The Cartoonist

Last updated
The Cartoonist
The Cartoonist DVD Cover.jpg
Directed byKen Mills
Written byKen Mills
Based on Bone
by Jeff Smith
Produced byKen Mills
Cameron James
Narrated byBeth Emery
CinematographyScott Myers
Jason Hambach
James McCullars
Andy Marshall
Mike Meyer
Edited byMike Meyer
Ken Mills
Jeff Drake
Production
company
Mills James Productions
Release date
  • May 22, 2009 (2009-05-22)
Running time
76 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone and the Changing Face of Comics is a 2009 documentary about the life and art of Jeff Smith, the creator of the Bone comic series and described as one of America's greatest living cartoonists. [1] The feature-length film is by American director Ken Mills and was produced by Mills James Productions. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The Cartoonist has been released for international distribution on DVD.

Synopsis

The Cartoonist tells the inspiring story of Jeff Smith's creation of the epic comic book, Bone, hailed by Time magazine as "one of the ten greatest graphic novels of all time". [5]

Fellow cartoonists Scott McCloud, Colleen Doran, Harvey Pekar, Paul Pope and Terry Moore, as well as friends, associates, experts and Jeff himself, share their stories of this worldwide phenomenon that began in small comics shops and is now found in bookstores, schools, libraries and the homes of millions of adults and children in 25 countries. In addition to discussing Jeff's early years, influences and philosophies, the film provides a look at a unique industry and art form that continues to change and evolve.

Release

The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone and the Changing Face of Comics made its world premiere on May 22, 2009 at the Wexner Center for the Arts on the campus of Ohio State University. [6] The premiere was part of the Visiting Filmmakers series, where rising stars and acclaimed masters come to screen their films and talk with Wexner Center audiences. The event was co-sponsored by Ohio State’s Cartoon Library & Museum. [7]

Reception

The documentary was well received by critics. It was recommended as a "steller program" by Booklist , [8] and others suggested that it may prove a useful resource for students researching the creative writing process. [9] The film has been lauded as "essential viewing for comics fans", [10] although one review described it as "more mash note than journalism". [11]

Related Research Articles

Les Wexner American businessman, founder of L Brands

Leslie Herbert Wexner is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman emeritus of Bath & Body Works, Inc.. Wexner grew a business empire after starting The Limited, a clothing retailer with a restricted selection of profitable items, and later expanded his holdings to include Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, Express, Inc., and Bath & Body Works. Wexner announced, in February 2020, that he was transitioning from CEO of L Brands into the role of chairman emeritus. Wexner hired Jeffrey Epstein as his financial manager beginning sometime in the 1980s and continuing until 2007. Wexner was once the “main client” of Epstein’s money-management firm, according to Bloomberg.

Wexner Center for the Arts Contemporary art center at Ohio State University

The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art". The Wexner Center opened in November 1989, named in honor of the father of Limited Brands founder Leslie Wexner, who was a major donor to the center.

<i>Bone</i> (comics) Comic book series by Jeff Smith

Bone is an American independently-published graphic novel series, written and illustrated by Jeff Smith, originally serialized in 55 irregularly released issues from 1991 to 2004.

Jeff Smith (cartoonist) American cartoonist

Jeff Smith is an American cartoonist. He is best known as the creator of the self-published comic book series Bone.

Terry Moore (cartoonist) American cartoonist

Terry Moore is an American cartoonist, known for the series Strangers in Paradise, Rachel Rising, and the founding of Homage Comics.

Paul Pope American cartoonist

Paul Pope is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's two protagonist types are the silent, lanky outsider male of One-Trick Ripoff, Escapo and Heavy Liquid; or the resourceful, aggressive, humorous young teenage girls of THB. He has self-published some of his work, most notably THB, through his own Horse Press, with other work for such publishers as DC Comics/Vertigo and First Second Books.

Notable events of 2006 in comics. See also List of years in comics.

Tom Spurgeon American comic writer

Thomas Martin Spurgeon was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of The Comics Journal and his blog The Comics Reporter.

Carol Tyler American cartoonist

Carol Tyler is an American painter, educator, comedian, and eleven-time Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist known for her autobiographical comics. She has received multiple honors for her work including the Cartoonist Studio Prize, the Ohio Arts Council Excellence Award, and was declared a Master Cartoonist at the 2016 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

Jeffrey Brown (cartoonist) American cartoonist

Jeffrey Brown is an American cartoonist born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Frederick Luis Aldama

Frederick Luis Aldama is an American academic who is the Jacob & Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, founder & director of the Latinx Pop Lab, and Affiliate Faculty in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas, Austin, as well as Adjunct Professor & Distinguished University Professor at The Ohio State University. He teaches courses on Latinx comics, tv, and film in the departments of English and Radio-Television-Film. At the Ohio State University he was Distinguished University Professor, Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, University Distinguished Scholar, and Alumni Distinguished Teacher as well as recipient of the Rodica C. Botoman Award for Distinguished Teaching and Mentoring and the Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award. At the Ohio State University he was founder and director of the award-winning LASER/Latinx Space for Enrichment Research and founder and co-director of the Humanities & Cognitive Sciences High School Summer Institute. Aldama is the creator and curator of the Planetary Republic of Comics.

Wayne Alan Harold is an American independent editor, publisher and filmmaker who lives in Kent, Ohio. During his career he has formed lasting creative relationships with both Toby Radloff and P. Craig Russell.

Jim Kammerud is an American director, writer, producer and animator, best known for his work with the Walt Disney Company.

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Cartoon museum located on the Ohio State University campus

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a research library of American cartoons and comic art affiliated with the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as the Cartoon Research Library and the Cartoon Library & Museum, it holds the world's largest and most comprehensive academic research facility documenting and displaying original and printed comic strips, editorial cartoons, and cartoon art. The museum is named after the Ohio cartoonist Billy Ireland.

Mills James

Mills James is a creative media production company in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio that creates and produces broadcast programming and documentaries, corporate and institutional video and film projects, infomercials, television commercials, digital signage and corporate meetings and special events. Additional services include webcasts and webinars and digital distribution and transmission services.

Notable events of 2010 in comics. See also List of years in comics. This is a list of comics-related events in 2010. It includes any relevant comics-related events, deaths of notable comics-related people, conventions and first issues by title.

The culture of Columbus, Ohio, is particularly known for museums, performing arts, sporting events, seasonal fairs and festivals, and architecture of various styles from Greek Revival to modern architecture.

Ohio Comic Con

The Wizard World Columbus Comic Con, formerly known as Mid-Ohio Con and then the Wizard World Ohio Comic Con, was a comic book convention held during the fall in Columbus, Ohio, United States, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Initially held in early November, from 1994–2007 the Mid-Ohio Con took place on the first weekend after Thanksgiving. Normally a two-day event, in 2012 it expanded to three days.

Hillary Chute American academic

Hillary Chute is an American literary scholar and an expert on comics and graphic narratives. She is Distinguished Professor of English and Art + Design at Northeastern University. She was formerly Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Chicago and an Associate Faculty member of the University’s Department of Visual Arts, as well as a Visiting Professor at Harvard University. She was a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows from 2007 to 2010.

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) is an annual, free, four-day celebration of cartooning and graphic novels held in Columbus, Ohio. Venues for the festival include Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, Hale Hall, and the Wexner Center for the Arts; and downtown Columbus' Columbus Metropolitan Library, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Columbus College of Art and Design.

References

  1. Lucy Shelton Caswell and David Filipi, Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond (Columbus, OH.: The Ohio State University, Wexner Center for the Arts, 2008), ISBN   978-1-881390-46-6.
  2. Starker, Melissa. Columbus Alive, Movie Reviews, 2009-05-21
  3. Cross, David J. "Film Focuses on Local Artist", This Week Community News (Hilliard, Ohio), 2009-05-20
  4. National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Ohio Valley Region, Focus Newsletter, 2009-05-18
  5. Arnold, Andrew D."No Bones About It", Time magazine 2004-08-17
  6. Wexner Center for the Arts news release, May 22, 2009
  7. "The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone, & the Changing Face of Comics", Comic Book Resources, 2009-05-22.
  8. Booklist Editors’ Choice: Media, 2009, Booklist.
  9. "A Review of 'The Cartoonist'", Kevin's Meandering Mind.
  10. "Review: Jeff Smith Documentary -- 'The Cartoonist'", Out from the Comic Shop.
  11. Starker, Melissa (May 20, 2009). "Movie Review: The Cartoonist", Columbus Alive.