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The Dot and Line was an online publication focusing on animation journalism. It was founded in 2016 by John Maher III and Eric Vilas-Boas. Over the course of four years, the masthead grew to include Elly Belle, Sammy Nickalls, and Marley Crusch. The Dot and Line published both reported and creative writing about cartoons and animation. It ceased publication on May 1, 2020.

History

The Dot and Line published its first piece on February 17, 2016, on Medium. The site took its name from the 1965 short of the same name, The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics, directed by American animated filmmaker and cartoonist Chuck Jones, with Maurice Noble, for the MGM Animation/Visual Arts studio, and adapted from the book of the same name by Norton Juster. It began as a weekly blog run solely by Maher and Vilas-Boas with a mission of “covering the animated arts with journalism as serious, attentive, and engrossing as the best writing on works in other creative forms.”

Over the course of the next two years, the site expanded, publishing the work of dozens of volunteer contributors and ramping up its publication schedule to multiple times a week. In December 2017, Belle joined the publication as social media strategist and a contributing writer. In September 2018, Nickalls and Crusch joined the site as web editor and director of special projects, respectively; both were prior contributors, and Nickalls had previously guest-edited an editorial package for the site that July.

In April 2019, Belle was named newsletter editor, and The Dot and Line launched its newsletter on Substack. That same month, the site was moved from Medium to a WordPress content management system. As of May 2020, according to its founders, the site had garnered roughly 1 million unique page views and 1.5 million total page views.

Content

The Dot and Line published a variety of pieces including analyses, essays, interviews, humor, retrospectives, reviews, and works of creative writing, including fiction and poetry. The site was also responsible for the creation of two podcasts, four print zines, and a handful of editorial series. Notable editorial packages included "Space Cowboy Serenade," a month-long retrospective for the 20th anniversary of Cowboy Bebop in 2018; "A Horse with a Name," a week dedicated to BoJack Horseman in 2017; and the site's finale, "That's All, Folks!," in 2020. The site covered both current and historical animation, and published exclusive interviews with animators, voice actors, directors, producers, writers, historians, and others.

Examples:

• Charlie Adler, voice actor and director known for his work on Cow and Chicken and Tiny Toon Adventures
• Juan Antín, director of Pachamama
• Greg Baldwin, voice of Aku in Samurai Jack
• Steve Blum, voice of Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop
• Johnny Yong Bosch, voice of Vash the Stampede in Trigun
• Steve Conte, singer on multiple Yoko Kanno soundtracks
• Jason DeMarco, co-creator of Toonami
• Dorothy Elias-Fahn, voice of Meryl Stryfe in Trigun
• Stephen Fossati, the "last protégé" of Chuck Jones, who spoke about the legendary animator's work on the short What's Opera, Doc?
• Wendee Lee, voice of Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop
• Hal Lublin, voice of Wide Wade in The Venture Bros
• Patrick McHale, animator on Adventure Time and Over the Garden Wall
• Adam Muto, Adventure Time showrunner
• Natalie Palamides, voice of Buttercup in The Powerpuff Girls
• Rob Paulsen, voice of Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Yakko from Animaniacs, among others
• Chris Prynoski, founder of Titmouse, Inc.
• Benjamin Renner, animator on Big Bad Fox
• Fred Seibert, founder of Frederator Studios
• Ali Soozandeh, animator of Tehran Taboo
• Genndy Tartakovsky, animator and director known for Dexter's Laboratory and Primal
• Nora Twomey, director of The Breadwinner
• Neil deGrasse Tyson, voice of Waddles in Gravity Falls
• Alberto Vásquez, director of Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
• Brandon Vietti, director of Young Justice and Scooby Doo! and WWE: Curse of the Speed Demon

The site also occasionally broke industry news, including the retirements of voice director Andrea Romano in 2017, and Adult Swim executive Mike Lazzo, in 2020.

Legacy

The Dot and Line, which was an all-volunteer operation, became an incubator for work by amateur and emerging journalists covering animation and cartoons. A number of its contributors went on to publish work for outlets including Bitch, Esquire, /Film, Polygon, Thrillist, Vice Media, The New York Times and others.

References

1. "John H. Maher". John H. Maher. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
2. "Eric Vilas-Boas is under construction". Retrieved 2020-05-30.
3. "Elly Belle". ellywrites.com. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
4. "Sammy Nickalls". Sammy Nickalls. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
5. "marley 'cartoon cat' crusch (@mindcrusch) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
6. The Dot and Line (2020-05-01). "The Dot and Line, Which Took on Tales of Toons, Dies at 4". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
7. The Dot and Line (2020-04-27). "The Dot and Line to Cease Publication May 1" (PDF). The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
8. The Dot and Line (2018-04-02). "Our 'Space Cowboy Serenade' Celebrates 20 Years of Cowboy Bebop". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
9. The Dot and Line (2017-09-08). "The Dot and Line Presents a Week Dedicated to 'BoJack Horseman'". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
10. The Dot and Line (2020-04-27). "That's All, Folks!". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-05-30.
11. Maher, John (2020-02-21). "How Charlie Adler Became a Cow, a Chicken, a Baboon, and a Devil (Featuring Michael Dorn as a Weasel)". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
12. Crusch, Marley (2019-06-06). "Director Juan Antín Brings a Peruvian Adventure to Netflix in 'Pachamama': Exclusive Interview". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
13. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2017-03-19). "Samurai Jack's New Aku Greg Baldwin Discusses Taking on Mako's Role: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
14. Dot, The; Line (2018-04-27). "Steve Blum Revisits Spike Spiegel 20 Years After 'Cowboy Bebop': Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
15. Erchak, Wyatt (2018-05-30). "Johnny Yong Bosch Reflects on Vash the Stampede 20 Years Later: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
16. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2018-05-02). "Steve Conte Looks Back on 'Bebop' and Working With Yoko Kanno: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
17. Dot, The; Line (2018-04-02). "How 'Cowboy Bebop' Came to the States: An Exclusive Interview for Its 20th Anniversary". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
18. Erchak, Wyatt (2018-05-31). "Dorothy Elias-Fahn Looks Back at Meryl Stryfe 20 Years Later: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
19. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2017). "Here's How Chuck Jones Really Felt About 'What's Opera, Doc?'", August 10, 2017, online American animation journal The Dot and Line (which ceased publication in May 2020). Last retrieved August 21, 2023.
20. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2018-05-03). ""Faye Is a Feminist": Wendee Lee Revisits 'Bebop' 20 Years After Its Debut". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
21. Maher, John (2016-03-17). "Hal Lublin Breaks Down 'Venture Bros.' and Playing Up His Asthma: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
22. Maher, John (2016-10-25). "Patrick McHale on the Haunting Magic of 'Over the Garden Wall': Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
23. Sedghi, Sarra (2018-08-30). "Adam Muto on Why an 'Adventure Time' Reboot Is Inevitable". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
24. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2016-05-26). "Natalie Palamides on Buttercup and 'Powerpuff Girls' Season 2: Exclusive Interview". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
25. Crusch, Marley (2019-11-15). "Rob Paulsen Just Can't Get Enough". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
26. Maher, John (2017-08-28). "Inside Netflix's New Nick Kroll and John Mulaney Cartoon, 'Big Mouth': Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
27. Reynolds, Sam (2017-11-30). "The Creators of 'The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales' Talk Craft and Cuteness". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
28. Maher, John (2016-08-25). "Exclusive Interview: Fred Seibert on How Creativity Flourished at Nickelodeon". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
29. Maher, John (2019-10-10). "Genndy Tartakovsky Gets 'Primal': "I'm Doing Things Differently Than I Ever Have Done"". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
30. Galwey, Isabel (2019-07-08). "'The Breadwinner' Director On How Her Film Came Together". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
31. Maher, John (2018-03-05). "We Asked Neil deGrasse Tyson Why He Voiced a Pig on 'Gravity Falls'". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
32. Reynolds, Sam (2017-11-10). "The Directors of 'Birdboy: The Forgotten Children' Strike a Grim Balance". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
33. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2016-07-21). "15 Things Brandon Vietti Learned Directing Batman, Young Justice, and Scooby-Doo: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
34. Vilas-Boas, Eric (2016-12-06). "Andrea Romano on Retiring and 30 Years' Hard Work: Exclusive". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
35. Maher, John (2020-01-09). "Mike Lazzo Leaves Adult Swim". The Dot and Line. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
36. "Elly Belle | Bitch Media". www.bitchmedia.org. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
37. "Sammy Nickalls". Esquire. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
38. "Eric Vilas-Boas, Author at /Film". Slashfilm. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
39. "johnhmaher Profile and Activity - Polygon". www.polygon.com. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
40. "Thrillist - Find the Best and Most Under-Appreciated Places to Eat, Drink and Travel". Thrillist. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
41. "Talia Jane". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
42. Barbaro, Michael (2020-03-13). "Making the Show Without a Studio". The New York Times. Audio engineer Dan Powell contributed to The Dot and Line. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-12.

• Online magazines published in the United States
• Animation magazines