Simpsons Winter Wingding #1

December 1, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Springfield’s Letters to Santa and other stories

A holiday-packed anthology of Simpsons goodness.

Writers: Paul Dini, Tony Digerolamo, Sarah Dyer, Evan Dorkin, Eric Rogers
Pencils: Phil Ortiz, Jason Ho, Joey Nilges, John Costanza
Inks: Mike DeCarlo, Jason Ho, Andrew Pepoy, Phillis Novin
Colors: Nathan Hamill, Chris Ungar, Nathan Kane, Art Villanueva
Letters: Karen Bates
Editor: Bill Morrison
Cover Art: J. Rote & Serban
Publisher: Bongo Comics

Picking up on the format of the popular Treehouse of Horror specials, the good folks at Bongo comics give us this first anthology of holiday tales from the world of The Simpsons – and for the most part, they’re pretty darn good.

Paul Dini gives us the first story, “Springfield’s Letters to Santa.” As Santa Claus goes through the mail from the worst town on Earth, he makes a drastic claim. This story is a lot of fun – in addition to the peeks into the desires of Springfield’s varied residents, Dini manages to work in several in-jokes. There’s an appearance by a character Futurama fans will no doubt find familiar, and although she’s never mentioned by name, Dini’s own Jingle Belle character plays a nice role in the beginning of the story.

Tony Digerolamo and Jason Ho come in next with an “Angry Dad” strip, based on the episode of the TV show where Bart became a webtoon mogul. This is basically an extended series of gags about Homer making a fool of himself in the winter, and for what it is, it works fine.

Digerolamo and Ho come back for “Hot Cider in the City.” When Bart discovers that Christmas Carolers often get free goodies from the people they sing to, he conjures up a scheme to milk Ned Flanders for all he’s worth. Lisa, as always, is the voice of reason, and although Bart doesn’t really learn a lesson, it’s still a fun story. Digerolamo and Joey Nilges come in next with “Homer’s New Year’s Resolutions,” another short story in which Marge goes through Homer’s past failures at bettering himself, and we see the results of yet another attempt.

Writers Sarah Dyer and Evan Dorkin, with John Costanza’s pencils, bring us “The Gift of the Maccabees,” with Krusty the Clown. On the “All-Singing, All-Dancing, All Shvitzing Krusty Hanukkah Special,” Krusty relates the sad story of a lost love, and how boneheaded gifts on each of the eight nights of Hanukkah led to his heartbreak. This is a twist on the old O. Henry story, but one of the most original twists I’ve yet seen.

The issue wraps with “Snow Falling on Cheaters,” in which a mysterious someone is stealing snowmen from all over town just hours before the town’s big Snowman Competition, and it’s up to Chief Wiggum and his mend to find the perpetrator. Wiggum and company, of course, aren’t the most adept police force in the world, and so it’s kind of a shock when one of their schemes actually works. Sorta.

Overall, this is a fun comic and a nice addition to the Bongo line.

Rating: 8/10

Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #13

October 8, 2007

Quick Rating: Good

Four haunted tales of Springfield, USA!

Writers: Brian Posehn, Gerry Dugan, Patton Oswalt, Ian Boothby, Pia Guerra, Thomas Lennon
Pencils: Hilary Barta, Jason Ho, Pia Guerra, Tone Rodriguez
Inks: Mike Rote, Terry Austin, Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Nathan Hammill, Kane, Villanueva, Reese, Ungar, Robert Stanley
Letters: Karen Bates
Editor: Terry Delegeane
Publisher: Bongo Comics

Wow – 13 years of the Treehouse of Horror comic book. And even that is about six years behind the TV specials. How long can they keep this up?

This year’s quartet of terror includes a few “celebrity” writers, as has become the norm for this annual. Comedian Brian Posehn reunites with his Last Christmas co-writer Gerry Dugan and artist Hilary Barta for the first story, “Gnaws.” When a monster on the beaches of Springfield begins gobbling up swimmers, everyone in town comes together to try to find a way to capture the gigantic beast. This isn’t a bad little story – what begins as a rather stereotypical Jaws parody takes some bizarre left turns that, in the end, makes it pretty unique.

“They Draw,” by Patton Oswalt and Jason Ho, is really the low point of the issue. Lenny finds a mysterious pair of sunglasses that reveals to him the truth of his existence – not only is he a character in a comic book, but he’s a background character. This is actually a pretty clever idea, but it isn’t really used well. Oswalt takes enormous leaps in the story, jumping from point A to point Q without hitting on any of the stops in-between. It’s one thing to leave some gaps open for the reader to fill in, but it’s another thing entirely when those gaps are so big that the story feels incongruous.

“Prop, Prop, Whiz, Whiz!” is by Ian Boothby and co-written and drawn by Y: The Last Man’s Pia Guerra. The Comic Book Guy scores a major find of movie and TV props on the internet, only to find that anyone who touches them winds up trapped in the movie. Naturally, this is irresistible to some of the patrons of the Android’s Dungeon. This is a cute little story that allows Boothby and Guerra to parody a slew of popular movies in one fell swoop without having it feel cluttered and forced.

Finally, Thomas Lennon and Tone Rodriguez give us “The Pygmy Elixir,” in which Mr. Burns gets word of a magic elixir that can make anyone 20 years old again. And by a wild coincidence, the tribe of pygmies that conjures up the elixir just happens to resemble Springfield’s own Bart Simpson. This is probably the most genuinely creepy story in the issue, but the creators manage to keep the humor present as well.

Three good stories and one dud – but hey, .750 would make a heck of a batting average.

Rating: 7/10