'In The Bleachers' (20 March 2011).
Steve Moore is an American cartoonist, best-known for his sports cartoons, of which the feature 'In the Bleachers' (1985-2018) is the best known. He is also active in the field of animation, creating the 'Alpha and Omega' franchise and the animated feature film 'Open Season' (2006), which was based on some episodes of 'In the Bleachers'. As a children's book writer and illustrator, Moore is notable as the author of the 'King of the Bench' series. He should not be confused with the British comic writer Steve Moore (1949-2014), who created 'Axel Pressbutton'.
Early life and career
Steve Moore was born in 1965 in Colorado and grew up in Southern California. Although he drew cartoons in his school books as a child, he actually wanted to become a veterinarian. He studied this profession at Oregon State University, but eventually changed his focus to journalism, graduating with a master's degree. After college, Moore worked as the sports editor for the Maui News in Hawaii. In 1985, he was hired as an editor with the Los Angeles Times, where for eleven years he wrote articles about sports, news and features. He has additionally been a writer and news editor for the Lake Oswego Review. Moore eventually took an interest in cartooning, inspired by his main graphic influences B. Kliban and Gary Larson.
In the Bleachers
On 1 September 1985, the first episode of Moore's sports-themed series 'In the Bleachers' (1985-2018) appeared in print. Most episodes are one-panel cartoons, but some have made use of comic strip sequences. There are no recurring characters or focus on one particular sport. Gags can revolve around professional sportspeople, but also regular people playing a game. Between 1985 and 1995, 'In the Bleachers' was syndicated by Tribune Media Services, and in the years that followed by Universal Press Syndicate, Universal Uclick and Andrews McNeel Syndication. At the height of its circulation, the feature appeared in about 200 papers worldwide. In 1996, in order to concentrate on 'In the Bleachers', Moore resigned as editor for the Los Angeles Times.
One memorable cartoon depicted the "annual instant gratification zero-mile fun run", in which the athletes don't have to run, but instead instantly receive their award, a T-shirt. In a case of life imitating art, the comic inspired a real-life sports contest held in Philadelphia, titled the "Philly 0.0 Mile Road Race". Just like in the cartoon, participants simply show up at the race, don't run and receive a T-shirt and other gifts. A portion of the proceeds from this non-competitive event are donated to charity.
Moore created 'In the Bleachers' for 33 years until on 9 July 2018 he announced his retirement, due to essential tremor, a neurological disorder. Since 2018, 'In the Bleachers' has been continued by Ben Zaehringer. A compilation of 'In the Bleachers' is available in the book 'The Best of In the Bleachers - Steve Moore's Funniest Sports Cartoons: A Classic Collection of Mental Errors' (Little, Brown & Company, 2003).
'In the Bleachers' (15 June 2014).
Animated media adaptations & other films
In 2002, 'In the Bleachers' was adapted into an animated TV series by Ed Wexler and Gary Katona, who have notably worked for Walt Disney TV Animation Special Projects. These 15-second long shorts led to a full-blown, but short-lived animated TV series, 'Metalheads' (2003-2004), created by Moore. It was set in an academy where all students study to become knights. 'Metalheads' was a co-production with TV-Toonland, CBBC and the German TV company ZDF.
In 2006, Jill Culton and Roger Allers directed 'Open Season' (2006), with Moore as co-producer. 'Open Season' is a 3-D animated feature film based on the hunting-themed episodes of 'In the Bleachers', though from the perspective of a group of forest animals who try to defend themselves against game hunters. 'Open Season' featured celebrity voice work by actors like Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise, Debra Messing, Billy Connolly and Jon Favreau. The picture was released by Columbia Pictures and received mixed reviews. Nevertheless, it did well enough at the box office to three direct-to-video sequels and a video game spin-off.
Steve Moore was also involved with the production of another successful animated franchise, 'Alpha and Omega' (2010). In collaboration with directors Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, he wrote a love story about a male and female wolf from two rival tribes. The picture was distributed by Lionsgate Films and featured voice work by Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere, Dennis Hopper, Danny Glover and Christina Ricci. Despite bad reviews, 'Alpha and Omega' spawned seven direct-to-video sequels and one video game adaptation.
Illustration from 'King of the Bench: Comeback Kid' (2018).
King of the Bench
Steve Moore has been the writer and illustrator of 'King of the Bench', a children's book series about a boy who is average in sports and usually sits on the bench during whatever game he "participates" in. Moore has described the books as "autobiographical". So far, four titles have been published by Harper/Collins: 'No Fear' (2017), 'Control Freak' (2017), 'Kicking and Screaming' (2018) and 'Comeback Kid' (2018).
Graphic contributions
In 2014, Steve Moore made a graphic contribution to the anthology comic book 'Tarzan and the Comics of Idaho #1' (2014), a project to benefit the Friends of the Boise Public Library in Boise, Idaho. The book promotes 'Tarzan' by Edgar Rice Burroughs, with tributes to the 'Tarzan' comics created by Harold Foster. It features other graphic contributions by artists like Charles Soule, Dennis P. Eichhorn, Todd Clark, Allen Gladfelter, Dame Darcy, Randall Kirby, Steve Willhite, Scott Pentzer, Jim Sumii, Julia Green, Jon Kiethley and Shanae LaVelle. It was successful enough to inspire follow-up issues.
'In the Bleachers' (19 June 2013).