A special Veterans Day MORRISON MONDAYS!
By BILL MORRISON
One day I got an email from IDW editor Denton Tipton, who asked if I was interested in writing and drawing a Mars Attacks story for a 2012 special issue they were planning titled Mars Attacks the Holidays. Easy ask! Of course I readily accepted the assignment and Denton sent me a list of holidays to consider. Of course all the major celebrations were there, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, etc. But I wanted to go with a day that was more obscure. When my eyes hit “Veterans Day” on the list, they went no further.
The tale I crafted stars a group of veterans from various wars prior to WWII (including the Civil War!) who band together to fight a group of Martian scouts in the days between Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 Halloween Eve “War of the Worlds” broadcast and the first Armistice Day (now Veterans Day) on November 11.
Due to my Bongo duties, I didn’t have time to tighten up my pencils and ink the story, so I enlisted my friend and fellow Simpsons artist, Tone Rodriguez, to supply the finished art. Coloring was done by Ronda Pattinson, with lettering by Chris Mowry.
The story remains a favorite of mine and stands as my somewhat campy tribute to the brave men and women of the American armed services who put their lives on the line so that we may enjoy our freedom!
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Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? See below!
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MORE
— BILL MORRISON: MY 13 Favorite DAN DeCARLO PIN-UPS. Click here.
— When WRIGHTSON, COLAN and WILLIAMSON Entered BART SIMPSON’S TREEHOUSE OF HORROR. 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.
November 11, 2024
Ya can’t beat a sound effect like “SKA-ZEEET”!
Total awesomeness!
November 11, 2024
Oh, I didn’t know about this one! Love it! Not a veteran myself but I’ve known plenty of them and they would have loved this story. And may I say to You Bill and to Tone, Rhonda and Chris; “Thank you for YOUR service.”
November 25, 2024
Thank you, Jeff!