Max Fleischer Superman

It's no secret, I love Superman. Whether its comics, animation, or film, if its got Superman in it i'll eat it up. Some of the greatest Superman animation ever done were the first theatrical cartoons done by the Fleischer Studios from 1941 to 1942. These cartoons influenced the future looks of the phenominal Batman: the Animated Series and of course Superman: the Animated Series. Even the great Alex Ross sites these shorts as the influence for his take on the Man of Steel. These cartoons even introduced the famous lines "Look up in the sky, its a bird, its a plane..."etc. etc.





After fall out in the studio Superman made his way to Famous studios from 1942 till 1943 where the stories became heavy on WWII propaganda.


Well thats all for now. Until next time.
-Brian James Fichtner

Happy Birthday to the King!!!

Today marks the birthday of one of the greatest comic creators of all time, Jack  "the King" Kirby  (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994). With writer Joe Simon, Kirby created the iconic Captain America for Timely Comics (later Marvel) in 1941. After serving in World War II, he returned to the printed page. After stints with other publishers he returned to Marvel and along with Stan Lee, he created the Fantastic Four, Thor, Iron Man, the Silver Surfer, X-Men, and the Hulk just to name a few. He left Marvel in 1970, after a falling out, and went to DC where he created the New Gods and worked on books like Superman, Mister Miracle(whom he created), and Jimmy Olson. He went back to Marvel in 1976 and left in 1978 to work in animation doing designs for Turbo Teen and Thundarr the Barbarian. Happy Birthday Jack! You will be missed.

The Genius of Tex Avery

Fred "Tex" Avery (1908-1980) was a comic genius. The entire world of animation owes a debt to him...not to mention any comedian from the last 70 years. Tex was an incredible gag man and had impeccable comic timing. Without him we wouldnt have the likes of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, or Droopy Dog. He did amazing things at his time at Warner Brothers (1935-1942)but most of his talent went into his run at MGM (1942-1954). Tex was always against Walt Disney's animation philosophy of "illusion of life" and strove to make a cartoon a cartoon, stretching the artform to its wackiest limits. Here's just a taste of his awesomeness.











Until next time,
Brian James Fichtner

DC's new 52 Batman #1

With DC's relaunch just around the corner I thought I'd showcase some interior pencils from Batman #1 courtesy of Greg Capullo.(image from Newsarama.com)

(click to enlarge)

Until next time,

Brian James Fichtner

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon is easily Dreamworks most underrated and easily the best of their animated features to date. It also sports some incredibly beautiful concept art.

Happy Birthday Spidey!

This month way back in 1962 the world was introduced to a familiar wall crawler in Amazing Fantasy #15. The story was by Stan Lee with interior artwork by Steve Ditko and a cover by Jack Kirby. The series was about to be canceled so the powers that be let Lee try out a crazy idea, a teenage superhero (not a sidekick) who had real life problems to deal with. The issue became such a huge success that ol' Spidey was given his own title, The Amazing Spider-Man in March 1963. Today he's one of the most popular characters in the world with movies, cartoons, horrible live-action tv shows, books, magazines, themepark attractions, and toys bearing his likeness. Happy Birthday to our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

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Until next time,
-Brian James Fichtner

For the Love of Chuck Jones

Chuck Jones was an amazing artist and director of some of the greatest cartoons of all time. He has always been one of my greatest influences. When I was but a young lad studying animation at the Art Institute of Portland I had a grand plan of going to the Sundance Film Festival, as soon as I graduated, to meet him...unfortunately that dream never happened as he passed away in the middle of my first year. When I was in Highschool I even tried to sell all my comics just to buy an original piece of Chuck Jones artwork. So now I give you a small selection of his amazing genious...enjoy!







So much great stuff, i'll post more later.
Until next time...
-Brian James Fichtner

The Launch

Anyone that knows me knows I'm all about the art. In particular the art of Animation and the world of graphic arts(comics). So I decided to start this blog to showcase all the things I think are cool and that I believe you should also think are cool ;) So, here we go...

I love DC comics...so much so that I've gotten two tattoos to show it. Coming very soon is the new DC comics relaunch, 52 #1's meant to bring the company back to basics and hopefully start a new fanbase to propell them into the #1 spot ahead of Marvel. Im a bit skeptical of the whole situation, but I admit they do make it look pretty cool especially when the amazing artwork of Jim Lee is involved. Check out this great commercial DC created for the relaunch.



Well thats all for now. Until next time.
-Brian James Fichtner