Bongo Comics Group was a comic book publishing company founded in 1993 by Matt Groening along with Steve & Cindy Vance and Bill Morrison.[1] It published comics related to the animated television series The Simpsons and Futurama, as well as the SpongeBob SquarePants comics, along with original material. The company was named after Bongo, a rabbit character in Groening's comic strip Life in Hell.
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| Founded | 1993 (1993) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Matt Groening, Steve Vance, Cindy Vance, Bill Morrison |
| Defunct | 2018 |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Santa Monica, California |
| Distribution | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa |
| Key people | Nathan Kane, creative director Matt Groening, publisher |
| Publication types | Comics |
| Fiction genres | Comedy |
| Official website | www |
Bongo, at some time in its history, printed Simpsons Comics, Simpsons Comics and Stories, Futurama Comics, Krusty Comics, Lisa Comics, Bart Simpson, Bartman, Itchy & Scratchy Comics and Radioactive Man.
Zongo Comics, also created by Groening, was Bongo Comics' counterpart geared towards mature audiences.
Groening launched Bongo Comics Group in 1993, perceiving a lack of funny books in the comic book industry at the time: "I go into comic book stores and look at all the stuff, and, for the most part, it looks like fairly grim science-fiction and superhero stuff ... I guess I just thought there was room out there for funny comic books."[2] The company launched four titles, the bi-monthly Simpsons Comics and Radioactive Man Vol. 1, and the thrice-annually Itchy & Scratchy Comics and Bartman.[2] Groening hoped that the new company would revitalise the industry, and held discussions to publish cross-overs with characters from other publishing companies.[2] The comics use original story-lines rather than simply adapting episodes of the television series; however, in 2011 editor Bill Morrison explained that the stories "fit in with the continuity of the shows."[3]
The company launched Futurama Comics, based on the cartoon series of the same name, in 2000.[4]
2012 saw the company change their logo, and a new creative director was unveiled, with Nathan Kane promoted internally to replace the departing Bill Morrison.[5]
It was announced at San Diego Comic Con in July 2018 that Bongo would be shutting down in October. Simpsons Comics #245 was the final issue released by Bongo.[6]