Last year, Dark Horse began publishing the largest-ever compendium of Little Annie Fanny cartoons -- a collection that wraps up this September with the release of the second comprehensive volume, Playboy's Little Annie Fanny, Volume 2: 1970-1988.
As a special treat to our regular readers, and in honor of our completion of the biggest Little Annie Fanny collection the world has ever seen, Dark Horse is extremely pleased to present this exclusive interview with Mr. Elder.
Shawna Ervin-Gore: How was Little Annie Fanny different from other projects you worked on before it?
Will Elder: The many projects that Harvey and I worked on together contained one very important ingredient -- keep it funny. Little Annie Fanny was an elaborate effort, having the most detailed and colorful work ever. Before Annie Fanny we worked in black and white and cross-hatching techniques. The addition of color and finishing in watercolor brought our work to a new level.
SE-G: You've worked alongside Harvey Kurtzman on other projects, but had you collaborated with him as closely before Annie came along?
WE: Harvey and I had worked very closely for a long time. We satirized everything from the comics in Mad Magazine to Madison Avenue advertising in Mad and Humbug, from current events to everything available to the 60s counter culture. When we got to Playboy we had already worked together long enough to become alter egos. Little Annie Fanny was an easy step to take because I was already very comfortable working with Harvey.
SE-G: You're known for adding lots of funny extras to the background of the comics you were hired to illustrate. Does this mean that most of the funny background action in the strips were your doing, or did you collaborate on dreaming them up?
WE: I don't want to frighten you, but most of the background gags in my early work come from me. As an editor for Mad Magazine, Harvey Kurtzman knew and worked with many cartoonists. He was aware of the special talents of each cartoonist. Harvey knew that I was the class clown back at The High School of Music and Art, so he encouraged me to throw everything but the kitchen sink into my work, and so I did. I spent many wonderful hours thinking up gags upon gags, which always put me right up against the deadlines. At Mad, Trump, Humbug and Help! I was able to throw in almost everything that came to mind, but since Annie was a little more grown up and sophisticated, I'd put in as many gags as I could think of because I knew that many of them were going to be edited out. Hef didn't want the clutter of the Mad backgrounds, so I had to pull back a little. I worked many long hours to meet the deadlines and still put in the time to come up with as many gags as possible.
SE-G: How did you and Harvey determine which current events you would spoof? Were there any particular subjects that were passionate about satirizing?
WE: There was a world of material that was all around us, the world was full of political, celebrity, you name it, comics, television shows -- parody, sex and Annie! It was easy to come up with subjects to satire because the climate of the culture was ripe for lampooning.
SE-G: Did you realize when you were in the process of developing Little Annie Fanny that you were developing a color process that would be legendary to artists for years to come?
WE: We never realized what an impact Annie would have. We were so involved in the day- to-day task of getting the strip out that we weren't aware that our best efforts would impress comedians, fans and artists alike. I was always amazed when we'd receive compliments from some of the top talents of our culture and even from overseas. We weren't supposed to enjoy hard work, but we did.
SE-G: Can you share one of your favorite memories from the time you were first working on Little Annie Fanny? It seems like the process would have been great fun.
WE: In the very beginning, Harvey and I were trying to develop the story, the characters and the scripts all at once. We began doing it ourselves just so we could get Annie started. Then it got complicated. We had to bring in guys to help make the deadlines. We rented a suite at the Algonquin Hotel in New York, turned on every light in the suite, and with the assistance of Frank Frazetta, Jack Davis, All Jaffee, Russ Heath and Arnold Roth, we were able to make our deadlines. It was a great time, ordering eggs benedict, orange juice and plenty of coffee.
We set up an assembly line type of arrangement: some guys were doing backgrounds, some were doing other details. We were all following Harvey's layouts. After one artist was done with his part of the work, he'd pass it on to the next guy who would fill in the next step of the story. It would eventually get back to Harvey, who was such a perfectionist that he often had changes to the work. He would mark the work with his changes and send it back into the assembly line unbeknownst to the artists who thought they were done with that panel. Suddenly I heard Jaffee say, "Hey, this is the third time I did this panel. To which Harvey replied, "Do it again." We laughed a lot, but we worked very hard.
Keep your eyes peeled for the September 19th debut of Playboy's Little Annie Fanny, Volume 2: 1970-1988. This giant, gorgeously colored, 240-page book is the second part of the most complete Little Annie Fanny collection ever! Special thanks go to Gary Vandenberg for helping Dark Horse arrange this interview.