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 probably would have chosen to share a table with him so I could pick his brain as I picked at my food. But absent a crystal ball, I was thrilled at the prospect of dining with Mr. Elder.
On the evening of the dinner, my wife, Kayre, and I arrived in time for cocktails and a preview of the auction items, which included my contribution, a parody of Al Feldstein’s cover to EC’s Shock SuspenStories #12. It was a bit difficult to focus my attention on the display of original art and other collectibles, being in a room full of my artistic heroes and all, but I was curious and forced myself to take a peek at the treasures that lay awaiting our bids. I spied a pair of Little Annie Fanny sketches by my soon-to-be table-mate, Will Elder, and immediately decided that I needed to make one of them my own.
The first half of the auction began before dinner was served, and when one of the Annie drawings came up, I began to bid. An unknown person on the other side of the fairly large room also wanted the sketch, and a bidding war between the two of us began as others dropped out. At the drop of the hammer I prevailed, and as Part One ended and the waiters began to bring the salads, my opponent approached our table. Leapin’ lizards, it was Sergio Aragonés! Sergio very kindly told me that he was the one bidding against me, and when I apologized, he told me not to worry, because he would bid on the other Annie sketch.
Dinner was wonderful, and I enjoyed every minute of my time chatting with Will. Unfortunately, I don’t remember a word of what we talked about. I guess I was too star struck to retain any of it.
As coffee was being brought out, and before the second part of the auction began, I went up to have another look at the sketch that was now mine. I used to pride myself on my excellent vision, but somehow my eyes had failed me during the bidding. The Little Annie Fanny sketch that I’d bid on and won was not the one I wanted. I wanted the other one. Now, please don’t judge me too harshly for what I did next. I have absolutely no defense, other than to claim temporary amnesia. But honestly, when the other Elder drawing came up for bidding in the second half of the auction, I completely forgot that my old pal, Sergio, had told me that he was going to bid on it.
I know how unbelievable that sounds, but I guess I was just caught up in correcting my mistake and getting the drawing I had actually wanted, and everything else went out the window. I started raising my hand, and before I knew it, I had won the second drawing too. I know, it’s hard to believe that anyone could pull such a boneheaded move without malice, but it’s true. I would never intentionally do something that crummy, especially to a friend, and to this day I can’t understand how I could have done it. I wish Kayre had been paying attention to what I was doing, because she would surely have slapped some sense into me.
Naturally Sergio was not pleased with me, and when I came out of my trance and realized what I’d done, I must have apologized to him 40 dozen times. And of course, I made it right by selling him the first drawing, which was the one he wanted most, for the amount of his final bid. So, in the end, we both got the drawings we wanted. I’m amazed that Sergio still considers me a close friend. Our relationship really dodged a bullet!
The famous pic of Al Jaffee and Will Elder as teenagers in 1939
After the auction, I remember meeting Al Feldstein and Marie Severin and chatting with them for a while. I already knew Al Williamson and Jack Davis, and I’m sure I said hi to them. I would have loved meeting Jack Kamen and Angelo Torres, but somehow they escaped me. I did, however, get to work with Angelo a few years later in 2005 when I hired him to draw a segment of an EC-inspired story in Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #11 (an issue that also features a story drawn by Al Williamson!)
My sketch of Annie is framed and on my wall, a reminder of an amazing evening in which I met one of my heroes, and also nearly lost a friend. “Wolfie,” as Elder was known prior to launching his artistic career, died in 2008, but was born 105 years ago tomorrow (Sept. 22, 1921). So, in celebration of that anniversary, I did a finished color version of his wonderful sketch of Annie!
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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.
