COMIC TURN

Ian Boothby has written Simpsons and Futurama comics for Bongo for the past eight years and is now the head writer on both books. WORDS: JOEL MEADOWS

TRIPWIRE: So you’ve written for Simpsons and Futurama for Bongo. How many years have you been doing that for?

IAN BOOTHBY: My first Bongo comic was about 8 years ago and that was a little four page back up story. Currently I am the head writer for both Simpsons and Futurama comics. It’s been fun.

TW: So how much contact do you have with the show or is that through Bill Morrison?

IB: Well my editor is Bill Morrison, when you’re talking contact with the show, Matt Groening is the publisher, he has the final say…

TW: So do your scripts get approved: do they have to go off to Matt?

IB: Bill is the representative who speaks for Matt but there are things like when I suggested the Simpsons/ Futurama crossover, that have to be greenlit by Matt. For the longest time, he did not want to do a crossover. But we found a way of going about it and he gave us the greenlight. So Bill takes care of everything until there’s trouble and then it goes to Matt.

TW: So in terms of what you can and can’t do, is there a lot of back and forth? I assume that it was hard at the beginning and a lot of stuff got redrafted?

IB: Yes it did actually. I did get quite a few notes off the getgo where you’re just trying to feel out what you can and can’t do in the comics. Some jokes like Itchy and Scratchy work great on television but not so much in the comics because you linger on the gory image whereas on the show it’s just a flash. So the pacing is very different. But currently I don’t get many notes. The biggest challenge of course is just coming up with stories that haven’t been done.

TW: Do they keep you in the loop with what’s going on in the show?

IB: No, so occasionally we end up duplicating what’s on the show. A couple of issues back they had a boy band and they did the same thing on the Simpsons show. And I just did a 24 parody and there’s a 24 parody coming up. We do both work in our separate worlds but occasionally come up with similar ideas.

TW: So you don’t find it too much of a constriction? Sometimes licensing comics are a bit fraught but since Bongo is part of the whole package, I presume that it’s a lot easier than writing Star Wars comics?

IB: The difference is that George Lucas doesn’t publish the Star Wars comics so because Matt Groening is the publisher, it does make sense. The one thing we try to do with the comic is make it like the show. I remember when I was a kid I used to see Roadrunner comics and they were nothing like the cartoon. So I think Bill and Matt keep us on track and Bill Morrison, who is my editor is also the art director on Futurama, so he knows what’s going on there in that loop. So I hope we keep the tone.

TW: So presumably you come up with plots and then you submit them to Bill, so you’d submit a run of half a dozen plots for future issues? And then if they’re approved, do you go and script them?

IB: The process goes like this: I pitch a general idea and they give it the thumbs up or the thumbs down. It goes from there to a three page outline, thumbs up or thumbs down, then it goes to the actual script itself and I don’t pitch a group of plots at the same time just because that would be just too confusing in my head.

It’s sometimes tricky doing Futurama and Simpsons at the same time just because you have a joke that you like and it could work in both and you’ve got to choose who your favourite child is, so it’s a Sophie’s Choice situation.

TW: With things like the voice talent with both shows, does it make it easier or harder as a writer when you’re writing?

IB: Yeah I have to speak out loud and I try to sound like the characters as much as possible to see if they work. The blessing they have on the show of course is that the voice talent adds so much to what’s written. When people read it, hopefully they’re reading it with Homer’s voice.

TW: So there’s a pool of regular artists that work on both of the titles?

IB: It’s tricky to draw something so simplistic. I remember looking at Peanuts and it’s one of those things where you think it’s so easy to draw but try drawing Charlie Brown, try actually drawing Homer. It’s very very difficult.

TW: Obviously there’s always a focus on The Simpsons and it’s a very well-known series but with the film out this year, it’s going to be even more visible. Is there any extra pressure on you as a writer?

IB: Well the pressure’s always there. It’s the funniest show on television and people grew up with it thinking that it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever seen, so you’ve really got to deliver.

TW: What about Futurama the comic…?

IB: It’s one of my favourite shows, I’m so glad that it’s coming back. It’s also a treat to write for that one because there’s less plot…

TW: And it’s a little more adult and sophisticated than the Simpsons.

IB: And good commentaries on war. I remember the episode with the balls, which had one of my favourite lines ‘Balls thoroughly licked’. I saw that for the first time in San Diego with a crowd of thousands and it was just amazing. I’m really looking forward to seeing how The Simpsons movie does in the theatres. It’ll be a treat to watch.

I think that before The Simpsons, animation wasn’t funny. Before The Simpsons, it was Fox and The Hound. It was pretty to look at but that was about it and then all of a sudden they raised the bar and now the challenge is to meet their own expectations. [TW]

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