James Eatock
Encyclopedia
James Eatock is an English
freelance animator
, designer
, writer
and publisher. He is commonly known on the Internet
as Busta Toons.
, James Eatock grew up watching cartoons, primarily shows from the 1980s, taking an interest not only in the obvious visual entertainment, but also the people that worked on the shows themselves. Gaining access to the Internet
James as Busta Toons soon found himself engaging in many an animated discussion, and was the first person on-line to interview Larry DiTillio
regarding his work on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
and Galaxy High
. The name Busta Toons came from his admiration of Leaders of the New School
front man Busta Rhymes
, and his love of animated cartoons.
and She-Ra
animated series. The website attracted many visitors, including many of the series staff, earning the pair reputations as experts on the series. However by late 2001 both James and Zadoc had many other priorities occupying their lives prompting them to rarely update the website, leading to an eventual unexpected merge with He-man.org.
as part of the "BBC Talent" scheme that the channel had been running. The short was popular enough that he created a website dedicated to the characters from the Soopa Don Boogie short. However he received the most positive feedback over an animated short he had created which featured He-Man
and Teela
against a monster. James' animated work was heavily influenced by the animation styles of both Tom Tataranowicz
and John Kricfalusi
.
contacted James and paid both he and Zadoc to write an in-depth guide to the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
cartoon series. The project was completed on time and handed to Mike Young Productions who used the guide to heavily influence their new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
series. The pair were supposed to receive an on-screen credit for their work, but they were left unaccredited. This would be the last time that James and Zadoc would work together. At the same time James had left his job in the Department for Culture Media and Sport and pursued a career in animation attempting to get a job at Passion Pictures
, but failing.
on DVD. Liaising with Contender he was responsible for the extra content, which included DVD commentaries (two on each volume) on which he and Dave Newman attempted to give insightful, and at times humorous comments on specific episodes. The DVDs were popular at the beginning, but due to a slow release schedule the interest level vanished and the DVDs were canceled with Volume Six in late 2004. However at the beginning of 2006 Contender decided to release the remaining episodes of season one on three DVDs but only available as a Boxset exclusive to play.com
with all the previous releases. Understandably this was not met with a positive reaction, and even though James and Dave recorded new commentaries, many of these would never be heard until Contender finally released one final He-Man DVD boxset which contained volumes 7-9 and it completed the first season. James and Dave's commentaries for those episodes featured in the exclusive boxset was included in the extras. The set was released in September 2007.
At the beginning of 2004, James and Dave were asked to appear on the commentaries for the UK release of Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
on DVD.
Alongside co-producing the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
DVDs James was also writing the Masters of the Universe Encyclopedia for MVCreations. Unfortunately due to disagreements with Mattel the series was canceled after only one issue, even though all five issues had been written. Initially the plan had been for James to write an Encyclopedia based on the classic He-Man properties, but legal problems led to this idea being shelved after James had written the first issue.
James also worked alongside Val Staples to create The Energy Warrior and came up with concepts, stories and designs for a proposed comic series which sadly never saw the light of day.
, She-Ra: Princess of Power
, The New Adventures of He-Man
, The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
, Defenders of the Earth
, Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
, Filmation's Ghostbusters, Bravestarr
and many more. His role primarily involved writing the synopses, character profiles and trivia, naming the chapter points, and researching material for the documentaries produced by Andy Mangels
.
DVD set for Time-Life. In addition to researching a wealth of material for the content that would eventually appear on the DVDs James also assisted in the documentaries themselves traveling to California. As well as formulating questions for each of the interviewees, he himself interviewed Marsha Goodman, Kevin Altieri
and Dan Riba
. He was later interviewed for the set by Andy Mangels
and performed three episode audio commentaries.
. It was published in August 2010 and is available through James' He-Man and She-Ra Blog! site.
comic pitch which was sent to IDW Publishing
(the current owners of the Ghostbusters comic book license). Although the pitch did not result in any immediate work, the on-line debut of the pitch created much excitement. After the pitch was showcased on the New York Daily News
' website, James and Dan were asked to contribute a story to IDW's Ghostbusters "Haunted Holidays" trade paperback. He penned the story "Guess What's Coming To Dinner?", which Dan illustrated.
, The Art of the Filmation Storyboard Volume One, further issues of cereal:geek, and The American Shotgun Symphony (a new comic book series set in the 1970s).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
freelance animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and publisher. He is commonly known on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
as Busta Toons.
Background
A fan of animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
, James Eatock grew up watching cartoons, primarily shows from the 1980s, taking an interest not only in the obvious visual entertainment, but also the people that worked on the shows themselves. Gaining access to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
James as Busta Toons soon found himself engaging in many an animated discussion, and was the first person on-line to interview Larry DiTillio
Larry DiTillio
Lawrence G. "Larry" DiTillio is an American film and TV series writer. He is most famous for his role as executive story editor of the science-fiction series Babylon 5, and for writing or co-writing most of the episodes in the animated series Beast Wars...
regarding his work on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
and Galaxy High
Galaxy High
Galaxy High is an American science fiction animated series that premiered on September 13, 1986 on CBS and ran for 13 episodes until December 6, 1986. The series was created by movie director Matthew Noakes and featured music and a theme song composed by Eagles member Don Felder...
. The name Busta Toons came from his admiration of Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School
Leaders of the New School was a Long Island, New York-based hip hop crew.-History:The crew was composed of Uniondale, New York, natives Charlie Brown and Dinco D ; North Amityville, New York native Cut Monitor Milo ; and Busta Rhymes , who was originally from Brooklyn, New York but later moved to...
front man Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
, and his love of animated cartoons.
He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website
In 1997, James alongside Zadoc Angell created the He-Man and She-Ra Episode Review Website. The website was primarily Zadoc's idea and James had little interest in contributing to it during its initial developmental stages. The website went on to become one of biggest dedicated to the He-ManHe-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
and She-Ra
She-Ra
She-Ra is a fictional character and the heroine in the Filmation cartoon and series of toys produced by Mattel called She-Ra: Princess of Power. She is the alter ego of Princess Adora and the twin sister of He-Man. She-Ra was intended to appeal to young girls in the same way that He-Man appealed to...
animated series. The website attracted many visitors, including many of the series staff, earning the pair reputations as experts on the series. However by late 2001 both James and Zadoc had many other priorities occupying their lives prompting them to rarely update the website, leading to an eventual unexpected merge with He-man.org.
Soopa Don Boogie
In mid 2001, James was fortunate enough to get his animated short aired on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
as part of the "BBC Talent" scheme that the channel had been running. The short was popular enough that he created a website dedicated to the characters from the Soopa Don Boogie short. However he received the most positive feedback over an animated short he had created which featured He-Man
He-Man
He-Man is a fictional heroic character featured in the Masters of the Universe media franchise. In most variations, he is the alter ego of Prince Adam...
and Teela
Teela
Teela "Warrior Goddess!" is a fictional character from the Masters of the Universe franchise. She is the Captain of the Royal Guard at the palace of Eternos and thus responsible for training and protecting Prince Adam of Eternia. While Adam is He-Man, Teela often assists him in his battles, but...
against a monster. James' animated work was heavily influenced by the animation styles of both Tom Tataranowicz
Tom Tataranowicz
Tom Tataranowicz is a cartoon animator and director. His first credit was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. He is president of Gang of 7 Animation.-External links:...
and John Kricfalusi
John Kricfalusi
Michael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
.
Mattel
In December 2001, MattelMattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
contacted James and paid both he and Zadoc to write an in-depth guide to the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
cartoon series. The project was completed on time and handed to Mike Young Productions who used the guide to heavily influence their new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series. Developed for television by Michael Halperin, who created the original series, it was animated by Mike Young Productions...
series. The pair were supposed to receive an on-screen credit for their work, but they were left unaccredited. This would be the last time that James and Zadoc would work together. At the same time James had left his job in the Department for Culture Media and Sport and pursued a career in animation attempting to get a job at Passion Pictures
Passion Pictures
Passion Pictures is a film and animation production company based in Rathbone Place, off Oxford Street in London's West End. They have been responsible for much of the production of the visual element of the animated rock band Gorillaz....
, but failing.
DVDs and comics
In 2003, Contender Entertainment Group asked James to co-produce the UK release of He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
on DVD. Liaising with Contender he was responsible for the extra content, which included DVD commentaries (two on each volume) on which he and Dave Newman attempted to give insightful, and at times humorous comments on specific episodes. The DVDs were popular at the beginning, but due to a slow release schedule the interest level vanished and the DVDs were canceled with Volume Six in late 2004. However at the beginning of 2006 Contender decided to release the remaining episodes of season one on three DVDs but only available as a Boxset exclusive to play.com
Play.com
Play Ltd., trading as Play.com, is a Jersey-based online retailer of DVDs, CDs, books, gadgets, video games, DRM-free MP3 downloads, and other electronic products, as well as clothes and accessories. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rakuten Group....
with all the previous releases. Understandably this was not met with a positive reaction, and even though James and Dave recorded new commentaries, many of these would never be heard until Contender finally released one final He-Man DVD boxset which contained volumes 7-9 and it completed the first season. James and Dave's commentaries for those episodes featured in the exclusive boxset was included in the extras. The set was released in September 2007.
At the beginning of 2004, James and Dave were asked to appear on the commentaries for the UK release of Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
Dungeons & Dragons is an American fantasy animated television series based on TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A co-production of Marvel Productions and TSR, the show originally ran from 1985 through 1987 for three seasons on CBS for a total of twenty seven episodes.The show focused on a...
on DVD.
Alongside co-producing the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
DVDs James was also writing the Masters of the Universe Encyclopedia for MVCreations. Unfortunately due to disagreements with Mattel the series was canceled after only one issue, even though all five issues had been written. Initially the plan had been for James to write an Encyclopedia based on the classic He-Man properties, but legal problems led to this idea being shelved after James had written the first issue.
James also worked alongside Val Staples to create The Energy Warrior and came up with concepts, stories and designs for a proposed comic series which sadly never saw the light of day.
BCI Eclipse
From 2005-2008 James worked with MVCreations on many DVD titles from BCI Eclipse including He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
, She-Ra: Princess of Power
She-Ra: Princess of Power
She-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated television series produced in 1985 by Filmation. It is a spinoff of Filmation's highly successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, aimed primarily at a young girls' audience to counter-balance the latter show's popularity with boys...
, The New Adventures of He-Man
The New Adventures of He-Man
The New Adventures of He-Man is an animated series which ran in syndication in the fall of 1990 while Mattel released the toy line He-Man, an update of their successful Masters of the Universe line...
, The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon, also known as The Adventures of Flash Gordon, is an animated television series. The series is actually called Flash Gordon, but the expanded title is used in official records to distinguish it from previous versions.Filmation produced the series in 1979, partly...
, Defenders of the Earth
Defenders of the Earth
Defenders of the Earth is an animated television series produced in 1986, narrated by Corey Burton and featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, the Phantom, and Mandrake the Magician—battling the Flash Gordon villain Ming the Merciless in the...
, Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
Dungeons & Dragons (TV series)
Dungeons & Dragons is an American fantasy animated television series based on TSR's Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A co-production of Marvel Productions and TSR, the show originally ran from 1985 through 1987 for three seasons on CBS for a total of twenty seven episodes.The show focused on a...
, Filmation's Ghostbusters, Bravestarr
Bravestarr
BraveStarr is an American space Western animated television series. The original episodes aired from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. It was created simultaneously with a collection of action figures. BraveStarr was the last animated series produced by Filmation and Group W...
and many more. His role primarily involved writing the synopses, character profiles and trivia, naming the chapter points, and researching material for the documentaries produced by Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comics, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture...
.
Time-Life
In 2008 James assisted in producing The Real GhostbustersThe Real Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters is an American animated television series based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters. The series ran from 1986 to 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television, DiC Enterprises, and Coca-Cola Telecommunications. "The Real" was added to the title after a dispute with...
DVD set for Time-Life. In addition to researching a wealth of material for the content that would eventually appear on the DVDs James also assisted in the documentaries themselves traveling to California. As well as formulating questions for each of the interviewees, he himself interviewed Marsha Goodman, Kevin Altieri
Kevin Altieri
Kevin Altieri is an American television director of animated cartoons. He is best known for his work on The Real Ghostbusters, Batman: The Animated Series, and the music video for Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution".-References:...
and Dan Riba
Dan Riba
Daniel Esteban “Dan” Riba is an American television director of animated cartoons. He is best known for his work on Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Turok: Son of Stone, Justice League , Justice League Unlimited, and...
. He was later interviewed for the set by Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels
Andy Mangels is an American science fiction author who has written novels, comics, and magazine articles, and produced DVD collections, mostly focusing on media in popular culture...
and performed three episode audio commentaries.
cereal:geek
In 2007 James launched cereal:geek; a 100-page glossy magazine with no adverts dedicated to the animated shows from the 1980s with contributions by many talented artists and writers. Currently seven issues have been published, with issues eight, nine, and ten, due out in 2011.He-Man and She-Ra Blog
In 2006 James started the He-Man and She-Ra Blog!, updated on a near-daily basis, which is now in its fourth year. He also participates as a guest host on the He-Man and She-Ra podcast, Masters Cast.The Unofficial Guide to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
James Eatock has recently written The Unofficial Guide to He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's successful toy line Masters of the Universe...
. It was published in August 2010 and is available through James' He-Man and She-Ra Blog! site.
IDW Publishing/Ghostbusters
James Eatock and Dan Schoening worked together on a GhostbustersGhostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
comic pitch which was sent to IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
(the current owners of the Ghostbusters comic book license). Although the pitch did not result in any immediate work, the on-line debut of the pitch created much excitement. After the pitch was showcased on the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
' website, James and Dan were asked to contribute a story to IDW's Ghostbusters "Haunted Holidays" trade paperback. He penned the story "Guess What's Coming To Dinner?", which Dan illustrated.
2011
Recently James announced his upcoming publishing plans for 2011. They include The Unofficial Guide to She-Ra: Princess of PowerShe-Ra: Princess of Power
She-Ra: Princess of Power is an American animated television series produced in 1985 by Filmation. It is a spinoff of Filmation's highly successful He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, aimed primarily at a young girls' audience to counter-balance the latter show's popularity with boys...
, The Art of the Filmation Storyboard Volume One, further issues of cereal:geek, and The American Shotgun Symphony (a new comic book series set in the 1970s).