Simpsons Comics #1

Nov 1993 · Bongo · 2.25 USD; 2.95 CAD

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★ 1st appearance — Mr. Burns★ 1st appearance — Waylon Smithers

About this Issue

Simpsons Comics #1 marks the formal debut of Bongo Comics Group — the creator-owned publishing house Matt Groening founded specifically to bring Springfield to the comics page on his own terms, filling a gap he saw in an industry dominated by grim superhero fare. As the flagship first issue of a series that would run an unbroken 245 issues across 25 years, it established the template for all Bongo output: original, all-ages stories set in the Simpsons universe but not adapted from TV scripts. The lead story, 'The Amazing Colossal Homer,' earned the 1994 Eisner Award for Best Short Story — an extraordinary achievement for a debut issue from a brand-new publisher — validating Bongo's creative ambitions almost immediately. The issue also arrived as part of a simultaneous four-title launch, demonstrating that humor comics could hold their own on direct-market shelves during the early-1990s boom.

In "The Amazing Colossal Homer," the Collector finds himself trapped in his comic vault when the butler leaves for the weekend, forcing him to make a desperate choice to survive the cold—burning his prized collection. Written and illustrated by Steve Vance, with additional art by Sondra Roy and inks by Bill Morrison, this 1993 Bongo Comics issue blends humor and high stakes in a surprisingly heartfelt tale. The cover, penciled by Steve Vance and Bill Morrison and inked by Morrison, captures the chaos perfectly.

Contains 2 stories

The Amazing Colossal Homer

24 pp · Humor, Domestic

Homer SimpsonMarge SimpsonBart SimpsonLisa SimpsonMaggie SimpsonMr. Burns [Charles Montgomery Burns]Waylon SmithersDr. OlbermanKent BrockmanMayor QuimbyTroy McClureMoe SzyslakBarney GumbleApu NahasapeemapetilonEdna KrabappelChief WiggumOfficer EddieOfficer LouDr. Julius HibbertDr. Marvin MonroeLionel Hutz

The Collector!

5 pp · Humor, Domestic, Horror-Suspense

Bart Simpson (host)the Collector [Homer Simpson]Smedley

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $28

CGC 9.8 · 1429 in census $155*

CGC 9.6 · 675 in census $91

CGC 9.4 · 350 in census $60

CGC 9.2 · 149 in census $59

CGC 9.0 · 88 in census $58

CGC 8.5 · 73 in census $36

Show all 15 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 39 in census $36

CGC 7.5 · 27 in census $36*

CGC 7.0 · 11 in census $36*

CGC 6.5 · 9 in census $36

CGC 6.0 · 7 in census $30*

CGC 5.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 5.0 none in existence

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

Bongo Comics Group was co-founded in 1993 by Matt Groening alongside Bill Morrison, Steve Vance, and Cindy Vance, with Groening publicly citing the lack of humor-focused comics in the marketplace as his primary motivation. The company's name was drawn from Bongo the rabbit, a character from Groening's pre-Simpsons 'Life in Hell' comic strip. The path to the ongoing series ran through an earlier one-shot, Simpsons Comics and Stories (published by Welsh Publishing), whose commercial success demonstrated reader appetite for a dedicated Simpsons comic and prompted the founding of Bongo later that year. Simpsons Comics #1 was published in November 1993 as the anchor of Bongo's simultaneous four-title launch — alongside Bartman, Radioactive Man, and Itchy & Scratchy Comics — with Steve Vance serving as editor, Cindy Vance contributing coloring and lettering, and Bill Morrison as art director and lead finisher.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published November 1993 by Bongo Comics Group — the debut issue of a series that ran continuously for 245 issues until October 2018.
Lead story: 'The Amazing Colossal Homer' — plot by Steve Vance and Cindy Vance, script by Steve Vance, pencil layouts by Steve Vance, finished art and inks by Bill Morrison and Tim Bavington; Mr. Burns uses a Rejuvenator Ray on Homer, causing him to grow to colossal proportions in a parody of the 1957 film 'The Amazing Colossal Man.'
Flip-book format: the back half of the issue is 'Bart Simpson's Creepy Crawly Tales #1 — The Collector!,' a standalone EC Comics-style horror parody scripted by Steve Vance with art by Sondra Roy (layouts) and Bill Morrison (inks), in which a comic-obsessive must burn his prized collection to survive freezing to death.
Bill Morrison's cover is a compositional parody of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's Fantastic Four #1 (1961).
The poster edition included a pull-out centerfold poster forming the first of four interlocking panels making up a larger 'Bongo Universe' poster — the other three parts were bound into Radioactive Man #1, Bartman #1, and Itchy & Scratchy Comics #1.
On November 24, 1993, all four Bongo co-founders — Matt Groening, Bill Morrison, Steve Vance, and Cindy Vance — autographed 500 copies at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles; each copy was accompanied by an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity with a raised embossed seal.
'The Amazing Colossal Homer' won the 1994 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Short Story — confirmed by the official Eisner Award winners record — making Simpsons Comics #1 the source of one of the earliest major industry honors won by Bongo.
A reprint of the issue was later produced by Abrams ComicArts and packaged with the Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis hardcover collection published in 2010.