Matt Groening graduated from Evergreen State University in 1977 expecting to become a writer, but cartooning became his claim to fame. By 1991, the creator of the animated television series The Simpsons and the nationally syndicated comic strip Life in Hell had received his first two Emmys and was listed as one of the Forbes Top 40 earners in the entertainment industry.

Groening's struggles as a writer in Los Angeles after college led to the creation of Life in Hell, a comic strip about Binky, a hostile, frustrated rabbit (the only recognizable animal Groening could draw). Instead of sending correspondence to his relatives and friends, Groening sent his first comics because they communicated his feelings. He also tried to sell booklets of his comic strips in the "punk" section of the record store where he worked. In 1978, Wet, a magazine which showcased unconventional graphics, ran a few...