Michael Barrier (historian)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Barrier is an American animation historian. Barrier was the editor of Funnyworld, a groundbreaking journal devoted to comics and animation studies, which began as a contribution to the CAPA-Alpha amateur press association. Starting in 1970 it expanded to being a magazine of general circulation that eventually had a printrun of several thousand before ceasing in the early 1980s. He also was an early champion of the work of comic book artist Carl Barks, in a period when comic book fandom was mostly devoted to the celebration of super heroes and tended to denigrate funny animal comics (one notable exception to this being Don Thompson and Maggie Thompson). Barrier serialized a bibliography of Barks' work in Funnyworld and in 1968 contributed an extensive essay analyzing Barks' work to the seventh issue of the Thompson's pioneering fanzine Comic Art. The essay and bibliography installments were the genesis (albeit extensively revised and expanded) for Barrier's 1982 book Carl Barks and the Art of the Comic Book, still considered the essential work on the artist. Long out of print (and the object of less than pleasant relations between Barrier and the publisher) Barrier has stated a new edition "which will be so extensively revised, as well as retitled, that it will really be a new book—will be published eventually by Fantagraphics Books." ^[1]

In 1973, Barrier signed a contract with Oxford University Press to write a history of Hollywood animation ^[2]. The research and writing of that book extended over twenty-four years. With the aid of associate (and animator) Milt Gray, Barrier undertook extensive research and interviews of all the key figures who played a role in the creation of classic American theatrical animation, mainly that of Disney (Silly Symphonies and Mickey Mouse), Warner Bros. (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), MGM (such as the Tom and Jerry series) and the Fleischer/Famous studios. That research provided the basis of his landmark 700-page history of classic animation, Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age (published in hardcover in 1999 and reissued as a trade paperback in October 2003).

Barrier has also provides several audio commentaries for the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD box sets, his largest audio contributions being for the first volume. Barrier's most recent book is a biography of Walt Disney, The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney. He also currently has his own website exploring the world of animation and comic art.

Barrier has announced his next book, which he is currently researching, will be titled Funnybooks, "a book on comic books that will pay much less attention to superheroes than the usual comic-book history and much more to the likes of Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, and John Stanley—that is, to the mainstays of the Dell line, as well as to such significant creators as Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman."^[3]

Barrier at one point engaged in a lengthy discussion on animation topics with John Kricfalusi that he was allowed to post on his website.^[4]