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!

Manimals!

McFarlane Toys is releasing a boxed set based on "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" from "Treehouse of Horror XIII." It's got a release date of August 2007. There are more pictures at Spawn.com.

You can watch "The Island of Dr. Hibbert" below, thanks to the wonders of YouTube.

Also, I added a Manimals entry in the Super Simpsons Handbook today.

"Bartman Begins" Update

The Super Simpsons Handbook is now updated with the characters and events of "Bartman Begins," including Crimson Cockatoo, The Diddler, Mr. Mole, Poison Lenny, Serpent, Sugar & Spice, and The Toker. This marks Snake and Patty & Selma's first appearances in the Handbook.

King Homer Returns

King Homer, not seen on The Simpsons since "Treehouse of Horror III," made an appearance back in September in the couch gag of the "Jazzy and the Pussycats" episode (the one with a special appearance by the White Stripes):

My favorite part, besides Homer's trademark scream at the end when the biplanes open fire, is how he he deftly transfers Marge from his hand to his foot while climbing the Empire State Building -- an obvious homage to Peter Jackson's King Kong movie, in which the giant ape tossed Ann Darrow around like a ragdoll so often that she should have suffered whiplash.

Anyway, I've updated the King Homer entry in the Super Simpsons Handbook with screencaps from the above clip.

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!

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.