A MORRISON MONDAYS anniversary salute to KING KONG…
By BILL MORRISON
Today marks the 93rd anniversary of Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s groundbreaking 1933 film, King Kong! In celebration of that monumental date in movie history, I thought I’d share a project I worked on a few years ago that was based on The Simpsons parody of that film, titled “King Homer.”
The Simpsons sendup of King Kong was part of the episode “Treehouse of Horror III, “which aired a few days before Halloween in 1992.
The segment is a perfect spoof of the original giant ape flick, and toy colossus, Jakks Pacific, current holders of The Simpsons action figure license, paid tribute to the episode by releasing a 16-inch plush and plastic doll in 2025.
My contribution to this cool toy was the box art, which includes a wraparound scene of the exterior of the theater where King Homer makes his public debut, and an interior backdrop of the stage. All of it is rendered appropriately in glorious black and white.
Initially, I was commissioned by Jakks Pacific to render the interior and exterior pieces in watercolor, but while I was in the pencil phase it was decided that a digital illustration was preferred. I told the art director that would not be a problem, as if digital painting was my forte, and then secretly went about teaching myself to render with watercolor brushes in Photoshop. In the end, they were pleased with the results, and I added “digital painter” to my resume.
I love it when a toy manufacturer goes the extra mile with packaging, and Jakks Pacific really put in the time, effort, and expense to make their King Homer doll super special. It’s a wonderful tribute to the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment, and to the brilliant original film that inspired it!
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MORE
— BAT-GIRL vs. BATGIRL: The 1960s DETECTIVE COMICS Issue That Should Have Been. Click here.
— SUPERMAN, BARTMAN and the Enduring Inspiration of CURT SWAN. 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.
