1. Zachary Haldeman
The Man...The Myth...The Creator...

2. Where did he come from?
• A splendid young lady named Wendi fell in love with roguish young fellow
named Donald.
• They were married, and a few years later the young woman found herself
eating for two.
• Zachary Haldeman arrived between the hours of 8 and 9 on a beautiful
Saturday morning, April 27th, 1991.

3. Why should we care?
• Because this baby was destined for greatness.

4. Bullshit
• I shit you not! You see, this was no ordinary lad. Pulsing through his entire
body, deep within his bones, spread throughout his intestines, was... the
creative impulse!

5. What did he create?
• It’s not that simple. He wasn’t always the genius he is today. Like many
artists before him, he came from humble backgrounds, and his early works
were, to put it lightly, modest successes.

6. What did he start out
creating?
• Well, like most kids his age, he had a fondness for those crazy critters
known to the world as Pokémon. But unlike many of his peers, he was not
content to admire the creatures from afar. He went out of his way to create
his own Pokémon! And they were magnificent! Why, here’s one now!

10. That was wonderful!
• Yes, it certainly was!

11. What came next?
• Around third grade, Zach became infatuated with the Japanese action
cartoon called Dragon Ball Z.
• This was key in his creative development because, unlike the standard
episodic cartoons he’d been brought up on, this one was comprised of
complex, extended arcs that lasted enormous chunks of episodes.
• And so, the next thing Zach worked on was an epic, long comic completely
and poorly ripped off of Dragon Ball Z. In all seriousness though, it was
fucking awful.

12. What was it called?
• It was called Dark Hero, and featured a protagonist, Morok, who looked very,
very similar to Goku, just with bleached blonde hair (and bizarre patches
that were dyed purple).
• I repeat, nothing about it was good. Its pacing was horrible, the plotting was
inconsistent, and the exposition was delivered in clumsy, long speeches.
• But it was integral to his development as a writer.

13. • Dragon Ball Z launched him further into the world of Japanese comics, where
he quickly became a huge fan of the comics of Rumiko Takahashi.
• Her best-known series stateside is Inu Yasha, but Zach was fondest of Maison
Ikkoku and Ranma 1/2.

14. What did Maison Ikkoku teach
him?
• Everything.
• It taught him a value in character that Dragon Ball Z lacked. The main
characters were not easily definable, and they felt like real people with real
flaws.
• Most importantly, they evolved through time. It could be argued that from
the beginning of Dragon Ball when Goku was a child to 518 chapters later
when Dragon Ball Z ended, he didn’t mature at all. In Maison Ikkoku, not only
did the characters change dramatically, but it was impossible to pinpoint any
exact moment when they did change. In fact, the character development in
Maison Ikkoku may be unrivaled in any other fiction I’ve come across.

15. What did he get from
Ranma 1/2?
• Ranma 1/2 was an absurd action-comedy series that lacked much of the
character development of Maison Ikkoku. But the one-note characters didn’t
detract at all, since they all hit pretty funny notes.
• More importantly, its action was more creative than Dragon Ball Z, and it
often set out to just have a good old fun time.

16. Did Zach draw a comic
ripping off of Ranma 1/2?
• You certainly know Zach!
• But not exactly. He planned a comic ripping off of Ranma 1/2. He had a ton
of characters, a lot of ideas for funny stories, and a pretty good central
concept.
• But...he failed to ever make it.
• Whoops!

17. What was it called?
• It was called 21B, and it would have been awesome.
• It was about a beautiful girl whose family has a terrible curse. When each
girl born into it turns 21, they have to marry the first man they lay eyes
upon within five years or they will die.
• And she lays her eyes upon some lost traveler who she’s never seen before.
It’s not a bad place to start a romance, and the main couple would probably
be more fond of each other than the main couple in Ranma 1/2.

18. So from what I’ve gathered, Zach
Haldeman is a legendary comic writer!
• You’ve gathered poorly!
• Indeed, Zach found it increasingly difficult to ignore his limitations as an
artist and no longer draws comic books.

19. • But what medium was he
to tell stories in?
• Well, he liked the longer storytelling of comics, so movies are too short, but
he’s not good at writing novels.

20. Quite the dilemma. Where
will he tell his stories?
• In the fine medium of television!

21. That totally makes sense given the
parameters previously outlined!
• Yes it does!

22. What popular TV show is
he responsible for creating?
• None! He’s only 18 years old and is still in college. And possibly none ever.

23. What are some TV show
ideas he has developed?
• He had a few filtering through his mind for a very long time, until one day he
thought of one that would change everything.

24. What was it called?
• It went through many titles, but the only one he remembers is At a Distance.
And he doesn’t remember what that meant.

25. This is interesting! What
was it about?
• It was about a group of coworkers at a small children’s books publishing
house. It involved a large group of characters, all involved in their own soapy
and self-destructive behavior, but not treated soapily at all.
• It had some good ideas actually, and I was convinced it was great for a short
time.
• I still kind of like a lot of the ideas, but overall it wouldn’t really have worked
for a series. Some of the themes I still think are worth exploring.

26. I don’t understand. How
did it change everything?
• Because, unlike anything else he had done, it had some good ideas. And he
created a series of distinctive, sometimes genuinely interesting characters
and relationships. He even grew to love these characters. In fact, even
though he’s created better characters, a part of him may always love the
series’ protagonist Anna more than any other.
• But most importantly, it paved the way for him to have more good ideas, and
was the first time he’d really incorporated the lessons he took from Maison
Ikkoku and the others into something somewhat original.

27. But I want to know more than could
reasonably be contained in this
slideshow!
• I know you do, and that saddens me. Zach went on to come up with other
ideas that were actually pretty good and he can’t tell you because then you’d
know too much!

28. I still don’t understand the
point of this slideshow!
• The point of this slideshow? Pure self-indulgence?

29. Really?
• Yes!

30. Really????
• No!
• Throughout the slideshow, an effort was made to not only show Zach’s
evolution as an artist, but the influences on that evolution.
• Early on, he had very few influences, and his works were pale imitations.
• But the older he got, the more influences he had and the more mature and
fully-formed his work became. It’s safe to say that in a few decades, his name
will fit right up there with Homer, Shakespeare, Hemingway, and Whedon!

31. After this slideshow, I do
indeed feel safe saying that!
• You sure do!

32. So he’s going to be an
amazing TV writer!
• Yes!
• Except maybe not!

33. Is he amazing at anything
else!
• Yes! Why, just watch this!

35. Wonderful!
• Surely a modern animation classic!

36. Did that have anything to do with the rest of the
slideshow, especially the theme about influences that
you were just talking about?!
• No!
• It’s time to go!

37. Bye!
• Goodbye, good friend! You are now far more knowledgeable about...

38. Zachary Haldeman
The Man...The Myth...The Creator...