The Lisa Book (The Simpsons Library of Wisdom)

I've read several books in the Simpsons Library of Wisdom series and they're a lot of fun. This one stars Lisa; essentially the morale compass of not just her Simpson clan but the town of Springfield. In other words, Lisa Simpson isn't that funny. 

That's not to say that Lisa is a total stick in the mud. She's rather complex. She can be completely serious. But she's also known to have teamed with her brother Bart and gone completely bonkers  begging father Homer to go to a water park, visit Itchy & Scratchy Land and install a backyard swimming pool.

Every Simpsons Library of Wisdom book has a recurring theme. For Bart, its mischief. For bartender Moe, it's self-loathing and a surprising devotion for little Maggie Simpson. With Lisa, her theme seems to be high brow culture mixed with a crush on any teen superstar named Corey and a desperate desire to own a pony.

There was one part of this book that I absolutely objected to. It was a look at artifacts from the Lisa Simpson presidency. But Lisa's administration takes place in the future. How could they be here now when you this book very much reads like the scrapbook of Lisa when she's 8-years old. I know that this was a work of fiction. But having such an anachronism really makes that OCD area of my brain itch like a bad case of poison ivy!

Not my favorite volume of the series. Not terrible. But it's got a lot of droll, high brow references. If I was going for such, I'd watch a marathon of Frasier and those bourgeois references are why I couldn't watch it. Maybe I'll keep it. Maybe I'll sell it for some valuable trade credit. I'm really going have to think on this a while...

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Marge Book (The Simpsons Library of Wisdom)

Dive into the mind of the Simpsons family matriarch with The Marge Book. 

Now what I'm about to say is probably controversial, but I think out of the 5 members of the Simpsons family, Marge has got to be the least popular. There's no way she ranks higher than Homer or Bart. Lisa has got to be a solid third. And I just don't see Marge having more fans than baby Maggie. Yet, despite being a fuddy duddy and probably being more suited to being alive during the nuclear family 1950s, Marge is the heart and hope of America's favorite family.

This book is similar to the others in the Simpsons Library of Wisdom series. You get a couple of X-rays of what's on Marge's mind (along with just about everything she hides in that beehive hairstyle of hers), lists of her favorite and least favorite things, as well as some family history, only this time of the Bouvier's of Springfield USA. 

New to this book is a look at Marge's amateur art career, a serialized account of her desperate attempt to become a part of the neighborhood book club and tons of household tips about how to keep a clean house, especially one comprised of Homer and Bart. The parody segments are the best; like a list of Marge's Netflix account wish list and dangerous toys sold around the town. 

I think after reading this book there's only 2 or 3 that I haven't read yet. Those subjects include Ralph Wiggum, Flanders and Krusty the Clown. I know I've read Homer and Lisa's books. I just can't find evidence of this. That's probably because I read them in the years before I started my reading journal and that was over 15 years ago. OR- I'm confusing myself with the Simpsonology books which are similar in style and shape. Not sure about Comic Book Guy. I feel like I have read that one before. And don't get me started on the list of about 2 dozen 'fine works in progress.' This book is from 2009 and I really don't think HarperCollins ever got around to publishing the promised works about APU, Otto and Grandpa Simpson. Though if I am wrong about that, then I've got quite a few surprises to hunt for at my favorite used book shops.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Simpsons: Homer For the Holidays

Enjoy the holidays with America's favorite family... in comic book form!

While most would incorporate the Simpsons with Halloween because of their annual Treehouse of Horror episodes, Christmas is synonymous with Bart, Lisa, Marge, Maggie & Homer. That's because their first full-length episode ever was a festive tale titled 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.' Technically, that was really The Simpsons Christmas Special and not the first episode. Yet, both Fox and fans have determined that the holiday special was the pilot and thus considered the premier of The Simpsons animated sitcom. The rest is 35 years plus of television history.

This was one of my last Christmas and holiday themed reads for 2023. If I had realized how much Hanukkah material was in this book, I would have started on this one a few weeks earlier. Of course! Krusty the Clown is Jewish! How could I forget how much of an icon to the Festival of Lights Krusty is. I didn't say he was a positive icon. But so many episodes of The Simpsons involve Krusty's ancestry and faith as a Jew, that it's natural here to have several stories and segments devoted to the celebration of those 8 crazy nights. 

Homer for the Holidays is not the definitive collection of Simpsons holiday comics. This collection was published in 2010. Bongo Comics would continue releasing Simpsons comics for another 8 years. That's not including titles devoted to individual Simpsons characters such as Bart and Lisa. I know off the bat that a Treehouse of Horror story in which Lisa dreams that her live Christmas tree enslaves the people of Springfield wasn't included in this book. And while a couple of New Year's themed adventures are here, there aren't any Thanksgiving stories and Bongo produced at least 1 Turkey Day set issue.

In the past 2 years, Harper Collins, operating under the defunct Bongo imprint, have been releasing omnibuses devoted to all of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror annuals. I'm hoping that after Volume 3 releases next autumn that maybe an omnibus of November-February holiday tales might be forthcoming. It would save me a lot of time and money and I'd buy it, even though I've already collected and read a sizable chunk of Christmas and Hanukkah Simpsons comics. 

Just something to put out there to the publishing team behind those massive Halloween collections.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

To Kill A Mockingbird (Family Comic Friday)

As the school year begins to wind down, it's time to start thinking about summer reading. This week's Family Comic Friday looks at a classic novel that recently made it's graphic novel debut. It's also this Madman reviewer's favorite book of all-time: To Kill a Mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by Harper Lee
Illustrated and Adapted by Fred Fordham
Published by Harper Collins
Pages: 288

Harper Lee's account of prejudice and racism in 1930s Alabama is both equally highly controversial and well regarded. To Kill a Mockingbird won many awards after it debuted in 1960, including the Pulitzer Prize in literature. Since then, as author Lee was awarded a numerous accolades for her work, including Congressional medals, Mockingbird has earned a reputation as one of the most challenged books in both schools and public libraries.

Harper Lee's fictionalized account of her childhood in the Depression era South has an unquestionable anti-racism tone. But Lee's choice to include the N-word has caused many to debate the age appropriateness of the book. A stunning courtroom scene in which black man, Tom Robinson is accused of rape and a peppering of ‘ damns’, 'hells’ and ungentlemanly tones towards women has also been reasons some have called for the book to be banned. I for one am glad that this book’s illustrator and adaptor, Fred Fordham decided not to edit any of these controversial aspects.

I've read To Kill a Mockingbird seven times previously. I'm also familiar with the rough draft, Go Set A Watchman. So I feel that I can legitimately proclaim this late 2018 adaptation to be extremely faithful to the original novel. It even does a superior job to that of the 1962 film version which won several Academy Awards.

Fred Fordham's graphic novel is 5 pages longer than Lee's prose. With Fordham's choice to include Scout Finch's first person narration, there's a tremendous amount of near verbatim passages from the original source material. Some parts, including one of my favorite sequences between Scout, her brother Jem and neighbor boy, Dill has been altered slightly. But for the majority, this book is almost exactly as Harper Lee wrote it.  And it's for this very reason that I am recommending this graphic novel!

In order to get students interested in reading the novels required over the summer by the school system, parents will show the reader a film version of the book. Why not get young adults reading by having them start off with a graphic novel adaptation? Reading  this version, the reader will personally have to draw conclusions about themes and styles, instead of being spoon-fed facts like with Cliff Notes.

Plus thanks to Fred Fordham's clean artwork, readers can better make mental connections with the host of assorted characters that makeup this book.

One thing for sure about this version of Mockingbird, it's going to provoke some very hard questions. So parents and guardians need to be ready to navigate issues of race, gender and even bullying. That doesn't mean that this book is nothing but serious drama. Scout and her friends are kids and they have typical child interactions like dares, play-acting adventures and fun and games. For book full of such serious tones, these light hearted interludes are required.

Get a jump on Summer reading with this adaptation. Or share a beloved classic with the next generation in a the easily accessible medium of sequential art! No matter what your reason, this is a book that any reader around the age of 12 or older should encounter today.

The To Kill a Mockingbird graphic novel debuted in print and digital formats on October 30, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.