Life in Hell - Recurring Characters

Recurring Characters

• Binky is a bitter, depressed and thus "normal" rabbit and star of the cartoon. He usually embodies dread and alienation. Binky is usually stuck in a dead end job, has a bad apartment and regularly sees a therapist. Binky usually is full of wise old sayings.

• Sheba is Binky's estranged girlfriend. Her character design is "basically Binky in drag." Binky and Sheba met at a coffee shop in a 1981 storyline, and are often used as a generic couple whenever Groening needs one.

• Bongo is Binky's illegitimate son, the product of a drunken night of "jungle passion." He was introduced in a 1983 storyline in which his mother, Hulga, left him to Binky so she could seek her fortune in New York. Bongo's defining physical attribute is his one ear, which Groening admits is solely so that the casual viewer can tell him apart from Binky. Bongo once made an appearance in the Futurama episode Xmas Story, where he is seen being sold in a pet shop. He also appeared in The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror XII as one of the rabbits that Homer catches in the trap. He appears in The Simpsons again in another episode as a plush toy in Lisa's room, though he is called Madam Bunny. He is shown as a plush toy in The Fool Monty where Mr. Burns is eating it in Bart's closet.
• Akbar & Jeff are described in various strips and interviews as "brothers or lovers...and possibly both". In one interview, Groening says they are gay. They have large noses and wear fezzes and Charlie Brown-like striped shirts. They have run numerous businesses over the years, including Akbar & Jeff's Tofu Hut, Akbar & Jeff's Earthquake T-Shirt Hut, and Akbar & Jeff's Bootleg "Akbar & Jeff" T-Shirt Hut. Like Binky and Sheba, Akbar and Jeff are often used as a generic couple when needed. According to Groening, "the reason why I draw a strip with Akbar and Jeff instead of Binky and Sheba is that I figure that no one can accuse me of trying to score points against men or women if the characters are identical." They have been given cameo appearances in The Simpsons, such as during "Homer's Triple Bypass", where Homer uses finger puppets resembling the characters to describe his surgery to Bart and Lisa.
• Matt Groening appears in the strip as a bearded, bespectacled rabbit. He is also sometimes represented as Binky.

• Will and Abe are Matt Groening's two sons, represented in rabbit form.

• Snarla, a cat, is Bongo's classmate and love interest. She bears a resemblance to Lisa Simpson.

• Bart Simpson, has never spoken—except when he uttered his former catch phrase "Don't have a cow, man!" in a "forbidden words" strip—but is seen in the background of a number of strips.

• Mr. Simpson is Binky's anthropomorphic dog boss at his job. His name predates The Simpsons.

• Gooey, Screwy, and Ratatouille are Akbar and/or Jeff's triplet nephews. The names are an obvious spoof of the Disney characters Huey, Dewey and Louie (Donald Duck's nephews).