Michael M. Wartella (born August 19, 1976) is an American

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

cartoonist, animator, writer and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

based in New York City, generally publishing under the name M. Wartella or just Wartella. He is best known for his work in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' and on Cartoon Network's '' MAD''. He is the founder of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

's Dream Factory Animation,M.Wartella Launches His Dream Factory in Brooklyn
Cartoon Brew, July 13, 2013 a boutique studio specializing in the production of animated shorts for corporate and indie clients.

Print career

According to his 2013 autobiography, ''Strip Show: 25 Years of Comix, Controversy & Copyright Infringement'', Wartella began his professional career at age ten producing a weekly comic strip called ''Clubhouse Kids'' for a local newspaper, which ran for two years during 1986–1987. Later, while a student at

The University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...

,''Animator Pursues a Minimal Approach to His Art''
The New York Times, March 19, 1998 Wartella created the absurdist art comic ''Ackxhpæz'' (1994–1996) which he then expanded and nationally self-syndicated to alternative weekly newspapers (as "Nuts") from 1998 to 2000. The humor in many of the cartoons was controversial as exemplified in a 1999 comic about the Columbine High School massacre which prompted an outcry when it was published in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. From 2007 to 2009, Wartella's intricate single-panel "reportorial" cartoons began appearing regularly in ''

'', where he is still listed as an honorary contributor. Wartella's sequential comics have appeared in Eisner and

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...

nominated anthologies from

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

and Fantagraphics Books and in magazines including

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

's ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'' and '' Spin''. His illustrations have primarily appeared in "underground" publications including ''

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

'', ''Pop Smear'', and he was the creator of the infamously rare

scratch-off A scratchcard (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchum, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win, instant game, instant lottery, scratchie, lot scrots, or scritchies) is a card designed for competitions, often made of ...

cover of ''

Vice Magazine ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

''. Wartella has also contributed several titles and paintings to the "all-new" series of

Wacky Packages ''Wacky Packages'' are a series of humorous trading cards featuring parodies of consumer products. The cards were produced by Topps beginning in 1967, first in die-cut, then in peel-and-stick sticker format. There were 16 series produced betwee ...

trading cards from

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

, and created similar product parody spoofs for ''

Nickelodeon Magazine ''Nickelodeon Magazine'' is a defunct American children's magazine inspired by the children's television network Nickelodeon. Its first incarnation appeared in 1990 and was distributed at participating Pizza Hut restaurants; the version of the ma ...

'' in the 2000s (decade). Wartella also did new artwork that appears on the cover of the re-launched

MAD Magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...

#6 (April 2019) featuring miniature

Alfred E. Neuman Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine '' Mad''. The character's distinct smiling face, parted red hair, gap-tooth smile, freckles, protruding nose, and scrawny body, first emerged in U.S. iconog ...

s in an

M.C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made Mathematics and art, mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for ...

style cubist background.

Animation career

Wartella is a noted animator and director. Considered a pioneer of online animation, Wartella was among the earliest to use the animated

.gif The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987 ...

format to create story-driven

independent animation The term independent animation refers to animated shorts and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry. A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce ...

. In 1998,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

described his early animated web short ''The Dinky Dog Archive'' as "the

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...

of the internet". In the 2000s (decade), Wartella was an artistic contributor to several animated television shows including MTV2's cult hit ''

Wonder Showzen ''Wonder Showzen'' is an American adult sketch comedy television series that aired between 2005 and 2006 on MTV2. It was created by Vernon Chatman and John Lee of PFFR. Described as a children's television series for adults, the show's format ...

'' (2005–2006), and

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

's series ''

Superjail! ''Superjail!'' is an American adult animated television series produced by Williams Street. It follows the events that take place in an unusual prison. The pilot episode aired on television on May 13, 2007, and its first season began on Septembe ...

'' (2008–2009) and '' Xavier: Renegade Angel'' (2007-2009). In 2013, Wartella opened his own full-service production studio, Dream Factory Animation, in Brooklyn NY which has conceived, developed and produced animated programming for clients including

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The company's media ...

Radical Media Radical media are communication outlets that disperse action-oriented political agendas utilizing existing communication infrastructures and its supportive users. These types of media are differentiated from conventional mass communications thro ...

, The Creative Agency and Warner Bros. From 2010 to 2014, he created nearly 300 hand-drawn animated shorts for Cartoon Network's '' MAD'', where his work was featured in every episode during four seasons.

Music videos

As of 2022, Wartella has directed several music videosM. Wartella music videos
at IMVDB combining live action and animation for musical acts including

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

King Tuff Kyle Thomas, known professionally as King Tuff is an American musician recording on Sub Pop Records. King Tuff and his band have released several music videos and have continually toured across the United States, Australia and Europe since 2012 ...

and

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...

. Wartella's music videos have received accolades from

Blender Magazine ''Blender'' was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities. It compiled lists of albums, artists, and songs, including both "best of" an ...

and Stereogum."The 5 Best Videos of the Week"
Stereogum, May 2014

Books

* ''Wartella's STRIP SHOW: 25 Years of Comix, Controversy & Copyright Infringement'' by Wartella, (

Burger Records Burger Records was an American independent record label and record store in Fullerton, California, United States. The label was founded in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, members of the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. The record/video s ...

, 2013) * ''Found: Requiem for a Paper Bag'' (cover) by

Davy Rothbart David Ira "Davy" Rothbart (born April 11, 1975) is a bestselling author, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, contributor to ''This American Life'', and the editor/publisher of '' Found Magazine''. Found Magazine Davy Rothbart's magazine ''Found'' is d ...

, ( Fireside, 2009 ) * ''Chew on This'' (cover), by Schlosser/Wilson, (

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

, 2006) * ''Hotwire Comix & Capers'', ed. by Glenn Head, (

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was founde ...

Books, 2006) * ''Bizarro World'', ed. by

Joey Cavalieri Joey Cavalieri is an American writer and editor of comic books. He is best known for his work on the characters Green Arrow and Huntress as well as the co-creation of Helena Bertinelli, the third Huntress, for DC Comics. Career Joey Cavalieri ...

, (

, 2005)

References

External links

Ackxhpaez

Dream Factory Animation
*

Interviews

Obey Propaganda Interview, October 2013

Strange Kids Club Interview, May 2012

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartella, M. University of Virginia alumni Alternative cartoonists Underground cartoonists Living people 1976 births American animators The Village Voice people Artists from New York City