Scary Godmother

Last updated
Scary Godmother
Mystery95011513.jpg
The third book in the series.
AuthorJill Thompson
Original titleScary Godmother
LanguageEnglish
SubjectHalloween

Scary Godmother is a series of children's books and comic books created by artist Jill Thompson and published by Sirius Entertainment beginning in 1997.

Contents

Characters

Main

Monsters

Development

Thompson described the work and the character this way: "Scary Godmother is like your fairy godmother, but for Halloween. There's really nothing scary about the Scary Godmother. She's fun and macabre; reminiscent of childhood with a little bit of social commentary mixed in". [2] She said that "comics are so segregated now" and that she wanted to create something that both young readers and adults could enjoy. [2] She decided to create something with a Halloween theme after looking for a Halloween-themed children's book for her niece and not finding anything that she liked. [3] The books employ a combination of storybook/comic formats. [3] Thompson does the interiors as well as the covers for Scary Godmother, and she said that planning ahead and meeting deadlines can be a challenge. [4]

Comics

Awards

Film adaptations

Two films have been produced based on the series. The first, Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular , premiered on television in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Canada in 2003. Later, it premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network in 2004. The film was the first one Mainframe Entertainment used its new software/animation pipeline for. Jill Thompson co-wrote the script, and had some creative control over the project. When she was shown early character designs for the film which resembled the watercolor illustrations in her books, she requested that the characters instead be fully computer-generated. [6] In an interview, Thompson stated that she wanted them to go with CGI because "I'm doing 2D. Nobody else should be doing 2D, just me". [1] However, the mostly static backgrounds used in the film more closely resemble traditional cel animation or the illustrations in Thompson's books. [6] Because of that, the 3D characters often appear to "pop out" from their backgrounds. The visual style of the film has been described as resembling that of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas rather than that of computer-animated films such as Finding Nemo . [6] A review of the film in School Library Journal, however, described the film as " Toy Story meets Tim Burton", and thought that the animation closely resembles Thompson's watercolor illustrations. [7]

The second, Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy (based on the second book), premiered in 2005.

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<i>Archies Weird Mysteries</i> Television series

Archie's Weird Mysteries is an animated television series based on the characters by Archie Comics. The series premise revolves around a Riverdale High physics lab gone awry, making the town of Riverdale a "magnet" for B movie-style monsters. All the main characters solve strange mysteries in a format similar to both Scooby-Doo and The X-Files.

<i>Sabrina the Teenage Witch</i> Comic book series

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared in Archie's Madhouse #22. Storylines of the character at elementary-school-age also appear under the title "Sabrina -- That Cute Little Witch" in almost all of the Little Archie comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forever People</span> Fictional group of extraterrestrial superheroes in the DC universe

Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Forever People #1, and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his "Fourth World" epic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werewolf by Night</span> Comics character

The Werewolf by Night is the name of two werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #2. The second incarnation, Jake Gomez, first appeared in Werewolf by Night #1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Thompson</span> American illustrator and writer (born 1966)

Jill Thompson is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Niles</span> American comic book author and novelist (born 1965)

Steve Niles is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery, Simon Dark, Mystery Society, Batman: Gotham County Line, Kick-Ass – The New Girl, and Kick-Ass vs Hit-Girl.

Daniel Alan Brereton is an American writer and illustrator who has produced notable work in the comic book field.

Monster in My Pocket is a media franchise developed by American company Morrison Entertainment Group, headed by Joe Morrison and John Weems, two former senior executives at Mattel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dracula (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Dracula is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is based on the vampire Count Dracula from the novel of the same name by author Bram Stoker. After the initial run of the series The Tomb of Dracula, the character has been depicted primarily as an antagonist to superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsa Bloodstone</span> Fictional character in comic books by Marvel Comics

Elsa Bloodstone is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and Michael Lopez, the character first appeared in Bloodstone #1. Elsa Bloodstone is the daughter of the previously established Marvel Universe character Ulysses Bloodstone and the sister of Cullen Bloodstone. She has been a member of Nextwave, Midnight Sons, and Fearless Defenders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britt McKillip</span> Canadian actress (born 1991)

Britt Analisa McKillip is a Canadian actress and singer. Her credits include the film Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular and its sequel Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy, and her role as Reggie Lass in the television series Dead Like Me, the film Dead Like Me: Life After Death, and her voiceover roles as Cloe in Bratz and Princess Cadance in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Princess Harumi in Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

A popular American TV show from the late 1990s through early 2000s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had a tremendous influence on popular culture that has attracted serious scholarly attention. Even the language used on the show has affected modern colloquial expressions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casper the Friendly Ghost</span> Fictional cartoon ghost

Casper the Friendly Ghost is the fictional character who serves as the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a translucent ghost who is pleasant and personable, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio.

<i>Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy</i> 2005 American TV series or program

Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy is a 2005 animated comedy film and the sequel to Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular (2003). It is based on Jill Thompson's second book in her Scary Godmother series, also named The Revenge of Jimmy. Britt McKillip, Tabitha St. Germain, Brittney Irvin, Garry Chalk, and Scott McNeil reprise their roles, while Richard Warke, Dexter Bell, and Nathan Tipple replace voice actors of characters from the first special.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine</i> Comic book series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It is the sequel to the Season Eight comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Season Nine brand also incorporates a new Buffy spin-off series, Angel & Faith, and two spin-off miniseries Willow: Wonderland and Spike: A Dark Place. The core series consisted of 25 issues and each miniseries consisted of 5 issues.

Sirius Entertainment is an American comic book company that operated from 1994 to c. 2014. Sirius Entertainment was founded by Robb Horan and Larry Salamone and was dedicated from the outset to publishing creator-owned properties. Originally based in Stanhope, New Jersey, Sirius later moved to Unadilla, New York.

<i>Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular</i> 2003 Canadian animated Halloween comedy film

Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular is a 2003 Canadian animated Halloween comedy film based on the Scary Godmother series of books by Jill Thompson, specifically a community theater stage production of the first book. The special depicts Hannah, while trick-or-treating with her cousin Jimmy and his friends, encountering the titular witch and her many friends for a Halloween party at the Fright Side. It stars Canadian voice actors Tabitha St. Germain, Britt McKillip, Garry Chalk, Noel Callahan, Alex Doduk, Brittney Irvine, Danny McKinnon, Scott McNeil and Adam Pospisil. It was directed by Zeke Norton and produced by Kevin Gamble and Sharan Wood with heavy involvement by Thompson.

References

  1. 1 2 Jozic, Mike. "Interviews Archive: Scary Jill Thompson?". Comics Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2011-05-23. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  2. 1 2 Ash, Roger (2001). "Jill Thompson interview". Westfield Comics. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  3. 1 2 Butcher, Christopher. "ProFile Interview - Jill Thompson". PopImage. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  4. Lynn, Emmert. "Interviews: Jill Thompson (excerpted from The Comics Journal #244". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
  5. "2000s". 2 December 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 Karen Moltenbray, Witch's Brew: Mainframe Entertainment mixes up a wide range of graphic styles to create a unique look for Scary Godmother, Computer Graphics World, October 2003, Volume 26, Number 10
  7. Reynolds, Angela J. (September 2004). "Muitimedia Review: Video". School Library Journal. 50 (9): 70. ISSN   0362-8930.