To the Bookmobile!
To the Bookmobile!
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Comic Story information
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To the Bookmobile! is a Simpsons Comics story first printed in Simpsons Comics #171.
Contents
Synopsis[edit]
- The Simpson family are on a road trip and decide to listen to audiobooks to pass the time. They listen to the stories of The Phantom Tollhouse, Jamie and the Gigantic Pear, Mr. Plopper's Penguins, and A Tinkle in Rhyme.
Plot[edit]
The Simpsons are in the car on a road trip while Bart and Lisa constantly ask "are we there yet?" Marge becomes annoyed and snaps at them, telling the kids that they haven't even left Evergreen Terrace yet and it's a twelve-hour drive. Bart and Lisa say they're bored, so Marge decides to put on an audiotape for them to listen to. Lisa wants to hear Harry Potter, but Homer denies her request. Bart finds an audiobook with a scary title, so the family decides to listen to it.
The Phantom Tollhouse[edit]
Milo is in his room, bored, when a voice starts speaking to him. This turns out to be the Phantom Tollhouse, who says that it's the gateway to Milo's imagination. It tells Milo to get in a toy car and drive through and pay the toll. Milo reluctantly agrees to do so, with Barney collecting the money. As Milo drives down the road, he finds the Whither Man next to a signpost. He asks the Whither Man for directions to Great Expectations, but he tells Milo that he can only tell him whither, not where. Milo becomes annoyed and drives off, passing Moleman, Jasper, and the old Jewish man sitting in a hole in the ground. Suddenly, the Guide Dog jumps into his car, saying that he's a guide dog with a compass on his side. Milo continues driving and comes to Alphabetburg. He goes to the Word Bizarre there, where he meets Spelling Bee Man and the Hummingbug. Officer Small Claims comes along and arrests Milo, the Guide Dog, and Hummingbug. They are thrown in jail with Vaguely Morose, who tells them a riddle on how to get out of jail. Milo decides to just climb out of the window instead.
Milo goes to see King Zzzz, who tasks Milo with finding the princesses, Search and Rescue. He's told to take the Guide Dog and Hummingbug with him as guides. Their first stop is the house where the world's tallest midget, shortest giant, fattest thin man, and thinnest fat man live, who all turn out to be different people, breaking Milo's expectations. They continue on the journey, meeting Word Birds, Dr. Dischord, a faceless demon, a conductor, Lindsey Naegle in the Soundchecker's Tower, the Dodocahedron, a floating Martin Prince, and Ned Flanders. Finally, they arrive at Numeralville, where Milo meets with Mr. Mathematigician. Mr. Mathematigician tells them that the princesses are in the Palace in the Smog, so Milo heads to the palace. When he gets there, he is shocked to find that the princesses look like Sherri and Terri. Milo refuses to rescue them and leaves, with the twins saying that he will have to get past the demons outside the castle. Milo takes his chances with the demons but gets chased by a mob. Milo then wakes up in his room and thinks it's a dream. However, the Guide Dog tells him that it was all real and he and the Hummingbug dragged him to his bed.
In the car, Marge asks Bart what lesson he learned from the story. However, Bart got bored and started listening to another audiobook on his mp3 player instead. The family decide to have everyone listen to it.
Jamie and the Gigantic Pear[edit]
Jamie had a happy life until his parents were eaten by an escaped rhino. Since then, he lives with his aunts Splunge and Striker. His aunts make him grow and harvest tobacco in the garden, but he was unable to get a good yield. They tell him to go to the store to buy cigarettes instead, under threat of a beating. When he gets there, Apu asks if Jamie would be interested in a magic potion. He gives Jamie the potion, which he takes home. However, he trips and drops it in the garden. That night, the potion worked, and a gigantic pear grew in the garden. The next morning, Jamie runs outside to find that his father, who was actually alive, had eaten the pear.
In the car, Homer has Bart's mp3 player in his mouth as he became hungry during the story. Marge decides to put the next audiobook on as Bart and Lisa fight.
Mr. Plopper's Penguins[edit]
Homer is obsessed with the arctic and winter. His favorite magazine is National Antarcticgraphic, and he listens to South Pole Playhouse. One day, the doorbell rings. Homer goes to the door to find that he has a delivery of a penguin. Homer is excited because he's always wanted a penguin. Marge tells Homer that he can't leave the penguin on an ice block with the windows open all winter. Homer looks in the freezer but finds it's full as well. Soon, Homer has killed and eaten the penguin, which shocks Marge.
In the car, Homer has the CD in his mouth as he got hungry again. She asks if anyone has an audiobook that isn't about food, and Lisa offers one up.
A Tinkle in Rhyme[edit]
Charles Wallace Murry brings Mrs. Whassup home with him because she might have a lead on where his father, Alexander Murry, went. Charles Wallace and Meg take her to their mother, Katherine, and ask her to give Mrs. Whassup some blue stew. Mrs. Whassup tells them that the tesseract is real, which Katherine realizes means they could find Alexander. Mrs. Whassup takes Charles Wallace and Meg to meet up with her sisters, Mrs. Whom and Mrs. Where. They also meet up with Calvin there after Charles Wallace tells him to meet them. The three sisters agree to take the kids to find Alexander. Mrs. Whom transforms into a flying creature, and they ride her to the Grand Central Intelligence Station. Outside the station, The Happy Medium confirms that Alexander is inside the station.
The kids enter the station and find a man with red eyes. Charles Wallace becomes controlled by the man as Meg and Calvin flee the room. Meg and Calvin find Alexander in a glass cell, and Meg breaks the glass to free him. However, they are then transported to another world, and Meg becomes frozen in ice. Auntie Beast appears and tells them that he can thaw Meg out before he sits on her. As Meg becomes free, Alexander returns with the help of the three sisters. Mrs. Whassup tells Meg that only she can save her brother. Mrs. Where tells her that only she can destroy That. Auntie Beast tells Meg that only she can prevent forest fires. Meg asks how, and the sisters tell her to use the secret word but don't tell her what that word is. Meg goes to confront That, who reveals that love is his weakness. That realizes that he revealed too much.
The story ends there as Lisa becomes annoyed at the story having a self-serving, shallow, sappy ending. Bart says that it was pretty cool. Both kids then start asking "are we there yet?" again.
Reprints[edit]
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