Bill Morrison (born 1959) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is a co-founder of Bongo Comics (along with

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

and Steve and Cindy Vance).

Early life

Morrison is a native of Lincoln Park, Michigan, a Downriver suburb of Detroit. He attended the College for Creative Studies.

Career

At the beginning of his career in the early 1980s, Morrison worked as a technical illustrator for Artech, Inc. (

Livonia, Michigan Livonia ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as ...

) before going to work as an illustrator for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, where he created promotional art for: * ''

Lady and the Tramp ''Lady and the Tramp'' is a 1955 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Film Distribution. Based on Ward Greene's 1945 ''Cosmopolitan (magazine) ...

'' * ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' * ''

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American Animated film, animated Coming of age, coming-of-age drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Loosely based on Felix Salten's 1923 novel ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', the ...

'' * '' Peter Pan'' * ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' * ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' * ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and B ...

'' * ''

The Fox and the Hound ''The Fox and the Hound'' is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P. Mannix. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a r ...

'' * '' Oliver & Company'' * '' The Little Mermaid'' (including a controversial image) * “ Roller Coaster Rabbit” * “The Prince and the Pauper” * '' The Rescuers Down Under'' Subsequently, he worked as an illustrator and occasional writer for ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' and created his own comic '' Roswell''. He also served as a director for ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

''. Morrison was the creative director of Bongo Comics from 1993 to 2012. In 1998, Morrison illustrated (although it was signed by

) the cover artwork of ''

''' '' The Yellow Album''. His cover was a parody of the cover art for the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', replaced with characters from ''The Simpsons''. In 2005, the artist and designer Kaws (commissioned by

Nigo is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the streetwear brand, A Bathing Ape (Bape), and currently serves as artistic director for Kenzo. Additionally he is a member ...

) created ''The Kaws Album'', a "traced interpretation" of ''The Yellow Album''. In 2019,

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

auction house in Hong Kong sold ''The Kaws Album'' for 115.9 million Hong Kong dollars, or about $14.7 million U.S. dollars, a new auction record for the artist at the time. re-igniting a conversation about the appropriation of commercial illustrations for fine art (see

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

). Morrison is an Eagle Scout in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

(BSA); he created the mural ''A Century of Values'' to celebrate the BSA centennial in 2010. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of '' Yellow Submarine'',

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 1968 animated feature film, Titan Comics published, on August 28, 2018, a hardcover comicbook illustrated by Morrisson. He was the executive editor of '' MAD'' magazine from early 2018 (beginning with the rebooted issue #1 dated June 2018) to March 2019.

References

External links

*
comiXology.com's podcast
with Bill Morrison and

Scott Shaw Scott Shaw (born 23 September 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American author, martial artist, musician, and filmmaker. Career Scott Shaw is an advanced martial artist. He has written a number of articles and books on the martial arts a ...

on the '' Captain Carrot and the Final Ark'' limited series {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Bill American comics writers American comics artists American magazine editors American humorists American parodists American muralists American advertising artists and illustrators American poster artists 1959 births Living people People from Lincoln Park, Michigan College for Creative Studies alumni Mad (magazine) people Inkpot Award winners