Simpsons Super Spectacular #5

Pieman & Cupcake Kid Figures!

Simpsons Series 1 from McFarlane Toys is due in March 2007, and will include the Simple Simpson figures pictured above. Also included in Series 1 is Kamp Krusty with Bart Simpson confronting Krusty the Clown at "The Krustiest Place on Earth," In the Belly of the Boss from Treehouse of Horror XV (see below), Why You...with Homer and Bart in their classic pose, and Spay Anything, an Itchy & Scratchy boxed set. Be sure to check out all of the different pictures of that last one, because apparently the Itchy figure will be able to dismember the Scratchy figure, and playsets don't get any better than that.

If anyone needs me, I'll be building new shelves in my room.

Ty "The Guy" Templeton

One of the many things I missed while being offline was a message posted to this blog by Ty "The Guy" Templeton, who's been one of my all-time favorite creators ever since the Justice League International days. More recently, he worked on Dan Slott's awesome Spider-Man/Human Torch mini-series.

Templeton was the writer/artist on one of my favorite Bongo issues: Bart Simpson #17, "Legends of the Bartman Family" (responsible for a number of entries in the Super Simpsons Handbook). In Simpsons Super Spectacular #1, Ty wrote and drew the Pieman story, and illustrated Chuck Dixon's "The Crimespree on Springfield 2," starring Bartman, Houseboy, and Bartdog. He also wrote and drew Rob Zombie's "House of a Thousand Donuts" in Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #10.

Special thanks to The Guy for stopping by. Keep up the good work, and I hope you'll be back.

The Batman Family

The couch gag from episodes FABF01, "Today I Am a Clown," and FABF15, "Simple Simpson," which is, of course, the Pieman episode.

Simpsons Super Spectacular #1

Simpsons Super Spectacular #1 hit comic shops this week (Woo-hoo!). It's got a flip cover... Side "A" (with Radioactive Man, Bartman, and Pieman on the cover) has 2 stories: "Holy Cow! Has Pieman Turned Evil?" by Ty Templeton, and "The Crimespree on Springfield 2" by Chuck Dixon and Ty Templeton. Side "B" (with the Radioactive Man comic on the cover) has 3 RM stories by Batton Lash: "Let's See It Again! The Origin of Radioactive Man", "The Little Boy With the Big Dream" and "Radioactive Man and Roargo."

It's no coincidence that I'm kicking off this blog with the info above. Last summer I started working on a website about superheroes in the Simpsons universe, before getting sidetracked for about a year. When I saw the Super Spectacular listed in Diamond Previews, it was the motivation I needed to get back to work on it.

I finally uploaded version 1.0 tonight. As a lifelong comics geek and a fan of "The Simpsons" since the Tracey Ullman Show days, I suppose it's the website I was destined to create. It took longer than I thought, and there are sections that will have to be added in future updates, but considering I managed to launch it in between the release of the Super Spectacular and tonight's season premiere ("Bonfire of the Manatees"), I consider that mission accomplished.

So if you're a fan of Radioactive Man & Fallout Boy, Bartman, Stretch Dude & Clobber Girl, or the Ingestible Bulk, check it out... they're all there, and then some. And check back here for updates and more superheroic Simpsons pictures to come.