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VIDEO OF THE DAY: Matt Groening allows Tom Gammill into his creative lair
For the 25th edition of Tom Gammill's ongoing video series "Learn to Draw," the "Doozies" cartoonist is invited into the creative inner sanctum of the mighty Matt Groening.
Comic Riffs always enjoys peering voyeuristically into cartoonists' studios, as a window into how they work. And here, "The Simpsons" creator gives us a tour of the workspace where he's drawn "Life in Hell" for decades.
"I love what a big fan of comic strips Matt is, and even with all his success, he still does 'Life in Hell' after 30 years," Gammill tells Comic Riffs. "Also, I think it's really cool he started his own comic book company and is hiring people like Sergio Aragones. "
Gammill, we should note, hosted Groening's highly attended talk last weekend as part of Ohio State University's triennial Festival of Cartoon Art. "After our talk on Saturday night, we were rushed out of the auditorium and into a car that zoomed away," Gammill tells us. "I felt like I was part of Elvis's entourage."
Groening also spoke on a festival panel that paid tribute to the late King Features editor Jay Kennedy; the other panelists were current King comics editor Brendan Burford and cartoonists Bill Griffith ("Zippy the Pinhead") and Patrick McDonnell ("Mutts").
"Matt was also incredibly gracious about signing books and giving autographs," adds Gammill, a writer/producer who has worked on "The Simpsons" and "Seinfeld." "He was mobbed everywhere he went."
NOTE: Among other OSU festival speakers who have blogged about the event include alt-cartoonist Jen Sorensen, "Sheldon" creator Dave Kellett. and "Bizarro" creator Dan Piraro.
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By
Michael Cavna
| October 21, 2010; 10:30 AM ET
Categories:
The Animation, The Comic Strip
| Tags:
Bill Griffith, Brendan Burford, Jay Kennedy, King Features, Matt Groening, Patrick McDonnell, Tom Gammill
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Posted by: Mrhode | October 21, 2010 8:48 PM | Report abuse
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They previewed this for us at OSU - it's pretty damn funny. Tom and Matt were both really friendly guys. The tribute to Jay Kennedy was very nice - I'd never met him, but got a feel for him and his work through the cartoonists' memories.