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Hi-Ho,



I've noticed a trend as of late.


More and more loyal, card-carrying nerds are stepping out from the shadows and admitting(often with a twinge of embarrassment)that they don't share the popular geek obsession with all things Anime.


Our own Joltess recently penned an article on this subject, and others have voiced their agreement, so I thought it time I threw my hat into the ring:

I've got nothing against Anime--I've greatly enjoyed some of it, though granted what I've liked is mostly old-school titles like Speed Racer, Gigantor, and Star Blazers. And, indeed, some feature-length Anime would be appealing to anyone who enjoys good movies(Akira, for example).

I suppose the main objection comes from two sources:

One--More and more the twin forces of Anime and CGI are dominating the animation universe, leaving less and less room for the kind of toons I grew up on.

And two--Anime fandom is becoming synonymous with the nerd community, to the point that those of us who neither know nor care to know anything about the genre are feeling just a tad alienated.


But I didn't write this to curse Anime or bemoan the state of modern animation. Instead I thought I'd throw a few well-earned accolades to my personal heroes in the cartooning game.

This isn't an exhaustive study of the careers of these men, nor is it my attempt to rank them and determine the "World's Greatest". Nope, just a few kind words and a smattering of clips--anyway, let's kick things off with:



GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY

Creator of Samurai Jack and the original(and far superior)Clone Wars cartoon, Mr. Tartakovsky will forever live in my memory as the man who gave us half an hour a week of pure wonderfulness in the form of Cartoon Network's first original show: Dexter's Laboratory.











RALPH BAKSHI

Arguably the father of modern animation, Mr. Bakshi scandalized the cartooning world with his profane, sexually explicit, drug laden cult classic, Fritz The Cat.

But it's his brilliant and innovative revitalization of Mighty Mouse in 1987 that first brought him to my attention.











JOHN KRICFALUSI

John Kricfalusi(coincidentally, a protege of Ralph Bakshi)was part of a group of talented young cartoonists hired by Nickelodeon to make their original Nicktoons. The idea: Return to the days of creator-controlled toons before Hollywood studios and toy companies ran the show.

Thus, Nickelodeon gave Mr. K just enough rope to hang himself, and he gave millions of diehard fans the magic that is Ren and Stimpy. When Nick finally decided that John K's brand of creativity was too much for a "kid's network", they gave him the axe and allowed his marvelous creation to linger on for two or three miserable, humorless seasons.

A few years ago, Spike TV offered him the chance to once again make Ren and Stimpy cartoons, this time with no restrictions or censorship whatsoever. It just wasn't the same. Half the fun of Ren and Stimpy was seeing what the writers were able to get away with each week. In short--Where's the fun in being a rebel when there are no rules to break?

(Yeah, I know way more about this guy than all the others put together)




Is there anything more awesome than Gary Owens saying "Cling tenaciously to my buttocks!"?

JHONEN VASQUEZ

The mad genius creator of sick and twisted underground comics like Johnny The Homicidal Maniac and Squee also gave the world probably the coolest toon of the past decade: Invader Zim

Like John K. before him, he was cut off in his prime by Nickelodeon(you'd think they would've learned their lesson the first time)but still has a fanatically loyal fan base.

We can only hope that cartooning has not seen the last of Mr. Vasquez.

(to anybody who groans at the video clip I chose: Fuck you, it's funny)






MATT GROENING

One needn't be a nerd or an animation buff to know the creator of pop-culture juggernaut and longest running comedy in television history: The Simpsons.

But 'round these parts we prefer to think of Mr. Groening as the co-creator(with David X. Cohen) of Futurama, The Simpsons' smarter, funnier little brother.

(Think of it like this: Futurama is to The Simpsons what The Kids In The Hall was to Saturday Night Live)

Anyway, since finding a clip that isn't a horribly doctored and re-edited fan film is nearly impossible--here's a reasonably cool salute to the Robot Devil:



VOLTAIRE ROCKS!


TEX AVERY

Without Plato, we wouldn't have Aristotle--

Without Socrates, we wouldn't have Plato--

And without Tex Motherfuckin' Avery--we wouldn't have any of the artists in this piece. PERIOD.

There really isn't any other way to do the man justice than to present one of his most famous works: Ladies, Gentlemen, Nerds--I give you, Red Hot Riding Hood.
Enjoy!





Thanks folks, for joining me in honoring these men of genius.

Until next time,

Scootzarro