Potrzebie

Monday, June 06, 2011

Harvey Kurtzman animation: Boat

Harvey Kurtzman storyboarded this Sesame Street sequence for Phil Kimmelman and Associates. Boat was animated by Dante Barbetta, and Allen Swift supplied the voice. For more info, see John Benson's Squa Tront and Michael Sporn.

Labels: harvey kurtzman

¶ 11:31 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wood Chips 33: Mad Strikes Back!

.
In Mad #17 (November 1954), Harvey Kurtzman decided to fight back at the many imitators of Mad. In other words, a parody of parodies, cleverly incorporating the logos of the other comic books and employing Julius Caesar as the springboard. The Joseph Mankiewicz film with Marlon Brando had been released 15 months earlier. Brando must have liked the way he was depicted by Kurtzman and Wood, as he actually did sometimes refer to himself as "Marlon Branflakes".

None of these imitations had a handle on what Kurtzman had created, although Flip, Get Lost and Panic all had a certain appeal. Craig Yoe has a forthcoming book collecting Archie's Madhouse (not Madhouse, as I mistakenly had it here before). Madhouse and Eh! were two of the worst. Also forthcoming (in December) is John Benson's The Sincerest Form of Parody: The Best 1950s Mad Inspired Satirical Comics, with an introduction by Jay Lynch. This selection of 30 stories from the Mad imitators includes art by Jack Davis, Will Elder, Norman Maurer, Carl Hubbell, William Overgard, Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Bill Everett, Al Hartley, Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, Hy Fleischman, Jay Disbrow, Howard Nostrand and Bob Powell.

Labels: brando, harvey kurtzman, mad, wood chips, yoe

¶ 9:38 AM 6 comments

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wood Chips 32: Prince Violent

.
"Prince Violent" was in Mad #13 (July 1954). Good timing, as the movie Prince Valiant was released April 1954. So the comic book probably went on sale while the movie was still in release in small towns.