Bongo Comics Group was a comic book publishing company founded in 1993 by Matt Groening along with Steve & Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison.[1] It published comics related to the animated television series The Simpsons and Futurama, as well as the SpongeBob SquarePants comics, along with original material. The company was named after Bongo, a rabbit character in Groening's comic strip Life in Hell.
 | |
| Founded | 1993 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Matt Groening, Steve Vance, Cindy Vance, Bill Morrison |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Santa Monica, California |
| Distribution | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa |
| Key people | Nathan Kane, creative director Matt Groening, publisher |
| Publication types | Comics |
| Fiction genres | Comedy |
| Official website | www |
Bongo, at some time in its history, printed Simpsons Comics, Simpsons Comics and Stories, Futurama Comics, Krusty Comics, Lisa Comics, Bart Simpson, Bartman, Itchy & Scratchy Comics and Radioactive Man.
Zongo Comics, also created by Groening, was Bongo Comics' counterpart geared towards mature audiences.
History
editGroening launched Bongo Comics Group in 1993, perceiving a lack of funny books in the comic book industry at the time: "I go into comic book stores and look at all the stuff, and, for the most part, it looks like fairly grim science-fiction and superhero stuff ... I guess I just thought there was room out there for funny comic books."[2] The company launched four titles, the bi-monthly Simpsons Comics and Radioactive Man Vol. 1, and the thrice-annually Itchy & Scratchy Comics and Bartman.[2] Groening hoped that the new company would revitalise the industry, and held discussions to publish cross-overs with characters from other publishing companies.[2] The comics use original story-lines rather than simply adapting episodes of the television series; however, in 2011 editor Bill Morrison explained that the stories "fit in with the continuity of the shows."[3]
The company launched Futurama Comics, based on the cartoon series of the same name, in 2000.[4]
2012 saw the company change their logo, and a new creative director was unveiled, with Nathan Kane promoted internally to replace the departing Bill Morrison.[5]
It was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2018 that Bongo would be shutting down in October. Simpsons Comics #245 was the final issue released by Bongo.[6]
All series
edit- Simpsons Comics (1993–2018) 245 Issues
- Bartman v1 (1993–1995) 6 Issues
- Bartman v2 (2017) 3 issues (cover titled Bartman: Spectacularly Super Secret Saga)
- Itchy & Scratchy Comics (1993–1994) 4 Issues
- Radioactive Man Vol. 1 (1993–1994) 6 Issues
- Krusty Comics (1995) 3 Issues
- Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror (1995–2017) 23 Issues
- Roswell, Little Green Man (1996–1999) 6 Issues
- Hopster's Tracks (1998-2000) 2 Issues
- Bart Simpson (2000–2016) 100 Issues
- Futurama Comics (2000–2017) 83 Issues
- Radioactive Man Vol. 2 (2000–2004) 9 Issues
- Futurama Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis (2002–2003) 2 Issues
- The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis II (2005) 2 Issues
- Heroes Anonymous (2003–2006) 6 Issues
- Simpsons Classics (2004–2011) 30 Issues
- Simpsons Super Spectacular (2005–2012) 16 Issues
- Bongo Comics Free-For-All (2006-2018) 13 Issues.
- The Simpsons Winter Wingding (2006–2015) 10 Issues
- The Simpsons Summer Shindig (2007–2015) 9 Issues
- Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book (2010) 5 Issues
- SpongeBob Comics (2011–2018) 85 Issues (distribution, published by United Plankton Pictures)
- SpongeBob Comics Annual-Size Super-Giant Swimtacular (2013–2018) 6 Issues (distribution, published by United Plankton Pictures)
- Sergio Aragonés Funnies (2011–2014) 12 Issues
- Simpsons Illustrated (2012–2017) 28 Issues
- Simpsons One-Shot Wonders (2012–2018) 18 Issues
- Mylo Xyloto (2012) 6 Issues
Single issue publications
edit- Bongo Comics Group Spectacular (1993)
- Simpsons Comics and Stories (1993)
- The Official History of Bongo Comics (Fall 1993)
- Bartman and Radioactive Man #1 (1994)
- Lisa Comics (April 1995)
- Bart Simpson's Joke Book (June 1995)
- Futurama Comics#1 (July 2000) A 2000 San Diego Comic-Con variant of Futurama Comics #1.
- Free Comic Book Day: Gimme! Gimme! Giveaway! (2005)
- Radioactive Man #711 (July 2007) Promotional comic available only at 7-Eleven.
- San Diego Comic-Con exclusives:
- Futurama Returns (July 2007)
- Delivery-Boy Man (July 2010)
- The Simpsons Best Superhero Stories Ever! The Collector's Edition (July 2011)
- The Simpsons Go for the Gold (July 2012)
- Two One-Shot Wonders in One (July 2013): contains The Malevolent Mr. Burns and Professor Frink's Fantastic Science Fictions.
- The Greatest Bartman Stories Ever Told! (July 2014): contains an assortment of previously published Bartman stories.
- One-Shot Wonder series:
- Ralph Wiggum Comics (February 2012)
- Bart Simpson's Pal, Milhouse (April 2012)
- Li'l Homer Comics (August 2012)
- Maggie (October 2012)
- Professor Frink's Fantastic Science Fictions (February 2013)
- The Malevolent Mr. Burns (June 2013)
- The Wonderful World of Lisa Simpson (December 2013)
- Duffman Adventures (April 2014)
- Kang & Kodos (August 2014)
- McBain (December 2014)
- Jimbo Jones (September 2015)
- Grampa Simpson's Adventure (December 2015)
- Krusty the Clown (April 2017) First released digitally through the Simpsons Store app. A print version was released in February 2018.
- The Mighty Moe Szyslak (June 2017)
- Chief Wiggum's Felonious Funnies (March 2018)
References
edit- ^ "The Legend of Bongo Comics". Bongo Comics. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ a b c Richmond, Ray (27 November 1993). "Groening Enjoying Being Eye Of Hurricane". Times-News. p. 20.
- ^ Laird, Jonathan (6 November 2011). "Writers and Artists of The Simpsons Sign Autographs". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ "Groening launches 'Futurama Comics'". The Gazette. 19 November 2000.
- ^ Armitage, Hugh (January 28, 2012). "Bongo Comics unveils new logo, creative director". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Boothby, Ian (25 July 2018). "Just announced in San Diego". Twitter. Retrieved 25 July 2018.