You know Otto, you love Otto. When doing Simpsons character sketch requests, Otto was one of the more common ones, which I found surprising (and annoying, as using that much ink for his hair always made my hand messy.)
I always wanted to crack Otto for one of my depressing existential Simpsons sketches as, perhaps moreso than any other character, he is a man out of time. He was designed a...
2022-02-03 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The shorts and the first episode were significant for the amount of characters introduced, but I think as we go forward we'll be seeing less and less new characters per episode, as the heavy hitters slowly get ticked off. You could make an argument that only two "important" characters are introduced in this episode (Edna and Martin), and then MAYBE two d-listers (J. Loren and Richard.)
I ...
2022-02-02 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Sneaking this one in before we do an episode round-up. I chose to keep Bart clothed, but I think the naked green Bart that we see at the end of the episode was probably revolutionary for it's day. Not for the sheer amount of green butt that appears on screen, but because of the way the scene subverts the traditional warm fuzzy ending of American sitcoms of the time.
Bart confesses his ant...
2022-02-01 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
And so we reach the end of "Bart the Genius"! I feel like this episode has flown by.
This is the lady playing, presumably, the titular "Carmen". Her 'line' that qualifies her for inclusion is a high note, which isn't much, but characters have snuck into this project for less.
I'm afraid I can't find any evidence that she shows up again! We hardly knew ye, opera singer. Come back Thu...
2022-01-31 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
This was accidentally an interesting little experiment for me.
When I started this drawing, I assumed this was the only shot of the opera conductor:
I drew the above image based solely on this still, trying to picture what this character would look like from the front based on my amateur kn...
2022-01-28 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Someone within the Simpsons organisation is paying attention to these things. Martin's father appears in one shot at the opera, annoyed at the noisy Simpson family up in a box (sidenote: The Simpsons can afford a box at the opera?), and he appears rarely after. But he appears to be relatively consistent nonetheless!
2022-01-27 09:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Hey all! I have a little issue to discuss.
Every month I've been sending the Patreon print out to backers, and it's been great fun! Super pleased that people seem to enjoy them. But due to the nature of print runs, I always end up with spares:
So I put this question to you: would you mind i...
2022-01-26 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
These guys are the soldiers from Carmen. They always creeped me out a little.
Their synchronised appearances and movements are an advantage of the animation format, it's a little unsettling. And look at those teeth!
The set here looks like it's made of cardboard. Not a big budget at the Spr...
2022-01-25 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
The Simpsons attend the opera "Carmen", composed by Georges Bizet, which first premiered in 1875. This character appears to be Escamillo.
I'm going to level with you friends, I did not get into the Simpsons drawing game to research 19th century operas. I skimmed the wikipedia article for Carmen, please don't make...
2022-01-24 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
We made it to the end of Smart Kid Week! This is the last character in the school with a speaking role.
And we're ending with some intense controversy!
Simpsons Wiki lists this character as "Calvin". But, while ...
2022-01-21 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Day four of Smart Kid Week!
We know Ian's name because he is addressed in the free will debate in Ms Mellon's class. More on this debate tomorrow. He participates in the lunchtime Bart bullying, and is also possibly visible in the "Do The Bartman" video, but we cannot say much more for sure about...
2022-01-20 09:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The only girl in Smart Kid Week!
Cecile is a little nicer than the first two kids, at least initially. She greets her new classmate Bart a little more normally and with a friendly tone. Later she is seen laughing at Bart's stupidity in the canteen, although I am willing to cut her a little slack ...
2022-01-19 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Day two of Smart Kid Week!
Sydney introduces himself to Bart with a backwards greeting. I'm starting to think these kids may have an inferiority complex, by the way they seem to have a need to instantly prove their intelligence while sacrificing anything resembling a normal human conversation. 2022-01-18 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SMART KID WEEK!
Five updates this week so we can cover all of the gifted kids Bart interacts with in the Enriched Learning Center For Gifted Children.
First up is Ethan. Ethan is the one who loves palindromes ("O Memsahib Bart. Rabbi has memo!") Now, i...
2022-01-17 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Marcia Wallace plays two characters in this episode! And then, as far as I can tell, no other characters, ever.
Ms Mellon is meant as a counterpoint to Mrs Krabappel, which is funny to consider because we, as an audience, barely know Krabappel at this point. This is most evident in their names, with Krabappel meaning to sound like "crab-apple" and Mellon being "melon." The confidence of p...
2022-01-13 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
The evolution of the show's priorities is constantly on display in these early episodes. It's clear that a lot of thought was put into the world they were building, defining how the lead characters would interact with their surroundings, leaving room for a variety of conflict.
Sometimes these plans emerge organically. I have a feeling we have many examples coming up of characters who were...
2022-01-10 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
A graphic novel for you to read this weekend if you are so inclined!
"The Price" was an experimental comic I wrote and drew between February 2018 and August 2020. The idea was that I write and draw a panel every day, without planning ahead, so every new day was a reaction to what came before. I ...
2022-01-08 16:34:58 +0000 UTC View Post
The final entry in what I'm retroactively dubbing "Imaginary Train Week."
I felt like I had to draw one of these freaks, even though they don't speak. They look so strange and un-Simpsonsy, their design was what reminded me most of UPA cartoons.
The huge nose, the eyes above their head, the...
2022-01-07 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
A one-shot wonder from Bart's daydream.
This guy is meant to represent to represent Martin, bleeding into Bart's concentration from reality, although he doesn't really look much like the Martin we know and love. The main indicator of this is his voice, taunting Bart with arithmetic. Keep in mind ...
2022-01-06 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I had a different print planned for this month, but this piece performed pretty well on Twitter and Instagram. I wasn't even planning on making this a print, but the people have spoken!
SO, if you'd like "Please Don't Tell Anyone How I Live" as an A5 print, delivered to you next month...
Happy New Year!
We are delving back into the mind of a Simpsons character, attempting to determine if these characters that are fictional within the reality of the show "count", even though I'm pretty sure every character we've covered thus far is fictional in the first place. My head hurts.
As Bart attempts to solves a maths problem involving trains, he visualises being on the trai...
2022-01-03 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This might be a bittersweet one, because of the passing of Edna's voice actress, Marcia Wallace. It's hard to believe that Wallace has been gone for 8 years, but a testament to her work that I still consider Mrs Krabappel to be such a major character in the show. What's remarkable is how she would often only appear in 7 or 8 episodes a season - sometimes less - but still left quite an impact. 2021-12-30 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
FIFTY CHARACTERS! Feels like a big moment, a landmark in our journey. And I can't think of anyone more appropriate for such an accomplishment than a character that you sorta recognise but have no emotional attachment to whatsoever.
For years I would get Richard and Lewis confused, so if you ever need a reminder, Richard is the one that doesn't have a lookalike. I hope that helps.
As...
2021-12-27 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Merry Christmas everyone!
(Or Happy Whatever You Celebrate.)
It felt only right to hold this one back, even though we're done with the first episode. In the spirit of the season I'd like to take a moment to thank you all for coming with me on this journey. This project has been one of the highlights of the year and I'm so happy to share it with you.
Have an incredible festive ...
2021-12-25 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Martin is a character that I hated as a kid...probably because I saw too much of myself in him. But let's not celebrate him by playing armchair psychiatrist.
Now, I appreciate Martin a lot more. Despite the hardships thrust upon him by the kids of Springfield Elementary, he is 100% comfortable with who he is, a rare quality in an intelligent child. No matter how many times he is bullied a...
2021-12-23 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
We've covered every character in the first episode! Obviously the Simpsons themselves (including Abe) are also in the first episode, but we covered them before. Sadly classic Tracey Ullman characters like "Jake the Barber" or "Burglar" didn't stick around for the first episode.
We've getting through some heavy hitters though! I'd argue that 12 of these 27 characters are significant and re...
2021-12-21 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
By my own rules, this one is a little tenuous, but it felt wrong to finish the first episode of The Simpsons without honouring their beloved pooch. He doesn't "speak", per se, and I won't be covering every animal that crosses paths with the Simpsons, but SLH seems too important not to have here. Welcome to the family, you dumb mutt.
We'll make an exception for SLH because he does eventual...
2021-12-20 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I‘ve made a new comic! Here it is for you lovely people, nice and early. It’s very silly.
I might do a print version, I haven’t decided yet.
2021-12-17 20:18:56 +0000 UTC View Post
In Les Moore's first appearance, this is all we see of him:
His full appearance, comes much later, in Season 14's "Old-Yeller Belly". His name isn't revealed until Season 31's "Way of the Dog." It's a slow burn for Les Moore, maybe in ten years we'll discover he has a family or something. Anyhoo...
2021-12-16 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This fella has a single line, and it's to tell Homer the odds of Santa's Little Helper winning his race:
"Ninety-nine to one."
A classic line we all remember, I'm sure.
It will not surprise you to know that he's not a lasting character, even though, frankly, he is by far the coolest looking person we've seen so far. Look at those shades! So cool.
This post is part o...
2021-12-13 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post