X-Men: The Animated Series

What a collection of TV Animation memories in one photo!  Our Imdb pages (not perfect, but close) claim that we five writer/artist/producers have 2,224 produced credits among us (with some overlap).  When I started at Hanna-Barbera in 1985, Alan Burnett had the office next door.  In 1987, Tad Stones hired me at Disney TV Animation, then hired Julia in 1988, to write for Rescue Rangers.  When I got a season of Beetlejuice to run for Fox (1990), just before X-Men:TAS, I hired Marty for his first TV writing job.  These people have left their mark.  Alan, who once ran mega-hit Smurfs for H-B, has been THE man at Warner Brothers animation for an incredible 25 years, writing for many of the animated TV series and animated DVD movies (Batman, etc.) produced there while overseeing every one of them.  Those of us in the know understand that stars like Paul Dini and Bruce Timm worked, gratefully, for the house that Alan built and has only recently retired from.  Similarly, Tad Stones was THE creative force during the long period known as The Disney Afternoon (mid ’80s – mid ’90s).  Julia and I know, since we were there for three years learning from him.  Marty has run more recent major series like Transformers and Guardians of the Galaxy, keeping action-adventure cartoons thriving during the last decade.  And to top it off, we all get to hang out and reminisce, meeting at this Con at our Previously on X-Men signing desk.  It just goes to show that it pays to work, over a long career, with nice, talented people.

Marty Isenberg, Alan Burnett, Julia Lewald, Eric Lewald, and (kneeling) Tad Stones

On January 9, 1993, 25 years ago this month, X-MEN:The Animated Series officially premiered on the Fox Network (after a few sneak screenings the previous fall).  This January we start what we hope will be a satisfying year travelling to Cons and other events to celebrate the experience and the recent publishing of our book.  We’ll be in Pasadena, CA, at their Con this month (Jan 28) and in Knoxville, Tennessee next month (Feb 15), at an event sponsored by the University.  Later Con trips are set for Anaheim, CA, (late March), San Jose, CA, (April), Atlanta, GA (May) Denver (June), Toronto (summer), with more to come later in the year (like Grand Rapids, MI, in November).  Below is our first shot at a 6′ x 3′ Con banner for our table.  Please come by and say hello if we are in your area.  Wish us luck.

Yes, that is Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, accepting his author-signed copy of PREVIOUSLY ON X-MEN from Wolverine (Cal Dodd, far left) and Jubilee (Alyson Court front, center) today.  I am told he loves the show.  And since the entire cast is Canadian, we felt is was appropriate that the self-proclaimed “comics geek” leader of that great country got the very first copy printed.  We hope he enjoys reading it during his copious spare time — and that he recovers from shaking Wolverine’s hand (see below).

“Any time, Pretty Boy!”