I don’t buy them regularly anymore, so perhaps they’re exceptions to the rule, but whenever I do pick up a Simpsons comic, I always find they capture the spirit of the early seasons perfectly; the plots are creative and well executed, the characters aren’t unlikable caricatures of themselves, and the humour isn’t inane and asinine. Now why is it that the comics are able to produce quality stories almost as good as anything from the classic seasons, but the show itself churns out nothing but the same insipid drivel over and over again?