Review: SIMPSONS COMICS Showstopper

SIMPSONS COMICS SHOWSTOPPER
HARPERCOLLINS/Harper Design – @HarperCollins @harperdesignbks @TheSimpsons

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Ian Boothby; Mary Trainor; Len Wein; Chuck Dixon
PENCILS: Phil Ortiz; John Costanza
INKS: Mike DeCarlo; Phyllis Novin
COLORS: Art Villanueva
LETTERS: Karen Bates
EDITOR: Bill Morrison
COVER: Matt Groening
ISBN: 978-0-06-287877-9; paperback (February 5, 2019)
128pp, Color, $16.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN

“The Simpsons” created by Matt Groening

Since 2016, HarperCollins' imprint, Harper Design, has been sending me review copies of its full-color trade paperbacks that reprint comic books based on “The Simpson's” animated television series.  Those comics have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993.

Simpsons Comics Showstopper (the fifth that I have received) is the newest trade paperback in the series.  Simpsons Comics Showstopper collects stories from Simpsons Comics issues #127, #128, #129, #132, and #133 (published between February and August 2007).

“The Simpsons,” produced first run for the Fox Broadcasting Company,  presents a satirical depiction of a working class family which consists of Homer Simpson (the father), Marge Simpson (the mother), Bart (the oldest child and only son), Lisa (the precocious and brilliant elder daughter), and Maggie (a baby girl).  “The Simpsons” also parodies American culture, pop culture, society, politics, media, etc. via the denizens of The Simpsons home town, Springfield.

Simpsons Comics Showstopper opens with “25” (written by Ian Boothby and drawn by Phil Ortiz and Mike DeCarlo).  It is a parody of Fox's long-running, live-action television series, “24.”  Homer is late for work... again.  Meanwhile, at his place of employment, Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, his boss Montgomery Burns, believes that he has killed Homer.  His solution to cover up this supposed crime – set the plant to meltdown!  Now, only Homer can save the plant and Springfield, but can he make it to work on time – when he hasn't after being twelve hours late?!

In “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” (written by Mary Trainor and drawn by John Costanza and Phyllis Novin), we get a Simpsons spin on two classics of Western literature, Robinson Crusoe (1719) and The Swiss Family Robinson (1812).  In “You'd Better Sloth Around” (written by Len Wein and drawn by Costanza and Novin), Homer buys a “Hoveround”-like vehicle called the “Sloth-Around,” despite his family's objections to that purchase.  Homer becomes a menace on the thing, but karma might have a surprise for him.

“A Brand New Burns Part One!” and “Part Two,” are written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Costanza and Novin.  In the story, Montgomery Burns and his loyal confidant, Smithers, travel to Mexico where Burns will spend some time at “Rancho Segundo Posibilidad” for rejuvenation treatments.  So why does Burns end up in a sweatshop?  Why is Smithers back in Springfield with a younger Burns?

The comic book stories in Simpsons Comics Showstopper are inventive, full-length tales.  The best of the lot is “A Brand New Burns,” if for no other reason than the famous and infamous people writer Chuck Dixon depicts as being denizens of Hell.  Artists John Costanza and Phyllis Novin and colorist Art Villanueva deliver a few graphically striking panels, especially the ones that depict Montgomery naked and floating/swimming towards the afterlife.

“You'd Better Sloth-Around” epitomizes one of the things that “The Simpsons” does so well, satirize the American desire to get over on people and to beat the system.  “Simpson Family Robinson Crusoe” is a cute send-up of the source material.  That may be the best way to define the comics in Simpsons Comics Showstopper – cute, nice, and entertaining, but none of this material is great.  This collection may satisfy Simpsons comic book fans, but it is not an exceptional Simpsons comics collection, which I can say about some of the others (like 2018's Bart Simpson Bust-Up).

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SIMPSONS COMICS KNOCKOUT

SIMPSONS COMICS KNOCKOUT
HARPERCOLLINS/HarperDesign – @HarperCollins @harperdesignbks

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Chuck Dixon and Elma Blackburn; Ty Templeton; Scott M. Gimple; James W. Bates; Ian Boothby
PENCILS: John Costanza; Ty Templeton; James W. Bates; Phil Ortiz
INKS:  Phyllis Novin; Andrew Pepoy; Mike DeCarlo
COLORS: Art Villanueva
LETTERS: Karen Bates
EDITOR: Bill Morrison
COVER: Matt Groening
ISBN: 978-0-06-256891-5; paperback (February 21, 2017)
128pp, Color, $15.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN

“The Simpsons” is an American animated television situation comedy created by Matt Groening.  “The Simpsons” began in 1987 as a series of animated shorts that were part of “The Tracey Ullman Show” (1987-90) that were eventually developed into a half-hour animated TV series.  “The Simpsons” began broadcasting in December of the 1989-90 television season on the Fox Broadcasting Company, where the series continues to this day.

“The Simpsons” presents a satirical depiction of a working class family which consists of Homer Simpson (the father), Marge Simpson (the mother), Bart (the oldest child and only son), Lisa (the precocious and brilliant elder daughter), and Maggie (a baby girl).  It also parodies American culture, pop culture, society, etc. via the denizens of The Simpsons home town, Springfield.

Bongo Comics (Bongo Comics Group) has been publishing comic books based on characters featured in “The Simpsons” since 1993.  HarperDesign, an imprint of HarperCollins, has been publishing trade paperback collections of various Bongo Comics' Simpsons titles and the short stories that have appeared in those comic books.

The latest is Simpsons collection is Simpsons Comics Knockout, which reprints the Simpsons clan' adventures that were first published in Simpsons Comics issues #116, #117, #118, #119, and #120.  These issue-length tales take Matt Groening’s first family of American satire from the local mall to continental Europe.  In “Mall or Nothing,” after refusing to sell their home to developers, the Simpsons wake up to find that they now live in a mall.  In “Sandwiches are Forever,” Homer's trip to the nation of Turkey for a sandwich lands him in jail where he meets the secret agent, Scorpio.

In “The Flunky,” Homer finds himself in a reality show created by C. Montgomery Burns to distract from his lack of popularity with the people of Springfield.  In “Homer Drops the Ball!,” Homer and Bart show the worst sides of their personalities after catching a record-setting baseball.  In “The 'X' Men,” Principal Seymour Skinner leads a group of men who become extreme sports stars after being dumped by their girlfriends, but what happens when love returns?

I had not read a Simpsons comic book in ages, maybe at least a decade.  Then, HarperCollins/HarperDesign started sending me copies-for-review of their Simpsons trade paperbacks.  I always enjoyed Simpsons comics titles, so I don't remember why I stopped reading them.  Simpsons Comics Knockout and the other one I read, Simpsons Comics Colossal Compendium Volume 4, are quite entertaining.  Truthfully, Bongo's Simpsons comics remain some of the best American satirical comic books published over the last three decades.

Rare is the comic book trade paperback collection in which every story or chapter collected within is a great or exceptional work, and Simpsons Comics Knockout is not the exception.  However, of the five stories collected here, one is great, “The Flunky.”  Two are really good, “Mall or Nothing” and “Homer Drops the Ball!”  One is surprisingly poignant, “The 'X' Men.”  Finally, one gets credit for poking fun at the Fox Broadcasting Network, “Sandwiches are Forever.”

The one thing that connects them is that each story feels free to skewer American society, politics, culture, and pop culture.  “Mall or Nothing” satirizes consumerism, but reveals that even the oppressed will bow down before the chance of a cash windfall.  “Homer Drops the Ball!” revels in the fickleness of the public and the shamelessness of naked greediness.  “The 'X' Men” has fun with our need to be loved and wanted.

For the better part of three decades, American television audiences have devoured reality television.  Still, one can be surprised that so many people are willing to debase themselves in the hopes of attaining fame, fortune, and glory in reality TV.  In “The Flunky,” writer Scott M. Gimple focuses on the master manipulators who create reality TV programming for their own benefit, making decisions to serve themselves and not in the best interest of their TV “stars.”

Simpsons Comics Knockout is not just another Simpsons comics collection for the book market.  It is a collection of high-quality humor comics.  The people behind Simpsons Comics are not content to merely create licensed comics; they want to create comics that capture the spirit of “The Simpsons,” which is really a domestic comedy that loves to poke fun at the home front.  The truth is that outside of Simpsons Comics, few people are creating consistently good comic book comedy.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Review: ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #2

ROCKETEER ADVENTURES VOL. 2 #2
IDW PUBLISHING

WRITERS: Tom Taylor, Paul Dini, Walter Simonson
ARTISTS: Colin Wilson, Bill Morrison, John Paul Leon
COLORS: Dave Stewart, Serban Cristescu
LETTERS: Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee
PIN-UP: J. Scott Campbell with John Rauch
EDITOR: Scott Dunbier
COVERS: Darwyn Cooke (A, C), Dave Stevens (B)
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

Inspired by the Saturday matinee movie heroes of the 1930s and 40s, The Rocketeer is Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jet pack that allows him to fly. The Rocketeer’s adventures are set mainly in Los Angeles in and after the year 1938. The character was created by artist and illustrator, Dave Stevens, who died in March of 2008.

After a long absence from comics, The Rocketeer returned in 2011 in Rocketeer Adventures. Edited by Scott Dunbier and published by IDW Publishing, this four-issue, anthology comic book was a tribute to Stevens and featured Rocketeer short stories (about 7 to 8 pages in length) from some of the premiere creators in American comic books. The tributes continue in Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2.

Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #2 opens with “Work to Do,” story by Tom Taylor and art by Colin Wilson, which places The Rocketeer on a European battlefield with a job to do. In “Betty’s Big Break,” writer Paul Dini and artist Bill Morrison take our hero to the set of a B-movie where he becomes a “Rocket Rustler,” much to Betty’s chagrin. Writer Walter Simonson and artist John Paul Leon send The Rocketeer flying like a flying monkey to save a special young lady in “Autograph.”

I found the first issue of Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 to be a tad bit over the top as a tribute to a respected, deceased artist. Why? While honoring Dave Stevens’ memory, the slam bang action that is The Rocketeer lost its pop and became like something preserved in amber and golden hues. Rocketeer Adventures Vol. 2 #2 is different. These three Rocketeer stories read like real Rocketeer stories and not tributes meant to be placed in the burial chamber of some great figure’s tomb.

“Work to Do” is a gritty battlefield fantasia with heart and pop. As for the second story: I’ve long been perplexed with the popularity of Paul Dini’s comic book work. I’m sure that he has an entire wing devoted to him at the Academy of the Overrated. I have found enjoyment in a few of his comic book stories; “Betty’s Big Break” is one of them. I think it would make an excellent graphic novel if expanded. I don’t know if Walter Simonson has ever disappointed me; if he has, it was not by much. “Autograph” moves like an action movie, and its references to the late 1930s are wonderful.

I don’t think that I have to say anything about the artists who drew these stories. They are all consummate professionals and their graphic storytelling and art are sparkling. On the other hand, that J. Scott Campbell pin-up is rather ordinary. It’s like something Campbell would knock off while sitting at a convention table. Of course, he would over-charge for it, though it’s worth no more than 25 bucks.

A-

Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison at Comic-Con International for "Lady Robotika"

LADY ROBOTIKA'S JANE WIEDLIN (THE GO-GO'S) AND BILL MORRISON (THE SIMPSONS/FUTURAMA) SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON EVENT SCHEDULE

ANNOUNCING CONVENTION EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED EDITION JIM SILKE COVER PREVIEW!

WHO:
Lady Robotika, the inter-galactic rock 'n roll sexy cyborg heroine, is the brainchild of Jane Wiedlin (legendary guitarist for the Go-Go's) and Bill Morrison (Eisner Award-winning creator behind The Simpsons Comics, Futurama Comics, Roswell, Little Green Man and Heroes Anonymous). The new super-heroine debuted last week to great reviews with Lady Robotika issue #1: Slaveship to the Stars!

Grammy Award-winning album art director and famed comic and pin-up artist Jim Silke (www.jimsilke.com) has created a limited-edition convention-exclusive Lady Robotika cover for Slaveship to the Stars!, available for the first time during San Diego Comic-Con at the Image Comics booth for $10.

WHAT:
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison, and Jim Silke will be attending San Diego Comic-Con, hosting Lady Robotika autographing/meet & greets, attending various parties/events, and closing out the weekend with a bash at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood.

WHEN & WHERE:
Friday, July 23
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison & Jim Silke autograph-signing
11:00am - Noon
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Image Comics booth #2729.

Saturday, July 24
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison & Jim Silke autograph-signing
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Image Comics booth #2729.

Monday, July 26
Meltdown Comics Annual Comic-Con After-Party
7:00pm - 10:00pm
7522 Sunset Blvd. (Hollywood, CA)


About LADY ROBOTIKA
Lady Robotika is a full-color 32-page comic published by Shadowline and Image Comics. Earthly rock star Jane Wiedlin is abducted by a rock 'n roll-loving evil alien emperor and implanted with nanobots meant to enslave her. His plans backfire as our guitar-slinging heroine learns to control the nanites and transforms into the super-powered cyborg galactic liberator Lady Robotika! With sexy sci-fi rock and roll space adventures to ensue...

Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison's Lady Robotika Approaches

JANE WIEDLIN AND BILL MORRISON'S LADY ROBOTIKA COMIC BOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

New Sneak Peek Revealed of Jane's Ultra-Galactic, Sexy Cyborg Revolutionist Alter-Ego

With two weeks to go until the street date of Lady Robotika: Slaveship to the Stars, issue #1 in the debut of the comic book series created by Bill Morrison and Jane Wiedlin, the creators today release a sneak preview of some of the key concept art from the book, and announce the pre-sale of the debut issues. Published by Shadowline and Image Comics, Lady Robotika touches down on July 14 at comic stores nationwide. To find a comic shop near you, please visit www.comicshoplocator.com.

Today's announcement includes the introduction of some of the characters keeping Lady Robotika company, including E'Death: Herron IV's sadistic prison warden, the Iron Maidens: E'death's lethal squad of guards, and Emperor Yecchh: the Supreme Ruler of planet Herron IV. The exclusive concept art gallery can be viewed here: http://www.ladyrobotika.com/blog/the-gallery/concept-art/.

Lady Robotika is a full-color 32-page comic, the brainchild of legendary Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin ("Our Lips Are Sealed"), and Bill Morrison, Eisner Award-winning creative behind The Simpsons Comics, Futurama Comics, Roswell, Little Green Man and Heroes Anonymous, with an art assist from Tone Rodriquez and Jeffrey Moy. Earthly rock star Jane Wiedlin is abducted by a rock 'n roll-loving evil alien emperor, and implanted with nanobots meant to enslave her. His plans backfire as our guitar-slinging heroine learns to control the nanites and transforms into the super-powered cyborg galactic liberator Lady Robotika! With sexy sci-fi rock and roll space adventures to ensue...

Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison Present "Lady Robotika"

ROCK AND ROLL SPACE OPERA

The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison get celestial with LADY ROBOTIKA

JANE WIEDLIN (The Go-Go's) and BILL MORRISON (Bongo Comics) blast off this July with the out-of-this-world space adventure LADY ROBOTIKA from Shadowline and Image Comics. Scribes Wiedlin and Morrison get an assist by TONE RODRIGUEZ (Shadowhawk), who works with Morrison on the art.

"I never meant for it to be like this," exclaims Wiedlin. "One minute I was just another hard-workin' guitar slinger, ripping out power chords while traveling the hinterlands with my band, The Go-Go's. The next, I was blasted into a crazy adventure in Space, with powers far beyond a damn fine F chord and some nice sexy stage banter. But hey, it's a big Universe out there, and someone's got to save it. Guess that someone is ME."

Morrison adds, "I heard someone say 'Lady Robotika is bigger than Jesus!' I certainly didn't say it. I would never say something like that. I'm going to Hell, aren't I?"

"LADY ROBOTIKA is pure rock and roll," says Shadowline Publisher Jim Valentino. "Loud and proud of it! This is the space adventure for rock stars."

In LADY ROBOTIKA, aliens from a distant planet abduct rock star Jane Wiedlin and force her to play a concert for their Earth-obsessed emperor. During the trek back to their planet, the aliens implant Jane's body with nanobots. But their plan to turn her into one of their cyborg slaves backfires when Jane learns to control the nanites within her and becomes the super-powered cyborg liberator, LADY ROBOTIKA!

LADY ROBOTIKA #1, a full-color 32-page comic written by Jane Wiedlin and Bill Morrison with art by Bill Morrison and Tone Rodriquez, will be available for $3.50 in stores July 14, 2010.

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of four major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.