Simpsons Comics #245 (Final Issue)

Bongo Comics

Review by Anthony Ramone

It’s hard to believe The Simpsons are still going strong. Or at least, still going. Although they must be doing something right, if they are still on the air. Running almost as long as The Simpsons television series is Simpsons Comics by Bongo Comics. Bongo came into existence as a publisher in 1993, debuting Simpsons Comics at the same time. Bongo Comics founder Matt Groening started the company to counteract the dearth of humorous material populating comic shop shelves at the time. After 25 years, and 245 issues, Simpsons Comics, and indeed Bongo themselves are hanging it up.

Issue 245 is a bittersweet sendoff to America’s favorite dysfunctional family. It’s sad to see them go, and yet they stuck around a lot longer than anyone ever thought they would. I suppose it’s hard to remain groundbreaking, when you’ve already broken all the ground there was to break, and now other families are enjoying the fruits of your labors, while you drift off into generational obscurity. Nevertheless, writer Nathan Kane, and penciler Rex Lindsey have put The Simpsons to bed with a heartwarming, and funny story that has a decidedly meta edge.

Looking for a discount pet for Maggie while at the Springfield Mall, The Family Simpson find themselves the forever family of a white bunny rabbit with one ear named “Bongo” courtesy of the radioactive horrors section of All Creatures Great, Small, and Cheap. The script is tight and humorous, and the pencils, inks, and colors are as bright and vibrant as they ever have been. By the time the book concludes, one can’t help but wax a little nostalgic, and consider how nice it has been to have a book on the shelves that wasn’t trying to pander to any specific demographic or retconning the Hell out of a superhero mythology that has been twisting and turning for over 50 years. Simpsons Comics, we’re all going to miss you. Thank God for trades!

Anthony Ramone is the producer and sometimes cohost of “Los Hermanos Navarro” and can be found chomping on a burrito at Roberto’s Taco Shop #13