Black and Blue

got a bit ahead with the comic recently. which is great, cause if ‘star wars battlefront’ is half as fun as it looks, i may flush that buffer away…. whiling away the hours, sitting infront of a screen, trying to shoot down rebel scum. i imagine most artists occasionally wonder ‘how much better would i be, if i never picked up a controller?’

it’s a catch 22, cause while lucas arts, or rather disney these days, help themselves to my wallet while i’m distracted by images from my childhood, star wars, and other nerdy fare contributed to making me pick up a pencil and start drawing in the first place.

so, i have mixed feelings about the remakes, adaptations, and sequel/prequel spewing these days, to say the least. but, for the most part, i think we’re ruining intellectual property and artistry by wringing it out every few years for one or two last drops. that being said, if they drive a truckload of cash to my front door to fund ‘black and blue, the musical’, well, i’m not made of stone….

i wasn’t sure what movie i would mention, if any, when i started this line of thought, but it’s made me feel sorta nostalgic. so, i think i’ll mention something that will never be remade, and probably almost didn’t get made in he first place! it’s Fantastic Planet (1973)

don’t let the poster downloaded from the good folks at IMDB fool you, it’s even weirder than it seems.

on an alien planet, humans are pets to 100 ft tall blue aliens. it’s bleak, and life is hard, and weird….. it’s as though someone faithfully animated a graphic novel without any interest in mainstream success. i have a feeling that sci fi in the past was less compromising and formulaic that it is today. but, also less palatable for the general public.

i haven’t seen avatar. fantastic planet is my ‘big blue alien’ movie. i remember seeing it as a little guy, it left such an impression. it was animation, but it was clearly for adults. at a time when i had only seen loony toons, i couldn’t fully appreciate it, but what it represented stuck with me. now i’m an animator.

did i mention it’s weird?