Handsomely illustrated with over 150 photos and with full-color inserts,  Felix  is a stylish account of the intrigue behind the creation and marketing of the most popular, well-executed, and lucrative cartoon of the silent era. Based on a combination of "Sammy Johnsin" (a Sambo caricature) and Charlie Chaplin, Felix the Cat was the first cartoon character to exhibit an individual "personality" in moving pictures, preceding Mickey Mouse by a decade. From 1919 to 1933 Felix was internationally celebrated, as popular as Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Felix's producer, Pat Sullivan, a journeyman artist, chronic alcoholic, and convicted rapist, claimed credit for creating and developing Felix. But, as John Canemaker discovered, in truth it was Otto Messmer, Sullivan's brilliant, self-effacing production manager, who conceived, animated, and directed the more than two hundred Felix films during the period of his greatest popularity. And by focusing on Messmer's amazing achievement, Canemaker illuminates the entire world of film animation in the years before Walt Disney.

Felix: The Twisted Tale of the World's Most Famous Cat

Comics & Graphic Novels

Canemaker, John

Comic Strips

Da Capo Press

The animated Raggedy Ann and Andy: An intimate look at the art of animation its history, techniques, and artists

Bobbs-Merrill

Tells the story of the most successful cartoon character during the silent era from its beginnings as a comic strip, to its heyday on the big screen

FELIX: TWISTED TALE OF

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Pantheon

Felix: The twisted tale of the world's most famous cat

Pantheon Books

For more than a dozen years, an unassuming, quiet-spoken woman dominated Disney design. The stylishness and vibrant color of Disney films in the early 1940s through mid-1950s came primarily from artist Mary Blair. In her prime, she was an amazingly prolific American artist who enlivened and influenced the not-so-small worlds of film, print, theme parks, architectural decor, and advertising. At its core, her art represented joyful creativity and communicated pure pleasure to the viewer. Her exuberant fantasies brimmed with beauty, charm, and wit, melding a child's fresh eye with adult experience. Blair's personal flair comprised the imagery that flowed effortlessly and continually for more than a half a century from her brush. Emulated by many, she remains inimitable: a dazzling sorceress of design and color.

The Art and Flair of Mary Blair

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Disney Editions

For the first time ever, the lives and work of the "inspirational sketch" artists who created Disney's classic animated films have been chronicled from the thirties to the present, with never-before-revealed details about their lives and interactions with the studios.

Before the Animation Begins: The Art and Lives of Disney Inspirational Sketch Artists

Children's Books

Arts, Music & Photography

Hyperion

Featuring the art and artists used to plan and map out Disney's many classic animated films, a collection of "storyboard" images offers a fascinating retrospective of the company's history of animation, from Snow White to The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards

Noted film historian John Canemaker brings to life the team whose combined individual genius defined the art of character animation. Think of your favorite moments and characters in Disney films from the thirties to the seventies and chances are most were animated by one of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men." Through the span of their careers, these nine highly skilled animators exhibited an unparalleled loyalty to their employer. This book explores their artisitic breakthroughs, failures, and rivalries, and their individual relationships with each other and with Walt.

Walt Disney's Nine Old Men and the Art of Animation

This volume is the only existing biography of one of America's greatest and most influential cartoonists. Winsor McCay (1867-1934) is universally acknowledged as the first master of both the comic strip and the animated cartoon. Although invented by others, both genres were developed into enduring popular art of the highest imagination through McCay's innovative genius. Originally published in 1987, it is now back in print in a newly expanded and revised edition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Little Nemo in Slumberland. Included are new materials found since the previous publication of the book such as new comic strips of Little Nemo in Slumberland, and new sketches of Gertie the Dinosaur In the book the author reviews and fully analyzes McCay's achievements in print and film while examining his work in relation to his life, family, and to American culture and values of the period. This painstakingly thorough biography begins with McCay's childhood in Michigan to his seat as one of the greatest of the early animators.

Winsor McCay : His Life and Art

Individual Artists

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

Winsor McCay: His Life and Art

How To Create Comics & Manga

Abrams

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Books by Canemaker, John