
About this work
This group of four color model animation cels from The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show’s “Rickety Rocket” segment (Ruby‑Spears Productions, c. 1979–80) preserves production‑era character and prop designs for a pioneering Black‑led sci‑fi cartoon. Each sheet is hand‑painted on 12.5" x 10.5" acetate and labeled with series and production numbers, episode titles such as “Scary Spaceship Space Case,” “Robot Critic Caper,” and “Rickety Robbery,” and detailed color callouts that guided the animation paint department. The group includes the President of Trans‑Galactic Space Lines, museum officers, and ray devices associated with key scenes, combining character expression with speculative technology imagery in a way that reflects late‑1970s Saturday‑morning sci‑fi aesthetics. As working production tools, the sheets carry tape remnants, registration marks, and handwritten notes, preserving the material evidence of cel‑animation workflows at Ruby‑Spears during the transition from classic hand‑painted methods toward more modern processes. Within The Askia Jones Collection, these models are central to the archive’s commitment to documenting Black representation in animation and the behind‑the‑scenes craft that shaped children’s television in the late twentieth century.