey, Little Audrey and others were amazing! The linework, the inking, the drawings, the stories. They felt like animated cartoons - and that was because they had been written and drawn by artists at Paramount's Famous Studios. For years I tried to get this material reprinted. At last, thanks to the folks at Classic Media, Dark Horse publishing, and my collaborator/editor Leslie Cabarga, this incredible work is finally being reprinted. And I had the privilege to write an introduction for each volume. The CASPER, RICHIE RICH and HOT STUFF volumes are now on sale, BABY HUEY in July 2008 (at the San Diego Comic Con!) and LITTLE AUDREY (with Little Dot and Lotta) will be coming in the fall. Buy them all! They are great!

My 2007 Books!

THE ART OF BEE MOVIE (publication date: October 4th, 2007) The new Dreamworks Animation movie written, produced and starring Jerry Seinfeld! Here is the cool behind the scenes production art that created the beehive, Central Park, Manhattan and the incredible characters. Chronicle Books (they do all the Pixar "Art of" books) has outdone themselves with this lavish volume.

NOT JUST CARTOONS: NICKTOONS! (publication date: October 29th, 2007) This is the first book to collect all thirty-one of the groundbreaking cartoons into one dynamic volume. The creators of every show open up their archives, revealing napkins scrawled with early prototypes: see SpongeBob before he started wearing pants, storyboards, one-of-a- kind cels, and more. A crazy gigantic art book for the entire family!

THE HANNA BARBERA TREASURY (publication date: November 27th, 2007) This book celebrates the legacy of Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera through more than five decades of rare drawings, storyboards, concept art, and memorabilia from studio archives and private collections. It includes more than 24 removable artifacts and facsimile reproductions, as well as photographs, sketches, comic book covers, brochures, posters, vintage art, rare merchandising images, retro product packages, and archival newspaper and magazine ads!

Coming Fall 2008!

THE ART OF MADAGASCAR (publication date: October 7th, 2008). Three words: Craig Kellman artwork. This book is loaded with the early sketches and beautiful production paintings that were pre-viz development for Dreamworks Madagascar and it's sequel Madagascar Back 2 Africa.