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I’ve grown a bit fond of the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe lately.  Coming to it a bit late (I believe we’re on season 4 now, yes?) it took a Pop Culture Happy Hour episode to explain to me why the series was as groundbreaking and important as it was.  This is advantage of having a five-year-old.  When something like this comes up you can pretend you’re watching a new series for them when, in fact, you’re just curious for yourself.  If you’re unfamiliar with Steven Universe I’ll try to sum it up quickly: In this world there are superhero female characters called “Gems”. Steven, our hero, is half-Gem, half-human, which is unique. The show then proceeds to upset stereotypical notions of gender and love.

If you pay any attention to the New York Times bestseller list, you might have noticed this book on the Children’s Chapter Books list a week or two ago:

It’s a Steven Universe book.  There are a couple of them out there, written for kids to wildly varying degrees of competency.  This one I intend to read soon.  It got me to thinking, when I discovered it.  After all, children’s literature and Steven Universe fuel one another in a more direct manner.  The world of SU has television shows, movies, and bands that are unique and often very funny.  They also have their own literature.  For example, a common romance/scifi novel might look like this:

And children’s books are particularly interesting.  When Steven is banned from television for 1,000 years he finds that he really likes reading.  Two series in particular catch his attention: The No Home Boys and The Spirit Morph Saga.  I just want to take a look at these books because I’m always interested in how children’s books are portrayed in works of pop culture.

The No Home Boys series is written by Dustylegs Jefferson.  The original series apparently came out in the 1930s and was about two boys on the run, solving mysteries along the way.  Sounds a bit like The Boxcar Children meets Hardy Boys.  You might throw The Black Stallion in there as well, though, since there was also apparently a “disastrous graphic novel adaptation” of the book as well.  One of the characters on the show writes this review of it:

“Some fans turned up their noses at the new adventures of the No Home Boys. The old series was a down to earth travelogue – a gritty portrayal of growing up during the Great Depression. The new series was full of magic demons, talking animals and ninjas. Sure it didn’t have the same campfire charm, but the expanded “Hoboverse” had much more character development and backstory for readers to sink their teeth into.”

To me this sounds like what happened with more recent Black Stallion books, though the graphic novel adaptation throws it squarely into the Hardy Boys camp as well.  Whatever the case, I love the thought put into the series.

The Spirit Morph Saga is a bit different.  It’s a multi-book series about a girl who discovers that she is a witch, gains a familiar (a talking falcon named Archimicarus), and attempts to rescue her father, who was kidnapped by a one-eyed man.  Though some folks online compare the book to His Dark Materials, it bears far more similarities to Harry Potter and, in a strange way, Twilight.  An entire episode of Steven Universe is based on the fact that at the end of the series the falcon turns into a man and marries Lisa in a big multi-chapter sequence.  Connie, Steven’s best friend, is incensed by this.  It’s rather delightful to watch.

Alas, Steven was granted his television rights again (though the set seems to be destroyed on a regular basis) so no new book series beyond these two have come up recently.  There was, however, a trip to the local library.  It was pretty standard stuff.  A librarian was shushing the kids all the time.  Computers were minimal.  It looks like nothing so much as a library that has failed to get additional funding (which, considering the economy of Beach City, is not unbelievable).  Ah well.

Here’s hoping for more faux children’s books series in the future.  In the end, they say more about perceptions of children’s literature than anything else.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Here's why Rebecca Sugar's Comic-Con bombshell is a historic moment for animation.

The post Comic-Con 2016: ‘Steven Universe’ Creator Rebecca Sugar Comes Out As Bisexual appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

The new "Powerpuff Girls" revival gets its first Emmy nod, and so does the last episode of "Phineas and Ferb."

The post 2016 Emmy Nominations: Just the Animation Categories, Please appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

How can a network announce new seasons of a show when they're laying off the entire crew?

The post Cartoon Network Lied To Us: ‘Uncle Grandpa’ Is Ending Production appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Uncle Grandpa is also going to host his own Saturday morning block.

The post Cartoon Network Re-Ups ‘Uncle Grandpa,’ ‘Steven Universe’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Cartoon Network reaffirms its commitment to "Steven Universe" by announcing new toy licensees.

Discover the art of Clarke Snyder, our artist of the day!

Five Cartoon Network shows have earned season renewals.

For the past number of years that I’ve attended SDCC, the fine folks at Cartoon Network and their brand Adult Swim have put on some rather enjoyable programming for the show. Most notably, I’ve greatly enjoyed the Children’s Hospital panels that were held in previous years, and the 2015 iteration of their lineup looks to be a good deal of fun with back-to-back panels for series like Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa, Adventure Time, and Steven Universe along with some screening opportunities.

One million years Dungeon!!

FRIDAY, JULY 10

Cartoon Network presents a back-to-back Fandemonium Panel Extravaganza featuring Regular Show & Uncle Grandpa followed by Adventure Time & Steven Universe. Both panels are hosted by Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) the voice of Panda on Cartoon Network’s upcoming animated series We Bare Bears.

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS: REGULAR SHOW & UNCLE GRANDPA

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Hilton Bayfront – Indigo Ballroom

You love us!  You really love us!  But guess what….we love you too!!!  Cartoon Network has the best fans in the world, which is why we’re hosting the most FAN-tastic, FAN-centric, FAN…uhhh…MAZING panels SDCC has ever seen!  Join cast and crew of hit shows Regular Show and Uncle Grandpa as we celebrate YOU with major announcements, first looks, contests, and special appearances.  The panel features Regular Showsuperstars JG Quintel (Creator, Voice of Mordecai), William Salyers (Voice of Rigby), Sean Szeles (Supervising Producer), and Sam Marin (Voice of Benson, Pops, Muscle Man), alongside Uncle Grandpa mega-talents Pete Browngardt (Creator, Voice of Uncle Grandpa), Eric Bauza (Voice of Bellybag), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Voice of Mr. Gus). 

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS: ADVENTURE TIME & STEVEN UNIVERSE

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Hilton Bayfront – Indigo Ballroom

Comic Con is the ultimate destination for amazing fans in Finn hats and crystal gem bellybuttons, which is why Cartoon Network is celebrating YOU in a one-of-a-kind Fandemonium celebration!  We’ve got BIG NEWS you’ll want to hear first, behind-the-scenes access, and special musical performances by the cast and crew from hit shows Adventure Time and Steven Universe!  The panel features Adventure Time legends of OooJeremy Shada (Voice of Finn), John DiMaggio (Voice of Jake), Olivia Olson (Voice of Marceline), and Adam Muto (Co-Executive Producer), alongside Steven Universe gems Rebecca Sugar (Creator), Zach Callison (Voice of Steven), Estelle (Voice of Garnet), and Ian Jones-Quartey(Supervising Director).

 

CARTOON NETWORK SCREENINGS

THURSDAY, JULY 9

 

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS: ADVENTURE TIME ROYAL BALL

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Room 7AB

It’s the 2^nd annual Adventure Time Royal Ball!  Last year Cartoon Network filled a ballroom with the most righteous of warriors and the fairest in all the Land of Ooo, and this year we are returning with more fan-favorites, another first-look Adventure Time episode, and a very special world premiere screening of the newest Cartoon Network hit series We Bare Bears!  Don’t forget to dress up in your most inspired outfit for the royal procession and your chance to win righteous prizes! Now come one, come all (until we reach capacity!) for a night of mathematical magic!

FRIDAY, JULY 10

CARTOON NETWORK PRESENTS: CLARENCE & FRIENDS PAJAMA PARTY

8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Room 7AB

Clarence throws the best parties and you’re invited!  We ran out of pizza poppers, but we’re making up for it with Spencer Rothbell (Head of Story and Voice of Clarence), awesome episodes of your favorite Cartoon Network shows and super cool pwizes!  But hey, hey, guess what, there’s more!  Clarence invited his new friends Grizz, Panda, and Ice Bear, and they’re going to show an episode of their brand new show, We Bare Bears, for everyone to see for the very first time!  HOW COOL IS THAT?!  So put on your favorite pajamas and maaayyyybe you’ll get a swing at our myyystewy piñata!

CARTOON NETWORK SIGNINGS

FRIDAY, JULY 10

 

2:00 p.m.               Regular Show, Uncle Grandpa & Clarence

                                Autograph Alley (AA04)

                                                                                               

4:00 p.m.               Adventure Time & Steven Universe

                                Autograph Alley (AA04)

 

SATURDAY, JULY 11

 

1:00 p.m.               We Bare Bears

                                Cartoon Network Booth #3735

What power-ups will Steven Universe bust-out of his trusty cheeseburger backpack?

Steven's uncle and grandpa visits him today on a special episode of "Steven Universe."

The talented Ian Jones-Quartey took to Twitter tonight to vent his frustration with young fans who keep asking him how to get accepted into the animation program at CalArts, even though he never attended the school.

Today we look at the work of Gyimah Gariba, Cartoon Brew's Artist of the Day!

Reading beforehand what this episode was supposed to be about, my mind completely went somewhere else. Steven’s at that age when boys want alone time for a very specific reason and while I was 99.9% sure Cartoon Network wasn’t going to go that far, I thought they’d at least allude to that idea of adolescence and growing up. Instead we dived into the real reason (sort of) that Steven wanted to be left alone, and dug a little deeper into the idea of his parental units via a room and a weird, very strange world created by said room.

While this week’s "Steven Universe" opened a lot of doors as far as characterization and parallels, it was simply okay. Mr. Pizza was comical relief but other than that you had to dig for the entertainment.

This week's "Steven Universe" dived into the whirlwind that is the mindset of an insecure youth, so in that sense, it was similar to the episode “Lars and the Cool Kids.” At first, the episode didn’t really make any sort of impression on me. It took another viewing for me to grasp its depth—or at least theorize things in the whirlwind that in my own mind at 3am.

It’s been a few weeks but the last few times in Beach City we witnessed a lot of growth in the series. Steven had an anger revelation after he hung with the cool kids and really showcased the father-son relationship thanks to little Onion. Now we’re back and "Steven Universe" went and explored the maternal dynamic within their group after Pearl took a blade through the chest.

There’s something about Steven’s dad Greg that doesn’t add up. Will we ever really know why Greg distances himself from his son? This week in “Onion Trade," we explored a dad’s horrible ability to remember things, witnessed Steven’s lack of male role models, and learned a lot more about Onion, a character who revealed quite a few new layers.

The Cartoon Network upfronts took place yesterday and the now Stu Snyder-free network presented its slate of upcoming shows for the 2014-'15 season to their advertising and promotional partners.

“So Many Birthdays” 
Written and Storyboarded by Raven M. Molisee and Paul Villeco. “Lars and the Cool Kids” Storyboarded by Lamar Abrams and Matt Braly. Usually I walk away from Steven Universe having laughed a little, often forgetting what had happened as soon as it’s over but if things continue to be like “Giant Woman” and “So Many Birthdays” this show could end up meaning something special to me. This episode’s theme was heavy on the idea of growing up and the end result was a great realization that everyone should take into consideration. Once again we start with Pearl and Amethyst arguing about something irrelevant. A smell lingers in the air, and the Gems and Steven stumble upon a five-year-old burrito (likely the cause of the stench) and an “old timey” picture of the Gems and Steven’s mother. This brings us all to wonder how old the Gems really are. Thankfully, the always-inquisitive boy asks. The Gems live a long time, but they don’t show signs of aging like humans although they can get hurt. Steven then has to badger on about their birthdays – Garnet admits that’s not something Gems do or care about. Much like Steven, I was appalled by that. He then pledges to throw them each a birthday party.  Each Gem got her own special day that ended as a failure, even though they’re all wearing Steven’s lucky birthday suit–a cape and crown. Amethyst doesn’t understand the concept behind piñatas and asks the question I think we’ve all wondered: “You had candy and you just didn’t give it to us?” Steven tries to step it up by performing as a clown for Pearl’s party and telling jokes. They go over her head and she cringes at the pie-in-the-face bit. When Steven proclaims Garnet’s will be the “ultimate birthday,” you think, yeah – this is where it’ll all turn around. Nope. Kazoo racers weren’t a hit because riding in miniature cars and playing kazoos doesn’t sound appealing to the Gems. Their hesitance towards celebrating their birthdays leaves Steven questioning if he’s too old to blow out the candles on his special day anymore. This mental breakdown was probably my third favorite moment in this series so far; the first one came in a previous episode (we’ll touch on that later) and the second was in this week’s again, later on. Anyways, his breakdown led to a very interesting result…  Walking through a fog both in reality and in his mind, Steven continued to question birthdays and growing up. As he did this, his gem glowed and he started to age. At first it was just simple puberty; four hairs on his upper lip, noticeable vocal changes and acne. As he came to a store and decided a job was what he had to get, he became a five-o’clock-shadowed man standing tall. By the time he got to Lars’ shop, he looked like George Costanza from Seinfeld. After being run out of the store due to a misunderstanding about his ‘birthday suit’…his aging process escalates from looking like his dad to grandpa status; Gandalf beard and all. He is returned to the Gems thanks to his lion. Yup, that lion from “Steven’s Lion” was back this week, but didn’t play an essential part other than party attendee before this point. The Gems always show concern for Steven when he gets himself into a pickle but this was the first time they showed an emotional concern rather than an instinct to save. This was probably because they had to face death. With Steven being half-human, his death was a possibility and actual fear swept over his three gal pals as they tried to reverse his aging by over-celebrating the birthday rituals they’d learned: piñatas, tiny cars, clowns, and pies. Pearl, in tears, while trying to complete the clown bit was a hilarious moment in a tense situation.  Steven’s age starts to fluctuate with his state of mind, going back and forth between a boy and a man. Turns out, you’re as old as you feel. This lesson was my second favorite moment and goes hand in hand with my first, which so happens to be from “Frybo,” the episode that played wonderfully after this week’s new one – both of those dealt with the essence of adulthood and the way it feels like it’s strangling you even when you’re years from it. One can only hope that this theme continues because as much as Pearl and Amethyst butting heads is entertaining, these episodes that capture Steven’s journey to manhood are way more interesting. Since “So Many Birthdays” was the best I’ve seen from Steven Universe, I didn’t expect much from what Steven and Lars had to offer when they encountered the so-called cool kids in “Lars and the Cool Kids.” It was just okay, and the best part was a tossup between Steven defending his mother and Lars bombing at being cool. The Gems and Steven come across a huge quarry of nasty moss growing out of control that Steven’s mother planted once upon a time. Pearl points out that Steven’s mom, Rose Quartz, always saw “beauty in everything, no matter how gross,” which also might explain why she was with Steven’s dad in the first place. You can refer to the opening credits to check out what he looks like if you’ve forgotten since we haven’t seen him for a long while. After Pearl produces some police tape to keep the humans out of the moss, we lose the Gems for the rest of the episode as Steven heads out on his own for lunch at Fish Stew Pizza. There he comes across a reluctant Lars and fails to engage him with a high five. Lars is trying to play it cool as he lurks in the parlor’s window staring in at the cool entourage he’d die to become a part of. There’s Jenny, an in-charge black girl who’s dad owns the pizza place. She’s surrounded herself …

Danny Hynes has worked on television series The Venture Bros. and Robotomy, and is now working on Steven Universe at Cartoon Network.

Danny has a blog here with his latest funny doodles, personal art and things like this run cycle:

Danny has an older blog that was active during his Venture Bros. work period that show off his skills drawing in that mode as well.

Cartoon Network has released a seven-and-a-half-minute preview episode of theibr upcoming series Steven Universe. The show was created by Adventure Time artist (and Singles director) Rebecca Sugar. Notably, she is Cartoon Network’s first-ever solo woman series creator.

See more Cartoon Brew coverage about Rebecca Sugar.

Colin Howard is working as a character designer on Steven Universe, the new show in production created by Rebecca Sugar. You can see Colin’s current Tumblr here. He seems like a good match for the show, as many of Colin’s sketchbook drawings and characters seem to be built of the same cartoon materials as Rebecca’s—similar lines, forms, and convincing solidity.

For more drawings and recent CalArts school work, Colin has another blog here. Perhaps of special interest to future animation school applicants, you can peek at Colin’s even earlier blog, which he describes as his character animation application work.

Cartoon Network has unveiled a poster for Steven Universe, the new animated series by Rebecca Sugar:

Slated to debut in 2013, Steven Universe is a coming-of-age story told from the perspective of Steven, the youngest member of a team of magical Guardians of the Universe. The animated series was conceived as part of the shorts development initiative at Cartoon Network Studios, and is created by Emmy and Annie Award-nominated writer and storyboard artist Rebecca Sugar (Adventure Time). Sugar is Cartoon Network’s first solo female show creator.

See more Cartoon Brew coverage about Rebecca Sugar.

I don’t know how I missed this press release, but last month, Cartoon Network announced that they will produce two new series: Peter Browngardt’s Uncle Grandpa, based on a popular pilot of the same name that Browngardt made a few years ago, and Rebecca Sugar’s Steven Universe.

The latter announcement is particularly significant for an ignominious reason: this marks the first time in Cartoon Network’s twenty-year history that they have greenlit a children’s entertainment series created by a solo woman creator. It’s a little too early to start celebrating the fact that Cartoon Network is producing a show by a woman, but it does represent a baby step in the right direction.

Sugar is also among the new generation of creator who established a reputation online before attracting the attention of the animation industry. Contrast this to the path of animation creators past (Seth MacFarlane, Genndy Tartakovsky, John Kricfalusi) when artists remained largely anonymous to the public before being made famous by their shows. It’s a turning point in animation culture—artists no longer need the reach of a network to establish a fanbase, and further, networks have fallen into a position of reacting to trends instead of starting them.

It’s been particularly gratifying to watch Rebecca Sugar’s meteoric rise to fame because Cartoon Brew was the first major media outlet to promote her work — all the way back in 2007 when she was a twenty-year-old animation student in New York who enjoyed making whimsically dirty drawings of famous cartoon characters. At that time, I wrote, “Rebecca Sugar is ridiculously talented…she’s certainly an artist with a bright future ahead of her.” We’ve been following her development ever since, and selected her thesis film Singles for our annual Student Animation Festival in 2009.

After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Sugar moved to Los Angeles where she began working as a writer, storyboard artist and songwriter on the series Adventure Time. Sugar’s new show Steven Universe is a “coming-of-age story told from the perspective of Steven, the youngest member of a team of magical Guardians of the Universe.” Who knows what it all means, but with Rebecca at the helm, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for this one.