Lorin Morgan-Richards (born February 16, 1975) is an American author, illustrator,[1] and songwriter,[2][3][4] primarily known for his young adult fiction and Gothic Western comedy series The Goodbye Family.

Richards also credited his imagination on the plentiful books his family owned, creative isolation, and the sheer number of animals they took care of, many of which he incorporated into his early drawings and writings.

"I remember my first book as a child was The Indians Knew by Tillie S. Pine, an early reader from 1965 explaining the cultural ways and historical resourcefulness of Native Americans and how they are applied in the sciences today.

Between 1993 and 2003, Richards received an AA Degree in Liberal Arts at Cuyahoga Community College and credited his Anthropology Professor Mark Lewine as a mentor.

During this time, Richards also achieved minor success in producing music projects containing modern dance and theater, and befriended and collaborated with artist Textbeak.

I moved to Lakewood to be closer to the performance spaces and switched to Tri-C Metro where I was awakened out of my shell by an Anthropology teacher named Dr. Mark Lewine.

"[20] Richards calls his synth music "Dark Electronic Storytelling" as it is conceptually based on written works and is meant for dramatic performance.

[22] In 2002, Richards moved to Los Angeles to start over where he refocused his artistic direction into writing and illustrating, which he said: "did not need the expenses of my past but only a pen and paper.

Richards conceptualized most of The Goodbye Family characters in 2009 during a trip to the UK and France with his wife, although they were mentioned before this in his western novel Me'ma and the Great Mountain.

Orphie was first seen atop the Notre Dame Cathedral with gargoyles, Otis was trying to board a train at customs with a shrunken head, Pyridine was sewing a limb back together in Cardiff, and Dorian was capturing a fairy to eat.

In an interview he states: "Having seen what is being printed by majors these days with poor quality paper, I wanted to provide the reader with a book that carries more value near the same price and that can last for generations.

[31] Since 2017, Richards has released his comic collections on a nearly quarterly basis, growing his audience, and solely focusing on The Goodbye Family and his Weird West brand.

Notable artists involved were Jen Delyth, Ruth Jên, Siobhan Owen, Monica Richards, Nichola and Sarah Hope, and Nathan Wyburn to name a few.

I remembered seeing at a very early age a glowing photo of Custer and a few pages after (of) an elderly man, who looked like my own grandfather, lying dead in the snow.

The series offered a central gathering place to screen documentaries by and about Indigenous people while providing historical narratives with guest speakers, and art and cultural demonstrations.

The film series in partnership with AIM Santa Barbara held a community birthday celebration at Nahui Ohlin in Los Angeles for Leonard Peltier on September 12, 2009, with an update on his status and how the public could get involved to petition his release.

"[38] The event was followed in December by a screening of Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier with discussion afterward by Ben Carnes, members of AIM Santa Barbara, as well as friends and family.

Feeling a need to fill the void of losing the church as a cultural center, Richards founded the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival, an annual event taking place on or around March 1 celebrating Wales.