“This? This is a Snagglepuss drawn by Hic Heisler, it is worth something. This? This is an arm drawn by nobody. It is worth nothing.” – Comic Book Guy
I come across a fair number of weird Simpsons stuff on eBay but until this week I had never come across an actual production animation cel from the show. In fact, I found the concept so ludicrous that I titled a whole post after it just last Saturday. But this week I found two. The sale for the first has ended, and it’s a good thing too because some yutz bought it for $128.50:
According to the eBay page (scroll way down) it’s from “Itchy & Scratchy & Marge” (though there’s lots more stuff going on in the actual scene). There’s even a certificate circa 1992 to verify its authenticity. Then there’s this one that’s still for sale, the current bid is a less insane but still high seeming $26.50:
As you can see, it’s a little bizarre. Here’s the explanation from the eBay page:
I’m offering this original Animation Production Cel of Krusty the Clown from the Simpsons. It is 4th season, and from the episode Kamp Krusty. It has been placed over a photo copy of the background drawing from this scene.
That explains why this thing doesn’t quite look how the actual scene looked (in the episode there’s no tent, the fire is going, and there are kids sitting with him).
I’m certainly no expert on eBay stuff for sale, and for all I know production cels get moved there all the time; it just strikes me as a little odd that two Krusty cels pop up on eBay so close together. (They’re from different sellers.) Did someone who once worked at Klasky-Csupo recently clean out their garage or something?
Dead Homer Society 
3 responses to “What If I Want a Drawing of Part of Marge’s Arm?”
I wonder if anyone on eBay will hawk an original cel of Mr Black, Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph toasting evil around the banquet table. That scene alone is worth a million bucks.
I’m wondering if the whole B-plot of “Lady Bouvier’s Lover” was a joke at the expense of actual people who bought Simpsons animation cels. Both of these are kinda neat in their own way, but they’re just portions of one image. It’s not even a complete frame. Observe this certificate which I pulled from the first eBay link above:
It’s a little small, but here’s the text (near as I can tell):
They must’ve been doing serious business with collectors, animation enthusiasts and who knows who else, and the people making the show found it hilarious. Think of how many thousands of cels like these must’ve been just lying around. To the producers they were little more than garbage but fans were willing to pay good money for them. It’s not hard to see how you’d find that funny, especially when they’re paying for incomplete snippets drawn by anonymous animators.
[…] this first came out I thought the idea of selling an animation cel was farce, but then it turns out they actually did this and the show’s mockery of it takes on a whole new […]