The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus, Vol. 3: Fiendish Fables of Devilish Delicacies

The third and final Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Omnibus is here! Well, actually it debuted in August and I kept waiting on it to show up at my favorite comic book shop. But for one reason or another, the book never came. Once my guys determined that the distributors weren't going to fill the order request, I went to Amazon and ordered it myself. I hate not being able to support a local small business like that...

'Fiendish Fables of Devilish Delicacies' might be the best of the bunch. It features a bunch of celebrity writers taking horrifying shots at America's Favorite Family. Comedian Thomas Lennon and Rocker Rob Zombie are among those who contribute. But it was the re-pairing of 2 iconic teams from the pages of comic history that were my favorite out of all 3 volumes.

Swamp Thing co-creators, Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, join forces once again to pose a tale that suggests what might have happened if Homer was killed and put into a vat of Apu's Squishee mix to become the Squish Thing! Then Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan reunite to propose what would happen if Homer lead a team of vampire hunters against the dreaded Count Dracula. I must admit it took me a couple of pages to realize that this was a parody of Marvel's The Tomb of Dracula horror comic from the 70s and not a send-up of Universal's Dracula. However, once I did, I was enthralled because I cut my horror comic lovin' teeth on that series! Colan's artwork was so stunning. It looked 3-D. Artists today can barely make classic comic characters look 2-D. When you read that story, you are in the presence of genius. 2 geniuses! 

Speaking of bad art, there was one story called 'Boo-tleg' in which the Kwik-E-Mart is selling poisoned Halloween candy to the citizens of Springfield. To hide his crimes, Apu keeps making clones of the townsfolk. But the results are less than ideal. I get the premise of the story and I liked the satire of the effect cloning could have on society. Yet, the artwork looked like really poor computer animation. Like so bad, it makes the Dire Straits music video, 'Money For Nothing' look modern!

One thing I had been missing were the covers. This book includes that much desired cover gallery. I still never got the Treehouse of Horror Halloween annuals printed in order; but at least I now have all of the material that would be included, if I owned the entire set. But there are lots of extras that only appeared in the trade collections. So that makes this a super-omnibus. Even with the near $150 I paid for all 3 volumes, I came out on top. Prices for some of those annuals are with price tags of $30-$50 each. No way in heck am I going shell out that type of money for a Simpsons floppy; no matter how much I love Halloween books!

Now if only Harry N. Abrams would collect the Simpsons Winter Wingdings and other seasonal Holiday material in an omnibus or two...

They saved the best material for last!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror Ominous Omnibus, Vol. 2: Deadtime Stories For Boos & Ghouls HC

The second of 3 omnibuses that will collect all of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween annuals. 

Unfortunately, the editors didn't follow my request to have the stories reprinted in order. (Like Harry N. Abrams Books was going to scrap their format to put the stories in chronological order of printing.) 

Along with material from the 23 annuals, there's material from previous collections and other issues that are Halloween themed or at least spooky in nature. 

Gotta say that I wasn't such a fan of this one. I know with a massive volume, clocking in at around 400 pages of material, it's kinda hard to rate based on material; especially since everything has been cut and pasted into themed chapters. One chapter was about surviving the end of the world. It had a story in which it appears that Flanders doesn't get taken in the Rapture. But it turns out that in reality, Flanders' left-handedness is what keeps him from being abducted by aliens. 

I did like the Old Sea Captain's high seas tales of terror that are anything but. Though I have read them before, I thought both of them were oddball classics. Plus Lisa, Bart, Homer and Grandpa play a round of Mad Libs to varying degrees of success. Another all-time great that I've read before but got a kick out of reading again.

There's one more volume to go and yes, I am going to buy it. 3 volumes at $40 each is still cheaper than trying to get all 23 annuals. Plus once I get volume 3, I'll be able to free up a little bit of shelf space. 

I got to read Simpsons Halloween comics leading up to Halloween. In my opinion, a Simpsons comic book is like a Queen song. Even the worst of either is better than none at all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Simpsons Comics Hit The Road!

The fantastic cover lets Simpsons fans know that there's a journey of great stories about to begin! 

• The Simpsons are chosen to be a Nielsen Family. Their unique viewing style results in marketers building a brand upon the Simpson name. Tired of being copied, America's favorite family goes through a number of metamorphoses. 
• The Simpsons win a trip to Scotland. Taking Groundskeeper Willie along, the family hopes to restore his honor amongst his overbearing parents and uber-successful older brother. 
•  Lisa tries to save the Aztec Theatre from destruction by organizing a film festival with a headlining film starring Abraham Simpson!

While these were fun stories, it was the shorter stories that were the best. Homer's attempt to show Lisa and her classmates the unseen side of America was a laugh out loud riot! And Comic Book Guy's look at other Bongo Comics titles that nobody wanted was a segment I wish never ended. 

I read Simpsons comic books because they're reads that consistently boost my spirits. They may not be classics like the works of Jack Kirby or Carmine Infantino; but they never fail. My anxiety has been out of control lately and I've needed lighthearted material to help calm some very frayed nerves. These collections have been a god send. 

To whomever sold off that big lot of trades to my favorite comic book store- Thank you! I got a great deal on them as well as lots of laughs. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

 

Simpsons Comics Barn Burner

Thanks to a trip to a funky Wilmington, NC used books shop, I found a couple of treasuries devoted to Matt Groening's comedic genius. I reviewed the Futurama find a few days back. Now, I wanna talk about America's favorite dysfunctional family- The Simpsons!

Five issues from the late great Bongo Comics series are reprinted in this volume. Stories include Bart running afoul of Jimbo and his cronies after getting ratted out to Chief Wiggum, Homer winning the services of Smithers in a poker game with Mr. Burns, and then Homer running for mayor after Mayor Quimby bans beer on Sundays. There's also a clever entry in the long-standing Burns vs. Lisa storyline when the nuclear mogul attempts to turn protected woodlands into an exclusive golf course. 

And then there's the 5th story...

In that tale, Homer sees dollar signs when he creates a boy band made up of Bart, Ralph, Nelson, Rod Flanders and cool guy Roy. Hmmm... This sounds an awful lot like an episode of The Simpsons. And it is!

If you are a longtime fan of the show, you might remember the episode in which Bart, Ralph, Nelson and Milhouse were recruited to form a boy band. Their big hit 'Yvan Eth Noij' turned out to be a ploy by the US Navy to up recruitment rates. While this print story doesn't follow the plot of that episode- and no NSYNC doesn't make a cameo either, its awfully similar to that classic episode. 

So which came first?

 It turns out that the episode beat the comic story by about 2-4 months. I'm not 100% sure as comic books often are released 2 months prior to the cover date as a sort of sales trick with retailers. The Bongo story was released June, 2001. But I am not sure if now defunct Bongo Comics released it's books out of date or not. 

You might want to say that the Bongo story was a rip-off of the cartoon. But in this case, with how close the release dates are to each other, I really don't know. Maybe writer Eric Rogers learned that such an episode was in the works from Fox and so he took inspiration. But based on my knowledge of comic book production history- this whole event could very well be a coincidence!

I loved this collection. As with any grouping of Simpsons comics, the fun was over way too soon. It was a fast read and I was completely to blame as I just can put these fun times reads down. But it was so worth it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All (FCBD 2017)

Being in lock-down, I've had a chance to go through my massive pile of stuff I need to catalog and file into my collection. That includes almost the entire offering of comics from 2017's Free Comic Book Day. 

One of the things I look forward to the most each FCBD is The Simpsons comic book. With Bongo Comics now defunct, we don't have new Simpsons stuff coming out. So this was a great little present to myself during a very stressful time. 

Once again we get a number of hilarious stories starring Bart, Lisa, Homer and the citizens of Springfield. And once again, the offerings are a thousand times more funnier that what FOX is putting on every Sunday at 8pm EST.

In the main story, Bart injures his back and must use a special backpack- one on wheels. It supposed to be the stuff of elementary school mockery. But of course, El Barto twists things to his advantage. 

Next up, Homer and Bart awake for a late night snack only to wind up facing a possible intruder. 

Lastly, Rod and Todd get separated from Flanders and go on an epic journey through the streets of the fair city. I don't know why, but those two namby-pambies always make me laugh and this was a great capper to another classic freebie from one of my favorite shuttered publishers.

Once again, the only thing Futurama is a back cover gag. I can't understand why Bongo never put stories on the Delivery Express crew in the FCBD books. You would think that they'd want to advertise them. Maybe we now know why Bongo went out of business.

Man, I miss these...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Simpsons Illustrated #26

If you have an extensive collection of Simpsons comics or you own the Simpsons Holiday Humdinger, the odds are, you have most, if not all, of the stories contained in this comic book. That's right, this book is full of previously printed material. 

I'm pretty sure that's the same for any issue of Simpsons Illustrated. 

With a cover price of $4.99, if I had paid that amount and gotten nothing but reprints, that would seriously have pissed me off. Thankfully, I only paid a buck for this. But that was after I talked the seller down from his cover price of $6. (Hey, if he wanted full price for it, he shouldn't have put this in the dollar bins.)

My favorite story in this collection was when Homer goes to Professor Frink for help losing holiday weight. The scientist creates a formula to put Homey into hibernation. But thanks to a series of comedic adventures, Homer sleepwalks his way through Winter, managing to gain weight in the process. 

Filled with tons of holiday mischief, it was a fun read. It's even better if you haven't read any of this.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All: 2016 Free Comic Book Day Edition

   

If it wasn't bad enough that my beloved Steelers lost to those cheaters in New England, there wasn't a new Simpsons last night. It wasn't a total loss however, as I had an adequate replacement to being without America's favorite family- a never before read Simpsons comic. I knew I hanged on to that book for a reason!
    The comic in question was the 2016 Bongo Comics Free-For-All. In it was a slew of new Simpsons stories including the return of the Pie-Man and his sidekick, The Cupcake Kid. But the duo must come up with new personas when a German pastry-themed villain leads Chief Wiggum to declare all baked goods to be contraband until the foe can be apprehended. By guessing how large the Chief has gotten since he took it upon himself to personally dispose of the illict eats, Springfield may be without cakes, bread, and donuts for quite some time. This is a job for Captain Quiche and his sidekick, Meatball Boy!
     Then with some fake Dracula teeth and some heavy-duty super glue, Bart managed to convince the town that Principal Skinner is a vampire out for the blood of Springfield Elementary students. An educational film on the dangers of video games hosted by Doctor Hibbert, a traffic stop headed by the Springfield PD and a segment called Krusty's Catchphrase Corner round out the book. The Krusty one-pager wasn't just stupid, it was STOOPID and I hated the art.
     Overall not a bad collection of tales. There's hardly any mention of Futurama in this book. Does Bongo even make a comic based on that other Matt Groening property anymore? Doesn't matter, I didn't really even miss it. 

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Simpsons Winter Wingding #3

 It's another winter-themed Simpsons annual from Bongo Comics. This one is from 2008 and unlike the Winter Wingding I reviewed yesterday, this one is filled with some holiday cheer. Well, in the case of Flanders in the first story, it's more like holiday jeer.

   Due to the commercialization of Christmas, Ned decides to ban Christmas, including Santa, in the Flanders homestead. Feeling bad for Rod and Todd, the Simpsons try to bring a little magic to their household by posing as Santa on Christmas Eve. Yet, things get really outta hand when another Santa arrives; this one demanding presents like wallets and jewelry.
    Then in a Hanukkah-themed story, Krusty learns that their aren't any mascots for those eight crazy nights. Seeing dollar signs, the clown forms a focus group in order to create the Jewish version of Santa. What the group, made of Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph design is the stuff of nightmares.
    There's two other stories in this volume. Both aren't holiday related and only one really involves winter as a plot device. That story has Homer going to Professor Frink for an experiment. Both hope to hibernate Homey over the winter months in order to lose weight. Cue a plot taken for Weekend At Bernie's (and a forgotten SNL parody ad starring the late Phil Hartman.) The second story has Bart sent to a Scared Straight program at Springfield Jail. Only, instead of being intimidated, Bart becomes the new boss on the cell block.
     4 stories; all very funny. When you need a break from the winter blahs and there's no new episodes of the Simpsons to watch, the Winter Wingdings are perfect. I only hope I can get the rest of annuals in time for next year's holiday festivities. Though you can enjoy these annuals any time of the year (it just helps to read theme during the winter!)

   Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

   

The Simpsons Winter Wingding #5

    Cold weather and mischief abound in this 2010 winter annual from Bongo Comics. 
    First, the whole town of Springfield gets the flu. Then Homer wins a skiing trip. He gets free plane tickets, but they Simpsons would do better off if they just walked to the lodge thanks to lay-overs and contest restrictions. Lastly, Principal Skinner buys a school bus that can travel in any sort of weather conditions. It's up to Bart, Milhouse, and Nelson to sabotage the new machine or snow days will become a thing of the past.
    I enjoyed this collection of Simpsons stories. But just because there's a festive holiday scene on the cover, it's not a holiday comic. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy this comic during the holidays. I've gotten to enjoy my own snow days recently and this book was a perfect comic to help get in a Winter Wonderland kind of mood. Just add hot cocoa and a comfy blanket.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
     

Simpsons Comics, Volume 16: Beach Blanket Bongo

   Sideshow Bob's brother Cecil is released from prison on a technicality (Chief Wiggum forgot to process him!) and targets Lisa as his arch-enemy in order to gain some street cred. The Simpsons family win an all-expense paid trip to a garbage atoll in the Pacific, and an eccentric geek without an heir seeks out Springfield's King of the Nerds. Then when Krusty is accidently given a real doctorate, he finds himself the new family physician to the town. Lastly, take a trip through the Springfield Elementary hall of permanent records and learn the shocking origin of one of the town's most stalwart citizens.

   I've read a bunch of Simpsons Comics over the years. Why I don't just commit and collect this series forthright is beyond me... But these are great books to have on hand when you are feeling down and just need a chuckle or two or 300 and by far, this has got to be the best collection of that bunch!

   I loved the insanity of the Doctor Krusty story and a Sideshow Bob adventure is always fun. The garbage vacation story had great moments with Lenny and Carl. But it was the King of the Nerds and the elementary school stories that were the best of the bunch. They were filled with tons of inside jokes, pop culture references, and both were just plain fun. Plus, the story about the Hall of Permanent Records was framed like those old EC Comics horror titles that I love so much.

   Another thing that makes Simpsons Comics so great are the backup features in the back of each issue. They range from the secret files of Professor Frink to advertisements from some of your favorite Springfield stores (Springfield Tire Fire Fire Sale, anyone?) 

    The oddest thing about a Simpsons Comic is where I find them. I hardly ever find them at actual comic shops (other than the odd dollar bin discovery.) I might sometimes find one at a used bookstore, but I almost always find these at thrift stores! Talk about oddities...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Olympians Volume 7: Ares: Bringer of War (Family Comic Friday)

As a kid, I loved to study mythology in school. With characters like Zeus, Hercules, Thor, and Loki learning mythology was like getting to study comic books at school. Sure, people used to worship these guys (and gals) but there is no denying that these mythical characters are the archetypes for Superman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman.

    I enjoy the Norse gods more than the Greek/ Roman. I'm not sure why, though I am sure it has something to do with the fact that I like Marvel's Thor more than DC's Wonder Woman. Plus, there seems to be more sex in the Greek/ Roman myths as opposed to the mischief and battle heavy Norse tales.

    Well, it may not be Asgard...

  Bringer of War is the seventh book in George O'Connor's Olympians graphic novel series. Released in January of this year, this book also has the distinction of being the first 2015 publication I've read. The book wasn't really what I expected, but that's not a bad thing. Instead of being an overall recount of the god of war Ares' origin and his most famous exploits, this volume explores the Trojan War recounted in Homer's Iliad; most importantly the waning days of the decade-long battle.

   The gods have convened in Zeus' battle room. Overlooking the battle, the gods are divided into two camps- those pro-Trojan and those in support of the Greeks. Only Zeus is neutral and he's allowed the fates to determine the outcome. If the gods have anything to do with it, they will impact the war to achieve their own personal agendas.

   Though Ares plays an important part in the story- often possessing soldiers into a sort of blood lust on the battlefield- he's really a minor character. One such warrior Ares instigates is Achilles and to me, 'Bringer of War' is his story. The original Man of Steel (and my personal favorite characters in Greek myth), Achilles' weakness was his heel. I always hated the story of the fall of Troy as it's also the story of Achilles' death. However, I was unaware that his death was the result of his unheroic actions after he smights his fiercest foe.

    It is darn near impossible to recount Homer's account of the Trojan War in just 72 pages. Thankfully, this book is 80-pages long. Here, O'Connor includes some fact files on some of the major players in this story, discussion questions, suggested readings, and most importantly, a section of "G(r)eek Files"- an annotated account of this story that includes some vital backstory to the Iliad.

  The art of this series was just as awesome of the writing. At the end of this story, George O'Connor gives some important kudos to the superheroes of DC and Marvel. They inspired him to love mythology as much as I do. He really gives in to his admiration during a multi-page scene that has the gods of both factions battling each other in the ultimate battle-royale on Mount Olympus. It was like watching the best of DC duel it out with the titans of the Marvel Universe.

   'Bringer of War' was a very fun read and I deem it the best all-ages graphic novel of 2015. (Thus far...) I might one day explore some of the other volumes of this series. But like I mentioned earlier, I am more of a fan of the Norse gods. Maybe George O'Connor will craft a series based on them. Until then, I'll just have to enjoy the adventures of the lords of Asgard in the pages of Marvel's Thor comics.

   Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.