This is not comics, too, but we’re all big Pixar fans here, right??? Plus one detects perhaps a bit of influence from some of our favorite Pixar-based cartoonists here, as well.

UPDATE: Artist Paul Conrad writes to give credits —

Eric Tan did the “Journey into the Wild” (with the dogs).

Craig Foster did the SAA South American Air (with the Lama).

Erik Evans did the “Paradise Falls” (with the bird).

I did the rest.

There’s more on the posters at Conrad’s blog.

Also, we’re trying to find out if they are for sale, but apparently they were just sent out as files to websites as promo. If we find out any more, we’ll let ya know!

Anyway to celebrate the release of UP on DVD and Blu-Ray, Pixar has released a series of retro posters. Click for larger images.

A shocking connection…

The OG

…and a slightly more horrifying version

Topless Robot reports that the lackluster new CGI Astro Boy movie tanked in Japan and sticks the knife in a little deeper:

PERHAPS YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN JAPAN’S MOST BELOVED CHARACTER AND STUCK HIM IN A SHITTY CG MOVIE WITH VIRTUALLY NO REGARD FOR HIS ORIGINAL STORIES, WHICH MOST OF JAPAN KNOWS BY HEART. AND PERHAPS YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE CAST NIC CAGE AS A VOICE ACTOR, BECAUSE THAT’S LIKE HIRING CHARLES MANSON AS A BABYSITTER. NEITHER OF THEM HAVE THE APPROPRIATE SKILL SETS. Seriously, Astro Boy is so popular in Japan that he’s an official citizen — really. So if you make an Astro Boy movie which can’t beat Fast & Furious in Japan, you have failed beyond all measure. Well fucking done, assholes. Well fucking done.

If Colleen Doran’s exposé of a secret Fabio-financed Thor cartoon starring the romance model as the Thunder God is to be believed…terrifyingly close.

John K. recalls a ’90s classic: Stimpy’s Invention:

Stimpy’s Invention was 2 months late because of Nick delays and because they hated it and sat on it.

The next year, they told us to make more cartoons like Stimpy’s Invention and Space Madness.

WARNING: I’ve gotten reports that clocking on the link activates a Trojan Horse so proceed at your own risk.

Oh, we missed you.

We totally predicted that the G.Butt-hosted SNL would go there! And it did.

Or Playboy has a sense of humor. That’s right, TILF Marge Simpson graces the cover of the next issue of Playboy, in what is described as a five-page pictorial with “Implied nudity.”
Luckily, no other toon ladies are planning to enhance their career in this manner,

Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, while plugging his new movie, THE INVENTION OF LYING, Ricky Gervais showed a drawing of the character designs for his upcoming HBO animated series (based on the podcasts he did with partner Stephen Merchant and bald Manc Karl Pilkington).

Ricky looks remarkably like Fred Flintstone.

Steve is tall.

And Karl still has a head that looks like a [censored] orange.

The show will apparently begin in the US in January.

Maybe.

Marvel launched its first all-original downloadable motion comic on iTunes yesterday, and according to the press release you are about to read, it was a hit, debuting at #1 on the Television-Animation chart and #2 on the Top Television Episodes chart. Created by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev, the project certainly has the creative pedigree to be competitive. Could this be yet another venue for the Marvel empire to expand?

Official PR below:

Marvel is pleased to announce that the first episode of Spider-Woman Motion Comic has conquered iTunes, debuting as the #1 episode on the Television-Animation sales chart and as the #2 episode on the Top Television Episodes sales chart. The New York Times Best-Selling team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (Halo Uprising) present Marvel’s first ever original motion comic as Spider-Woman embarks on a new mission that’ll change the Marvel Universe forever! With national coverage from MTV to the LA Times, everyone’s talking about the first episode of the Spider-Woman Motion Comic, available now on iTunes!

“To wake up this morning and see Spider-Woman ranked so high on the iTunes charts is crazy insane to me,” gushed Brian Michael Bendis. “Thanks to all the readers, and especially the motion comics first timers, who tried us out and than hit the subscribe button. To quote the Stan: you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

“I’m thrilled to see fans responding so enthusiastically to Marvel’s first motion comic,” said Alex Maleev. “Thanks to all the fans who’ve purchased Spider-Woman and I can’t wait till you see what’s next!”

John Dokes, Vice President, Sales and Marketing- Digital Media said, “Everyone at Marvel is proud of the Spider-Woman motion comic and this superb launch has exceeded all our expectations. Brian and Alex, have re-energized the geek in me—you have to see this for yourself!”

Fans can purchase the first episode of Spider-Woman on iTunes here now! For more information on motion comics please visit Marvel.com

at www.marvel.com/motioncomics

Yes. Yessssssssssssss.

Now how ON EARTH are they going to do this? Maybe Ahmed Best can play Ringo.

We can kinda see Heinz Edelmann’s classic designs being”fleshed out” to 3D…their blobbiness is very similar to what most CGI characters look like.

According to the piece, the remake — planned for a 2012 release, just in time for the Summer Olympics in London — can be spun off into a musical and a Cirque du Soleil-type stage show.

We recommend getting Julie Taymor, Bono and the Edge to do the adaptation.

In our mega-con report, we had a brief mention of the great Fables/Venture Brothers rumble at San Diego, and fuller reports and some fallout are to be found on a variety of message boards.

Over at the Fables board, things kick off with an open letter from one of the Venture fans who had camped out in the panel room during the Fables panel (which was scheduled just prior to the Ventures panel in one of the larger hall rooms), leaving little room for the Fables fans — many costumed — who were left waiting outside. The letter criticizes writer Bill Willingham for “insulting” the Venture Bros. fans instead of trying to expose them to the merits of Fables. The letter draws a somewhat testy response from Willingham. There’s also this report on what took place with getting people in and out of the panel:

The problems were compounded when the convention staff mismanaged the line. Apparently an inexperienced individual was tasked with forming the line in the backside hallway and wrapped it back and forth before crossing the second doorway creating the third column to the line which was not wanted. When the subsequent person took over, he formed a new line where it was wanted without making any attempt to accommodate the mismanaged portion of the line which was comprised of people who had arrived an hour before the panel to get in. Soon, these people were told that they were not in line and that they needed to leave. I can’t say how this shock out exactly because I was forced to take my kids to this panel and left one to hold our place while I took the other to use the bathroom and to get them some snacks. When I returned however it did not appear that many had left and the few people I had talked to were still there. At any rate, Bill Willingham somehow became aware of this fiasco and actually came out and personally apologized to this portion of the line. It was pretty clear that he had hoped to be able to address a much larger segment of his fans and it did not look like it was going to work at nearly as well as he had hoped he was clearly disappointed. I stuck it out and was able to get into the room having missed only the first few minutes of the presentation. Although, my children and I had to each sit separate. I will commend the interior staff of this panel for working diligently to accommodate as many people as possible. Unfortunately this was not the case with a certain other room I had had some experience with earlier in the show.

There’s also this heartbreaking eyewitness account:

We gave up on the line around forty minutes into the panel and after a forlorn Snow White in full costume was walking by, we had moved halfway up the line, which had wrapped around the room on three sides.

While the Fables fans who characterize The Venture Bros. as a “show that makes fun of everything” obviously aren’t very familiar with it (it’s really more of a dark, Heller-esque dissection of pop culture tropes….kinda like…Fables). given Fables’ very passionate and loyal following, you can understand their frustration.

And, in a move that seems to be very much is keeping with the thinking following this year’s scrum, Willingham hints that they are looking into moving the Fables panel to a site away from the convention next year.

Finally, the official podcast of the Fables panel is up so listeners can judge for themselves what was said.

UPDATE: CBR has their own report on the incident, with quotes from all sides.

Although I have been leaning towards the laissez faire first come, first served policy, maybe it IS time for room clearing in the bigger rooms…or separate lines that can only start two hours before a panel in the BIGGEST rooms? That would definitely separate the wheat from the chaff but leave room for other stuff.

We’d heard rumors that Warren Ellis would be at San Diego, turns out he’s there to host the presentation of Marvel’s new anime Iron Man and Wolverine.
UPDATE: on his blog, the notoriously con-shy Ellis wrote:

Okay, the word got out a while ago, and I’m being drowned in emails tonight, so let’s get this done. By the power of contractual obligation, I am appearing at the San Diego Comic-Con 2009 under the exclusive aegis of Sony, Madhouse and Marvel Anime. I am in San Diego for something less than 36 hours. This is my only appearance at San Diego. Here’s the press release.

PR Below:

Marvel Entertainment Inc., has partnered with renowned Japanese animation studio Madhouse (Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers) to create four all new anime versions of classic Marvel Super Heroes. Get an exciting first glimpse of two of the planned four series at this year’s Comic-Con International, the country’s leading comics and popular arts convention. The Marvel Animation Panel will be held on Friday, July 24, and will include an exclusive first look at official teaser trailers for two of these new series, hosted by writer and multiple-Eagle Award winner Warren Ellis, who will appear to discuss writing the all new adventures of these re-imagined Super Heroes.

These Marvel Anime TV series are being created as a way of merging the beloved Marvel Super Heroes of western culture with the bold animation tradition of Japan. The resulting product will be four visually groundbreaking anime series featuring popular Super Heroes redesigned and repurposed as emerging from the fabric of Japanese culture. The series is expected to begin appearing on the Animax channel in Japan in spring of 2010.

The Marvel Animation Panel with run from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, July 24, at the San Diego Convention Center. An autograph signing with Ellis will follow the panel at Marvel’s Comic-Con booth #2429.

(more…)

This press release is a little long, but it’s worth it just to see Sergio Aragonés’s accomplishments laid out in one very very long paragraph. In the time it takes to read it, he probably drew a whole page!

Bart Simpson teams up with Sergio Aragonés beginning in Bart Simpson #50.

Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons” and “Futurama,” has announced that Sergio Aragonés (MAD Magazine, Groo the Wanderer) will become a regular featured artist and writer in Bart Simpson comics beginning with issue #50. Sergio Aragonés will provide the entire contents of Bart Simpson #50 as well as the cover art. The issue will include an eleven-page main story entitled “The Simpson Project.” Mr. Aragonés will also contribute a new and ongoing feature entitled “Maggie’s Crib,” a series of pantomime stories much in the vein of his classic three-page “A Mad Look At…” feature found in MAD Magazine. Sergio will also be a contributor of stories to the Bart Simpson title as well as other Bongo Comics Group titles on a regular basis.
 
Bart Simpson #50 will be released on October 28, 2009 in direct market comic book stores and at newsstands. Bart Simpson is a bimonthly comic book aimed at younger comic book readers and was launched in 2000.
 
“I have been a Simpsons fan from the very beginning,” says Sergio Aragonés. “I watch the show, read the comics, and collect everything that has come out, so imagine the pleasure to now be writing and drawing my favorite family…I couldn’t be happier!”
 
Bill Morrison, Bongo Comics Creative Director, says, “We’ve put some of the funniest characters ever created in the hands of the world’s funniest cartoonist. This is unprecedented in the world of humor comics, and it may result in more comedy than the average reader can safely handle. I predict it’ll be just like that movie The Perfect Storm, only hilarious.”
 
“Sergio’s the best,” says Matt Groening, Bongo Comics founder and publisher, “and it’s an honor to work with him.”

(more…)

Top Shelf has announced that an OWLY cartoon, created by Sprite Animation, will debut at SD. Andy Runton’s charming, wordless owl would seem to be ideal for a cartoon. PR:

Owly, the kindhearted star of the award-winning graphic novel series by Andy Runton, will come to life in an animated short at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 23-26.

It was jointly announced today by Chris Staros, Publisher of Top Shelf Productions and Junichi Yanagihara, Executive Producer at Sprite Animation Studios that the loveable Owly and his unlikely best friend Wormy will be animated in a brand-new original segment directed by Moto Sakakibara and storyboarded by creator Andy Runton. Prominently featured will be Runton’s innovative “Pictomation,” a storytelling device in which the characters’ thoughts and feelings are animated with iconic and expressive images rather than dialogue, enabling fans of all ages, languages, and backgrounds to enjoy the show.

“I’m absolutely overjoyed to be working with the entire Sprite team. Over the past months, we’ve worked very closely to make sure Owly was faithfully translated to 3D. Every little detail was important to them, and the end result blows me away! They’ve created an animation that captures the pure essence of Owly in ways I never thought possible. It’s amazing to see Owly and Wormy come to life like this. The level of artistry at Sprite is incredible.” said creator Andy Runton.

“I am very passionate about the world of ‘Owly’ and its pure, honest, and adorable star. It is such a blessing to be able to bring Owly to new audiences who have not yet been touched by these wonderful stories,” said director Moto Sakakibara.

(more…)

CN and AS have a huge slate of events and panels and signings, with Star Wars, Batman: The Bold and the Brave, Ben 10 and other smashes, but all we’ve got eyes for are the Mighty Boosh guys — Noel Fielding, Julian Barrett, Michael Fielding, Dave Brown, Richard Fulcher — who will be paneling, signing, and spinning at a Mighty Boosh party Friday night. Other fan events include a picnic with Tim and Eric, and a Robot Chicken roller skating party.

And oh yeah, our beloved Venture Bros. crew will be there, including Doc, Jackson, James Urbaniak and Michael Sinterniklaas.

All lies below the jump!

(more…)

THE MAXX was a strange but compelling comic by Sam Kieth that came from Image back in the ’90s. It was about a homeless man who became a superhero in a place called The Outback, which might just be imaginary. He’s helped in this by a social worker named Julie Winters, and the comic was very, very odd. Then MTV made a cartoon out of THE MAXX which was just as odd and just as good. (Jesus, remember when cable TV took chances?????) Anyway, now MTV.com is streaming the series, and from what we’re hearing, they hold up pretty well. Since it isn’t on DVD, we recommend you go take a look.

’90s NOSTALGIA!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that there will now be TEN Best Picture nominees instead of only five. Certainly done for marketing reasons (more pictures with Oscar nominations, don’t you know?), the question to ask in these here parts is: How does this effect both “genre movies” and animated features?

Thoughts?

While running around the Internet, we happened upon the news of the death of animator/cartoonist Jaime Diaz. The Argentininan born Diaz had a lengthy career in animation, working with Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon on everything from Dexter’s Lab to Fairly Odd Parents and everything in between.

During a decade-plus stint back in Argentina, Diaz opened an animation/comics studio, and I worked with many of his fine artists in my Disney days. Their work was always completely professional and occasionally inspired, and I always got a kick out of the faxes with Diaz’s big signature at the bottom. The Jaime Diaz Studio hired many local artists who were were good enough to work for Disney, but couldn’t find enough work in original Argentinian comics…yet another case where the American product has drowned out the local, as far as I could tell. Anyway, if you ever picked up a copy of Disney Adventures or a Disney comics in the early ’90s, you certainly saw the work of the Jaime Diaz Studio, and they also did a lot of animation work.

I recall Cosme Quartieri as being one of the finest artists there, and Walter Carzon, who later drew a bunch of Warner Bros comics, including ANIMANIACS. From reading the comments on his death I learned that Bill Diaz, Jaime’s son, passed away two years ago. I also worked with Bill on various projects over the years, and that’s sad to hear; it seems the older Diaz had never recovered from this loss.

After Disney Comics shut down and other kids’ comics died away in the mid ’90s, Diaz came back to the US to resume work in the animation field. Larry Huber has much more on his life and career, including Diaz’s own original creations. Cartoon Brew has more, as does Fred Seibert.

I never met Diaz, and I doubt that anyone reading this who didn’t work in animation this even knew his name, but they should have. Diaz is certainly exemplary of a level of talent and craft that touches and inspires those he worked with, and produced a body of work which entertains and charms generations. My condolences go out to his family.

Please Say Something - Full Length from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Three years ago we were going on and on about how much we loved this tiny bit of animation by someone named David OReilly, and now he’s won the Short Film prize at the Berlinale for the above film, called “Please Say Something.” It’s about “A troubled relationship between a Cat and Mouse set in the distant Future.” It’s also a pretty extraordinary piece of storytelling that is entirely fresh, heartbreaking, lyrica,l and disturbing all at once. It recalls Krazy Kat, Felix the Cat, Chris Ware, Jason, and a lot of other things. We haven’t loved a cartoon like this since the Quay Brothers.

You can see more cartoons (executed in vector animation) at the link. Like we said, totally fresh and modern, in an unexpected way .

Spotted via Graham Linehan.

If this doesn’t make you choke up a little…

And on the 8th day, God said, “Cats shall take over the Internetz,” for surely thr kittiez and the Interweb goeth hand in hand.

To wit, the SIMON’S CAT cartoons on YouTube, whose viewership ranks in the millions range. Creator Simon Tofield, a London-based animator has truly captured the titanic destructive force that only a cute, loving cat can unleash.

According to a PR we just received from Grand Central, SIMON’S CAT will hit print this fall. The upcoming book contains all-new cartoon strips of cat-filled mischief. Cute, and we’re suckers for cats, we admit it right out of the box.

Via Flog, Dash Shaw’s next project will be a book from Fantagraphics, and an animated web cartoon on IFC.com, entitled The Unclothed Man in the 35th Century A.D. The book arrives in November 2009 and the web series comes soon after. The book will be previewed at this week’s BEA.

Each short episode of this five-part web series chronicles Rebel X-6, a man who works for a well-funded anti-droid organization. The fifth episode will provide behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the series. The premiere on IFC.com marks Dash Shaw’s first animated series and will be based on a story line he has developed for several years. Seattle’s Fantagraphics Books is set to publish a book by the same name and characters.

“Dash Shaw is a known entity in the comic book realm with a cult following. We’re excited to bring him, his art and his fans to IFC.com, a platform that recognizes and broadens the reach of up-and-coming, independent content makers,” said Craig Parks, vice president of digital media at IFC. “Shaw’s work on IFC.com will offer a fresh and completely unique take on the animation genre; the type of approach that defines our brand.”

The series features an animated hero, Rebel X-6, and his quest to bring out change in the 35th century A.D.. Rebel X-6 works for an anti-droid organization that opposes the use of droids in all sectors of modern society. An artist guild that opposes the use of droids in art class hires Rebel X-6. They believe living people should model for life drawings. Rebel X-6’s assignment is to enter Art School 46 posing as “Model-Droid #343.” Model droids appear life-like but do not laugh, cry, swear or exhibit other human shortcomings. His mission is to subvert the school’s ban on drawings of real humans by tricking the students into drawing him.