Part of what makes the Bob’s Burgers comics so excellent is that they’re from the same creative team as the television show. Headed up by Loren Bouchard, there is a seamlessness to it as a perfect extension of the show — there could easily be an episode where the Belcher kids stop time with a ride at Wonder Wharf, and Tina the Jungle Girl should probably be the next Erotic Friend Fiction vignette to grace our screens. It’s the same loopy and colorful art that fans have come to love from the show, but, in the comics, there is a little more wiggle room in terms of variety. “Gene’s Rhymey Rhymes That Could One Day Be Songs” in particular allow the artists a bit of freedom.
This week, we have the release of Volume Two, “Medium Rare,” of the ongoing series, as well as #5 of the second run of issues. We’ve covered the issues in “Medium Rare” before, and they are uniformly delightful. A highlight of the book is easily “The Kids, The Witch, and The Coat Closet,” a riff on the classic Narnia tale. While most kids would jump at the chance to be royalty in a land of talking animals, the Belchers just want to get home to their parents (this seems a little off-brand for Tina). Gene is all about turkish delight, though, because of course he is. However, even if you’ve already read the issues, “Medium Rare” is worth a look, if only for the plethora of variant covers and pin up art at the back of the volume. They are a must-see for any fan.
As far as the new material in issue #5, the saga of “Tinablanca” comes to a fitting end, saying a final farewell to the butt that broke her heart and realizing that the start of a beautiful friendship with Louise may be worth even more than Jimmy Jr.’s fickle love. Louise is on the trail of a pest control conspiracy in “Pester-geist,” bringing one of the most hilarious side characters, Edith Cranwinkle, to the pages, this time covering up some sort of filth instead of shrieking about it. “Captain Gene-O” may not shine quite as bright as the previous saga of “Genederella,” but it is still a delight for fans of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and fart jokes.
All in all, the Bob’s Burgers team continues to hit it out of the park on stage and screen, and with the news of renewal, we can hope that the comic series will continue on into the foreseeable future, as well. I mean, Tina still hasn’t had an Erotic Friend Fiction version of The Hunger Games (plus zombies, obviously), so there is definitely more ground to cover.