written by Matt Groening

I’d be committing a sin of omission if I didn’t immediately admit to having a polybagged issue of Simpsons Comics and Stories #1 somewhere in the depths of my abandoned comic collection. There was definitely a time when I actively collected every Simpsons action figure, DVD, and bit of paraphernalia, including many logged hours and countless quarters in front of the arcade game, way back before the show began its descent into the unreliable and unbelievable from more realistic, poignant, and intelligent humor, so this is all coming from something of a Simpsons aficionado. Nothing felt quite as awesome as Marge killing zombies with a vacuum.
 
Let me begin by addressing the parents. Simpsons Comics is a great avenue into reading for those who might be reluctant. The stories are innocuous and inoffensive—much less so than the occasional digression of the TV show. They’re familiar, and they’re easy to access. As a librarian, I regularly see our Simpsons Comics collections circulate, so while I can’t claim that there’s anything of great educational value within, they’re getting kids to read.
 
Across the 11 stories, written and drawn by a collection of authors and artists, it slowly became clear that while based in the Simpsons universe, and loosely in the canonical world of The Simpsons, this is a whole different animal. And also that one of the two Martha Stewart-in-jail jokes in two subsequent issues should have been caught.
 
The Simpsons has existed for so long in one signature format that it’s firmly entrenched itself in one “brand” of humor. When it strays from Simpsons humor, it feels off, and when it stays with humor that works best in an animated format, the comic pages just don’t communicate the funny. Many lines of dialogue are made funny by a twist of facial expression, or the hilarious voice acting of Dan Castellaneta and Harry Shearer. While the mature reader is welcome to interpolate these things, I question whether or not they’d really be motivated to.
 
Those who are still dedicated to The Simpsons, after all of these years and a whole mess of embarrassingly bad seasons, will still be excited by the addition of canonical details to the characters in the Simpsons universe. After all, complete episode guides exist because someone really wants to know this stuff. We get an encounter with Groundskeeper Willie’s family, yet another instance when Krusty loses his show, and Grandpa Simpson’s career as a stuntman. You know, if you really care. Bart can experience an epic journey to graduate fourth grade, but Mrs. Kraboppel will still be his teacher next year anyhow.
 
It’s not Shakespeare, and it’s not even The Simpsons, but it’ll do just fine.