The Simpsons

(c)

OR better or worse, Matt Groening (rhymes with "raining") and his subversive comic sensibility have probably influenced as many kids as Joe Camel. The mind behind Bart Simpson and family, he made television history by creating the first animated prime time series in 20 years.

Groening held down some interesting jobs before he hit the big time: he worked in a sewage treatment plant and as a chauffeur to an aging movie director; he then served as ghostwriter on the aging movie director's memoirs. The fledgling writer was able to quit those jobs when he launched his cynical Life in Hell comic strip. Life in Hell featured two rabbits (selected because Groening says rabbits are easy to draw) named Binky and Sheba, and two fez-wearing entrepreneurs, Akbar and Jeff, who are "brothers or lovers or both." A string of successful books followed, including Work Is Hell, Love Is Hell, Childhood Is Hell, and School Is Hell. A compilation, The Big Book of Hell, was also released.

In 1990, The Simpsons debuted on Fox as the network's highest-rated program, earning instant praise from critics and the network's accountants. First introduced in 1986 in brief vignettes on the brilliant but doomed Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons are a cross between The Bundys and the Waltons, drawn together for no other reason than a strong instinctive love for one another and a feeling of mutual desperation. They are named after, but not based on, Groening's own relatives: Groening's father (a former cartoonist) and son are named Homer, his other son is named Abraham, his mother is Marge, and he has two sisters, Lisa and Maggie. Bart, however, is an anagram of "brat."

Limited Edition

"Homer and Marge" "Do'h Homey Night" "The Simpstones"