Back in high school, I wrote a novel about a character named Bart Simpson. I thought it was a very unusual name for a kid at the time. I had this idea of an angry father yelling ‘Bart,’ and Bart sounds kind of like bark – like a barking dog.
Oftentimes, what seems to be a street lunatic charging at me spouting gibberish turns out to be a devoted ‘Simpsons’ fan quoting their favorite line.
People go into cartooning because they’re shy and they’re angry. That’s when you’re sitting in the back of a classroom drawing the teacher.
I’ll keep it short and sweet – Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business.
Welcome to Suckersville, man.
Keep your expectations tiny you’ll go through life not so whiney.
Our solution on ‘The Simpsons’ is to do jokes that people who have an education, or some frame of reference, can get. And for the ones who don’t, it doesn’t matter, because we have Homer banging his head and saying, ‘D’oh!’
I grew up completely overwhelmed by TV, and part of the reason why I have gone into television is as a way to justify to myself all those wasted hours of watching TV as a kid. I can now look back and say, ‘Oh, that was research.’
I had been drawing my weekly comic strip, ‘Life in Hell,’ for about five years when I got a call from Jim Brooks, who was developing ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’ for the brand-new Fox network. He wanted me to come in and pitch an idea for doing little cartoons on that show.
I’m a writer who just happens to draw.
I’m a level 5 vegan, I don’t eat anything that casts a shadow.
I’m not going to stop torturing myself till I figure out the cause of my pain.
How can I be expected to love someone who tries such crude manipulations as bringing me breakfast in bed?
I don’t mind sharing the blame if she’ll just admit she started it.
If people only knew how much I secretly hated them, they’d love me for holding it in.
When you’re as important as I am, getting your feelings hurt by me is almost an honor.
Today is the first day of the rest of your short, brutish existence as a sentient creature before being snuffed out into utter nothingness for all eternity.
I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman. Homer Simpson.
But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.
But we all had an agreement to let each other get away with everything! That’s Capitalism!
I have less to do with ‘The Simpsons’ every season, but I stick my nose in here and there. Basically, it’s just trying to keep the characters consistent and making sure the show has a soul.