Not Exactly Comics: Alex Toth Mad at Cartoon Network?

The lead interview (for now) at the Creative Loafing web site features a chat with various creative personalities behind the Adult Swim block of cartoons on cable's Cartoon Network. The shows grouped together under the Adult Swim designation include a few offerings that have fun with earlier cartoon series by recontextualizing their stiff characters into oddball or slightly disturbing situations.

Scroll down near the end, and Michael Ouweleen, who co-created Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law indicates Toth isn't all that happy with his show of that type.

"We've heard that Alex Toth is mad at us. He was this amazing designer for Birdman and Sealab -- the model sheets are freaking gorgeous. It's all designed beautifully, but then you see the final cartoon, and it's total crap. Everything got watered way down. So I'm amazed that he's mad at us, because he should be mad at what they did to the original Birdman cartoon."

I have no idea why I find that interesting, except maybe that the self-flattering conventional wisdom in comics has often been that the older cartoonists who moved into animation loved the comics but treated the animation work as a pay-me-and-whatever job, and it's nice to be reminded that things might be more complicated than that.

Thanks to tipster Lang Thompson
 
posted 8:57 am PST | Permalink
 

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