Bart Simpson Comics #28

"Lisa the Vampire Croaker"

"Milhouse...The Girl"

"Bart Goes to the Movies"

Publisher: Bongo

For Bart Simpson Comics the grading is much simpler. Did the stories make me laugh, and for this issue I am sorry to say that no they did not.

"Lisa the Vampire Croaker" is a lame spoof of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. First, it’s a little late. Buffy’s been off the air for about four years. The jokes are unfunny, and they lack sophistication. In fact the show did a better job of sending itself up.

"Milhouse...the Girl" draws out a joke that’s not. The gags within the story provide some mild amusement but not enough.

"Bart Goes to the Movies" offers another failed attempt at humor. None of Bart’s numerous attempts to enter the theater provide a laugh, and the way in which he finally does succeed makes no sense whatsoever.

"The Angry Dad" short in which Homer matches wits with a raccoon goes nowhere, and it breaks the cardinal rule of the source. Animals have to behave like animals. They may behave like other animals, but they have to behave like animals. In other words, deer do not walk on two legs in the Simpsons. They may however growl and eat a rabbit.

Is this issue the worst Bart Simpson Comics issue I’ve read? No. Despite being unable to get me to crack a smile, the writers do characterize the characters to their television models, and all the artwork matches Matt Groening’s designs. These assets are enough to raise the book from two bullets to three bullets. It’s not bad. It’s just the definition of mediocre.