96733-1_RAA_MrMorris-SemesterTest_TEXT_R1_PROOF

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be two things when I grew up – a cartoonist and a teacher. I know -‐ pretty dorky. So I studied art education in college, and as a consequence I’ve spent most days of my adult life in a room filled with middle school children. That may sound like a horrible fate to many of you, but I’ve honestly felt lucky. No two days are the same, and there’s never a dull moment. On second thought, there were a few dull moments – faculty meetings. That’s where the cartooning part comes in. I began entertaining myself during meetings by drawing cartoons of my mischievous students. That’s really the origin story of Mr. Morris. Eventually I created some characters, sketched up a couple of strips, and began posting them online. After a few months, I got the idea to refine the comic strips and try getting them syndicated. Five years later, Mr. Morris appears in several weekly newspapers (Note to younger readers – Newspapers are those big paper things that you might have seen your grandparents reading while they drink their morning coffee.) and in three small comic book collections. With this volume, I’m putting everything between two covers. So I spend my days with school children, and I draw a comic strip for newspapers. Who’s luckier than me? Nobody I know. Rick Brooks

Here’s one of the earliest Mr. Morris drawings.