American cartoonist (born 1976)
M. Wartella
|
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Born
| (
1976-08-19
)
August 19, 1976
(age 47)
|
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Nationality
| American
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Occupation(s)
| Cartoonist, animator
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Years active
| 1994?present
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Michael M. Wartella
(born August 19, 1976) is an American
underground
cartoonist
, animator, writer and
director
based in New York City, generally publishing under the name
M. Wartella
or just
Wartella
. He is best known for his work in
The Village Voice
and on
Cartoon Network
's
MAD
.
He is the founder of
Brooklyn
's Dream Factory Animation,
[1]
a boutique studio specializing in the production of animated shorts for corporate and indie clients.
Print career
[
edit
]
According to his 2013 autobiography,
Strip Show: 25 Years of Comix, Controversy & Copyright Infringement
, Wartella began his professional career at age ten
[2]
producing a weekly comic strip called
Clubhouse Kids
for a local newspaper, which ran for two years during 1986?1987.
Later, while a student at
The University of Virginia
,
[3]
Wartella created the absurdist art comic
Ackxhpæz
(1994?1996) which he then expanded and nationally self-syndicated to
alternative weekly
newspapers (as "Nuts") from 1998 to 2000. The humor in many of the cartoons was controversial as exemplified in a 1999 comic about the
Columbine High School massacre
which prompted an outcry when it was published in
Denver
.
[4]
From 2007 to 2009, Wartella's intricate single-panel "reportorial" cartoons began appearing regularly in
The Village Voice
,
[5]
where he is still listed as an honorary contributor.
Wartella's sequential comics have appeared in
Eisner
and
Harvey Award
nominated anthologies from
DC Comics
and
Fantagraphics Books
and in magazines including
Andy Warhol
's
Interview
and
Spin
. His illustrations have primarily appeared in "underground" publications including
Arthur
,
Pop Smear
, and he was the creator of the infamously rare
[
citation needed
]
scratch-off
cover of
Vice Magazine
.
Wartella has also contributed several titles and paintings to the "all-new" series of
Wacky Packages
trading cards from
Topps
, and created similar product parody spoofs for
Nickelodeon Magazine
in the 2000s (decade).
Wartella also did new artwork that appears on the cover of the re-launched
MAD Magazine
#6 (April 2019) featuring miniature
Alfred E. Neumans
in an
M.C. Escher
style cubist background.
Animation career
[
edit
]
Wartella is a noted animator and director. Considered a pioneer of online animation, Wartella was among the earliest to use the animated
.gif
format to create story-driven
independent animation
. In 1998,
The New York Times
described his early animated web short
The Dinky Dog Archive
as "the
Steamboat Willie
of the internet".
[3]
In the 2000s (decade), Wartella was an artistic contributor to several animated television shows including
MTV2
's cult hit
Wonder Showzen
(2005?2006), and
Adult Swim
's series
Superjail!
(2008?2009) and
Xavier: Renegade Angel
(2007?2009).
[6]
In 2013, Wartella opened his own full-service production studio, Dream Factory Animation, in Brooklyn NY which has conceived, developed and produced animated programming for clients including
Conde Nast
,
Radical Media
, The Creative Agency and Warner Bros.
[1]
From 2010 to 2014, he created nearly 300 hand-drawn animated shorts for Cartoon Network's
MAD
, where his work was featured in every episode during four seasons.
[1]
Music videos
[
edit
]
As of 2022, Wartella has directed several music videos
[7]
combining live action and animation for musical acts including
Ozzy Osbourne
,
King Tuff
and
The White Stripes
. Wartella's music videos have received accolades from
Blender Magazine
[8]
and
Stereogum
.
[9]
Books
[
edit
]
- Wartella's STRIP SHOW: 25 Years of Comix, Controversy & Copyright Infringement
by
Wartella
, (
Burger Records
, 2013)
- Found: Requiem for a Paper Bag
(cover) by
Davy Rothbart
, (
Fireside
, 2009
ISBN
978-1-4165-6054-8
)
- Chew on This
(cover), by
Schlosser
/Wilson, (
Houghton Mifflin
, 2006)
- Hotwire Comix & Capers
, ed. by Glenn Head, (
Fantagraphics
Books, 2006)
- Bizarro World
, ed. by
Joey Cavalieri
, (
DC Comics
, 2005)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
M.Wartella Launches His Dream Factory in Brooklyn
Cartoon Brew, July 13, 2013
- ^
Wartella: Gateways Into The Freak Scene
, Obey Clothing, October 2013
- ^
a
b
Animator Pursues a Minimal Approach to His Art
, The New York Times, March 19, 1998
- ^
Sell Your Soul To Evil
, Channel 9 (KUSA) News at 10 with reporter Heidi Hemmat, June 23, 1999
- ^
M. Wartella starts Runnin’ Scared for Village Voice
,
Editor & Publisher
, July 17, 2007
- ^
[1]
IMDB Filmography
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
M. Wartella music videos
at IMVDB
- ^
"Wartella Bangs Away with The Go"
- ^
"The 5 Best Videos of the Week"
Stereogum, May 2014
- ^
"Ex Hex Glimmer in New Video for "Rainbow Shiner"
"
. April 4, 2019
. Retrieved
September 8,
2022
.
- ^
"Brendan Benson Gets Soaked in "Richest Man"
"
.
Rolling Stone
. April 9, 2020
. Retrieved
September 8,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Watch The White Stripes Animated New Video for "Apple Blossom"
"
.
NME
. November 13, 2020
. Retrieved
September 8,
2022
.
- ^
Ozzy Osbourne
(June 24, 2022).
"Ozzy Osbourne - Patient Number 9 (Official Music Video) ft. Jeff Beck"
.
YouTube
. Retrieved
September 8,
2022
.
External links
[
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]
Interviews
[
edit
]