Love is Hell.

GROENING, Matt.

$700.00

Item Number: 146535

New York: Pantheon Books, 1985.

Special New Mini-Jumbo edition of this comical cartoon book that were the source material for The Simpsons by the creator of ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Futurama.’ Oblong quarto, original illustrated wrappers. Boldly signed by the author on the front pastedown, “Matt Groening, 9/16/87,” below a full-length sketch of his character Binky with a speech bubble inscribed in red ink: “To Deair!!!” In near fine condition. This early sketch of Binky was drawn roughly five months after ‘The Simpsons’ premiered on ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’ April 19, 1987 and a little over two years before Springfield’s finest made their Fox network debut on December 17, 1989.

Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator best known for creating the longest-running U.S. primetime television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series, 'The Simpsons.' His weekly 'Life in Hell' comic strip premiered in 1977 for a 35-year run. The main character Binky is an anthropomorphic rabbit who is the embodiment of dread and alienation, stuck in a dead-end job, living in a run-down apartment, and espousing wise old sayings. In November 1984, Groening's then-girlfriend, Deborah Caplan, decided to publish a compilation of Groening's cartoons as a book entitled 'Love is Hell.' The book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings.