Divebin #2: Remembering Big Shot Jim Smith
Memorializing the world’s manliest cartoonist.
Divebin is an update batch of news, thoughts, and inspiration from BCKOMIX.
Jim Smith passed away Friday, May 2nd, of a heart attack at age 70. Smith was one of the co-founders of the Spümcø animation studio along with John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, and Lynne Naylor. He was instrumental in the development of the The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991-95) and co-created Spümcø’s follow-up series The Ripping Friends. He also worked on numerous other cartoons, including Cool World and Batman: The Animated Series. His talents were numerous: storyboard, layout artist, character designer, and guitar player. The R&S theme, Dog Pound Hop, was performed by Jim Smith, Chris Reccardi, and Scott Huml, collectively known as Screamin’ Lederhosen (Reccardi died in 2019).
In 2009, John Kricfalusi wrote on his blog:
Jim is the guy who I've collaborated with the most in the last couple decades. For my taste, he is one of the best cartoonists ever. He totally has his own unique style and isn't part of a school of styles. There aren't many artists like that, and thats what makes him so valuable to the cartoons I like to make. He has many talents no one else (including me) has and I rely on him to do all the hard stuff.
For those not yet familiar with my Ren & Stimpy and Spümcø obsession (if you follow my Xitter account you know) it started during adolescence. I remember rushing my parents to get home after a shopping at the mall. MTV was re-airing The Ren & Stimpy Show in the evenings and I ran into our living room just in time to tape it (ah, the days when you had limited chances to catch your favorite show!). I would try to gather whatever articles and interviews with the creators I could find (anyone else remember Wild Cartoon Kingdom?). And of course, being one of the original big shots, Jim Smith was featured in many of these pieces.
Smith’s passing followed comic artist Butch Guice’s untimely death. Both are a dismal reminder how many cartooning greats of the American old school have left us the last few years (M.D. Bright, Jack Katz, Larry Todd, Trina Robbins, Ramona Fredon, and Ed Piskor to name a few). And I emphasize “American old school,” because while legendary manga artists have also passed away (Akira Toriyama, Kazuo Umezu), their influence is still felt in manga. Meanwhile younger American artists are increasingly inspired by … anime and manga. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I love good anime and manga, and there’s a lot to be gleaned from Japanese cartooning (though far deeper than just style). It just feels like the passing of these older American cartoonists signals a fading of an era.
But enough of this morbid reflection. Here’s a selection of work from the world’s manliest cartoonist.
I would argue younger cartoonists taking too much from Japanese cartoonists is a bit bad. There's nothing wrong with taking away and appreciating artistry & cultures from other countries, but it's another to really blindsight and disregard a lot of your own heritage for the sake of it.
You see this issue in not just cartooning but also other mediums too, where people neglect the likes of John Ford in favor of Akira Kurosawa without seeing he was inspired by an American filmmaker first. Really, younger Americans ought to be more formally taught or encouraged about the greats / the artistry our country has to offer. They've been fed too much slop to see there is so much more to take away from. Not just what garbage turns out now.