Comics Review: The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror #22

Before the show happens, let’s dig into the comic!

Spoilers Below

“Ghost Bashers”

While investigating the nuclear power plant to eliminate inefficiencies, Mr. Burns and Smithers encounter the ectoplasm-spewing ghost of Smithers, Sr. in the library. So Burns puts Homer, Lenny, and Carl in charge of ridding the plant of its apparitions. They then team up with Professor Frink to form the “Ghostbashers.” They quickly subdue Springfield’s ghosts through their tried-and-true method of mercilessly beating them with “particle batons.” But the problem becomes a lot more gigantic when Lard Lad is rendered possessed in the style of the Stay Puft Man. But not all is lost, as Homer’s appetite is there to save the day.

“The Ex Files”

After Nelson witnesses a meatloaf monster devour Lunch Lady Doris, Skinner teams him up with Lisa (hence the title) to further uncover the rash of man-eating foodstuffs. They discover that the food monsters are the unwanted result of Professor Frink’s program to clone school lunches. They attempt to reveal the truth, but they find themselves blocked by an X-Files-style conspiracy – Patty and Selma are Cigarette-Smoking Women, Skinner’s half-brother is FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner. Patty and Selma reveal that they are actually Kang and Kodos in disguise and admit that they are the puppetmasters of the whole conspiracy. Lisa live-streams the whole thing on her phone, demonstrating that conspiracies are much harder to keep under wraps than they were in the ’90s.

“Retirement Castle of the Vampires”

At the Retirement Castle, Bart and Grandpa notice the other residents are in a suspiciously upbeat mood. The new nurse, Yorga, appears with a batch of copper-tasting drinks. If her pale complexion does not give it away, her call to the blood bank certainly does. Bart and Grandpa fend off the vampires with Abe’s garlic necklace and a ruse involving Bingo. Homer shows up to demand donuts to accompany the “blood donations.” Yorga bites him, but his high BAC causes her to stagger and knock down the curtains, fatally exposing the bloodsuckers to sunlight.

“Bart & Lisa vs. the Red Menace”

While trick-or-treating at Professor Frink’s, Bart and Lisa accidentally unleash an angry red-furred creature. As they attempt to run away, Bart succumbs to Frink’s “shrinktastic serum” and then encounters an already miniaturized Frink. They return to normal size by rinsing off the serum with floodwater, and it is then revealed that the creature is just Groundskeeper Willie with a bad reaction to Frink’s hair-growth tonic.

Our Take:

This collection gets off to a rather inauspicious start, with “Ghost Bashers” serving as a rather surface-level take on the biggest nerd culture story of 2016. The theme song parody is by the numbers, and a dig on a female team of Ghostbashers led by Marge lacks any significant bite. Homer’s solution of chowing down on Lard Lad is decently amusing, but merely okay as far as gags about his appetite go.

The quality picks up noticeably with “The Ex Files,” which shows off The Simpsons’ knack for bringing freshness to decades-old homages. The Springfield analogues to The X-Files are clever, a detour into a Scooby-Doo reference is a random but fun distraction, and Homer’s appearance as jigsaw puzzle/human hybrid is artistically the issue’s most imaginative moment.

“Retirement Castle” hardly reinvents the vampire mold, but it has a lot going for it in the Bart-Grandpa pairing. Abe’s guilelessness brings out an unusually palatable side of the boy. Plus, after Homer transitions, we get to see his sadsack side, his sweetest and most charming side.

“Red Menace” is a quickie, serving as a bit of a tonic to close out the issue. The conflict resolves itself almost too speedily, but that is not a big deal, considering the twist is that there was never really much of a conflict in the first place.

Overall, this is by no means a classic, but there is enough wit to tide you over until the next televised “Treehouse of Horror” next month.