Difference between revisions of "Comic Book Guy"

Latest revision as of 18:39, November 4, 2024

"Worst [insert noun] ever!"

―Comic Book Guy's catchphrase

For Comic Book Guy's Twitter account, see ComicBookGuy.

Jeffrey Albertson

Character Information Gender: Male ♂ Status: Alive Alias(es): Jeff Albertson Jeffrey Albertson Age: 45[1] Hair: Brown Occupation: Owner of the Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop Relatives: Wife: Kumiko Albertson Adoptive son: Prius Albertson Cousins: Comic Book Gay, Graphic Novel Kid and Collectible Pants Dude[2] Father: Postage Stamp Fellow Aunts: Unnamed Uncle: Unnamed Great step-uncle: Unnamed[3] First appearance: "Three Men and a Comic Book" Voiced by: Hank Azaria v • d • e • h

Jeffrey "Jeff" Albertson,^[4][5] better known as Comic Book Guy, is the overweight, geeky proprietor of the comic book store, The Android's Dungeon.

Biography[edit]

Comic Book Guy's character folder in the Hall of Records on The Simpsons website.

Comic Book Guy is a very obese, socially incompetent, unshaven, cruel man who is perhaps best known for his sarcastic quips. He holds a master's degree in folklore and mythology (he translated The Lord of the Rings into Klingon as part of his thesis).^[6] He exhibits geeky behaviour to an extraordinary and deliberately unrealistic degree, and often also makes references to obscure subjects or internet culture. His catchphrase is the declaration,"Worst... (episode)... ever". He states that he is a 45 year-old virgin who lives with his mother.^[7] His obesity is referenced in The Simpsons: Hit & Run, where he can be used as a driver. One of his replies is that he might as well pick the player up, since he can't fit into his office chair anymore.

Appropriate to his name, Comic Book Guy is obsessed with comic books, pop culture and science fiction. Comic Book Guy has a bumper sticker that reads "My Other Car Is The Millennium Falcon," given to him by a Harrison Ford lookalike. The license plate on his AMC Gremlin is NCC-1701, the registry number of Star Trek's USS Enterprise. The contents of his display case include, among other oddities, a photo of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore and a very rare Mary Worth in which she advised a friend to commit suicide. He also owns a T-shirt that says "C:/DOS C:/DOS/RUN RUN/DOS/RUN" (Notice the incorrect usage of the forward slash. DOS directories are listed with a backslash, so it would be "C:\DOS C:\DOS\RUN RUN\DOS\RUN"). He is a member of the Springfield branch of Mensa, along with Principal Skinner, Dr. Hibbert, Lisa Simpson, Professor Frink, and Lindsey Naegle.

Early life[edit]

Young Comic Book Guy and his extended family.

Comic Book Guy lived in a big mansion owned by Postage Stamp Fellow, his father. Being born into a high class family of avid collectors, he had an aunt who collected taxidermized chestnut-tailed starlings, an uncle who collected brutalist birdhouses, a great step-uncle who collected discredited obstetric equipment, and another aunt who collected antique Chinese cricket boxes and filled them with live crickets, which escaped frequently.

Comic Book Guy was into baseball and was a good pitcher, inspired by Sandy Koufax. One day, when he was to take part in a big game, his father didn't show up because he wasn't sure how to comfort his son in case Comic Book Guy lost the game. Instead, his father got him a baseball signed by Sandy Koufax but didn't get a chance to give it to him because Comic Book Guy lost the game due to his father not showing up, which left him feeling sad. Comic Book Guy would later think of this as the "worst day ever".^[3]

The Android's Dungeon[edit]

Comic Book Guy is the owner of The Android's Dungeon, a local comic book store. Many of the comics and toys he sells are of very poor-quality, and often sell for very high prices. His store is his sanctuary, where he holds some level of self-esteem, imperiously lording over pre-teen kids, like Bart Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten, using a heavily sarcastic tone. When he was the target of mockery while trying to return the Ultimate Belt, he sighed, "I must get back to my comic book store, where I dispense the insults rather than absorb them". His store contains a section full of illegal videos (which include Mr. Rogers drunk, Alien Autopsy, Illegal Alien Autopsy, a top secret American nuclear war strategy session, a "good version" of The Godfather Part III, Kent Brockman picking his nose, and Ned Flanders in a police informant video, wherein he claims that Homer released a radioactive ape in his house. He later was arrested and had his store shut down temporarily because of this.). He once had to give up the Ultimate Belt (which he won as a door prize at a Star Trek Convention) because, as he pointed out, "the average Trekker has no use for a medium-sized belt".

Comic Book Guy's store, The Android's Dungeon

Similar stores[edit]

In North Haverbrook, there is a comic book shop named "Mylar Baggins" and the proprietor looks very similar to Comic Book Guy with the exception that his skin and hair are slightly darker. He also has a deep-rooted rivalry with a store similar to his: "Frodo's of Shelbyville". These shops could have had the same owner, as both rival store names refer to The Lord of the Rings character Frodo Baggins. During the Trappuccino crisis, Comic Book Guy says that his obsessive comic book collecting is a "life well spent".^[8]

Brief Fame[edit]

Comic Book Guy created the comic book series Everyman. He apparently created 335 issues, including the controversial issue with the death of Marmaduke. However, he was reluctant to self-publish them initially because he feared that he'd be mocked by the internet community for his comics. While trying to exasperate Comic Book Guy by feigning complete ignorance on the history of Spiderman, Bart and Milhouse stumbled upon a draft of an issue of Everyman that he was working on. Comic Book Guy then learned that Bart and Milhouse actually liked the comic, and after a bit of convincing, he decided to self-publish. The comic's popularity started to soar as a result, with a movie project starting for the Summer Market. Some movie executives requested to make Everyman into a movie.

Comic Book Guy is reluctant to allow them to work with the movie, especially as the same movie industry apparently ruined the Stratego movie for him. He eventually relents, but only under the condition that he picks the person who will portray Everyman. When they refused that condition, he opened the door to the store, implying that he wanted them to leave, until they agreed to that condition, commenting that being a Hollywood Producer is the closest thing to a physical sport that he could ever do. He later explains that he wants a "complete loser" to portray Everyman. He then picks Homer Simpson for the part, after the latter accidentally walked into the store, not realizing it was closed for auditioning. He then spent his time talking to people at his new, hollywood-style house about what it is like to be a producer, and adopting a Cambodian Orphan named Prius.

However, when the movie was going over-budget and Homer ended up gaining an eating disorder due to his fitness coach abandoning him for Turtle (to the extent that he couldn't even get out of his trailer without it being sawed off), he tried to end production of the film, but ended up being thrown out by security into a dumpster with disgraced executives. He later ended up sacrificing any chance at another Everyman movie being made by voicing his honest opinion that the Everyman movie was the worst movie ever. It is unknown if he still worked on his comics after this.^[9]

Relationships[edit]

Comic Book Guy was once married—in an online role-playing game. He and his Internet wife contemplated having children, but that would have severely drained his power crystals. He was shown paired with a blond woman (asking if she enjoyed comic books) during a mass-marriage that occurred when a cult took over Springfield, and presumably, the two were wed in the mass ceremony.^[10] While part of an intellectual junta that briefly ran Springfield, he proposed plans to limit breeding to once every seven years (a reference to the Vulcan blood fever of mating, called Pon Farr), commenting that this would mean much less breeding for most, but for him, "much, much more".^[11] He was a virgin well into his forties when he became romantically involved with Principal Skinner's mother Agnes. (Chief Wiggum was notably repulsed when he and his officers stumbled upon the couple "in the act".)^[12] He later dated Edna Krabappel and was shown with the Superman logo tattooed on his upper right buttock.^[13]

Kumiko[edit]

Comic Book Guy later met Kumiko Nakamura, a Japanese woman who searched the saddest towns in America and got to Springfield. He fell in love with her and they got married. She shares lots of hobbies with Comic Book Guy, such as cosplay and comic books.^[14]

Later in Comic Book Guy and Kumiko's marriage, Kumiko realized that she wanted children. However, Comic Book Guy didn't. This led to some tension between the two when Comic Book Guy fled back to his childhood home rather than facing up to having kids. Eventually, Comic Book Guy returned home and decided to try for a baby with Kumiko.^[3]

Non-canon[edit]

The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed.

The Simpsons Game[edit]

Comic Book Guy appears throughout the entire game to point out various video game cliches that the player can unlock by performing certain actions. He also appears as one of the contestants in the Duff Ultimate Eating Challenge in the level Around the World in 80 Bites, and in the form of a gang of sumo wrestlers in Big Super Happy Fun Fun Game. The sumo versions are also among the enemies sent by God in "Game Over".

The Simpsons: Tapped Out[edit]

Comic Book Guy[edit]

This section is transcluded from The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/Business Owners. To edit it, please edit the transcluded page.

Comic Book Guy Image Cost Unlock method Unlocks with Unlock message 7,000 Level 13 The Dungeon Keeper Pt. 2 Android's Dungeon Technical Information ID Groups Internal Name 11 Regular Characters, Regular Male, Brainiac, Entrepreneur, Glutton, Pessimist, Adult, Agnes Past Beaux, Sequel Squad, Krustyland Goers, Nerds, Normal Springfielders, LARPers CBGuy Permanent Tasks Task Time Reward Requires Quest with the task Animated? Trip to Lard Lad 5m 15, 5 Lard Lad Donuts Not All Donuts Are Currency Pt. 1 Go Skating 10m 17, 5 Simpsons' Skating Rink Go for a Checkup 10m 17, 5 Hibbert Family Practice Business Is Picking Up Attend a Convention 30m 40, 10 Convention Center Eat at Krusty Burger 30m 40, 10 Krusty Burger The Flavormax Commission a New Cosplay Outfit 60m 70, 17 Screaming Stitch & Hem Eat at Gulp 'N' Blow 60m 70, 17 Gulp 'N' Blow A Quick Snack Between Snacks Arnie Pye In the Sky Pt. 4 Look for Size 8XL Pants 2h 110, 27 Big & Tall Men's Shop Read a Comic 2h 110, 27 New Age Literature For Geeks Attend Mensa Meeting 3h 135, 35 Gazebo Nerds 'R' Us Stock up on Collectibles 4h 175, 45 Charmer's Market Overpay for Novelty Stay 4h 260, 70 Elf Hotel Take the Sir-Loin-A-Lot Challenge 4h 175, 45 Slaughterhouse Restaurant Eat Between Heart Attacks 4h 260, 70 Deuce's Caboose Chili Dogs Deep Fried Death Overpay for Sex on the Beach 4h 260, 70 Smooches on the Beach Stay at the Swelldorado 4h 260, 70 Swelldorado Try to Win at Blackjack 4h 175, 45 $ Casino Big $ Vape and Drink 4h 175, 45 Darby O'Guzzlin's Exchange Plunder for Booty 4h 175, 45 Plunderer Pete's Drink and Babysit 4h 175, 45 The Boiled Potato Pub Daycare Buy a Wheelbarrow Full of Burritos 4h 175, 45 General Chang's Taco Italiano Attend Parenting Seminars 4h 260, 70 Universal Panacea Run His Bar 4h 260, 70 CBGB Eat a Dozen Bagels 4h 175, 45 The Doughy Dozen Bagels Auction Off Wares 4h 175, 45 Springfield Swap Meet Protest Recent Toy Designs 4h 175, 45 Whiz-Bang Toy Company Practice Walking Softly Like a Ninja 4h 175, 45 Himeji Castle Practice Walking Softly Like a Ninja Cosplay as a Dark Knight 4h 175, 45 Large Mausoleum Eat at Skip's Diner 4h 175, 45 Skip's Diner As American as Apple Pie Pt. 4 Shop for Cider 4h 260, 70 Mt. Swartzwelder Historic Cider Mill Attend Cap City Comic Con 4h 175, 45 Capital City Con Center Reserve Two Seats for Himself 4h 175, 45 Futuristic Monorail Station Look for a Techy Apartment 4h 175, 45 Futuristic Condominium Interact with other Unsocial Intellects 5h 300, 75 Springfield Observatory Nightfall? Dine at the Swanky Fish 5h 300, 75 Swanky Fish Swanky Fish Pt. 3 Enjoy the Best Ramen in Town 6h 225, 55 Ramen Coma Watch and Despise a Movie 6h 350, 90 Aztec Theatre O.M.G.W.T.F. Obtain Anxiety Medication 6h 225, 55 Springfield Medical Center Visit the Vast Waistband 7h 250, 60 The Vast Waistband Visit the Java Server 8h 275, 70 The Java Server They Have Internet on Computers Now? Pt. 2 Look for Anime Show Information 8h 275, 70 Yo Yo's Cloud Palace Dance the Señor Burns 8h 420, 105 Chez Guevara Señor Burns Assault the Bandit Fort 8h 420, 105 Bandit Fort The Three Compadres Pt. 4 Sleep in the Bad Dream House 8h 420, 105 Bad Dream House Eat a Buffet Meal 10h 525, 135 Up, Up and Buffet! Cosplay 12h 420, 100 I'm a Super Hero Find a Mirror That Makes You Look Thin 12h 420, 100 Hall of Mirrors Enjoy a Night at the Theater 12h 420, 100 Springfield Playhouse Complain About Electric Buzzing 12h 420, 100 The Buzzing Sign Diner Get Car Upgraded 16h 500, 125 CarGo Sell Comics 24h 600, 150 Android's Dungeon A Life Well Spent Rest of Us for the Festivus Pt. 5 Buy Groceries at a Kindling Store 24h 600, 150 Kevin's Kindling Krustyland Tasks Task Time Reward Requires Quest with the task Animated? Eat at Krustyland Burger 30m 12, 10 Krustyland Burger Visit the Gift Shop 1h 21, 17 Gift Shop The Krusty-est Place On Earth Pt. 17 Ride Radioactive Man Ride 4h 52, 45 Radioactive Man: The Ride The Krusty-est Place On Earth Pt. 22 Overload a Plate at the One Plate Buffet 5h 204, 75 One Plate Maximum Buffet Sensible Eating Pt. 1 Ride the Eyeballs of Death 8h 126, 105 Eyeballs Of Death Ride The Happy Elves Ride 10h 105, 90 Happy Elves Ride Ride Scratchy's Flea Dipper 12h 126, 100 Scratchy's Flea Dipper Ride the Twirl 'N' Hurl 16h 166, 125 Twirl 'N' Hurl Stay at Krustyland Hotel 24h 180, 150 Krustyland Hotel Animated Tasks Read a Comic Assault the Bandit Fort Cosplay

Costumes[edit]

• 

  The Collector

• 

  Kung Fu Comic Book Guy

• 

  Festivus CBG

Standalone[edit]

• 

  Comic Book Ram

Behind the Laughter[edit]

Comic Book Guy was partly inspired by a clerk at the Los Angeles Amok book shop who often "[sat] on the high stool, kind of lording over the store with that supercilious attitude and eating behind the counter a big Styrofoam containerful of fried clams with a lot of tartare sauce." Matt Groening noted that: "I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me and said, 'I know who you based that comic book guy on. It's that comic-book guy right down the block.' And I have to tell them, "No, it's every comic-bookstore guy in America." Hank Azaria based Comic Book Guy's voice on a student who went by the name "F", and lived in the room next door at his college. Azaria also "loves that the character is an adult who argues with kids as if they're his peers."

A long-running gag on the show was never to reveal the character's name, with other characters referring to him as "Comic Book Guy". Finally, in the February 6, 2005 episode, "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", Comic Book Guy nonchalantly told Ned Flanders, "My name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me 'Comic Book Guy'." Showrunner Al Jean remarked, "That was specifically done to make people really mad. We just tried to pick a generic name. It was also the Super Bowl show, so we did it so the most people possible would see it." Groening stated that he had originally intended him to be called Louis Lane and be "obsessed and tormented by" Lois Lane, but was out of the room when the writers named him.

Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture

The comic book guy has also been seen in quite a few episodes but he has had very few episodes where he is a major character. He is rarely seen outside The Android's Dungeon store and most of his interactions are with Bart Simpson. The comic book guy wasn't seen very often early in the series of the show and has not been seen very much in the 19th season.

Trivia[edit]

• Comic Book Guy has an IQ of 170.

Merchandising[edit]

Even though Comic Book Guy is just a recurring character, he still has some merchandise such as Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture. He also appears on the cover of the twelfth season DVD.

Foreign dubs[edit]

Language Voice dubber Dansk Henrik Koefoed Español Juan Antonio Arroyo David García Vázquez Español Alfonso Mellado (Seasons 2-14) Sergio Castillo (Season 15) Alejandro Mayen (Seasons 16-27) Erick Salinas (Seasons 27-31) Carlos Hernández (Since Season 32)

Appearances[edit]