Brainteasers

 

Happy VILLAINtine's Day!

     I'm probably not the only one who thinks that Batman has the best rogues gallery out there, but as awesome as the Bat's baddies may be... there are a few duds. For instance, the so-called masters of air, land, and sea: the Terrible Trio!

     In my opinion, the word 'terrible' is dead on. I first came across these three on Batman: The Animated Series (as was the case with most Batman properties) and every time that iconic intro faded out and the Terrible Trio title card popped up, I audibly groaned. 

But NOW, as an artist wanting to redesign Batman characters... What better challenge?

Vulture

Fox

Shark

     These guys have been through several iterations. Sometimes they're just dudes in rubber masks, sometimes they're genetically altered animal people. For my version, I came up with this concept of them wearing these high tech holographic masks that basically give them the appearance of having animated animal heads. It may be a little dumb, but I think it's a fun idea, and besides, they were already a little dumb to begin with.

The Smurfs (1981-1989)

     Welcome to the first installment in what I'm calling the Saturday Morning Kablama Slam! On random Saturdays throughout the year, I'll be highlighting some of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons beginning this week with one of that could best be described as...well... smurfy!

The Premise: The Smurfs are a group of little blue people described as “three apples high” who live in a village of mushroom houses hidden in the forest of a medieval fantasy world. Under the leadership of their patriarch, the wise Papa Smurf, the Smurfs get into all sorts of whimsical adventures while avoiding capture from the evil wizard Gargamel. 

     These famous little guys first appeared in the comic series, Johan and Peewit created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo. In the comic, the Smurfs come to the aid of the titular hero and his funny sidekick, but were so popular that they quickly got their own comic… not to mention a TON of merchandise. When the characters finally made their way to the United States, the president of NBC took notice of how much his daughter loved said merchandise and started the ball rolling on a Smurf animated series, produced by cartoon powerhouse Hanna-Barbera Productions! 

     The Smurfs were officially my first fandom. I’ve loved them as long as I can remember and even still have the Schleich Papa Smurf and Smurfette figurines that I played with as a toddler! When you’ve grown up with something like that, it becomes a thing that you’re just used to and can’t really put your finger on why you love it exactly. Maybe it’s just a comforting sense of familiarity… sort of like a warm security blanket. They’re even a soothing shade of blue! 

Kablama Slam! Fun Fact: The original French word for “smurf” is “schtroumph” which Peyo made up during a meal when he couldn’t remember the word “salt.” I wonder if that’s the same way they came up with The Biskitts. 

Probably not.

Saturday Morning Kablama Slam!

     I’m not saying anything new when I mention the fact that I LOVE CARTOONS! I always have and, more than likely, always will. And for a fan of cartoons, it’s a great time to be alive with tons of groundbreaking new content in addition to every show we’ve ever heard becoming increasingly more available to view over and over again at any given time of day. But let’s go back before all of that, if we can, to a time before streaming services and cartoon networks. 

Let’s go back to the time of the Saturday morning cartoon. 

     From the 1960’s into the 1990’s, television networks in America would treat kids once a week to a programming block of animated goodness that was nothing short of inspirational… and sold a lot of toy advertising, as well. I came in on the tail end of all this and, while things are certainly better now, I still look back on it with an extreme amount of fondness. Because of this, I’m starting a new segment that I call, “The Saturday Morning Kablama Slam!” 

Because... these shows had an impact on me... and that's the sound an impact makes? I dunno. I have to call it something.

     On random Saturdays throughout the year, I’ll be taking a look at the individual Saturday morning cartoons that I loved the most. I’ll post fan art (obviously) and nerdsplain what these shows were and why I enjoyed them as much as I did. 

It all kablamas this weekend, so be sure not to miss it! See you at the Slam! 

… 

Yeah, I apologize. That’ll be the only time I say that.