Space Ghost, Now in Plush Form!

 Out of all the Hanna-Barbera protagonists, I feel like Space Ghost is the last one I'd pick to be transformed into a bean bag plush toy. WB must've felt differently though, considering they went and made one of their own back in 1999. 

At that time, the WB Studio Store had a large line of plush toys based on many of their franchises, Hanna-Barbera included. Space Ghost was, interestingly enough, the only character they did that came from one of the studios action-adventure shows. Honestly, I'm a little surprised they never did any Jonny Quest characters considering how hard they pushed that series back then. But Space Ghost here looks pretty darn cool for a bean bag toy. He looks just like the character and, at a time where Space Ghost collectibles were on the more expensive side, this gave you an affordable toy version of everyone's favorite space hero and late-night host. Better yet, he fits right in with the DC superhero bean bags the WB Studio Store was also selling, which you can see below. And before you ask, no, I have no idea why Superman's head looks so big.

Ginny Tyler and the Festival Players

 While many of the cast members on Space Ghost pulled double duty with their characters (and some did even more), I believe Ginny Tyler had the hardest job. She had to voice not only the heroic and youthful Jan, but also the vile and decrepit Black Widow. A very difficult task, but to Tyler, I imagine it was just a normal Thursday.

Over five decades, Ginny Tyler maintained an impressive career largely due to her flexible voice. Like many of her contemporaries, Tyler got her start in radio before transitioning to cartoons following the TV animation explosion of the 1960s. Her first roles at Hanna-Barbera were relatively small, but memorable nevertheless (who could forget the Carhops from The Flintstones?). Space Ghost gave her her first major characters, and she would become a notable member of the Hanna-Barbera voice actor stable afterwards. Tyler could be heard in Cattanooga Cats, Jeannie, Fantastic Four, and Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. Towards the end of the 1970s, Tyler relocated to Seattle and largely retired from voice acting. She was named a Disney Legend in 2006, and passed away on July 13th, 2012 at the age of 86.

We could sit here for a long time discussing Ginny Tyler's work at Hanna-Barbera, Disney, and elsewhere, but I've got something a bit different in mind. Below is a story about Tyler that appeared in the May 8th, 1968 edition of The Signal. It focuses on a Mother's Day performance featuring Tyler, showcasing her fantastic musical abilities that could also be heard on the various Disney records she appeared in. A short profile on both Tyler and the Festival Players is also included.

Festival Players At Val Verde Park

    

The Val Verde Teen Club will present a special Mother's Day program on Sunday, May 12, at 2 p.m., in the clubhouse at Val Verde Park where Ginny Tyler and the Festival Players of California will be featured in their all-new program entitled "Music and the Masques." 

    A Hollywood entertainer, Ginny Tyler has appeared at Disneyland, in numerous theatrical productions, TV shows such as Joey Bishop, The Lucy Show and Space Ghost, and motion pictures for Disney, 20th Century Fox and MGM, her latest being Dr. Dolittle. She is also an author and featured story-teller on Disneyland Records.
    The Festival Players have for many years reportedly enjoyed enthusiastic acclaim throughout California for their virtuoso artistry and diversified repertoire, is recognized by leading critics as one of the truly outstanding chamber music ensembles in the concert field today.
    "Music and the Masques" is a program of classical music and drama, presented with the unique style of the Festival Players and highlighted by the effervescent personality of Miss Tyler.
    Mistress of Ceremonies will be Miss Dorothy Graham, vice president of the Val Verde Teen Club. A special Mother's Day recitation will be given by Miss Anita Barbosa, who is also a member of the Teen Club. Both teenagers attend Hart high.
    A social hour will follow the musical program.

Jack Kirby Space Ghost Sketches

Alex Toth wasn't the only comic book legend to work on Space Ghost. Believe it or not, but Jack Kirby, the king behind characters like Captain America, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, also lent his artistic prowess to the show.

During the 1980s, Kirby worked as a character designer on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and one of those were the Space Ghost segments found in 1981's Space Stars. While these installments aren't exactly as fondly remembered as the originals, Kirby's designs were easily among the highlights. In celebration of his amazing work, here's a collection of art he produced during his time on the series. 

Below is a model sheet of a character Jack designed for the show, Eclipse Woman. She appeared in the ninth Space Ghost segment of the show, and was one of the series' new villains. While she may not be as beloved as some of Space Ghost's other adversaries, her design is unmistakably Jack Kirby.

Here's another villain he helped design, the Toymaker. The model sheet here actually calls him "Toyman," but his name was changed in the final series, I imagine to avoid confusion with the DC Comics supervillain. Speaking of DC, Toymaker as presented in the model sheet wouldn't look at all out of place in New Gods. Fitting, as that comic was created by Jack himself. A very cool design that, unfortunately, doesn't look nearly as interesting in the finished product.

Last but most definitely not least, we have Kirby's concept art of Krugar the space pirate. The character was very much in the vein of Brak from the original series, but Jack Kirby was able to make this guy feel totally distinct. He's far more cat-like than Brak ever was, and the pirate motif is on full display through his wardrobe.

Video of the Week: Cartoon Network Gives Viewers a Scream

 Halloween's a little over two weeks away, so here's a treat to get everyone in the spirit. This is a promo that aired on Cartoon Network in the late nineties and features Daphne and Shaggy spoofing the opening scene of the horror film Scream. A funny commercial that I couldn't see the CN of today doing, and as many have pointed out, it's even a tad ironic, since actor Matthew Lillard went on to play Shaggy in the live-action Scooby films a few years after Scream (and eventually the character in animation as well). Give it a look below!

Tim Matheson Heads to Space

While Jonny Quest may have been the first character Tim Matheson voiced for Hanna-Barbera, he wasn't the last. Matheson carved out a nice niche as the studio's main actor for teenage heroes, and the most notable example after Quest himself is Space Ghost's Jace. He wasn't the initial choice for the character (newspapers from the summer of 1966 indicate Jay North was initially intended for the role), but it's hard to imagine anyone else playing him. Alongside fellow Space Ghost sidekick Jan, the duo gave the show's core demographic characters to latch onto. After all, as cool as Space Ghost is, he's not exactly the most relatable guy to a kid. Jan and Jace are, and part of that is thanks to their excellent vocal performances. Just as he did for Quest, Matheson gave Jace the perfect combination of heart and heroism.

For those who want to know more about Matheson's time at Hanna-Barbera, I cannot recommend Kevin Scott Collier's Jonny Quest Speaks: Jonny, Sinbad Jr. and Me enough. The book is exactly what you'd want with a title like that, and it's a great read if you're a fan of any of the shows he starred in. You're probably more than familiar with it if you follow Cartoon Research, but in case you've never heard of it, definitely check it out. Below is a short preview of the book, containing a portion of an interview with Matheson describing his time on Jonny Quest and the show's legacy.

Space Ghost Maquettes

 Maquettes are among my favorite pieces of animation memorabilia, and luckily enough for me, the characters of Space Ghost are among those fortunate enough to be turned into these special statues. Today, I'm showing off three different Space Ghost maquettes made in the 2000s, beginning with this 2002 statue of Space Ghost himself. This fellow was sculpted by animator Tony Cipriano and was limited to a quantity of only 500.

Man, oh man, do I love this guy. For starters, he looks like he came straight off the television screen and into your collection. To say this is a faithful recreation of Alex Toth's classic design would be an understatement. I also love the almost asteroid-like base, which is way better than the boring black base you see most of these sport. It's a shame these are so expensive nowadays, as I would love to get my hands on one.

Around the same time, Cartoon Network put out these statues of Zorak and Brak, which I think is a testament to both the popularity of the Coast to Coast series and to the beauty of Alex Toth's design work on the original show. How many other cartoons can you think of that had their supporting cast made into statues? 

2,500 statues were made for both characters, but I couldn't find listings for these on any auction sites, so I wouldn't be shocked if they were just as expensive as the Space Ghost one is. It's a shame we never got maquettes for Moltar or any of the other Space Ghost villains, for that matter, but maybe another company will come along one day and give this line a second shot. There's certainly a lot of potential for modern Space Ghost merchandise, if nothing else.

Video of the Week: A Space Ghost Anniversary

 Since this month is all about Space Ghost's 60th anniversary, let's look at how Tooncast celebrated his 45th in 2011. For those unaware, Tooncast is a Latin American channel dedicated to classic cartoons from the WB library, not unlike Boomerang. They've made some pretty memorable bumpers throughout the years, not unlike CN or Boomerang, and this is definitely one of them.

The commercial advertises a block of Space Ghost episodes for the series' anniversary, using clips of the show's many villains laughing at a guy dancing around in a Space Ghost costume. Pretty silly stuff, especially when you realize the actor in the costume is Andy Merill. Merill voiced Brak on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and spent years working with both Cartoon Network and Boomerang on various productions and bumpers, including this one. Truthfully, this wouldn't feel even a tiny bit out of place in an episode of Coast to Coast. Far stranger things happened in that series, that's for sure!

More Hi-Def Than the Average Bear

 If you thought Warner Archive was slowing down their Hanna-Barbera releases after this month's Quick Draw McGraw collection, think again. Coming November 24th, all of The Yogi Bear Show will finally be available on Blu-ray. 34 episodes of Yogi, Snagglepuss, and Yakky Doodle goodness will encompass this six-disc collection, which is set to retail for $40. Check out the cover art for the release below. It's not exactly an amazing cover, but if the worst thing I have to say about this news is the packaging, I'd call that a win.

As excited as I am for this collection, I find it a little crazy that we only got this after both Quick Draw and Huckleberry Hound saw complete series releases. I'm not complaining, but you'd think it would be the other way around. Either way, I'm glad this show is getting its long-awaited Blu-ray treatment, and I can't wait for what Warner has in store for us as we move into 2027. Fingers crossed this Paramount merger nonsense doesn't derail those plans. I never thought I'd write that sentence on this blog, but here we are.

Space Ghost is Puzzled

 As a superhero action cartoon, you'd think Space Ghost would have been merchandised for all he was worth, but, shockingly, toys and other items from the show's original run are pretty scarce. But that doesn't mean they were nonexistent, as evidenced by today's focus: these Space Ghost puzzles released by Whitman. Whitman released several pieces based on the show, but I think these are among the best they had to offer. So let's take a look at some of these!

This first one shows Space Ghost leaping into battle in an effort to save his trusted monkey companion, Blip. Is now a good time to mention that I never particularly cared for Blip? He's certainly not the worst animal sidekick character Hanna-Barbera created, but for me, he was proof that they were a little too focused on sticking to their established formulas around this time, rather than doing what made sense for the show. That being said, the art here is lovely and dynamic, so I can't complain that much.

This second puzzle has our hero in the middle of a battle against aliens that appear to be the same species as the Creature King. The art style in this one is quite different from the more show-accurate look of the first one, but it's still just as good. Also, I guess Space Ghost must have forgotten his gloves in the dryer during this mission. 

The last puzzle shifts the focus away from Space Ghost and towards his sidekicks, Jan and Jace. Here, we see them being apprehended by an especially frightening-looking alien. For once, I think I'm on the same page as Blip!

Space Ghost Enters Our Galaxy

 Space Ghost October continues with yet another trip to the past. This time, we're looking at how viewers first got a glimpse of the space-bound superhero with both a newspaper preview and an advertisement for the original Space Ghost series. I'll start with this piece the Edmonton Journal ran in its September 10th, 1966 edition. Among other details, it mentions Space Ghost's often-forgotten secret identity and a character originally planned to have a much greater presence in the show.

Space Ghost Joins Saturday Morning Cartoons

    Now you see him, now you don't.
    It's the Space Ghost—the newest addition to the interplanetary family and a new animated color series on the Saturday morning cartoon show on CFRN-TV.    
    The Space Ghost is Major Dickson-Yates, a futuristic human who lives with his two teenage wards and a pet monkey and a doctor from Venus on a lost planet. They are constantly attacked by weird science monsters, but the remarkable Space Ghost proves to be no easy victim.
    Using a powerful wristband, he can make himself invisible or invincible as the need may be. On occasion, the major becomes a living ray gun, creating force fields that can shatter missiles. He can, by the way, fly faster than a comet.
    The Space Ghost will comprise two segments of the half-hour show, and the third segment swings to the other end of the pendulum, with Dino Boy, the story of a little boy in a lost valley still inhabited by dinosaurs and strange monsters, such as the Aztec Man and the Monkey Man. Fortunately, the boy Todd, is protected by a friendly neighborhood caveman, Ugh, and Bronto, a baby dinosaur.
    Both cartoons were created by Hanna-Barbera—who started it all with Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstones—and are expected to appeal to teenagers besides the five-to-eight set.

Something that stood out to me in this piece was its mention of a doctor from Venus. While Space Ghost is accompanied by two teenagers and a monkey, there is no doctor who is part of the main cast. But that wasn't supposed to be the case. Initially, there would be a doctor who would accompany the team on their adventures: Dr. Soonev, to be exact. He does appear in one episode of the original series, but judging by this article and the model sheet below, he was indeed supposed to be a main character.

Now, here's a nice little advertisement for the show that ran in newspapers around the time. It does a good job informing viewers what the series is about and who the characters are, but what stood out to me was how Space Ghost is still rocking his earlier design with the altered logo and boots. I imagine the design was changed because it was easier to draw and animate than anything else, but it's interesting that it was still being used even when the show was actually airing,

Video of the Week: Stay Tuned for Space Ghost

Today marks our first "Video of the Week" segment during Space Ghost month, and what better way to kick things off then with not one, but two commercials for the series during its original run?

This first commercial does a good job highlighting not just Space Ghost himself, but also his villains, as well as the other superhero shows that Hanna-Barbera were pumping out at the time. A pretty short promo, but you can't say it beats around the bush.

The second ad is similarly short, and previews both Space Ghost and Dino Boy. Most of you probably know this, but Dino Boy was the series that accompanied Space Ghost during its original run. I also find it funny how much more screentime the former gets over the latter in this commercial. Clearly whoever edited this knew what the more interesting series was.

Space Ghost Concept Art

 Today officially begins "Space Ghost October", a month long celebration of the original Hanna-Barbera superhero series in honor of its 60th anniversary. Yes, that anniversary technically happened last month, but since I had so much planned for the blog in September, it seemed like the right call to push it back a little.

Today, I'm starting things off by going to a time before Space Ghost. We'll be looking at a few pieces of concept art from early on in the series production. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to The Space Ghosts. These two pieces were done by legendary comic artist and Space Ghost character designer Alex Toth.  The piece retains the main three characters, but with much different designs. I don't know if it was still intended to be a superhero cartoon at this stage, but this art kind of gives off a Lost in Space vibe. Fitting, as that show had just begun at this point, and it would only be a few years before Hanna-Barbera took their own stab at an animated version of it.

After that, the show was heavily reworked, growing closer and closer to the Space Ghost we're more familiar with. This design is pretty close to how he looks in the final show, but with a few noticeable differences. He's got red gloves instead of gauntlets, a slightly altered belt, black boots, and a different logo. Not a bad design, but I'm glad we ended up with the final version.

I've covered this before, but I also thought this would be a good time to feature this preliminary design for one of Space Ghost's most notable foes, Zorak. His design was much different initially, and, according to this storyboard, his name was also originally "Korak." Though he doesn't look like this in the series, the design was used in several pieces of merchandise, most notably the Gold Key comic, which can also be found below. Honestly, I kind of prefer this version over how he looks in the actual show. I love that design, but this version definitely feels both more alien and villainous, at least in my opinion.