AWOL

I've neglected my post! I went AWOL there for a little while. My apologies. I guess it's kinda tough keeping a blog on a dead topic...like beating a dead horse, eh? hehe. Well, to throw you guys a bone of sorts, here's a pic I dug up on the googles. It's fan art of Korgoth. Drawn by John Beauchemin on his blog: http://sketchblaargh.blogspot.com/

I dig it! right on.

Conan the Barbarian threadless tshirt

Pure barbaric genius! Why didn't I think of this? And what better timing with the whole Conan/Leno debacle. I haven't bought a shirt off threadless in years. It's definitely tempting! Has Conan ever done an Arnie skit?

http://www.threadless.com/productplay/2308/Late_Night_Barbarian?streetteam=whysteriastar#top

YES WE CAN

Uh....Yes we could've. Adult Swim posted this cocky/smug advert awhile back on their home page. And I think this just goes to show how out of touch with reality Adult Swim has become. Not picking up a masterful epic series over a talking, walking ass? It's like polishing a turd. No matter how you package it, it's still going to stink. Assy Mcgee was funny for about the first five minutes of the entire series then became routine and predictable.

We can handle more Adult Swim, it's just that you never gave us a chance to prove you wrong.

Kick Out the Korgothian Jams

Kick out the Jams with Korgoth soundtrack! Did you know the music from the pilot was recently released as a soundtrack? Dust off your keytars and mullets. It a throw-back to heavy metal the music and Heavy Metal the 80s cult classic animation. The soundtrack was written by Lee Holdridge a movie composer, who has many movie soundtracks under his belt like Splash, and the classic Beastmaster! It's a combined soundtrack with another movie, one from 1985. I can't say that I remember it, but then again I was only 3 in 1985.

Here's a blurb about the soundtrack:

"BUYSOUNDTRAX Records presents the original soundtrack to TRANSYLVANIA 6-5000, featuring music composed and conducted by Lee Holdridge for the 1985 horror comedy written and directed by Rudy De Luca (High Anxiety, Silent Movie, Caveman), starring Jeff Goldblum, Ed Begley, Jr., Geena Davis, Carol Kane, John Byner, Jeffrey Jones and Michael Richards. Also included is the composer’s music for the 2006 animated comedy television pilot, KORGOTH OF BARBARIA."

I'm gonna try and send Lee Holdridge some spam about maybe posting a short clip from the soundtrack.

Here's a link to buy!

http://buysoundtrax.stores.yahoo.net/tr6koofbaors.html

Interview with Justin K. Thompson

Greetings minions! On my neverending quest for Korgothian relics and snidbits, I recently emailed a batch of questions to Justin Thompson (whom I've sung his praises fairly often on this site.) He so kindly responded to my spam with many interesting tidbits of information regarding some behind-the-scene information regarding the making of Korgoth. So me and him sat down over a computer screen, and well, several thousand miles separating us for a short, quaint interview.

And here it is:

Me: First of all how long have you been involved in the cartoon industry?

JT: About 17 years. I got a lucky break from a design apprenticeship at Film Roman in 1993.

Me: How did you become involved with Korgoth? And did you know or had you worked with Aaron Springer prior to being involved with the production?

JT: I met Aaron through the producer, Genndy Tartakovsky. I had done a lot of work for Genndy on other things and he recommended me to Aaron when he needed a BG designer for his first pilot project "Periwinkle" - another brilliant Springer show that should have been a series - and I did the backgrounds for that.

When he started making Korgoth, I was lucky enough that he asked me to do the backgrounds and, of course, I couldn't resist. The storyboards were some of the funniest I'd ever seen and the subject matter is a personal favorite.

Me: You laid out and designed the background while Bill Wray painted the background, correct?

JT: Correct.

Me: What was that process like and how did you come up with the look and feel of the backgrounds in Korgoth?

JT: Bill and I worked very separately. I did the background designs, handed them to Aaron, and he passed them to Bill. Bill did the paintings with input from Aaron alone. I was just as delighted to the see the end result as you were.

When I was designing them I was mainly inspired by my own endless love of corny fantasy art and Aaron's brilliant character designs.

Me: How long did you guys work on producing the pilot for Korgoth?

JT: I did all the backgrounds for the pilot in about four weeks. I'm not sure how long the entire process took.

Me: At what point was production stopped on Korgoth? And were any additional episodes/snippets created before word that Adult Swim hadn’t picked up the show.

JT: I'm not sure, really. That's an Aaron question.

Me: What was your first reaction when you realized Korgoth wasn’t going to be picked up by Adult Swim?

JT: Grave disappointment. Followed by anger. Then denial. Then acceptance. And then murder. ;)

Me: I guess the biggest thing that people would like to know is if you think Korgoth could ever live again? Do you think the project might be resurrected sometime in the future?

JT: I have no idea. Let's hope.

Me: What projects are you working on now?

JT: Well, I just finished work as the Production Designer on "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs" last Summer and I'm still at Sony, doing visual development on new projects.

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And there you have it. Great interview! I am by no means Katie Couric or Dan Rather, but I thought that was pretty rad. Thanks Justin!

Stay tuned! More content coming...

Never-Before-Seen Korgoth Sketches!

Boy, do I have a treat for you guys! After some investigative work, I've been staking out the artists' websites involved with the creation of Korgoth. I've been staked out at Justin K. Thompson's blog squeakypen.blogspot.com for quite awhile drooling over all of his artwork. He has alot of amazing cartoon work on this blog. Justin was the background designer for Korgoth of Barbaria. He layed out all the backgrounds for the show. And, after finally getting up enough guts I emailed him on a whim to see if he'd give me any insights into Korgoth. And not only did he reply but he sent a few background sketches from the show!! Well I had to do a little begging for them...And let me tell you, holy shit are they good! Check these bad boys out! (click on them for larger versions.)

Aren't those awesome!? I could just stare at them for hours, but I better not because I don't want to get fired at work. I love the Floating Castle and Gogmagog's cave!

Beggars can't be choosers, but I want to see some more!

Thanks so much for sharing Justin!

Adult Swim, eat your heart out.

This artwork is the copyright of Justin K. Thompson. It is illegal to publish or print any such artwork or text without the written permission by the artist or copyright owners.

http://www.squeakypen.blogspot.com

Korgoth Background painting #3-Ice Mountain

I came across alot of beautiful background paintings from Korgoth on William Wray's blog.(http://madaboutcartoons.blogspot.com) He so kindly posted this way back in 2006. Number 3 is from the scene when they're journeying to Specules's castle going around a bend on a mountain. Look at that Woolly Mammoth frozen in time! Love it!

The background was designed by Justin K. Thompson(http://squeakypen.blogspot.com/) and painted by William Wray.

Korgoth Background painting #2-Blood and Ice!

I came across alot of beautiful background paintings from Korgoth on William Wray's blog.(http://madaboutcartoons.blogspot.com) He so kindly posted this way back in 2006. Number 2 is a bloody ice field on a mountain! Nice! It appeared in the opening credits, when Korgoth had just slayed a beast.

The background was designed by Justin K. Thompson (http://squeakypen.blogspot.com/) and painted by William Wray.

Korgoth Background painting-Volcanic Wasteland

I came across alot of beautiful background paintings from Korgoth on William Wray's blog. (http://madaboutcartoons.blogspot.com) He so kindly posted this way back in 2006. It's a volcanic wasteland. I love the all the light radiating from the cracks in the earth and the plumes of smoke. It's watercolor on paper.

The background was designed by Justin K. Thompson (http://squeakypen.blogspot.com/) and painted by William Wray.

Come Hither

Patiently waiting for the googlebots to find this blog....come hither my electronic spiders! In the meantime, more to come! What exactly is "more" you ask?...I don't exactly know.

Fan animation of Korgoth from Youtube by amazingactionape

Favorite Korgoth comments from the Adult Swim boards

yomama_jones wrote:

After reading through this thread, I've come to these small few decision regarding the second coming of Korgoth:

1. If Korgoth had been firmly planted in the lining of of the scrotum of Seth Green, Seth McFarlane, Tim and Eric (they really are two side of the same piece of fecal debris), Brendan Small, and the rest of the crew with AS-spit soaked gonads, then we'd have already had a second episode. Unfortunately, it was written by Aaron Springer (allegedly) who has worked in conjunction with the likes of Genndy Tartakovsky of Dexter's Laboratory fame, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and SpongeBob Squarepants. (Each of which are quality shows imho). (Why won't you guys let Aaron in your club, guys?)

2. If you wish to see less of Tim and Eric as I would certainly hope, I would suggest that the majority, if not all, of you turn off your TV sets or change the channel whenever their shows come on. If we did that en masse then nobody will want to sponsor those shows after a while, and then AS won't be able to afford to keep the likes of Tim and Eric in the lineup. Also, avoid the associated and otherwise affiliated websites related to said show or shows. (Disclaimer: I am merely suggesting and not mandating, advocating, forcing, implying, or otherwise telling you to do this. I am merely presenting a potential outcomeas a result of aforementioned action based on volumes of data recorded in the annals of modern and pre-modern business practices and periodical listings in many, if not all, industries.)

Now, on a personal note:

Korgoth was the entire reason I signed up for an account here. I have made a total of two posts - each related to Korgoth's return, and each time I have been disappointed. My TV time spent watching AdultSwim has dropped due to the fact that listening to the same old voice actors and style of humour has become old and tired. Korgoth was fresh (at least to me). I enjoyed 12 oz mouse because it wasn't the same type of humour and I really enjoyed the change of pace and the artistic interludes. Venture Brothers is another good one because it never seems to disapppoint me. I still enjoy Metalocalypse (have to find someway to get MarkHamill involved, eh?), and I like the poignancy and self analyzing humour of Aaron MacGruder of Boondocks (but then again, why would they turn down the only show ojn AS that ever received an Emmy?).

[Insert obligatory "Bring Back Korgoth!" and "Korgoth Rules!" line here.]

Enjoy.

--Yomama

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Shub_Niggurath wrote:

Korgoth has a cult following after one pilot episode. That doesn't happen with a lot of shows.

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erjohnson wrote:

Korgoth looked to be a quality show; had a lot of potential and great animation (now mirrored in Superjail somewhat).

Everyone I've talked to (mostly voices in my head) have expressed an interest in the continuation of this show. Why do garbage shows like Tim & Eric get aired? They absolutely **BLEEP** (not opinion, actual FACT). AS has a **BLEEP** for that boring "random humor" phase. The lazy stylings of Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green, yes we get it, you can make 8 outdated pop-culture references per second.

Bring back Korgoth! It's humor pertained to the plot and had the makings of rich characters & setting (like Samurai Jack). GIve it another pilot or something, I'm sure it will get a ton of viewers.

Suppose it's hopeless to lobby AS, as the staff is probably fapping to 10-minute cartoon shorts that can be churned out cheaply and up their bottom line.

Hi-Res Korgoth Lobby Card

I found this on the intranets somewhere. It's a beautiful Lobby Card from Korgoth during his lengthy urination. The background was done by William Wray and layout was done by Justin Thompson.

copyright of Cartoon Network

Korgoth quotes!

"ABC, not my flavor"

"I've dated girls uglier than you for breakfast."

"Hairy balls of the Gods!"

"I despise all weavers of the black arts. Speaking of which, could you pass the gravy?"

"I didn't know there would be this much talking."

"This isn't what it looks like."

Jog Down Memory Lane...

Korgoth debuted about four years ago. The reason I remember this was because it came out the year I graduated college. I was mid-way through packing up all my junk, getting ready to move. Had the tv on late at night, half-way watching some retarded Robot Chicken episode or something. I was fairly new to Adult Swim, basically I was fairly new to cable in general! Growin up we didn't have cable, the first time I got cable was late in college.

So anywho! Korgoth came on, I was like ok, another cartoon, whatever, and I went back to packing my stuff not really paying attention. But all of a sudden the scene of Korgoth's lengthy pissing session caught my attention! I was like wtf is that!....how funny is that!! Who would've thought to show that. It was sheer brilliance! My eyes were glued to the tv. I continued watching with a school-girl giddyness.

Exploding apples, plucking leeches, saving damsels, smearing pigeon poop, Specules, Bubblegum Monster! All these hilarious gags, mixed with ultra-violence, with a peppering of wit and barbaric humor thrown in. I thought it was the best cartoon I had ever seen. And I still do. I knew it would be an instant hit! And it was.

Many youtube-watching sessions later and I still think it's just as funny the first time as it was four years ago.

What's your fondest Korgothian moment, my minions????

Welcome to Bring Back Korgoth!

Greetings Barbarians!

Almost four years ago, Korgoth of Barbaria was launched on Adult Swim. It was welcomed with open arms and praise from the fans. BUT, four years later and we are still without this amazing masterpiece.

It seems the big wigs at Adult Swim rejected the notion to release Korgoth as a series, despite it's awesomeness. Why kill something so epic? so life-changing? so ground-breaking? Well, that's just the way things are done at Adult Swim I guess.

From this point on, I plan on leading an underground movement to resurrect Korgoth's corpse. Join this cause! Only with your help can we possibly bring back this epic series! We will show Adult Swim, that we have not forgotten Korgoth and never will!

Stay tuned to this blog. It will operate as a portal to everything and anything related to Korgoth (what little there is out there.)

Sincerely,

Korgoth the Barbarian