The Forgotten Cult of “Marty the Monk”
Boyd La Vero’s cartoon studio is one of the most obscure – and it produced some of the strangest of these often-strange early 30s animated films.
Comics by Michael Maltese
Maltese freelanced in writing “funny animal” comic stories for the Sangor/Davis shop published between 1945-48 – and for Western Publishing (Dell and Gold Key) in the ‘60s and ‘70s
Bugs Bunny’s “British Invasion” on Records
From England comes an entertaining—though Blanc-less—tour of London with original songs and a dream sequence with Henry VIII, minus the beheadings.
The Second Annual Golden Awards Banquet, March 1st, 1985: The Video, Part 1
Another treasure from the archives of The Animation Guild, IATSE Local 839: part one of the video of the Second Annual Golden Awards Banquet in 1985.
Forgotten Anime #53: “The Girl from Phantasia” (1993)
A poor imitation of Urusei Yatsura without any of its charm. This one-shot OAV seems so short and vapid that you have to wonder why it was made.
Bolivar, the Ostrich Unspoken
How a St. Bernard from a 1936 cartoon and his subsequent Disney comics appearances may trace a path back to a forgotten character created by Pinto Colvig and Walter Lantz.
Animation Anecdotes #297
“Cartoonists are unusual people. They are adults who never grow old,” said Bill Hanna. “Our employees’ ages range from the teen-aged to the white-haired, but the atmosphere is that of the young at heart.”
Mid-Century Modern: UPA’s “Man Alive!” (1952)
Man Alive! is a strikingly designed and executed short by UPA produced for the American Cancer Society. The story has as much thought as the design.
Comics by Warren Foster
Here are a few of the known comic book stories, that I’m aware of, written by Fleischer-Warner Bros-Hanna Barbera storyman Warren Foster.
Jerry Beck is a writer, animation producer, college professor and author of more than 15 books on animation history. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon Movies and Disney, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He has curated cartoons for DVD and Blu-ray compilations and has lent his expertise to dozens of bonus documentaries and audio commentaries on such. Beck is currently on the faculty of CalArts in Valencia, UCLA in Westwood and Woodbury University in Burbank – teaching animation history. More about Jerry Beck [Click Here]
