Life in Hell

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Life in Hell is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death. His drawings are full of not only fun, merriment, laughs, and frivolity, but also expressions of angst, alienation, self-loathing, and fear of inevitable doom.

The Big Book of Hell collection
The Big Book of Hell collection

Contents

[edit] History

Life in Hell started in 1977 as a self-published comic book wherein Groening described life in Los Angeles to his friends, as opposed to letters. Groening photocopied and distributed it in a small "punk" corner of the record store he was working in, Licorice Pizza on Sunset Boulevard.[1] Life in Hell debuted as a comic strip in the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978, to which Groening made his first professional cartoon sale. The first strip, entitled "Forbidden Words", appeared in the September/October issue. Popular in the underground, Life in Hell was picked up by the Los Angeles Reader (an alternative weekly newspaper where Groening also worked as a typesetter, editor, paste-up artist and music critic) in 1980, where it began appearing weekly.[2]

The strip was frequently a serial discussing various topics, such as "Love is Hell", a 1984 "13-chapter miniseries" pontificating on love and relationships. In November of that year, Groening's then-girlfriend (and co-worker at the Reader) Deborah Caplan offered to publish "Love is Hell" in book form.[3] The book was an underground success, selling 22,000 copies in its first two printings. Soon afterward, Caplan and Groening left the Reader and put together the Life in Hell Co., which handled syndication and merchandising for Groening’s projects.[4]

Life in Hell reached the attention of Hollywood producer James L. Brooks, who received one strip - "The Los Angeles Way of Death" from 1982 - as a gift from fellow producer Polly Platt.[5][6] In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of developing a series of short animated skits, called “bumpers”, for The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks had wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights to his characters, Groening instead created an entirely new batch of characters, the Simpsons.

As television began to place more demands on his time, however, Groening came to almost exclusively feature single-panel strips or 16-panel grids in which Akbar and Jeff exchange terse jabs. This later period also saw the increase of autobiographical strips, perhaps because Groening was influenced by the burgeoning alternative comics trend of autobio.

Television has also made the strip "safe enough for a number of newspapers to print", according to Groening, who claims that he has not "toned the strip down at all, other than no longer using profanity"[7] as a concession to daily papers that carry the strip.[8]

On December 7, 1998 Groening registered the domain mattgroening.com to publish Life in Hell online; however, the website has remained in its "under construction" state since then, although Groening insists he'll "get around to it... [when he's] ready to wade in on a regular basis."[9]

Groening has stated that he will "never give up the comic strip. It's my foundation."[10]

[edit] Recurring characters

  • Binky is a bitter, depressed and thus "normal" rabbit and star of the cartoon. He usually embodies dread and alienation.
  • Sheba is Binky's estranged girlfriend. Appearance-wise, she is "basically Binky in drag."[11] Binky and Sheba met at a coffee shop in a 1981 storyline, and are often used as a generic couple whenever Groening needs one.
  • Bongo is Binky's illegitimate son, the product of a drunken night of "jungle passion". He was introduced in a 1983 storyline in which his mother, Hulga, left him to Binky so she could seek her fortune in New York. Bongo's defining physical attribute is his one ear, which Groening admits is solely so that the casual viewer can tell him apart from Binky.[12]
  • Akbar & Jeff are described in various strips and interviews as "brothers or lovers or possibly both". Whatever the case, they are most definitely homosexual.[7] They have large noses and wear fezzes and Charlie Brown-like striped shirts. They have run numerous businesses over the years, including Akbar & Jeff's Tofu Hut, Akbar & Jeff's Earthquake T-Shirt Hut, and Akbar & Jeff's Bootleg "Akbar & Jeff" T-Shirt Hut. Like Binky and Sheba, Akbar and Jeff are often used as a generic couple when needed. According to Groening, "the reason why I draw a strip with Akbar and Jeff instead of Binky and Sheba is that I figure that no one can accuse me of trying to score points against men or women if the characters are identical."[3]
  • Matt Groening appears in the strip as a bearded, bespectacled rabbit. He is also sometimes represented as Binky.
  • Will and Abe are Matt Groening's two sons, represented in rabbit form.
  • Snarla, a cat, is Bongo's classmate and love interest.
  • Bart Simpson, has never spoken but is seen in the background of a number of strips.
  • Mr. Simpson is Binky's boss at his job. His name precedes those of the Simpsons.

[edit] Recurring jokes and situations

  • Fake magazines such as "Lonely Tyrant: The magazine for abusive bosses whose employees hate their guts." Stories inside include, "The fine art of the meaningless memo."
  • The X types of Y: The 9 types of college teachers, the 81 types of high school students, the 16 types of brothers, the 9 types of relationships.
  • How-To Guides: Examples include "So You Want To Be An Unrecognized Genius," "How To Be a Clever Film Critic," and "How To Get Into The College of Your Choice."
  • Miniseries - A series of strips focusing on a particular theme in a mock textbook manner, such as "School is Hell" and "Love is Hell," both of which have been collected in their entirety in book form.
  • Akbar & Jeff discussing their relationship - Arguably the most common set-up. A 1992 strip, "The Dart Game of Love," was prefaced with "I hope this cartoon pleases you gripers who whined about all those Akbar & Jeff strips where they stared at each other."
  • Binky attempting to meditate
  • Advertisements for disreputable businesses run by Akbar & Jeff such as "Akbar & Jeff's Lucky Psychic Hut."
  • Bongo locked in a detention room
  • Bongo unsatisfied with the huge assortment of presents he has received on Christmas morning
  • Shadow rabbit - Binky's looming shadow towers over Bongo, who has clearly committed a crime despite his assurances to the contrary.
  • Forbidden Words - An annual compilation of buzzwords used over the past year that Groening has deemed "forbidden."

[edit] Merchandise and advertising

A 1989 Apple Macintosh advertisement featuring Life in Hell characters.
A 1989 Apple Macintosh advertisement featuring Life in Hell characters.

After the success of Love is Hell, more book collections followed, including Work is Hell and Childhood is Hell. To date, over 10 books have been released.

In addition to the books, the comic also spawned T-shirts, greeting cards, posters,[4] coffee mugs, and a short-lived newsletter called the "Life in Hell Times."[13] There is also an annual calendar.

In the late 1980s, Groening drew several print advertisements for Apple Computer in the form of Life in Hell comic strips.[14]

At the 2005 Comic-Con in San Diego, a series of deluxe Life in Hell vinyl figurines manufactured by CritterBox Toys was announced.[15]

[edit] Books

Akbar & Jeff's Guide To Life

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chocano, Carina (2001-01-30). Matt Groening. Salon.com. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.
  2. ^ Groening, Matt (1990). "About the Author", The Big Book of Hell. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-72759-0. 
  3. ^ a b Groening, Matt (1994). "Introduction", Love is Hell: Special Ultra Jumbo 10th Anniversary Edition. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-75665-5. 
  4. ^ a b Morgenstern, Joe (1990-04-29). "Bart Simpson's Real Father", Los Angeles Times Magazine, 12-18, 20, 22. 
  5. ^ BBC. (2000). The Simpsons: America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  6. ^ Kim, John W. (October 1999). Keep 'em Laughing. Scr(i)pt. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.
  7. ^ a b Paul, Alan (1995-09-30). Life in Hell. Flux Magazine. Retrieved on [[January 14]], 2007.
  8. ^ Doherty, Brian (March/April 1999). Matt Groening. Mother Jones. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.
  9. ^ Doh! Groening's Guide to Digital Cartooning. USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review (January 2003). Archived from the original on February 2004.
  10. ^ Bergman, Erik H. (1989-12-16). Prime time is heaven for 'Life in Hell' Artist. TV Host. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
  11. ^ Groening, Matt (1997). "Hell For Beginners", The Huge Book of Hell. New York: Penguin Books, 137. ISBN 0-140-26310-1. 
  12. ^ Groening, Matt (2001). "The Secret Life of Lisa Simpson", Simpsons Comics Royale. New York: Perennial, 128. ISBN 0-060-93378-X. 
  13. ^ Romanov, Alexander (2005-07-27). Rare Life in Hell Merchandise. What the Hell. Retrieved on 2007-02-10.
  14. ^ Matt Groening Apple Ad from 1989
  15. ^ Life Is Heaven with Life In Hell Line. Simpsons Collector Sector (2005-07-18). Retrieved on 2007-02-10.

[edit] External links

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