Homer Simpson

In 2010 Entertainment Weekly named Homer Simpson, "the greatest character of the last 20 years," upping him into the echelon of iconic fictional fathers. It's easy to see why Homer's achieved such a strong status — there's really something for Homer in everyone. Homer can be silly, but also heartfelt; dumb, but also capable of forming a barbershop quartet; and his daily wants may ebb and flow, but his moral compass remains constant, much like the show itself.

If you're reading this book, you probably know the basics of who Homer Jay Simpson is, but given the show's decades-spanning run, how well do you know the man behind a "No Fat Chicks" T-shirt?

Let's start with the softballs and amp up to the incredibly deep cuts. Homer works as a safety inspector at the nuclear power plant in Springfield. He'll stop traffic for a pink sprinkled donut, a cold beer at Moe's, or a line of baby ducks walking across the street. He's the husband to Marge Simpson, whose love for him — despite his dopey behavior — redeems his otherwise ridiculous qualities. He's the father of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson. Despite his shortcomings and selfishness, his tenderness has always been untouchable. Over the years he's played father to a lobster named Pinchy, a pet pig named Spider-Pig, and a giant submarine sandwich he didn't have the heart to throw out despite its graying and moldy state.

He attends church, though often snoozes through sermons, and migrates to Moe's Tavern in such a predictable pattern that he takes doctor calls from its dusty landline. He's the American standard of a typical male in his 30s: he loves sports (one of his all-time dreams is to own the Dallas Cowboys, not the Denver Broncos — as he's later gifted in "You Only Move Twice"), dislikes ballet (once he discovers it doesn't include bears), and treats television with a tenderness he often withholds from most humans.

Homer's inner circle are his power plant co-workers — mainly Lenny and Carl, though a running a joke has been made on how he can't tell them apart. (He writes down "Lenny = white; Carl = black.") His best friend is Barney Gumble, who he's known since childhood and may or may not have coerced him into becoming a fall-down drunk.

Homer was named after Simpsons creator Matt Groening's father, Homer Groening, who himself had been named after the ancient Greek poet. "Homer originated with my goal to both amuse my real father and just annoy him a little bit," Groening said. "The only thing he had in common with Homer was a love of donuts." Homer's voiced by Dan Castellaneta and has undergone three significant design changes since his original debut in the short "Good Night" on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.

At the beginning of The Simpsons inception, Homer was a stern voice of reason, as Castellaneta's style was vaguely based on the actor Walter Matthau. As the show evolved, so too did the family's patriarch. Fans often dissect Homer's evolution within the show's run itself, relegating early seasons (Season 1–2) with Homer being a fatherly voice of reason. The following seasons (3-6) fixated on his foibles, and the seasons after that (7–10) transformed him into a man whose id is firmly behind the wheel, crashing into whatever chaos will provide the most pleasure.

Read "Life in Hell"

Long ago, in a time before the sacred word "boo-urns" had meaning, a young, brooding artist by the name of — you guessed it — Matt Groening left behind his humble Portland, Oregon, beginnings to pursue a career in the magical land of La La Land's backdrop: Hollywood, California. Like most people trying to make it in showbiz, the young Groening tried his best, failed miserably, and fell into obscurity forever. We hope you have enjoyed our book.

The End.

Well, we were possibly a little hasty earlier and would like to reaffirm our allegiance to this chapter and its human subject, Matt Groening. It may not be perfect, but it's still the best chapter on Matt Groening we have ... for now. Although Groening obviously went on to create the most successful (and objectively hilarious) animated show in...