Archive for the ‘comic’ Category

Saturday, March 16th, 2024

Inbetweens: The Genius of Don Martin

Don Martin Comic

Like Basil Wolverton and Virgil Partch, Don Martin is an artist that defies categorization. Known as “Mad’s Maddest Artist”, Martin was a mainstay at the magazine from 1956 until he left after a dispute over royalties for paperback reprints in 1987. Martin’s warped and slightly sick sense of humor was a perfect fit for Mad, and the magazine suffered after he left to join the staff of the competitor, Cracked. I think you’ll really enjoy Martin’s cartoons, but look beyond the gags to the posing, staging and hilarious drawings themselves. Martin was no slouch!

Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic

Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic

Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic

Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic
Don Martin Comic

Don Martin ComicDon Martin Comic
Don Martin ComicDon Martin Comic
Don Martin ComicDon Martin Comic
Don Martin ComicDon Martin Comic
Don Martin ComicDon Martin Comic

GET THIS WHILE YOU STILL CAN!
Don Martin Book

A few years back, Running Press released MAD’s Greatest Artists: The Completely MAD Don Martin. It’s out of print now, but you can still find copies at some online retailers. It’s one of the best collections on a single Mad artist out there- big, beautifully printed and bound, a joy all around. It’s bound to be a collector’s item. Grab it while you still can.

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

THIS IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG!

Animation Resources has been sharing treasures from the Animation Archive with its members for over a decade. Every other month, our members get access to a downloadable Reference Pack, full of information, inspiration and animation. The RefPacks consist of e-books jam packed with high resolution scans of great art, still framable animated films from around the world, documentaries, podcasts, seminars and MORE! The best part is that all of this material has been selected and curated by our Board of professionals to aid you in your self study. Our goal is to help you be a greater artist. Why wouldn’t you want to be a member of a group like that?

Membership comes in three levels. General Members get access to a bi-monthly Reference Pack as well as a Bonus RefPack from past offerings in the in-between months. We offer a discounted Student Membership for full time students and educators. And if you want to try out being a member, there is a Quarterly Membership that runs for three months.


JOIN TODAY!
https://animationresources.org/membership/levels/

FREE SAMPLES!

Not Convinced Yet? Check out this SAMPLE REFERENCE PACK! It will give you a taste of what Animation Resources members get to download every other month! That’s 560 pages of great high resolution images and nearly an hour of rare animation available to everyone to download for FREE! https://animationresources.org/join-us-sample-reference-pack/

Sample RefPack

PayPalAnimationAnimation Resources depends on your contributions to support its projects. Even if you can’t afford to join our group right now, please click the button below to donate whatever you can afford using PayPal.


FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Thursday, August 11th, 2022

Magazine Cartoons: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

What's Wrong With This Picture

My mother passed away a few years back, and I’ve been going through some boxes of things she left behind. I found a book of crafts, games and puzzles from 1927 that must have been given to her when she was very young. It included these “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” cartoons by Joe McIntosh. They appear to be created as one panel magazine cartoons.

I don’t know anything about the artist, but this style of cartooning was very popular in the 20s. Just about every college newspaper and humor magazine had cartoons that looked very similar. The leading proponent of the simplified round head style was John Held Jr. Early Puppetoons by George Pal also had a similar feel. Although Joe McIntosh’s cartoons aren’t nearly as sophisticated as those of Held or Pal, they’re still very clever and fun.

Whenever I see straightforward, appealing cartoons like this, I wonder… Why are modern animation designs are so needlessly complex and realistic? And why are Flash characters so flat that it limits their ability to be posed? Here are cartoony, stylized designs that have volume and work well within the perspective of a three dimensional environment. These sorts of characters would be easy to animate expressively using just about any technique- hand drawn, CGI, puppet, clay or Flash. Naturally, the subject matter here is dated, but the basic proportions and shapes could easily be applied to a more modern context. I’d love to see contemporary cartoons that are this simple and fun again.

See how many mistakes you can spot!

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture
How many mistakes did you count?

What's Wrong With This Picture
What's Wrong With This Picture

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

Magazine CartoonsMagazine Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Magazine Cartoons.

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022

Comics: Paul Coker Jr’s Cartoons For Mad

Paul Coker

Paul CokerPaul CokerPaul Coker Jr. is one of those cartoonists that always seems to be overlooked, yet he is one of the most talented and stylistically ubiquitous artists of modern times. His drawings have appeared in advertisements, on greeting cards and in the pages of Mad Magazine for over half a century. He designed characters for many of the Rankin/Bass holiday puppet TV specials, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”. His sketches are deceptively simple on first glance, but they are solidly drawn and incorporate many fundamental principles in a sophisticated manner. (For instance, check out the masterful control of perspective in the cartoon above.) John Kricfalusi has written an appreciation of Coker’s work, as has David Apatoff. Check out this devastating satire on network television and you’ll be a fan too.

From “The Mad Guide To Careers” 1978
BE A NETWORK TV EXECUTIVE

Paul Coker
Paul Coker
Paul Coker

Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources

Magazine CartoonsMagazine Cartoons

This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Magazine Cartoons.

FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmailby feather