MORRISON MONDAYS!
By BILL MORRISON
Never let it be said that Bill Morrison couldn’t milk an idea until it was bone-dry! In June of last year, I presented a MORRISON MONDAYS feature on a parody ad I created for Rhino Records’ 2005 Weird Tales of the Ramones comic book. That piece satirized an ad for rubber masks that appeared in dozens of comic books in the 1950s. I’m a big fan of vintage comic book advertisements, and apparently this particular ad from Rubber-For-Molds Inc. really floats my boat, because two years earlier I wrote and drew a parody of the same ad for the 2003 Futurama calendar’s center spread.
It’s kind of interesting to compare and contrast the two parodies. Although they come from the same source material, they’re very different; one finding its humor in punk culture and the other presenting an in-universe concept that could easily be the basis for an entire episode of the Futurama TV series.
But beware! The old comic book ad includes a disgusting and hurtful racial stereotype, and a depiction of a “halfwit” that may be considered offensive as well. The ad is displayed only for reference. But if you’d rather not expose yourself to the repugnant racism and insensitivity that was considered A-OK for kids’ comic books like Little Audrey and Terry-Toons 70-plus years ago, please just look at my send-ups and not the ad.
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Want more MORRISON MONDAYS? Come back next week! Want a commission? See below!
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MORE
— HEY, HO, LET’S GO: When the RAMONES and Classic Comic Book Ads Collide. Click here.
— A FUTURAMA NEW YEAR: The Fine Art of Producing a Fab Calendar. 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.
