In Which I Make a Cool Pirate Video

While I'm holding off on cartoon news for the moment, I just had to share with you a cool little video I put together the other day.

Okay, so some of you are aware that I am slightly obsessed with Disney's so called 'dark' rides... an obsession that precedes even my first visit to the parks.  You see, long before there were Legos and snap-together kits, there was the model kit.  A kit that, no matter what the box said, required quite a bit of skill to put together and paint.  And I just love working with my hands!

Some of my many happy childhood memories involve putting together Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean model kits with zap/action!  The one I remember most is Condemned to Chains Forever, in which a pirate skeleton fights an eternal battle with an alligator that's trying to chew on his leg.  It's no wonder the comic book I'm working on is titled The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake, is it?

So, a few years later I have managed to get the same model kit, complete in it's box.  And now it will take me years to find the time to actually build it and build it right.  However, I had ten minutes free one Saturday morning, so over coffee I carefully removed the pieces from their sprues, and, like any good model builder, fit them together before any attempt at gluing. And being the show person that I am, I just had to video the attempt, and ad some animation to it. :0)

Please enjoy!

PS  As I kid I ripped the box open and started painting and gluing haphazardly until I had a sloppy mess that little resembled the picture on the box.  And I loved every minute of it. :0)

PSS If enough of you clamor to see more, I'll be forced to find the time to play, er... work towards making another video in this series.  Please? :0)

On my iPod?  Ariene Brunet, "Le pied dans ma bulle"    Nice!

Return of Ghost Pirate Skeletons!

Well, since I'm not on my way to California for the big 40th Anniversary party at Disney's Haunted Mansion, I may as well do some work, eh? And grumble. Lots of muttering and grumbling going on here over not getting to Disneyland for my birthday, and for the big 40th anniversary.

New studio, new clients, new cartoons! Here's the latest toon, from The Inquiring Minds in The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake!



There's also a new Knight and Day comic... the first in a loooong time, but not the last. Yo can see that at HappyGlyphs.com, or check out the previous blog where you can also see pics of my new and awesome studio!

Cheers, JOHN :0)

Truths Revealed and Surprising Insights!

First off, the not so big surprise is that The Inquiring Minds' Big Summer Adventure... which seems to be running through this Fall and Winter as well... was secretly in actuality The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake!

Also, not so big a secret... the entire story was inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean! No, not the movies, but the ride, and the pioneering spirit of Walt and his amazing Imagineers that created a truly virtual experience. And what better way to pay tribute than having my characters go through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of creating their own pirate ride, from scratch?

Those of you who have studied the history of the ride will see quite a few parallels to the creation of Disney's ride, as well as some hopefuly new innovations that I've lovingly brought to the concept.





And now for the surprising insight that has revealed some hidden truths, and some help to those of you Cartoonists who want to create new comic strips. The above strip was a bugger! For some reason, beyond some personal issues I've been dealing with, I just couldn't get this strip together! I rewrote it several times, and redrew it several times, and kept second guessing myself, wondering why I was having such a hard time with what should be a fairly straight-forward cartoon. Okay, sure, the punchline had to be just right... you had to see that Albert's suffering a blow to the ego here, or it just doesn't work. Also, I had Iris origonally drawing with Bobby, and her drawing being equally as good as Bobby's.

First, this didn't work because it removed emphasis from Bobby's drawing, and second, it created a bigger wedge between Bobby and Albert than I wanted to create. Sure, this sense of isolation is what kept Albert from admitting Iris to The Inquiring Minds all along, right? This strip would just enforce that issue, but also pull the story in a different direction than I wanted to go. The kids are facing the Eleventh Hour, and teamwork is needed right now.

Then it occurred to me: Maybe it wasn't Albert's fault entirely that Iris wasn't in The Inquiring Minds, and maybe the answer lie in my difficulties creating this week's overdue cartoon?

Thnk about it. Calvin and Hobbes, Charlie Brown and Linus, Charlie Brown and Lucy, Pogo and Albert, Bobby and Albert.... Hold on. The best comic strips come from great dialogue and character interaction, which usually occurs between two characters. Given the space limitations in a comic strip, that is'nt so surprising.
Picture the famous Lucy pulls the football away from Charie Brown moments... would that work as well if other people were involved? First off, it would be a crowded scene, and second, emphasis would be taken away from the main event. Think of any great conversation between Calvin & Hobbes. Would that scene work as well with a third person adding their insight? Probably not.

And so, the real reason Iris hasn't been a full fledged member of The Inquiring Minds is all my fault. Subconciously I knew it would make better comedy to write for two characters... two different yet compatible characters who could bounce ideas and ideologies off of each other.

Of course, there are times when a third character works, but in many cases it is one character too many. The Ghost Skeleton Pirates of Three Craters Lake has turned into a comic book adventure, much as my Three Knights in India did, so Iris is welcome to stick around. The strip is changing, but there will be times when it will just have to be Bobby abd Albert. In this particular strip, I needed to bring Iris in, so I had a lot of trouble creating a scene which in my head should have only involved two people.



Which brings us full circle... The Pirates of the Caribbean ride had a terrific woman named Alice Davis creating the memorable costumes for the characters. In her spirit, I wanted Iris to be the one creating costumes for The Ghost Pirates. Alice Davis was the wife of Marc Davis, a Cartoonist and Imagineer who brought us much of the visual humour of the ride. Bobby's vivid illustrations are a tribute to the work of Marc Davis and the other artists and Imagineers responsible for the ride.

Hopefully my passion for the creativity of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride comes through in my own story, unique and challenging, and hopefully an engaging tribute to the Imagineers who have given me so much joy and inspiration.

Cheers, JOHN :0)

The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake!

Okay, so that's a long title, but The Inquiring Minds are known for their enthusiasm, not their talent for selecting titles. Besides, the title sounds really cool, so I can understand the kid's choice. As Bobby says, though, that's a lot of words for one t-shirt!

So we finally get to the heart of the story: The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake is really what the entire Big Summer Adventure is all about. When I was a kid, I was totally absorbed in building the zap-action Pirates of the Caribbean model kit that Disney put out... there just was nothing cooler than pirate skeletons with hooks for hands and clothing tattered with time to reveal the bones beneath... and when done right, the models actually moved! Whack! Down comes the sword! Why they didn't remake those models when the movies came out is beyond me... these days Disney pumps out tons of merchandise that ends up in the bargain bin for $1.99 a few months later, when they really should be concentrating on producing really cool quality items that people would treasure.

Anyways, first there were the models, and then my first trip to Disney World. I honestly don't remember my first time on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.. I was about Bobby and Albert's age, and I'm sure I must have loved it because I love it today. The ride is a truly virtual experience, and it's such a joy to be totally immersed in such an awesome environment that not only tells a story, but gives you something new to discover in every time through.

So, even though Iris is now an official member of The Inquiring Minds (see the recent strips) the idea of The Ghost Pirate Skeletons of Three Craters Lake comes from my love of Disney's Pirates, that I share with my creations Bobby and Albert. The Inquiring Minds has always been about the imagination and fun of discovery of these two guys, so it was only natural that this storyline came about.


Unconfirmed sighting of a Ghost Skeleton Pirate in Three Craters Lake!


I'm having a blast creating this, and hope that you are enjoying it as well. And there's lots more to come, including more terrific landscaping by Bobby as well as his crayon sketches and Albert's never-give-up enthusiasm and Iris' cool head keeping it all together.

Stay 'tooned, and please let me know what you think, eh?

Cheers, JOHN :0)

PS See the whole story HERE at HappyGlyphs.com.

Ahoy, Matey's!

So there be a slight delay in The Inquiring Minds Big Summer Adventure, but we're back, and hopefully it were worth the wait! I'm on a wicked deadline creating the artwork and cover for a magazine right now, but the comic strip is never far from my mind.

I'm also having thoughts and second thoughts about how to present this storyline, and whether I should post it all online, or finish it and offer it as a print only title, or what to do. The complete storyline with extra art will definitely appear in the upcoming Complete Inquiring Minds comic strip collection, but I'm thinking of putting this together as a special edition comic book as well. After all, the book won't be ready for a while yet.

What are YOUR thoughts? How do you like the story so far? I know some of you are following along, and hope you're still here after the delay, and I'd love some feedback, eh.

Anyway, we're finally getting to the true heart of the story! AS you may have guessed, this storyline has been inspired by Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean... the ride, not the movies. Don't get me wrong, I did like the movies, but the ride is an incredible truly virtual experience, and this story has been inspired by, and will be a tribute to, the spirit of those great Imagineers who created this one in a billion experience.

Much more about that coming soon, and more of the story, of course.

Cheers, JOHN :0)