| Bart Simpson's TreeHouse of Horror #11 Posted on January 22, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
 Gruesome
Matt Groening Presents a Trio of Terrifying Tales by a Monstrous
Mob of Comics Most Tremendous Talents. The TreeHouse of Horror series is released once a year for Halloween, a lot of duration is spent on this serial publication to bring you many horrified laughs. The best thing about TreeHouse of Horror is the style which it is drawn. Great visuals and it just contains (no matter how badly done it is) the whole atmospheric feel of Terror. The cover art of #11 contains two, one with the familiar Dracula Mr. Burns and the other includes Marge Simpson with Homer throwing knifes at her. The first of the covers is done exceptionally well, contains much more substance then previous issues, but only relates to one of the stories. The other cover art sends mixed signals. Nothing wrong with it, just it seems too plain with the red taking up half the cover, though I consider this the second cover and not the first, I'll let it pass. Before I march into the comic as a whole, the second cover also does nothing for the storyline! As soon as you turn the page, you will notice an index, good approach, it slightly enhances the comic giving it a modern feel. However, don't be deceived. The contents page shows that their are 8 stories, but only 3 of the 8 are main publications which leech off each other, by this I mean continue. The Sub-Basement of Dracula is the first story which takes references from the movies Blade and Van Helsing, it contains great shaded old drawings but can't help to think that they might have 'over' done it with the shading. It's a bit dry, textures could of used a bit more colour, still arguably the best drawing in this issue. Pinocchio is a familiar character, but has never been featured in a Horror comic before. The idea is great with the nose growing, but the lies used could of been more comical. Early in the story, Bart seems to be making all the amusing comments, which really is the only thing keeping you from putting this back under you're bed. Expect to notice a sexual reference in this comic, not sure if it did relate to something else, but I am positive most, if not all people reading it will identify the reference! Nevertheless, it enhanced the whole feel for this story, so I'm please it was used. Eat your words critics, Simpsons not childish in some respects. It's a good quick 13 pages of vampire fighting, evil Dracula planning of a story, but it seems flat, missing something. I take into consideration of how many stories are in this issue, and it really just adds to the juice. Before I talk about the next story, page 14 contains an ad, Why? I think these issues should be free from advertisements. Squish Thing is the second story with yet another reference (Swamp Thing), some might even mistaken Homer to be the Hulk in this prodigy. With an accident with Beer, Homer is assumed dead, whilst Moe makes his 'serial killer' debut to get to Marge. I think it's about time Moe explored his darker sides, which most fans would agree that Moe seems crazy at heart anyway. The drawings seem somewhat badly drawn on this occasion, the old style look still needs to be treated with care, but does shine in unselected parts! Some excellent use of shades and bright colour inks. This time, two ads are present at the end of this story and printing ink shades are evident around the first and second story, not as polished as former titles gone by. Longer then the first chronicle (16 pages), but it needed more punch and comedy! It's a fluent read but nothing special. Two Tickets To Heck is the third full length story with mini stories in-between! Contains another ad at the start but that's easily ignored with great drawings. Bart & Lisa are in a horrified version of Itchy & Scratchy land and they create two gold tickets which gives them access to A Quick Way To A Krusty Death! Thus being the next story. The transition between Two Tickets and Quick Way is evident, because the quality of the characters have decreased dramatically, but contains slightly better colour directions. Many puns are used, which are enjoyable and adds flavour to the reader. This instalment is not as entertaining as the other stories. Krusty is mistaken for a vampire, and the chase begins. The presentation is hurt by speech bubbles and a dead Dracula's head colour going outside the box. Polish people! Polish! The stories quickly change, into another immediate transition to the next part of the issue, Midget Commando! The slight transitions are made in conjunction with the Mansion house they are in Quick Way, the doors led them to other worlds (stories). Midget Commando is probably the better, very short story (5 pages) in this TreeHouse comic! Very amusing, though the graphics sure are a bit iffy, on the bright side presentation is very good! Bart falls through a door to wrap back to the Korean War and is set on a mission. While Bart becomes a hero, Lisa is left getting chased to open another door which leads the reader into another story, Shock! Suspense! Simpsons! Shock! Suspense! Simpsons! is probably the most worst drawn story I have seen in this series. With the whole layout being probably the near perfect aspect, the story also lacks in substance and humour where Lisa is stuck in a parody in a political comic eruption. Another very short story, where Bart (from Midget Commando) comes flying in to save Lisa from the trouble she is in. Running away to safety leads us to the next and final story, The Blast From The Future Past! Great title. Bart and Lisa now are in an alien space ship, taken them light years away from actual time. They stubble upon a twist 
which has been used before, but, in the comics, it's an idea
that never gets tired but still, originality didn't hurt anyone.
A bit of recycling has been used and it's sometimes better to
create new ideas. Still does the job. The graphics are spot on
but the inconsistencies with previous stories in this comic are
highlighted.It is not anywhere near the best TreeHouse of Horror to come out, but it's an easy read that's enjoyable with, at times, average use of drawing techniques and colour usages, but the overall package escapes from these flaws... Just! At $7.95 Australian, pretty cheap to put a smile on your face.
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