The Simpsons Holiday Humdinger [Paperback]

The Simpsons 'Holiday Humdinger' is an excellent collection of comics, and this one in particular hits on many different levels. Not only are we seeing the main characters that we love placed in crazy holiday situations, but a lot of careful attention was poured into clever in-jokes and homage's to past characters and episodes. Since the Simpsons brand comics usually play out like a half hour episode, their comic production values have been excellent. The flow of the story, the perfect colors, the likeness of the characters....all of these elements make the comic strips come together in a great way.

In the case of this holiday edition, not only do we get the longer stories but we also get much more: A few two-page spreads of Christmas silliness courtesy of the Springfield Elementary gym, the power plant, and the comic book store. In these bits, there is so much going on at once that is takes a 2nd and 3rd glance to make sure you don't miss all the laughs. We are also treated to holiday "cards," coming from many Springfield hot spots and major players. Fans of the series will think back to some past TV episodes to make the connection with some of these holiday greetings! There are a few Angry Dad cameos as well! And Christmas would certainly feel empty without Itchy & Scratchy, so get ready for a great story involving our favorite cat and mouse.

As with many other Simpsons collections, many of these comics may have appeared in the monthly editions in the past. So beware if you do not like the idea of getting repeat material. Otherwise, this is an absolute holiday treat ! Enjoy!

One of the funniest books to read. Packed with delightful humor to bring smiles the entire Christmas season. Difficult to put down. Can read it again and laugh just as much.

The Simpsons is one of the funniest TV shows ever. It doesn't translate well to paper at all in this book. This is not funny. It reads like some wannabe comedy writer trying to imitate the Simpsons. The book's credits list Matt Groening as the the "publisher". It lists 7 writers, none of whom is Groening. It also lists a creative director, art director, and multiple "contributing artists", none of whom are Groening. In fact, comparing the list of writers for this book to the list of the show's writers on Wikipedia, none of the show's writers contributed to this book. Maybe that's why it doesn't feel like the show at all. Same characters, lame dialogue, not funny. Too bad.