Amidst the perfect storm of fan-con and festival season, Los Angeles-based Neko Productions drops a buzzworthy flood of entertainment business growth updates. Cresting the wave is the studio’s debut, original kid-lit graphic novel series entitled 101 Reasons Why. The broadly humorous tome, created by writer/director/comedian Ofir Lobel (Keshet/Netflix’s BLACKSPACE; Keshet’s TRUST NO ONE and A WONDERFUL COUNTRY), edited by Peyton McDavitt, and with comics art direction from Bobbo Andonova (BOBBO DRAWS), is a high-concept comic that’s ripe for the future animated adaptation. Additionally, Neko founder and executive producer Lirit Rosenzweig Topaz has relocated Neko’s former Burbank headquarters into a souped-up facility in Sherman Oaks, California. With this move comes the engagement of graphic novel development guru John Shableski (Myra and the Drawing Drama, Manga Classics, We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story) and consulting producer Marlene Sharp (Young Captain Nemo, Sonic Boom, Snack World).

Established in 2010, Neko also is the animation studio behind video game giant Sega’s infectious fan favorite web series SONIC MANIA ADVENTURES and its equally appealing companion TEAM SONIC RACING OVERDRIVE. Both shows star the Blue Blur himself: Sonic the Hedgehog.

Along with its hub in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Neko maintains artists, administration, and tech experts on four continents. Plus, Frame By Frame Animation, Neko’s professional art training curriculum, offers a comprehensive online animation instruction program. Video courses are available in multiple languages, such as Hebrew and Spanish, for creatives worldwide. FBF Animation supplies an abundance of educational opportunities for those outside Southern California. Opened in 2012, the school tenders access to top-tier teachers who are simultaneously employed at Hollywood powerhouse studios, such as Disney and DreamWorks.

“Besides my husband (director/animation department chair at DreamWorks feature films Liron Topaz) and my three children, Neko remains my proudest achievement!” beams Lirit Topaz. “From our animated incarnation of Dr. Ruth Westheimer – in the Hulu documentary ASK DR. RUTH – to our ongoing education of next gen animators, Neko is the result of my dreams as a girl growing up in Israel. The next era of Neko will bring even more surprises – both live-action and animated – to viewers everywhere. This is just the tip of the iceberg!”

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.

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