That’s right! Two titans from your childhood face off in one of the most popular of YouTube channels! It’s Stan Lee (Lloyd “EpicLLOYD” Ahlquist) vs Jim Henson (Peter “Nice Peter” Shukoff) in another Epic Rap Battle of History! How nasty will it get? Who will win? It’s not who you think…  

Observations and tips from a first-time attendee of the world's largest animation festival.

BOOM! Studios has formed a partnership with Humble Bundle. The two organizations have crafted a Jim Henson-themed comics package.

This Humble Bundle deal will run until June 17, 2015. Those who make this purchase can choose to have their funds given to a charity organization called The Center for Puppetry Arts. Some of the creatives whose works are being featured include Joshua Dysart, Kate Leth, and Nate Cosby.

Here’s more from the press release: “Customers can name their price for Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: The Novelization, Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1 & 2, Fraggle Rock Classics Vol. 1 & 2, Fraggle Rock Vol. 1 & 2, and Fraggle Rock: Journey To The Everspring #1-4. Those who pay more than the average price will also receive Jim Henson’s The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller Vol. 1, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Witches #1-4, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: The Novelization, and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: The Novelization. Customers who pay $2 or more above the average price will receive all of the above plus Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand.”

Here’s your Friday round-up of all things Entertainment-related, have a great weekend everybody!

– Yesterday, recently announced Deadpool star Morena Baccarin tweeted out a photo while on set. The photo in question was of her chair, which lists her character name as “Vanessa”. Presumably this means the actress will be playing Vanessa Carlysle aka the mutant shape-shifter Copycat, who meets and falls in love with Deadpool before becoming a mercenary herself.

Here’s the photo in question:

Let’s do this. pic.twitter.com/pNqcCGReSz

— Morena Baccarin (@missmorenab) March 19, 2015

– After adding Ruth Negga as Tulip this week, AMC’s Preacher cast is starting to grow rapidly, as last night it was announced that young actor Ian Colleti has joined the series as “Arseface”. Deadline describes the character thusly:

Even with his horribly disfigured face and severe speech impediment, Eugene’s still the nicest kid you’ll ever meet and really looks up to Jesse. Stomach-churningly difficult to look at, Eugene’s the town’s reviled Frankenstein’s monster, but that won’t change his earnest, sweet and pure outlook on life. However, he is troubled by something terrible he’s done in the past — something he fears might have turned God himself against him.

– Surprise, surprise, another Mark Millar comic has been picked up for a movie deal. This time, it’s his brand new collaboration with Sean Murphy: Chrononauts. The series is centered around the concept of the first two scientists to travel back through time (and we’ll have a review of the first issue up shortly). Chris Morgan, who has written 5 of the Fast and Furious franchise films, will produce under his Chris Morgan Productions banner in a deal negotiated by Paradigm and the law offices of Harris M. Miller II.

Along with Superior and Starlight being in development for feature length adaptations, it looks as though Millar’s presence in multiplexes will be getting bigger than ever.

– Captain America: Civil War begins shooting in two weeks here in Atlanta, and I’ll certainly be fighting the temptation to drive down and stand outside the set every day. Word spread about the upcoming shooting via a casting notice that went out for extras in the area, which included the following synopsis:

Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.

Sounds about right.

– Upcoming Sandman feature producer, and kinda-sorta former Robin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has signed on to produce and star in a Fraggle Rock feature film for New Regency, though what role he’ll be playing has not been revealed. Variety got the scoop along with Levitt’s thoughts on the project:

“The first screen personas I ever loved were Henson creations, first on ‘Sesame Street,’ and then on ‘Fraggle Rock,’” Gordon-Levitt said. “Jim Henson’s characters make you laugh and sing, but they’re also layered, surprising, and wise. From Oscar the Grouch, to Yoda, to the Fraggles. I’ve never stopped loving his work, even as a young frisky man, and on into adulthood. Collaborating with Lisa Henson makes me confident we can do something that Jim would have loved. I’m grateful and excited to be working with New Regency on this project.”

From "Muppet Babies" to "Heavy Metal," British animator and director Jeff Hale had an eclectic animation career.

J.M. Lee has won the Dark Crystal Author Quest contest.

Last summer, Penguin Young Readers Group formed a partnership with the Jim Henson Company to publish a young adult series inspired by the classic film, The Dark Crystal. The two companies launched a contest to find a writer to pen the first installment of this project. Lee’s story, “The Ring of Dreams” was chosen as the winning piece from a pool of more than 500 submissions.

Lee had this statement in the press release: “The Dark Crystal was my first Jim Henson experience after being coerced into a viewing by my father, who since has admitted he just thought I would like the ‘soundtrack performed by a bunch of giant crows.’ And I did! I’ve always been a fan of dark fantasy, but thinking back on how early it was that The Dark Crystal became part of my VHS(!) library, I wonder which came first: the Skeksis or the egg. Even now, the depth of world and profundity has continued to reveal itself as I grow into my so-called adulthood.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Every year I publish my list of favourites, and every year I always realize I’ve forgotten a few due to absent-mindedness or, more likely, my cluttered office. So here are a few more, which I’ll append to the original list:

Oily Comics

There’s something quite special about the unadorned, simple black-and-white mini-minicomics that show up every few weeks from Chuck Forsman’s subscription series, which offers comics from a number of cartoonists like Melissa Mendes, Michael DeForge, Max de Radiguès, and more. They’re small things, and short to read, so unlike the growing pile of unread books by my bedside, they are actually inviting rather than intimidating when it comes to reading them. And they’re cheap and disposable enough that they don’t feel like precious objects. They feel like little gifts when they come in the mail. It appears that subscription memberships are currently closed, but at the very least you can head over to the Oily Boutique and order the books a la carte for a buck a pop.

Distance Mover by Patrick Kyle

Patrick Kyle released the collected book of his comic series Black Mass this year, but for my money I’m much more excited by his latest series Distance Mover, which like Oily Comics, I’ve been getting in the mail every month as a subscription. Each little book is a risographed art object, and I enjoy seeing Patrick’s work grow more abstract and even further from the traditional norm than Black Mass which already eschewed panels in favour of a freeform fill-the-page-with-drawings method. Each issue in the mail comes with goodies like extra prints or zines. Subscriptions are likely closed as the series nears its end, but you can order books directly from Patrick’s site, and read the first three issues (in black and white) online.

Diary Comics #4 by Dustin Harbin

Dustin’s Diary Comics made the list in previous years when they weren’t even this good — the great thing with a project like this is being able to literally see the artist improve over time. This fourth issue comprises more of Dustin’s just-like-the-title-says diary comics, and his drawing chops remain as honed as ever, but it’s the multi-page story Boxes that is the real zinger here. In it Dustin reflects on the diary comics themselves, and how comics have affected his day-to-day perception of the world around him, for better or for worse. Yes, meta journal comics about drawing said comics aren’t anything new, but Dustin’s gifts for thoughtfulness and introspection make it a special thing, and a powerful unexpected product of having distilled his life into four panels, a page at a time, for the past few years. You can read Boxes online for free (full disclosure: I am featured in the story), and buy all of Dustin’s books and prints at his online store (which currently offers 35% off orders of $50 or more with the code DHARBMAS).

Nancy is Happy and Nancy Likes Christmas by Ernie Bushmiller

I knew my list didn’t feel right without any reprints of classic comic strips. Nancy seems to be a love-it-or-leave-it strip, and I am firmly in the Love It camp. Nancy is the granddaddy of the gag strip. Often surreal, and always impeccably drawn, there is nothing quite like it. D&Q got a head start in publishing John Stanley’s Nancy comic books, which are certainly fun, but these Bushmiller strips are the real deal — perfectly constructed comic strips with not a line or word wasted. It’s been said it’s harder to not read a Nancy strip than it is to read one, and for that alone these books are a virtual masterclass in cartooning.

Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal

In a list of Great Cartoonists Who Weren’t Cartoonists, Jim Henson would top the list. Is there a better example of simple, contrasting character design than Bert and Ernie? Jim Henson famously kept a journal with simple one-line entries. It was a proto-Twitter account that, of course, is now a Twitter account. This book, Imagination Illustrated, compiles the most notable entries in chronological order and fills the pages with sketches, drawings, photographs, storyboards, and ephemera to create a scrapbook of the Muppet creator’s professional life, and is the perfect piece of nostalgia for a Muppet-loving child of the 80s like myself.

To recap: this season has already brought two must-have books – J.B. Kaufman’s Snow White history, The Fairest One Of All and Charles Solomon’s lavishly illustrated survey of Charlie Brown animation, The Art and Making of Peanuts Animation. But the season isn’t over and here are four more highly recommended hardcovers worth every cent of their suggested retail price.

First up, “I Say, I Say… Son! A Tribute To legendary Animators Bob, Chuck and Tom McKimson by Roberet McKimson Jr., with a forward by John Kricfalusi and an introduction by Darrell Van Citters. Wow! This is a surprise and a real treat. Poor Robert McKimson never got the attention and adoration his fellow directors Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng did. Thankfully, his champions have created this celebration of of all things McKimson – and that includes the incredible contributions of his siblings, Charles and Tom, who all together contributed more to the look and feel of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies than almost anyone else.

Robert McKimson’s son has put together a delicious volume of art and history that’s way overdue. John K. starts it off with a great seven-page Foreword explaining his admiration for the McKimson brothers work (images in this section include an original John K. drawing of Foghorn Leghorn meeting Stimpy!); and Darrel Van Citters does likewise in his informative intro. The meat of the book is the incredible art and photos that follow from the McKimson family estate. Bob Jr’s text takes us from his fathers earliest experiences at Disney and the Romer Grey studio to the earliest days at Harman-Ising. Absolutely gorgeous pencil art of Bosko (from Schlesinger) and Binko (from Romer Grey) highlight this section. Rare paintings, staff photos, the U.S. copyright registration for Bugs Bunny (!), model sheets, layout sketches, coloring book art… incredible stuff. A chapter on Tom McKimson’s work at Western Publishing and Bob’s later career at UPA, DePatie Freleng and back at Warners in 1969 tie up any and all loose ends. A thorough, competent, visually delightful job – exactly what you’d expect from someone named McKimson. Bravo, I love it!

Next we have: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Vol. 4: “House Of The Seven Haunts!” edited by David Gerstein and Gary Groth.

What can I say? Gerstein and Groth do it again. For the 4th time, Floyd Gottfredson’s incredible (and incredibly rare) 1930s Mickey Mouse adventure strip is collected with much care and great thought. The fact these were never reprinted before is criminal – the way they have been presented here more than makes up for it. The comics strips are compiled from the highest quality reprint masters and the daily strips themselves are truly classic material – worthy of a more prominent place in the Disney canon. As usual, Gerstein’s “bonus materials” – the liner notes, essays and special features – that appear at the beginning and end of the book represent Disney scholarship at its highest level.

This time Gerstein (along with colleagues Tom Andrae, Carson Van Osten and Thad Komorowski) provide insight into Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and such supporting players as Oscar the Ostrich and Dr. Einmug, rare artwork from international merchandise, publicity images and lost storyboards from from the Disney Animation Research Library. This series is a keeper. If you’ve got the first three volumes, you know the score. If not, maybe this video (below) will convince you. It’s terrific!

Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal by Karen Falk, is not devoted to animation (though Muppet Babies is given a nice spread), but Henson’s Muppet legacy – and that cannot be ignored. Henson’s films, shows and all-over creativity are an inspiration to all who create frame-by-frame cartoons and this book is an incredible peek inside his mind. This book is based around Henson’s personal handwritten journal and materials from his archives – a scrapbook of Muppet history that I’m grateful the family has deemed to share. Beyond the Muppets, the book contains rare memorabilia and information on Henson’s experimental shorts and TV specials (some of which I’d never heard of), TV pilots, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, commercials and industrial shorts – everything he did is noted one way or another with rare photos, script pages, publicity photos and other incredible ephemera. If you like Muppets or have any interest in Henson, it’s a must. Get it.

Last but not least: The Art of Wreck-It Ralph by Maggie Malone and Jennifer Lee.

Usually I recommend these “Art of” books because – let’s face it – even if the movie is no-good, the pre-vis and character designs are usually fantastic. Wreck-It Ralph is not only a great little film, but the artwork is especially fun. Director Rich Moore assembled a hand-picked crew of cartoonists to inspire the look of the film and they did not fail. No wonder the stuff on the screen looks so good – the preliminary art pictured here shows he had a lot of quality to choose from. Mike Gabriel, Jin Kim, Bill Schwab, Lorelay Bove, Glen Keane, and Minkyu Lee are just a few of the artists supplying the eye candy here, providing the appropriate “sugar rush” you require. This is a good one.

Sesame Workshop Response to Campaign Ads

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Twenty-two years ago, on May 16, 1990, Jim Henson died from a rare bacterial infection.

Like many in my generation, I had grown up surrounded by Muppets.  There was Sesame Street (a mere four months younger than me) which taught and entertained twice a day until I had to go to school.  There was the “Sex and Violence” special which served as a pilot to The Muppet Show a few years later.  Once a week, on Wednesdays, the local CBS affiliate would air The Muppet Show, which my family would watch during dinner.  The success from that television show would produce multiple movies, creating imagined worlds which seemed very real.

His sudden passing was a shock to many. Five days later, a memorial was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where the above clip is from.

I discovered that song by accident, a few years ago.   During the second season of the Muppet Show, Bernadette Peters guest starred.  Robin, Kermit’s nephew, feels ignored, and decides to run away.  He stops by Ms. Peters dressing room to say goodbye…

So where did this song come from?  1975.  Hal Hackady and Larry Grossman wrote the music for “Snoopy! The Musical”, the sequel to “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”.  (Both musicals were animated.  You can find the Peanuts version of this song on YouTube, but it’s a bit strange, what with Snoopy singing, and some strange cinematography.)  So how did this song work its way to the Muppet Show?  Larry Grossman served as a musical consultant for the first three seasons, suggesting musical numbers for each guest, as well as penning a few songs during the third season.  (“Jamboree” and “The Rhyming Song” are the two best known.)

But I’m sharing this because I got to thinking…  It’s hard to believe in yourself when others believe you to be worthless, or less than perfect.  Add in the uncertainty and awkwardness of adolescence, power it with just enough intellect which makes you question the world around you, and it’s easy to believe what others say about you, even when one’s imagination fuels hope for a better day someday.

I don’t know exactly what Jim Henson believed in, although he left many examples in his work.  He had quite a few doubts and stumbles before the success of Sesame Street, and a few afterwards.  But others did believe in him, like Lew Grade and Joan Ganz Cooney, and he managed to do what he loved, and to share that enjoyment with the world.

So to all those who believed and believe in