Wednesday, October 18, 2006

H-B comic book covers



I've been working for DC for a while now, working at first on their Hanna-Barbera comics. This was a dream job for me. I grew up with this stuff on tv and it's heavily influenced my style. I could have done this forever! I was one the regular artists on the Jetsons half of the Flintstones/Jetsons book for a while until the book was cancelled. I also did a bunch of other work on the CN Presents book, which featured stories with some of the lesser known characters. I got the opportunity to draw Yogi, Wally Gator, The Wacky Races, Secret Squirrel, etc. One of my favorite stories put one of my favorite characters, Peter Potamus, traveling to the Bizarro World. Another fav was a short 6 page Augie Doggy story.
After the H-B stuff was cancelled (except for Scooby Doo) it switched over to the Cartoon Network characters. I did a bunch of Dexter's Lab, Cow & Chicken, and continue to do Billy & Mandy. These characters are a lot of fun as well, but nothing compared to being able to draw those cartoon characters of my youth.
As I've gotten older and had the chance to find out about the old H-B artists, Ed Benedict and Gene Hazelton are the guys who have made a huge impact on my cartooning. Benedict, who just recently passed away, was the chief character designer for all of the early H-B stuff. Gene was the man responsible for producing the Flintstones and Yogi Bear newspaper comic strips. His design sense, character acting and layouts of these strips are fantastic. I am always looking for examples or originals of these strips, especially the Yogi daily panels. I don't think I have ever seen any finshed examples of these panels, but I've heard they are wonderful.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! It's such an honour to find your blog. I've been quite a fan of your comics and arts since the first time I picked up a Cartoon Network comic, and I marvel at your take on the classic Hanna-Barbera characters. Only wish they would re-publish them again.

    Keep up the great work :D

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