Schmootz

Dark Smurfs courtesy of Tom Ruegger.

SUNDAY UPDATE: Phoenix marathon team ran 20 yesterday. Several runners bonked from injuries and ended up stopping or heading to the pool. Former coaches Jimmy and Kate stopped by to teach a form clinic to the spring team. Jimmy recapped his outstanding finish at the Rio Del Lago Ultra Marathon back in September. (1st in age group; 3rd overall on a blistering hot day.) Mostly drove around with Coach Karla and checked on people.

Some sort of bug laid me low today. I feel better now. Off to the north tomorrow. Weather is rough with storms in Portland and throughout Washington. But I'll make it, for its Christmas and I said I would.

Scooter and Jersey

More from Tom Ruegger: Young Scooter and Jersey, his fantastically old, heroic dog who once saved President Taft.

Return of Manny

Fans of One Saturday Morning may recall the energetic Manny the Uncanny. Paul Rugg's creation is now up at YouTube with more episodes on the way.

Dog Gone

Some of Tom's different dogs. For reasons known only to Blogspot, it decided to alter the colors. Everyone's a critic.

Tom Ruegger Art: Bluebird and Poe

Happy and sad personified, courtesy of Tom Ruegger.

Paul Rugg Records Tom Ruegger Characters

Thanks to said garage band, Paul Rugg and I recorded voices to different characters that Tom Ruegger had drawn, with Tom serving as engineer. Great fun all around and a nostalgic reminder of times past. Tom will animate a few and put 'em on the web. More than likely, some will find their way here in the next few months.

Troy, Freakazoid DVD director, has his own blog. Visit and learn about fine cultural happenings.

I have gas today.

Surly Bird and The Worm

More artwork from Tom Ruegger - dawn confrontation between elusive worm and Surly Bird.
















Surly Bird tries a more passive approach with a spot of worm-fishing.

Dead Race and Ruegger Art

Running on empty might describe the late Pasadena Marathon. Cancelled due to poor air quality, the race recently sent out an email asking for donations so as to hold the race in March. A tough tumble, considering all the work undergone to get it ready in the first place. Not to mention bummed out runners who peaked without a payoff.

Tom Ruegger recently drew many pages of fine characters. (Like the confused fellow above.) Paul Rugg and I will attempt to attach voices to him and others this week. As Hollywood is mostly closed until late January, its our way of generating work.

Until then, we'll live on left-over turkey.

The Many Shows That Never Were

One thing about moving: you do inventory your possessions. Still emptying boxes from May, I've found a collection of TV show ideas that never flew. From Lobo to the star-crossed Daffy Duck Show to one of my favorites, Team I.E., these animated offerings foundered at different stages. Most were my solo original ideas, pitched and passed on; others were developed with artists such as Scott Jeralds; several were commissioned by various studios before being euthanized.

In any case, I'll post on a few over the coming months. Some probably shouldn't have been made, while others flashed glimmers of potential.

New animation ideas remain in the 'fridge as I rush to finish a graphic novel outline, an original sit-com, and five chapters from a young adult novel.

Siggraph

Caught most of the animated shorts festival at the Nokia Theater. A great deal of outstanding CGI — so much that it blended together after awhile. Not everything had a story, or even a simple one-joke set up/pay off. A number of shorts merely showcased technology. Several other films were demo reels for studios or CGI production houses ala Rhythm and Hues. Two hours later, I gave the "John Award" to "Jungle Jail," a prisoner's desperate dream, for having cool CGI and a story I could follow.

Because of work considerations, I had time for lunch with MDW and her friend before zipping back home to graphic novel land.

Main Man Mania

That last post brought back memories of a busy time at Warner Brothers. I think I'd written the Lobo pilot months earlier and forgotten about it. But suddenly the Main Man had heat. Along with Boyd Kirkland, then Scotty Jeralds, we got the show rolling.

In the fall of 1998:

Lobo was test-marketed. Boys loved it. (Lobo broke things and didn't take any lip. What's not to love?)

We pitched the show to marketing. They went wild. ("We can sell toys based on this. We really can!")




We pitched the show to Jamie Kellner and our new bosses at Kids' WB. Nothing. A sea of Toltec masks.



We pitched the show to Warner Studios head, Bob Daley. While not a demonstrative man, he thought it just fine.

Models changed, props were drawn, Scotty's crew got the board started. Composer Richard Stone was fired up to do music, while Brad Garrett would voice Lobo. In addition, voice director Andrea Romano had cast William H. Macy and Linda Hamilton in supporting roles.

I had ideas for twelve half-hour episodes. Two writers (Ken Segall and Mitch Watson) were working on outlines.

This was shaping up to be fun.

On a Friday in late January 1999, boss Jean MacCurdy called me into her office. Monday was the production start date. Artists were already reporting to work. Scotty's crew had the first act boarded.

We were cancelled.

Jamie Kellner just didn't like the show.

Jean spent the day on the phone, calling different people, angling for ways we might proceed. But no go.

Scotty and the production manager (Haven Alexander?) let the artists know we'd been sunk. I told Stonini, Andrea, and the writers. It was a depressing day.

In 2000, Fox expressed interest in the project. We had a few meetings but never agreed on numbers. Also that year, Lobo webisodes appeared on the Warner Brothers' site.

Meanwhile, the show hurriedly purchased to replace Lobo on the schedule was having phenomenal success.

It was called Pokemon.

Scott Jeralds: Drawin' Man

Animation artist and champion fellow Scott Jeralds has just joined the blogosphere. After working together on Freakazoid!, Scotty and I developed several TV animation projects such as Mammoth Boy. "Mammoth" championed brains-over-brawn via the adventures of a prehistoric kid. Our hero herded mammoths and dreamed big, while dodging cranky tribal elders and dim, but cunning, beasts.

We pitched this in late 1999 to our bosses at Kids' WB. As pitches go, it was a surreal experience. After several minutes of me talking and Scotty holding up artwork, and both of us passing out colored pitch booklets, we reached the end. There was silence for several moments. Then our Harvard-educated network chief smiled and asked: "Could you start again?"

(I'd like to say we stood on our dignity, gathered our materials and walked to the door, where my voice rang out like thunder, "Read the pitch book — if you can!" But we did it once more. And they passed.)

A year earlier, we'd worked on Lobo. Based on the homicidal D.C. Comics character, the series was originally in the hands of Boyd Kirkland. But Boyd was shifting over to a Batman direct-to-video. I had already written a pilot and came aboard to co-produce and story edit. Eventually, Scotty replaced Boyd.

Lamenting the decline of Saturday morning TV, Scotty crafted this nifty cartoon montage. See how many you can name.

My Writing Friend Gerald

Gerald does things no writer should do. He snubs the powerful and walks out of meetings with the annoying. He isn't wealthy and, in fact, could use the money that steady employment brings. Such jobs are available for family-man Gerald. With a proven track record and good ideas, he's a sought-after figure in TV animation. But Gerald cannot fake enthusiasm for projects that he considers stupid and ill-conceived.

There are many such projects along Olive Avenue: squalid ideas that float about like oil upon sewer water. Gerald will avoid these the way a swimmer avoids poisonous jelly fish.

He's never deliberately rude, just decisive.

Go Gerald.

Barer Facts

Danny Barer had some nice words on his blog re. our Comic Con panel. (Including this fine picture of me holding forth on Bolivian tin exports over the last two quarters. You can tell everyone's digging it.)

Another Freakish Plea

Bruce Timm Photo at Comicon

A Freakish Plea

They're abrupt but sincere.

Freakazoid DVD Release Info

As of this hour, the Freakazoid! DVD is . . .

* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Popular in these categories:
#3 in Movies & TV > Animation > Kids & Family
#4 in Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Television
#25 in Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Television

Buy so that others may be made.

Link to Freakazoid DVD Review

Seth Thrasher pens a fine review of the Freakazoid! DVD.
Note: The happy man in the suit is not Seth Thrasher. He does, however, represent positive energy and the sort of upbeat, jubilant spirit that we appreciate in Freakazoid! reviews. Please smile warmly as if it were Seth. Thank you.

Freakazoid Xbox Interviews

On the MSNBC page, there's gigabytes of Comic-Con news. Xbox features video from the panel where we shamelessly promote the DVD. Did I mention it releases on July 29?