COVERS: Matt Groening, Bill Morrison, and Phil Noto

The 2003 edition of Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror from Bongo Comics is not funny. In fact, there’s hardly more than a few chuckles contained inside the book. That Paul Dini, the Emmy Award winning television writer who writes thoroughly mediocre comic books, fails to illicit a laugh is as sure as Biblical prophecy. I can just hear Elijah from on high proclaiming and forewarning us about another sub-par effort from the scribe of those syrupy DC treasury books that Alex Ross sloughs off once a year.

That Ian Boothby fails to illicit a laugh with the Simpsons in his contribution “Ring Around the Simpson,” is news. Who the heck is Gary Millidge who writes and draws a mildly amusing Simpsons spin on Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell?

The real treat (the only real one) here is a painted short story from Daniel Brereton, the maestro behind The Nocturnals and currently the best painter of comic books. Why is he the best? It’s because his painted comic books actually look like comics. He’s a virtuoso, and his skill of varying the elements within a panel so that the characters visually remain true to their respective spirits is enough to get even an Old Testament prophet to start testifying. Praise Brereton! GRADE C-