If you’re a fan of the show, you know exactly what you’re getting into with the Bob’s Burgers comic. Each issue features a short story narrated by each kid, a page full of Bob’s brainstorming for burger names, and a letter written by Linda to a different company each time. In issue three, Tina’s feature is a Wild West story written by Tina herself, one of her famous “friend fictions.” This was my favorite Tina feature so far: in it, Tina is a retired gunslinger who is pulled back into the gun slinging world by Jimmy Jr. Because it wouldn’t be Tina’s friend fiction without Jimmy Jr. He’s even shot in the butt at one point, and presumably Tina is the one to bandage the wound. In the end, they ride off together on the one horse from the one-horse town.
Louise’s feature is a fort-building adventure that gets a little out of hand, as all Louise adventures do. What starts out as a couple of cardboard boxes becomes a towering “shanty town” completely filled with children by day, and rented out to adults looking for a private place to play poker by night. There’s also a raccoon disco, obviously, and Bob and Linda on a fondue picnic. The fun ends when the massive fort implodes and disappears. How? Why? We don’t know. Don’t question it.
Gene’s feature follows the consequences of frog eggs left forgotten in the basement sink. Bob’s is overrun by frogs; the only way to get them out of the restaurant and to the creek where they belong is to guide them with Gene’s keyboard- and later his farts- which seems to hypnotize the frogs. This feature was one I could definitely see played out on the show, except that the writer made the dialogue rhyme, which was really off-putting.
Bob’s brainstorming page featured the fortune cookie burger, and Linda’s letter is to a perfume company.
This is a good comic for fans of the show; it captures each of the character’s voices perfectly, and manages to hold onto the tone and humor that make the show so great. I can’t imagine a non-viewer really enjoying the comic; you need to know the characters to really appreciate the comic.
Score: 3 / 5
Writer: Various Artist: Various Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/29/14 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital