 Bill Plympton used a lot of the urban myths that were prevalent in  his teen years, mixed with some real experiences in high school. For  example, the lead character, Spud, rides to school on a Vespa motor  scooter, just like Bill did. Like Spud, Bill was also not the most  popular kid in class, since being an artist ranked very low in the  school pecking order, of course, with athletes and cheerleaders  sitting on top.