A MORRISON MONDAYS BIRTHDAY SALUTE: Marv Wolfman turns 78!
By BILL MORRISON
This limited edition print from 2011 is part of a series by different artists based on the Pixar animated films. At the time, Pixar only had 12 feature films to its credit, and I remember being given a list of the movies to choose from. Several titles had already been claimed by other artists, but I was dumbfounded, yet thrilled, that nobody had taken my favorite, Brad Bird’s The Incredibles!
I recall being told that this was the first time Pixar had allowed the Disney gallery art program to produce prints of any of their films, so I believe this one qualifies as the first Incredibles print:
I’ve been asked many times why I chose to parody George Perez’s classic The New Teen Titans #1 cover for this illustration, and the answer is not what you may expect. Though I love George’s and Marv Wolfman’s momentous first issue, I wasn’t even thinking about doing a comic book cover parody for this job.
Considering the mid-century vibe of The Incredibles, coupled with my own childhood obsession with Batman toys in that era, I wanted to do realistic illustrations of merchandise that may have been produced if The Incredibles had premiered in the 1960s. (I’ll show examples of the ideas I pitched to Pixar in a future column. Here’s one of them, based on Aurora’s model sets.)
But as it turned out, I was told that while my ideas were fine, the artists at Pixar were huge fans of The New Teen Titans #1 cover and really wanted to see a parody with their characters in place of Robin, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Starfire, et al.
Naturally, I relished the idea and went to work to create this ink and watercolor homage to the classic cover. And with this, I also celebrate and honor my friend, Marv Wolfman, on his 78th birthday!
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MORE
— When THE SIMPSONS Went STERANKO. Click here.
— JANE JETSON — Robot Basher. Click here.
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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 Comics.
May 13, 2024
I really dig the Titans one, but the concept sketch with pre-Syndrome Buddy building the kit really captures the hero worship he felt for Mr. Incedible, which then of course reinforces the sense of betrayal that led him to become Syndrome. Can you tell I really LOVE The Incredibles? Love that Mr. Incredible’s kit is based directly on Aurora’s Superman as well!
May 13, 2024
Well observed, Chris! That was my thinking as well. And the Aurora Superman kit was one of my favorites as a young superhero fan and model kit builder!
May 15, 2024
That “Incredibles” tribute cover is pretty incredible. Happy belated birthday to Marv Wolfman, too.