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How Saturday Morning Cartoons Influenced Reynard City

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Reynard City is often described as a Saturday morning cartoon in webcomic form. Therefore for today's article I thought I would highlight some of my favourite shows and describe how they would come to influence the work of me and my team.

X-Men

Naturally I could have nominated Spiderman, the original Batman cartoon or Justice League. All of those are excellent cartoons based on comics (and in the case of original Batman it went on to influence the comics they were based on!)

However in terms of the influence on the relationships of our characters this one just has the edge. Oh and of course the theme tune and opening sequence.

Samurai Pizza Cats

Mental, energetic and colourful- this show is everything Saturday morning cartoons should be about (plus you've got to love an opening intro that has a dig at its more popular rival!)

Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog, Earthworm Jim and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Why are these all  lumped together you may ask? One simple reason- all had an odd sense of humour and weird inflation sequences in them. That and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory may well have influenced AK Girl's caramel inflation weakness. Also they both have a similar nutty sense of humour we have. But it seems not everyone loves the former...

Sonic Sat AM

This was the show that was very influential in terms of character, storyline and a bit of depth. We've tried to build on this (plus there's the advantage of not being on network TV so we can mess about a bit more. Then again having watched Adventure Time I think broadcasters are a bit more open minded now (also we like to resolve our cliffhangers)!

Swat Kats

A show that infamously ticked off Ted Turner this is one that often gets unfairly forgotten when it comes to cartoon nostalgia. The banter between the characters, the intense action and the feeling that the writers cared about the show all conspired to produce something destined to be "ahead of its time"

Issue25coverfinalNostalgia's not what it used to be

Inevitably there are calls for these shows to be remade. "Bring back…" the people cry. I hate to tell you this but what you want brought back may not necessarily come back. While some remakes are very good (for example the Ninja Turtles reboot that was closer in spirit to the comic)  the fact is the image in your head is different through the passing of time.

With Reynard City what we have tried to create is a fusion of childhood memories and the undercurrent of adult realisation of what may or may not be under the surface of those characters. With the eccentric arrogance of AK Girl and the repressed anger of Wondervixen I also like to think there is an additional layer of characterisation.

AKAdvertisewithusIs it for everyone? Maybe not. But we are aiming for anyone who wants to enter our world can be transported back to the days of sugary cereal and the excitement when their favourite show came on.

Reynard City is a free online comic (also available in print) available at www.reynardcity.com There is also a Kickstarter on to cover a print run for the next three issues and to support the artists who work hard on our project. Anyone who wants to be involved can contact us via reynardcity@gmail.com

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Dan WicklineAbout Dan Wickline

Has quietly been working at Bleeding Cool for over three years. He has written comics for Image, Top Cow, Shadowline, Avatar, IDW, Dynamite, Moonstone, Humanoids and Zenescope. He is the author of the Lucius Fogg series of novels and a published photographer.
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