In 2007, GameTap launched an ambitious animated series called Re\Visioned, which takes a familiar videogame property and re-imagines it, giving it an entirely new spin - or at least as much of a new spin as the property holder would let us get away with.   Re\Visioned's first season featured an iconic videogame figure: Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.  In June of 2008, Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement Television Advanced Media Excellence by the Southeast Chapter of NATAS.

Among the talent recruited for this project: animator Peter Chung (creator of Aeon Flux); comic book writers Warren Ellis, Gail Simone, Christos Gage, and Brian Pulido; comic book artists Jim Lee (with Wildstorm Studios), Cully Hamner, and Ivan Reis; and the sci-fi novelist Michael A. Stackpole.  Oscar nominee Minnie Driver provided the voice of the title character.  Below are three episodes of Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider which clearly illustrate the premise of the series - providing a brand new way of looking at Lara Croft.

Above: Pre-Teen Raider presents, for the first time anywhere, Lara Croft at age twelve. Story by me and Gail Simone, script by Gail Simone, who is currently writing Wonder Woman for DC Comics.  Designs and animation by the Los Angeles-based Flash studio Six Point Harness.

Above: Revenge of the Aztec Mummy, written by me and Brian Pulido, with character designs by David Alvarez. This episode can best be described as Tex Avery meets Scooby-Doo; it's very cartoony, which is about the last way you would expect to see Lara Croft presented. It’s also a departure for Mr. Pulido, a noted horror-meister best known for his Lady Death comics.

To the right: Legacy, also written by Brian Pulido, with character designs by Ivan Reis, who illustrates Green Lantern for DC Comics. Ivan's character designs, when translated into Flash, wound up taking on a very Jonny Quest-like feel, and as a result, so did the look of the whole episode. I felt the best way to present this episode's throwback style of animation, especially when viewed against the episodes directed by Peter Chung, was to make it look like an episode of a lost Lara Croft cartoon from the 1960's. We added dirt and scratches to age the "final print", and I culled the Turner music library to create a period mono soundtrack. Of the ten episodes, this one was probably the biggest producing challenge, and it turned out to be one of my favorites. Mr. Pulido was happy with how his episodes turned out as well, and he graciously said some very nice things about me in this interview from Comic Book Resources.

Images and content herein are the property of and Copyright 2007 & 2008 GameTap/TGN, Inc./Turner Broadcasting System, and are presented for the sole purpose of representing my work.  Lara Croft, Tomb Raider is a trademark and property of Eidos, Inc.  Freeway, Pressure Cooker, and Cosmic Ark are trademarks and properties of Activision, Inc.  Defender is a trademark and property of Midway Games, Inc.

Finally, a specially produced promo for the Tomb Raider series, featuring a couple of inept mummies, CGI-animated by D.C. Sayre, written and produced by me.  A version of this spot was awarded a 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Achievement Television Spot Announcements Excellence by the Southeast Chapter of NATAS.