A MORRISON MONDAYS birthday tribute! By BILL MORRISON Imagine being invited to a private dinner with legendary EC Comics artists Jack Davis, Will Elder, Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Marie Severin, Angelo Torres, and Al Williamson! This was my great fortune, at the dawn of the new millennium, when I attended the Great EC Reunion at the Hyatt Regency San Diego on July 22, 2000, during Comic-Con. This amazing and historic event was hosted by the American Association of Comicbook Collectors, a group of funny-book aficionados who decided to celebrate the 50th anniversary of EC Comics by getting the old gang back together for a big blowout. Part of this affair was an auction that took place in two parts during the dinner, designed to raise the funds necessary to fly the guests of honor to San Diego and put them up in a posh hotel. This is where I came in. Prior to the event, a member of the AACC contacted me and asked if I would donate a piece of Simpsons art for their fundraiser. The carrot he dangled in front of me was two tickets to the banquet, and an offer to be seated next to the EC legend of my choice! Considering the luminaries that would be in attendance, this was a very tough decision, but after careful thought I selected one Wolf William Eisenberg, known to most of us as Will Elder, legendary artist of both the comic book and magazine versions of MAD, and the co-creator (with Harvey Kurtzman) of Playboy’s Little Annie Fanny comic strip. As an artist who goes back and forth between cartooning and painting, I felt an affinity with Elder, due to his abilities as both a cartoonist and an illustrator. Also, I enjoy being a bit of a chameleon when it comes to aping art styles, and Will was an excellent mimic of other cartoonists, a talent that made his MAD parodies like “Starchie” and “Poopeye” so wonderful. Plus, there’s just the sheer, infectious lunacy of his work. The comedic energy he brought to every panel is inspiring and fascinating to me, and something I aspire to. So, it had to be Will. Had I known that 17 years later I would be the editor of MAD magazine, a job that Al Feldstein held for nearly 30 years, I...
MORRISON MONDAYS: Or call it a sub, or a grinder, or a hero, or a wedge, or whatever… By BILL MORRISON Woo-hoo! Today is National Eat a Hoagie Day! If you don’t know what a hoagie is, you may live in New York City where they often call it a hero, or in New England where it’s known as a grinder. The rest of the nation calls it a submarine sandwich, or a sub for short. But in Philadelphia, it’s a hoagie. Aficionados and devotees will argue the nuances of each regional version, including the type of bread used, how the roll is cut, and whether it can be served hot or cold. But no matter what you call it or how you prepare it, if, like Homer Simpson, you’re a fan of stacks of meat, cheese, veggies, and condiments inside a long French or Italian roll, this is your day! Happy National Eat a Hoagie Day, everybody! — Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? See below! — MORE — REVOLVER AT 60: 13 THINGS to Love About the BEATLES’ Landmark Album. Click here. — MORRISON MONDAYS: While BATMAN Was Campy and Fun, THE GREEN HORNET Was Just Plain Cool. Click here. — Eisner winner BILL MORRISON has been working in comics and publishing since 1993 when he co-founded Bongo Entertainment with Matt Groening, Cindy Vance and Steve Vance. At Bongo, and later as Executive Editor of Mad Magazine, he parodied the comics images he loved as a kid every chance he got. Not much has changed. Bill is on Instagram (@atomicbattery) and Facebook (Bill Morrison/Atomic Battery Studios), and regularly takes commissions and sells published art through 4C...
