March 10, 2012

CARTOON PROJECTS

It's been a busy period for me as an artist and writer over the past couple of years. Creating Spy Vibe, working on a new non-fiction book, and composing a song re-mix- then a film- for Yoko Ono have all been fun and rewarding. Although it's been mostly film and writing news lately, I have also been savoring a return to my original love- cartooning! There are a couple of cartoon projects in the works that I look forward to sharing when the time is right. And I have been enjoying getting to know fellow artists in the area and spending time at the Charles Schulz Museum and the Disney Family Museum (both are must-see destinations if you are in the Bay area). Today I had the pleasure of visiting with Charles Schulz's wife, Jeannie Schulz, who gave cartoonist/writer, Brian Fies, and I a tour of Sparky's studio. Sitting at his drawing board, I felt like a pilot given an opportunity to sit in Charles Lindbergh's plane! Thrilling and inspiring. Here I am, the kid in me beaming (thanks to Brian for the photo and Jeannie for the lovely visit). More info over at my website, jasonwhiton.com. Spy Vibers, what were some of your favorite comics growing up?

10 comments:

  1. "Little Abner"
    "Peanuts"
    "Henry"
    "Nancy"
    "Dateline: Danger"

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  2. I am so jealous of you right now that I almost typed the f-word.

    Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts were my favorites growing up, but Canwell and Mullaney's reprints at IDW, plus the Roy Crane stuff from Fantagraphics in the past few years have given me tons more to read.

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  3. lol. great lists so far! i hope folks post more- maybe will inspire new reads.

    my growing up list: Peanuts, Hagar, B.C.
    college age: Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes.

    current faves: Mutts, Richard Sala, and Fantagraphics collections of Popeye, Peanuts, Krazy Kat.

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  4. I think Calvin & Hobbs is a touchstone for many of us. Get Fuzzy, the early years, was a fair substitute, although, it is getting a little long in the snaggle-tooth now. I did follow the James Bond and Modesty Blaise strips now reprinted by Titant, but it was the Garth strips (British again) that also held my attention.

    My current favorite read is 9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney.

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  5. 1. Major Jealousy! Happy for you, but green! Looks like a nice, sunny studio/office. 2. The dramatic arch comic strip I loved the most as a kid was Stan Lynde's "Rick O'Shay and Hipshot" - but as the child of a liberal mother, I was a Doonesbury fan before i even understood why. I always loved Dennis The Menace, Tiger, Beetle Bailey, and of course, Peanuts.

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  6. Oh, I was also a major Dick Tracy fan! In my childhood, Dick Tracy had become a sort of Alphaville comic, with hovering "trashcan" fliers, clearly labeled 2 Way wrist radio TV's, and other sci-fi elements imposed on a fairly straight detective story. That was pretty formative and influential.

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  7. I was an addict of the funny pages growing up--long before I ever discovered comic books. My favorites were Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side, though I read them all. A little later on Doonesbury became a favorite, too.

    In reprints I discovered James Bond (ordered the first American collection from the defunct James Bond Fan Club long before Titan ever printed their first collections) and Modesty Blaise, both of which Titan has done a great job with, and more recently X9 Secret Agent Corrigan thanks to IDW.

    Even before those, though, I guess my first exposure to any sorts of comics were the mammoth hardcover Little Lulu and Uncle Scrooge comics that my local library stocked. Loved those!

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  8. So great to hear about everyone's faves! I love those James Bond strips, too. Titan did a nice job. Dod anyone buy the omnibus edition? Were the pages printed smaller? I need to check out Dick Tracy and X9.

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  9. The pages ARE printed smaller in the Titan Omnibus editions, but they're SO well done. I actually prefer them to the large-format ones, even though the art's smaller. They're just really satisfying books, from their oversize, glossy covers (making them sort of a cross between a paperback and a hardcover) to the sheer number of strips they pack into a single volume. Plus, they're honestly a more convenient size for reading than the big ones. I hope they eventually redo Modesty Blaise in that format as well.

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  10. That's good to hear. I was afraid that the art would be hard to read/view. I also like the idea of having more stories per volume!

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