Fil Barlow (born 8 April 1963) is an Australian artist,

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

, writer, production designer currently based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Barlow is the creator of the ''Zooniverse''

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published in 1986-87.

Biography

Barlow was born on 8 April 1963 in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. In 1965, his family moved to

Balwyn North, Victoria Balwyn North, also known as North Balwyn, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Boroondara, Bor ...

. He pursued drawing at an early age, self publishing his first

, ''Fudsey'', at age of 10, and the next year had his comic ''Zeroy'' serialized over four weeks in a Sunday paper called ''The Observer''. Barlow began his professional cartooning career with ''Australian

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Magazine'' at the age of sixteen, two years later he became a regular contributor to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

based ''Inkspots Magazine''.

Minotaur Books St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 ...

proprietor, Colin Paraskevas, published Barlow's ''Zooniverse'' comic internationally in a joint venture with

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

between 1986 and 1987.

Richard Raynis Richard Raynis (born December 27, 1956) is an American animator and television producer. He is a six-time Primetime Emmy Award winner for his work as one of the main producers of ''The Simpsons''. He is also known for co-creating several Adelaide ...

, then producer at

DIC DIC may refer to: Biology and chemistry * Diisopropylcarbodiimide ''N'','-Diisopropylcarbodiimide is a carbodiimide used in peptide synthesis. As a liquid, it is easier to handle than the commonly used Dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, ''N'','-dicyclo ...

offered Barlow the character design supervisor position on '' ALF'', which he worked on from 1987 to 1989. Barlow returned to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, moving to the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

in 1992 creating the comic ''Rex Vectar'', which was serialized in ''Megazone Magazine'' in 1992 and ran until 1994, he also established his own publishing and animation production house, ''Zoonimedia''. In mid-1994, he moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, with

Helen Maier Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, G ...

one of the artists associated with Kinetic Comics. In 1996, Barlow returned to

with Maier, establishing an animation production house, Artopia. Through his company Barlow has worked as a character design supervisor and lead character designer at

Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company, which was active from 1994 until its reincorporation as Sony Pictures Television in 2002. It was the third iteration of what ...

, working on ''

Extreme Ghostbusters ''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise, which initially aired from September 1 to December 8, 1997. A sequel to '' The Real Ghostbusters'', which aired from 1986 to 1991 on AB ...

'', '' Godzilla: The Series'', the 3D series '' Starship Troopers: Roughneck Chronicles'', ''

Max Steel ''Max Steel'' is a discontinued American media franchise produced and owned by the multinational company Mattel. Originally released as a line of action figures marketed from 1999 to 2022, the Max Steel name has expanded to live-action films, a ...

'', ''Heavy Gear'' and

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

's feature ''

Eight Crazy Nights ''Eight Crazy Nights'', also known as ''Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights'', is a 2002 American adult animated Hanukkah musical comedy-drama film directed by Seth Kearsley (in his feature directorial debut), written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert ...

''. From 2001 onwards, Barlow has worked independently as character and production designer on ''

Tutenstein ''Tutenstein'' is an American animated television series, produced by Porchlight Entertainment for Discovery Kids based on the comics by Jay Stephens. The series was first premiered on Discovery Kids' Saturday morning block on NBC on November 1 ...

'', '' Igor'' and the co-creation with

of the game ''

Spectrobes ''Spectrobes'' is a video game franchise consisting of three installments, the most recent of which was released in 2009. ''Spectrobes'' ''Spectrobes'' is a science fiction video game that was developed by Kyoto-based game developer Jupiter, ...

'' for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. In 2010, Barlow returned to

to focus solely on ''Zooniverse''. Barlow began submitting ''Zoon'' related animations each month to the web site ''Loop De Loop'', and established a new company Zoonitoons with Maier and in 2012, they began republishing his ''Zooniverse'' and ''Rex Vectar'' comics. In 2014, the couple began collaborating on 8House: Yorris for

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

Credits

* ''

'' (2007) (creator with Helen Maier) * '' Igor'' (2008) (character/production designer) * ''

'' (2003–08) (character/production designer) * ''

'' (2002) (character designer) * ''

'' (2000–02) (creature & character designer) * '' Starship Troopers: Roughneck Chronicles'' (1999-2000) (creature & character designer) * '' Godzilla: The Series'' (1998-2000) (creature & character designer) * ''

'' (1997) (creature & character designer) * '' COPS'' (1988) (character designer) * '' ALF: The Animated Series'' (1987–89) (production designer) * ''Zooniverse'' (1986–87) (artist, writer, creator)

External links

Zoonitoons
Fil Barlow's publishing house *

Lambiek's database
Fil's Deviant Art page
Samples of his Animation Design work from his career
The official Zooniverse Comic blog
The official Zooniverse Comic blog
8House: Yorris
at Image Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Barlow, Fil 1963 births Australian comics artists Australian comic strip cartoonists Living people Australian production designers People from Balwyn, Victoria Artists from Melbourne Australian expatriates in the United States Sony Pictures Entertainment people