| Dept. for Enchanted Fingers |
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| "Huh? Me? I gotta do an intro? Damn. Okay. ((tapping microphone)) Um. I'm Leah Rosenthal. I was fannish before there really was a media fandom, back in the early 60's, when I was a kid. I used to go to great lengths back then to be able to see my favorite shows, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Star Trek (the original series). I *drew* illustrated story/comics by hand before I knew there were fanzines. Then I stumbled across one of the first Star Trek Conventions in New York run by the Welcommittee, and became part of the media fan culture ever since. I've been attending MediaWest*con in Michigan, the ultimate media fan con, for nearly 20 years. I've loved a lot of shows over the years, but the biggest ones included Trek, Star Wars, The Man With No Name, Blakes 7 and Highlander. I've probably produced over 500 cartoons over the years, some of which have been published in pro magazines like STARLOG. I've illustrated a book, "Future Speak: A Fan's Guide to the Language of Science Fiction" by Roberta Rogow. I have absolutely no respect for actors, having been intermittantly exposed to celebrities since all the way back when Barbra Streisand was my babysitter, in the housing project in Brooklyn. My mundane professional life is in Sales. I live in a house in Florida with Annie and 25 Somali Cats and American Shorthairs. I take out of a fandom exactly what I like best, and if anyone tells me there's something wrong with that preference, they need to get the broomstick out of their butt and return to Planet Earth. I enjoy STARGATE, but I'm not particularly wild about a single character. If anything, I prefer James Spader's Daniel Jackson most." |
| THE ART OF LEAH ROSENTHAL |
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| Below you find the links to Leah's websites. Take your time, plan in a couple of hours. I've been there more times than I can remember, and still I haven't seen everything! All artworks here are used with permission, and may not be used anywhere else. |
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| The famous "Grounded" cartoon - which hangs on our office wall! |
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| Introducing Leah Rosenthal to you guys is most probably like carrying owls to Athens - so to start with, we rather let her do the entrees herself: |
| LEAH ABOUT LEAH |
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| CONTROVERSIAL CARTOONS |
| The most controversial of Leah's cartoons are those about Jonas Quinn. It's obvious she's not very likely to join his fan club. Do I think these cartoons are funny? Some yes, some no. Humour is a very personal thing; what makes one roar with laughter makes the other frown. I'm not an artist, so I can't really tell what it is that inspires a cartoonist - maybe disliking something as much as liking something. But satire has a long, a very long tradition. All through the centuries people have used satirical drawings to express a dissatisfaction with a situation - there are even drawings in caves which mock a hunters bad luck during the hunt! What shouldn't be forgotten is that the target of Leah's satirical drawings is Jonas Quinn, a *fictional* character. Not the actor. Which is a significant difference. Nobody is expected to love Leah's artwork. But satire is also a part of the much-quoted Freedom of Speech, and no matter if one agrees with it or not, it's a fundamental right - a right the sci-fi channel obviously honours and doesn't seem to mind: they recommended Leah's site to their viewers. So those who like her stuff - enjoy. Those who don't: avoid. There's just one thing that doesn't need to be discussed: that Leah Rosenthal is an absolutely outstanding, gifted artists, and I can't wait to see her work in book form. |
| Leah's kind of humor is not everybody's cup of tea. Fair enough. So sometimes her cartoons get under attack. Here are two examples for controversial artworks. This cartoon here was criticized for having a slashy undertone. Does it have a slashy undertone? Yep. Now, I read somewhere that "normal" fans don't like slashy undertones. Admittedly, I'm no slasher. I just don't see Jack and Daniel together, not on TV, anyway, in a fan fic - possible. Depends on if the author can "sell" me the story. However: I very, very much like this cartoon, which, I have to add, *also* hangs in our office. But then, I never said I was normal. ;-) |
| ALL AROUND THE FANDOM |
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| How is a cartoon born? "Naturally, the idea always comes first. As soon as I get to the drawing board, I sketch it out in pencil and then ink in the cartoon. Colored markers have always been my favorite medium, because they are transparent, vivid and dry right away...and if you are familiar with the properties of each brand, you can learn how to blend them. Watercolor for the lazy..." As she mentioned above, Leah doesn't "only" do Stargate cartoons. I picked out some of my favourits from all around the fandom, much more can be found at her website. It's a personal selection, and I'm not miffed if anybody shouldn't share my humour. :-) |
| Nekkid Daniel (please note the little hearts over Janet's head - no wonder I like this one, ol' Daniel/Janet shipper that I am!) |
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| I just adore Tyr's expression in this "Andromeda" cartoon! |
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| Howl! |
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| Now that's just simply one of my absolute favorits! Ever since I've seen it, I can't watch the X-Files anymore without cracking down. I would do *anything* to see Scully do that stunt!!!! |
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| Highlander - no comment! =D |