Thursday, November 29, 2012

FLAT STELLA

No one tells me nothin'.

Especially about Flat Stanley.


Yeah...
I read the original book a long time ago.
But I 
ain't 
never  
done
heard of no


That is
until 
FISH HOOKS
mega executive producer
and 
GRIM ADVENTURES OF BILLY AND MANDY 
creator
brought in 
FLAT STELLA
sent to him by his nephew.

See,
the whole point is ya gotta
send your
Flat Stanley or Stella
to a friend or relative who then takes 
pictures of him/her doing new and exciting things.

Like recording in a real voice over studio:


and hanging with Shaun White:


Or 
GRAVITY FALLS
creator
(and voice of Clamantha)


And who wouldn't like to get a kiss from
the voice of Billy,


Unfortunately,
 that got voice actor 
a bit jealous:


(voice of Mr. Muscles)
stepped in to protect her:


So as you can see,
Flat Stella 
had a
ROCKIN' day
in 
LA!






Monday, November 26, 2012

HAPPY HOLIDAYS IN THE PRINTLAB

The holidays are all 
kinds of here again!
So...



It's that time
at the
PRINTLAB
again!

Aw yeah!

Time to order an awesome 
signed 
and 
inscribed
print for 
you,
your best friend,
your hip hop dance instructor,
taco truck driver,
saxophonist,
invisible boss,
pet hamster
and/or
boy named 
Sue.

C'mon...
one of them 
absolutely 
would 
LOVE
this:


or this:

or that:


And there's 
MOAR!
Go check 'em out
at the
mighty 
mighty
PRINTLAB!

But 
WAIT!
If you order before January 1st, 2013
you'll get a signed original
one-of-a-kind
hand-drawn sketch card
of the KND character of your choice
absolutely
FREE!
(limit one per person)

Here's an example or two:




So what are you waitin' for?
Head on over to the PRINTLAB
right
over
















Thursday, November 22, 2012

ROBOTECH!


I've loved
for, like,
ever.

I first saw the series on TV when I was in high school
and through obsessive/compulsive research 
(the only way to research in the pre-internet age)
learned about it's true Japanese origin:
MACROSS.

Transforming fighter jets.
Alien mecha.
Soap opera love triangles.


What wasn't to love?

I was able to find VHS bootlegs of the series
along with the 1980 movie
which totally changed my life.

Unfortunately, there were no dubs or subtitles.
I had to rely on fan mags like
ANIMAG
and 
PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS
for synopsis'.
(and finding them was no easy task)


I was also reading the comic adaptations 
by COMICO and when I found out their offices 
were in nearby Norristown, PA
I drove out and visited!
(YAY!  Free comics!)

Many years later when I lived in NYC,
I went to a small comic convention and found
this awesome art by Rich Rankin: 




I was psyched to get a page with both 
Khyron AND the SDF-1!
It's still hanging up in my studio today!

And here,
as an added bonus,
is the end battle from
MACROSS: LOVE, DO YOU REMEMBER.

And boy, is it DATED and clunky looking!
Blech!
But I still get chills at 5:45 when
the song ramps up and 
Hikaru guns his Veritech forward.

Oh, and I doubt you can see it in this low-res version,
but one of the missiles that flies through screen 
around 6:12 is a soda can.
I was the nerd freeze-framing through my VHS 
because I thought I saw something weird on my 2000th viewing.

Monday, November 19, 2012

FANART FUN

LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
these KND portraits 
by sooper talented operative
Patti Robinson.

Here's what she says about them:

Some were done with colored pencils and regular pencils, 
while others were done digitally with a neat program called ArtRage 
that simulates using paints on a canvas. I've also included a fun little digital illustration 
I drew in the KND style of Numbuh 86 dressed up 
like my favorite singer ever, Sarah Brightman, 
inspired by one of my favorite albums by her ever, Fly.







FUN!
Thanks for the awesome art, Patti!

Friday, November 16, 2012

PARANORMAN SCREENING BONUS

Not sure if you know this...
but I LOVE me some Marx Brothers.


So how psyched was I when I walked into the 
Paranorman screening at the 
to find a mini-exhibit featuring
assorted Harpo Marx paraphernalia?


VERY
psyched!







LOVE IT!

Just wish J.J. Sedelmaier coulda been there
because I totally thought of him when I saw this exhibit
AND
because he just-so-happened 
to mention me in a
Marx Brothers-related 
post over 



Thursday, November 15, 2012

FAR FROM NORMAL PARANORMAN SCREENING


Tis the season for the studios 
to start courting the Oscar and Annie voting public!
So there are lots of free DVD's coming in the mail
and invitations to free screenings!

For instance,

I took my little ninjas
to a sooper special screening
of Laika's
last weekend.


And it was a great one!
really pulled out all the stops
to make it a kid-centric event.

There was a fun photo booth,
kids coloring activities
and a
HUGE 
spread of ghostly treats!



There were a couple actual models from the movie:



And some characters in costume:


And doesn't everyone love a goody bag?




When it was time to watch the movie,
director/writer Chris Butler
came out to introduce it
and you know what?

I thought it was a really fun movie!
Lots of really good laughs...
Next-level stop motion animation and FX...
And sooper fun characters.

I especially loved the sequence when Norman meets the witch.
Really amazing and scary FX!

Thanks, Laika
and
Below The Line!
You guys did a screening
RIGHT!



Monday, November 12, 2012

THE KND ARE AT THE LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER



I've been thinking non-stop about all my people back East
after Hurricane Sandy dropped on 'em.
But if I know East Coast folks right,
(and I do)
they'll be back on their feet in no time.
Especially the New Yorkers.

So if you're out that way
and all is right with the world again,
you oughta stop by the Library Science Center
for some fun.

Why?

Because there's a 
"new"
animation exhibit that explains how
some for your favorite 
Cartoon Network shows
are made!

And I hear there's 
LOTS
of KND goodness in there!

So we had one of our top operatives,
 Numbuh Gabrielle,
sneak in and take some pictures:
























 

I'm not sure how long the exhibit is running
but for more information head over to 

But 
WAIT!

Perhaps you noticed
the quotes I put around the word
"NEW"
exhibit.

That's because it's not quite new.
It's actually an updated version of an older exhibit that's been 
traveling the country for a while now.

I got to see it at 
in Philadelphia around 6 years ago.
Back then the show was much more KND-centric.
I'm kinda bummed I can't find the picture 
I took of the GIANT banner stretching across 
the front of the museum with Numbuh Five on it.
It was a big moment for me because I used to 
go to the Franklin Institute a lot when I was a kid.
And there was one of my characters 
for all of Philly to see!

Awesome.

But I did find a couple of old pics:






So cool!