Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Encyclopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) was a web
encyclopedia
of print cartoon
s, comic strip
s and animation. Don D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedia, calls it "the world's first hypertext encyclopedia of toons" and states, "The basic idea is to cover the entire spectrum of American cartoonery."
Markstein began the project in 1999 with several earlier titles: Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia (1999) and Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia (2000). He changed Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia to Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia after learning the word "Encyberpedia" had been trademarked. In 2001, he settled on his final title, noting, "Decided (after thinking about it for several weeks) to change the name of the site to Don Markstein's Toonopedia, rather than Cartoonopedia. Better rhythm in the name, plus 'toon' is probably a more apt word, in modern parlance, than "cartoon", for what I'm doing.
, a monthly anthology of newspaper comics, from 1984 to 1987, and 1992 to 1996. A writer for Walt Disney comics
, Markstein has focused Toonopedia on American and other English language
cartoons with the goal of developing the largest online resource on American cartoons. Toonopedia has accumulated over 1,800 articles since its launch on February 13, 2001.
In 2002, Charles Bowen reviewing the site for Editor & Publisher
, said,
After attending Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
, he joined the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune
, writing feature stories for the Sunday magazine
section. His freelance credits include weekly restaurant reviews for the Phoenix Business Journal
, semi-annual previews of comic book publishing projects, science fiction convention program books, scripts for relaxation tapes and computer manuals. His comic book scripts are mainly for licensed characters, including Donald Duck
, Mickey Mouse
, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
, Tiny Toon Adventures
and Eek! the Cat
.
Graphic Novel Review for Libraries was Markstein's periodical guide for librarians. For each 20-page issue of the monthly magazine, he reviewed 25-30 graphic novels.
He has provided editing, design and production for numerous publications, including Arizona Living, Arizona Women's Voice, Comics Interview, Comics Revue, Phoenix, Phoenix Resource, Louisiana Weekly Employer, Scottsdale and Sun Tennis.
In February 2011, Markstein suffered a stroke and became a patient in the Life Care Center in Phoenix
, Arizona
. After February, the site was not updated during 2011. In mid-October 2011, the Toonopedia website vanished, but it returned on October 20.
. It includes plot summaries of the Prince Valiant
comic strip from its beginning in 1937 to the 1980 retirement of the strip's creator, Hal Foster, along with additional material on the series and Foster's other work.
Hot Tips from Top Comics Creators (Fictioneer Books, 1994) is a 120-page collection of more 1,000 pieces of advice on the comic-book industry from the first ten years of Comics Interview, plus capsule biographies of 262 comics professionals.
Pirates!: The CD-ROM (PiratePubs, 1998) is a digital compendium of stories, games, movie stills, poetry, artwork, flags and music about pirates.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of print cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s, comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s and animation. Don D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedia, calls it "the world's first hypertext encyclopedia of toons" and states, "The basic idea is to cover the entire spectrum of American cartoonery."
Markstein began the project in 1999 with several earlier titles: Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia (1999) and Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia (2000). He changed Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia to Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia after learning the word "Encyberpedia" had been trademarked. In 2001, he settled on his final title, noting, "Decided (after thinking about it for several weeks) to change the name of the site to Don Markstein's Toonopedia, rather than Cartoonopedia. Better rhythm in the name, plus 'toon' is probably a more apt word, in modern parlance, than "cartoon", for what I'm doing.
Comic strips
Born March 21, 1947, Markstein was fascinated with all forms of cartoon art since his childhood. In 1981, Markstein and his wife, GiGi Dane, founded Apatoons, a publication about animation. He edited Comics RevueComics Revue
Comics Revue is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press and edited by Rick Norwood. Don Markstein edited the publication from 1984 to 1987 and 1992 to 1996....
, a monthly anthology of newspaper comics, from 1984 to 1987, and 1992 to 1996. A writer for Walt Disney comics
Disney comics
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring Walt Disney characters.The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on . In 1940, Western Publishing began producing Disney comic books in the United States...
, Markstein has focused Toonopedia on American and other English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
cartoons with the goal of developing the largest online resource on American cartoons. Toonopedia has accumulated over 1,800 articles since its launch on February 13, 2001.
In 2002, Charles Bowen reviewing the site for Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher
Editor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
, said,
After attending Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, he joined the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
, writing feature stories for the Sunday magazine
Sunday magazine
A Sunday magazine is a publication inserted into a Sunday newspaper. It also has been known as a Sunday supplement, Sunday newspaper magazine or Sunday magazine section...
section. His freelance credits include weekly restaurant reviews for the Phoenix Business Journal
American City Business Journals
American City Business Journals is an American newspaper chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina owned by Advance Publications. It has a range of media including 41 primary metropolitan weekly publications, which reach 4 million readers with business community related news, and Bizjournals, the...
, semi-annual previews of comic book publishing projects, science fiction convention program books, scripts for relaxation tapes and computer manuals. His comic book scripts are mainly for licensed characters, including Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
, Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live-action children's television series based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months...
, Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
and Eek! the Cat
Eek! The Cat
Eek! The Cat is an American and Canadian animated series, created by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp and produced by Fox Kids and Savage Studios with animation by Nelvana, that ran from September 11, 1992, to August 1, 1997.-Premise:Eek! the Cat is about a purple cat named Eek whose motto is...
.
Graphic Novel Review for Libraries was Markstein's periodical guide for librarians. For each 20-page issue of the monthly magazine, he reviewed 25-30 graphic novels.
He has provided editing, design and production for numerous publications, including Arizona Living, Arizona Women's Voice, Comics Interview, Comics Revue, Phoenix, Phoenix Resource, Louisiana Weekly Employer, Scottsdale and Sun Tennis.
In February 2011, Markstein suffered a stroke and became a patient in the Life Care Center in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. After February, the site was not updated during 2011. In mid-October 2011, the Toonopedia website vanished, but it returned on October 20.
Books
Toonopedia overlaps with the books Markstein has written, edited and compiled. A Prince Valiant Companion (Manuscript Press, 1992), by Todd Goldberg and Carl J. Horak, was edited by Markstein and Rick NorwoodRick Norwood
Rick Norwood is an American publisher, mathematician, comics historian and short story author.Born in Franklin, Louisiana, Norwood attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was one of four writer-editors of the early underground comic God Comics, along with Bill Osten, Durk...
. It includes plot summaries of the Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
comic strip from its beginning in 1937 to the 1980 retirement of the strip's creator, Hal Foster, along with additional material on the series and Foster's other work.
Hot Tips from Top Comics Creators (Fictioneer Books, 1994) is a 120-page collection of more 1,000 pieces of advice on the comic-book industry from the first ten years of Comics Interview, plus capsule biographies of 262 comics professionals.
Pirates!: The CD-ROM (PiratePubs, 1998) is a digital compendium of stories, games, movie stills, poetry, artwork, flags and music about pirates.
See also
- Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & MuseumBilly Ireland Cartoon Library & MuseumThe Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, a research library of American comic art, is affiliated with the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio...
- Dave StricklerDave StricklerDave Strickler is a reference librarian noted for his compilation of Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924–1995: The Complete Index, regarded as a major reference work by researchers and historians of newspaper comic strips....
- List of newspaper comic strips
- List of online encyclopedias
- Steve CottleSteve CottleSteve Cottle, Jr. , dedicated to the preservation of vintage comic strips, is also known as Mr. ilovecomix. In 2008, he founded the I Love Comix Archive and began to recruit vintage comic strip collectors as contributors, noting, "This is a collaborative effort to save and digitize old newspaper...