MORRISON MONDAYS! By BILL MORRISON On May 8, 1943, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released director Tex Avery’s classic animated cartoon, Red Hot Riding Hood. The feature film it was released with, an entry in the Dr. Kildare series titled Dr. Gillespie’s Criminal Case, is not likely to appear on anyone’s Top 13 films list, but Red Hot Riding Hood was voted the seventh greatest cartoon of all time! You can fact check that bit of trivia by referencing the 1994 book The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals by my pal, animation historian Jerry Beck. The animated short, a somewhat adult update of the classic Red Riding Hood fairy tale, has stood the test of time, largely due to the chemistry between Tex’s libidinous Wolf character (in his third appearance,) and his ultra-sexy showgirl, Red, who makes her stunning debut in this film. If you’re a Who Framed Roger Rabbit fan, you probably know that Jessica Rabbit was directly inspired by Red. If you want a copy of this irreverent short, do yourself a favor and pick up the Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1. This volume also includes the funniest cartoon ever made (IMHO) Bad Luck Blackie! So, in celebration of the 83rd anniversary of Red Hot Riding Hood’s release, which was this past Friday, I present my cover painting for Tex Avery’s Wolf & Red #1: In 1995, Dark Horse Comics held the license for comic books based on the creations of Tex Avery, and they commissioned me to draw nine covers across three mini-series: Wolf & Red, Screwball Squirrel, and Droopy. Wolf & Red #1 was the first, and I painted it traditionally with acrylic and gouache. My frantic Bongo schedule didn’t permit enough spare time for me to airbrush the remaining eight covers, so I decided to enlist the aid of Nathan Kane to add digital color to my inks. Nathan had been working as a colorist at Malibu Comics, and I think it was this partnership that lead to him jumping ship and joining Bongo, where he remained for over 20 years. Naturally, Red and the Wolf appeared on all three Wolf & Red covers, but I also featured them on the Christmas-themed cover of Droopy #3. As a Tex Avery fanatic, I had a blast creating these covers. The comics...
It’s MAY THE FOURTH: Calling Coruscant Central Casting! By JIM BEARD One of my favorite lines from a 1977 review of the first Star Wars movie said something like, “Lucas populates every frame with throwaway background characters that other filmmakers would make an entire film about.” That’s stuck in my mind all this time not only because it was speaking my love language, but because there’s something really cool in that assessment that I think speaks to the beauty of the property. Star Wars is not just about its characters; it’s about a galaxy. And that stretch of space is populated with the best background denizens of any science fiction production ever. I’m going to take this reasoning one step further and lay out my favorite 13 such background beings from the entire OG trilogy. I hope you’ll find a few of your favorites in this list, too. After all, there’s literally a Star Wars character for everyone. — Silver Threepio (A New Hope, 1977). There are two ballsy things in the very first character scene in A New Hope. One is that there are no humans, and another one is that C-3PO is not unique. Right from the get-go, Lucas tells us that this galaxy is full of robots and some of them have been stamped from the same mold, just colored differently. And, as we soon learn a few seconds later, it’s what’s inside these protocol droids that counts. — He Owns Utini (A New Hope, 1977). Did he know? Did he think about it? Did he ever suspect that one little Jawa would go down in film history just from one simple little word? And here’s another important question to ponder: Did he still get royalties every time someone else screams, “Utini”? — Cantina Sideburns (A New Hope, 1977). My fandom for the guy with the sideburns and spacesuit chatting with Chewbacca really grew out of Decipher’s Star Wars Customizable Card Game (where I learned he’s named “BoShek”). Why? Because he seems like a cool cat who might’ve looked right at home in Arnold’s Drive-In, dipping his fries in a shake and eyeing the chicks. BoShek was cool, Daddy-o… — Simple Scanners (A New Hope, 1977). Pity the poor Imperial duo who got the orders to haul their scanning equipment onboard the Millenium Falcon only to…...
It’s MAY THE FOURTH: Calling Coruscant Central Casting!
SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN!
A 60th ANNIVERSARY SALUTE: The one-time second-rate Batman villain debuted in April 1966…
