Here it is, folks - the Popgun website has gone live with info and previews for Popgun Vol. 4, due out February 10, 2010 from Image Comics, and featuring an 8-page Mekano Turbo story (previewed previously right here on this very blog) illustrated by Alexis Ziritt and written by me. Clocking in at 512 pages of comics goodness, and billed as "the ultimate graphic mixtape by today's superstar creators and fresh new talent." I guess Alexis and I qualify as fresh and new, while my friend and future animated project collaborator Jeffrey Brown, who also has a story in this volume, would be a superstar. It's very cool. Pre-order one from your local comic shop, won't you?
Hey, there - another break in the prolonged non-blogging to plug the following:
Who are the "us" that I'm plugging for the Mashable Open Web Awards? That would be those of us who made the web series Re\Visioned: Activision for GameTap - me and my colleagues at the world-class animation studio Six Point Harness. I've nominated Re\Visioned: Activision in the category Best Online Web Video Series, and I encourage you to click on the link and nominate us, too. C'mon, I know you want to see me in a tux, accepting an award. I look good in a tux.
What's this? A blog update from Elliot Blake? Indeed, it is. I'm taking this break from prolonged not-blogging to announce that the story I wrote for Alexis Ziritt, Mekano Turbo, has been accepted for publication in Popgun Volume 4, published by Image Comics. I have no idea when this will be out, but as we get closer and I get more information, I'll once again break blog radio silence. In the meantime, feel free to follow my Twitter feed, which is linked to the right.
One more short break from this prolonged period of move-related not-blogging, this time to let you know that we have moved, and as of Tuesday, June 9, we are once again residents of Los Angeles. Once we have furniture and get ourselves settled, the period of not-blogging will end, and regular blogging will resume.
Fungus Among Us was a Cartoon Network pilot created in 2002 by Wes Archer, who was one of the original Simpsons directors, a director on Futurama - where I met him - and, for a long time, supervising director on King of the Hill. And I think he might be doing the same on the new Mike Judge show on ABC, The Goode Family, but don't quote me on that - I'll find out on Wednesday when it debuts.
When Cartoon Network greenlit the Fungus pilot, Wes was working at Rough Draft Studios on Futurama. He wanted some help with the script, so he turned to me and Rich Moore (supervising director on Futurama), and we aided him in fine-tuning things. This was a thrill for me, because this pilot was my first on-screen writing credit. After the pilot aired, CN put Fungus back into development, and we spent the next several months writing and re-writing several more pilots which never made it past the storyboard stage, and eventually, the network passed. Nevertheless, it was a great experience, and I learned an awful lot about the development process at the network level. And, perhaps most importantly, it taught me that you have to pick your battles, because I wanted to fight every change - and that's just not the way it works. Ah, the naivete of youth.
Well, if you've been following my Twitter feed, you might be aware that we're gearing up for a big move back to Los Angeles. If you haven't been following my Twitter feed, well, we're moving back to Los Angeles, and all of the planning for the move and the selling of the house here in Atlanta, and the looking for a place to live in L.A, and the looking for a school for the boy and a pre-school for the girl have been eating into my blogging time.
I will post when the opportunity arises - I don't know if any of you out there are still dying to hear stories of Re\Visioned: Activision (viewable here and here), but I have not completely abandoned ship on that. In fact, here are some stills from the recording session with Dave Foley, Ed Begley Jr., and Nicole Sullivan: Nicole Sullivan voicing the campfire in Pitfall.
Me directing. Next to me is casting director Dawn Hershey.
Ed Begley Jr. and I discussing a character.
Ed Begley Jr., a consummate professional.
Dave Foley, after I told him he couldn't have any more coffee. Okay, not really - he was voicing the confused chicken Ralph for the Freeway episode of Re:Visioned: Activision.
And finally, not related to my move or professional endeavours, a video from the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", totally worth watching, as it will remind you of the power of music:
For your enjoyment, the first page of MEKANO TURBO: Created and drawn by Alexis Ziritt, written by me, headed for Popgun Vol. 4. Volume three of Popgun is out this week I believe, and sports a great cover by Tara MacPherson, who worked with me briefly at Rough Draft Studios back in the day.
And for your further enjoyment, page 1 of THE PACKAGE: Created and written by me, illustrated by Ziritt, headed for the web later this year.
Elliot Blake is an Emmy Award-winning writer/producer of animation, comics, and new media. His projects include "Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider" "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," and the comic story "Mekano Turbo," coming out February 2010 in Popgun Vol. 4 from Image Comics. Elliot recently returned to Los Angeles after four years in Atlanta.
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