A Quick Look: FLIGHT TO MARS (1951 - color)

Often overlooked in the wake of DESTINATION MOON, ROCKETSHIP X-M, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, and several other contemporary classics, FLIGHT TO MARS is a compelling, tightly-paced, emotionally complex and nuanced science fiction adventure story that makes the most of a modest budget and a fine cast of familiar faces. The script is incredibly strong, and should be studied by anyone interested in writing, with subtleness and directness almost unrecognizable in modern fiction (cinematic or otherwise). On the surface, the characters are fairly stock: the dedicated scientist so committed to his project that he remains coldy unaware of the affections of the woman who not-so-secretly loves him, the cynical reporter who has seen it all and remains unphased by momentous events, the lady scientist who has made a name for herself in a man's world through hard work and brains but secretly desires a more normal brand of life that even she has difficulty realizing, etc. But the film gives these characters dimension and motivation and arc you seldom run across in today's landscape of flat, unrelatable characters defined by nothing greater than self-importance. The plot is fairly simple, and thus kept to a tight pace: A team of scientists and a reporter embark on the first manned mission to Mars. This event is announced on it's eve, leaving the world little time to react but quickly divided along political lines. After an eventful journey, the crew makes it to Mars but damages their ship in the process. Then they discover the red planet is inhabited...    Just a dandy picture. Only about 70 minutes or so long, it packs a surprising amount of material into it's brisk runtime. What's more, it doesn't spell everything out for the viewer, but expects us to piece things together. On it's surface, it's a B picture just there to capitalize on the current craze, but it gives us enough credit to go along with it without talking down to us at any point. Just take a look at this level of writing, and you begin to understand why movies being made in more recent years are so lacking (and why they tend to run over two hours when their stories seldom justify that much footage). A great little picture sadly knocked aside into relative obscurity, it's worth a look if it falls into your scope.

Thank you

I want to take a moment and express my gratitude to everyone who's been so supportive of my cartooning, and of me, for that matter. Those who have commissioned me have my extreme thanks, as do those who have let me know that what I've done has brought a smile to your face when you needed it most. I tell you, that means more to me than you can possibly know. It tells me I haven't been wasting my time, that something good has come out of all the seemingly dead-end situations and failed projects. What exactly my career is, the future of Cartoon Cuties, all that seems up in the air. But, I want to thank you for going with me this far. I have no idea what the future has in store, but I'm not one of those guys who thinks himself above his fans. If a man is in a position to have people who call themselves fans of his, that man is very blessed. I want to thank you. I know it's hip these days to mock, belittle, or even vilify fans, but I'm not of that ilk. I know that whatever success I have is due to you, and God's grace. So thank you. God bless you.

Re-design of Minnie Mouse

About a year ago, the first three Mickey Mouse cartoons entered public domain. For about a half a day there, palpable was a sense of excitement over the possibilities. Then we learned that while the cartoons had fallen into public domain, Disney somehow still had exclusive rights to the character designs and names. Thus, a wave of merchandise and media featuring the public domain Mickey Mouse and co, much anticipated as it was, fizzled out before it could even get up any speed. I'm not a huge Minnie Mouse fan, in terms of my own, cheesecake-centered body of work. Her close resemblance to Mickey and child-like proportions make it difficult for me to work with her as a pinup subject. Had the public domain status of her character taken hold, however, I admit I was curious to see what I could do with her. I tried my hand at a re-design, and you're actually seeing the end of the process here. My idea was to take the original version of the character and then to develop it from that base point, ignoring what Walt and company did with the design beyond that first appearance. So here's what developed. This is the Rock Baker version of Minnie Mouse. A version of the character I might've folded into Cartoon Cuties had she fully entered the public domain. Oh well.

A New Post

Yes, I'm still here. Blogger has become more difficult to use, however, so my posts will have to change format somewhat. In general, I find myself out of phase with modern structure. Imagine being a stick-and-rudder pilot suddenly on the crew of a space shuttle and you'll have some idea of where I am, technologically. Anyway, I felt I'd better make a post of some kind so the account doesn't dry up. I'm still seeking a partner to continue Cartoon Cuties, and I've been developing a new side-title to go with it. I've been keeping busy. I'll try to figure out posts I can make here from time to time, but the format has changed so drastically that I'm not sure what said posts will be. As always, I thank you for the support you've given me over the years. God bless you all.