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Bartkira
Bartkira: Nuclear Edition
A benefit edition of BARTKIRA that collects a narrative sequence of massive destruction from Akira re-interpreted through the bug-eyed lens of The Simpsons. Proceeds from this book are being split between two charities, OISCA Coastal Forest Restoration Project in Miyagi Prefecture and Save the Children.
- GenresGraphic Novels
276 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2016
70 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 19, 2016
Full disclosure: a hobby my husband and I do together is recast movies and shows with Simpsons characters on our blog, Flim Springfield. So I was mighty stoked when he brought home this for me!
This was just a taste of Bartkira - it left me wanting more! I read volume 1 of Akira last year so it's off to see it recast with my favorite people.
This was just a taste of Bartkira - it left me wanting more! I read volume 1 of Akira last year so it's off to see it recast with my favorite people.
February 9, 2026
Bartkira: Nuclear Edition is one of those rare projects that feels impossible until you see it exist. What began as an audacious internet art experiment becomes, in this collected form, a strangely coherent and deeply affectionate collision of two cultural universes: Katsuhiro Otomo’s apocalyptic gravity and Matt Groening’s elastic, yellow-skinned absurdity. The result is not parody so much as transformation.
The power of the book lies in its sincerity. Dozens of artists reinterpret the catastrophic narrative arc of Akira through the visual language of The Simpsons, yet the emotional core remains intact. Explosions still feel catastrophic, crowds still panic, and the sense of a society sliding toward ruin is surprisingly undiminished. The familiar faces of Springfield become vessels for Otomo’s anxieties about power, technology, and chaos.
What impresses most is the curatorial intelligence. Harvey and Jaffe shape an anthology that could have been chaotic into something with narrative momentum. Styles shift wildly from page to page raw sketches, polished digital work, grotesque exaggeration, near-faithful homage yet the sequence carries the reader forward like a fever dream you don’t want to wake from.
There is also something moving about the purpose behind the project. Knowing that proceeds support the OISCA Coastal Forest Restoration Project and Save the Children reframes the book as more than a clever mash up; it becomes a communal act of creativity with real world consequence, echoing Akira’s own concerns about destruction and rebuilding.
Bartkira: Nuclear Edition will appeal to comics historians, pop culture scholars, and readers who love seeing sacred texts joyfully remixed. It proves that homage can be both irreverent and respectful and that even the strangest artistic ideas can produce genuine meaning.
The power of the book lies in its sincerity. Dozens of artists reinterpret the catastrophic narrative arc of Akira through the visual language of The Simpsons, yet the emotional core remains intact. Explosions still feel catastrophic, crowds still panic, and the sense of a society sliding toward ruin is surprisingly undiminished. The familiar faces of Springfield become vessels for Otomo’s anxieties about power, technology, and chaos.
What impresses most is the curatorial intelligence. Harvey and Jaffe shape an anthology that could have been chaotic into something with narrative momentum. Styles shift wildly from page to page raw sketches, polished digital work, grotesque exaggeration, near-faithful homage yet the sequence carries the reader forward like a fever dream you don’t want to wake from.
There is also something moving about the purpose behind the project. Knowing that proceeds support the OISCA Coastal Forest Restoration Project and Save the Children reframes the book as more than a clever mash up; it becomes a communal act of creativity with real world consequence, echoing Akira’s own concerns about destruction and rebuilding.
Bartkira: Nuclear Edition will appeal to comics historians, pop culture scholars, and readers who love seeing sacred texts joyfully remixed. It proves that homage can be both irreverent and respectful and that even the strangest artistic ideas can produce genuine meaning.
August 31, 2017
You probably don't think you need a mash up of The Simpsons and Akira in your life, but you're wrong. So wrong.
This Very Abridged retelling of Akira features the art of several different artists. It's not a perfect retelling. It's not meant to seem fully complete. It's a bunch of artists taking a theme and donating their time for charity.
The result is jaw dropping. Every page turn of this book leads to an astounding work of art. Springfield getting absolutely levelled really works in this book, and the characters the various artists focus on feels fun. By the end, I wanted to go back and reread Akira, and then read this collection again.
It didn't make me want to watch The Simpsons, but it didn't make me Not Want to watch The Simpsons, either.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes manga (although it is not at all manga), The Simpsons, art books, concept-driven storylines, or someone who really hates The Simpsons. I really might go back and read it again right now.
This Very Abridged retelling of Akira features the art of several different artists. It's not a perfect retelling. It's not meant to seem fully complete. It's a bunch of artists taking a theme and donating their time for charity.
The result is jaw dropping. Every page turn of this book leads to an astounding work of art. Springfield getting absolutely levelled really works in this book, and the characters the various artists focus on feels fun. By the end, I wanted to go back and reread Akira, and then read this collection again.
It didn't make me want to watch The Simpsons, but it didn't make me Not Want to watch The Simpsons, either.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes manga (although it is not at all manga), The Simpsons, art books, concept-driven storylines, or someone who really hates The Simpsons. I really might go back and read it again right now.
April 30, 2016
I enjoyed the book, and primarily for the art. In fact, if you wanted to get the Bartkira story proper, you'd need to find the original volumes of this project. I have not, and so when I first came to this book, I thought it being a "nuclear edition" that it would be something big, like an omnibus of the Bartkira story so far. But no, what the editors mean by "nuclear" is the scenes in Bartkira so far that reveal destruction. Again, the art was fascinating and varied, but I was just expecting something more. Plus, as much as I love the art here, I nonetheless privilege narrative in something like this. I should go get the earlier Bartkira installments.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews