Scarce softcover Apple booklet entitled ‘Who Needs a Computer Anyway? A Student’s Guide,’ 16 pages, 7.5 x 7.5, published by Apple Computer in 1989, and illustrated by Simpsons creator Matt Groening, who, in addition to the front and back covers, provided nine character drawings of college student types, such as ‘The Clueless,’ ‘The Schizoid,’ ‘The Procrastinator,’ ‘The Imperfectionist,’ ‘The Unemployed,’ ‘The Starving Student,’ ‘The Technoid,’ ‘The Stressed’ and ‘The Overwhelmed,’ the latter two characters represented by the one-eared rabbit Bongo from Groening’s popular Life in Hell comic strip; interestingly, the designs of the ‘Procrastinator’ and the ‘Technoid’ resemble those of Simpsons characters Nelson Muntz and Milhouse Van Houten, respectively. In very fine condition. Intent on marketing squarely to college students, Apple and Steve Jobs hired the drawing talents of Matt Groening, whose Life in Hell comic strip and subsequent spin-off books had successfully found their way into youth culture. Coincidentally, the very year this ‘Student Guide’ was published, Groening’s The Simpsons made its series premiere on Fox Television with a half-hour Christmas special on December 17, 1989. A scarce, humorous, and fascinating pre-Simpsons and pre-Internet Apple publication.
