Boom Studios’ Over the Garden Wall 2017 Special #1, based on the Cartoon Network animated series of the same name, is a fantastical collection of instant fairy tale classics.
The universe, created by Patrick McHale, tells the tale of two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg, in a magical and sometimes nefarious forest realm. After being lost on Halloween, these two brothers, along with their companions, a frog with many names and a curmudgeonly bluebird, navigate an ever-changing landscape on their quest to get home.
Within this tome are three individual stories of the two young boys in various locales within the strange forest called the Unknown. Brothers Wirt, cautious and protective, and Greg, adventurous and innocent, exemplify the two halves of the childhood psyche and are the perfect lens through which to experience this world.
While the collection of tales lacks any greater narrative, opting instead for standalone stories which wrap themselves up over the course of a dozen pages each, between the gaps is evidence of a fully realized universe, one that’s ripe for plucking. One gets the sense while reading that endless stories exist just outside the frame and that Wirt and Greg could remain here in the Unknown until the end of time without ever experiencing the same thing twice.
The ability of the creators to craft such a rounded landscape in such short space as they have is a testament to the setting and hails to such classic fairy tale worlds as those collected by the Brothers Grimm or, more recently, Bill Willingham’s Fables.
It’s no wonder that the series earned an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. While the reader roots for the characters to escape whatever darkness has surrounded them and eventually find their way home, there is a growing hope that escape will elude them, if only so that we might continue to experience the world through their eyes.
The only true failing of the 2017 Special #1 is that it is too short. Upon reaching the last page there is the undeniable feeling that the story must continue and that the lack of additional pages is a lie being perpetrated by an enchanted scarecrow or malicious snow-monkeys. It begs to be read again and leaves you pleading for more.
Over the Garden Wall 2017 Special #1 hits store shelves September 20.
The voice of Zorak and Moltar has gone to the great syndication in the sky. Family confirmed he passed away early the morning of Sunday, September 18. He was 54.
Croker is best known for his voice work and animation work with Cartoon Network and [adult swim], voicing Zorak and Moltar on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, Toonami, and The Brak Show, as well as Steve and Dr. Weird in the openings of the first few seasons of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Croker was also Space Ghost‘s chief animator, also getting his start doing bumps for TNT’s cartoon programming in the 1990s, and doing many of Cartoon Network’s signature “bumps”. [adult swim] tweeted about Croker’s passing earlier today.
I love Space Ghost. It is one of the greatest tv shows of all time. Croker was such a key part of this, providing two strong counterbalances to George Lowe’s Space Ghost that were key to the alchemy of the show. Two of my favorite episodes feature strong Zorak/Moltar performances– “King Dead”, in which Zorak and Moltar quit the show, start a band, kidnap John Benjamin, watch cable in Space Ghost’s apartment, and make “Unreasonable Demands.”
In “Snatch,” replicating pods invade the studio as The Blob covers all exits. As Space Ghost, Zorak, and Moltar try to stay awake to prevent the pods from murdering and replicating them, Moltar comes up with a plan to plate himself in metal, go to the beach, and rust, because “rust never sleeps.”
And then, of course, there’s all of Zorak’s classic adventures, like with his nephew Raymond, when he turns into “Batmantis!” or his rivalry with Donny Osmond, from whom he demands to sleep on his couch. Watch the whole thing and weep in awe of its brilliance:
Perhaps most amazing was that he could sing in these character voices. I love the Space Ghost Christmas Special for Zorak singing “ANARCHY IN JINGLE-BELL LAND!!!”– click, click, click. And, of course, his numerous songs on Cartoon Planet were legendary, even if they got overshadowed by Brak. The difference is, Zorak and Moltar never got cloying or annoying. Brak does.
And then there was Dr. Weird and Steve on Aqua Teen Hunger Force. While I love the later seasons with Spacecataz and The Mooninites, the complete randomness of these cold opens was always one of the best parts of ATHF.
I salute you, Sir Croker. We will think of you when we look to the night sky.
‘Justice League Action’ — New Animated Series Coming to Cartoon Network
This has been a great week for DC Comics news. One of the more exciting tidbits is that WB and Cartoon Network are ramping up a new animated series, “Justice League Action.” Here’s what we know:
Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman lead the DC Comics Super Heroes against their most infamous foes in adventures packed with relentless thrills, fun and action. No need to wait for the good stuff to start, each eleven-minute episode jumps in with lightning-paced action and heroics. Whether defending the Earth, facing invaders from space, or battling the bizarre forces of magic, the always-rotating team of Justice League heroes, are up to any challenge.
The press release also let us know that Kevin Conroy (the voice actor who was Batman on “Batman: The Animated Series” and subsequent DC Animated Universe series) would be returning as Batman. Also Mark Hamill as Joker.
The series is going to be in “quarter hour” (actually eleven minute) episodes. That’s how they’ve done “Adventure Time” and “Teen Titans Go!”, and there are times I like those shorter episodes. If it’s not that great an episode, it goes by quickly; we’ll see more heroes and villains, hopefully have a variety of tones. The current Teen Titans series is ALL LAFFS ALL THE TIME and I kind of can’t stand it. It makes me miss the better, more serious cartoon. And yet, it’s a consistent performer for Cartoon Network, so it keeps running. I’m hoping “Justice League Action” has more to offer.
I’m particularly pleased because ever since “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” went off the air in 2011 and “Young Justice” in 2012, there hasn’t been anything featuring the larger DC Universe that was fit for kids. DC has focused on their direct-to-video movies, which have been hit and miss, but are all too dark/violent/adult for children. I’m fairly liberal with what my 11 and 13 year old sons watch, but about half of these movies cross that line enough that I don’t watch it with them. Or at the very least need to preview it before I let them watch it. So. Excited for this new offering. Hoping for the best.
“Adventure Time” Created by Pendleton Ward; Directed by Larry Leichliter; Starring Jeremy Shada, John DiMaggio, HyndenWalch, Niki Yang, Tomm Kenny, Olivia Olson, Dee Bradley Baker, Pendleton Ward, Polly Lou Livingston, Jessica DiCicco, and Maria Bamford; Originally aired January 11, 2007; Run time 11 minutes.
I remember “Adventure Time” emerging from the ether some time in 2010 and not really getting it. Suddenly stores were filled with merchandise and I was hearing whispered conversations from a distance about this new cartoon. Even with my obvious love of cartoons I remember thinking that it was a “kid’s” show and that I wouldn’t like it. I had previously tried out “The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack” and just couldn’t mesh with the show’s sense of humor. I thought I was getting old (I probably am) and in a stereotypical way just couldn’t understand what these bizarre youths were up to these days, so I avoided “Adventure Time.”
One day my roommate forced me to sit down and watch an episode and by the time the episode was over something magical happened, no, not really. By the end of the episode I was almost convinced that my previous assumptions had been correct, I shrugged off my friend but she didn’t relent. I watched a few more episodes and by the time I was toward the end of the third or fourth episode something in my brain clicked. I was able to shift my way of thinking and understand, somewhat nebulously, what the show was. The problem at the root of my dislike of the show wasn’t anything to do with the show, it was what I was expecting of the show. My expectations, based on the kind of programming I grew up with and was used to, weren’t allowing me to open up to something like “Adventure Time.”
After I recalibrated I was in.
Since then I’ve been a pretty ardent fan and proselytizer of the “Adventure Time.” I like it quite a lot. Though it may be important to know this mental shift still doesn’t allow me to understand or enjoy “Flapjack.” Perhaps the wheel of time has rolled too far for me to dial back that much.
“Adventure Time” began originally as a pilot for Nickelodeon but the network (some might say foolishly) passed on doing a series. Once the rights expired Frederator Studios took the idea to a number of other networks and Cartoon Network agreed to do a series of creator Pendleton Ward could prove that the pilot could be expanded to support a series.
Ward was successful and he assembled a team of mostly previously unknown creatives along with a handful of Cartoon Network alumni to bring the land of Ooo to life. The series follows the adventures of Finn the human boy and his best pal Jake, a dog with the magical power to alter his size and shape at will.
Each episode centers on the adventures Finn and Jake have, along with other central characters Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen, in the various lands in the world of Ooo. According to the creator, Ooo is Earth a thousand years into the future after a global nuclear holocaust referred to by the characters as The Great Mushroom War. The post-apocalyptic nature of the series is only eluded to subtly with a mushroom cloud in the opening sequence and partially buried cars in some backgrounds. In fact the idea for the origin was only cemented after the show was in production when an episode featured an iceberg with frozen modern day business men inside necessitating that modern day Earth be in Ooo’s past.
The resultant destruction of the nuclear war reset to Earth to an earlier mode allowing magic to settle back onto the planet. The fate of humans in the land of Ooo is uncertain. While Finn isn’t the only human depicted in the series they are incredibly rare. The implication is that humanity was mostly wiped out in the Mushroom War, a majority of the humans seen are either holdovers from the past like the frozen businessmen or were previously human but have now become wizards, vampires, mutants, or other types of creatures.
The series also had an impact on the industry. Because Ward pulled so many unknowns onto his team, and the subsequent rousing success of the series, opportunities for indie creators to get into the business were suddenly available. In fact, a previous bot here on Big Shiny Robot, Derek Hunter, left the quaint confines of Utah and moved to Hollywood to join the staff of “Adventure Time” as a background artist. You can see some of his work here.
In an article on Slate, “Adventure Time” is credited with creating an animation gold rush to Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon as independent artists were being snatched up from the internet to helm new projects.
Despite some early hang-ups, “Adventure Time” eventually found its niche and has cemented itself as a part of popular culture not likely to go away any time soon, Finn and Jake even had a balloon in this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So far 214 episodes have been produced. The show is currently in its seventh season and has been renewed for an eighth. Additionally, in February of this year it was announced that a feature length movie was being produced under Frederator Fims and Warner Animation Group, as of yet there is no release date for the film.
Adult Swim has proudly announced that 2016 will see the return of “Samurai Jack.” Producer and creator Genndy Tartakovsky is working on the series at Cartoon Network in Los Angeles as we speak! It has been twelve years since new episodes have aired showing us Jack attempting to return to his time to battle the demon Aku. In the past years, fans have only been able to experience the series via a comic book run and re-runs aired on different Cartoon Network segments. You can catch a teaser below!
The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.
“Powerpuff Girls” Created by Craig McCracken; Written by Craig McCracken, Jason Butler Rote, Amy Keating Rogers, Chris Savino, and Cindy Morrow; Narrated by Tom Kenny; Starring Cathy Cavadini, Elizabeth Daily, Tara Strong, Tom Kane, and Roger Jackson; Run time: 22 minutes; Originally aired November 18, 1998.
Professor Utonium was attempting to make the perfect little girls when in his laboratory he mixed sugar, spice, and everything nice. Fortunately for us the professor was irresponsible and left a huge vial of the mysterious Chemical X just above his stirring hand resulting in his creations being infused with its mysterious properties. Thus the Powerpuff Girls were born.
“The Powerpuff Girls” takes place in the city of Townsville, a seemingly normal American town, except for its strange attraction to super villains. The bumbling mayor often calls in the help of these three little girls to pause growing up and use their super powers to save the day from the likes of Mojo Jojo, Princess Morbucks, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang, Fuzzy Lumkins, and HIM (one of the creepiest incarnations of the devil in cartoon history).
When they’re not fighting crime, they’re dealing with every day kid troubles like loose teeth, peer pressure, self esteem, and school.
What makes the show special is that it is a parody of itself; it gets around all of the usual problems of super hero cartoons by not taking itself too seriously and couching itself in pop culture references and prodding fun at itself. “Powerpuff Girls” was able to find a balance between appealing to a young audience as well as their parents, and young adults.
The animation is stylized and looks like the imagined future of the 1950s. The series has been roundly appreciated from fans and critics alike attaining a longtime following as well as twelve award nominations and four wins over the course of its run.
Before the show’s cancellation in 2005 a total of 78 episodes were produced as well as two shorts, a feature film, and a Christmas special.
Cartoon Network recently announced that the show will receive a reboot to air sometime in 2016. Rob Sorcher, chief content officer at Cartoon Network stated that the series is being rebooted due to “overwhelming demand” from fans. Tom Kenny will reprise his role as narrator and Mayor of Townsville but Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup will be replaced with Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li, and Natalie Palamides.
I’m sure that the new cast will do well, the new direction has the approval of the network as well as the McCracken, the series creator. However the Tara Strong has stated on Twitter that the network never contacted any of the three voice actors of the titular trio about reprising their roles, Strong called it a “stab in the heart.”
Hopefully Cartoon Network knows what they’re doing, but it feels like bad form for people who helmed one of your most successful and popular properties.
Cartoon Network announced quietly in a press release yesterday that everyone’s favorite lab-grown superheroines, “The Powerpuff Girls” would be getting a rebooted series in 2016.
The Powerpuff Girls: Slated for a 2016 launch, ThePowerpuff Girls reboot will include an all-new television series produced by Cartoon Network Studios and a full licensing program slated to roll out across all regions. One of the network’s most enduring original series, The Powerpuff Girls, which debuted on Cartoon Network in 1998, earned two Emmy® Awards, five nominations and countless animation honors throughout its 78-episode run. The Powerpuff Girls centers on three sugar-coated superheroes — Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup — whose mission in life alternates between going to school, fighting crime, winning at hopscotch and saving the world before bedtime. Emmy® and BAFTA award winner Nick Jennings (Adventure Time) is on board as executive producer.
It doesn’t seem as though the creator of the show, Craig McCracken is involved based on this release, though it doesn’t specifically preclude his involvement either.
Just over a year ago Cartoon Network presented a redesigned “Powerpuff Girls” movie called “Dance Pantsed” that was incredibly good and I was hoping then it would turn into a series and it seems like now we get our wish.
“Regular Show” is a fantastic series on Cartoon Network that has won legions of fans for a lot of good reasons — it’s smart, funny, surreal and represents some of the best that the network has to offer. Which is why we are really excited to give our readers a chance to win two DVD packs of this awesome show!
“Regular Show: Rigby Pack” has been available for awhile now, but “Regular Show: Mordecai Pack” is coming out tomorrow, January 27, on DVD, and we want to give all of you a chance to win not one, but BOTH of these really cool collections.
All you have to do to enter is send an email to ADAM@BIGSHINYROBOT.COM with your mailing address (no PO Boxes and in the US only, please), and that’s it! If you recommend this story to your friends on Facebook, you’ll get an extra entry, so please be sure to let me know in your email.
The contest will run until Saturday, January 31, and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter.
Best of luck to all who enter!
‘LEGO Batman Be-Leaguered’ Animated Special on Cartoon Network 10/27
Cartoon Network is airing the latest LEGO Batman television special “Batman Be-Leaguered” on Monday, October 27. The animated movie is the latest in the LEGO programs on Cartoon Network, which have included Star Wars and DC Comics characters.
It looks like this is a sequel of sorts to the awkwardly titled “LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite” released in 2013. This plot follows Superman and the other members of the Justice League as they try to recruit Batman into their club. It’s essentially a commercial for the lineup of Justice League LEGO sets coming this winter, but with the humor and fun LEGO uses in their productions, it’s sure to be fun for kids or adult fans of either LEGO or DC Comics.
Personally, I’m more excited for the DVD/Blu-Ray release, which is sure to have an exclusive minifigure. Last year it was a great Clark Kent–hopefully it’ll be someone as cool this time around.
LEGO Batman: Be-Leaguered, Cartoon Network. Monday, October 27. Check local listings for times.
The “Mike Tyson Mysteries” was my favorite trailer coming out of the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con. The show has the look of “Scooby-doo, Where Are You” with the modern comedic spin of shows like “The Venture Bros.”, “Archer”, and “Sea Lab 2021” . The cast of characters consists of a ghost named The Marquess of Queensberry played by Jim Rash, a young Asian girl played by Rachel Ramras, a foul mouthed alcoholic pigeon played by Norm MacDonald and of course Mike Tyson played by himself. During the trailer I knew I was hooked when Marquess of Queensberry asks Mike Tyson why he is smiling:
Marquess of Queensberry, “Michael, why are you smiling?” Mike Tyson, “Because now I know what I have to do. I’m going to use my fists, to beat the shit out of chupacabra. The only thing I haven’t never beaten the shit out of yet.”
For the full effect of Mike Tyson’s fist pounding comedic timing, check out the trailer below. “Mike Tyson Mysteries” will premiere this fall on Cartoon Network’s [Adult Swim]. Don’t forget to let us know what you think in the comments or on Twitter @Bigshinyrobot & @MarkAvo.
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