Three Men and a Comic Book

Unable to afford it, he convinces Martin and Milhouse to pool their money to buy the valuable comic, only to see it destroyed by their selfishness and inability to share.

This episode contains the first appearance of the Android's Dungeon and its owner, Comic Book Guy, voiced by Hank Azaria.

After Bart pulls Milhouse to safety, the comic blows out the door and onto the ground, where it is shredded by Santa's Little Helper and struck by lightning.

The next morning, the three boys reflect on how their inability to share the comic led to its destruction, while a bird lines its nest with a scrap from the last page.

[2] Characters making their first appearances on the show are Comic Book Guy, Mrs. Glick, Radioactive Man, Fallout Boy, and Bartman.

Although many suggestions state that Comic Book Guy was inspired by the show's creator Matt Groening, Comic Book Guy was partly inspired by a clerk at the Los Angeles Amok bookshop who, according to Simpsons writer George Meyer, often "[sat] on the high stool, kind of lording over the store with that supercilious attitude and eating behind the counter a big Styrofoam container full of fried clams with a lot of tartar sauce".

'"[3] Cast member 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.

At the beginning of the episode, Lisa reveals that she collects Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich comics, and Homer makes reference to Wonder Woman.

[2] Radioactive Man's origin is nearly identical to the Marvel Comics character The Incredible Hulk, as they each had gained superpowers from absorbing massive amounts of gamma radiation during an experiment.

Milhouse initially goes into the comic store to buy a 1973 Topps card of the former Boston Red Sox player, Carl Yastrzemski, "when he had the big sideburns".

[1] When Martin makes a squealing noise while falling in the treehouse, Bart calls him "Piggy" and threatens to stuff an apple into his mouth, resembling a similar quote from the book Lord of the Flies (1954), by William Golding.

DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson lauded it for its use of new characters, commenting that "of all season two's Bart-focused episodes, only 'Bart the Daredevil' offers competition with 'Comic' as the best of the bunch.

[2] Doug Pratt, a DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor, criticized the episode for not being inspired enough, and added that the Wonder Years parody "seems pointless".

With lighting and camera angles half inched from Huston, this priceless gag is joyfully pitched over the heads of 90 percent of the audience.