Award From Playboy Magazine
Film Roman, Inc's "Tripping the Rift" Named $25,000 Grand Prize Winner; Philadelphia's Brett Bagenstose Among Honorable Mentions with "Big Fun Show"
New York, August 22, 2000 -Playboy.com has unveiled the winners of the first ever Playboy Comix and Animation Contest. The first annual event, open to amateur artists and seasoned professionals alike, named Film Roman, Inc's Charles O. Austen and Chris Moeller's animated "Tripping the Rift" as the $25,000 grand prize winner. "Tripping the Rift" along with the 10 honorable mention-winning works including Brett Bagenstose's (from Neo-Pangea) "Big Fun Show" can Be viewed in their entirety at http://www.playboy.com/arts-entertainment/comixcontest/
A three-page feature in the October issue of Playboy magazine (on newsstands August 28) will also highlight and honor all of the winners.
Bagenstose's "Big Fun Show" is an animated piece that follows a crisis of Super Hero-like proportions on the fictitious Paradise Island. When a parody character of Wonder Woman gives up her seat on the Justice League, a cast of members including Super Fly and Jesus are among the interviewees for the much-desired post. Bagenstose's diversified portfolio includes a local 1993 Cable Ace Award and worldwide showings of his work at a number of high-profile art and entertainment festivals.
"This is the most politically incorrect winning submission, from a true up-and-coming in-your-face talent," commented contest organizer Michelle Urry, longtime cartoon editor of Playboy magazine.
The inaugural event drew a talented pool of entrants from around the world, submitting their work in a variety of media formats including Flash, Shockwave, and video, along with the more traditional pen-and-ink. Judges for the historic "Playboy first" were: Scott Adams, the award-winning creator of Dilbert; Kevin Smith, the filmmaker behind Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Clerks; Gahan Wilson, the cartoonist whose monsters and macabre humor have enlivened the pages of Playboy for decades; Playboy.com Creative Director Jay Boersma, and Urry.
"The volume, breadth and caliber of entries truly exceeded our expectations," added Urry. "This contest enabled us to continue in the rich comedy tradition of the magazine, and to tap into a talented pool of cartoonists and animators. It is the perfect way for us to introduce animation and cartoon content to the growing Playboy.com network."
In addition to "Big Fun Show," the judges voted 9 additional honorable mention winners from among the plethora of entries:
Patricia Beckman--"MATILDA"
Aaron Ber, Rupinder Malhotra, Adam Saunders, Mike Massom--"HECTOR THE FRUIT BAT IN THE BIG CITY"
Edgar Beals--"SEXXXY DOLL"
Doug lawrence, Film Roman, Inc--"HAIRBALLS"
Dan Hoisman, Michael Krogmann & Max Hackett--"STAN & STAN BIG SPORTS SPECTACULAR EXTRAVAGANZA"
Juan Alvarez & Jorge Gomez--"THE KIDS"
Dean Yeagle--"CONANETTE"
John Bloom & David M. Woodson--"RUBBER CHICKEN"
Erik Barclay--"PERFECT 10, STRIP #2"
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About Neo-Pangea.com
Neo-Pangea is an emerging under.ground-cyber.tech creation company head-quartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [under.ground-cyber.tech] : new-media technologies like digital video productions, internet-radio broadcasts, flash web-experiences, digital audio productions, and on-stage multimedia performances for those citizens bent on revolution. however, we are not a production company, just a group of collaborators sharing resources, information, contacts, and most importantly - ideas.
