There is a GREAT New book out called ONE TRAIN LATER ANDY SUMMERS (St. Martin's Press) It is a BEAUTIFUL hardcover book by one of my favorite guitarists of all time! It also has a FOREWORD from another of my favorites...THE EDGE! It sells for $24.95 and it is a MUST HAVE! ANDY was at the Chicago BORDERS tonight and is touring the country on a book signing tour.
This is THE STARVING ARTISTS circa 1985! That is DENNIS RIORDAN (Bass) on the left. I'm in the middle and JIM JILEK (Drums) on the right. I just started a band listing at www.localbandnetwork.com/bands/thestarvingartists We have practice this weekend and my brother CHRIS is back on board with his drums.
Visit my friend PATRICK's BLOG for some cool art of our favorite HANNA-BARBERA characters and UNDERDOG among others! www.powsley.blogspot.com Also visit www.patrickowsley.com for a gallery of his art!
I just scanned these original JACK DAVIS model sheets into my computer for a tribute that is being paid to JACK out on the West Coast in a couple of weeks! JACK is the BEST! A friend of mine, David Scheve just paid him a visit and got some of his commercial cels for CASK MOUNTAIN WINE signed for me! I have all of JACK's TV Commercials on video tape and can tape them for my standard $20 per tape time/trouble.
Many have asked me about the NEW DVD re-packaging of MAD MONSTER PARTY that ANCHOR BAY released in 2005. It does have the same content on the DVD with a beautiful 35mm transfer of the film and it still contains my 23 page booklet just as it was released in 2002. JULES BASS actually just discovered that BARNES & NOBLE is displaying the film and carrying it in large quantities for HALLOWEEN 2006! I picked a copy up there today as a matter of fact. I was given about 100 copies of the first issue in 2002 and I gave them all away. Look for series 2 of the FUNKO figures coming to a store or comic shop near you!
I was waiting for the GREAT PUMPKIN and he didn't show up! Looks like our BORDERS BOOKS & MUSIC TOUR is cancelled. It seems that BORDERS only orders their books and CDs from BAKER & TAYLOR (A national distributor) AND since I produced these items to make money...NOT to lose it, we won't be signing and playing at BORDERS. We will however be appearing at some local Illinois venues very soon and I will keep you posted!
For those of you who remember television's CREATURE FEATURES in Chicago! I made up a compilation CD that contains the theme from the show "Experiments In Terror" plus alot of other GREAT music for Halloween! Do you remember SVENGOOLIE (Jerry G. Bishop)? His theme is on here too "Rumble." There are even clips from CREATURE FEATURES with Marty McNeely whispers some of his GREAT poetry promos for the film that they were showing. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
We now have the soundtrack CD of THE WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE! I have it on EBAY under seller ANIMAGIC1 and we will have it at www.rankinbass.com soon too in our SHOPPE. This CD has nice graphics on the CD and cover...it is the first PAUL COKER, JR. artwork for RANKIN/BASS. The sound quality is VERY GOOD and the CD is sealed. This is NOT one of my archival, hand-made CDs, it is a professional release of the classic LP. I worked on the DVD release of the film for ANCHOR BAY and wrote the liner notes. ANCHOR BAY loaded their RANKIN/BASS DVDs with neat extras! Check out THE DAYDREAMER and MAD MONSTER PARTY? as well! 
Here is a GREAT early SHAG painting that our friend JOSH AGLE shared with the world of RANKIN/BASS! He did it for a CHRISTMAS card for his wife. VERY COOL! Many have been e-mailing about the WARNER BROTHERS Christmas DVDs that we mentioned a while back at www.rankinbass.com
WARNER BROTHERS was talking about a HOLIDAY DVD box set that included THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS and others BUT I have heard nothing for the past year and fear they dropped the ball once again. They were talking about doing a DOCUMENTARY with ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. and JULES BASS, which is long overdue too! Hopefully someone will brighten up over there and it will still happen. CRICKET ON THE HEARTH did come out on DVD this month starring DANNY THOMAS and MARLO THOMAS ! CLASSIC MEDIA/SONY WONDER issued it. EXTRAS on these DVDs is a no brainer BUT absent from their releases?
Possible cover to the NEW MAKING OF RUDOLPH book for JAPAN! This is the RUDOLPH that was with us at WIZARD WORLD CON! Notice the glue around the pupil of the eye.
KYOKO KITA checked in on this blog and saw her original ANIMAGIC creations beautifully restored! She was VERY happy to see SANTA & RUDOLPH restored to their original glory and displayed in a nice glass case and she hopes they stay that way for many years to come:0)
I contacted her because I am now assisting PETIT GRAND PUBLISHING INC. in JAPAN with the Japanese version of my book on THE MAKING OF RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER for Japanese consumption. It has been alot of fun delving through the materials once again and the book will be released in JAPAN this Christmas! 
ED BENEDICT is one of my favorite designers of all time! Unfortunately he passed away this past Monday 08-28-06 at age 94. Ed designed such HANNA-BARBERA classics as YOGI BEAR, THE FLINTSTONES, LIPPY THE LION, HUCKLEBERRY HOUND and even the first H-B Show RUFF & READY! He also did some wonderful commercial designs as seen here and was currently working on a project with my friend DAVID SCHEVE of www.thedeeparchives.com. ED will be missed by many in the animation community!
Just listed MONSTERSCENE #9 on EBAY and it brings back some good memories. It came out a year before my book THE ENCHANTED WORLD OF RANKIN/BASS: A PORTFOLIO in 1996. I wrote the article 'THE MAD MAD MAD MONSTERS OF RANKIN/BASS' for this issue. I remember my copies of the magazine arrived just before ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. came to my home to go over the book outline. I gave him a copy of the magazine to read on his flight home. The cover painting by BASIL GOGOS completely blew me away! I was always a fan of his BUT his art was getting better with age and his MONSTERSCENE work was some of his very BEST! I asked BASIL to do some art for my first book and he did send along a FRANKENSTEIN with a SANTA hat BUT it arrived after my book was already printing..here is the art seen for the first time!
I just scanned these original JACK DAVIS model sheets into my computer for a tribute that is being paid to JACK out on the West Coast in a couple of weeks! JACK is the BEST! A friend of mine, David Scheve just paid him a visit and got some of his commercial cels for CASK MOUNTAIN WINE signed for me! I have all of JACK's TV Commercials on video tape and can tape them for my standard $20 per tape time/trouble.
I was waiting for the GREAT PUMPKIN and he didn't show up! Looks like our BORDERS BOOKS & MUSIC TOUR is cancelled. It seems that BORDERS only orders their books and CDs from BAKER & TAYLOR (A national distributor) AND since I produced these items to make money...NOT to lose it, we won't be signing and playing at BORDERS. We will however be appearing at some local Illinois venues very soon and I will keep you posted!
For those of you who remember television's CREATURE FEATURES in Chicago! I made up a compilation CD that contains the theme from the show "Experiments In Terror" plus alot of other GREAT music for Halloween! Do you remember SVENGOOLIE (Jerry G. Bishop)? His theme is on here too "Rumble." There are even clips from CREATURE FEATURES with Marty McNeely whispers some of his GREAT poetry promos for the film that they were showing. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
WARNER BROTHERS was talking about a HOLIDAY DVD box set that included THE LIFE & ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS and others BUT I have heard nothing for the past year and fear they dropped the ball once again. They were talking about doing a DOCUMENTARY with ARTHUR RANKIN, JR. and JULES BASS, which is long overdue too! Hopefully someone will brighten up over there and it will still happen. CRICKET ON THE HEARTH did come out on DVD this month starring DANNY THOMAS and MARLO THOMAS ! CLASSIC MEDIA/SONY WONDER issued it. EXTRAS on these DVDs is a no brainer BUT absent from their releases?
Possible cover to the NEW MAKING OF RUDOLPH book for JAPAN! This is the RUDOLPH that was with us at WIZARD WORLD CON! Notice the glue around the pupil of the eye.
I contacted her because I am now assisting PETIT GRAND PUBLISHING INC. in JAPAN with the Japanese version of my book on THE MAKING OF RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER for Japanese consumption. It has been alot of fun delving through the materials once again and the book will be released in JAPAN this Christmas! 
ED BENEDICT is one of my favorite designers of all time! Unfortunately he passed away this past Monday 08-28-06 at age 94. Ed designed such HANNA-BARBERA classics as YOGI BEAR, THE FLINTSTONES, LIPPY THE LION, HUCKLEBERRY HOUND and even the first H-B Show RUFF & READY! He also did some wonderful commercial designs as seen here and was currently working on a project with my friend DAVID SCHEVE of www.thedeeparchives.com. ED will be missed by many in the animation community!
