Adam Blatner's Cartoon-Biographical Development

Revised December 29, 2008

Click here to see the webpage about Adam ManyParts,   and here to see a further discussion of some of those parts.


Where did I come from? On the psychic level, from many sources. One of those dimensions has been the evolution of my cartoony-world of characters.
From Kilroy to Melvin 
 One group of figures evolved from the influence of the "Kilroy was Here" character drawn by U.S. Servicement around the world, popular around 1944; another influence were the two related characters drawn by Al Capp as part of his Lil' Abner series around 1948. the Shmoo and the Kigme. So by the age of around 12 I began to create a wistful character called, variously, Melvin (a name that was considered funny around the time that MAD comic books (put out by EC comics) first came out); a bit later he came to be called "the Blatner Mouse."
     Contrary characters also emerged, similar to the relationship of the nice aforementioned Shmoo and the not-so-nice Kigme-- a masochistic character that made people want to kick him. Other characters continued to unfold after that.


Around the 8th grade, in an art class, I evolved two more characters. Phil Harris, a popular novelty tune singer, had just come out with a song called "The Thing" and I made up a character who might fit the bill, something no one wants around. The song had its unnameable essence expressed as three drumbeats, with a slight quarter beat rest between the first and second beat.  I  came up with a word, Crockensoon that caught that rhythm. Then I made up the guy who discovered him on a mysterious island, Norbert C. Hackenthorpe:

 
    


Norbert was still young, not yet a Professor, but his adventures in the nether-nether land (a few dimensions over from Barrie's Never-Land) yielded other discoveries in time. Undoubtedly he was aided by his having been born with a third eye in the middle of his forehaead which significantly aided his imaginative vision. The esoteric significance of this organ only became apparent decades later.

As I grew older, I drew more pictures. See webpage for what I created around ages 15 - 17, doodling in class.






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