Of late we’ve been much focused on the economics of creating comics as a career, and the challenges of such an undertaking. Animation is often viewed as the “money spout” for comics types—more competition, more exposure, more money. But an investigation by animation writer Amid Amidi reveals a disquieting story about East Coast animators getting paid much less than their West Coast analogs, even when employed by two branches of the same company, Titmouse Animation. In fact, in the NY office, animators are being paid $400 a week to work on Disney’s Motorcity cartoon. In LA, a similar job for the same company pays a union-scale $1,055 a week.

Amidi talks to lots of people and gets lots of explanations—and we haven’t even begun to wade through more than 300 comments—but it’s an unwelcome downward trend from 10 years ago, when animation was getting established in New York:

The question remains, however, about why there is a nearly $700 weekly gap between starting wages for Los Angeles and New York artists working on the same show. New York has the highest cost of living in the United States (Los Angeles, by comparison, is ranked ninth), yet the studio’s starting salary for workers in New York is only $20,800. That figure ranks below New York’s average starting wages for unskilled laborers like doormen ($25,680) and sanitation workers ($27,842).

It is a fact of life that New York animation artists will make less than unionized workers in Los Angeles. However, wages haven’t always been this low. Speaking with New York animation veterans, Cartoon Brew learned that a fresh out-of-school starting salary for an animation artist in 2001 at Nickelodeon was $900 and included health insurance and 401k. In 2006, a starting salary out-of-school on a cable TV series at an independent production company was $800.

Yikes. We can confirm that in NYC $20K a year will barely pay for a closet-sized berth on the Upper East Side and a few cans of cat food. Apparently, animation wages are similarly low in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, other animation centers.

Granted, this would be a lordly sum for an indie cartoonist.

PS: Commenters, please, no value judgement on why doormen should make more than animators. We’re talking the economics of one industry, not trying to prove who’s best.

Or as Damon Lindelof tweeted,

Voltron has life insurance? I cry foul, MetLife.

Is this the best toon team-up since Roger Rabbit?

The video shows every cartoon character from Charlie Brown to Jabberjaw joining together to celebrate the Affordable Care Act, MetLife’s commitment to affordable insurance. It is questionable whether everyone in the spot would currently be insurable, however, due to some preexisting conditions. Fat Albert is at risk for Type 2 diabetes due to his weight and unhealthy lifestyle, for instance. He-Man’s dangerous deeds would lead to sky-high premiums as defending the universe from evil-doers can be a very hazardous profession. Casper the Friendly Ghost is already dead, so presumably would be uninsurable on that basis.

On a more serious note, this is a great opportunity to link to Colleen Doran’s great roundup of tips on how freelancers can get insurance. If Colleen weren’t such a great artist I could totally see her doing the entrepreneur thing and doing nothing but going around telling people how to be more productive.

PS: If you like the ad on Facebook, you get to “meet the cast” and learn more about all the characters in the spot.

Move over, Finn. Jack Krak is on his way.

Over at the Cartoon Hangover blog, this image of James Kochalka’s Superf***ckers has appeared with the headline “Too Wild For T.V.” If you’ve read the debauched adventures of Kochalka’s NSFW teen superheroes—imagine Beavis and Butthead without the intelligence and restraint—you know that any such cartoon WOULD be too wild for T.V. Frederator Studios, which runs the blog and produced such cartoon classics as Adventure Time and The Fairly Odd Parents, has had Superf***ers in development for a while now—and now it’s going to be seen as part of the massive new influx of programming on YouTube. Kochalka has already written 8 of the 12 episodes.

SUPERF***ERS the comic is published by Top Shelf. Kchalka produced four “issues” in the square picture book format which was then collected into a trade.
Two thoughts: #1 as streaming TV becomes the norm, having a series on YouTube isn’t going to mean anything much different than appearing on TV

and

#2 this IS going to be wild. Here’s a theme song Kochalka already wrote:

DC Nation – Aardman
Okay this might just be the coolest comics-related promo of the year. Aardman Films, the claymation studio behind Wallace and Gromit, has made a promo piece for the DC Nation cartoon block debuting on the Cartoon Network later this year. It takes a conceit first used on their breakthrough film, CREATURE COMFORTS, in which animated zoo-goers comment on what the zoo animals might be thinking. In this case, they take kids voicing various DC superheroes. The result is charming and fresh. If DC Nation has anything this good, we’re in for a treat.

Via ICv2

Much loved indie band Wilco is back with a new video—their first in 12 years—which doubles as a new Popeye cartoon. Directed by Darren Romanelli and art directed by Frank Caruso, the video recalls the classic Fleischer Bros. animation.

The band has a rather elaborate website for the video, with comics (by Caruso and Ned Sontagg), spinach and more. Plus, animated Nels Cline—you cannot lose.

“Wit and Wisdom in the Land of Ooo: Great Quotations from Adventure Time”
Another cool free thing on the internet! A downloadable book collecting the best storyboard spots featured on the Adventure Time tumblr. SInce Adventure Time is just one big indie comic come to life, by presenting these comics like storyboards, now we’ve come full circle.

Don’t have time to watch the whole two-movie HOBBIT from Peter Jackson, or even the Rankin Bass version? Well then maybe this 1968 “limited animation” version which clocks in at under 12 minutes is more your speed.

It’s actually a recently unearthed version of the Hobbit written by the legendary Gene Deitch (Tom and Jerry) and based on drawings by Czech illustrator Adolf Born.

When we tell you you have never seen the Hobbit like this, we mean, You have never seen the Hobbit like this.

As in: this is Thorin Oakenshield:

Scenarist Deitch also took some liberties with the storyline, replacing the 12 dwarven companions with….a princess. Who…well, let’s just say there is a ROMANCE along the way.

Of course there’s a wacky back story to this strange cartoon. Producer Bill Snyder was trying to hold onto the rights to the Hobbit (which he’d acquired from the Tolkiens in a totally crap deal for the Tolkien family) in the face of its sudden popularity surge in the late 60s. Deitch tells the rest of the story:

Why invest money, plus a year-and-a-half of work, when you can make money without all that sweat? Not only had the Tolkien estate lawyers given Snyder the rights for peanuts, but in their ignorance of film terminology, they had left a million-dollar-loop-hole in the contract: It merely stated that in order to hold his option for THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Snyder had to “produce a full-color motion picture version” of THE HOBBIT by June 30th 1966. Please note: It did not say it had to be an animated movie, and it not say how long the film had to be!

Thus this strange, rushed animatic.

Which calls the dragon “Smag.” Rhymes with swag.

Tolkienistas will recall the stunningly inappropriate covers for the original Ballantine paperback trilogy by Barbara Remington, a talented artist who was given only a vague outline of what the books were about (Ballantine was in a race itself to compete with an unauthorized version by Ace Books.) The covers were so odd that they led to Tolkien complaining in his letters of inauthentic “pumpkins in a tree.” (An even less germane lion has been removed from the above.)

Well, let’s just say that the Deitch/Born version of the Hobbit is the perfect version of the story to go with the Remington covers.

From the moment Disney purchased Marvel, people were drawing a line between their Disney XD channel — an attempt to lure more of the lucrative audience of young boys — and the Marvel characters. Marvel animation has been running non-stop on the cable channel ever since, but in April, the Marvel Universe programming block will roll out with the new Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon as the tentpole. Produced by Man of Action — Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven Seagle—the creators behind Ben 10 and Generator Rex, with input from Jeph Loeb, Joe Quesada, and Brian Michael Bendis, the show does not lack for comic book bonafides.

Plus, it’s got JK Simmons reprising his lifetime role as J. Jonah Jameson. Soundboard that.

Marvel Universe debuts on Sunday, April 1. Other programming in the block will include the return of “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” and new short-form animation series and live-action interstitials.

THIS is what Disney paid $4 billion for.

Disney XD will launch Marvel Universe, a dedicated Marvel programming block, with the new series “Ultimate Spider-Man” as its centerpiece, on SUNDAY, APRIL 1, it was announced today by Gary Marsh, President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California. Marvel Universe on Disney XD will be the ultimate place for fans to find exclusive Marvel content, including new animated short-form series, live-action interstitials and the series return of “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.”  The block will be home to Marvel’s biggest superstars, such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America and many more to introduce dynamic stories of action, adventure and heroism to a whole new generation.    
 
Marsh said, “Iconic Marvel heroes and villains and stories with core values of accomplishment, discovery and growth make Marvel Universe a perfect complement to Disney XD and a destination for parents and kids to experience together.” 
 
“Marvel Universe block is an incredible animated ride filled with fantastic action and adventure,” said Jeph Loeb, Head of Marvel Television. “The spectacular team of writers and animators capture stories with all the dynamic fun you can imagine. Disney XD is the perfect place for families and Marvel fans of all ages to come together every Sunday.”
 
Acting as the keystone of the Marvel Universe block, “Ultimate Spider-Man” features a teenage Peter Parker juggling the typical growing pains of high-school with the not-so-typical growing pains of being a Super Hero.  As the newest member of Nick Fury’s S.H.I.E.L.D. organization, Peter finds himself on a team with four other teenage Super Heroes. 
 
Produced by Marvel Animation, the series’ award-winning creative team includes Joe Quesada (Marvel’s CCO), Paul Dini (“Batman: The Animated Series,” “Lost”), the creative powerhouse Man of Action Studios (creators of “Ben 10″ and “Generator Rex”), comprised of lauded creators Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle; and Brian Michael Bendis (visionary behind Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man comic series).
                                                                            
The voice cast includes Drake Bell (“Superhero,” “Drake & Josh”) as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Chi McBride (“Boston Public,” “Pushing Daisies”) as Nick Fury, JK Simmons (“Spider-Man”) as J. Jonah Jameson, Stan Lee (“Spider-Man”) as Stan the Janitor, Clark Gregg (“Iron Man”, “Thor,” “The Avengers”) as Agent Coulson and Steven Weber (“Wings”) as Norman Osborn.

Cartoonist/writer/editor Dave Roman has created a Christmas Classic:

Growing up, I always tried to work ongoing entertainment franchises into a cohesive continuity…even if that was never the producers’ intention. Did the Ewok TV movies take place before or after “Return of the Jedi”? How could The Muppets share a nursery as babies but not know each other when they reunite in “The Muppet Movie”? This stuff kept me awake at night!

So even though I know better now, I always wanted to make a timeline for the original Rankin/Bass holiday specials. After recording a podcast episode of Saturday Supercast with Jerzy Drozd, where we discussed “Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July” in great depth, I knew I finally had to jump down the rabbit hole. So here it is:

My timeline for an imagined continuity for the Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials.

“The Book Job,” the sixth episode of the 23rd season of The Simpsons, co-stars Neil Gaiman. Not in a cameo, but as the main storyline.

See?

The episode in question is up on Hulu now, so if you missed it on broadcast, here’s your chance!

Gaiman talked about performing his own voice in the episode, which took on Twilight, etc.

“The thing that took me by surprise was they had been asking me for a while to do a cameo on the show and I said yes, when the right script came along,” he said. “But truthfully, what I expected was the normal kind of Simpsons celebrity cameo. You know, Homer says, ‘Not even Neil Gaiman could come up with something as weird as this!’ and then it would cut to me stroking my chin going, ‘You’re right, I couldn’t!’ and the scene would continue.”

The circle is complete.

We meant to post this yesterday but somehow it got lost in the shuffle. This fall, Robot Chicken — the toy-motion animation satire that uses lookalikes of your favorite childhood toys to enact grisly jokes — is doing an entire 15-minute episode devoted to DC comics. Recently, Geoff Johns, a past contributor to the show, linked to the trailer — which is NSFW, we might add.

Robot Chicken is animated in the super bad style, and it’s ugly all the way, but with its laser-cutting, bloody wrist stumps, and cock ring humor, this is one of the most disturbing things we’ve ever seen.

And to think that DC used to burn books just because it was suggested that Superman might drink a beer.

It’s Mary Blair’s birthday and if Google can celebrate her, so can we. And so should we al. As an animator and designer, Blair is among the most influential artistic figures of the mid-century era, an icon and the creator of some of the loveliest art you’ll ever see.

Batman’s got a new cartoon and a new sidekick: Katana, the female ninja character created in the 80s and lately part of the New 52 Birds of Prey comic. Talking at the MIP JR tv conference in France, Cartoon Network programing head Sam Register said that BEWARE THE BATMAN will debut in 2013. In addition to katana, Batman will be teamed with a gun-toting Alfred.

Register revealed several other shows in development for the DC Nation programming block qwhich debuts next spring with Young Justice and the Green Lantern cartoon.

• Claymation Batman shorts created by Aardman (Wallace and Gromet)!! +11 on awesome scale

• Plastic Man animated shorts by the creator behind My Little Pony

• Super Best Friends Forever: a series of animated shorts teaming Wonder Girl, Batgirl and Supergirl

• A series of Doom Patrol shorts.

• Behind the scenes behind-the-scenes videos, interviews, and so on.

Re: Super Best Friends Forever….man this could be the greatest thing ever for Kyrax2….or the worst.

via

It might come as a shock that Hayao Miyazaki, the revered animator behind such enduring and magical characters as Totoro and Nausicaa — a creator whose body of work nearly defines entertainment that everyone can enjoy — might have some odd ideas about women animators but that’s what this tweet seemed to imply:

@Miyasan_bot: They say it’s over for animation in Japan. When we look for new hires only women respond, and I get the feeling that we’re done for. In our last hurrah we borrow from outside staff (i.e. outsource), but soon we won’t be able to do that forever.

Incredibly — and surely with great trepidation—the great Anne Ishii actually questions Myazaki on Twitter and got a response and here’s her translation:

@miyasan_bot:
Part 1:
They say it’s over for animation in Japan. When we look for new hires only women respond, and I get the feeling that we’re done for. In our last hurrah we’ll borrow from outside staff, to lend a hand but we can’t do that forever.

Part 2:
These are not reasons for me to take production to China. I don’t want to deplete Japan in that way. So, what do we do?

Part 3:
(Ghibli Studios) has been resolved to rowing the boat altogether as a team and giving it our all, while everyone around us is jet-propelled with new technology and running at full-speed. We still illustrate with pen and paper. I say we continue to give this our all, together.

Part 4:
I counter the point some make that we’re in an age where you’ll find women driving buses by asking if it’s ok to have women all over cotton mills. (LOL)

Part 5:
I think it would be great to see a female animation director, but as far as Ghibli’s concerned, I can’t think of a single one for us. So what about newcomers? Well, I believe women are incredibly fast-learners and self-starters. If you look at men, even today, they develop much slower.

Ishii, analyzes the response and find it a bit more nuanced than was indicated:

My conclusion from Part 4 of the Quintweet is that for Miyazaki, status quo is an issue that starts with the basic tenet that women do work at all. Amazing to think the studio responsible for so many phenomenal heroins doesn’t think women actually earn their keep in modern professions. Actually I take that back. Nausicaa is an animist warrior; Chihiro and Ponyo are both children, as are Totoro’s neighbors. The closest thing to a working professional woman in Ghibli films is a witch who delivers packages from a bakery. [Note: I LOVE all these films and still think primary, secondary and all tertiary female characters could categorically kick every female animated Disney character in the proverbial “Pocahontas”.] And finally, Part 5. “Show me the women!” he says. Damn straight. And this is the variable that changes my perspective on the entire argument against his seeming indifference to the glass ceiling. Women are fast learners. Men are comparatively late-bloomers. Get a leg up, women! Get out of the cotton mills, stop driving all those buses and start rowing this boat to nowhere.

Some more light is shed on this in comments at Cartoon brew:

Miyazaki’s love for female employees has been one of the consistent things throughout his career. Even the bathrooms at Ghibli are apparently designed to be in the best condition and location for female animators, and he has had a strong team of female animators working with him since the late 70s up until now. His female animators are all fantastic artisans, and have been animation directors/supervisors throughout his past films. I think he is referring here to directors [of an entire film] when mentioning female animators. It seems he means to say that women are incredible assets to the team, like workers in a cotton mill (or the way the women build the plane in Porco Rosso), but might not be interested in directing.

Our thoughts? The proof is in the pudding, and Miyazaki stands as one of the towering creators of the late 20th century, whose unique imagination and knowledge of the human heart allows his work to speak for itself. But you know, he’s also an older man from a different generation in a country where women are, realistically, still fighting some battles for equality. If he spent 10 minutes in New York he’d see sassy ladies driving buses and even running subway cars everywhere. There might even be an animator or two on the bus, because they sure as heck can’t afford to take a cab.

New World Animation — the makers of those amazing Taiwanese news cartoons — and experimental animator David OReilly have teamed up! OReilly wrote and NWA animated — in their typical deadline-busting style — “Children’s medium used for dissemination of truth.” It’s pretty cool but NWA should totally collaborate with other writers — imagine Warren Ellis or Johnny Ryan writing an NWA cartoon.