David Cooper posts
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Patreon Print - August 2022
So a bit of a unique Patreon print this month! This is every speaking character that I've drawn for this project, from the Tracey Ullman shorts to "Moaning Lisa", to celebrate a full year.If you'd like this as an A5 print, be a £10 or higher patron this month and it'll get sent out once payments have cleared at the start of next month! This one will have to be 100% exclusive as well, as it seems unfair to the patrons to sell it after the fact considering this if the project they've been financially supporting for so lon...
BONUS! Murphy's Band
Technically these guys should come after tomorrow's entry, as they appear at the end of the episode, but I want to keep Friday's slot open for a wrap-up post. You got a problem with that? Well then I'M SORRY. I'll try to do better.This is most of Murphy's band from the jazz club at the end of the episode, I had to omit the drummer as there is no good shot of him:Look at Murphy, eating that saxophone.Design-wise, these guys look like they are from another show entirely. Like, if you told me that they were from some other Fox ...
0124 - Kid
This is one of two kids we see talking to Lisa at the end of "Moaning Lisa":(Spoilers for Thursday's entry: they both get lines.)Kid #1 is a true one off character, as far as I can tell he has literally no other appearances. MOVING ON.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0123 - Howard's Mum
No deep dive on Howard's judgemental mum I'm afraid, she's as one-dimensional as they come:I like her boots.Come back Monday for more insightful commentary.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
August Patreon Print Preview Poll...Problems
SO I have a minor dilemma.The Patreon Print is one of my selling points for this whole project, and I love doing it. To mark a full year of the Patreon being in full swing*, I had planned to mark the occasion with a special print, featuring EVERY "numbered" character we've encountered so far (It actually has every character up to the end of Moaning Lisa, so don't look too hard if you don't want next week's characters spoiled!):Now, usually I advertise the Patreon print every month by posting it on social media, enticing ...
BONUS! NOT Howard
I often use the Simpsons Wiki as a basis for my research, but I feel COMPELLED to make my voice heard in matters as AGREGIOUS as this.I went though every episode listed in Howard's appearances, from yesterday. The first couple, I found him near instantly...but then I could not find hide nor hair him in any of the other episodes mentioned. Soon it clicked what had happened...and I discovered a disturbing pattern:The Simpsons wiki-ers appear to have decided that this sunglasses-wearing kid, a semi-regular attendee of Springfield Elementary, i...
0122 - Howard
In some other version of the series, Howard is a regular background character. He has more going for him than most of the bozos we see here, in that he has a) a name b) a distinct appearance and c) even a gimmick. If the Simpson family had had many more videogame/arcade based adventures, perhaps Howard could have been as beloved as Richard or Lewis!Here are some of Howard's lesser known appearances:Enjoying a snow day in his winter outfit ("Bart Gets An F")Watching some adult material at Bart's house ("Homer vs Lisa and the ...
0121 - Kid At Arcade
A kid who has no qualms with talking to the adult man that has approached a group of children:I always feel a need to provide a screenshot for these blink and you'll miss them characters. Like, until I rewatched this episode, I could not have told you this guy existed. And now, I will never think about him again.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
BONUS! Girl At Arcade
The more obscure ones are my favourites. Can you tell?This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0120 - Arcade Owner
Another guy behind a counter for Homer to briefly interact with. He joins the ranks of classic characters as the Santa pay cheque lady, the racetrack guy, the pawn shop guy and Dr Monroe's receptionist. This is starting to be a theme!I'm making assumptions about him being the arcade owner, it's much more likely that he's just an employee. But as arcades went largely out of fashion in the 1990s, it's unlikely we'll ever find out his true employment status.I was actually in an arcade-bar-type-place the other week, you'...
BONUS! Customer At Moes
This guy caught my eye:I'm paying more attention to Sam and Larry more than I ever have, in the hope they speak soon, but I'm fairly certain this dude will never appear again.I hope the patrons at Moes enjoy the...melting bowling ball show? It's a colour TV! Moe must have upgraded since the last episode.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0119 - Dream Boxer Bart
This b-plot about Homer and the boxing game is giving us as many characters as the "main" Lisa plot in this episode. Lisa is often an unserved character, and I feel bad that even in her first proper episode Bart and Homer are taking over!This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0118 - Dream Boxer Homer
This is a weird week. I mean, I suppose they're all weird weeks. But this is especially weird.It's one of those situations where these "characters" are part of Homer's subconscious, but they're visually different enough that I'm counting them as separate and unique from their real world counterparts. We're getting into the nitty gritty with these technicalities, and I kind of love it.So, there we go, a big buff Homer. This had better not awaken anything in me.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character ...
0117 - Jacqueline Bouvier
Marge's mother actually first appears in a dream sequence, but it felt only right to do her "regular" appearance too.Her name is a reference to Jacqueline Kennedy (whose maiden name was Bouvier), although it doesn't come up here. She was always a mysterious character that I wanted to know more about - we see Abe so often, and even Marge's sisters, so why not Jacqueline? The fact that is so seldom used made her so much more mysterious in my youthful imaginative brain. Was there a reason she was kept in the background with lit...
0116 - Bleeding Gums Murphy
Here's a fairly recognisable character, despite never being popular. Did I make a similar comment for Dr Marvin Monroe? Who can even remember.Murphy is actually somewhat similar to Dr Marvin Monroe in that he appears more than you might think throughout the show. He has two "headline" appearances, in "Moaning Lisa" and "Round Springfield" (in which he dies), but he also sings the national anthem at a baseball game, as a judge in a talent contest, and he is immortalised in the second version of the show's intro:an...
0115.5 - Super Slugfest Referee (plus BONUSES)
Ooh, this may be controversial.See, this guy appears in the game that Homer and Bart play in the b-plot of this episode. The technical limitations of 1990 video games means he has no "lines"...at least not audio lines:But a speech bubble clearly indicates that he is speaking, right? Plus he makes a little beepy noise, like an NES game. Like, within the rules of this project, he appears on screen and has at least one line. We've also established with previous entries that being fictional within the world of the show does not disquali...
0115 - Gym Teacher
We've marvelled a few times at the consistency of nobody characters, most recently the Retirement Castle receptionist a couple of weeks back, but sadly there is no consistency in Lisa's gym teacher, and frankly I think it's time we rioted about it.I was surprised that this character from Moaning Lisa was not the world famous and beloved Mrs Pommelhorst, but she will not appear for a while. Nor is she the gym teacher from Lisa on Ice, who gives Lisa an F. No, this is the teacher who belittles Lisa for being unable to play dodgeball b...
Patreon Prints - July 2022
What's that you say? Prints? PLURAL? Absurd.This Patreon launched in August 2021 so to celebrate a full year of Patreon prints, I thought I'd do something a little special this month. I'll be sending out TWO A5 prints, Lenford and Carton, at no extra cost, to supporters at the £10 or higher tiers. I'm very grateful for anyone supporting the Patreon, it has changed so much for me, I thought I'd do this for one month as a thank you.If you want both these prints, be a Patron at the £10 or higher tier and they'll get sent ...
0114 - Janey Powell
It's a sad thing that the closest thing Lisa Simpson has to a "best friend" is quite an obscure character, relatively speaking. Janey exists mainly as someone for Lisa to talk to in a scene, sometimes as a friend, sometimes as a bully.Often Janey is a figure that does not understand Lisa's struggles. This seems appropriate for our introduction to Moaning Lisa, an episode in which Lisa finds most people unable to understand her struggles. This episode is the first real chance Lisa has to be be put in the spotlight in a significan...
Bart The General - round up!
Our lightest episode to date! And the fact that they're mostly kids make this look very thin in terms of characters. We really breezed through this one, but it was nice to see the iconic introduction of classic characters such as Nelson, Herman, and...um...We're up to 113 characters total, only 9 were introduced in this episode! Tune in next week for the start of "Moaning Lisa".This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
BONUS! Sailor Kid
This kid was more memorable than the other three this week, so he felt worthy of inclusion here, although I was surprised to discover he doesn't get a line, excluding him from a valued and coveted numbered entry.The moment is a reference to the famous V-J Day in Times Square photo. Honestly, this moment in which a random dude kisses a random lady without consent kinda...sucks, so let's not delve further into it. At least Lisa gets a good slap in, giving this kid a classic twister-mouth:This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Charact...
0113 - Kid
The FINAL character of "Bart the General" is the one who gets most to do from this whole week. Dare I say, you may even remember him:Although I'll forgive you if you don't.I'm having a strange déjà vu type feeling where I feel like this kid appears elsewhere in the series, but I cannot place him. He does not appear in this handy (but incomplete) list of Springfield Elementary students, so if you recognise him from any other scene, please let me know.And with that, Bart the General is complete! By far our shortest list of c...
0112 - Kid Who Falls In Bin
We get a better look at this kid than yesterday's offering, he even gets to share screen time with our old buddies Richard and Lewis!He falls into a bin and is never heard from again. I have a soft spot for beady-eyed characters like him, partially because that's how I tend to draw eyes myself.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0111 - Kid
We're in the home stretch of this episode...we're also deep in the weeds here.Bart trains up an army to take on Nelson, elevating Nelson's threat level far beyond where is would be in the future, and we are treated to a montage of them in his boot camp. During this sequence we are introduced to this girl and her classic line as a helmet falls on her head: "Uh."Now, as you can see, we don't see the rest of her face, so I've taken some liberties here. I swear, I went through every shot of the kid army to see if there i...
0110 - Herman Hermann
I always got the impression that Herman was based on an actual person from a writer's childhood or something. He's very specific, and has the sort of odd creepy energy that might linger in someone's memory for years.After a couple of significant early appearances, Herman quickly becomes the criminal who does things too serious for Snake, for example mimicking the Maynard from Pulp Fiction role in "22 Short Films About Springfield". Encouraging a 10 year old to start an army...that's weird, right? Herman's a creep.Ear...
0109 - Retirement Castle Receptionist
This lady is surprisingly consistent! I think when most people think of employees at the Retirement Castle they think of the nurse with the gun, but this lady makes a couple of appearances.First she appears in this episode:By season two's "Old Money" she has dyed her hair blue, I am unable to determine if it is blue dye number 52:But by season four's "New Kid On The Block", she is back to her original colour:It's always a treat when some random character that I've barely noticed in my years of watching has a cons...
BONUS! Kids, Dead Part and Punching Bag
BART THE GENERAL SPEED ROUND ACTIVATE.Am I pushing it by including:a) a duo that Bart briefly runs past with less than three seconds of screentimeb) a dead character, that we've already covered, within a fantasy sequencec) an inanimate object?I sure am! I can't help it, I like drawing, and that punching bag is really cute. He* doesn't deserve this kind of horrific treatment.*yes, I've personified the punching bag, now you'll never look at him the same way again.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" ...
0108 - Black Weasel
What can be said about Black Weasel that hasn't already been covered in the White Weasel entry? Turns out...not much.Since I rewatched this episode I have seen another few odd episodes here and there and I have noticed the weasels pop up as minor background characters on rare occasions. So why aren't they featured more regularly? Well, in season 25's "The Winter of His Content", Nelson encounters them briefly, where it is revealed that at some point they transferred to Shelbyville Elementary.At some point in the interim, Bla...
0107 - Kid Behind Door
This is a real blink and you'll miss it character.He does not speak (qualifying him for inclusion) until after the crowd cheers and he peeks out.The fact that he calls Bart a hero after being slammed behind a door by him is a minor joke I had never noticed before. This idea of Bart being a hero of the schoolyard for sticking up to Nelson is not really explored further - indeed, Bart struggles to get his classmate's respect when he tries to rally them later.I've given this kid a diamond like the one Richard wears, but Richard is clea...
0106 - Nelson Muntz
I think Nelson is genuinely quite scary in his first appearance, although that is partially because I first saw him torturing Bart when I was at a bullyable age myself. I guess I'm still technically at a bullyable age. Please don't bully me.For years Nelson represented the threat of the schoolyard, the terror of a hierarchy where a kid could be tormented at any point. Over the years, he is softened for comedic effect, to the point where I'd say he becomes one of the show's more tragic characters, often looking a little pathetic....
