BONGO COMICS REVIEW: THE SIMPSONS COMICS #185

Maestro of MADness Sergio Aragones creates a chaotic comic cover and three talented teams of writers and artist provide three wildly different and equally hilarious stories that explain what it all means. It’s three comics in one!

Spoilers Below

So before we get into some brief recaps, we are given a prologue if you will from the Simpsons Comics writers, explaining that the cover(as pictured above) was done by the great Sergio Aragones, in which case that cover was given to three different writers who came up with three different stories that are included in this week’ issue. They wanted to know if we like them, and I must say, BUBBLEBLABBER APPROVED!

THE BIG FINISH

Take The Usual Suspects, Grampa Simpson, and dash in a cameo of a guy named “Sergio” who does a composite sketch of one of the old man’s tall tales, and well you get The Big Finish! One of the funniest stories I’ve read all year, I think Patric Verrone delivers us a classic story that ten years from now will be in one of the big thick books released by Harper Collins or be featured in a Simpsons Classic issue. And deja vu, because Usual Suspects was LITERALLY on HBO or something, just last week and has always been one of my favorite films. Weird, huh?

THE PLAY’S THE STING

Think for a second, after looking at the cover of this week’s issue, what could’ve POSSIBLY happened in Springfield that would cause Homer and Chief Wiggum to dress up in TuTu’s and have to get in front of the whole town to do a dance routine? Well that’s what Evan Dorkin wants to give you, and really probably without even realizing it, gave way to a potential prequel to “The Big Finish” story line! Oh yea, don’t drink and drive kids, that would be the moral of THIS story!

THE NUT CRACKER

So, unlike the last two stories, the cover served as more of an inspiration to Ian Boothby for a script, as opposed to the other stories which used the cover as either a punchline or as the basis for a story. I thought it was pretty funny how the plot started as a result of Lisa poisoning the elementary school, and as such is forced to work with a murderous psychopath in SideShow Bob in putting on a school ballet for CHILDREN!

Brilliant issue this month coming from Bongo Comics, and I really hope they continue to do fun and original concepts as this. All three stories were great, and as I was reading each one I’m looking for the inspiration coming from the cover and still getting surprised, especially with The Big Finish which as I have mentioned, did basically a Usual Suspects motif that was utterly brilliant. Great job and kudos to Bongo!