''Scary Godmother'' is a series of children's books and
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s created by artist
Jill Thompson
Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's '' The Sandman'' characters and her own ''Scary Godmother'' series, she has wor ...
and published by
Sirius Entertainment
Sirius Entertainment was an American comic book company which operated from 1994 to 2007. Sirius Entertainment was founded by Robb Horan, Joseph Michael Linsner, and Larry Salamone, Fassbender, Tom. "A Sirius Interview: With Two Sirius Guys," ...
beginning in 1997.
Characters
Main
* Hannah Marie - Hannah is scared of monsters, but then she realizes monsters don't eat kids. Hannah's very kind and friendly, and it's implied that she has a crush on Orson, a young male vampire. In the first TV-special, her older cousin, Jimmy, and his friends scare her, but the monsters on the Fright Side help her get back at them in the end. Dresses as a fairy princess. She is voiced by
Britt McKillip
Britt Analisa McKillip (born January 18, 1991) is a Canadian actress and singer. Her credits include the film ''Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular'' and its sequel '' Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy'', and her role as Reggie Lass in ...
.
* Scary Godmother - a tall, skinny and pretty-looking
fairy-
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
with long curly red hair, pale green skin, small bat wings on her back, and purple and green leggings. She lives on the Fright Side (a world where scary Halloween monsters live). She befriends a little girl named Hannah Marie, who was scared by her older cousin Jimmy into holding the doorknob to the haunted house Scary Godmother and her "broommates" were in. She also rides a broom and has a pet ghost cat named Boozle. Thompson has acknowledged that the character bears a resemblance to its creator.
[ Her voice was done by Tabitha St. Germain in the TV adaptation.
* Jimmy - Hannah's cousin who has little affection for her. Since he didn't want to take her trick or treating, he and his friends instead plan on scaring her. However, his plan backfires after Hannah befriends Scary Godmother and her broommates, all of whom give Jimmy and his friends a taste of their own medicine. A year later, he was so traumatized by that ordeal that he tried to stop Halloween from happening (by destroying all Halloween-related items, like pumpkins, costumes and candy), but is otherwise touched when he stumbles into a party that Scary Godmother, Hannah, and their friends were celebrating. Often dresses in a Devil sweatsuit on Halloween. He was the antagonist of the first and second books, but in the ending of second and the rest of the series he became good.
* Jimmy's friends - Jimmy's three companions, whom he talked into scaring his cousin, Hannah, when she first went trick-or-treating. Unlike Jimmy, they aren't bad children, just easily influenced. They were content with Hannah's company, and even helped her save Halloween when Jimmy tried to ruin it once.
** Bert - a boy and the most imaginative of the three. Dresses as a ]baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player wearing a cardboard SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
around his body.
** Daryl - sweet and naïve, dresses as a piece of candy and has a crush on Katie.
** Katie - she's the most empathic of the three. Katie has a crush on Daryl, which is revealed when she tells him she'll trade him chocolate bar for a kiss, though also at times it seems she likes Jimmy. Katie dresses as a black cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
. She is voiced by Britt Irvin
Brittney Elizabeth Irvin (born November 10, 1984) is a Canadian actress. She has also done voiceover work for Ocean Productions. Irvin is best known for playing Katie in '' Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular'' and its sequel '' Scary Godmoth ...
.
Monsters
* Mr. Skully Pettibone - one of Scary Godmother's "broommates". He's the skeleton that hides in people's closets to keep their secrets safe, and, as he puts it, just rattle around. Come Halloween, there's nothing Skully likes more than to cut loose and roll the bones at a good party. His characterization in the books, and to a greater extent in the animated specials, is to a large extent that of a stereotypical "female lead's gay best friend", as suggested by his repeatedly coming out of closets. His voice was done by Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
.
* Bug-A-Boo - a huge, round monster with multiple yellow eyes, fur, a pointy tail, horns and a huge mouth with sharp teeth. He is the type of monster that lurks in places like basements, under beds, in closets, and other deep, dark places (and knows what children are scared of, even Jimmy and his friends). Frightened of him at first, Hannah perceived him as the "monster in the basement" that Jimmy told her would eat children lest she feeds him candy. While she does that, Bug-A-Boo tells her that his job is to ''scare'' children, not eat them! ("If I went around eatin' all the clients, I'd be out of work!"). They have since become great friends. His voice was done by Garry Chalk
Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and ''Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', ''Transformer ...
.
* Harry - a talkative werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
who wears a blue, lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
-patterned shirt. He hails from Ackerman Forest (a pun on horror honcho Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...
) which is somewhere in the Fright Side. With a hammy, self-absorbed and pitying personality and an insatiable appetite for food (especially candy and snacks), he is a huge nuisance to Scary Godmother and her broommates. Harry is a big fan of the TV "skelevision" show ''The Spectral Six''. It is notable however that while annoying, Harry is still a full-grown male werewolf possessing razor-sharp claws and fangs, incredible strength, and highly acute lupine senses. It would be unwise to get between Harry and something he wants, especially if it's anything food-related. His voice was done by Garry Chalk
Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and ''Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', ''Transformer ...
.
* Count Max - a tall, thin and bald vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
dressed in black. The most famous vampire on the Fright Side, he is the "King of the Night". Usually very old-fashioned, Max feels awkward for being so out of touch with the times. His visual design is suggestive of that of Count Orlok
Count Orlok (german: Graf Orlok), commonly but erroneously known as Nosferatu, is the main antagonist and title character portrayed by German actor Max Schreck (1879–1936) in the silent film '' Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). H ...
in Murnau's ''Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
'' as played by Max Schreck
Friedrich Gustav Maximilian Schreck Eickhoff, Stefan. 2007 (6 September 1879 – 20 February 1936), Walk, Ines. 2006. known professionally as Max Schreck, was a German actor, best known for his lead role as the vampire Count Orlok in the film ...
, his vocal characterization of Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
impersonators. His voice was done by Scott McNeil
Scott McNeil is an Australian-born Canadian actor. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the best-known Canadian voice actors of all time, McNeil has provided voices to many characters in animated shows, most notabl ...
.
* Ruby - Max's beautiful wife who is also a vampire and the "Queen of the Night". She is more "modern" than her husband, which drives him batty. She has long, black hair and is clad in a satin dress. Her appearance recalls that of 1950s horror show hostess Vampira. Her voice was also done by Tabitha St. Germain in a Russian accent.
* Orson - Max & Ruby's preteen son who is a vampire like his parents. He is the "Prince of the Night". Orson wears modern goth
A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were:
*Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history
*Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history
Goth or Goths may also refer to:
* Goth (surname) ...
clothing, thin round glasses and has blue dyed hair. In the TV-specials, it's implied but never confirmed that he has a crush on Hannah (and that she may reciprocate his feelings). In the book versions, it's confirmed that Orson does in fact have a crush on Hannah. His voice is done by Richie Warke.
Development
Thompson described the work and the character this way: "''Scary Godmother'' is like your fairy godmother, but for Halloween. There's really nothing scary about the Scary Godmother. She's fun and macabre; reminiscent of childhood with a little bit of social commentary mixed in". She said that "comics are so segregated now" and that she wanted to create something that both young readers and adults could enjoy.[ She decided to create something with a Halloween theme after looking for a Halloween-themed children's book for her niece and not finding anything that she liked.] The books employ a combination of storybook/comic formats.[ Thompson does the interiors as well as the covers for ''Scary Godmother'', and she said that planning ahead and meeting deadlines can be a challenge.
]
Comics
* ''Scary Godmother''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 09/1997. Book.
* ''Bloody Valentine Special''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 02/1998. Comic.
* ''Revenge of Jimmy''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 09/1998. Book.
* ''Holiday Spooktacular''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 11/1998. Comic.
* ''The Mystery Date''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 09/1999. Book.
* ''Wild About Harry''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 02/2000 - 04/2000. Comic miniseries (3 issues).
* ''The Boo Flu''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 09/2000. Book.
* ''Activity Book''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 12/2000. Comic.
* ''Wild About Harry TPB''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 09/2001. Collecting Scary Godmother:Wild About Harry #1–#3.
* ''Scary Godmother''. SIRIUS Entertainment. May 2001 - February 2002. Comic miniseries (6 issues).
* ''Ghoul's Out for Summer TPB''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 07/2002. Collecting ''Scary Godmother'' mini-series #1–#6.
* ''Spooktacular Stories TPB''. SIRIUS Entertainment. 08/2004. Collecting ''Scary Godmother Summer Preview 1997'', ''Bloody Valentine Special'', ''Activity Book'', ''Holiday Spooktakular''.
* ''Scary Godmother HC''. Dark Horse Comics. 10/2010. Collecting ''Scary Godmother'', ''Revenge of Jimmy'', ''The Mystery Date'', and ''The Boo Flu''.
* ''Scary Godmother Comic-Book Stories TPB''. Dark Horse Comics. 06/2011. Collecting ''Scary Godmother #1–6: Ghoul's Out for Summer''; ''Scary Godmother: Holiday Spooktacular''; ''Scary Godmother: Bloody Valentine Special''; ''Scary Godmother: Activity Book''; ''Scary Godmother: Wild about Harry'' #1-3; ''Scary Godmother and Friends Ashcan''; ''Scary Godmother: Six Feet South of the Border from Action Girl'' #13; and more.
Awards
* The original book ''Scary Godmother'' was a top votegetter for the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award
The ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG'') magazine administered the annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1982 to circa 2010, with the first awards announced in issue #500 (June 17, 1983).
Upon taking over as ''CBG'' editors, Don and Maggie T ...
for Favorite Original Graphic Novel for 1998.
* 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
- nominated for the Lulu of the Year Lulu Award
* 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
- won the Lulu of the Year Lulu Award
* 2001 - Eisners for Best Title for a Younger Audience and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist(Interior)
Film adaptations
Two films have been produced based on the series. The first, '' Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktakular'', premiered on television in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Canada in 2003. Later, it premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network in 2004. The film was the first one Mainframe Entertainment used its new software/animation pipeline for. Jill Thompson co-wrote the script, and had some creative control over the project. When she was shown early character designs for the film which resembled the watercolor illustrations in her books, she requested that the characters instead be fully computer-generated.[Karen Moltenbray, Witch's Brew: Mainframe Entertainment mixes up a wide range of graphic styles to create a unique look for Scary Godmother, Computer Graphics World, October 2003, Volume 26, Number 10] In an interview, Thompson stated that she wanted them to go with CGI because "I'm doing 2D. Nobody else should be doing 2D, just me". However, the mostly static backgrounds used in the film more closely resemble traditional cel animation or the illustrations in Thompson's books.[ Because of that, the 3D characters often appear to "pop out" from their backgrounds. The visual style of the film has been described as resembling that of ]Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
's ''The Nightmare Before Christmas
''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (also known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop-motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increme ...
'' rather than that of computer-animated films such as '' Finding Nemo''.[ A review of the film in ]School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
, however, described the film as "Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
meets Tim Burton", and thought that the animation closely resembles Thompson's watercolor illustrations.
The second, '' Scary Godmother: The Revenge of Jimmy'' (based on the second book), premiered in 2005.
Further reading
* ''The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History'' by Hope Nicholson, Quirk Books (2017)
References
{{reflist
External links
''Scary Godmother''
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on February 23, 2017.
Halloween children's books
Series of children's books
American children's books
Eisner Award winners