Michael DeForge gets animated

I don't know what it is with animation lately, but I've been stumbling over some odd stuff in the past week or so. Like this disturbo bit of animation from Toronto tour-de-force cartoonist Michael DeForge. Set to an old Elvis track, I think the characters in this have something to do with Wet Cough, his fine 2010 mini-comic. I can't get enough of this guy:   

 

Michael is doing something special for this year's Doug Wright Awards that I can't really reveal yet --but I am really excited about.

Batman Anime circa 1960 (plus "Batboy and Rubin")

No other title can really describe this inspired bit of animation from the under-appreciated kids' cartoon Batman: The Brave and the Bold. What other big-budget show would have the gumption to: 1) introduce Bat-Mite as a recurring character and 2) then use him as a way of exploring different incarnations of Batman?

In this case, that means they made an animated version of "Bat-Boy and Rubin", the classic Mad magazine parody written by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder, and -- AND --  an animated version of Jiro Kurwata's 1960s Japanese manga interpretation of the Caped Crusader (which features his Lord Death Man villain character).

It's pretty remarkable, and a lot of fun to watch (while it lasts) on YouTube: