The Herculoids :From the vaults of Warner Archive, Hanna Barbera & the mind of Alex Toth
Before we end this edition of on going articles on Hanna Barbera, we have to take in one last adventure together. Well what could be better than a journey to 1967 with a jaunt thru the cosmos to the planet Quasar. The home of :
Above: The Herculoids fan art
The Herculoids.
The Herculoids(1967) is a unique story concerning a family of planet protectors Zandor, Tara his wife and son Dorno. Protecting their home planet from alien invasions, slavers, home spun uprisings and self- appointed leaders bent on world domination. They are aided in their fight to preserve peace & freedom on Quasar by some trusted friends and allies who are a mixture of prehistoric/sword & sorcery based creatures. Tundro(combination 4 horned rhino/ceratop) who can shoot blasting rocks from a cannon horn and a body that is shielded like a tank. Zok a winged dragon that shoots laser beams from his eyes and tail. Igoo, a rock ape who is virtually indestructible and able to wade through molten lava.
Even some with more futuristic powers like Gloop and Gleep- two “Shmoo” looking creatures one small and one tall who have “Plastic Man” type qualities that can bend, squish, enlarge and split into smaller versions of themselves. Gleep and Gloop are also impervious to most types of weapon blasts. In fact they can absorb/deflect energy blasts. Many times they can be found bending themselves around Zandor and family to shield them from certain harm.The adventures and stories well received with kids of all ages provided Hanna-Barbera the opportunity to stretch their sound effects library for there were countless explosions and ray blasts, rock falls crashes. Ten add in all the alien creatures & monsters like super strong and very large ants. And the Herculoids had to have been exhausted by the end of the season after all these attacks from outer space. Especially since each week we were treated to 2 12 minute stories.
They came along at a time when there was boom in dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were everywhere during the 60’s. I was grabbing every book I could when I would hit the library that had anything to do with these real monsters. Kids could not get enough. We had the Flintstones., every toy store sold sets of prehistoric animals usually with a base map/volcano,
Sinclair Oil with their dino mascot printed on t-shirts, hats and they even put together and sponsored a tour of giant dinosaur statues that traveled from city to city stopping at various shopping centers across the country and I was lucky enough to have made that scene. Being at an age of somewhere between 6–8 I was mesmerized by the size of these enormous creatures.
The Herculoids had some of the best voice actors doing what they do best lending their incredible talents to the coolest beings in the outer realms of space. Making the introductions for each weekly adventure was none other than Paul Frees( ghost host with the most-voice of Disney’s Haunted Mansion curator). Mike Road voiced Zandor who aside from his voice acting gigs was a Warner Bros television contract player-making appearances on The Wild Wild West, Maverick, Sea Hunt and others. But he most known for his voice characterization of Race Bannon on Jonny Quest.. He brought to his roles a very deep Baritone vocal element that resonated that lent itself well for any animated hero. A well enunciated actor and easily recognizable.
Behind the scenes of this smoking show was Ted Nichols with another awesome music score and opening title theme that really captured that way out premise and lent an eerie, other worldly element and still giving a nod the action and excitement that was about to come. Couple that with the stupendous color on the inking end and eye candy layouts and you have one unique series that would pull you in and keep you coming back for more.
Alex Toth-cartoon character designer extraordinary
Alex Toth (1928–2006). a legendary character designer, animator, cartoonist, artist and comic book creator. Alex at the urging of a high school teacher enrolled in art school with the goal of working in the comic strip biz along with some of his boyhood inspirations Alex Raymond(Flash Gordon), Caniff(Terry and the Pirates) and Hal Foster(Prince Valiant). By the time Alex graduated in 1947 from School of Industrial Art the strips were starting to wind down and he decided to make a leap into comic books. He started out with his first gig for National/DC Comics working on the golden age characters of Green Lantern and Black Canary’s first meeting with the Justice Society. Other DC series included The Atom, Flash and Doctor Mid-Nite. He also worked in the mid to late 50’s within the war, romance and crime genres and also brilliantly illustrated Disney’s Zorro comics.
Alex was hired by Hanna Barbera in the early 60’s after Toth had manned the helm on the animated sci-fi show Space Angel. This led to Alex creating not only the Herculoids but the highly regarded Space Ghost series that helped launch the domination of super heroes on Saturday mornings for a solid 3 years, a hold that ended only due to the Coalition Against Violence on Television, Other series included Birdman and the ever popular Super Friends from the 1970’s. The 70’s also saw his venture into Creepy, Erie and The Rook for Warren Publications. His talent knew no bounds and many considered Alex a genius when it came to background design not just character development and he really shined when it came to details such as weapons and machines- no one could do airplanes better. His eye for detail to this day has very rarely been challenged. As each year of Toth’s participation in the animation and comic industry continued so did his reputation. He remained active into the 80’s within the animation field. His last venture in comics creating the cover for Batman: Black and White # 4 (1996). The comic book industry paid tribute to Alex in 1990 when he inducted in the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1990. One thing to note in regards to Alex, being what people call a genius could be somewhat temperamental, a perfectionist or what I would call frustration at having to try and communicate what people of that magnitude go thru when communicating an idea or a concept of to them should be common sense. An example I have the ability to see ahead in time when an idea or a concept is explained to me. I can several minutes, hours and days down the road from the time this is introduced in a public way what the outcome will be or how it will effect various individuals- usually 96% at being right and I forget that most people do not think in that way. Hence the frustration when trying to explain that to another person. He was a very generous man in terms of helping other artists when working on projects together with cel, inking and drawing his panels, storyboards and keeping to his specs. Especially knowing that most of the crew were used to animals and not working with human scale characters.
Now Alex’s career spanned 5 decades and a body of work that exceeds the limit of this article at least for now. But I will leave you with some suggestions if you would like to get more acquainted Alex Toth. Warner Bros Space Ghost-the Complete Series(DVD & Bluray) includes a feature length documentary on Alex and is available online at the Warner Bros Shop.
Then there is IDW’s magnificently produced 3 volume series on his career and body of work- Genius, Illustrated, Genius, Animated and Genius, Isolated all written by Dean Mullaney & Bruce Canwell. All can be found on Amazon or IDW’s website. Each comes with a library binding boasting hundreds of examples of his artwork and drawings which makes them the ultimate reference resource. If one is interested in art and learning from a master, you could no better. Oh when you order these books give your mail carrier a break and be standing by when they are to be delivered they weigh in at a hefty 5.4 lbs.
A rare, sought after Hanna Barbera series -Drac Pack: featuring the voice of Hans Conried. The descendants of the original Universal monsters Drac Jr, Farnkis and Wolfie as they right the wrongs of the past … and take on Doctor Dread and his associates…Vampira & Toad
Look for a continued coverage regarding Hanna Barbera and their indelible contribution to the field of animation in a future Who’s Streaming What When Where- as we discuss Boomerangs new editions to their streaming service. Also look to Comixology(see link below) for Scooby Doo Team Up- various Warner Bros, DC and Hanna- Barbera characters join Scooby and the gang solving spooky mysteries in a nod to The New Scooby Doo Mystery Movies TV series from the early 1970’s. Some previous team ups have seen Secret Squirrel, The Flash, Deadman, Jonny Quest and Atom Ant picking up the magnifying glass and fingerprint kit. Proving that these wonderful cartoon characters are just as popular today as they were over 60 years ago.
I want to thank you Bill and Joe wherever they may be, along with all the talented people that you surrounded yourselves with for providing hours upon hours of fun and imagination to stimulate not only stimulating my brain but for whole decade and then some. And for Warner Bros and Warner Archive for sharing this for generations to come, keeping all these incredible Hanna Barbera productions look as pristine as when they were first broadcast decades ago. Who knows who may be inspired to take up the mantle. For now, I leave with this- like Space Ghost would belay as an adventure would conclude “ There’s a lesson here somewhere.” So” be dangerous and diabolik”…This is Doc saying see ya next time…
A reminder-
Warner Archive DVD/Bluray releases available at the Warner Bros Shop online and IDW Publishing for all your animated resource books and the home of Disney Comics and Stories, Duck Tales, Star Trek and TMNT.
Now available from Warner Archive-
Link: Warner Archive-Warner Bros Shop
Link : IDW Publishing
https://www.idwpublishing.com/
Link: for comixology
