#ruby-spears

Cartoon Heroes Paper Cut-Outs

Dingbat and the Creeps

Appearing as a follow-up segment in the Ruby-Spears produced Heathcliff Show,  Dingbat and the Creeps chronicled the misadventures of a trio of misfit monsters who stayed financially afloat by finding work through their temp agency, Odd Jobs, Inc. 

The group was led by a jack-o-lantern of all trades named NoBody, a vampire dog named Dingbat, who turned into a bat-sized version of himself in order to fly, and by a skeleton called Sparerib, who had the ability to rearrange his bones into the form of almost any useful object, such as a floor lamp, bridge, or jackhammer. More hindrance than help, disaster followed the Creeps wherever they went. It’s little wonder they never got a callback after finishing a job.

I recently learned that, apparently two years ago, a number of concept art pieces for planned animated cartoons from the company Ruby-Spears were unearthed and put online. The images were from the 1980s, and includes a concept image for an animated Tron TV series. This in itself is of course fascinating, and yet another cancelled Tron project to add to the pile (or, in this case, a project that wasn't even begun).

However, what really got me excited is that the concept image is drawn by none other than legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby! I had actually previously imagined what Tron might look like in Kirby's distinctive style, not knowing that such an image actually existed.

As a bonus, here's a version of the image colored by the amazing artist (and Kirby superfan) Tom Scioli:

When the picture was originally put up online, it was labelled as "Teens of Tron", which might possibly have been the intended name for the planned cartoon? If so, it's a pretty goofy title.

Still, as a fan of both Tron and Jack Kirby, seeing the two combined was pretty mind-blowing to me. I have a suspicion (though no evidence) that the visuals of the 1982 film might in some small part have been inspired by Kirby's style, since I think there are some possible similarities here and there (Sark's helmet and the look of the MCP are two things that immediately come to mind).

Commercial Break - Classic Super Mario Commercials Part 4

Thundarr the Barbarian Publicity/Color Model Cel Based on Alex Toth Design (Ruby-Spears, 1980)