Cartoon Central

The whole debacle started on Friday when Pakistan ordered access to YouTube be blocked due to videos including the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that caused such a stir last year. When the telecoms did as the Pakistani government ordered, all traffic requests for YouTube were sent to a virtual black hole where the data was discarded. The problem became global when somehow their traffic redirect got sent out to one of the twenty largest data carriers, PCCW of Hong Kong.

Dick Tracy has had quite a few spin-offs in other media, from radio series to movie serials to a few cartoons (now on DVD), to the 1990 Warren Beatty film. Maybe you didn’t like it, but I love this movie. Heck, I even dug the board game they made from it. The film had fantastic sets and colors to reflect the old-timey Sunday comic strip tone, and it featured a pile of classic Tracy baddies. This film fueled my fondness for Dick Tracy. It also spawned a tie-in comic with art by Kyle Baker, which is cool. Usually, Tracy’s involvement in the world of comic books is through reprints, but this was original material. I’d like to see something of the kind these days– maybe a “Dick Tracy Begins” kind of graphic novel? That’d be interesting.

The Hollywood Canteen was founded by Bette Davis & John Garfield, modeled after broadways ‘Stage Door Canteen’. Hollywood’s finest hour. It wasn’t about money — it was about providing an unforgetable experience for more than 3,000,000 servicemen.

I’m quite a fan of George W Bush and find most of the cartoons made about him to be cheap shots. But sometimes someone draws something that’s clever and you have to suspend your allegiance and just applaud the creative thought. I think this is one of those moments:

There need to be more cool ass cartoons on the air like this - so go vote, because the Sci Fi channel apparently is retarded.

Mad props go out to Saturday Night Live and writer Robert Smigel for creating the TV Funhouse series of cartoons.

Lately, though, there have been a few questions regarding my kids cartoons that have been bothering me.

Example 1: My mother once told me that she woke up to the sound of me laughing when I was about six years old. She looked in my room and I wasn’t in my bed. She followed the sound of my laughter, and found me in the living room, sitting somewhat close to the T.V. laughing at a blank screen. She told me that when she said my name, I immediately stopped laughing, slowly turned my head toward her and just sat there with my eyes closed like I was sleeping, but just sitting up. She again said my name and asked what I was doing. I responded with “I was just watching cartoons.” She said that I continued to sit there looking in her direction with my eyes closed. She then had to come over to me, pick me up and carry me to bed.

The good news is that I don’t dream of making out with cartoon characters anymore. Probably because the quality of modern day cartoons favors style over character and story. Just watch some old Nickelodeon in comparison to new Nickelodeon.

From Dave Walker of The Cartoon Blog fame comes We Blog Cartoons. Cool eh?

Click to the title to find a link that lists everywhere in the US that the Mohammed Cartoons have been published, including quite a few blogs.

Wie auch immer, es handelt sich beim Fall des Elefantennummer-Cartoons um eine Güterabwägung. Ist die Meinungsfreiheit im Interesse des öffentlichen Interesses stärker zu gewichten oder das Interesse eines einzelnen? Dies ist aber nicht ganz mit unserer Problematik zu vergleichen, da wir von Angehörigen einer Regligion sprechen. Mit anderen Worten, wir sprechen nicht nur von einem oder zwei Individuen, die sich betroffen fühlen könnten, sondern von vielen, von Angehörigen einer Regligion, von tausenden oder gar millionen von Menschen. Erhält die Thematik dadurch ein anderes Gewicht?

During the Danish cartoon row the question was raised who would be next. Could it be the Dutch cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot? Gregorius Nekschot stays anonymous and uses a pseudonym. Long before the Danish cartoon case even existed, he made a lot of cartoons related to politics and religion, not only about Islam.

All the more sad then that the Vatican has followed the British Foreign Secretary in appeasing the critics of the publication of the cartoons.

And, as if that weren’t exciting enough, I’ve also reposted three of the “classic” EatBoogers.com animations. You’ll need the flash player to view the cartoons. You’ll need professional therapy to recover from the damage they’ll do to your brain.

The Private SNAFU cartoons are sexy, jingoistic, and sometimes racist, but they’re also amazing examples of looney tooncraft and deserve to be seen despite their shortcomings. In other words, while these toons are probably not appropriate for impressionable youngsters or touchy adults, they’re a really interesting history lesson for grown-ups.

Following up on Randall’s post regarding cartoons of Muhammed in a Danish newspaper and the sadly predictable violent backlash against it, it seems that the UN “experts on racism” has grabbed the opportunity to condemn the freedom of speech.

Classic story here, something out of the cartoons. Two El Salvador robbers dug a 250ft long tunell underneath the city to reach a city bank.

Well last week was one of the most insane weeks (and depressing) that I have had in years. The week itself started out insane, but got alot better as the week went on, even having dinner with a good friend which helped make my week 100% better. I also wanted to give congrats to my best friend getting engaged, I have been hearing the details right now. Friday I got to play DnD as I normally do and it was a great break to lead into the weekend with. I slept until 10 on saturday, missing all the sat. morning cartoons (boo) but my body must have needed it, I haven’t coughed this entire weekend. Between napping, doing homework, and sleeping, my saturday went to waste fairly quickly, but I was quasi-productive (wish i could have done more, but i needed a break from a hecktic lifestyle).

» Don’t miss the Homestar Runner Pumpakin Stencils. Nothing beats Bubs on a pumpkin. Nothing. No, don’t argue. (While you’re there, hit the Holiday button in the toons section and watch all the Halloween/Decemberween cartoons you can find. Again, if necessary.) For some other, um, unconventional pumpkin ideas, check out Extreme Pumpkins. Don’t try some of these at home…

Ah, it brings me back to the heady days of Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton (D-Yes) and all the jokes that used to fly round, even round the elementary school I attended at the time. Political cartoons of Blanton with the caption, Pardon Me Guv'ner! And people singing Pardon me, Ray, is that the Chattanooga Choo-choo!

This blog is a celebration of a passion that I have been doing since I was seventeen, GAMING. The technology has changed, but the games are the same. So, I want this to be a "fun" blog for science fiction, fantasy, comics, cartoons, game loving bibliophiles like me who are 40 plus.

But now Sundays don’t have that effect on me. The last of the laundry gets put away, the kitchen is scrubbed, livingroom dusted (usually … I try, you know), maybe I’ll go grocery shopping … everything sort of falls into place and I begin the week with a fresh start. No true miracle really, since I don’t exactly leap out of bed early on a Monday bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I’ve definitely made progress. Sunday night is the only night I have a tv schedule, too. My boyfriend, Tony, and I like to kick back and watch Family Guy and American Dad, by far two of the funniest cartoons on these days. (Besides the Simpsons of course, but that’s sort of a given).

Raymond Uhlir’s first solo show, “Hooray for Sanctimony: A Calvinist Adventure Through the Sophist Temple of Doom,” is a Saturday-versus-Sunday mashup of scriptural illumination and cartoon-morning psychedelia. In seven paintings and more than a dozen drawings, Raymond drafts the fundamental template for a fundamentalist mythology—told with a syntax borrowed from video games, cartoons, and choose-your-own-adventure serials. His superflat style is cousin both to Inka Essenhigh’s dramatic narratives and Takashi Murakami’s reflections on popular culture. And, almost as an afterthought, Uhlir captures the two crucial factors that have made religious observation the worldwide hit that it is today: fear and sexual repression.

He was a pilot, and had us all, my four brothers and me, take flying lessons. And several years ago we all got together ... father, four brothers and I ... and bought a Cessna 414, though my share is considerably smaller than the others, and we've had lots of fun with it. The interior is plastered with his Far Side cartoons. His favorite, enlarged and posted in the cockpit: Pilot says to co-pilot: "Say, what's a mountain goat doing way up here in the clouds?"

Presenting the second installment of Narcissus the Snake. In this episode Narcissus reveals his caring side.

Created a new Wiki page on Drawing Techniques - contains Line and Wash and Ink and Pencil at the moment - both techniques that anyone who’s done a bit of drawing would probably be familliar with, but I’m just learning all this myself.

Just yesterday I learned that the old Danger Mouse cartoons have been released in the US through a deal with A&E home video. I think that is very cool. I remember when DM was on Nickleodeon. It always amused me. It has that bizarre and dry British humor. Susie is a fan of DM too so we’re getting the first offering (seasons 1 & 2) on DVD. We look forward to the release of the the rest of the seasons in the near future.

Did you know? You can feel most handgun bullets passing near you, even when they don’t hit you. The wake of their passing through the air creates a cone of disturbance behind them, drawing a shockwave much wider in diameter than the bullet itself. Some of them also make a distinct buzzing sound as they pass. The singing ricochet you hear in movies and cartoons is exceedingly rare, and is more like a zip than a whine if it’s close to you. Most of the time, bullets impacting make the same sound as a blow from a small hammer. On concrete, it’s just a “splat.” I know, because I’ve experienced it first-hand, though I won’t describe the circumstances. Military stuff, you see.

Now this is hilarious: Spamusement! Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!

We went and saw Batman Begins and The Longest Yard at The Cherry something Drive in theatre. It was really some good times. Batman Begins was awesome. After seeing Christian Bale in American Psycho I couldn’t really see him being a convincing Batman. However, he took the whole series to a new level. It reminded me of all those Batman cartoons that I watched when I was younger. Who even remembers Gordon? I do now.

12. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

These guys at Spamusment take real spam subject lines and make some funny cartoons about them.

Donald Duck's birthday has come around again and I thought you'd all like to be reminded about how much I hate cartoon animals who don't wear pants.

Canadian political cartoonist Aidan is back with a new series of Conservative Edge cartoons.

Upload a .jpg or .gif picture of your face, and it will morph the image to show you what you’d look like as a baby, child, elder, ape, various cartoons… many are creepy, but i liked the cartoon it made out of my senior picture.

Cell Animation :- The term cell drives from the clear celluloid sheets that were used for drawing each frame, which have been replaced today by acetate or plastic. Cells of famous animated cartoons have become sought after, suitable-for-framing collector’s items.

But their latest publishing project does take them into digital territory. This October, in a big legacy move, the venerable weekly will release 4,109 issues - every single page since the February 1925 founding and the 80th anniversary issue this year - on an eight-DVD set. "The Complete New Yorker" (see NY Times story) will go for about $100 (though Walmart is already listing it for $59.22), and will also contain a 123-page book with an introduction by editor David Remnick. A big improvement on microfilm, the discs will allegedly be searchable by computer, though how granular the search is remains to be seen. For it to be more than just a collector's item, it should be fully structured and offer fine-toothed find functionality. Remnick confirms, however, that readers will have the option of browsing just the cartoons (as many of us do).

I first came across this blog a couple of months ago through a link from the fabulous Chez Pim food blog (see blogroll). It's called Gaping Void (also in the blogroll) and it's one man's creative and biting look at the world through single panel cartoons drawn on the back of business cards. This particular panel is one of my favorites and sums up quite succinctly (among other things) how embarassingly personal blogging has become. Of course, revelations on Steamed Rice have not and will never reach such a level as the one suggested by the woman...

The Castle Films company started out distributing newsreels, mostly to schools, in the 1930's. A few years later they began issuing a catalog of films for home use. 16 mm projector owners bought and watched abridged versions of Abbott and Costello comedies, horror movies, and cartoons much the way we collect and watch DVD's. Castle Films continued producing these films until the mid-1970's.

Thurl Ravenscroft, best known as the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes commercials, has died at the age of 91, the cause being reported as prostate cancer. His rich, bass voice was also known to audiences from his many years as a singer, plus you could hear him all over Disneyland. (That’s Thurl singing, “Grim, Grinning Ghosts” in the Haunted Mansion, and one of the busts along that ride was fashioned to look like him.) He also sang “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” on the animated TV...

Like to send e-cards to friends and relatives but tired of the same tired Flash-animated cartoons? Try the Museum of Modern Art's e-cards. They are free - and they feature artists like Klee, Brancusi and Modigliani. (And that's Chagall's L'Anniversaire painting above - also available as an e-card.)

"As violence has surged throughout Iraq, and in Baghdad in particular, over the last few weeks, Mr. Naama has sketched images that make light of the very dark situation, in which car bombings and killings tear through Iraqis' schools, and follow them to the market, to work and home. His cartoons appear in several daily newspapers.

Don Frankenfeld posted links today under “4,000 and counting,” a topic that was way back on April 30. Don’s links are great. I clicked on one, made a few hyperlink jumps and came up with the cartoons above and below. I found them at a very odd site called gapingvoid.com. I recommend a trip. Here’s a quote under the above cartoon:

And this example is not the onlyone. Get more, visit gapingvoid.

Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this edition will include all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication.

As some of you readers may know, Dr. Seuss worked for the US government from 1941 to 1943 and drew many political cartoons, all in his patented Dr. Seuss style. All his work during this time is available here. In keeping with the spirit of his work, I’ve updated a few of them in order to make them relevant today. You saw the first yesterday. ComingAnarchy presents another for you:

This cartoon probably too girly for a boy like me but definitely not shame to admit I used to be a fan, and I might trying to hunt the DVDs down and relive the childhood! The kissing scene of Jem and Rio, and how The Misfits sabotaged Jem almost kill her at the snowfield avalanche.... doesn't it sound familiar like afternoon soap opera?! I am so desperate that I even hunted down a little small clip of the opening credit of the cartoon (or you can download the mp3 here). Fuck! isn't it great those 80's cartoons!!!

Growing up in Hawaii, anime was never particularly exotic to me. I used to watch Ikyu-San and Candy-Candy on the Japanese channel. I looked forward to those shows more than my Saturday morning fix because they were the only cartoons airing in prime time. In hindsight I realize I never understood those shows — they were subtitled, not dubbed, and stopped airing by the time I learned to read — but I still enjoyed watching those shows. (Then again, I never understood Fat Albert, either, having grown up in an entirely suburban neighborhood. I watched...

This site has alot of good cartoons to stream. There are Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Family Guy, Simpsons, and Futurama episodes to be had. Other more classic cartoons ( Jetsons, Tom and Jerry, etc.) are comming soon. Check it out here .

But there was a section called Talking Pictures which discussed the weeks political cartoons with Bruce Petty. That is innovative as some of the best commentary in Australia is by the cartoonists.

As if the ongoing stream of bad editorial cartoons at the Post were not entertainment enough, today's cartoon features a delightful series of mistakes. As you know, we here at Cargo get a daily compilation of the day's gossip pages, which include the Post's cartoon. But I hadn't yet gotten a copy of that when Col advised me (in the Bill Frist comment thread) to check out today's offering from editorial cartoonist ordinaire Sean Delonas:

Jess and I were talking about books and cartoons we liked as kids. I know she hadn’t seen Danger Mouse until we were dating, and she didn’t like it. She says it’s because she’s a cartoon snob. I say it’s because she has no taste in cartoons.

At the time, the Transformers, Voltron, and Danger Mouse were the Holy Trinity of cartoons for me. Did anyone else get to see Danger Mouse, and do you remember it as fondly as I do?