Doug TenNapel
TenNapel in June 2011
Born	Douglas Richard TenNapel (1966-07-10)July 10, 1966 (age 58)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Animator, writer, video game designer, comic book artist
Notable works	Earthworm Jim The Neverhood Catscratch Ghostopolis Ratfist Nnewts
Awards	Eisner Award Winner
Spouse(s)	Angie TenNapel ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	4

Douglas Richard TenNapel (/təˈneɪpəl/tə-NAY-pəl;^[1] born July 10, 1966) is an Americananimator, writer, cartoonist, video game designer, and comic book artist whose work has encompassed animated television, video games, and comic books. He is best known for creatingEarthworm Jim, a character that spawned a video game series,animated series, and a toy line. He is also the creator of the animated television seriesCatscratch (2005–2007), which aired onNickelodeon, and was itself a loose adaptation of TenNapel's comic book limited seriesGear.

TenNapel began as an animator onAttack of the Killer Tomatoes: The Animated Series.^[2] He soon began working in thevideo game industry on projects like 1993'sJurassic Park andThe Ren & Stimpy Show: Stimpy's Invention for theSega Genesis andThe Jungle Book for theSNES and Sega Genesis.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, he createdEarthworm Jim, the character that would star inShiny Entertainment's video game, toy line, and cartoon series. Shiny Entertainment headDavid Perry later commented on working with TenNapel, "I wish I could find 100 Dougs, then I realized I was lucky to have been able to work with one. He is crazy talented, both crazy and talented! He also generates an enormous amount of amazing content and ideas, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sleeps with a sketch-book!"^[3] In 1995, he left Shiny Entertainment and founded his own company, Neverhood, with several other former Shiny employees.^[4] Working forDreamWorks Interactive, Neverhood createdThe Neverhood for the PC and PlayStation. The sequel, entitledSkullmonkeys, followed in 1998.^[5]

On television, TenNapel was the creator of theProject G.e.e.K.e.R. cartoon series forCBS. He was also a consulting producer on theABC seriesPush, Nevada withBen Affleck.^[6] Towards the end of the 2000s, he also created two shorts forFrederator Studios andNicktoons, "Solomon Fix" (computer generated 3D) and "Squirly Town" (traditional 2D).^[7]

As a graphic artist and cartoonist, TenNapel released his first comic book in 1998:Gear, a surreal epic based on his real-life cats, Simon, Waffle, Gordon and Mr. Black, in a war against dogs and insects using giant robots as weapons. The cats fromGear would eventually become theNickelodeon seriesCatscratch.^[8][9]

TenNapel did the cover art for several ofFive Iron Frenzy's albums, including a sculpture for their live album,Proof That the Youth Are Revolting. TenNapel has also created album covers and artwork for severalDaniel Amos CDs, The 1999 tribute to the band,When Worlds Collide, theNeverhood soundtrackImaginarium: Songs from the Neverhood and others.^{[citation needed]}

Flink, a graphic novel by TenNapel, was released in late2007 throughImage Comics.Monster Zoo was released in early summer2008. In May2009 his graphic novelPower Up was released.^[10]

Between January and October 2009, TenNapel was a regular contributor toBreitbart News' "Big Hollywood" section, covering topics from movie reviews and the state of the comics entertainment industry to criticisms of theObama administration and theenvironmental movement.^[11][12]

In July 2010, his graphic novelGhostopolis was released. In 2009, it was announced the book would be adapted into a film starring and produced byHugh Jackman, but no update has been given since then.^[13]

TenNapel produced an episodic spoof of JapaneseSuper Sentai-style shows calledGo Sukashi! based on a character byShoko Nakagawa (who appears in the films), and starringJohn Soares andBrooke Brodack.^[14] He has also published an online superhero-genre-spoofing webcomic titledRatfist.^[15]

In September 2012,Fox Animation optioned TenNapel's published Graphix novelCardboard, with plans for actorTobey Maguire's Material Pictures, graphic novelist Doug TenNapel, and theGotham Group to be executive producers. Fox planned to have the picture developed under its WedgeWorks subsidiary. WedgeWorks directorChris Wedge (Ice Age) was producing, and considered directing the film as well.^[16] As of 2020, no update has been given on the film, especially given theacquisition of 21st Century Fox assets by The Walt Disney Company.^{[citation needed]}

TenNapel has usedKickstarter to produce a bound collection of his sketches, namedSketchbook Archives.^[17]

TenNapel and other former members of theEarthworm Jim team at Pencil Test Studios launched aKickstarter campaign in May 2013 to fund a PC game project calledArmikrog, described aspiritual successor toThe Neverhood and also being animated usingclay animation techniques.^[18] It was successful, and reached its stretch goal for aWii U version.

In 2018, TenNapel self-published the graphic novelBigfoot Bill, launched as anIndiegogo, successfully funded and reaching various stretch goals.

In May 2019, TenNapel and other members of the originalEarthworm Jim team announced a newEarthworm Jim game, to be released as an exclusive for the upcomingIntellivision Amico.^[19][20] He also self-published the graphic novelEarthworm Jim: Launch the Cow, again on Indiegogo.

TenNapel was born inNorwalk, California and raised inDenair, California.^[21] He has been married to Angie since 1990.^[22] The couple have four children.^[23] TenNapel was personal friends withAndrew Breitbart prior to the latter's death.^[11][12]

TenNapel has attracted criticism for his remarks on theLGBTQ community and its issues, including vocal opposition tosame-sex marriage and intentionallymisgendering atransgender journalist who criticized theEarthworm Jim video game.^{[24][25][26][27]}

He has dismissed this criticism, and has written that "transphobe (like homophobe) is a made-up word used to slander conservative people of faith with a mental condition, and is only used by SJWs".^[28] TenNapel was involved withComicsgate, a right-wing campaign against diversity andprogressivism in the superhero comics industry.^[28]Sean Gordon Murphy had drawn a cover for one of TenNapel's works,Bigfoot Bill 2, which he withdrew and issued an apology after being made aware of TenNapel's history of anti-LGBTQ comments. In response, TenNapel tweeted that it is "more important than ever that pro-family comic lovers support my work", stating his belief that LGBTQ people are waging a "culture war" against him.^[29]

TenNapel supportedDonald Trump's presidency and regularly posts his political opinions on various social media platforms.^[30]

Since 2021, he has hostedDoug In Exile, a political talk show. It has been hosted onYouTube andRumble.^[31]

• Young, Sarrah (August 2005)."Father Figures: God Is in the Details of Earthboy Jacobus".Exclaim! (Canada). Archived fromthe original on June 3, 2007. RetrievedMay 27, 2007.
• Kit, Borys (March 12, 2008)."Paramount nabs 'Zoo'".The Hollywood Reporter.
• TenNapel, Doug (January 1, 2011)."Webcomic: Ratfist". Wordpress with Comicpress.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toDoug TenNapel.

• Doug TenNapel atIMDb
• www.TenNapel.com
• Doug TenNapel's profile atMobyGames
• Doug TenNapel Sketchbook Archives at Kickstarter
• Scholastic Doug TenNapel author page

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