Comic-Con: Zim Cartooning Course Debuts

THE ZIM CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOL OF CARTOONING, COMIC ART AND CARICATURE


For the first time in nearly a century, Eugene "Zim" Zimmerman's legendary 1914 cartooning course is available again in a deluxe two-volume edition published by the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. Lavishly illustrated with nearly 1,000 B&W illustrations and 22 hand-tipped color plates, this landmark course deserves a place on every cartoonist's bookshelf.

Edited by Stephen Worth and with a foreword by Ralph Bakshi, these books cover a broad range of subjects, from practical advice for aspiring artists to philosophical musings on what it means to be a cartoonist. Zim's infectious sense of humor and vividly observed caricatures leap off the page. This drawing course may just be the keystone document of American cartooning.

These two volumes will be available beginning July 23rd at ASIFA-Hollywood's booth at the San Diego Comic-Con. (Booth #5334: To the right of the main entrance, against the lobby side wall.) Quantities are very limited. Copies will also be available for sale on ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive website soon after. Also available is a series of high quality glicee fine art prints of some of Zim's finest cartoons produced by imagekind, a CafePress company.

The books are available to the general public for a donation to the ASIFA-Hollywood of $125 per volume. ASIFA-Hollywood members may receive the books for a donation of $100 per volume. (Non-members: Buy both books and join ASIFA-Hollywood and take the discount right away. This means that ASIFA-Hollywood membership is just an additional $25!) Proceeds from the sale of these books go to support the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive. ASIFA-Hollywood is a 501(c)(3) California non-profit organization, so your contribution may be tax deductible. (See your tax accountant for details.)

ABOUT EUGENE ZIMMERMAN (1862-1935)
ZIM was a familiar a name to people in the early years of the 20th century; but today, he is largely forgotten. He was a pioneer of the art of caricature with over 40,000 illustrations published in his lifetime. ZIM was a mainstay of the magazines Puck and Judge, lampooning politicians of all parties and poking fun at the ethnic roots of America's melting pot. After his retirement, he created a correspondence school in cartooning that educated many fledgling artists who went on to follow his lead.

For more information on Eugene "Zim" Zimmerman and his cartooning course, see...
http://www.animationarchive.org/labels/zim.html

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
An extensive electronic press kit is available upon request to members of the press and bloggers interested in spotlighting the books on their sites. Email sworth@animationarchive.org for a complimentary copy.
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Comic Con: ASIFA Program Schedule

ASIFA-Hollywood invites you to join us at...



COMIC-CON 2009
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, California
July 23 -26, 2009


Visit us at Booth #5334 (To the right of the main entrance, against the lobby side wall) to get information on ASIFA-Hollywood membership, upcoming programs, the Annie Awards and the Animation Archive. The entire ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Database, which includes over 5,000 animated films and 15,000 images will be on hand for you to browse and enjoy. Stop by and see all the treasures!

ASIFA-Hollywood will also be presenting the following programs at Comic- Con:

Friday, July 24, 2009

2:30 pm -3:30 pm: State of the Animation Industry-- ASIFA-Hollywood's annual overview of trends in the animation industry. In this turbulent economy, how is the animation industry faring? Can games take up the slack? Is 2D coming back? Moderated by Tom Sito (Shrek, The Lion King). Panelists include Raul Garcia (The Missing Lynx), Frank Gladstone (producer, Starz Media, Dreamworks), Jun Falkenstein (The Tigger Movie, Mulan II), Helen Jen (Games), and Stephen Silver (Kim Possible) Room 10

Friday, July 24, 2009

9:00 pm -10:00 pm: Worst Cartoons Ever-- Animation historian Jerry Beck (Cartoon Brew) returns with an all new program of some of the worst cartoons ever made, including the Phys Ed super-hero Mighty Mr. Titan, space cadet Johnny Cypher and that crimefighting commander-in-chief, Super President. Have a ball with the best/bad animation ever! Room 6BCF

Saturday, July 25, 2009

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm What Is an Animated Film?-- Many people view animation as a genre. Like "westerns" and "science fiction," animation has come to follow a few tightly defined sets of conventions—anime, funny animal, and fairy tales form the basis of most animated cartoons. But animation is much more than just that. It is a medium capable of expressing a wide range of styles and stories. In this screening and talk, Stephen Worth, director of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, presents examples of animated films that don't follow the established formulas—films that experiment with technique and storytelling to push the envelope of the definition of animation. Room 3

Hope to see you at the Con!

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Screening: Pop Cultural Literacy 101

FREE SUMMER SCREENING AT WOODBURY FRIDAY NIGHT!


The Marx Brothers
"I was teaching my animation history class and I overheard one of the students telling his friend about this great anti-war film he had just discovered... Duck Soup!" --Tom Sito overheard at an ASIFA meeting

Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)


The Three Stooges
Music is the life force of great animation, and last week I posted a teaser about some of the great music we'd be featuring in the series of screenings at Woodbury University that begins this coming Friday. Today, I'm going to talk a little bit about the comedians we'll be seeing.


Harold Lloyd
That image up there is one of the most iconic in all of silent comedy, but I bet you have never seen the film it comes from, nor any of Harold Lloyd's other films for that matter. It's not your fault. The downright lousy programming on cable TV over the past decade or so has cheated a whole generation of cartoonists out of the opportunity to explore the world of the incredibly talented comedians of the past. I'm going to take a stab at rectifying that wrong at Woodbury University this summer with a series of screenings designed to give young animators a random sampling of great stuff that will amaze and inspire them.


W. C. Fields
Obviously, it's impossible to pack everything that was good in the 20th century into a few short hours, but my goal is to drop bread crumbs like in Hansel and Gretel which can act as a trail for artists taking their own trip of discovery through some of the best entertainment ever created.


Laurel & Hardy
You've probably seen caricatures of most of these famous faces in old cartoons. The animators didn't just caricature them because they liked their films, they analyzed and broke down their technique to refine their own comic staging and timing. Although the subject matter of these films may be dated, the techniques are not. These films are an encyclopedia of ideas for creating comedy.


Our Gang
There will be assorted musical and comedy shorts beginning at 7pm, and a classic feature at 8:30. Even if you've seen some of this before, it won't matter, because these are the kinds of films that you can watch over and over and still find new things in them.


Buster Keaton
This screening is presented FREE to the creative community by the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, Woodbury University and the Walter Lantz Foundation. Come on out and bring your friends. No RSVP is needed. Parking is free. Try to find a better way to spend a Friday night... You can't!

Pop Cultural Literacy 101
A Series of Summer Screenings
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Friday, August 14th, 2009
September Date To Be Announced
Short Subjects Start At 7pm, The Feature Film Starts At 8:30.
Admission FREE to the animation community
Woodbury University
School of Business / Fletcher Jones Foundation Theater
7500 Glenoaks Bl
Burbank, CA 91510
(Click for printable map)

See you at Woodbury this Summer!

Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

Many thanks to Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans for the wonderful photos that illustrate this post.
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