The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus Vol. 2: Deadtime Stories for Boos & Ghouls

Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror

by Matt Groening, Lisa Simpson (Introduction)

The second 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 1995, the first of 23 comics were produced by Bongo, and while some adapted the TV episodes, most told new stories written and illustrated by some of the biggest names in comics, including Kyle Baker, Ian Boothby, Dan Brereton, Gerry Duggan, Pia Guerra, Peter Kuper, Carol Lay, Nina Matsumoto, Terry Moore, Steve Niles, Brian Posehn, James Robinson, Tone Rodriguez, Scott Shaw!, and Jim Woodring. 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. This second volume in the trilogy is the perfect addition to any Simpsons collection. The volume also includes an introduction by Lisa Simpson.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2023

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

[tony dillard jr]

The second of 3 omnibuses that will collect all of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween annuals.
Unfortunately, the editors didn't follow my request to have the stories reprinted in order. (Like Harry N. Abrams Books was going to scrap their format to put the stories in chronological order of printing.)

Along with material from the 23 annuals, there's material from previous collections and other issues that are Halloween themed or at least spooky in nature.

Gotta say that I wasn't such a fan of this one. I know with a massive volume, clocking in at around 400 pages of material, it's kinda hard to rate based on material; especially since everything has been cut and pasted into themed chapters. One chapter was about surviving the end of the world. It had a story in which it appears that Flanders doesn't get taken in the Rapture. But it turns out that in reality, Flanders' left-handedness is what keeps him from being abducted by aliens.

I did like the Old Sea Captain's high seas tales of terror that are anything but. Though I have read them before, I thought both of them were oddball classics. Plus Lisa, Bart, Homer and Grandpa play a round of Mad Libs to varying degrees of success. Another all-time great that I've read before but got a kick out of reading again.

There's one more volume to go and yes, I am going to buy it. 3 volumes at $40 each is still cheaper than trying to get all 23 annuals. Plus once I get volume 3, I'll be able to free up a little bit of shelf space.

I got to read Simpsons Halloween comics leading up to Halloween. In my opinion, a Simpsons comic book is like a Queen song. Even the worst of either is better than none at all.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of good in here, but also plenty of just okay.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy The Simpsons, you’ll probably like the Treehouse of Horror omnibuses. I enjoyed seeing different art styles every now and then.

Reading this was nostalgic for me since I loved watching the Treehouse of Horror episodes with my dad every Halloween season as a kid.

There were a lot of fun parodies in this, my absolute favorite being a story in which Lisa got zapped into Buffy the Vampire Slayer! There was a fun Death-Note-inspired one, as well!

As with most anthologies, though, several jokes didn’t land and some of the comics were just okay. In this omnibus, there was a mad libs writing style a few times that did not work for me at all.

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What can I do for you, sir?
Tell me my dear...do you like donuts?"

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the TV Simpsons, which somehow still churns along for an audience that couldn't possibly understand what made the show so powerfully hilarious and original in the nineties, the comics folded in 2018. The stories, organized by theme ("The End of the World," "Fearsome Flora & Freakish Fauna," "Bodily Oddities," "From Bad to Curse," "The Lighter Side of Evil," "Historic Horrors") without any semblance of chronology, are beautifully reprinted in a beautifully designed hardcover book with heavy die-cut slip case and glow-in-the-dark cover depicting the whole Simpsons gang as tadpoles or something. But since the comedic tone of The Simpsons is so impossible to recreate in a comic, the stories sometimes work best when they veer far off the beaten path, as in the manga-like "Murder He Wrote". Overall The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Ominous Omnibus 2: Deadtime Stories for Boos & Ghouls still isn't funny, but viewed as a lushly packaged volume of Simpsons fan art, it is tough to beat.

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

Just like the first volume, it's a really nice gathering of all the treehouse of horror stories from over the years, mixing old and new together which can be hit or miss like the TV show now. Always a solid comfort read though.

[Matthew Kennett-ny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Simpsons horror omnibus with loads of great stories that should make you laugh. Had some great crossovers as well. I enjoyed it just like the 1st volume, so definitely looking forward to the 3rd and final volume

[Zachary Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my fun horror read for 2023.

[RedHeadedSC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a fun read, but the writing is still a mixed bag. I liked it more than the first one though!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly varied, but the best stories are worth pouring through the whole volume for.

[Mark Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me volume 2 was much better than volume one

[Jem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous case and artwork to the main book. I enjoyed some of the stories in this one, but struggled with a lot of the 'alternative' artwork ones in this collection..

[kendraaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marking as finished for now, will pick up next year around Halloween again!

[Verytaserum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Está guay pero me gustó más el primero.

[Cozmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: [B+]

Some of my old favourites but some boring stories too. There's also a lot of weird filler pages in this one. I also wish they were done in release order.