It's an honor to have a very special guest, cartoonist Mark Marderosian, for an EXCLUSIVE interview found only on ImNotBad.com about Jessica Rabbit. Over the years, and with the current pin trading phenomena, Jessica has become such a popular Disney character. This very site is inspired by none other than her own signature store, Jessica's, and this man was a vital part of that operation. I'm sure there are tons of fans wanting to know more about Jessica Rabbit and such an important person who brought her to life.
ImNotBad.com:
Let's go back to when you were young. As a child, what inspired you to become a cartoonist / illustrator?
Mark Marderosian:
My Mother and Father were huge Disney fans, especially of Fantasia. My Father brought home some comic strip originals by Al Capp when I was seven. I was fascinated by how much larger the originals were than when printed in the paper, and how cool it was that they were DRAWN. Just black ink on white board with some zip-a-tone cut by hand. I was bitten by the bug. Started drawing every day. It hurt more NOT to draw.
Moonbeam McSwine from the Li'l Abner comics.
INB:
How were you introduced to Disney films, and which one inspired you the most?
Mark:
My Mother loved Disney animated films especially the first Three Little Pigs cartoon which she saw in a re-release. She took us to every new animated release and re-release. We saw a re-release of Pinocchio and once again, I couldn't believe that human hands, just by DRAWING, could create such beauty.
INB:
So did this lead to you beginning to draw?
Mark:
I began to draw my own comic strips and copy them to pass out along the neighborhood, slipping them into people's mailboxes every day. Did that for about six months!
INB:
That's great! I guess the seed had been planted. So, as time went on, did you begin to draw for a living?
Mark:
I had so much fun and practice. I worked full-time for a year doing just gag panel cartoons. I worked for an advertising agency. After going to school studying film animation, I was hired by a small local animation studio. Then I REALLY started learning how to draw and animate, especially when we all got thrown into the deep end of the pool doing McDonald's commercials.
INB:
There is no doubt many readers have seen your work and never even knew it. How did the commercials turn out?
Mark:
Luckily, thanks to a lot of help and talented people, like a fellow named Bob Palmer, who art directed them, they came out great!
INB:
Not too long after, you began a different kind of project. Can you tell us about that?
Mark:
Shortly after the animation studio gig, I started my own comic book, Delta Tenn. It starred a very leggy woman police officer. Mature themes. It was originally published by TE Comics, run by a great guy, Paul Howley. At one point during the run, Gene Simmons of Kiss fame optioned it for TV development for his significant other, Shannon Tweed.
A script was written, the green light given. We came this-close! It was only one week away from the start of principal photography when NBC switched to another program. Gene left me a message on my answering machine saying that sadly, after two years of development and progress, the network was currying favor with another producer. Politics and all that.
Delta Tenn, Lady Cop was a comic series created by Mark Marderosian.
INB:
Wow, what a shame. So after getting the bad news, what happened next?
Mark:
I didn't have much of a chance to feel too down, because the very next day, a talented artist I had known from a couple of years back, Mark Seppala, called me out of the blue. Mark had been hired by Walt Disney Theme Parks in Florida. They were ramping up the creative merchandise department, and gearing up to produce more merchandise exclusive to the parks.
INB:
So this brings us to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The movie had been a success and introduced us to a bunch of new characters, including Jessica Rabbit, of course. What was going to be your role for the project?
Mark:
At that time, the Jessica Rabbit store was about eight months from opening, and they needed a TON of merchandise drawn and produced.
INB:
That seems like a big undertaking in small period of time. What was it that made your friend at Disney, Mark Seppala, track you down?
Mark:
He called me and said, "Hey, I just saw a copy of your comic book. I notice you're good at drawing curvy, tall women. We need someone to draw a lot of Jessica Rabbit merchandise. You interested?"
INB:
...and what happened?
Mark:
Took me two seconds to sign on.
INB:
So how does a project like that begin?
Mark:
I got all my reference; they sent me a long list of drawings needed for key chains, t-shirts, clocks, balloons. It was great!
The movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit introduced us all to Jessica Rabbit.
INB:
So, Disney then had to choose what drawings would be produced into merchandise?
Mark:
I'd submit a list of 12 t-shirt ideas and they'd pick seven or eight. I'd draw concepts, draw tighter pencils and ink them by hand, and then send them over. So those t-shirts were the first [created].
INB:
Can you recall just how much Jessica Rabbit merchandise was produced?
Mark:
It's amazing how much material myself and other artists created for that store. I was lucky to get in early and do pins, key chains like I mentioned, clothing, just about every article known to humankind. Designs for 3-dimensional objects too! Sculptures, plates. When I met Gary Wolf, the [Roger Rabbit] creator, two years later, I thanked him for creating the characters and putting so much food on my table!
Mark Marderosian created a variety of Jessica Rabbit merchandise for the Jessica's store.
INB:
How was it for you to be immersed in a world of Jessica Rabbit and being required to come up with fresh new art?
Mark:
It was great drawing Jessica Rabbit. At the time, I was also corresponding with Earl MacPherson, a great pin-up artist of the 50's and I felt his inspiration pushed me to even greater posing and character expressions.
INB:
Did Mark Seppala guide you through some of the process?
Mark:
He was and still is a great art director who knew when to edit and when to give me freedom to just sketch out ideas. That first month, I did hundreds of sketches. Just had a blast.
INB:
It sounds like it all went smoothly. Was there any difficulty along the way?
Mark:
After my initial dozen drawings of Jessica, which were accepted, a strange thing happened. I got stage fright. I suddenly realized this was serious stuff. This wasn't just Mark and myself trading Jessica drawings back and forth but it would be thousands of people seeing and buying this material.
INB:
What happens to a cartoonist with stage fright?!
Mark:
My next few drawings of her were "off-model". They suddenly didn't have that "zing" the character needed to come alive. After those twelve to fifteen drawings in a row being accepted, a drawing I did of her and Roger was rejected as not looking like the characters. What the heck? I couldn't get a handle on it.
Unused Jessica Rabbit concept art by Mark Marderosian.
INB:
So after having some problems, how did you get back on your feet?
Mark:
I took one day off and then came back just doodling. I drew Jessica Rabbit in all these different pin-up type poses. Nothing racy, but just looser.
INB:
Did it worry you to take a little freedom with the character?
Mark:
I stopped fretting over the exact line and concentrated more on the verve of the pose. Even if a couple of these weren't quite on-model, they had the spirit and life of the character to them.
INB:
There is still one "big" important piece to the Jessica's store to discuss, the neon Jessica Rabbit sign which became an icon in Pleasure Island for some 15 years. There are many Jessica fans and animation enthusiasts who never got to enjoy it's original purpose, being part of her very own store. Can you tell me how you created this legendary pose?
Jessica Rabbit concept art that may have inspired an iconic pose.
Mark:
I did a drawing of Jessica reclining on her back, looking at the viewer with both legs curled up. Just for the hell of it, I faxed it over to Mark [Seppala]. He came back and said, "Whew! We can't use that, especially with that pose, but it's a great drawing." The very next drawing I did was Jessica leaning against a stool with one arm behind her head, legs crossed. I submitted it and Mark said, "That's it! That drawing and her face is Jessica to me!"
INB:
And the icon was born! What was some of the process for creating it into the actual sign?
Mark:
I then inked it by hand at a large size, about 2' by 2' without a single spot of white-out or exacto blade scrapping. I sent the original over and the inking sealed it. We cut the stool out, blew it up and it became the art for the large sign.
Mark Marderosian created the famous art for the neon Jessica Rabbit sign.
INB:
The sign also featured real sequins on her dress and the famous swinging leg. Who came up with that idea?
Mark:
Once I drew the pose of her with her legs crossed, someone at Disney Merchandise had the great idea of not just making it the sign, but putting the gears in and having her leg swing back and forth. Just seemed a natural given my pose.
The Jessica's store in 1991.
INB:
So you got your rhythm back and the store was getting ready for debut. What happened next?
Mark:
After that I kept going with a lot of merchandise devoted to her, with hardly any speed bumps. Worked for months drawing her and Roger, sometimes together, sometimes separately. I'd do rough color comps for approval and then go to the pencils and inks. Lots of late nights working but a lot of fun too.
INB:
I've come across some Jessica drawings on-line. I'd be remiss if I didn't bring them to your attention. Do they look familiar?
Mark:
OMG! Those are ALL my original drawings! What a flood of memories they bring back - I haven't seen them [since 1990]!
INB:
I'm glad I was able to spot that they were yours. Can you tell us about them?
Mark:
They are the color comps I mentioned - they were VERY tight so that Disney would really get an idea of the concept. Some were accepted, some were either put on hold for later use. None were outright rejected.
INB:
Some do look familiar to me. Like this one.
Mark:
I believe the one with her singing and Roger and Baby Herman above DID make it as a t-shirt.
INB:
This is another item that did get produced.
Mark:
You have there my original sketch for the license plate - I ultimately did the final pencils and inks for that.
INB:
Here are some examples of merchandise that never did get produced.
Unproduced Jessica Rabbit merchandise concept art.
Mark:
The one I get a kick out of is the clocks - I remember drawing those out, thumb-tacking them onto the wall for shipping and the head of a Boston ad agency, who was visiting my studio at the time, was very impressed with the drawings. I loved doing those marker comps - fun to add highlights and shadows by hand - more fun than doing it on the computer that's for sure.
INB:
This is my favorite.
Mark:
The comp of her on that piano was inspired by a Michelle Pheiffer movie at the time, The Fabulous Baker Boys.
INB:
Here is a rare photo of an item produced only in prototype form. It looks great! I would have loved it.
A Jessica Rabbit unproduced prototype back scratcher selling at auction.
Mark:
I had designed that back scratcher and drew what it would look like from all angles but that prototype was as far as they got.
INB:
Did you ever go to the Jessica's store?
Mark:
That's the funny thing, I never made it down to Florida in time. When I got there, I took some great photos of the sign but the store had switched to Rock n' Roll merchandise. Luckily, they had sent me a lot of the material I had worked on.
INB:
Yes, sadly in 1992 it was converted into the Music Legends store, selling music and entertainment memorabilia. Can you tell us at all what happened to Jessica's?
Mark:
Not sure, anyones guess. Could have been internal politics. I know that sadly, the public spat between Eisner and [Jeffrey] Katzenberg had a trickle down effect onto the whole Roger franchise because of the fact that the copyrights were held jointly. When Jeffrey went to work for what Michael considered a rival, that put a lot into limbo. Hopefully, time has healed things and people have moved on.
INB:
The sign became a staple to the Pleasure Island horizon after the store closed, yet it was taken down in 2006. From public accounts, it looked like the sign was in a dumpster. Do you have any knowledge and feelings on this?
The neon Jessica Rabbit sign was relocated to the West End Stage and remained until 2006.
Mark:
From what I heard, a collector wanted to buy it, but Disney is keeping it under wraps in a warehouse. A lot is rumors, like the asking price being $25,000. It's always amazing to me just HOW much material Disney has packed away. I always would have loved one of the original Dumbo cars from the ride myself.
INB:
Years later, Jessica gained in popularity through the pin trading community. What do you think of this new found popularity and the use of your famous neon sign pose being used so often for her pins?
Mark:
It's all very flattering and makes me feel good, especially as an illustrator. It's nice when people respond to something you drew from simply pencil and ink. Takes a lot of sketching and attempts from various angles and perspective. I always try very hard to get just the right expression and attitude both in the faces and posing. I wish royalties were included in that feeling but you can't have everything! Still, Jessica paved the way for me to continue drawing for Disney, both for the parks and on books based on the Disney Princesses.
INB:
Who Framed Roger Rabbit producer Frank Marshall recently told MTV news he seriously wants a Roger sequel and thanks to computer technology it's, highly possible - what do you think about this news?
Mark:
It's welcome news. I hope that after all this time, the internal politics with Disney and Amblin can be straightened out. I would love to see these great characters going through their paces and bringing us smiles and laughter again.
INB:
What do you see in the future for Jessica Rabbit?
Mark:
I think she'll always be slinking around in that very unique way of hers. She's truly a cartoon icon now and I'm thrilled to have played a small part in her history.
INB:
Mark, I thank you very much. It was truly an honor to talk to you and to find out the big part you played in bringing Jessica Rabbit to life!
Mark:
I'm thrilled you got in touch with me - it brought back memories. Thanks so much for this interview. It was fun!
