 The show's creator, television newcomer Joe Murray, hired Povenmire solely on the strength of his "Life is a Fish" comic strips, which proved he could both write and draw.Though Povenmire started on "Rocko" simply to occupy his downtime from "The Simpsons", he found the greater creative freedom he enjoyed on his temporary job compelling, and quit "The Simpsons" to work on "Rocko" full-time.There, he reunited with Jeff Marsh, this time as a writing partner; Marsh claimed the crew hoped Povenmire's neatness would offset his own sloppy storyboarding.