David Cooper posts
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BONUS! Crindy, Tuba Player and Paramedics
I realise that canonically her name is not Crindy, but I felt such nostalgia seeing her again. It feels so long ago that we covered the first new character of the first episode, I couldn't help but revisit her. There she is, sat next to Homer, same design as "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire", but different colouring. Here's her original appearance, for reference: You can see a few similar designs here - it's clear the "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" shots were closely referenced for this second school concert.T...
0336 - Truckasaurus
This was one of the funnest ones to draw in a while! It's so different from the usual style of bozos we cover, while still having a cartoony Simpson-y quality that I find hard to pin down.He "roars" in the advert for his appearance at the Springfield Speedway, although he is later shown speaking English in an advert for "Truckasaurus: The Movie" in season 4's "Marge vs. the Monorail", entirely reusing animation from "Bart The Daredevil":Surprisingly he never appears again in the show, but his successor &...
0335 - Referee
The referee in the wrestling match can be heard counting in front of the blank-faced crowd, so he gets a number instead of shamefully relegated to "bonus" like so many before him. It's faint, but it's there!This guy has no significant appearances after this, as far as I can tell. The next big televised bout is in "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment" and has a completely different referee (which makes sense, that's a boxing match, not a wrestling match - but normally you'd expect them to reuse the design an...
0334 - Professor Von Brawn
Rasputin's opponent enters the ring and kisses his muscles, making him worthy of inclusion in our little exploration. This is hardly the most tenuous interpretation of what qualifies as a "line" we've had.A glance at the production script reveals that he was originally a very different character, with a different name and a mystical Transylvanian element. It seems he was simplified somewhere along the way.Werner's trajectory is similar to Rasputin's, with this and Tapped Out being his main appearances - that is, except f...
0333 Rasputin the Friendly Russian
"Bart the Daredevil" starts with the kids and the barflies watching a wrestling match between this fella and his opponent (spoiler alert: we'll see him on Thursday). He qualifies for this project because of the friendly homer-esque "roar" he gives on his entrance.Surprisingly, there isn't a particularly good colour shot of him in this sequence to show him off properly, but here is is as he appears on Moe's TV:Apart from being a premium character in Tapped Out, this is his only appearance. Lisa notes how his alliance ...
Bart vs. Thanksgiving - round up!
Another episode in the bag! And what better time to celebrate a Thanksgiving episode than May?This is one of the schmaltziest - or maybe "James L Brooksiest" - episodes we've seen yet. The Bart/Lisa reconciliation is what the story relies on, to give viewers a warm fuzzy feeling to go out on. Whether this is earned, or emotionally effective, is completely subjective - I know some people prefer The Simpsons when it has more of a wacky or cynical flavour, but we're in season 2, and the crazier antics won't ramp up for a while....
0332 - Uncle Sam
Let's get patriotic for the final character of "Bart vs Thanksgiving"! Unless you're not American. And I'm not.It's kind of a less traditional design for Uncle Sam, although perhaps this is accentuated by the unusual colours and lighting in this fantasy sequence.On paper this version ticks all the boxes - bushy eyebrows, little beard, general mean demeanour, but something about him is lost in the translation to Simpsonification, I think. I've gathered some other Uncle Sam appearances for comparison (from "Much Ap...
Patreon Print - May 2024
OH GOSH, the Patreon print vote from last week resulted in a FOUR WAY TIE for second place, so I'm not sure what to do next month.BUT FOR NOWThe print for this month will be this Truckasaurus one! I'm grateful that people seem to enjoy the variety of styles I've been playing with recently. And it MIGHT just tie in with a certain character you'll see this month...If you'd like this A5 print delivered directly to you, please be a £10 or higher member for this month! Make sure your address is available there and it'll be s...
BONUS! Cameraman and Carol Kane
I think I have mislabelled this guy, as we can actually see Kent's cameraman in an earlier shot. He has a surprisingly large entourage for his puff piece.I count at lease 6 people in Kent's posse (7 if the driver and sound guy are different), which seems excessive to me. The gentlemen highlighted stuck out to me as worthy of documentation.As for Carol Kane, well, she is not in this episode. Or is she?As revealed by Al Jean in a tweet, Carol Kane was an uncredited cameo in this episode, voicing Maggie in this fantasy sequence. I thought ...
0331 - Homeless Man
A very minor appearance by this guy, but he appears and gets a three word line ("Hey, listen man...") so he qualifies.As far as I can tell, he has no further appearances. They can't all be winners!This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
BONUS! Homeless Men
A couple of people from the shelter that Bart visits:If the second gentleman looks familiar, it's because I mentioned him briefly here. Clearly he had a lasting impact on me!This sequence is trying to walk a fine line between respecting the less fortunate but also pointing out that they should not be forgotten at Thanksgiving. The jokes made are at Kent Brockman's expense, pointing out his hypocrisy and lack of any actual empathy towards these people as he exploits their plight for ratings. It's a deliberate attempt to tug at the he...
0330 - Homeless Man
As revealed in Monday's post, this guy's name is Rory, although as it is never stated in any released media (show, comic, bubblegum pack etc), the canonicity of that name is debatable. As we'll get to with Snake/Jailbird, if we start taking production materials as gospel, we'll get into a whole heap of confusion. So, as unfortunate as it is, Rory will remain reduced to being "homeless man" for this project.(Plus, I found out about the name thing long after I'd drawn him, and I cannot be bothered altering the image.)C...
May 2024 Print - Vote For Your Favourite Design!
HI! It's that time again, for the most important democracy you'll participate in all year!I've selected 11 of my most popular recentish pieces, and three of them will make up the Patron Print for the next three months! It's up to YOU, the wonderful person reading this, to help decide which three! Vote for your favourite and the most popular designs will be made into A5 prints for people at the £10 or higher level.Here are your noble competitors:"Legend of the Mole-Man 1""Legend of the Mole-Man 2""Honk"&#...
0329 - Homeless Man
The first of two men who befriend Bart after he gives blood.They are a presence for the rest of the episode and very few jokes are made at their expense - I think the show's intent is not to make fun of the unhoused, but to humanise them, for a bit of holiday sentimentality. An unfortunate by-product of this is that while these two are nice and pleasant, there's not a lot to them.Simpsons Wiki lists his name as "Casey", but this is not said in the episode at all, nor does he have any further appearances as far as I can tell. Thi...
BONUS! Taxi Driver, Other Security Guard and Hound
The minorest of minor characters, but it's a good jumping off point for another character:This driver brings Jacqueline Bouvier to the family home for Thanksgiving. We covered Jacqueline a long time ago, but it's worth noting that this is her first appearance in the current day, not in Marge's dream sequence, and in the elderly form that we're more familiar with. I'm not gonna include a screenshot. You know what she looks like.I am gonna include a screenshot of the other, non-speaking security guard:and a particularly dynami...
0328 - Security Guard
We're seeing the writers fall in love with Mr Burns as a cartoon villain, a larger than life figure that is a good starting point for ridiculous jokes about wealth and extravagance. We get glimpses into his life beyond his role as Homer's boss in "Two Cars In Every Garage and Three Eyes On Every Fish", a little bit more in "Dancin' Homer", and now we have a brief and unnecessary-to-the-plot detour to his home in this episode.We've already visited Burns Manor in season 1's "There's No Disgrace Like Hom...
0327 - Mrs Spencer
A brief, bleak moment in which this sweet old woman feels relief that her family did not forget her at Thanksgiving.Way back when we covered Abe I discussed the show's general viewpoint towards the elderly (that they're generally useless), but this lady highlights another aspect of the elderly that often goes hand in hand with the Retirement Castle: that they're forgotten. Characters are often brushing older characters aside and ignoring them (obviously most prominently with Homer himself.) It's sad when removed from the context...
0326 - Retirement Castle Adminitrator
Another consistent character, at least until season 4. He first appears here, bleakly telling the pensioners which of their loved ones send well wishes.And later this season in "Old Money", where he looks to get a piece of Abe's inherited wealth. I was delighted to learn they reused this design!His final appearance is only brief, in season 4's "I Love Lisa", as he puts up Valentine's decorations.The Retirement Castle shows up a lot after this, but its administration-related needs are less prominent, seemingly. Any jo...
BONUS! Bart Simpson Thankgiving Day Parade Balloon
A fun little joke in which Homer says that adding any "flash-in-the-pan" cartoon character would turn the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade into a "farce".They're poking fun at themselves here, obviously, as the show had only been around for just under a year but Bart was still premiering in the parade in 1990, the same day this episode aired.I'd be interested to know how far ahead this balloon had been planned, as the joke in the show would have been produced several months in advance. It looks like by the time the sho...
0324 and 0325 - Bill and Marty
It felt strange to separate them, so Bill and Marty get a post together!As I alluded to back when we covered "Bart Gets An F", Bill and Marty have already gotten a mention prior to this, and I thought it was interesting that they were kept consistent 6 episodes later!In this amount of time they've gone from being "two grown men who can't get enough of each other" to displaying some animosity, which will only increase as the series continues, with Bill referring to Marty as "dead weight" in season 4's "Mr....
Dead Putting Society - round up!
If it weren't for Maude, we'd have an episode where the Springfield librarian is the most prominent character. I don't mean to insult the rest of these folk, but we've really hit a point where important and recognisable characters are rare. There are still some heavy hitters to come this season, but only one in this episode. But that's okay, we like the nobodies.One thing to note is that we're getting through season 2 at a faster pace than season 1. By the time we'd finished episode 7 of season 1 ("The Call Of Th...
BONUS! Krusty and Guy, Beady Eyed Freaks and Golf Enjoyers
A trio of duos! Let's wrap up this episode with a look at a few of the background characters that I noticed. That's why you subscribe right? For me...noticing things?Moments like this stand out in early seasons because it contradicts the later canon of the show - that Krusty's white skin is not make-up. Plus, it is completely unnecessary that this be Krusty at all - they appear to be going for a kind of sleazy, dirty pool hall atmosphere, full of ne'er do wells, but Krusty's character is not established enough to make him fi...
0323 - Golf Commentator
The final character from this episode - hasn't it gone quickly? This one was one of the few I could actually remember before my rewatch though, because of his quirky nature.His colleague does not speak, but we can identify him as Mr Fisk, from back in season 1's "Homer's Night Out".The joke of this commentator being very eloquent is a great wrinkle, his needlessly descriptive play-by-play of a children's mini golf game is fun to listen to. He appears again in a similar role in season 3's "Saturdays of Thunder"...
0322 - Old Lady
The last of the library gang, the four person group that makes up almost half of our "Dead Putting Society" characters. We'll never see any of them again*, but at least this one makes an invaluable contribution to the New Character Hat Count.*except for Mrs Winfield, who, despite not getting an entry from this episode, has not been mentioned in three consecutive posts. Shoutout to the Winfield fans out there. Winfield 4 LYF.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project...
0321 - Old Man
There's very little of note to the rest of the characters in "Dead Putting Society", so we'll do a five update week and get through the rest of them!I think an argument could be made that this is Mr Winfield, but I'm not going to make it - to my eye, their designs are too dissimilar.Unfortunately, this is the only interesting thing about him.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0320 - Old Man
Almost half of our "Dead Putting Society" characters come from a single shot:We have already covered Mrs Winfield of course, long ago, but these other three are new to us! They also display familiarity with Lisa, greeting her chirpily, and she refers to them as the "gang". Outside of this appearance, Sylvia Winfield has displayed hostility towards Homer (and later Santa's Little Helper), but appears to have a somewhat friendly relationship with Lisa.This man specifically does not seems to have any further appearances, althou...
Patreon Print - April 2024
What time to do a spooky scary print than April? Yes, this piece - titled "In Their Dreams" will be the piece for this month! I tried something a little different with this one and people seemed to dig it, for which I am grateful!If you'd like this A5 print delivered directly to you, please be a £10 or higher member for this month! Make sure your address is available there and it'll be sent out once you're charged at the end of the month. Thank you for your support!If you have any questions, let me know.
BONUS! Sir-Putt-A-Lot's Merrie Olde Fun Centre
As I said in a previous post, "Dead Putting Society" is light on new or bonus characters, we'll be done with it next week. But this seemed like a good opportunity to do a deep dive into a location featured heavily in this episode and occasionally afterwards.I've only drawn the ones from this episode that kinda-sorta look like characters, but let's examine all the holes that this course has to offer. Like a lot of media outlets, I'm going to rank them in a numbered list. Unlike a lot of media outlets, who will chicken out...
0319 - Ralph
Less is known about Ralph than Ms Norton, although it appears he also works at the library. Why Lisa is on a first name basis with him and not Ms Norton cannot be determined, as he will never show up again.I'm sure they had big story plans for the continuing adventures of Ralph, but after realising they already had a character named Ralph, scrapped all his library-related adventures. Here's hoping he can make a triumphant comeback in a newer episode.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my...
0319 - Prince V'Lara
We've covered a lot of strong characters in our quest to draw every Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series character, but this certainly isn't one of them. Obviously we've spent a good portion of the episode so far with Chameleon impersonating this character, but now we get to cover the real prince. I've chosen to portray him in his "true" form, after he's retrieved his magical sceptre:as opposed to his weakened state, which is when we first meet him:He's a bit of an odd character - almost acting completely differentl...
