Bongo Comics: In Memoriam

November 2018 will be the first month without a Bongo Comics publication since 1993. Disney acquired The Simpsons earlier this year and while I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty more Simpsons comics in the years to come under its new owner Disney, an era has definitely come to a close.  

They first premiered in the midst of the 90s comics boom, and as the quality of the flagship show dropped off after season 7 or 8, the comics have been the only real place to enjoy pre-Season-7-or-8-quality Simpsons fare for anyone looking for it.

The sad news has occasioned some wonderful tributes, such as this by Gail Simone - a writer who got her start at the company - or this good-lord-this-is-what-I-wanted-to-read-for-years-about-Bongo overview/ farewell/ oral history at filmspringfield. Anyone seeking substantial information about the company should go to either of those posthaste; what follows is nowhere near as visually and textually informative. 

But if it's random asides and pics of the comics I took from my phone you're looking for, let then let us proceed apace, arms-akimbo.

The first Bongos I ever picked up were in 2002:

and

"Kif, I have made it with a woman. Inform the men."

The occasion was a visit to the since-closed Atomic Comics near my then-new apartment. I'd seen Simpsons comics at supermarkets and what not (Bongos and Archies being the only comics you could find outside of comics shops by this point) but never picked any up. Seems weird in hindsight. Like many, I lived in a Simpsons bubble for most of the 90s; how did I never pick any up, even accidentally? But outside of The Sandman and assorted Alan Moore or Grant Morrison projects, I bought few comics altogether in the 90s. (I say this often enough where I can't tell if I repeat myself everytime comics come up or if it's actually relevant information. Anyway: I've made up for it - and how! - since.)

I enjoyed them, particularly Futurama #14:

First, the set up.

Great set-up! A comic you can read 7 times (1 for each character and then all the way through) is pretty much the opposite of how comics are made in the decompressed era. This appeals to me in general. And added throughout is an intermittent 7th panel of Scruffy, the USS Planet Express Ship's janitor. 

I did not include each and every one. But you get the idea. Inevitably:

Anti-punchlines like this almost always land with me.

I was not a regular reader from that time on, although these 4 issues, but when I heard the news they were closing up shop, I made a conscious effort to pick up at least all the Simpsons-related material they they were putting out in their final months. Problem was, my local wasn't really keeping up, so I ended up having to order a lot of it. And once you order one, well - now I've got them lying in stacks all around the place and keep bothering my wife with "look at this panel!"s and various Simpsons voices. I've been totally Cuckoo for Bongo Puffs these past few months.

Speaking of which, the voices-in-your-head (ahem) aspect of these things is one of the best parts about Bongo. I have LLOL more times than I can mention reading these things, and often it's because you can't help reading certain things in the distinctive voices of the Simpsons cast. And this definitely improves the jokes. Take this last panel of "Judge Dredd-neck," for example, (Bart's and Milhouse's unauthorized entry into The Springfield Redneck Zone drags them into a blood feud between Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel's clan and his Cousin Merle's) from Summer Shindig #7. 

It's funny just as a Cletus thing to garble but also as the sort of amusing mash-up of character/setting humor and subverted reference (in this case Dredd's catchphrase) that 90s Simpsons did so well. Twas a time (Cletus voice again) of less discriminatin' taste. 

I took most of these pictures from my phone, which is a first for the Omnibus. I'm working on streamlining the process. It was more successful in some spots than others.

Still working out some lighting issues.

One of the first four Bongos I bought up there was a Bongo Super Heroes. I was at first reluctant to engage with this side of the Bongoverse. I think it was just the jawline similarities with other characters on The Simpsons. But then I started looking at it like an alternate universe to the Simpsonverse, with if-not direct counterparts (although this is explored in Simpsons Super Spectacular and elsewhere) then just broad visual strokes. Sort of like Futurama. I'm glad I got over it, because there's a lot to love here. The amount of intelligent parody and loving attention to comics history in Radioactive Man alone is worth the price of admission.

If 1963 and Futurama had a baby, it would look like Simpsons Super Spectacular.

Ian Boothby wrote a great many of the company's stories, but he was certainly not the only one. You can see Ty Templeton's credit up there and along with the aforementioned Miss Simone Bongo published work by Max Davison, Sergio Aragones, James Lloyd, and so many others. (Apparently Batton Lash is a real person? I always thought that was a psueodnym for Groening or something.) Please don't take my Labels as a comprehensive list. But a special chapeau to Ian Boothby, who wrote many of my favorite stories, including the Futurama / Simpsons Crossover Crisis. 

This isn't from the crossover, just one of Bootby's many great moments.

He and his wife do the horror comics from The New Yorker now.

THE ONE-SHOTS

Starting in 2012, Bongo began releasing one-shots of individual characters from the Simpsons-verse, the first of which, Ralph Wiggum Comics, now commands a heftier price than all the others. As a result I haven't picked that or a couple of others yet, but this series more than any, perhaps, conveys the Bongo appeal. Always funny, always with something like a pair of 3-D glasses or bumper stickers that say "DON'T BLAME ME - I VOTED FOR KODOS" and loaded with great illustrations parodying the best of all media:

Like Octopussy. Or Garbage Pail Kids. Or other Gen-x-childhood-y media too numerous to mention.

 

I haven't read a bad one of these yet, but Duffman Adventures was a particularly unexpected delight.

Later that issue: "Case closed, huh Duffman?"
"No..."

Best Duffman joke ever.

ALL GOOD THINGS...

Simpsons #245 wrapped up the Bongo Era of Comics in fine fashion, with a tale that had more than a few sly references to its own history as well as the show's.

This gag below fittingly referenced the events of the very first issue.

The plot centers around a mutated rabbit that Lisa gets from the pet shop (All Creatures Great and Small and Cheap) that gets violent every time it sees a Bongo logo.

Lisa must solve the mystery, but it comes down to Maggie to save the day.

I don't know if this was a reference to some internal-Zardoz-inspired gag with the Gibbon Gone thing or just a Zardoz reference. Either way, though, it was not expected and very appreciated.

Thank you, Mr. Kane. I will miss The Bongo Beat.

STAMPS

It's funny, I never had time for these sorts of things as a kid but as an adult I feel this curious pull to clip them all and mount them in protective plastic and album display. I am resisting this pull... successfully, so far.

~

So long, Bongo, and thanks for everything.

Captain's Blog pt. 10: Where No Fan Has Gone Before

I've always liked Futurama, but I'm not overly familiar with it. I've seen maybe a dozen or so of its 127 episodes (and counting? I think it's still officially an "in production" show after its revival on Comedy Central, but I'm not sure.) So, I'm by no means an expert.

Ditto for the comic. I've always wanted to learn more about Bongo Comics. Does it turn a profit, or is it so well-subsidized by the massive profit margin of The Simpsons franchise that it can publish whatever it wants, regardless? I imagine a little bit of both. Market considerations are probably less important for Bongo than they are for, say, IDW or Dark Horse, but I doubt it'd still be kicking after all this time if it was hemorrhaging cash.

The night this episode originally aired (April 2, 2002) I was at my parents' house doing a load of laundry. I mention / remember this not because it's particularly interesting, but because while I was waiting for my clothes to dry I turned on the TV and said "Oh, Futurama's coming on, why not..." having no idea that night's episode was both a Trek homage and featured most of the original cast. Imagine my delight and surprise.

David A. Goodman was a co-producer for Enterprise and wrote a few episodes, as well.

Incidentally, this "Werewolf Dog" idea cracks me up.

The episode opens with a "Shatner's Log," read by the man himself, as he and fellow cast members Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Deforest Kelley (deceased at the time of this episode's production but appearing as one of the heads-in-jars) and George Takei, face a court martial, with the "honorably sexy Zapp Brannigan presiding."

Zapp (and his long-suffering sidekick, Kip) is a recurring character on Futurama. He suffers from "sexlexia," a "disturbingly erotic disorder." Also, a published author (Zapp Brannigan's Big Book of War.) I'm not sure on this, but are those white boots a reference to Magnus, Robot Fighter?

The plot: the TOS cast and the crew of the Planet Express are on trial for having set foot on the forbidden planet, Omega 3. You're probably familiar enough with the Futurama concept for me not to mention it but just in case: (from its wiki) "The series follows the adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century." In the interim centuries, we discover, Trek has become illegal. Mention of it is forbidden, and all of the original episodes were banished to the remote planet Omega 3. 

Upon learning of this, Fry enlists the aid of Leonard Nimoy from the Frozen Head Museum, and they travel to the forbidden planet, where they discover the original cast members are alive and well, "guests" of Melllvar, an energy lifeform resembling any of the generic energy lifeforms from TOS and the galaxy's "ultimate Trek fan." Eventually, Fry, Bender and Leela are pitted against the original cast in combat, but they end up joining forces to escape the planet. Melllvar gives chase, but Fry convinces him to let them go, get a life, and stop making an ancient TV show be the center of its existence.

Oh myyy...

Any time the original cast re-unites is a treat.

And they're given a fun script to work with here, so it's a double treat.

Shatner tears open his shirt in anticipation of battle.

The episode packs in quite a few visual homages to TOS:

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, as well.

James Doohan flatly refused to appear in this episode (the commentary track mentions his answer via his agent was "No way." Click.) So, we are introduced to the character of "Welshie." 

"We did some musical reunion specials in the 2200s," Nichelle Nichols explains, "but the guy who played Scotty had trouble yodeling."

He doesn't last long.

At episode's end, both "Charlie X" and "The Squire of Gothos" are referenced, as Melllvar's Mom appears to tell him to stop playing with his "collectibles" and come to dinner.

"All this time, we thought he was a powerful super-being. Yet he was just a child."
"He's not a child! He's thirty-four!"

During Shatner's rendition of Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady," Koenig says, "How can you do a spoken-word version of a rap song?" to which Melllvar replies "He... found a way." Amen.

Jonathan Frakes also appears as himself in this episode, for this fun gag at the Head Museum:

"Yes! Front row."

If you've never seen it, it's quite a lot of fun. I imagine your mileage will vary depending on how amusing you find either the Futurama set-up or TOS references/ in-jokes. I'll leave you with two of the images from the montage that details Trek's being outlawed from Planet Earth...

...and this bit from the Futurama wiki:

"While Melllvar should have 86 tapes- 79 episodes, 6 movies and "that blooper reel where the door doesn't close all the way," the cart is holding only 85 tapes. But:

- The blooper reel could be an extra on one of the episode or movie tapes.

- Mellvar may have gotten rid of the blooper reel as he seems to want to think the show is perfect.

- Whoever sat down and counted the tapes on the cart should really take up a hobby of some sort." 

NEXT:

Galaxy Quest