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FCBD 2017 Bongo Free For All Review

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It’s time for Bongo! It’s pretty impressive how you can always count on the Simpsons to show up with a comic year after year. You can also say that it’s a little worrisome how the writing in this story may be the best out of all the Free Comic books. Maybe that’s just a credit to this story rather than a diss to the others. Regardless, it was surprisingly good and reminded me that the Simpsons can be a good show when it remembers how to be one. It just so happens that it remembers very infrequently and there are probably more bad ones than good titles. (Bold statement I suppose)

The first story here is the best one as Bart Simpson breaks his back and now has to use a suitcase to get to school. The bullies have a field day with this and Bart finally learns what it is like to not be one of the cool kids. His reaction to this is on point as Bart uses the wheelies to his advantage. He can now out run the bullies to the ice cream sandwiches and also beats them in a basketball game. It’s just a very satisfying story all around and while Bart may have betrayed his new friends in the end, they got the last laugh.

The next story wasn’t quite as hype but it did its best. Homer Simpson stayed out late for some reason so he dashes home to steal his son’s sandwich. As he’s eating, Homer realizes that a burglar is outside so he goes to face him, only to be soundly defeated. The burglar in question is actually an animal and Homer finally realizes that it’s game over. The banter between Bart and Homer wasn’t bad to be honest. I also like the idea of Homer stealing his sandwich and their temporary alliance since they both should have been asleep. The execution after that wasn’t as interesting with the whole burglar nonsense.

The final story was the weakest one. Two kids are running around for some reason when they decide to start panicking over a bunch of cosplayers. They hide in the sewers and run all around town until they finally go home again. It was rather boring. The only good character was the local pastor who kept everyone in line and talked a really good game. He may let crooked cops take advantage of him, but at least the guy means well. I have a feeling that he may be the most entertaining character in the show.

Overall, This was a pretty good Bongo, I dare say that it was one of the better issues in the long series. I’m not going to become a Simpsons fan anytime soon, but at least this reminds me that the franchise always has potential when it’s handled right. Of course, you could say that about almost anything. There’s only one more free comic to get through so I’m pretty close to the end. It’s been a good run, but they all must end eventually.

Overall 7/10

FCBD 2016 Bongo Free For All 2016 Review

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JAN160002
It’s time for another issue with the Simpsons. Bongo has been an annual tradition for FCBD. The stories have actually been fairly decent for the most part and this year’s issue actually had a very solid story. It is still the Simpsons so none of the characters are made to be particularly heroic or likable, but they don’t seem all that bad either. I doubt that the show would be even semi good, but it is good that they step up their game for the comic. The main story involves two new criminals who attack people using Donuts, Bread mix, and other food ingredients. This forces the townsfolk to have to come to terms with each other whether they want to or not. Luckily, Bart and the other Simpsons character are on the job with their food powers. The contrast of foods and snacks is pretty hype and they are perfectly matched up for this task since no donut is safe from these guys. The villains are put in their place and the day was saved. It was a very solid all around comic if you ask me. The art was good as well.

There were other stories inside as well. There was a short one about the Cops stopping an Ice Cream truck so they could get a few scoops. The poor guy probably realized that profits were going to be a little lower that day. There was also an issue where one of the kids decided to play a prank on the Principal and impersonated a Dentist so he could give the guy some fangs. The principal was not amused, but he didn’t realize what was happening until the school turned against him. Suddenly, everyone wanted to destroy him and by throwing objects at him, they realized that the principal had to be a vampire. Luckily, the kid calls off the prank by throwing some glitter on the Principal. This naturally makes him a good vampire and the blame shifts to a guy who seems to be a werewolf. He admits that he has fleas at any rate and quickly runs away. The ending was great with the way that the “Werewolf” ran away and his final lines. Yes, the humor was actually fairly solid this time around.

The art was consistent for these stories as well. The Simpsons is still a franchise that looks pretty sad on the whole and I definitely don’t support it, but even a bad apple can have a good bite or two in it right? The Simpsons flexed its creative muscles and actually got us a winner this time so that was most impressive. We’re getting even closer to the end of the Free Comic Book Day issues now folks. Just around 5 left, but we’ve gone through most (If not all) of the big titles so prepare yourself for stories that hopefully still manage to be good…but I have my doubts.

Overall 7/10