Bettie Page for Summer

Have a GREAT Summer, gang!

Old Trick, New Twist

Well, I DID phone the magic shop and told them to send over their cutest bunny, but I get the feeling the kids aren't going to enjoy my show as much as their fathers will....

Still seeking a business partner to keep CARTOON CUTIES going...

Seemed funny in my mind, at least...

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.

Issue 7 of Cartoon Cuties has been released.

Now, this is the turning point for the franchise. To step up release of the title and clear my back-log of materials ready to go for the next dozen issues, InDELLible gave me it's blessing to publish the series independently. I HAD a business partner lined up for this, but they had to back out due to time and schedule problems. So for the series to go forward, I need a business partner who can letter and edit future issues, publish them through Amazon in the manner of the existing issues, and then from any profits in sales pay me half. I figure it's a roughly 50-50 effort, as I provide all the artwork and the scripts. I'm rather protective of my vision, so my business partner needs to be willing to let me have the final say about the contents of the book. That said, our partnership should be a fun one, given what we'll be doing. This is only the ground floor of the franchise, after all. My initial plan is to get the back-logged issues 8-20, and a couple spin-off one-shots, on the market as fast as we can get each issue ready. (Then, after those are in print and I'm caught up on what I wrote four years ago, I'll be free to start writing new issues... I do hope it's clear that I intend to retain creative control over the franchise.) So, if you want to see the franchise keep going beyond issue 7, I'll need to find that business partner. Maybe you, or someone you know, has the skill and the time to invest in what will eventually be a break-out franchise? If the idea seriously interests you, drop me a line. Don't let the series end at nine books and 31 cartoons. It's capable of so much more. I can be contacted through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bakercartoons

Cartoon Cuties issue 7 now on sale!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZRD4WSY

Obscure, but there was a female Ninja Turtle once...

Happy Easter, all!

HE IS RISEN!

Fay Radar, a concept I haven't given up on just yet

A Quick Look: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 DREAM WARRIORS (1987-color)

    In the 80's cycle of slasher horror, one franchise stood apart with a degree of intelligence and special effects, although the series could be hit or miss. Wes Craven delivered a superior horror epic called A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET which did boffo box office. In it, teenager Nancy found her friends being bumped off by supernatural killer Fred Kruger, a murderer who had been killed by the parents of his victims only to come back in their dreams as a monster which could kill them in reality. A sequel film, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2, FREDDY'S REVENGE, found Kruger trying to take over the body of the young man who had moved into Nancy's old room in an effort to exit the dream world and step into our world. This one was pretty good too, as 80's monster movies go, but New Line Cinema felt it wasn't quite on par. Craven was brought back to provide the script for the third entry, which stands as the high water mark of the series.

   Heather Langenkamp returns as Nancy, now a dream psychologist who discovers Kruger is again trying to slay the teenage children of Elm Street. Said kids have been gathered at an asylum to which Nancy enters the staff. With nobody but Nancy willing to believe the truth of the situation -that the kids can't risk going to sleep lest they be horribly slain by Kruger, the gang must unite to defeat the bogey man. This is possible thanks to one of the inmates, a young lady who has the power to actually pull others into her dreams.

   This was easily the best entry in the series, not to be matched until Wes Craven and Heather Langenkamp, along with John Saxon, returned for WES CRAVEN'S NEW NIGHTMARE -which was a stand-out bit of fiction that fizzled at the box office possibly due to it's being too intelligent. Meanwhile, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3, DREAM WARRIORS stands as one of the best horror movies of the 80's, and certainly one of the better sequels offered up by a decade noted for it's numerous sequels. (In fact, as a kid, that was how I figured a series was a success or a flop: if it reached a third entry.)

Gwangi drawing for Jim Main, inks by Jeff Austin

What if...?

    What if Cartoon Cuties had been a Saturday morning show back in the 80's? Is this what Crissy and Roger would've looked like?

A Quick Look at TV: PIGGSBURG PIGS

    Here's an obscure one. Produced in 1990 for the Fox Network, this was one of the last classic shows from Ruby-Spears. It was an odd one, too. Basically, it was a funny animal version of a classic Archie-style teen comedy -with monsters. 

 

   Somewhere along the coast, evidently in California, was Piggsburg -a town populated entirely by cartoon pigs. It bordered a gloomy forest region called The Forbidden Zone, and was prone to visitation by monsters of all variety. The first episode involved body-snatching mummies from outer space! The main characters were the Bacon brothers. Bo was the regular guy supported by his more comedic brothers Portly (modeled on Curly Howard) and Pighead (based on Art Carney). They had a pet duck named Quackers (the pigs had fowl as pets rather than dogs). Portly and Pighead competed for the affection of their friend Dotty, while Bo favored a blonde piggette named Lorelei. Also interested in Lorelei was rich-but-shallow snob Rembrandt Proudpork. Others in the regular cast included frequent babysitting subjects children Piggy, Pokey, and Prissy. Piggy and Pokey were troublemakers who loved to pull pranks on the others, Prissy their sweet sister who tried to keep peace. Peripheral to all this was a pair of wolves named Huff and Puff, who kept trying to snare Piggsburg citizens in order to eat them. Fortunately, their attempts usually backfired with the pigs being entirely unaware that the wolves were even on the scene. 

 

   For some reason, Piggsburg was a magnet for the supernatural, with monsters frequently trying to invade and use the city as a base for world conquest. All this was evidently set in the real world, too, and the characters occasionally interacted with human beings. Unfortunately, they tended to be mad scientists and the like. The results felt akin to the old Bowery Boys pictures in a way. Strange as it sounds, it could be a pretty good show. It didn't quite catch on, however, and was cancelled in the first season. Only 13 episodes were made, and they remain difficult to find. The only known DVD release was in the UK, which consisted of but six episodes spread over three disks.

A Quick Look: HOMEBODIES (1974-color)

    One of the quirkiest flicks I've run across. HOMEBODIES tells the story of a group of elderly folk who live in a condemned building in a city slum area. The block is being cleared for an industrial project by it's owner, but the tenets of this building refuse to move out of their familiar surroundings. When an accident causes delay in construction of a new skyscraper, the elders begin arranging for more accidents to keep their building standing a little longer... One oddball picture. It's opening sequences imply it's going to be about the hardships of the elderly in an uncaring world, but we eventually figure out that these people are just insane (standing in the way of progress out of selfishness more than anything else, but beyond being able to realize it). A weird one, to say the least, but I gotta admit that it kept me engaged. Plenty of familiar faces here, including Ian Wolfe, Peter Brocco, and Ken Tobey. An odd one you might not return to very soon, but intriguing in it's own quirky way.

Daisy Duck, Pinup Girl?

 

A Quick Look: THRILLER (1983-color)

    Say what you will about Michael Jackson, he certainly earned his title of The King Of Pop in the 80's. Truly, the Jackson sound defined 80's pop music. Once a member of the Jackson Five, Michael embarked on a solo career which produced hit after hit and really defined the new entertainment form of the music video (while the format went back to the dawn of the cinematic age, it really became a force in the opulent 80's). Still considered one of the best music videos ever made, THRILLER was an ambitious project directed by John Landis, co-written by Landis and Jackson. The two-reeler was a tribute to classic monster movies, which is somewhat ironic as Jackson reportedly hadn't seen all that many monster flicks. (Despite his performance here, he thought the genre too scary!)

   The plot is fairly simple. We open with a sequence in which a young lady is shocked to discover her fella is a werewolf, but this turns out only to be a movie being viewed by Jackson and his girl (Playmate Ola Ray) at the theater. Despite the fact that the couple is IN the movie they're watching, she finds the picture more terrifying than enjoyable so Michael walks her home and begins singing the title tune to calm her down. Unfortunately, as they pass a cemetery, the corpses start crawling out of their graves. When they surround the couple, Michael becomes a zombie himself and leads the undead in an elaborately choreographed production number.

   Running a full 14 minutes, the film is an incredible work of art. Rick Baker (no relation) provides the make-up (amusingly, within the zombie horde is a fella meant to resemble Tor Johnson). Elmer Bernstein provides the "scary" music in between the song sequences. Vincent Price provides some spooky voice over during the scene where the zombies are emerging from their graves. Co-producing with Jackson is legendary music man Quincy Jones. Forry Ackerman and Charlton Heston are visible in the theater audience. The budget for the film, that was released theatrically, was five times what the average video cost. 

   Reportedly, it only took four days to shoot, which is pretty impressive. Jackson proves a decent actor as well as a great singer, although at this point he's already had his nose reduced beyond the point of no return (which makes his zombie makeup effective, but I could never figure why a singer would risk his craft by having his nose operated on -not that he was the first by any means, Dean Martin had his nose reduced and obviously his voice never suffered for it). Given his later escapades, it's difficult to praise his work with such relish, but there's no denying the incredible talent on display here.

   THRILLER remains one of the most popular music videos of all time, and like so many of Jackson's tunes from this period has you humming the song endlessly after hearing it.

A Quick Look: BLINKY BILL (1992-color)

 

    America has Mickey Mouse, England has Winnie The Pooh, Canada has The Raccoons, and Australia has Blinky Bill. Ironically, the pride of Australian kiddie fare was actually the creation of an immigrant from neighboring New Zealand. Reportedly, Dorothy Wall invented the character to entertain her young son, but the books she authored became huge hits. Almost from the start, Dorothy knew the character would be perfect for the animated screen and she simplified the (originally more realistic) character designs before shopping the the idea around to every major animation studio in Hollywood. She failed to generate much interest, and then she suddenly passed away in, I think, 1946. Blinky lay dormant for decades, but continued to become ingrained in Aussie culture. It was Australian cartoon studio Yoram Gross which finally brought Blinky to the screen in 1992.

 

   BLINKY BILL, in short, tells of the sudden calamity which befalls the animal community of Greenpatch when loggers (illegal ones, the film stresses, lest it come across as an attack on the logging industry as a whole) crash through and harvest all the trees for lumber. As the villagers seek shelter in some caves, Blinky Bill mounts a rescue operation to save his friend Nutsy, who has become trapped in the loggers' home where their young daughter wants to keep her as a pet. During the rescue operation, Blinky finds his missing mother, who has been trapped inside the tree they lived in and has been stranded inside the wood pile slated to become wood chips. The mill, as one might expect, suffers heavy damage before the animals drive away in the loggers' own truck.

 

   Most of the characters that would carry into the resulting series are present. There's Blinky the young, and quite 'cheeky' koala, of course, and his very sweet feminine counter-part Nutsy. Their friends include the insecure marsupial mouse Marcia, who after being rather frightened in this picture would go on to front a courageous personality. Flap is the amusing young platypus who would go on to become one of the most visible characters in the franchise. Splodge is Blinky's closest friend, a young kangaroo. The sage of the group is the elder Mr. Wombat (whom everybody calls "Wombo" much to his dislike). Mayor Pelican is the loud-mouthed windbag he would continue to be throughout the resulting series, and so on. 

 

   The movie seems to rely on the audience being aware of the characters, and it helped me that I'd already seen the resulting TV series (it pretty much HAD to go to series, since the movie ends with the animals still in exodus). It's notable for the Yoram Gross trademark of laying animation over live-action background plates. All the following series would opt for traditional drawn backgrounds. I'm not sure the film works all that well as a stand-alone vehicle, but it was a success and television was quick to continue the story.

 

   The Adventures Of Blinky Bill followed the animals as they set down roots in a new territory and rebuilt their town of New Greenpatch. This included an uneasy co-existence with a family of dingoes, which is interesting to watch develop over the course of the series and it's sequels -as the dingoes go from trouble-making neighbors to strong allies. Notable is the character of Daisy Dingo, a figure of womanly proportions who became first crush to a lot of Aussie boys.

 

   Essentially the second season of the show, the follow-up series was Blinky Bill's Extraordinary Excursion. Starting and finishing with more typical Greenpatch adventures, the larger middle of the series found Blinky and his friends getting lost and wandering the outback as they searched for home. That was the last of the 90's episodes, but the series continued to be popular and in 2003 a new series came along simply titled Blinky Bill. This one was basically one long serial as Blinky, Nutsy, and Flap rescued some abused circus animals and then traveled the globe to return them to their families. This series was noted for it's slight change in aesthetic (which might be best described as looking more like a comic book than a cartoon series), but it was also a bit more energetic than the first two series (which grow on you, but it must be admitted start kinda slow).

 

   Finally, in 2005 came a second movie BLINKY BILL'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, which returned to the more comfortable aesthetic of the first two seasons. The cast was reduced somewhat for this vehicle, as it mostly follows Blinky and Flap as they search for a pine tree to present to Wombo as a Christmas present.  Following this, the whole franchise was re-tooled and the results are reportedly pretty weak. Despite all this material, the only bit of it that has gotten to the US so far is a DVD set of the first season of the teleseries (and it was rather weirdly packaged, showing the show opening, then all the episodes playing back-to-back without titles, and the end credits playing on the last episode).

   In the end, it may not have been the most perfect franchise, but it was incredibly charming. Those interested in some relaxed fun could do far worse. As to the movie itself, well, I think it helps if you can follow it up with the teleseries. Particularly if you can follow it through to the delightful Christmas special.

   An odd little side note is the interaction betwixt the animals and humans. In the movie and the first series, neither understands the other when they speak. In the second series, the animals can understand humans if they actively listen to them. By the third series, there's no language barrier at all!

Moth Girl experiments