Walter Lantz Shows How to Make Cartoons

Knothead, Splinter Introduced

I always wondered where the first appearance of Knothead and Splinter happened (in cartoons, not comics). According to Wikipedia, it is in the cartoon Get Lost.

Get Lost is the 67th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on March 12, 1956, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal-International, per Wiki.

Woody is reading the story of Hansel and Gretel to his nephew Knothead and his niece Splinter. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Lost_(film)

Knothead and Splinter first appeared in New Funnies in 1952.

DIZZY KITTY - an Andy Panda cartoon

Andy Panda The Wacky Weed (1946) Walter Lantz Production cartoons

Classic Woody Woodpecker Cartoon: Who's Cookin' Who?

Woody Woodpecker - Whos Cookin Who? by Necopodalex

Action Comics #1 CGC 9.0 Sells for World-record $3.2M

Greetings! I've been slow to add new content lately but am trying to get back on the horse. 

Below is some amazing news about a famous character from the Golden Age of comics and cartoons -- Superman! This info came from CGC, a company that professionally grades comic books.

The bidding is over! Action Comics #1 (white pages, graded CGC 9.0) became the most expensive comic book in the world after the highly publicized eBay auction closed on Sunday evening at a record-breaking $3.2 million.

CGC holds the distinction as the only certification company that has graded every comic book to sell for over six figures — including six comic books that sold for more than $1 million and now the record-setting $3.2 million Action Comics #1.

Golden Age Team JSA Set to Return

DC Comics has finally announced the Justice Society of America will be back sooner than later!

Read More at: http://www.digitalspy.com/comics/news/a337530/justice-society-new-project-confirmed-by-dc-comics.html

Great Justice Society of American news also available at: http://ifanboy.com/articles/fanexpo11-dc-announces-justice-society-of-america-with-james-robinson-and-nicola-scott/

For a list of all Justice Society of America members visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Justice_Society_members

Hawkman: Cool Bird and Longtime Hero

Although he may not be as famous as Superman or Batman, Hawkman has been a major DC Comics superhero since the Golden Age of comics. Not only is he a great character visually, he sports an interesting history, too.

I’m not going to spend hours explaining Hawkman’s history. A great place to read about it is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkman
However, I need to sum up Hawkman a little. Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics in 1940. He was Carter Hall and, later in the series, his fiancée Shiera became Hawkgirl. They flew using wings and a metal—called ninth metal in the Golden Age and Nth metal in the Silver Age—harness that defies gravity. This was all courtesy of ancient Egyptian secrets. They were reincarnated Egyptians. In the 1960s, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were reintroduced as Katar Hol and Shayera Hol (Thal was her maiden name). They were alien police officers who came to Earth from the planet Thanagar. Although they have a different history, their costumes look almost exactly the same as the original hawks. There are twists and turns to the history of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but basically these are the four main hawk characters.


Growing up in the 1980s, I was most familiar with the alien hawks. It was Katar and Shayera who were on the SuperFriends and featured in DC Comics at the time. Carter and Shiera Hall were still around in DC Comics, too, but not as prominently in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the entire Hawkman franchise was revamped, in a way, through the Hawkworld miniseries and the Hawkworld ongoing series. Although fans were split on some decisions made with the Hawkworld stories, I loved them. The Hawkworld ongoing series was excellent. Some issues featured all four hawks, which made for some great tales. 

Hawkman was once again reintroduced in the early 2000s. Nowadays, Carter Hall is back as the main Hawkman and Kendra Saunders (grandniece of the first Hawkgirl) is Hawkgirl. Carter is my number one choice for Hawkman. The reincarnation angle of his character makes for some good stories. His adventures are a mix of Indiana Jones and Mummy movies with science fiction thrown in.

Haters who say Hawkman is pointless because all he does is fly are missing the point. Sure, he flies. And while Superman can fly and do a hundred other things, Hawkman is unique. Hawkman is about adventures in ancient worlds, lost civilizations, and even on other planets. Also, unlike other heroes who fly, Hawkman embodies the idea of flight. His wings are a symbol of man’s dream of flight. And they just look darn cool!
 
Another important aspect of Hawkman has also been the equality and partnership between Hawkman and Hawkgirl (sometimes called Hawkwoman). But, that is fodder for another blog.