The Early Days

I first started sitting in front of the television as early as the age of five. Jonny Quest (1964 ), Birdman (1967), The Herculoids (1968), Space Ghost (1968) and, Thundarr The Barbarian (1980) were some of my early introductions to cartoons. I fell in love with animation immediately. I loved seeing these characters with superpowers in action and I remember thinking to myself, even way back then, “Boy I wish I could do that someday.”

During the 80s I was introduced to a lot of great animated sci-fi and fantasy movie classics. Watership Down (1978), Heavy Metal (1981), The Secret of Nimh (1982), Rock and Rule (1983), Fire and Ice (1983), Starchaser The Legend of Orin (1985), Transformers The Movie (1986), Gi Joe The Movie (1987), Gandahar (1988) and, Brave Starr The Movie (1988). This is just a small list and I haven’t even touched on the Japanese animation that I discovered in the 80s and 90s. I singled these out because they had the greatest effect on me at the time. So my hope was that one day, maybe, I would be able to animate something.

Just a few of the classic sci-fi and fantasy animated movies that I came across in the 1980s.

The First Celflux Trailer

When Dixie Ann and I decided to create Celflux I wanted to create a trailer to help promote the book. The first one that I did was similar to a motion comic. Have a look at it here.

It was cool and got the job done. I simply used the images from the comic itself and put them in the video. At the end of the trailer, I did my first animated footage and it was of Samantha doing a flyby. I realised then that the next trailer that I did had to have more than just the motion comic.

When you have a burning desire to create, you find a way to make it happen.

I started this post talking about Thundercats. The reality is I’ve always loved 80s cartoon intros. Bionic Six, Thundercats, Silver Hawks, Visionaries, you name it. I loved the action and energy demonstrated during those intros. Have a look at this Visionaries Knights of the Magical Light intro.

So I wanted to do a trailer for Celflux with an 80s cartoon tribute feel to it. I didn’t have the skill or know-how though, so I decided to approach some animation studios to get some quotations. I got quotations of $20K and 30K for a 30-second intro. Astronomical and rightly so. Make no mistake animation is a very difficult, tedious and technical process. So I couldn’t be angry with anyone who charges those prices for their animation work. It is well deserved. I, however, did not have that kind of money. So what was I to do? I thought to myself “Perhaps crowdfunding?”. Crowdfunding is a strange creature and is not for everyone. Many people see the success of certain crowdfunding campaigns and think that it’s easy to do. We have a saying in Trinidad. “Gopaul luck, ain’t Seepaul luck.’ It means what one person will get away with, another person will not be so lucky. Therefore, we decided against that. So we didn’t have the money and couldn’t raise it. Most folks would give up on the idea at this point. But my fellow indie creators can bear witness that we don’t give up that easily. When you have a burning desire to create, you find a way to make it happen. I thought about that little boy sitting in front of the television all those years ago hoping that he would someday animate something and realised, that little boy’s time had come. I was going to teach myself how to animate, and I was going to attempt to animate the 30-second trailer myself.

Is it Possible To Animate Alone?

This is a question I had to ask myself. As I said earlier, animation is a very difficult, tedious and technical process. Hence the reason there are usually teams of people working on any given animated project. So I had to find out if it was possible for one person to do it all by themselves. I was happy to discover that the answer was a resounding YES! I found that there are hundreds of talented animators out there creating masterpieces all by themselves. The advances in technology and the availability of software has made high-quality animation possible for the single creator. There are several case studies, but the one that stands out to me was the story of Makoto Shinkai.

Makoto Shinkai left his job to work on the animated short Voices of A Distant Star

Makoto Shinkai born as Makoto Niitsu, is a Japanese director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer. The story is told that in May 2001, Makoto quit his job at a video game company and began to work on a film called Voices of a Distant Star. As he would later say in an interview, the 20-minute film took about seven months of “real work”. The film went on to be critically acclaimed and is talked about even to this day. The work on Voices is fantastic and one is hard-pressed to believe it was all done by one person. But it was. So it was possible. I decided then to apply myself. Look at tutorials on YouTube. Learn about the animation process, frame rates, cinematography, lighting, film editing and so on. It was a learning process but I put my best foot forward. The result was the first Celflux Animated Trailer. It had a lot of room for improvement, but I was happy with it. So we put it online and set it loose. It racked up about 14K views (on Facebook) in a relatively short period of time. By no means viral, but it encouraged us that we did something worth watching.

The Celflux Animated Short.

Many folks saw the first Celflux trailer and gave us some great feedback. One of the individuals was Ms Camille Selvon Abrahams. She is the owner of Full Circle Animation Studios and the head organiser of an event called Animae Caribe that takes place annually here in Trinidad and Tobago. She saw the trailer online and extended an invitation to us to be guests at Animae Caribe. We’re eternally grateful to her for this because she gave us an opportunity to introduce Celflux to a local audience. The response to Celflux was fantastic. Our books and t-shirts sold out and everyone has some really encouraging words for us about our animated trailer. Because of the positive response to the first trailer at Animae Caribe and online, I asked Dixie Ann if she thought we should try to do an animated short film. Dixie Ann is always encouraging and convinced me that I could do it. So I again decided to do more research into the process of creating an animated short. This was going to be more involved than the first trailer. This was going to have a story, and actors, and lots of other cool stuff. So I got to work on the planning. The first thing I did was write a script. I had to learn how to do this as well. Scriptwriting is a skill. Much respect to those who do it for a living. With a few drafts and much trial and error, I was able to complete a stand-alone story featuring the characters of Celflux. The second thing I needed was voice actors. I found the Voice Acting Club and I put out a call for people willing to collaborate on the Celflux Animated Short project. To our surprise, we got quite a few responses from folks wanting to be a part of it. All of them very talented. We eventually settled on a group that we believe are not only the most talented, but the most decent, helpful and genuine individuals you would ever hope to meet. We are lucky to have them on board.

Demetria Bridges – Okira, Kate Sample – Samantha, Matthew Curtis – High Councillor, Sarah Brown – Genocyde, Tony Black – Raymond, Manuel Benavidez -Ahoteh, Chasity Conner – Shandrita, Tracy Pfau – Sarah, Hector Chavez – Indigo, William Harmar – Stephen, Stephen Jared – Aditional voices, George Sharperson – Aditional voices.

Gwenaël Mario Grisi the talented musician from Brussels came on board to create an original musical score for Celflux.

We want to thank Kate Sample as she was the one who brought on board Demetria Bridges who is the voice of our leading lady Okira. We also want to say thanks to Matthew Curtis as he was the one who brought on board Gwenaël Mario Grisi who would become our talented musical composer. We also want to thank Tracy Pfau who was responsible for bringing on board her husband Stephen Jared and her good friend George Sharperson. I sent them the script, and they all recorded their lines and sent them back to me. We were going to do this. For no other reason than it’s something, we wanted to do. I then had everything I needed to begin working on the next thing. A trailer.

The Celflux Secret Weapon Trailer

Like the first trailer, I had new things to learn. I needed to learn sound editing. How to match up the sound effects with the action. How to synchronise the character’s mouth movements with the voices and so on. So once again there was a learning curve. But I was following in the footsteps of all the other talented independent animators that had gone before me so it could be done. After about 5 months of work, I was able to complete and release the first trailer for the Celflux Animated Short. Have a look at the trailer here:

In April of this year, after some encouragement from one of the voice actors Tony Black, we submitted a proposal to CreativeTT. There was an open call for individual filmmakers to receive grants for film projects. The Trinidad and Tobago Creative Industries Company Limited (CreativeTT) is a wholly-owned State enterprise established by The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago through the Ministry of Trade and Industry. CreativeTT’s mandate is to stimulate and facilitate the business development and export activities of the Creative Industries in Trinidad and Tobago to generate national wealth and, as such, the company is responsible for the strategic and business development of the three (3) niche areas and subsectors under its purview- Music, Film, Fashion. In May, we received an email from CreativeTT that told us the Celflux project was selected to receive a grant for Marketing and Distribution. We can’t really talk about our plans yet, but suffice to say we are seeking to take Celflux to the next level. You can find the official announcement by CreativeTT here.

Conclusion

So that’s the story of how the Celflux Animated Short came to be. We began working on Celflux the graphic novel in 2013, and had no idea where it would take us. Now four years later, we’re working on an animated short with a great group of voice actors and a state investor behind us. If you had told us that in 2013, we would never have believed you. I’d like to encourage my fellow independent creators out there to live that independent spirit. Follow your creative heart and do what is necessary to bring your creations into reality. Don’t let the pursuit of fame or money cloud your vision. Don’t let anything hinder your creativity. In the immortal words of Shia LaBeouf “Just do it!” You never know where your journey will take you.

Till next time. All the best.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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I wanted to create something just a little bit iconic. An image that folks would remember as well as easily identify should they see it in the future. Let us know what you think about it in the comments. If you like it, you can download a high-resolution copy of the poster using this button.

If you think it’s cool please consider helping us spread the word about the Celflux project. Thank you for the continued support.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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When Dixie Ann and I began this Celflux journey in 2013, we had no idea where the road would take us. We just ventured out in the spirit of enjoyment and experience. We didn’t have a specific plan or goal other than to finish our book and share it with the world. Our motivation has never been and will never be the pursuit of fame and fortune. We’re not here to “make a name” or “change the game” as we hear a few folks saying. We’re just along for the ride to see where the journey takes us. That’s why everything that happens along this road, is a huge deal for us. So far we’ve had some really memorable and wonderful experiences and have been blessed to meet quite a few awesome and outstanding individuals from all over the world. All because we published our own comic with our original character Okira. Furthermore, the journey keeps getting more and more interesting.

One of the outstanding individuals that we’ve had the pleasure of meeting is Ms. Camille Selvon Abrahams. Ms. Selvon Abrahams is the CEO and founder of Full Circle Animation Studio and the Creative Director of the Animae Caribe Animation Festival. She extended an invitation to us to be special guests at Animae Caribe 2016. To explain how this came about, I need to tell a story.

Ms. Camille Selvon Abrahams. CEO and founder of Full Circle Animation Studio and the Creative Director of the Animae Caribe Animation Festival

As many Celflux fans know, I’m a child of the 80s and grew up on Saturday morning 80s cartoons. I have always loved traditional animation, in particular, the action cartoons of the 80s and 90s. Most notably among them were Thundercats, Gi Joe, Transformers, and Visionaries: Knights of The Magical Light. So you can understand that I’ve always had in my mind the desire to one day see the characters of Celflux in an animated format. When we were planning the second trailer for the release of Celflux issue no. 3, I made the decision to do something in the style of an 80s cartoon intro. I shared a sneak peek of that trailer on Facebook and Ms. Selvon Abrahams saw it and liked it. A huge deal for us, given the fact that she has years of experience in the animation industry. Ms. Selvon Abrahams then graciously extended to us an invitation to be featured guests at this years Animae Caribe Festival.

We cannot really express how much this opportunity means to us. It is a priceless opportunity for two key reasons. Firstly, we have the outstanding privilege of being among some of the most talented, qualified and experienced individuals in the creative industry and secondly, it gives us a powerful platform from which we can share the story of Okira and Celflux. We’re really looking forward to this event, the amazing people we will meet and connect with, and the great experiences we will have. Also, who knows where the next stage of the journey will lead? So if you can make it, come visit us at Animae Caribe 2016. We would love to meet you.

Find out more about Animae Caribe at their website: http://www.animaecaribe.com/
Have a look at the prestigious guest list: Animae Caribe Guests
Follow our journey to Animae Caribe on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Till next time.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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So Tuesday, March 8th, 2016 is International Women’s Day, and for the entire month of March, the US is celebrating Women’s History Month. This got me thinking in a serious way about the significance of me being a female author. In particular a female author of color. I’ve always been a lover of books. I love to read. I got it from my mother. She had a love for books that I saw and emulated. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be a writer or author. I’m an accountant. I like numbers and figures. Everard is the creative one. However, it was Everard’s encouragement that helped me transition from my love for novels into me telling my own stories. He showed me these characters that he’d created and asked me to help him tell their story. I fell in love with them, in particular, Okira, and really enjoyed helping him create her story. I was having fun. It really hadn’t dawned on me that I was now an author. It still didn’t register even after Celflux was first published in 2014 with my name on the cover as co-creator. Even after Celflux got such a cool response, and people seemed to fall in love with Okira, I still didn’t get it. Oh yes, I was now a published author, and of a comic book/graphic novel at that.

Dixie Ann Archer McBain co-creator of Celflux

Without realizing it, I’d joined the ranks of those female authors of color who went before me. Women like Jackie Ormes. The First African American Woman Cartoonist. She was a multi-talented woman who became a successful cartoonist in the 1930s. I’d also become a part of a large community of women of color currently working in comics. Women like Afua Richardson. An artist that is best known for her work on Top Cow’s 2008 Pilot Season winner, Genius.

I had joined a large company of creators who are creating characters and telling stories. This made me realize that while I was having fun, just like the community I had become a part of, I had an opportunity, a responsibility, to make sure that I told stories that could inspire. No, I’m not trying to put myself on the level of the success stories out there. As I said before. I hate the spotlight. But I think I understood that the little that I was doing had to compliment what was already being done. So yes I started thinking seriously. One of those responsibilities I took very seriously is how we would portray our characters. Everard decided from day one, that Okira was not going to look like many of the comic book characters we came across online, and I agreed with him 100%. I’m new to comics, and to geek culture as well. I realize that sexy comic book females are “a thing”. To that, I can only say, to each his own. For me, I realized I was responsible for telling a story about a strong black woman that is not defined by how sexual she can be. Quite a few folks have reached out to us and let us know that they appreciate that.

We wanted to portray strong black women. Women that demonstrate the strength of mind and character. We want people to love Okira for her personality, not because of her physical appearance. We want young black girls to know there is an alternative to what they see on Jersey Shore. So I guess we’re on the right track.

That’s just one of the things I keep in mind when I’m telling the story.

When we first worked on Celflux, we just had that one idea. Since then, Everard and I have realized that we have a lot more stories to tell. So we’ve since begun work on a few more books.

The God of The Wilderness

Everard and I decided to write a graphic novel based on our personal life story. This one is close to our hearts and is kind of hard to write because I have to relive certain aspects of what we went through in our lives. But I’m looking forward to getting this one out there. We’re trying to approach a publisher with it.

The Jonah Syndrome

Everard entered an illustration contest with a character based on Trinidad and Tobago folklore called the La Diabless. A lot of people really liked it, and the response was great. So he asked me what I thought about writing a story with the La Diabless as the main character. I thought it was a great idea, and we started working on it.

Zariah.

We’ve got another one that I like a lot. This one is my personal favorite. We’re creating a children’s book called Zariah. It’ about a little girl who forms a bond with a little dog named Patches. I really like this one and I’m hoping people will enjoy the story.

So that’s just a few of them.

As I said, I’m still not a fan of the spotlight. But I realize that whether I like it or not, I’ve become a part of a powerful community doing great things in comics. So I will continue to have fun, but I’ll always be mindful of what it is I’m doing and of the stories I’m telling. Happy International Women’s Day, and happy Women’s History Month to women everywhere.

Dixie Ann Archer-McBain

Dixie Ann Archer-McBain is the co-creator of the graphic novel Celflux which she created with her husband Everard McBain. She is also an accountant by profession and is the owner of ArcherACS, an accounting consultancy firm based in Trinidad and Tobago.

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(from Wikipedia)
“Justice (John Roger Tensen) is a character from the New Universe imprint of Marvel Comics, the protagonist of a 32-issue comic book series of the same name published from 1986 to 1989. Most of its run was written by Peter David and penciled by Lee Weeks, though it also featured rare 1980s Marvel work from Keith Giffen. David later reintroduced Justice as a supporting character in Spider-Man 2099, a series with a very different setting. This version of the character, also known as the Net Prophet, was older and had different powers.

This is the artwork for Issue No.1 of Justice. This image grabbed my eye on the comic book rack, and it was love at first sight.

In 2007, the New Universe concepts were also revived, in a modified form, as a single-title ongoing series, newuniversal. A new version of John Tensen is one of the main characters featured in that series and two other characters with ‘Justice’ powers have also appeared.

Justice was a middle-aged DEA agent named John Tensen, whose wife was killed by vengeful members of organized crime. He was undercover at the time of the “White Event,” investigating Daedalus Darquill and his son Damon Conquest, who were running drugs out of their front company, Conquest Dynamics. He begins experiencing headaches as his psionic powers manifest. Eventually his cover is blown, and Darquill uses his own newfound parability to remake himself, Tensen, and the others around him into characters from a fantasy dimension, the “Far Place.” Tensen’s new identity is that of a law-enforcing knight called a “Justice Warrior”, who was having an illicit affair with Queen Endolana of the Land of Spring when he was exiled to Earth.”

The character in Justice had a very black and white sense of morality. He had the ability to read people’s auras and determine weather they were good or evil. He also executed “justice” with the power of a energy blast that came from his right hand which he called his sword. He also created a protective force field out of his left had that he called his sword. What made this book so interesting to me, was that even though the character had a very straight forward view of right and wrong and for him everything was black and white, the book was by no means straight forward. It had a lot of unexpected twists and was written in such a way that you almost did not know which world you were in at any given point in time. If it was the real world, or Tensen’s home world. You also did not know if his home world was actually real, or just something in his mind. Seriously, the book had you guessing.

This book introduced me to complexed characters. The world was shady. There were drug dealers, crime lords, and decadent lifestyles. It taught me that characters could be deep. It just wasn’t about super powers and fantastic abilities. It wasn’t about coming up with the cool looking costume. It was about characters experiencing turmoil and anguish. Having to make tough choices and experiencing great loss. It showed me that characters could reflect the human struggle. These types of characters people could identify with because they were real. Not real as in actually existing, but real as in believable. Marvel was making a push in these days to make more realistic characters and this book was a product of that.

I learned that characters had to be believable. That broken characters were more interesting. Someone could identify or sympathise with a broken character rather than one who seemed perfect. This would later influence my character creation.

Here’s a review of Justice by edward2962

Do you remember this comic at all, and did you read it back when it came out? What has influenced your character creation? Till next time.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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Now a few might be inclined to think that Space Ghost is not an old cartoon. Mainly because of the fact that the character has been re-introduced to the world on more than one occasion. In particular with a hugely popular late night talk show called Space Ghost Coast to Coast on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. For me though I was introduced to this character in the late 1970s and it was awesome.

(from Wikipedia)
“Space Ghost is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s.[1] In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space. In the 1990s, the character was brought back as a host for his own fictional late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. In the 2000s, he was revamped as a serious superhero once again in a mini-series by DC Comics.

Space Ghost is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It first aired on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 7, 1968. The series was composed of two unrelated segments, Space Ghost and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. An alternative title, Space Ghost and Dino Boy, is used in official records to differentiate it from Cartoon Network’s late-night talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The series was created by Alex Toth[1] and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

Space Ghost, along with teenaged sidekicks Jan and Jace and their monkey Blip, fight villains in outer space. Usually Space Ghost’s sidekicks would get captured or trapped by the villains and Space Ghost would have to defeat the villains and save the day. His enemies included Zorak, Brak and his brother Sisto, Creature King, Black Widow (aka Spider Woman), Lokar, Moltar, and Metallus.”

Space Ghost was the ultimate. The guy had a belt that gave him the power of invisibility. This was a fantastic thought to a young boy. He had power bracelets that gave him a range of energy powers. He could fly. He had enhanced agility and super strength. He had a protective force field. The list goes on. This character introduced me to power through gadgets and technology. As a young boy you didn’t really care how it worked, you just knew that this character had a device that gave them special or enhanced abilities. Of course you started wishing you had the gadgets, as well as thinking of gadgets you could come up with. Watching this show you realized that no matter what difficulty Space ghost found himself in, there was something his gadgets could do that would get him out of it. Last but not least, the character had a really, really cool costume.

Here’s the original intro to Space Ghost from 1966.

So this was another one of the greats from my early years. This was one of the characters I was scolded for drawing in my school exercise books. and I can see now how it has influenced my creativity. What are your early inspirations?

Till next time,

Cheers

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

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(from Wikipedia)
“Birdman and the Galaxy Trio is an animated science fiction television series created by Alex Toth and produced by Hanna-Barbera. It debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967,[2] and ran on Saturday mornings until September 6, 1969. The program consists of two segments: Birdman, depicting the adventures of a winged superhero powered by the sun, and The Galaxy Trio, centering around the exploits of three extraterrestrial superheroes. NBC ran two new segments of Birdman each Saturday, separated by a segment of The Galaxy Trio.

The character of Birdman was revived three decades later in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim TV series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and several characters from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio appeared in this revival.”

You may have noticed by now that I’ve been mentioning works created by Alex Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006). This was one of his creations. The other that we have mentioned so far was The Herculoids. When I first saw Birdman, the thing that caught me was that he swooped down from the sky and shouted his name in this all powerful booming voice. “Birrrdddmmaaaannn!” I was like “Wow!” That voice came from veteran performer Keith Andes. Keith Andes (July 12, 1920 – November 11, 2005) was an American film, radio, musical theatre, stage and television actor.Whenever the show was on I wouldn’t miss it.

Birdman was an ordinary human who was granted special abilities by the Egyptian sun god Ra. In addition to having the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project “solar shields” to defend himself against attacks, he also could fly.

Birdman introduced to me the aspect of the mythical. This guy didn’t get his abilities from science but from a god. I was also introduced to the idea of super hero weaknesses. He was not invulnerable. His powers had limits. He would have to recharge his powers by absorbing rays from the sun. The cartoon also brought to me the idea of super hero responsibility. Birdman was recruited by a secret government agency to fight threats that faced humanity. I realized that those with the gift of special abilities had a noble responsibility to use them for the good of humanity.

Here’s the intro for the Birdman.

There were also a few editions to the cast which were called the Galaxy Trio. The Galaxy Trio is a group of three extraterrestrial superheroes, Vapor Man, Meteor Man, and Gravity Girl, who patrol space in their cruiser Condor One maintaining order and fighting evildoers in the name of the Galactic Patrol law enforcement agency. Here’s the intro:

So again, early inspirations. How many remember this one? What are some of your early inspirations?

Till next time.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

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(From Wikipedia)
“Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. The series ran 2 seasons, 1980–1981 and 1981–1982. Action figures of the three main characters were released by Toynami in 2004.

Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning animated television series, created by Steve Gerber and produced by Ruby-Spears Productions.

Directly inspired by comic books, with the likes of R.E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian and Flash Gordon, Thundarr the Barbarian is set in a future (3994 AD) post-apocalyptic wasteland divided into kingdoms or territories – the majority of which are ruled by wizards – and whose ruins typically feature recognizable geographical features from the United States, starting in New York City and working itself to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Mount Rushmore, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. Other episodes with recognizable settings are located in Central America, while one is in London. Another notable feature of this future Earth is that the Moon was broken in two pieces, but the gravity of the pieces drew them back together, orbiting at roughly the same height as the intact Moon once did. The shattered moon and the ruins of the former human civilization were caused by the passage of a runaway planet (more resembling a comet) between the Earth and the Moon in 1994, which, from scenes shown in the opening sequence, caused radical changes in the Earth’s climate, geography and tidal effects. However, by the time period in which the series is set (2,000 years later), the Earth and Moon seem to have settled into a new balance. Earth is reborn in a world of “savagery, super-science, and sorcery”.

When I was growing up I really, really liked Thundarr The Barbarian. The cartoon was my first experience with the idea of a post apocalyptic world. They combined a new emerging idea of magic, sword and sorcery with science fiction. The world they portrayed was accepted without question. It was believable. This was superhero stuff, but in your mind it was possible. This could really happen. So I had no problems coming up with Celflux as being a world where fantasy, superhero and sci-fi could all exist without friction.

This was also my first experience with the idea of team balance. There was a strong lead hero who was complimented by two team members. One with brute strength, and the other with softer magic. I loved Thundarr The Barbarian so much I even had a Thundarr The Barbarian lunch box.

A Thundarr The Barbarian Dome lunch box. I had one just like this growing up.

Here is the opening sequence for Thundarr The Barbarian.

Here’s a short documentary about Thundarr The Barbarian with a look at the creative team and inspiration for the series. It shows how much of a ground breaking cartoon this was.

So here’s to early inspirations. How many of you remember Thundarr The Barbarian? Till next time. Keep dreaming.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post My Inspirations: Thundarr The Barbarian appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

We thought about it and decided that the best way to get people to be a part of your vision, is simply to share how you feel about it what inspired you to have this vision in the first place. So we’ve decided to go back to the very beginning, and tell the story of how it all got started. To do this we have to go back. Way, way back. Back to the days of a young boy who was introduced to, and fell in love with creativity.

I’ve told the story before of how I was scolded as a young boy for drawing in my school exercise books. Well I’ve never shared just what I was drawing in those books. It was mainly stuff I saw on Saturday morning cartoons, or what I saw in the comic strip of my newspaper. This week I’ll be sharing some of those.

One of the very first cartoons I was introduced to as a young child was The Herculoids.

The Herculoids is an American Saturday-morning animated-cartoon television series, created and designed by Alex Toth, that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

(from Wikipedia)

“The Herculoids is an American Saturday-morning animated-cartoon television series, created and designed by Alex Toth, that was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show debuted on September 9, 1967 on CBS.[1] Hanna-Barbera produced one season for the original airing of the show, although the original 18 episodes were rerun during the 1968–69 television season, with The Herculoids ending its run on September 6, 1969.

Eleven new episodes were produced in 1981 as part of the Space Stars show. The plotlines are rooted in science fiction, and have story direction and content similar to Jonny Quest and Space Ghost. This series is set on the distant planet Amzot (renamed Quasar in the Space Stars episodes). The name “Amzot” was first mentioned in the Space Ghost episode “The Molten Monsters of Moltar” (in which the Herculoids made a brief guest appearance) and in the series proper in the “Time Creatures” episode.”

The characters of The Herculoids, were a seamless blend of primitive yet futuristic design.

As a child I was fascinated by this cartoon. Not just for the magical creatures and their abilities, but because of the fantasy world they lived in, the dangers they faced and how they overcame them through teamwork. Both the characters and the world they lived in was a seamless blend of primitive and futuristic. There were prehistoric like creatures with fantasy and futuristic abilities. They wore loincloths but used laser guns. Strange yes, but it all seemed to work. Also as a young boy you didn’t question the practicality of such things you just accepted it for its awesomeness. I had a group of friends at school who were also fans of the cartoon and each of us called the other by the name of one of the cartoons characters. I was Tundro. These were also some of the first characters that I began drawing as a young boy.

Here’s the opening credits to The Hurculoids. Seeing this brings back memories. Awesome stuff.

Also, here’s a short documentary taking a look at the creator and the inspiration for the show.

So this was one of the shows that kindled the spark of creativity in me and made me fall in love with sci-fi, fantasy and imagination.

We’ll be sharing more of early inspiration in the coming days. Till then, keep dreaming.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post My Inspirations: HERCULOIDS appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.