Simpsons Super Spectacular #4

Bongo Comics released Simpsons Super Spectacular #4 last week. Edited by the inimitable Bill Morrison, the new issue contains three stories:

Bartman in "Shadow Apocalypse of the Sciencester!"
Tom Peyer: Script
Ty Templeton: Pencils
Mike Rote: Inks
Nathan Hamill: Colors
Karen Bates: Letters
"Bartman meets his newest and perhaps least effective nemesis, the sinister genius known as The Sciencester! (Yeah, that's the best we could come up with)."

Bartman vs. Screamapillar in "Scream a Little Scream..."
Nathan Hamill & Jason Ho: Script
Jason Ho: Pencils
Mike Rote: Inks
Nathan Hamill: Colors
Karen Bates: Letters

"The Day Radioactive Man Quit!"
Batton Lash: Script & Pencils
George Broderick: Inks
Art Villanueva: Colors
Karen Bates: Letters
"Radioactive Man becomes aware of the fallout from his nuclear powers and decides to give up super-heroing forever!"

Batton Lash posted this message about his Radioactive Man story in the Supernatural Law blog:

Radioactive Man a la Shelly

Batton here: I've been writing the exploits of Bart Simpson's favorite comic book hero, Radioactive Man, for some time now, and many talented artists have illustrated my scripts. The current issue of Simpsons Super Spectacular (No.4, published by Bongo Comics), however, has the rare Radioactive Man story written and drawn by yours truly. It's a pastiche of a late 50's Batman story, done in the manner of "Bob Kane" (but really Bill Finger and Shelly Moldoff!). The story was inked by George Broderick, Jr (doing his best Charles Paris!). it was fun to do and I hope you will have fun reading it. Headlining the issue are a couple of new Bartman stories, brought to you by Tom Peyer, Ty Templeton, Mike Rote, Nathan Hamill and Jason Ho. So what are you waiting for? Simpsons Super Spectacular No.4 should be available at your local comics store now!

Check out the Super Simpsons Handbook for 3 new entries: The Sciencester, Kid Queasy, and the Cane Gang!

Happy Holidays!

You can deck the halls with this spiffy Christmas poster courtesy of Bill Morrison and Bongo Comics, available in Simpsons Comics #113!

Website Update

Added to the Super Simpsons Handbook:

Nuclear Power Man and Iron Foot, a.k.a. Heroes For Rent!

And their deadly nemesis, Disco Inferno!

Also, revealed for the first time, courtesy of Bongo Comics' own Bill Morrison:

The names of the 2 mystery members of Superior Squadron!

CBG #1611

If you check out the bottom left corner of the cover of Comics Buyer's Guide #1611 above, you'll see the issue includes a story about the current "Treehouse of Horror" comic. The copy I bought this week actually has an all-Simpsons cover, but as I'm still a refugee from Hurricane Rita, I don't have access to my scanner.

The article includes an interview with Len Wein and Marv Wolfman about their stories in Bart Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #11, which I've been misidentifying on this blog as #10 for some reason. (In my defense, Bongo editor Bill Morrison never corrected me on the error, either). Previous blog entry about "Squish Thing" and "The Sub-Basement of Dracula" here.

Workplace Safety Posters Revisited

Yesterday I posted the first five Simpsons- themed safety awareness posters produced by Victor House Publications (scooping The Simpsons Channel by 24 hours... Woo-hoo!).

A favorite of many Simpsons fans, the eye-safety poster features Lenny (even though we all know it's too late for Lenny, ever since the rubber band incident, and now he's not supposed to get pudding in his eye). The Lenny poster was drawn by Bongo Comics editor and co-founder Bill Morrison, who is already at work on several more designs.

It's comforting to know that job sites across America and Canada will soon be as safe as Homer Simpson and the other employees of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant can make them.

The Final Fate of Radioactive Man?

Another article at The Pulse explains the tragic story behind the genesis of Bongo's new Simpsons Super Spectacular series:

Bongo's Creative Director Bill Morrison said he thinks the Radioactive Man series didn't succeed because his appearances on the TV show were too infrequent. "I think the mainstream Simpsons fans just didn't pick up his book like they do the other Simpsons Comics," Morrison said. "Batton Lash has been doing such a terrific job with Radioactive Man and I was reluctant to see him get cancelled. So, I figured out a way to keep him in print by pairing him with the super-incarnations of more recognizable Simpsons characters. Radioactive Man and Bartman will be the mainstays, but look for appearances by Pie Man, Duff Man, Bumblebee Man and even Señior Ding Dong!"

Of course, I don't think the Eisner Award-winning Radioactive Man comic was ever really aimed at the mainstream Simpsons fans. With its perfect satire of the entire history and spectrum of the superhero genre, it deserved a much larger following among comic geeks. Those with a sense of humor, at least.

At the moment, the Super Spectacular is scheduled to be released twice a year. Coming up in issue 2:

Ian Boothby is writing a story for the second issue called "The League of Extraordinary Barts," where various Barts from different dimensions come together to battle an evil Bart who uses Professor Frink's devices in a plot to take over the world. "It's just a good, smack-em-in-the-mouth, silly super-hero story," Boothby said. "It's a lot of fun."