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Three Men and a Comic Book
The Simpsons Season 02 Episode 21
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Bart is totally right. Casper is a wimpy ghost, and he does look like the ghost of Richie Rich.
"Too bad we didn't dressed as popular cartoon characters." The meta-joke resurfaces. I love it. This is the introduction of Bartman! Where did he get that mask and cape anyway?
"Get that punk's name, no one makes a fool out of Diamond Joe Quimby." I wonder why Groening decided to make Joe Quimby sound like a Kennedy, anyway. Regardless, the mayor never ceases to earn a couple laughs.
The swooping noises Bartman makes as he moves are a nice touch. I really want to know the sordid details of Dirk Richter's (Radioactive Man's) final years. Oh, there we go, his bullet-riddled body was found in a bordello. Thanks, Bart. Wow, that is sordid.
"A hundred bucks! For a comic book? Who drew it, Michamalangelo?" I love Homer's pronunciation of multisyllabic words. Hmm, Homer says "T.S.", do kids know what that stands for? Do parents even say that?
Woah, why'd they jump into Wonder Years mode? The Simpsons take on that show is better than that show ever was.
I've never read Nazi-Smasher comics. I think I'd dig that comic. TV old ladies sure do love watching their stories. And being cheap. Hmm, I don't think I like TV old ladies very much. Bart needs some recourse here. Fifty cents is such an indignity!
Comic Book Guy has a master's degree in folklore and mythology. That's almost more useless than my master's degree in medieval history.
The origins of Radioactive Man should have been clear to Martin, Bart and Milhouse. If they're such big fans, why didn't they know where he'd gotten his powers until they read the first issue?
"It'll be like a sleepover. Yeah, a sleepover, that's what pals do, right? Real friendly like." I like Bart's tone here. By the way, let me point out that I wish I'd had a treehouse when I was a kid. Also, I wish I'd had a mother who would bring by milk and s'mores just because she thought my friends and I might like some.
Homer's attitude about checking up on the boys is the right one. I applaud his lack of initiative.
Seriously, Martin, shut up! Nobody likes "I told you so". Why was Santa's Little Helper outside in the rain?
CONCLUSION
This episode is great. Even though Bart rarely hangs out with Martin, it doesn't feel like a forced plot convenience. We learn about Radioactive Man and the spot he holds in these kids' hearts and we get a funny morality tale out of it. Classic.
THIS EPISODE'S RATINGS
 5/5 donuts from Mrs. Waldorf
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RATINGS LEGEND
 = LAME
= BAD
= MEH
= GOOD
= CLASSIC
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PLOT SUMMARY FROM WIKIPEDIA
When Bart attends a comic book convention dressed as his superhero alter ego Bartman, he finds the first issue of Radioactive Man for $100 at the Android's Dungeon sale table. However, he does not have enough money to buy it, and his parents refuse to give him extra money, so he decides to get a job. Bart turns to his neighbor Mrs. Glick, who has some rather unsavory chores around the house that he can do. When she only gives him fifty cents for his hard work, Bart protests, but is unsuccessful as Mrs. Glick thinks he is thanking her. Bart goes to the Android's Dungeon, with only a few cents extra, where he runs into Milhouse and Martin. He talks them into pooling their money and buying the comic from the store's owner, Comic Book Guy. Since none of them want to let the comic out of their sights, they decide to spend the night together in Bart's treehouse. The three get progressively more paranoid and Bart becomes convinced that the other two are conspiring against him.
Eventually, the tension is at a breaking point. When Martin gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bart thinks he plans on stealing the comic and subsequently ties him up. Meanwhile, a storm approaches. Milhouse tries to alert Marge that Bart has gone crazy, but Bart thinks he is making a move for the comic and tackles him. Milhouse rolls over the side of the treehouse, almost falling down to the ground, but Bart catches him precariously by his sleeve. When a gust of wind takes hold of the comic so that it flies towards the treehouse's entrance, Bart is forced to decide between it and Milhouse. After mulling over his options, Bart chooses Milhouse and pulls him up into the treehouse. The comic flies out the entrance and is shredded by Santa's Little Helper on the ground, hit by lightning, and completely destroyed. The next morning, the three boys reflect on how their inability to share lead to the destruction of the comic, although Bart, at least, has learned nothing from the experience.
The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. Characters making their first appearance on the show in the episode are Comic Book Guy, Mrs. Glick, Radioactive Man, Fallout Boy, and Bartman. Although many suggestions state that Comic Book Guy was inspired by the show's creator Matt Groening, Comic Book Guy was partly inspired by a clerk at the Los Angeles Amok book shop who, according to Simpsons writer George Meyer, often "[sat] on the high stool, kind of lording over the store with that supercilious attitude and eating behind the counter a big Styrofoam container full of fried clams with a lot of tartar sauce." Matt Groening noted: "I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, 'I know who you based that comic book guy on. It's that comic-book guy right down the block.' And I have to tell them, 'No, it's every comic-bookstore guy in America.'" Cast member Hank Azaria based Comic Book Guy's voice on a student who went by the name "F" and lived in the room next door at his college. Mrs. Glick was based on a old lady Martin and his brother used to do chores for when they were younger. Martin said they got to "pull weed until [their] hands would bleed", and yet they were only paid two quarters for several hours of work. American actress Cloris Leachman provided the voice of Mrs. Glick in the episode.
Accessed from Wikipedia on Mar. 15, 2010