MORRISON MONDAYS celebrates International Olympic Day…
By BILL MORRISON
Monday is International Olympic Day, and in recognition of this day that commemorates the founding of the modern Olympic games in 1894, I present a cover that I drew for a special Simpsons comic book that Bongo produced for our UK publishing partner, Titan Comics. Simpsons Go for the Gold was created to take advantage of the 2012 London Summer Games, but Bongo also decided to print our own version to offer as an exclusive book, available only at San Diego Comic-Con that year.
I recall having a conversation during production with our attorney who told me we had to be careful about a few things. Apparently, the Olympics organization jealously guards certain names, and even nicknames, so we couldn’t use the term “Summer Games” for example, and we definitely couldn’t us the word “Olympic” anywhere on the cover. We came up with “Go for the Gold” and that passed muster.
The Olympics people were also very touchy about the use of a torch in any unofficial Olympics-related products, and especially the image of someone running with a torch. I researched historic photos of the Olympic torch and tried to design something that didn’t look like anything they had ever used, but ultimately, my drawing was still problematic.
Somehow, the Bongo version went to press as I originally drew it with Homer holding the flaming torch and roasting a hot dog as he runs, as did some other international variants. But the UK version didn’t make it to the printer without a little surgery first. Someone, I don’t recall who, decided to play it safe and 86 the torch.
So, for those of you who’ve seen the UK version of this book and always wondered why Homer is running with a flaming weenie on a stick and awkwardly balling his free hand into a fist for some reason, now you know… the rest of the story!
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MORE
— That Time MARVEL Actually Published My AVENGERS Story — in Full SIMPSONS Style. Click here.
— THE ESCAPIST SERIAL That Should Have Been (Or, How I Was Once Mistaken For a Nazi). 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.
June 23, 2025
I hate lawyers. Period. How would any issue of MAD get made if it was always this bad?
June 23, 2025
To be fair, the Bongo lawyers were just trying to keep Matt from getting sued. The Olympics lawyers, that’s another story.
June 23, 2025
Everyone hates lawyers until they need one.
Signed,
Me, a lawyer
June 23, 2025
I’ll admit it was generalization. One of my good friends is a lawyer.
June 23, 2025
Gee, I remember a time when the International Olympic Committee was staunchly against anyone but amateur athletes competing in its Games. Seems almost quaint now. Guess the IOC is selective about which of its components it chooses to ‘protect’.