Tooned In » Tooned InTooned In

Only Trying to Help #17

the foop — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:20:14 +0000

The convention season is at its peak with things happening in Seattleforthis, Austintatious, Chicagocrazy and EastPAXovia, and PvP’s Scott “Don’t Hurtz Me” Kurtz did some filler material with his LOLBAT character, rather controversial among hard-core PvPHeads, but what I consider one of the better corners of his little Universe. And the one full strip he did with LOLBAT was one that was filled with one of my guilty pleasures… themed puns. (Recreated below at reduced size for a reason)

I realized quickly that the area of food-themed puns had barely been touched on in this strip, and you COULD swap out a whole ‘nother set of dialogue bubbles to provide what could pass for another strip. So I did. (Below is Scott’s art with MY puns)

If you need a better view, a full-size version of my version is here and the full-sized original is back at the PvPPlace.

Anyway, I failed miserably at bringing this to Scott’s attention (or he succeeded gloriously at ignoring me), so after an inappropriate cooling off period, I’m posting it over here, because, well, that’s what this blog is at least partly for: showing off the BEST of the Cartoony Arts and contrasting it to my feeble-minded efforts. (The self-effacing part of this post ends here) I am still kinda proud of my “uckers reserves” label and the turducken reference.

One thing I did contrary to Scott’s practice: I just had to put LOLBAT’s dialog into the Impact font, used by so many LOLCATS. I mean, come on…

The Greatest ‘Misheard Lyric’ Video Ever AND It’s Animated

the foop — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:14:07 +0000

I recall a Los Angeles disc jockey in the ’60s and ’70s who did a “Story Record” in which he’d tell a long, shaggy-doggish story and the final line would turn out to be a misinterpreted line from a pop song. And my all-time favorite was the one about the slave who secreted away a stash of money and and another slave asked him what he’d do with the money, and, using that same Eric Carmen record, he responded “I’ll buy myself…” And that one had no connection beyond those three words. This one used the whole refrain of the song and was a big, crazy surprise.

That is the kind of viral video meme webthingy I like.

Okay, less animation-related but here the SECOND greatest Misheard Lyric video ever (AND it uses a font I use on this blog):

In Which We Learn That Amazon Princesses Are Not Kosher

the foop — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:33:31 +0000

Think “Spider Pig” in the Simpsons Movie was ridiculous? Well, in a 2004 episode of “Justice League Unlimited”, Wonder Woman was turned into a pig and Batman spent most of the half-hour trying to find her and change her back, while “revealing feelings he has towards Wonder Woman” in the process. Which should be a very minor sidenote in DC canon, right? Apparently manufacturer of DC licensed action figures Mattel decided it was a big deal so they made and sold a “Batman with Wonder Pig!”. By late 2008, when one toy-blogger discovered it, the combo pack was already on clearance at Target for $4.99. Since then, like so many other generally worthless things, it has become a collector’s item (extra irony points for “Amazon Marketplace”).

Now the guy who wrote that TV episode, Paul Dini (who over the last 32 years has written for almost every Batman-inclusive animated series, plus some of the best – Freakazoid – worst – The Gary Coleman Show – most iconic – Fat Albert, Tiny Toons – and greatest near-misses – Duck Dodgers, Clerks the TV Series – animation on TV AND a first season episode of Lost) has just learned of the existence of the Wonder Pig “action figure”. His response (on Twitter in less than 140 characters): “I don’t know if I should feel honored Mattel made this, or ashamed. Oh what the hell, I’ll feel both.”

Yeah, if you open up a paper encyclopedia to the entry “mixed emotions”, that would fit perfectly right there.

NOM NOM NO NO

the foop — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:52:21 +0000

Proudly controversial webcomicker Zach Weiner’s “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal” did a comic that the anti-gay “National Organization for Marriage” interpreted as illustrating a ‘technological threat to traditional marriage’, so they put it on their blog (may be down), by ‘hotlinking’ it. So Weiner changed the image on them (totally SFW, although he considered other options).

He Did Get Far (not) On Foot

the foop — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:58:28 +0000

“America’s greatest quadriplegic, recovering alcoholic cartoonist” (prev.) has died at 59. John Callahan drew irreverent cartoons (some too irreverent – scroll down), created one cartoon series for kids and another for adults (plus animated versions of many of his comics), wrote and performed songs, and collected his hate mail. He was a local celebrity in Portland, Oregon, the subject of a Dutch documentary and an unlikely role model. “The odor of mortality (was) hard to avoid around Callahan,” and now it has caught up with him.

as seen on MetaFilter

Diversousitinessosity

the foop — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:36:23 +0000

Two things I love about the long line of cameo appearances in Sunday’s “My Cage” comic: the extremes in variety of comic styles (all rendered at least pretty well) and the comics they came from, some successful and/or familiar (not always the same thing), some cult or special-interest favorites and some just plain obscure, but all web-based; well, it is an Internet Cafe, even if one character is reading a newspaper.

The other thing I love is I was able to identify ALL of them, proving that I am indeed qualified to write a blog about webcomics (which Tooned.In will at least partly be, after it gets out of Beta).

From left to right:
Skull, the Troll from “PvP” by Scott Kurtz
The Space Pig from “The SuperFogies” by Brock Heasley
Steve (a guinea pig raised as a moose, therefore the artificial antlers) from “Pinkerton” by Mike Witmer
Dr. McNinja, eponymous star of “The Adventures of Dr. McNinja” by Christopher Hastings
Agatha Heterodyne, title character of “Girl Genius” by Phil and Kaja Foglio
Woo the Raccoon of “Sandra & Woo” by Powree and Oliver Knörzer
Clango Cyclotron, robot from “Diesel Sweeties” by R.Stevens
Coney, carnivorous bunny from “Kevin and Kell” by Bill Holbrook
Teenage Girl President, title character of a recurring TV show within “Medium Large” by Francesco Marciuliano
Max Terrier and Norman Platipus from “My Cage” by Ed Power and Melissa DeJesus (the host comic, ironically distributed by the Internet unfriendly King Features Syndicate who only let you see comics over 30 days old IF you pay $15 a year for ‘DailyInk’)
Gill, obvious star of “Gill” by Norm Feuti (which ended a 14 month run last year and deserved better, I agree)
and Zorphbert, space alien disguised (poorly) as a dog in “Zorphbert and Fred” by Dawn Griffin

Now you can critique the choice of specific characters (“Where’s Biff/Brock/Charles/Clovis/Clue/Cornfather/Dick/Digger/Emily/Ferd/Flaco/Fuzzy/Gav/Hannelore/Herman/Jinx/Kimiko/McPedro/Monica/Pip/Roast Beef/Schlock/Scott/Slick/Speedy/T-Rex/Tip/Weedmaster P?” [yeah, like King Features Syndicate is gonna let HIM in])

The above in no way is supposed to represent an even halfway-definitive list of Beloved Characters in Webcomics, but is just the result of a little obsessive behavior while doing my nightly ‘Webcomic Surf’. Which makes this as good a time as any to announce that when Tooned.In is officially released into the Wild Wild Web, it will include a pseudo-comprehensive catalog of comics online, organized in a way to make it more convenient for ME than my dozens of browser bookmarks and which should make it easier for other comics-obsessed web surfers. Stay tooned!

Homeopathetic

the foop — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:51:13 +0000

One thing I love about the media of comics and cartoons is the ability to identify the stupidity and absurdity in real life and allow you to laugh at them (derisively, of course) instead of rage against them. In this vein, today’s XKCD is a masterful take-down of the gross medical fraud that is Homeopathy, as well as the funniest XK in weeks (I was starting to worry you might be losing it, Randall). Of course, if you are also moronic enough to deny the theory of evolution, you probably won’t get the joke.

Comicking in the Dark

the foop — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:42:30 +0000

As important as the art in a webcomic is, sometimes you can come up with a gag good enough that it can be expressed in dialogue balloons in a pitch black panel. And sometimes you can come up with a gag ‘theme’ that allows you to reuse the same panels with new dialogue over and over. And if you can do BOTH, you have the lazy cartoonist’s nirvana.

Which Jennie Breedon has accomplished in The Devil’s Panties with her “What Not To Say In The Bedroom” theme. Wisely, she has limited these single panels to the weekends, when she usually has other ‘filler’ content, to avoid giving the impression she’s ‘phoning it in’. But when you have comic content that needs no pictures, you know that some @$$#Ø!£ is going to do what I am doing right now:

The Collected “What Not To Say In The Bedroom”

“♫We all live in a yellow submarine♫!”
“So what where you gonna make me for dinner?”
“Look! No hands!”
“I’m a squirrel!”
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m over here.”
“Did I mention that I’m allergic to latex?”
“I know “ow” wasn’t the safe word, but I figured it was sorta obviouse (sic)!”
“Passion and spontaneity are all well and good, but you need a shower first.”
“Hi, I’m Mike.”
“Is that guacamole?”
“HONK! HONK!”
“What do the instructions say?”
“Did you wash this after you got it from the kitchen?”
“Inappropriate use of lawn equipment!”
“Think fast!”
“Turn it off! Turn it off!”
“The Internet is watching.”
“Are you KIDDING?”
“♫Autobots wage their battle ♫To destroy the evil forces ♫Ooooof the Deceptocons♫!”
“That explains SO much.”
“I can’t feel my hand.”
“Slacker!”
“♫Gummy Bears, ♫Bouncing here and there and everywhere, ♫High adventure that’s beyond compare, ♫We are the Gummy Bears!♫”
“Taste like chicken!”
“CHAAARGE!”
“…I think I’m STUCK.”
“COLD!”
“I’m offended, yet strangely aroused…”
“Okay, where am I taking this?”
“♫Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…♫”
“♫Getting to know you, ♫Getting to know all about you…♫”
“The Island’s not through with you yet!”
“No, I’m pretty positive it’s not supposed to do THAT”
“Is that my STAPLER?”
“Hold on, let me draw you a diagram.”
“But I have to PEE!”

Yes, the links were pretty superfluous, but necessary for legal reasons.

Triumph of the Supervillains?

the foop — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:13:02 +0000

Explained at MSNBC.com and TodayShow.com by ME!

If this article I thoroughly enjoyed writing doesn’t make it clear, I have NO problem with the “bad guy” being the star of the show, even in a medium that’s supposedly Family Friendly. (Historical note not in article: Dastardly & Muttley on Saturday Mornings in 1969) Especially if it’s done well, and everything I’ve seen so far indicates “Despicable Me” is done well (jury still out on “Megamind”, but it’s still 4 months from premiere)

The Sun WON’T Come Out Tomorrow

the foop — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:14:32 +0000

“And This Is Where We Leave Our Annie: For Now”

After 86 years, several artists and a major makeover, "~~Little Orphan~~ Annie" the comic strip has ended… in mid-story. Leaving a hole in the comics page of less than 20 newspapers, the ‘Princess of Pluck’ already has a sort of a comeback planned with a revival of the "Annie" Broadway musical. But nothing that could happen in that 1930s-based show will get her out of the clutches of ‘The Butcher of the Balkans’ in 2010, will it?

So, once more, let’s all sing that wonderful song… no, not THAT one… this one:
"Who’s that little chatterbox
With the pretty auburn locks…"