A MORRISON MONDAYS birthday salute! By BILL MORRISON I’ve always considered the work of Frank Frazetta to have had a big influence on my art. I know it doesn’t really show very much, but there was a time in art school when I bought every Frazetta art book available, had posters of his paintings on my bedroom walls, scribbled barbarian drawings in my sketchbooks, etc. So, in thinking about the anniversary of his birth — he was born Feb. 9, 1928 — I started pondering whether I’d ever done a Simpsons parody of one of Frank’s pieces. I know I did an homage to Frank’s cover of Famous Funnies #211, with Stan Sakai’s Space Usagi standing in for Buck Rogers, but I thought must have also done a Frazetta satire with Homer, Bart, Marge, et al. I went back through 36 years of Simpsons comic covers, prints, video game box covers, magazine promotional images, etc., but nothing came up. Then, suddenly, I remembered that I did pay tribute to Frazetta, not with a Simpsons image, but with Turanga Leela and Phillip J. Fry from Matt Groening’s other show, Futurama. It’s not a direct parody, but it was definitely inspired by Frank’s iconic Conan the Adventurer paperback cover. Leela’s pose doesn’t exactly mimic Conan’s on that cover, but the fact that she’s standing triumphantly on a pile of vanquished bodies (dismembered robots, in this case) and has a sycophant clinging to her leg (in this case, Fry,) makes the image unmistakably a Frazetta swipe. This drawing appeared as the center spread of the 2015 Futurama Wall Calendar, and was offered as a poster at the Bongo Comics booth at San Diego Comic-Con that year. I remain in awe of Frank Frazetta’s work, as I was in art school. And I think it’s high time I drew a Simpsons homage to one of his amazing images. Maybe I’ll have that to show by next year at this time! (For more Frazetta birthday shenanigans, check out Peter Bosch’s piece over here. — Dan) — Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? See below! — MORE — GEE WHIZ, SANDMAN: It’s OK to Meet Your Heroes — Especially in the Men’s Room. Click here. — CATWOMAN’s Caught in a BAT ROMANCE — Again! Click here. — Eisner winner BILL MORRISON has been...
A MORRISON MONDAYS birthday tribute to CREIG FLESSEL… By BILL MORRISON You’ve heard the old adage, “Never meet your heroes”? Well, I’d like to offer a slightly modified version, “Never meet your heroes… in the men’s room… or maybe do!” Naturally, such a loaded maxim must have an anecdote behind it, and indeed, it does. In 2003, I attended the National Cartoonists Society’s annual Reuben Awards weekend, which was in San Francisco that year. My fellow NCS members and I had taken over the Palace Hotel, where most of our weekend activities transpired, including the Saturday night awards banquet. This affair is, as always, strictly black tie, and as I rode the elevator down to one of the ballrooms for the pre-dinner cocktail party, I caught my reflection in one of the vertical mirror strips that lined the walls of the lift. I was wearing a wing-collar shirt with a black bowtie, and I saw that one side of the tie was behind the collar, and the other in front of it. Plus, it was crooked. I fiddled with the tie for a moment to no avail before arriving at the floor, and decided to head to the men’s room so I could adjust it with the help of a proper mirror. Standing at the sink, I found myself alone in the lavatory, except for a tall, older gentleman who was likewise attired in a tuxedo, and also adjusting part of his suit. In this case however, the man was trying to do up his trousers. His tuxedo pants had those side tabs at the waistband that do the job of a belt or suspenders, and he was struggling to get them tightened. I glanced over at him, and uttered a polite “Hello,” and he responded likewise, adding “Boy, I can’t seem to figure out how these tuxedo pants work.” I’m a naturally helpful type, and before I could stifle myself, I responded, “I’ve worn those before. Maybe I can help.” As the words were leaving my mouth, I thought “Oh man, I hope he refuses my offer. This could get weird!” But alas, the man replied, “If you could, I would appreciate it.” A moment later, I found myself on one knee in front of a stranger in the men’s room, my eyes at crotch level. The elderly...
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