Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedia, calls it "the world's first hypertext encyclopedia of toons" and states, "The basic idea is to cover the entire spectrum of American cartoonery."
Markstein began the project in 1999 with several earlier titles: Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia (1999) and Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia (2000). He changed Don's Cartoon Encyberpedia to Don Markstein's Cartoonopedia after learning the word "Encyberpedia" had been trademarked. In 2001, he settled on his final title, noting, "Decided (after thinking about it for several weeks) to change the name of the site to Don Markstein's Toonopedia, rather than Cartoonopedia. Better rhythm in the name, plus 'toon' is probably a more apt word, in modern parlance, than "cartoon", for what I'm doing.[1]
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Born March 21, 1947, Markstein was fascinated with all forms of cartoon art since his childhood. In 1981, Markstein and his wife, GiGi Dane, founded Apatoons, a publication about animation. He edited Comics Revue, a monthly anthology of newspaper comics, from 1984 to 1987, and 1992 to 1996.[1] A writer for Walt Disney comics, Markstein has focused Toonopedia on American and other English language cartoons with the goal of developing the largest online resource on American cartoons. Toonopedia has accumulated over 1,800 articles since its launch on February 13, 2001.
In 2002, Charles Bowen reviewing the site for Editor & Publisher, said,
For journalists researching stories, these online resources can be golden. A case in point is Don Markstein's simply amazing Toonopedia, a vast repository of information about comics, past and future. Now, honestly, unless you're a comic book collector or a cartoonist, you're probably not going to put this on your frequent filer's list. However, if you're working on a story that deals with pop culture, that focuses on a particular time period, or that touches on classic villains and superheroes, Don just might become your own personal hero. The site serves up illustrated entries on nearly every comic strip, cartoon, and comic book you can think of, from the world famous Blondie and Peanuts to those ultra-obscure strips, such as The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzelburg.[2]
After attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he joined the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, writing feature stories for the Sunday magazine section. His freelance credits include weekly restaurant reviews for the Phoenix Business Journal, semi-annual previews of comic book publishing projects, science fiction convention program books, scripts for relaxation tapes and computer manuals. His comic book scripts are mainly for licensed characters, including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tiny Toon Adventures and Eek! the Cat.
Graphic Novel Review for Libraries was Markstein's periodical guide for librarians. For each 20-page issue of the monthly magazine, he reviewed 25-30 graphic novels.[3]
He has provided editing, design and production for numerous publications, including Arizona Living, Arizona Women's Voice, Comics Interview, Comics Revue, Phoenix, Phoenix Resource, Louisiana Weekly Employer, Scottsdale and Sun Tennis.[3]
In February 2011, Markstein suffered a stroke and became a patient in the Life Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona. After February, the site was not updated during 2011. In mid-October 2011, the Toonopedia website vanished, but it returned on October 20.
Toonopedia overlaps with the books Markstein has written, edited and compiled. A Prince Valiant Companion (Manuscript Press, 1992), by Todd Goldberg and Carl J. Horak, was edited by Markstein and Rick Norwood. It includes plot summaries of the Prince Valiant comic strip from its beginning in 1937 to the 1980 retirement of the strip's creator, Hal Foster, along with additional material on the series and Foster's other work.
Hot Tips from Top Comics Creators (Fictioneer Books, 1994) is a 120-page collection of more 1,000 pieces of advice on the comic-book industry from the first ten years of Comics Interview, plus capsule biographies of 262 comics professionals.
Pirates!: The CD-ROM (PiratePubs, 1998) is a digital compendium of stories, games, movie stills, poetry, artwork, flags and music about pirates.