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TV The Whole Family Can Read!
Bill Morrison, Bongo Comics' Editor

Barb Lien-Cooper

November 1999

I started taking Bongo Comics (The Simpsons, Radioactive Man) seriously when they did a spot-on accurate issue concerning comic book censorship - possibly the best and most hilarious issue on the subject that I have ever read. Then, I picked up some back issues of Radioactive Man, which contained very funny spoofs of Silver-Age superheroes (sort of like Alan Moore's 1963 comics without the slightly clever-clever tendencies Moore occasionally indulges in when he delves into comic book history). I've been a collector of the Bongo imprint ever since.

I hope that fans of The Simpsons, even those who don't normally read comics, will pick up an issue or two of these well-done all-ages books. Some issues do fall flat, but many are the equal to the well beloved TV show. If comic books have to be TV tie-ins, one would hope that they would be done with the dedication to the vision of the TV show in question that Bongo Comics has to The Simpsons.

I noticed in reading the credits in the comics that Bill Morrison not only edits many of the issues, he has also done the odd script. His name's also all over the art credits. Because of this fact, I decided he was the man to ask about Bongo Comics. The answers to my questions are featured below. [ The Simpsons ]

Barb Lien-Cooper: Tell us about your background (e.g. where you come from, where you went to school, TV shows you watched as a kid)...

Bill Morrison: I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan and eventually graduated from The Center for Creative Studies with a certificate in Ad Design and Illustration. I grew up in a very middle class family and really enjoyed being a kid - so much so that I continue to hang on to childhood as much as possible. As a kid I loved to build (and eventually blow up) model kits, watch TV (my favorite program was Batman, but I watched just about everything) , and draw cartoons.

BL: What comics did you read as a child?

BM: My favorite comics were any title with Batman in it, but I went through phases. I had my Richie Rich period, my Archie period and of course my Peanuts period. Strangely enough, the bookstore where I bought my comics didn't carry Marvel titles so I didn't discover them until I was about thirteen or so.

BL: When did you first seriously think of making comics your profession?

BM: Probably when I was in Junior High. I knew I wanted to be an artist from the time I was three, but I think the comics bug really bit me when I started drawing pictures of Spider Man and realized they didn't look too terrible.

BL: What profession would you pursue if you weren't in the comics industry?

BM: Well, I spent the early part of my professional career as an illustrator working in advertising, so I'd probably stick with that, although book Illustration is something I've always wanted to do. Either that or drive a truck. I love traveling on the open road.

BL: How'd you get into the comic book business as a professional (first jobs in the industry, for instance)?

BM: My first job in comics was for Simpsons Illustrated back in 1991. Prior to that, I had wanted to get into comics but I guess I was having too much fun and staying too busy as an illustrator to take the time to pursue it.

BL: What creative projects were you involved in before The Simpsons/ Bongo Comics?

BM: I did a lot of movie posters. In the early days I painted a lot of B-movie advertisements (anybody see School Spirit, House, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, The Hit, Loose Screws or Blood Diner?), but in the four years prior to working on The Simpsons, I drew and painted a whole slew of theatrical one sheet posters for Disney. Some of my favorites include Bambi, The Little Mermaid (yes, I'm the guy responsible for the Little Mermaid penis scandal, but I think that's a whole different interview), Peter Pan, Rollercoaster Rabbit with Roger Rabbit and The Prince and the Pauper with Mickey Mouse. I also did the original Land Before Time movie poster.

BL: How'd you get involved in Bongo Comics in the first place?

BM: I was working with Steve and Cindy Vance on the previously-mentioned Simpsons Illustrated. We did an issue that was all comics and done in a comic book format that was titled Simpsons Comics and Stories. When the sales figures came in, it was apparent that the comics had become more popular than the regular magazine, so Matt Groening asked us if we'd like to start a comic book company. The rest is history!

BL: Tell us about a typical day in your professional life.

BM: Lately, most of my day is spent reading and punching up scripts and giving notes to artists and letterers on their pages. However, I still manage to write and draw (not as much as I'd like) and recently I've been spending part of my day working as an art director on Matt's new TV show, Futurama.

BL: You seem to be a jack of all trades: you write, draw, and edit and do art direction. Which one do you like doing best?

BM: That's an easy one. I'd rather draw than anything else, but writing comes in a close second.

BL: Was it a challenge to learn how to script and draw in typical Simpsons style?

BM: It was at first, but I was able to get the hang of it pretty quickly. Of course, they keep on refining the way the characters are drawn, so in a way, I'm still learning.

BL: What ages are your comics designed for? I see a lot of kids write in to your letter columns, yet the plots and dialog are sharp, funny, and complexed enough to satisfy the adult reader, too. Who is your ideal target audience?

BM: Like the TV show, the comics are multi-layered to target just about everyone. Kids will react to some jokes and adults will get the more sophisticated humor. We don't really think about that too much, though. We mainly try to entertain ourselves.

BL: What's the process for putting out a typical issue of The Simpsons? Do you assign who writes the stories, do you story conference with the writers and artists? Walk us through the process, if you would.

BM: Sometimes I come up with a story idea and assign it to a writer, or often a writer will pitch an idea to me. Then a detailed story outline is done and tinkered with (by me) and a first draft script is written. Then I make notes on the story structure, and fuss with the dialogue, offering suggestions to the writer or just giving him/her a general idea of what changes I want to make.

After the script is revised and approved, it goes to the penciller and I put on my art director hat and prepare to make her/his life a living Hell. I make notes on the art at the layout and tight pencil stages, ensuring that the script is being followed and the art is flowing nicely. I also make model corrections to keep the characters as close to what you see on TV as possible. Then, the pages go to the inker, the letterer and the colorist, and I approve everything at those various stages as well, making sure that the inks are clear and accurate and checking to see that the word balloons are in the proper order and not covering up important visual info. (I rely on the production staff at Bongo to help me catch layouts that aren't ìballoon friendly) Sometimes I even change dialogue and add sound effects in these final stages to make sure that the comics are as perfect as we can make them.

BL: How involved is Matt Groening in The Simpsons comic, anyway?

BM: Matt is pretty wrapped up in Futurama right now, so he doesn't have much time to spend on The Simpsons comic. Besides, he really trusts us at this point. However, he has been very involved in the upcoming Futurama comic book.

BL: I've noticed that every four issues or so of The Simpsons that the comic makes some commentary about the state of the comics industry (for example, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund issue). Is that deliberate on all your parts? Are you all comics fans?

BM: Yes, we are comic fans and we're not ashamed to admit it. It's sort of deliberate that we comment on comic industry issues. My feeling is that comics are a part of our culture that the TV show doesn't focus on very much. They parody movies, television, politics, etc. but since most people don't read comics anymore (sob) they tend to leave it alone. We, however, have an audience that reads comics all the time so when we parody the comics industry, our readers have a clue of what we're talking about. [ The Simpsons ]

BL: What non-Bongo Comics do you all at Bongo read?

BM: Our favorites include, but are not limited to: Transmetropolitan, Mage, anything from Oni, Books of Magic, Hellblazer, Oddville, Jet Cat, Atomic City Tales, Lenore, Squee, Dork, Milk and Cheese, Gotham Adventures, Kiss Psycho Circus, Daredevil, Planetary, Authority, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Battle Chasers, Astro City, Cerebus, Madman, Bone, Leave it to Chance, Mr. Beat, Archie, Betty and Veronica, Hate, Wolf & Byrd, Sock Monkey, anything by Sergio Aragones, Strangers in Paradise, Sonic and Knuckles, Flaming Carrot, Stray Bullets, Tom Strong, Captain America, The Tick, Poison Elves, Blade of the Immortal, Xenozoic Tales, The Dreaming, Crimson, Danger Girl, Wildcats, Sam & Max, Savage Dragon..shall I go on?

BL: Guilty pleasures (by that I mean, movies/books/music you really like that you wouldn't necessarily want your best friends to know about)?

BM: Well, I have some pretty diverse friends, so what may be a guilty pleasure to some of them would be considered cool by others. I do have a deep love of Jerry Lewis movies (with or without Dean) that nobody I know seems to understand, and for some strange reason I love the music of Kansas, even though I don't particularly care for other bands that you might lump in with them..

BL: Best and worst part of your profession?

BM: The best part is being able to make a living by entertaining other people. The worst part is watching the audience for comics getting smaller.

BL: Who are your influences, both in terms of comics and in other art forms?

BM: There are a lot of them, so I'll just give you the first ones that pop into my head. For comics, there's Dan DeCarlo, Bob Oksner, Dave Stevens, Matt Baker, Alex Toth, Ramona Fradon, Berni Wrightson, Wally Wood, Mark Schultz, Kurt Schaffenberger, Al Capp, Dick Sprang, and of course, Jack Kirby. In other art forms, I'm inspired by Salvador Dali, George Petty, Gil Elvgren, Haddon Sundblom, Todd Rundgren, David Bowie, Benny Goodman, Glen Miller, James Stewart, Rita Hayworth and once again, Jerry Lewis.

BL: Any advice for those of us who want to get into the comics industry?

BM: Well, don't do it the way I did or you'll be waiting around a long time. I got pretty lucky. The best way to break into the business is to practice your chosen craft every chance you get, and more often than anything else, practice the part of your craft you love. That way, it seems more like play-time and less like work. Then, before you know it you'll start to improve and improvement leads to encouragement from others. This, in turn, breeds enthusiasm on your part. Enthusiasm makes you want to spend more time working, and that leads to improvement again.

It's an endless cycle until that glorious day when somebody says "You're hired!". Also, don't get discouraged when you get turned down for a job. The comics business can be awfully unfair. I've seen some great portfolios belonging to artists who can't get a break at any of the major companies (The same companies who employ mediocre artists month after month). The trick is to be tenacious. Keep visiting and phoning and updating the editors on your progress. Eventually, they're likely to give you a job, if for no other reason than to get you off their backs.