Dave Anderson (cartoon writer)
Dave Anderson (born Coventry, 1962) is a British writer and creator of cartoons and animations including Bastard Bunny and the BAFTA nominated animation shorts, The Terribles.[1] He is a founder and director of London based animation production company 12Foot6 whose credits include animating the first series of Modern Toss for UK TV's Channel 4.
Early life and Bastard Bunny era
After graduating from Durham University in 1985, Anderson lived briefly in Charlotte, North Carolina where he shared a house with Danna Pentes, bass player in the then up-and-coming band Fetchin Bones. Returning to the UK he worked in advertising while making ventures into cartoon writing. In 1990 Bastard Bunny appeared in his own comic. Described as "the coolest, drug-snorting, violent, club-going, psychotic rabbit in the world",[2] Bastard Bunny became a cult icon of the early 1990s London club scene.[3] Bastard Bunny's stylishly simple initial incarnation was drawn by Jiouxliegh Jacobs[4] but by 1992, Anderson's new collaborator Martyn Smith had given the weed-loving GBH-rabbit a more fieresome visual persona.[5] It was the latter incarnation which became an ever more common sight on t-shirts and 'lop ear hats' at the Sabresonic Club.[6] At this time Bastard Bunny "became aligned" with Andy Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise label.[7] Bastard Bunny later appeared in Deadline magazine (along with Tank Girl co-created by Gorillaz artist Jamie Hewlett[8]) and, from 1994, in the New Musical Express. The collected Bastard Bunny collection was published by Virgin Books in 1998 as Don't You Know Who I am?! - The Collected Works.[9]
12Foot6
For much of the 1990s Anderson contributed to Future Shocks.[10] In 2000, with Tom Mortimer, he co-founded 12Foot6 which has since been the creative crucible for many successful cartoon and animation projects.[11] These include Andrew Kelleher's Dog Judo,[12] which originated as an advertising campaign for Virgin Mobile,[13] and The Sensibles, a series of wordless animated shorts that were nominated for a BAFTA award in 2007.[14]
References
- ^ Bafta Nominations listing
- ^ Amazon review of the collected Bastard Bunny album
- ^ Clubbing history at OCC
- ^ Cover of an original Bastard Bunny comic (issue 2) and t-shirt designs showing old and new BB looks
- ^ Compare version 1 drawn by Jiouxliegh Jacobs with version 2 (1992) drawn by Martyn Smith
- ^ Cartoon & club history
- ^ Sabres of Paradise 'arms' featuring a Bastard Bunny head motif
- ^ Short if partial history of Bastard Bunny
- ^ Amazon.co.uk
- ^ Selection of contributions creditted to 'David' Anderson
- ^ Numerous 12Foot6 animation shorts viewable online
- ^ Animation Magazine review of Dog Judo
- ^ Drawn Pictures 12Foot6 page
- ^ Bafta Nominations listing