Season Eight: Regular Packaging

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Simpsons Bust-Ups: Treehouse of Horror 2006

Simpsons Bust-Ups: Treehouse of Horror 2006 includes:

Killer Krusty Doll, Werewolf Bart, Homer as Death, and Dracula Hibbert and Grampa Gorilla.

Available in October from Gentle Giant. (Click image above to enlarge).

Bongo Comics for August

SIMPSONS COMICS #121

Ian Boothby and Phil Ortiz

Does anybody really know what time it is? Not if you ask anyone in Springfield. Homer takes his beef with Daylight Savings Time to Mayor Quimby. The mayor promptly rescinds the order but accidentally creates a loophole that allows everyone in town to set their own random time schedule. Be it Eastern, Central or Pacific Standard Time, chaos ensues.

BART SIMPSON COMICS #31

DiGerolamo, Dorkin and Lloyd

Bart wins a shopping spree at Krusty's Land of Misfit Toys, but it doesn't take long before all his friends and family members are asking him to score them some free toys. Then Maggie and Moe take a trip to Wall E. Weasel's, stumble into a plot of international intrigue, and come face-to-face with another crime-solving duo -- Gerald, the one-eyebrowed baby and Titania.

The Complete Eighth Season

Due out August 15, 2006. Click here for a list of episodes and extras.

HOMERSAPIEN

Above is the promo card for the upcoming "Monkey Suit" episode of the The Simpsons. Click the image for a larger version. You can read the episode synopsis here.

Season 17 Finale

"Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play" - May 21, 2006

In the 17th season finale, Mandy Moore and Stacy Keach guest-voice. After a passionate kiss between Marge and Homer airs on the Isotope Jumbotron, struggling second baseman Buck Mitchell turns to the couple for marital advice. The Simpsons are able to get Buck and his sexy singing wife, Fiona (guest-voice Moore), on track, and the Isotopes' season turns for the better. Things seem to be coming up aces for the Simpsons until Buck catches Homer giving Fiona a post-show neck massage, which results in both couples separating.

Bernie Wrightson Autograph

I got to meet my favorite horror artist at the Dallas Comic Con on Saturday... the master, Bernie Wrightson. He signed my copy of Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #11, which contains "Squish Thing," the story he did with Swamp Thing co-creator Len Wein.

Ultimate Pop Culture Repository

This weekend I went to the Dallas Comic Con, and brought along my 1992 San Diego Comic Con book bag to stuff with swag. On the way to the con, my friend Vic mentioned that our sons, who are watching The Simpsons season by season as they are released on DVD, will already know the story of every major movie released in the last few decades before they ever see them, because they've all been parodied on the show. I pulled out my book bag when we arrived, spurring the following conversation:

Ryan: Who's that?
Me: That's Lobo.
Ryan: Lobo? You mean Sherriff Lobo?
Me (after a lot of laughter): No, not Sherriff Lobo. Wait a minute, how do you know who Sherriff Lobo is?
Ryan: The Simpsons.

So there you have it. The Simpsons is indeed the ultimate pop culture repository. Want to know what was going on in the collective unconscious at any point in the last twenty years? Just watch that season of The Simpsons. It's in there.

Side note: It warms my heart to know that DC's Lobo, one of the lamest comics characters of all time, has sunken deeper into obscurity than Sherriff Lobo, who's been off prime time television a lot longer than Lobo's been off the new comics rack.

Last 3 Episodes of Season 17

Synopses courtesy of Comics Continuum:

"Regarding Margie" on May 7

After a spring-cleaning frenzy and inhaling too many fumes, Marge suffers from retrograde amnesia. In an effort to bring back her memory, Homer takes Marge around town to re-familiarize her with her surroundings. She still has no recollection of who Homer is and puts herself back on the singles market. Will Marge ever remember her beloved Homey?

"The Monkey Suit" on May 14

Larry Hagman and Melanie Griffith guest-voice. After visiting an evolution exhibit narrated by guest voice Griffith, Flanders pushes Mayor Quimby to appoint Reverend Lovejoy as a "Morality Czar" in charge of spreading the theory of creationism. Darwin's theories are quickly outlawed, and Lisa finds herself as the only supporter of the scientific theory. After holding secret evolution classes, Lisa is arrested and retains Southern lawyer Wallace Brady (guest-voice Hagman) to help defend her beliefs in front of a judge. While Flanders is on the stand in court, Homer's antics cause him to crack under pressure and he calls Homer an ape, which leads the judge to believe Homer resembles the missing link ­ putting a monkey wrench in the prosecutors' case.

"Homer and Marge Turn a Couple Play" on May 21

In the 17th season finale, Mandy Moore and Stacy Keach guest-voice. After a passionate kiss between Marge and Homer airs on the Isotope Jumbotron, struggling second baseman Buck Mitchell turns to the couple for marital advice. The Simpsons are able to get Buck and his sexy singing wife, Fiona (guest-voice Moore), on track, and the Isotopes' season turns for the better. Things seem to be coming up aces for the Simpsons until Buck catches Homer giving Fiona a post-show neck massage, which results in both couples separating.