Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546404
FALL 2026 7 E D I T O R ' S N O T E SONAIYA KELLEY ("Inking Outside the Box") is a film reporter at the Los Angeles Times. The Bronx, N.Y., native previously served as a digital producer at Essence and Allure magazines and has contributed bylines to Complex, Mashable, and Patch.com. You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) @sonaiyak and on Instagram @sonaiya_k. EVAN HENERSON ("Barking Up the Right Tree") is a lifestyle and entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in L.A. Parent, TV Guide, Orange Coast Magazine, and the Los Angeles Daily News where he was a features writer and critic for nine years. ROMA MURPHY ("The Memory Keepers") is a comedy writer living in Los Angeles and missing her hometown of New York. She is a proud member of TAG and has worked across studios like Disney and DreamWorks. In her free time she likes to cook and have long conversations with her cat. Freelance writer and author KAREN BRINER ("Familiar Faces") grew up in Cape Town, South Africa where her garden was home to wild chameleons. Her most recent novel is Starry, Starry Heist. L.A.-based photographer TIM SULLENS has one wife, two daughters, and six cameras. Over the years, he has captured images of musicians and performers, political rallies and weddings. In this issue, he snapped our cover artists. THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY IS RIFE WITH NOSTALGIA. WHEN WE ASK TAG MEMBERS WHAT INSPIRED THEIR CAREERS, THEY OFTEN MENTION SITTING AT HOME WATCHING CARTOONS AS CHILDREN. As for me, I remember what a good time it was to hang out with my grandpa watching reruns of The Flintstones. Barney Rubble made him giggle like a kid. And we both got such a kick out of Mr. Magoo. It's fun looking back, as this issue proves. Both of our feature articles are tinged with yearning for days of yore. DreamWorks' new feature film Forgotten Island (p.20) is a tale of how memory informs our identity, and in "Familiar Faces" (p.28), beloved characters return in two reimagined new series. Storyboard Artist Will Heff's clay portrait of David Lynch (p.9) is influenced by his fond recollections of the filmmaker's influence on his artistic approach to life. And as we consider the 65th anniversary of One Hundred and One Dalmatians (p.34), the once-innovative use of Xerography is now seen through the lens of reminiscence. While it's interesting—and often comforting—to reflect on the past, I think it's also important to pay attention to the memories being made today. TAG members are working on new films and TV shows that will be recalled and loved dearly in years to come. Organizing wins are protecting animation artists throughout the U.S., and new tax incentives are keeping animation jobs in California. Then there is the creative thinking our members are known for. By initiating an L.A. outpost of Australia's Flying Bark Productions, Storyboard Artist and Producer Ian Graham is helping to keep TAG members employed in Los Angeles (p.10). From its start, animation has been an industry in flux. Its history drifts down and leaps up as the decades pass. And as the past shows and the present proves, TAG members are an essential part of making the memories that will be recollected for the ways they kept the industry moving forward. Kim Fay editor@tag839.org REMEMBER WHEN CONTRIBUTORS