Eldred, Tim 1965-

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Eldred, Tim 1965-

PERSONAL: Born June, 1965.

CAREER: Writer, artist, director, animator, illustrator, storyboard artist, and publisher. Director of animated television programs, including Extreme Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictures Television, 1997;Dragon Tales, Columbia TriStar Children’s Television, 1999;Heavy Gear: The Animated Series, Adelaide Productions, Inc., 2001;Spider-Man, Marvel Enterprises, 2003;Xiaolin Showdown, Warner Bros. Television, 2004. Storyboard artist for animated features. Comic book writer and artist for such titles as Star Blazers, Armored Trooper Votoms, Captain Harlock, Robotech and several original series.

AWARDS, HONORS: Best Books for Young Adults selection, American Library Association, 2007, for Grease Monkey.

WRITINGS

(Illustrator) Daniel Quinn, The Man Who Grew Young, Context Books (New York, NY), 2001.

(Author and illustrator) Grease Monkey, edited by Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Tor (New York, NY), 2006.

Author of documentary Space Battleship Yamato: The Making of an Anime Legend. Author and artist of Web comic Star Blazers Rebirth.

SIDELIGHTS: An artist, animation director, and illustrator in the animation field, Tim Eldred is also an accomplished comic book writer and artist. His interest in art and animation was sparked in his youth by the Japanese cartoon series Star Blazers, an early example of the Japanese anime genre that is currently extremely popular in the United States. He has worked on comic book versions of Star Blazers as well as on another popular Japanese franchise, Robotech. As an animation director, he has worked on cartoons in series ranging from Dragon Tales to Spider-Man to the Xiaolin Showdown. Eldred has also produced content for original digital video disc (DVD) productions of Star Blazers and Votoms.

Eldred is the writer and artist of Grease Monkey, a combination of comedy and science fiction set in a future world in which humans coexist with artificially evolved apes. In this world, an alien invasion has severely damaged the planet Earth, nearly obliterating the human race. With so few humans left to defend her, the planet is vulnerable to another attack. Unexpectedly, a race of advanced, intergalactic missionaries steps in to help, using their high technology to evolve millions of gorillas very rapidly to a level similar to that of humans. Suddenly, humans must adjust to sharing equal time with creatures they once considered beneath them on the evolutionary scale but that are stronger, faster, and at least as intelligent. The gorillas face adjustments as well as they set about to define their own civilization while defending Earth and learning to get along with their hairless brethren.

The story in Grease Monkey begins when young human spaceship mechanic Robin Plotnik is assigned to a mechanics detail aboard the spaceship Fist of Earth. He becomes the subordinate of gorilla Mac Gimbensky, whose fearsome reputation for eating people terrifies Robin. Mac and Robin work for the Barbarian Squadron, an all-female team of gorgeous combat pilots who capture Robin’s youthful attention. As the story progresses, Robin learns that Mac is not a ferocious people-eater but is in fact a wise and gentle soul who becomes his protector and mentor. Mac becomes involved in an emotionally touching romance with a gorilla fleet admiral while Robin tries to court a young librarian named Kara. In the background, human and gorilla must still find ways to interact successfully with one another while the threat of renewed alien attack constantly looms over everyone.

Reviewer Jesse Karp, writing in Booklist, noted that the story “contains trenchant commentary on racism, politics, animal rights, dating, family, loyalty, and the importance of books.”School Library Journal reviewer Benjamin Russell called the story “enjoyable and emotionally effective.” Eldred’s storytelling is “filled with gentle comedy and wise personal insights,” commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who called Eldred’s art “traditional in the best sense: not flashy but clear, efficient, and handsome.”

Eldred once told CA:“I was influenced most by the books, movies, and TV shows that made strong impressions on me as a youth, such as M*A*S*H, Star Wars, Star Blazers, and many more. I have always found that writing becomes easiest when you develop characters with a strong individuality so that dialogue and situations suggest themselves rather than being struggled over.

“The most surprising thing I’ve learned about writing is how easily a good idea can be derailed once it is subjected to the scrutiny of a committee, most especially in the realm of screenwriting. This becomes especially apparent when one realizes that all the most important works of fiction tend to be the product of a single mind. Grease Monkey is definitely my favorite work because it most strongly represents my personal opinions and beliefs, undiluted by any committee.

“I hope for two things: first, to blur the distinctions between graphic novels (a format) and entertaining fiction (a genre), and second, to offer readers (especially younger ones) a unique view of the world that may help them to navigate through the murky waters of life.”