The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus Vol. 1: Scary Tales & Scarier Tentacles

Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror

by Matt Groening, Bart Simpson (Introduction), Sergio Aragonés (Writer / Artist)

The first of three volumes collecting the complete Simpsons Treehouse of Horror comics by creator Matt Groening, packaged in a deluxe, die-cut slipcase that glows in the dark

The Treehouse of Horror started as an annual Halloween tradition on The Simpsons , beginning during the second season in 1990. In fall 1995, the first of 23 comics were produced by Bongo, telling new stories written and illustrated by some of the biggest names in comics, including Michael Allred ( Madman ), Sergio Aragonés ( MAD magazine), Kyle Baker ( Nat Turner ), Jeffrey Brown ( Star Darth Vader and Son ), and Jill Thompson ( Scary Godmother ), as well as celebrities such as Mark Hamill, Thomas Lennon, and Patton Oswalt . Collected for the first time in a deluxe hardcover slipcase with an all-new die-cut cover, these award-winning comics place the world’s most beloved animated family in exciting horror, science-fiction, and supernatural settings, making this series the perfect gift for the Halloween season and Simpsons fans of all ages. The volume also includes an introduction from Bart Simpson.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fiction, Anthologies, Humor

416 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 2022

About the author

Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon.

Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons. He is also the creator of Futurama and the author of the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. Groening distributed Life in Hell in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked.

He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.

Reviews

[DROCK STEADY REVIEWS · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 Stars for the Scary Tales… But it gets a 4th Star because the Omnibus Glows in the Dark! Childhood Nostalgia at it’s finest.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Marge, I'm taking the kids to hell!!
Have them back by eleven, it's a school night...

[John Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me ages to read. Stand out feature is the artwork, great images, varied. The book itself is quite a stunning edition, awesome glow in the dark front cover, glossy high quality pages. I like Simpsons comics, so the stories and tales were kind of expected.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Fun anthology book. My favorite stories were the ones that mixed horror and humor well, similarly to my favorite stories in the show. I particularly enjoyed the parody stories. One of the best things about this collected anthology is seeing the various takes on these characters by celebrities and well-known comic creators.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

no le doy 5⭐ porque no soy tanto de cómics, pero la verdad es que ha estado muy gracioso. Algunos temas son un poco repetitivos, pero conserva el humor de la serie y la variedad de ilustraciones está bastante guay ✨

[Verytaserum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy entretenido y divertido, nostálgico también. Para fans de los Simpson y sobre todo de los episodios de Halloween 🎃

[Tyson Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this compilation of The Simpsons : Treehouse of Horror stories. I found the artwork, which was done by various artist to be appealing. The stories were also fun; and some of them were dark and probably would not have been suited for TV. I would recommend this book for Simpson's fans.

[Titus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe that the first dozen seasons of The Simpsons (and especially the first nine) are some of the all-time greatest entertainment in any medium. I loved the series as a kid, watching it after school alongside Pokémon and Cartoon Network. I loved it as a teenager and as a student, bingeing it with friends in various states of intoxication. I love it now, watching it with my wife, appreciating more than ever its astute commentary on family life and the human condition – and identifying with Homer Simpson more and more with each passing year.

As someone with a deep fondness for those early seasons of the show – someone who doesn’t just feel nostalgia for them or view them as shallow amusement, but who takes them seriously as works of art – I try my very best to ignore the uncomfortable fact that The Simpsons is a corporate-owned franchise worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I don’t really begrudge the existence of all the soulless cash-in merchandise, but I generally see it as having very little to do with the programme I love, and maybe I resent it a little for perpetuating the perception of the series as being catchphrase-driven low-brow comedy intended for children

It was in this context that, up until recently, I always completely dismissed Simpsons comics. It never occurred to me that I might enjoy a tie-in comic book any more than it occurred to me that I might like a Bart Simpson lunchbox, a Duff-branded beer, or one of the critically panned video games. This changed some months ago, when I heard that the Treehouse of Horror comics were a different beast: Halloween-themed anthologies released annually from 1995 to 2017, featuring contributions from respected cartoonists and writers, including big names from the world of alternative comics. The promise of off-kilter horror-comedy comics featuring Simpsons characters and made by top creators was too intriguing to pass up, so when Abrams released this omnibus collection I put aside my misgivings and gave it a chance.

The first disappointment to get out of the way is that acclaimed guest contributors aren’t as central to the premise as I’d expected. There are some big ones – most notably nine pages drawn by John Severin and five pages pencilled by Mark Schultz and inked by Al Williamson – but most of the comics here are by regular contributors to Simpsons comics. There are also a few disappointing instances where interesting artists are featured but don't actually draw any comics: Jeff Smith writes a story but doesn't draw it, Mike Allred just inks a comic pencilled by someone else, Geof Darrow just contributes a two-page illustration, and Sammy Harkham only serves as an editor. On top of that, there are a bunch of gimmick guests – stories written by celebrities like Mark Hamill and Alice Cooper – whose presence doesn't bring anything noteworthy.

My second complaint is that more than 40 pages consist of filler material. That's more than a tenth of the book! The two-page illustration by Geoff Darrow is awesome and so very welcome (even if I would've preferred a full comic by him), but otherwise these are totally forgettable featurettes aimed squarely at young children. Examples include Bart Simpson's guide to Halloween candy and several pages filled with pictures of Comic Book Guy in different costumes.

With those criticisms out of the way, I can say that overall these comics are quite fun. The dialogue isn’t as slick as in the show, and the jokes aren’t as funny, but it's still mostly enjoyable reading, and there are several parts that made me laugh aloud. A lot of the stories are let down by abrupt, anticlimactic endings, but they're mostly good up until that point. The one thing that's surprisingly great throughout is the artwork. The work in the house style all looks fantastic, plus many of the comics here have their own distinctive styles, providing really interesting variety. And I have to say that in-house artists I'd never heard of before (like Bill Morrison, Jason Ho and Tone Rodriguez) show accomplished cartooning chops that stand up well alongside work by renowned cartoonists like Sergio Aragonés and Stan Sakai.

There are five comics in this volume that stand out for me as a cut above the rest: the 13-page "The Cask of Amontilla-D'oh" by Eric Powell, the 12-page "Willie: Portrait of a Groundskeeper" by Paul Dini and Dan Brereton, the 15-page "Hell-o-ween" by Jim Mahfood, the 5-page "Tales from the Kwik-E-Mart" by Gail Simone and Jill Thompson, and the 15-page "Unleash the Glavin" by Evan Dorkin. These five all boast not just awesome artwork, but also imaginative, well-executed stories.

The bottom line is that this made for some fun pre-Halloween reading. It isn’t any more juvenile than the show, and it’s definitely not pure corporate schlock, which is to say that it’s probably better than I had any right to expect from a licensed cash-in comic. It rarely even comes close to the greatness of the show’s golden age, but it’s not nearly as bad as it could’ve been. It has humour, it has heart, and it has great-looking art.

[tony dillard jr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise behind the Ominous Omnibuses is to collect all 23 volumes of Treehouse of Horror annuals that were issued from the now defunct Bongo Comics. This is to occur with the publication of 3 slipcased hardcover editions. Though whether this will happen in just a few months or annually until 2024, I just don't know.

Along with the material found in the Halloween annuals, these collections are supposed to house horror themed material from other Simpsons related holiday titles and some never before published material. But right now from a collector's standpoint, all I've got is a massive headache.

Let's do a little comic book math. There's 23 total ToH books in existence and I don't own any of them. These comics aren't very easy to find and when I do stumble across them, they're selling for an average of $15 per book. So $15x23=$345. If all 3 omnibuses retail for the $40 MSRP of this issue, I should only have to pay $120 plus tax. Overall, going this route seems the most economical, even if I have to wait a couple more years. Yet, because of how this book was edited, I can't mark anything off of my wish list yet.

Instead of collecting the comics whole, publisher Harry N. Abrams decided to cut all the books into pieces and catalogue the stories based on genre type! There are stories about aliens Kang and Kodos, frights about alternate realities and legends of things that go bump in the dark. Plus, there's a whole lot of shorts, parody ads and vignettes about life in Springfield that I've read in many a Simpsons regular series comic book.

While I am unhappy with how these stories have been collected, I have been thrilled with many of the surprises in this book. There's Simpsons yarns written by Star Wars' Mark Hamill, The Goldberg's Patton Oswalt and Doug TenNapel (Cardboard). I had thought that celebs didn't appear in Simpsons comics, but we get visits by Alice Cooper, Lemmy Kilmister and the living embodiment of Ned Flanders, Pat Boone! in a trio of stories written by the stars themselves.

My favorite story in this collection was an EC Comics tribute that featured inks by Al Willamson (Weird Science, Weird Fantasy) and pencils by John Severin (Two-Fisted Tales)! I never thought I'd ever see the Simpsons rendered by a pair of EC legends! But I did and it was fantastic. The story might have been a bit disjointed. But it was a visual dream come true!

Over 400 pages of Simpsons frights. A great way to start off my Halloween 2022 reads. I just wish this book could have been in order like an actual omnibus and not a mix-matched catalogue of titles organized by genre. I really wanted to get a few volumes off my wish list and right now, I now have 2 future editions of omnibuses added to it.

[Mirko, "Chel dai libris" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posso mettere le mani avanti avvisandovi che ciò che sta per accadere è un Threesome degno di nota? Il sottoscritto, i Simpsons (mio feticcio televisivo da quando li ho scoperti) e il mondo dei fumetti.
Un passo alla volta, prima di assomigliare ad Homer che urla in faccia a sua moglie che ha un problema col gioco d'azzardo ("Rifletti prima di pronunciare ogni parola", mi direbbe Marge reinterpretando la scena): Il mio amore per i Simpson nasce in due occasioni.
Da bravo 41enne posso dire "di nascosto a mezzanotte su canale 5" negli anni '90 e successivamente -e in via ufficiale e ufficiosa- nella primavera del '99, studiandoli attentamente estasiato e divertito ...con il mio vicino di banco della prima superiore che mi ripeteva con aria annoiata "é vecchia, l'ho vista mille volte". Un po' come il piccolo Ralph sul pulmino che se ne esce dicendo "Fa molto 1991...". (Cercherò di non abusare delle le citazioni, visto quelle già presenti nel volume). Il resto, è storia. Ossessionato al tal punto di menzionarli con amici, far nascere splendide amicizie al pub raccontando i vari episodi con quelli che poi sono diventati gli "amici di bevute" e... si, regalare questo primo volume a uno di loro 😉 Se mi seguite da tempo non serve spiegare invece il binomio tra me e il mondo dei fumetti. Quindi...direi di andare subito al sodo.


Questa raccolta è un "must have" per tutti gli amanti della famiglia di Springfield. Premessa: è in inglese, non penso sia uscita ancora in Italia, ma se l'ho letta e adorata io (e il mio inglese parlato è un po' come sentire il commissario Winchester/Wiggum leggere il nome di Homer Simpson al contrario sulla sua lapide) sono convinto che donerà le medesime emozioni anche a voi per svariati motivi. Innanzitutto chi ha collaborato a queste storie: Molti autori già "passati e presentati" su questo mio profilo (Sergio Aragonés, Kyle Baker, Jeff Smith , Stan Sakai per citarne un paio) e tanti altri noti del mondo "comics" che non spoilero per non rovinare la sorpresa a chi pensa di fare questo piccolo investimento. Visto però che qua si parla anche di musica, due guest star vanno menzionate: Alice Cooper e si, anche Lemmy Kilmister dei Motorhead era passato di qua. Non voglio sbilanciarmi quale mi sia piaciuta di più, entrambe mi sono piaciute in egual misura ma per diversi motivi.🤘

Le trame ti tengono incollato alle pagine, tanto quanto le prime puntate di questo special (televisivo). Non ho notato una grossa differenza, nonostante le storie sono inedite, tra i due formati. Anzi! Molti racconti e i loro disegni (ognuno con uno stile diverso) riescono a trasmetterti quel brivido di paura cartoonesco degno dei racconti "piccoli brividi" con la giusta dose d'ironia e statira. In fondo anche Homer Simpson alla fine della prima puntata a tema Halloween recita "Dicono che ad Halloween si pensa sempre a non spaventare i bambini, ma chi a noi adulti chi ci pensa?".
Come anticipato, non mancano le citazioni e riferimenti a cose/personaggi memorabili della nota serie: Dal giostraio Cooder alla statua a forma di testa di un indiano Olmec di Homer regalata dal Sig. Burns, Blinky il pesce triocchiuto e molti altri riferimenti da scoprire. Ed è solo il primo di tre volumi!

Serve aggiungere altro?

Questo volume confezionato in una custodia deluxe fustellata si illumina al buio. Probabilmente perché radioattivo causa la centrale nuculare (si pronuncia "nuculare" cit.)

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃 Su 5. Mostruosamente bello. Regalo perfetto per i fan della serie!

#cheldailibrisconsiglia #mattgroening #thesimpsons #treehouseofhorrorominousomnibus #vol1 #scarytalesandscariertentacles #abramscomicarts #halloween #graphicnovellover #graphicnovel #lapaurafa90 #beatitonia #horror #halloween #michaelallred #sergioaragonés #jeffsmith #kylebaker #alicecooper #lemmykilmister #motorhead #toninoaccolla #monicaward #fumettidacollezione #comics

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Simpsons have been around for damn near 35 years, so you'd be hard pressed to find someone out there who hasn't seen a treehouse of horror episode. It's anthology horror in the mold of twilight zone, tales from the crypt and others, but more PG (sort of) and played by the cast of characters of the show. This omnibus collects a ton of talented writers and even a few celebrity scribes to make Springfield just a bit spookier. The spooky stories often feature a traditional horror or sci-fi take, with most putting a unique spin on a classic or riffing on a popular work when they aren’t just doing straight-up parodies. Many of these terrible tales are well-written in a more traditional comic style of formatting and move at a brisk pace. These characters that fans have been getting to know for many years are handled excellently, feeling like the same individuals from the show with dialogue that only comes across as odd or out of place in a few brief spots. Though some of that may be the lack of familiar voices or the change in medium, but a couple of the lines simply aren’t as snappy as I recall the show being. It was a refreshing revisit to a franchise I loved, an injection of classic Simpsons, even if the comic book format made it feel just a bit different. Rather than straight reprint, the books are broken down into "themes" but the table of contents lets you know which issue and year the story is from. There's even an index at the back sorted by creator. I would have rather seen a straight reprinting of the material in publication order since as a yearly comic it already had a thematic presentation. Overall this book is an absolute must-have for any fans of the Simpsons, not just because it collects so many familiar spooky tales in one place, but also for the sheer beauty of the book itself.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this omnibus is a nicely curated collection, the overall impact of the stories collected in this first volume are fairly underwhelming. The "Treehouse of Horror" episodes were generally highlights for me in my youth watching The Simpsons, but the comics here are rather tame imitations of the substantially surreal and disconcerting nature of the television episodes (though maybe this is my nostalgia speaking). Though the comic series has always boasted a robust range of talent (Mike Allred, Geof Darrow, Evan Dorkin, etc.), very little of it translates to the final product where the artwork tends to conform to the house style aesthetic of the cartoon and the dialogue lacks the charm of the show. There's also an overabundance of filler material that is meant to be fun gags, but really don't contribute to the story. I also would have preferred facsimile reprints of each issue of The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror as opposed to the thematic splicing the omnibus collection opted for. The themes generally felt loosely adhered to in general, so I do think that going for a chronological issue reprint would have been better suited for the series.

Gripes aside, this is still a fun collection of comics that makes for a great gift for any fan of The Simpsons. Though the full slickness of the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes aren't completely realized in the comic series, there is still enough of the charm retained here to tickle the nostalgia in all of us. Though the bulk of the collection features some fairly forgettable horror fare, there are a few standouts like the pieces by Jim Mahfood, Evan Dorkin and Eric Powell. Overall, this is still a pretty good time and captures the feeling of the show quite well.

[Keith Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a welcome collection of the horror tales from the Simpsons comics. The annual anthology is a highlight of the animated series and it's no wonder that the comics version would shine as well. We've got a terrific line up of writers and artists and I'm looking forward to subsequent volumes.
My only caveat, which dinged the package of one star, is the collector in me wanted the tales in order of publication with the covers included. Instead they have grouped individual stories in subcategories without regard to when they were published and the inventive covers are missing. Surely they'll be in a future book, and this in no way diminishes the quality or enjoyment of these stories.
Recommended, of course.

[mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY HIGH 7/10
I don’t really know why I bought this since I have never watched that much Simpsons. I think it is because this is such a beautiful book. Though, this is not just beautiful aesthetically, but the stories are mapped with so much care. Someone who really loves the show and the comics put this together. The inside is a mixed bag. Some really great stories that also celebrate the medium and some okay stories. Nothing bad at all though. There are some legendary comic writers and artists contributing and even some really interesting celebrity contributors. This is just fun and it loves being a comic.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous collection of "Treehouse of Horror" stories originally published in Groening's Bongo Simpson's comic books. Top creators and many fun stories. All in a deluxe hardcover package with a glow-in-the dark cover and a slipcase. (An absolute bargain at an SRP of $40.)

Disclaimer: For many years I tried to work out a deal with Groening and his "people" to package these comics, but I don't think anything we would have done would have surpassed this volume. Kudos to my friends at Abrams for a terrific job.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven’t regularly watched The Simpsons in about 10 seasons, but I do watch the new Treehouse of Horror every year, so when I saw this solicited I knew I needed it. Unfortunately a lot of the content falls closer in quality to forgettable episodes, but there are some true gems within. Definitely recommended for any Treehouse of Horror fan.

I’ll also add that the book itself is probably the nicest hardcover comic I’ve purchased in years. Between the slipcover and glow in the dark book cover, it’s a thing of beauty.

[Moxie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus is quite enjoyable as a fan of the Simpsons. I do think it would have been nice for it to have been collected in order of release rather than by story themes but it's not a deal breaker with the one off nature of these stories. If they could have included the original cover arts in the book I would have appreciated that as well.

The stories vary from simple Halloween romps to some pretty dark adventures. I really enjoyed the tributes to the old EC horror comics being part of the inspiration of Tree House of Horror specials to begin with.

[Highland G · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is pretty but I’m rating the content.
The stories are very inconsistent in both quality and intended audience.

One second we have a page straight out of a preteen’s comic annual with goofy descriptions of cosplay outfits and the next a beastiality story.

I enjoyed the art when it was close to the modern show animation(although Barts shirt is blue for some reason), I was less than impressed by the alternative art styles.

I really had to push through to finish this book.

[The Erudite Gryffinclaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd started reading it a while back but had been putting it off about finishing it. Since I only had about fifty pages, I just sat down and read it.

It was good all together, extra points for the glow in the dark cover.

I like it that they parody classic (and more modern) horror. I just had issues with the Hell-o-ween story. But other than that, I'll probably reread the book, and just skip that one.

[Zachary Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each short story feels like watching an episode of the Simpsons. The art is great and this omnibus features issues by a few music celebrities and features writers such as Mike Allred, Paul Dini and Gail Simone to name a few. This was my first experience reading a Simpson comic and I am looking forward to the next omnibus being releases.

[Elijah Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and spooky read that was appropriate for this time of year. I haven’t read a comic book/graphic novel in a long long time, but as a person who enjoys cartoons, I really liked this. They do a lot with the art in each panel and the stories are funny and well written. I’ll definitely check out more graphic novels in the future!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to give a speech at the Christmas play in front of the whole school this year and I forgot the whole thing and just read this book to the audience instead and they fucking loved it. I got so many high fives and like 3 people asked me to dinner. It's all downhill from here.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what Doctor Nick ordered. LOVE seeing Simpsons comics back in print. I remember reading some of these when I was a kid. SO glad I picked this up (even if it was originally purely for nostalgic reasons). These still hold up (just like the Treehouse Of Horror episodes)

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokes did this deliver. As a huge fan of any and all Treehouse of Horror tomfoolery, this really hit the spot. And it is just such a beautiful, sturdy book. Idk if I should rate books on sturdiness, but whatever, this gets extra points for being sturdy.

[Michael O'sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It isn't Halloween if there's no visit to the Treehouse of Horror.

[Nick Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Well crafted and sturdy omnibus full of nostalgia, and quite a few celeb writer and artist collabs, best of which is the Patton Oswalt “They Draw”.

[Brad Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Simpsons have been a part of my life since middle school. This is a fun book that brings back great memories. The art looks great in this oversized edition. I'm looking forward to vol 2 & 3.

[RedHeadedSC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting to enjoy the Lord of the Rings parody as much as I did.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag by design, but nevertheless a chance to see the characters in some truly unique scenarios and art styles.

[Lucas Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this a 7! I’m a big fan of the Simpsons and I found this a fun read! I LOVE the glow in the dark cover!