Hell's Kitchen Confidential: Morris Makes His New York Media Debut

The Interview His Human Was Allowed to Attend

Photos by Lucas Brito

The rain attacked the windows of Frisson Espresso on West 44th Street with the intensity of a toddler who's just discovered drums. I huddled across from Dashiell from W42st magazine, who had heroically risked drowning to interview me about the new book. Meanwhile, Morris—my French Bulldog and the undisputed celebrity of my household—was shivering, damp, below the table, nudging me for pats and chin scritches.

"So what inspired the book?" Dashiell asked, his recorder capturing what I prayed wouldn't be the sound of my brain short-circuiting.

"It was very much write what you know," I replied, mentally high-fiving myself for such originality. Nothing says "serious artist" like the most clichéd response in interview history! I rambled about how my co-author Scott Dooley and I compared notes on universal dog owner experiences, while silently wondering if Dashiell could tell I was just a glorified treat dispenser who occasionally draws things.

What I didn't mention was my studio floor covered in discarded attempts to capture the precise angle of a corgi butt. Twenty years as a professional cartoonist, and here I was, sending frantic messages to dog owner focus groups on Facebook asking, "Does this pug's concerned face look authentic to you?"

“The King hath arrived!”

A week later, under skies so perfect they seemed Photoshopped, photographer Lucas Brito met Morris and me for a neighborhood tour alongside Deputy Editor Catie Savage. While I showed up with dog food stains on my pants and mismatched socks, Morris transformed into Tyra Banks reincarnated as a Frenchie. He posed inside and outside Spoiled Brats Pet Store on 49th Street.