Kazimieras Gediminas Prapuolenis[1] (born July 31, 1959), known professionally as Kaz, is an American cartoonist, animator, writer, storyboard artist, and illustrator. In the 1980s, after attending New York City's School of the Visual Arts, he was a frequent contributor to the comic anthologies RAW and Weirdo. Since 1992, he has drawn Underworld, an adult-themed syndicated comic strip that appears in many alternative weeklies.
| Kaz | |
|---|---|
 Kaz at the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival | |
| Born | Kazimieras Gediminas Prapuolenis July 31, 1959 Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, animator, illustrator, writer, storyboard artist |
Notable works | Underworld SpongeBob SquarePants Camp Lazlo Phineas and Ferb |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Marotta |
| http://kazunderworld.com | |
Career
editKaz's comics and drawings have appeared in many alternative and mainstream publications including Details, The New Yorker, Nickelodeon Magazine, The Village Voice, East Village Eye, Swank, RAW, Eclipse, N.Y. Rocker, New York Press, Screw, and Bridal Guide. He has continued to contribute to comics anthologies such as Zero Zero.
Kaz has also worked on several animated television shows including SpongeBob SquarePants, Camp Lazlo, and Phineas and Ferb. He was co-executive producer of Get Blake!.
Kaz joined SpongeBob SquarePants as a storyboard director and writer in 2001 during the production of the series' third season and was paired with C. H. Greenblatt. The series went on hiatus after production began on The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Shortly before production on the fourth season began in 2004, Kaz was invited by his colleague and the series' newly appointed showrunner, Paul Tibbitt, to work on an episode for the fourth season but he was never contacted by Tibbitt again and joined Camp Lazlo after leaving SpongeBob.[2] After Phineas and Ferb ended production, Kaz returned to SpongeBob in 2015 as a writer.
With Derek Drymon, Kaz co-wrote and storyboarded the pilot episode for Diggs Tailwagger, which was ultimately not picked up. In September 2006, Kaz left Camp Lazlo to work on another pilot for a Cartoon Network show, Zoot Rumpus, based on a character from Underworld.[3] With Mr. Lawrence, he wrote the episode SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout and is currently working on the first SpongeBob spinoff, Kamp Koral. He also serves as a writer and outliner on the second spinoff, The Patrick Star Show.
Kaz also co-wrote the screenplay for the Sandy Cheeks spinoff film, Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie, alongside Tom Stern.
Personal life
editKaz lives in Hollywood, California, with his wife Linda Marotta. Kaz is of Lithuanian descent.[4]
Filmography
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2004; 2015–present | SpongeBob SquarePants | Writer, storyboard director, story outlines, animation writer |
| 2005–08 | Camp Lazlo | Writer, storyboard director, story outlines |
| 2006 | Zoot Rumpus | Creator, writer, storyboard artist (pilot) |
| 2007 | Diggs Tailwagger | Co-writer & storyboard artist (pilot) |
| 2009–2013; 2015 | Phineas and Ferb | Writer & storyboard artist |
| 2012 | Secret Mountain Fort Awesome | Prop and effects designer ("Funstro") |
| 2014 | Get Blake! | Executive producer |
| 2018 | Little Big Awesome | Writer (2 episodes) |
| 2021–2024 | Kamp Koral: SpongeBob's Under Years | Developer, head writer, writer, animation writer, theme music composer |
| 2021–present | The Patrick Star Show | Creator, developer, head writer, writer, animation writer, story outlines |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | God Hates Cartoons | Creator of 2 animated shorts based on Kaz's comic strip Underworld |
| 2004 | The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie | conception character designer |
| 2005 | SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D Ride | writer |
| Corpse Bride | additional storyboard artist | |
| 2011 | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension | additional material, additional storyboards, storyboard artist (as KAZ) |
| 2018 | Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold | story by |
| 2019 | SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout | 20th anniversary special, writer |
| 2024 | Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie | story by, writer |
| 2025 | Plankton: The Movie | writer |
Bibliography
edit| Year | Title | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Underworld Vol 1: Cruel and Unusual Comics | Fantagraphics | out of print |
| 1997 | Underworld Vol 2: Bare Bulbs | ||
| 1997 | Sidetrack City and Other Tales | ||
| 1999 | Underworld Vol 3: Ink Punk | ||
| 2002 | Underworld Vol 4: Duh! | ||
| 2004 | Underworld Vol 5: My Little Funny |
| Month | Title | Issue | Story | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 2014 | SpongeBob Comics | #39 | "Grudge with Your Grub" | United Plankton Pictures | Story |
| Jan. 2015 | #40 | "Lavable Pin-Up Comic" | |||
| Oct. 2015 | #49 | "Monster Canyon" |
References
edit- ^ Comic Con Baltics (2018-08-08), Kaz at Comic Con Baltics, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2018-08-19
- ^ "It's official!". SpongeBuddy Mania Forums. 5 July 2004.
- ^ "This Week's Underworld". November 5, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-11-05.
- ^ "Kazimieras Gediminas Prapuolenis". Comic Con Baltics. Retrieved 2023-09-04.