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Difference between revisions of "Three Men and a Comic Book"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
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{{Quote|Wow, Radioactive Man #1! I bet it's worth a million bucks!|[[Bart Simpson]]}}
 
{{Quote|Wow, Radioactive Man #1! I bet it's worth a million bucks!|[[Bart Simpson]]}}
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{{episode
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{{Episode
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|image = Three Men and a Comic Book.png
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|name= Three Men and a Comic Book
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|Episode Number = 34
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|image= Three Men and a Comic Book.png
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|productionCode = 7F21
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|number= 34
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|originalAirdate = May 9, 1991
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|season=2
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|blackboardText = "I will not show off."<br/>(Written in a fancy [[wikipedia:Font|font]])
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|snumber=21
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|couchGag = The family's force throws the couch backwards.
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|prodcode= 7F21
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|specialGuestVoices = [[Cloris Leachman]] as [[Mrs. Glick]] <br/> [[Daniel Stern]] as narrator (adult Bart voice)
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|airdate= May 9, [[1991]]
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|Show Runner= [[James L. Brooks]] <br/> [[Matt Groening]] <br/> [[Sam Simon]]
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|blackboard= "I will not show off."<br>(Written in a fancy font)
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|Written By = [[Jeff Martin]]
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|couchgag=The family sits; the couch tips over backwards, and [[Maggie]] pops up from behind.
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|Directed By = [[Wes M. Archer]]
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|guests= [[Cloris Leachman]] as [[Mrs. Glick]]<br>[[Daniel Stern]] as the narrator
 +
|showrunner1= James L. Brooks
 +
|showrunner2= Matt Groening
 +
|showrunner3= Sam Simon
 +
|writer= [[Jeff Martin]]
 +
|director= [[Wes M. Archer]]
 
|DVD features=yes
 
|DVD features=yes
 
}}
 
}}
  
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"'''Three Men and a Comic Book'''" is the twenty-first episode of [[season 2]]. It originally aired on May 9, 1991. The episode features references to comic book characters such as ''Casper the Friendly Ghost'' and ''Richie Rich'' and introduces new characters including [[Comic Book Guy]], [[Radioactive Man]], and [[Mrs. Glick]].
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"'''Three Men and a Comic Book'''" is the twenty-first episode of [[season 2]] of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and the thirty-fourth episode overall. It originally aired on May 9, [[1991]]. The episode was written by [[Jeff Martin]] and directed by [[Wes M. Archer]]. It guest stars [[Cloris Leachman]] as [[Mrs. Glick]] and [[Daniel Stern]] as the narrator.
  
 
== Synopsis ==
 
== Synopsis ==
−
[[Bart Simpson|Bart]] becomes obsessed with buying the first issue of Radioactive Man, but can't scrape together the $100 he needs to make it his own. Enlisting [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] and [[Martin Prince]], Bart is finally able to buy the comic, but ends up fighting with his two best friends over who gets to keep it.
+
{{Desc|[[Bart]] becomes obsessed with buying the first issue of Radioactive Man, but can't scrape together the $100 he needs to make it his own. Enlisting [[Milhouse]] and [[Martin Prince]], Bart is finally able to buy the comic, but ends up fighting with his two best friends over who gets to keep it.}}
  
 
== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
−
[[Bart Simpson|Bart]] attends a comic book convention and finds the first issue of [[Radioactive Man]] at [[The Android's Dungeon]] sale table for $100. He doesn't have enough money in his own allowance and his parents refuse to give Bart extra money. So Bart turns to [[Mrs. Glick]], who has some rather unsavory chores around the house that he can do, but she only gives him 50 cents for his hard work. Bart returns to the comic book store, only with a few cents extra, and runs into [[Milhouse Van Houten|Milhouse]] and [[Martin Prince|Martin]]. He talks them into pooling their money and buying the first Radioactive Man Comic from Comic Book Guy. None of them want to let the comic book out of their sights and decide to spend the night together in Bart's treehouse. As a storm approaches, Martin devises a plan so that the three boys have equal access to the comic. As he attempts to leave with the comic, Bart stops him. Bart gets progressively more paranoid and becomes convinced that the other two are conspiring against him.
+
[[Bart]] and [[Lisa]] go to the [["Close Encounter of the Comic Book Kind" Convention]] in the hopes of getting some new comic books. Whilst at the convention, Bart attends a session with [[Fallout Boy]] actor [[Buddy Hodges]] and ends up making him cry. After this session, Bart is shown a copy of ''{{ap|Radioactive Man 1|in-show}}'' by [[Comic Book Guy]] and is told it costs $100 for him to buy. After leaving the convention, the family goes to [[Krusty Burger]] where Bart repeatedly asks Homer for $100 for the comic. Homer refuses and Bart starts to try and get the money together to buy it.
  
−
Eventually, each boy is at each other's throat. When Martin gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bart thinks he plans on stealing the comic book and subsequently ties him up. Meanwhile a storm is raging outside. Milhouse falls out of the treehouse as a gust of wind takes hold of the comic so that it flies towards the entrance. Bart reaches out to grab Milhouse by the hand. He is forced to decide between Milhouse and the comic. After mulling over his options, Bart chooses Milhouse and pulls him up into the treehouse. The comic flies out the door, is zapped by lightning, and shredded by Santa's Little Helper.
+
Bart searches around the house for loose change, drains bottles to take to the [[Kwik-E-Mart]] to exchange for cash and trades in his foreign coin collection for American money. However, this doesn't get him very much. He then tries to open a lemonade stand outside of his house but fails to attract any customers, only getting people laughing at him. Bart then starts to sell cheap beer until Homer gets home and stops him.
  
−
The next morning, the three boys reflect on how their inability to share lead to the destruction of the comic book. However, they never noticed that the final panel was not shredded and was peacefully being a nest mat for a mother bird.
+
Meanwhile, [[Marge]] is at [[Jake's Unisex Hair Palace]] where she speaks to [[Alice Glick]], who wants someone to come to her house to do chores. Bart accepts and ends up doing many hard and unpleasant chores, such as clearing the weeds out of the garden and cleaning the sludge out of the gutters. Bart hates it, especially when he gets hurt doing the chores as Mrs. Glick puts iodine on his wounds. Finally, pay day comes along and Mrs. Glick gives Bart two quarters for all his work, which annoys Bart greatly.
 +
 
 +
Bart goes to [[The Android's Dungeon]] anyway to try and get the comic for $35, but [[Martin]] is already there, also trying to buy it. [[Milhouse]] then comes into the store wanting to buy a [[Carl Yastrzemski]] trading card. Bart then decides that the three of them should put their money together to buy the comic book. However, as the three of them try and go home, they realize that they have a problem as they all want to take the comic with them. They then go to [[Bart's treehouse]] to read the comic and discuss who gets the comic on each day. Martin tries to come up with a plan which Bart and Milhouse weren't happy about. They then decided to have a sleepover in the treehouse instead.
 +
 
 +
During the night, Martin tries to go to the toilet but Bart stops him and ties him to a chair. As tempers start to pick up between Bart and Milhouse, strong winds and rain start up outside. This causes the comic book to fly to the side of the treehouse. Bart and Milhouse's fight causes Milhouse to dangle out of the treehouse, with Bart holding onto his sleeve. Bart has to choose between saving the comic or saving Milhouse, with him ultimately choosing Milhouse. The comic book then gets ruined. The next morning, the three of them try and piece the comic back together but decide they can't do so. The final page of the comic was seen lying in a bird's nest.
 +
 
 +
== Production ==
 +
This episode featured the first appearance of Comic Book Guy. The producers wanted to come up with a name for him later, but Comic Book Guy ended up sticking. In earlier seasons, the producers were worried with clearance for copyrighted characters, so they used a lot of their original characters as costumes in the comic convention.<ref name="Jean">{{Com|Jean, Al|Three Men and a Comic Book|Second|(2002).}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
Mrs. Glick is based on an old woman that writer Jeff Martin knew from his childhood, who would get Martin and his brother to pull weeds in her garden until their hands bled.<ref name="Martin">{{Com|Martin, Jeff|Three Men and a Comic Book|Second|(2002).}}</ref> The name of [[The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop]] came when they threw a bunch of words in, and [[Mike Reiss]] thought the name was "clunky".<ref name="Reiss">{{Com|Reiss, Mike|Three Men and a Comic Book|Second|(2002).}}</ref> The original act 3 for the episode had Bart form a union with kids, which then became corrupt. Martin decided that it didn't work and they ended up going with a ''{{W|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre}}'' instead.<ref name="Martin"/>
 +
 
 +
== Reception ==
 +
This episode was the first episode of ''The Simpsons'' to beat ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' in ratings.<ref name="Martin"/>
 +
 
 +
== In other languages ==
 +
{{LanguageBox
 +
|fr=yes
 +
|frName=Un pour tous, tous contre un
 +
|frTrans=One for all, all against one
 +
|hu=yes
 +
|huName=Három férfi és egy képregény
 +
|huTrans=Three Men and a Comic Book
 +
|br=yes
 +
|brName=Três Homens e um Gibi
 +
|brTrans=Three Men and a Comic Book
 +
|de=yes
 +
|deName=Drei Freunde und ein Comic-Heft
 +
|deTrans=Three friends and a comic book
 +
|es=yes
 +
|esName=Tres hombres y un cómic
 +
|esTrans=Three Men and a Comic
 +
|la=yes
 +
|laName=Tres hombres y una historieta
 +
|laTrans=Three Men and a Cartoon
 +
|it=yes
 +
|itName=Tre uomini e un fumetto
 +
|itTrans=Three men and a comic book
 +
|jp=yes
 +
|jpName=幻の創刊号
 +
|jpTrans=The Illusionary First Issue
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
{{Reflist}}
  
 
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{Images|ep=yes}}
 
{{season 2}}
 
{{season 2}}
  
−
[[Category:Episodes]]
 
−
[[Category:Season 2]]
 
 
[[Category:1991]]
 
[[Category:1991]]
 
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
 
[[Category:Bart episodes]]
 
[[Category:Milhouse episodes]]
 
[[Category:Milhouse episodes]]
 +
[[Category:Martin episodes]]
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[[Category:Episodes written by Jeff Martin]]
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[[Category:Episodes directed by Wes Archer]]
  
 +
[[de:Drei Freunde und ein Comic-Heft]]
 
[[sv:Three Men and a Comic Book]]
 
[[sv:Three Men and a Comic Book]]

Latest revision as of 12:47, August 19, 2024

Season 2 Episode
← 033 "The War of the Simpsons"
034
"Three Men and a Comic Book"
"Blood Feud" 035 →
"Wow, Radioactive Man #1! I bet it's worth a million bucks!"
―Bart Simpson
"Three Men and a Comic Book"
Three Men and a Comic Book.png
Episode Information
Episode number: 34
Season number: S2 E21
Production code: 7F21
Original airdate: May 9, 1991
Chalkboard gag: "I will not show off."
(Written in a fancy font)
Couch gag: The family sits; the couch tips over backwards, and Maggie pops up from behind.
Guest star(s): Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Glick
Daniel Stern as the narrator
Showrunners: James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
Written by: Jeff Martin
Directed by: Wes M. Archer
DVD features


"Three Men and a Comic Book" is the twenty-first episode of season 2 of The Simpsons and the thirty-fourth episode overall. It originally aired on May 9, 1991. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes M. Archer. It guest stars Cloris Leachman as Mrs. Glick and Daniel Stern as the narrator.

Synopsis[edit]

"Bart becomes obsessed with buying the first issue of Radioactive Man, but can't scrape together the $100 he needs to make it his own. Enlisting Milhouse and Martin Prince, Bart is finally able to buy the comic, but ends up fighting with his two best friends over who gets to keep it."


Plot[edit]

Bart and Lisa go to the "Close Encounter of the Comic Book Kind" Convention in the hopes of getting some new comic books. Whilst at the convention, Bart attends a session with Fallout Boy actor Buddy Hodges and ends up making him cry. After this session, Bart is shown a copy of Radioactive Man 1 by Comic Book Guy and is told it costs $100 for him to buy. After leaving the convention, the family goes to Krusty Burger where Bart repeatedly asks Homer for $100 for the comic. Homer refuses and Bart starts to try and get the money together to buy it.

Bart searches around the house for loose change, drains bottles to take to the Kwik-E-Mart to exchange for cash and trades in his foreign coin collection for American money. However, this doesn't get him very much. He then tries to open a lemonade stand outside of his house but fails to attract any customers, only getting people laughing at him. Bart then starts to sell cheap beer until Homer gets home and stops him.

Meanwhile, Marge is at Jake's Unisex Hair Palace where she speaks to Alice Glick, who wants someone to come to her house to do chores. Bart accepts and ends up doing many hard and unpleasant chores, such as clearing the weeds out of the garden and cleaning the sludge out of the gutters. Bart hates it, especially when he gets hurt doing the chores as Mrs. Glick puts iodine on his wounds. Finally, pay day comes along and Mrs. Glick gives Bart two quarters for all his work, which annoys Bart greatly.

Bart goes to The Android's Dungeon anyway to try and get the comic for $35, but Martin is already there, also trying to buy it. Milhouse then comes into the store wanting to buy a Carl Yastrzemski trading card. Bart then decides that the three of them should put their money together to buy the comic book. However, as the three of them try and go home, they realize that they have a problem as they all want to take the comic with them. They then go to Bart's treehouse to read the comic and discuss who gets the comic on each day. Martin tries to come up with a plan which Bart and Milhouse weren't happy about. They then decided to have a sleepover in the treehouse instead.

During the night, Martin tries to go to the toilet but Bart stops him and ties him to a chair. As tempers start to pick up between Bart and Milhouse, strong winds and rain start up outside. This causes the comic book to fly to the side of the treehouse. Bart and Milhouse's fight causes Milhouse to dangle out of the treehouse, with Bart holding onto his sleeve. Bart has to choose between saving the comic or saving Milhouse, with him ultimately choosing Milhouse. The comic book then gets ruined. The next morning, the three of them try and piece the comic back together but decide they can't do so. The final page of the comic was seen lying in a bird's nest.

Production[edit]

This episode featured the first appearance of Comic Book Guy. The producers wanted to come up with a name for him later, but Comic Book Guy ended up sticking. In earlier seasons, the producers were worried with clearance for copyrighted characters, so they used a lot of their original characters as costumes in the comic convention.[1]

Mrs. Glick is based on an old woman that writer Jeff Martin knew from his childhood, who would get Martin and his brother to pull weeds in her garden until their hands bled.[2] The name of The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop came when they threw a bunch of words in, and Mike Reiss thought the name was "clunky".[3] The original act 3 for the episode had Bart form a union with kids, which then became corrupt. Martin decided that it didn't work and they ended up going with a The Treasure of the Sierra Madre instead.[2]

Reception[edit]

This episode was the first episode of The Simpsons to beat The Cosby Show in ratings.[2]

In other languages[edit]

Language Name Translation
Germany.png Deutsch "Drei Freunde und ein Comic-Heft" Three friends and a comic book
Spain flag.png Español "Tres hombres y un cómic" Three Men and a Comic
Hispanic America.gif Español "Tres hombres y una historieta" Three Men and a Cartoon
France.png Français "Un pour tous, tous contre un" One for all, all against one
Italy Flag.png Italiano "Tre uomini e un fumetto" Three men and a comic book
Brasil Flag.png Português "Três Homens e um Gibi" Three Men and a Comic Book
Hungary flag.png Magyar "Három férfi és egy képregény" Three Men and a Comic Book
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 "幻の創刊号" The Illusionary First Issue

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Jean, Al (2002). Commentary for "Three Men and a Comic Book", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Martin, Jeff (2002). Commentary for "Three Men and a Comic Book", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season.
  3. ↑ Reiss, Mike (2002). Commentary for "Three Men and a Comic Book", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season.


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "Three Men and a Comic Book".
Season 2 Episodes
Bart Gets an "F" • Simpson and Delilah • Treehouse of Horror • Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish • Dancin' Homer • Dead Putting Society • Bart vs. Thanksgiving • Bart the Daredevil • Itchy & Scratchy & Marge • Bart Gets Hit by a Car • One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish • The Way We Was • Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment • Principal Charming • Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? • Bart's Dog Gets an "F" • Old Money • Brush with Greatness • Lisa's Substitute • The War of the Simpsons • Three Men and a Comic Book • Blood Feud
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