Obscurity of the Day: The Simpsons

 

 

The Simpsons TV show burst onto the small screen in 1989 and quickly became a huge hit. The show became a cultural touchstone and 'appointment viewing' throughout the 1990s. The critical consensus is that the show began a sharp decline in quality and originality starting around season ten, yet it has managed to stay on the air and remain popular until today, its 32nd season as this is written. Geez does that make me feel old ... but I digress. 

The Simpsons moved to the paper realm as a successful suite of comic book titles starting in 1993, and by 1999 the decision was made to try newspaper syndication as well. Befitting the property's popularity and prestige, it was decided that the comic strip would be Sunday-only and would be required to run as a 2/3 page -- even bigger than the half page format demanded by mega-hits Calvin & Hobbes and Doonesbury. 

Most newspapers were by 1999 running a mere four to six pages in their Sunday comics sections, so most balked at offering a single strip, even The Simpsons, that much real estate. The new strip thus was only picked up by a relatively modest number of newspapers. 

The series debuted on September 5 1999. At first the creators were uncredited; each strip was 'signed' by Matt Groening, who undoubtedly had nothing to do with them. It wasn't until the October 31 episode that credits began, and those who took an interest in such things quickly came to see that the writers, pencillers and inkers (most of whom also worked on the comic book series) changed practically every week. While the quality control of the art was high -- I never noticed a single panel with off-model characters -- the writing has to be considered less than stellar. There were a few impressive installments, but most relied very heavily on readers' love of the characters. The use of catchphrases and familiar pratfalls from the TV series, while to be expected, were leaned on over and over in lieu of original humor. 

The creators of these strips might well point their fingers at the newspaper clients as at least partly to blame for the lackluster writing. Perhaps the writers would have offered more edgy material, but an episode of the new series featuring Itchy and Scratchy (see sample) was met by pushback from some readers and editors. Of course anyone familiar with the TV series would not be shocked by the cat and mouse team's penchant for violence, but it was a little much by most anyone's standard for the Sunday funnies, generally a violence-free zone in deference to the kiddies in the audience. It is telling that Itchy and Scratchy were never again featured in the strip. The writers may well have felt that the newspaper funnies were just too restrictive about content to give their imaginations free rein.

The first series of The Simpsons comic strip ended after a single year, though some papers that picked up the series late were given the early strips to continue with at the end of the run. Following is a strip-by-strip rundown of the series. A few notes:

* the original uncredited episodes (9/5 - 10/24/1999) gained credits when they were run at the end of the original run by the latecomer newspapers.

* credits were generally last names only; I have determined the full names of almost all the creators by referring to Wikisimpsons.

* I find it interesting that there are 1998 copyrights on the early episodes; were they in the can for that long before the newspaper strip began?

Date	ID (first word balloon or title, generally not including masthead)	Writer	Art (penciller/inker)	Source
9/5/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“Kopter One to Cargo Crew”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
9/12/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“But since we can’t work”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	James Lloyd, Tim Harkins	LA Times
9/19/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“The Burns Paradox”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Stephanie Gladden	LA Times
9/26/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“All I Need is to sell another…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Allen Roberts, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
10/3/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“Homer has made it all the way home…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	James Lloyd, Tim Harkins	LA Times
10/10/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“Ungh! Smithers I Can Barely Swallow…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Stephanie Gladden	LA Times
10/17/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“C’mon Son, Lift With Your Legs”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Allen Roberts, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
10/24/99 (credits from 2000 reprint)	“Planning a Trip to Springfield?”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Stephanie Gladden	LA Times
10/31/99	GoodFellowship	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
11/7/99	“Calling All Culture Vultures”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Jim Massara, Tim Harkins	LA Times
11/14/99	“Oh Mrs. Homer Your Beauty…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
11/21/99	“Hey Kids, It’s A Jungle Out There”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	LA Times
11/28/99	“I’m Going To Get My Pills”	Neil Alsip	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	LA Times
12/5/99	“Hey Hey Kids Have A Krusty Christmas”	Jesse Leon McCann	James Lloyd, Mike Rote	LA Times
12/12/99	“If These Crumbs Could Talk”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Jim Massara, Tim Harkins	LA Times
12/19/99	“It’s A Wonderful Slice”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Gonzalez Layo, Tim Harkins	LA Times
12/26/99	“Hey fellas whatcha Doin’?”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	LA Times
1/2/00	“One Flew Over The Retirement Castle”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Jim Massara, Tim Harkins	LA Times
1/9/00	“Springfield is Directly in the path…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
1/16/00	“In-laws need impressing?”	Neil Alsip	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
1/23/00	“Oh Oh A Tiny Arm Growing Out of My Back …” (third panel)	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Joey Nilges, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
1/30/00	“Goodnight fellas. I’ve had enough drinking…”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Norman Auble, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
2/6/00	“Don’t Doubt It or Do!”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Gonzalez Layo, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
2/13/00	“See you later, Marge. I’m going to Moe’s”	Bill Morrison	Bill Morrison	Salt Lake Tribune
2/20/00	“H-hey! My glasses!”	Jesse Leon McCann	Gonzalez Layo, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
2/27/00	“Hey what happened to all my macaroni…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Francisco Herrera, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
3/5/00	“Hello, I’m C. Montgomery Burns…”	Neil Alsip	James Lloyd, Tim Bavington	Salt Lake Tribune
3/12/00	“We here at the Simpsons understand the world…”	Neil Alsip	Joey Nilges, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
3/19/00	“Uh oh, thirteen floors alone…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Francisco Herrera, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
3/26/00	“Radioactive Man VII”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
4/2/00	“Home repair can be costly…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
4/9/00	“Greetings, foolish Earthings. I am Kang…”	Neil Alsip	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
4/16/00 (copyright 1999)	“On the Champs Elysees we met Jacques…”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon  McCann	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
4/23/00	“Hey, hey, it’s to dye for”	Neil Alsip	Phil Ortiz, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
4/30/00	“Are you sure you want to go through with this, Mr. Burns?”	Jesse Leon McCann	Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
5/7/00	“H-hey Bart, whatcha doin’?”	Jesse Leon McCann	Gerald Steffen, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
5/14/00	“Mother’s Day is very important …”	Dave McKean	Phil Ortiz, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
5/21/00	“See you tomorrow, class. Bart…”	Barry Dutter, Bill Morrison	Phil Ortiz, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
5/28/00	“It Came from deep below. A force…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Stephanie Gladden	Salt Lake Tribune
6/4/00	“It was all supposed to be so simple…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Stephanie Gladden	Salt Lake Tribune
6/11/00	“Looks like those good-fer-nothin’s …”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
6/18/00	“I’ll show you exact change!”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Norman Auble, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
6/25/00	“Springfield Downs Race Track .. Come Run With The Ponies”	Jesse Leon McCann	Joey Nilges, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
7/2/00	“Oh no, the day that I’ve always dreaded…”	Robert L. Graff, Jesse Leon McCann	Gonzalez Layo, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
7/9/00	“Whoops, Dr. Hibbert has fallen down…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Yamamoto, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
7/16/00	“Nappie-time, Maggie. Sleep tight”	Jesse Leon McCann	Yamamoto, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
7/23/00	“Dad I’m so happy! My collection…”	Jesse Leon McCann	Gerald Steffen, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
7/30/00	“La la la! I’m on my little red wagon”	Jesse Leon McCann	Yamamoto, Steve Steere Jr.	Salt Lake Tribune
8/6/00	“Krusty’s Krustyburger Fun Mat”	Jesse Leon McCann	Phil Ortiz, Jason Ho	Salt Lake Tribune
8/13/00	“Goodby Lisa, have a fun day!”	Jesse Leon McCann	Yamamoto, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
8/20/00	“Main floor lobby! Going up, Sonny?”	Jesse Leon McCann	Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
8/27/00	“When dealing with bullies, brainiacs…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal	Phil Ortiz, Tim Harkins	Salt Lake Tribune
9/3/00 (reprint of 9/5/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
9/10/00 (reprint of 9/12/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
9/17/00 (reprint of 9/19/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
9/24/00 (reprint of 9/26/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
10/1/00 (reprint of 10/3/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
10/8/00 (reprint of 10/10/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
10/15/00 (reprint of 10/17/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
10/22/00 (reprint of 10/24/99 with 1998 copyright; now has credits)				Spokane Spokesman Review
10/29/00 (reprint of 10/31/99 with 1998 copyright)				Spokane Spokesman Review
11/5/00 (reprint of 11/7/99)				Spokane Spokesman Review
11/12/00 (reprint of 11/14/99)				Spokane Spokesman Review
11/19/00 (reprint of 11/21/99)				Spokane Spokesman Review
11/26/00 (reprint of 11/28/99)				Spokane Spokeman Review
12/3/00 (reprint of 12/5/99)				Spokane Spokesman Review
12/10/00 (reprint of 12/12/99)				Spokane Spokesman Review
12/17/00 (reprint of 12/19/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
12/24/00 (reprint of 12/26/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
12/31/00 (reprint of 1/2/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
1/7/01 (reprint of 1/9/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
1/14/01 (reprint of 1/16/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
1/21/01 (reprint of 1/23/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
1/28/01 (reprint of 1/30/00)				Spokane Spokesman Review
2/4/01 (reprint of 2/6/000				Spokane Spokesman Review

 

It seems perfectly natural and reasonable that The Simpsons comic strip was cancelled after that first year. Everything seemed to be against it. First, there was no one at the creative helm who was thoroughly committed to making the strip live up to the fans' high expectations. Second, most newspapers had taken a pass on the strip entirely, and those that took the strip proved to be squeamish about the more mature content. And last but certainly not least, with such a small client list the money the strip was bringing in was undoubtedly chump change compared to other licensing opportunities. 

Bizarrely, though, the decision was made to continue. Though the strip seems to have been unavailable for the next year, it was advertised in the 2001 E&P Syndicate Directory. (Maybe they were trying to continue to sell that first series to more latecomers?)

If any newspaper anywhere was running it between February 4 2001 and January 13 2002, I have not been able to find it. I do however, find a number of papers starting it (or restarting it) on that second date, seemingly indicating that it was returned to syndication then, as opposed to having continued in the interim. 

Anyway, after a hiatus of almost a year, the series was apparently re-offered, this time at a slightly more newspaper-friendly half-page size. Nothing else really changed -- the creative musical chairs started back up, and the writing quality only got worse. 

This time the strip ran for almost two years, and was reduced to a more conventional third page size on July 27 2003. It wasn't until very late in the run that it gained a consistent creative team from week to week. The strip was pulled from syndication as of the December 28 2003 installment, to the sorrow of only hardcore fans.

I was unable to find any paper running the strip on July 7 and 14 2002; if anyone has those installments I'd be delighted to add the credits.

1/13/02	“This is Lisa.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
1/20/02	“A am Bart. Bart I art.”	Gail Simone	Julius Preite, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
1/27/02	“Apu, gimme the usual.” (2nd story panel)	Gail Simone	Gerald Steffen, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/3/02	“Cleanliness is next to funliness.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/10/02	“Okay, okay. I’m awake. Knock it off already.	Gail Simone	Joey Nilges, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/17/02	“I am Kang, emissary from a planet…”	Gail Simone	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
2/24/02 (copyright 2000)	“This just in. Up yours buddy.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
3/3/02 (copyright 2000)	“Homey, I need you to run to the…”	Gail Simone	Phil Or (Ortiz)	Vancouver Province
3/10/02 (copyright 2000)	“Once in a land of fields and springs…”	Gail Simone	Phil Or (Ortiz)	Vancouver Province
3/17/02 (copyright 2000)	“Venture if you dare into … the unpossible..”	James Bates	Phil Or (Ortiz)	Vancouver Province
3/24/02	“I see a sale for ol’ Gil…”	Jim Cashman	John Costanza	Vancouver Province
3/31/02	“Too hot … brain melting …”	Jim Cashman	John Costanza	Vancouver Province
4/7/02	“*Click* A little bit of Rita’s all I need…”	Neil Alsip	Joey Nilges, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
4/14/02	“This kind of panel is called an inset.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
4/21/02	“With our country prosperous and at peace…”	Dave McKean	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
4/28/02	“But if I put the hydrangea next to…”	Neil Alsip	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
5/5/02	“Behold the playground! At first glance…”	Neil Alsip	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
5/12/02	“Lordy Lordy I am Bored-y…”	Neil Alsip	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
5/19/02	“Canada! It’s not fit for livin’…”	Dave McKean	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
5/26/02	“Psst! Hey Simpson, check it out.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
6/2/02	“Pickle slices and a parsley sprig…”	Dave McKean	Igor Baranko	Vancouver Province
6/9/02	“Snack bra huff puff must reach snack bar”	Jesse McCann	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
6/16/02	“Guys I was here in the attic…”	Brent Fletcher	Jerry Steffen, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
6/23/02	“Man I hate wearing this jacket”	Gail Simone	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
6/30/02	“I thought you were going to make Maggie a jumper…”	Brent Fletcher	Igor Baranko	Vancouver Province
7/7/02
7/14/02
7/21/02 (production credit Karen Bates starts)	“Homer, you said you would take the kids…”	Dave McKean	Francis Dinglasan, Mike Rote	Sacramento Bee
7/28/02	“Groundskeeper Willie, I met this nice lady…”	Gail Simone	Jeanette Bose, Mike Rote	Miami Herald
8/4/02	“If my tail light’s a-blinkin’…”	Gail Simone	Jeanette Bose, Jason Ho	Miami Herald
8/11/02	“And as you can see your popularity…”	Gail Simone	Igor Baranko	Miami Herald
8/18/02	“Later dudes. I’m off to Scabby’s…”	Evan Gore, David Razowsky, Jeff Rosenthal, Eric Rogers	Gerald Steffen, Jason Ho	Sacramento Bee
8/25/02	“The children are here to receive the Burns…”	David McKean	Rich Koslowski, Jason Ho	Miami Herald
9/1/02	“A Mother Marge Tale – Jack Sprat Attacks”	Sherri L. Smith	Sam Ho, Mike Rote	Sacramento Bee
9/8/02	“Picture if you will a young boy asleep…”	Gail Simone	Sam Ho, Mike Rote	Sacramento Bee
9/15/02	“Dear Diary. I can’t believe it…”	Sherri L. Smith	Sam Ho, Mike Rote	Sacramento Bee
9/22/02	“Thanks for taking me to this exhibit, Dad…”	Sherri L. Smith	Jeanette Bose, Jason Ho	Sacramento Bee
9/29/02	“C’mon Kids, we’re going shopping for an SUV.”	David McKean	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
10/6/02	“Uh oh, tummy alert.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Sacramento Bee
10/13/02	“I’ll get it.”	Gail Simone	Jason Ho	Sacramento Bee
10/20/02	“A child’s imagination should be given wings.”	Gail Simone	Francis Dinglasan, Mike Rote	Sacramento Bee
10/27/02	Pantomime strip about Moe seeing a beer commercial	Gail Simone	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
11/3/02	“Hello Mr. Smithers? *woof* this is…”	Terry Delegeane	Francis Diglasan, Mike Rote	Miami Herald
11/10/02 (no production credit)	“Hey man, do you still pay cash for news tips?”	Gail Simone	Mike Rote	Miami Herald
11/17/02 (no production credit)	“Poetry? Kill me now”	Dave McKean	Igor Baranko	Vancouver Province
11/24/02	“Check out our new stereo…”	Neil Alsip	Dan DeCarlo, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
12/1/02	“Dad, do you have a solid financial plan…”	Dave McKean	Dan DeCarlo (layout), Jerry Steffen, Steve Steere Jr.	Vancouver Province
12/8/02	“Bart, it’s only the second day of half-term…”	David McKean	Dan DeCarlo (layout), Mike Rote, Steve Steere Jr.	Vancouver Province
12/15/02	“Hey folks, I’m crazy Gil…”	Brent Fletcher	Mike Worley, Steve Steere Jr.	Vancouver Province
12/22/02 (no production credit)	“Okay kids, time for your bedtime story.”	Neil Alsip	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
12/29/02	“All right, Senor Huevo…”	Neil Alsip	Mike DeCarlo (presumably a typo for Dan), Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
1/5/03 (no production credit)	“Jimmy Crack Corn And I Don’t Care”	Gail Simone	Jerry Steffen, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
1/12/03 (copyright 2001)	“Ralph Wiggum in Humpty Dumped”	Sherri L. Smith	John Costanza, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
1/19/03 (copyright 2001)	“The Simpsons Present Old Moe Hubbard”	Sherri L. Smith	Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
1/26/03 (copyright 2001)	“Sing A Song Of Squishee:	Sherri L. Smith	Sam Ho, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/2/03 (copyright 2001)	“Wee Willie Waxer”	Sherri L. Smith	John Costanza, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/9/03	“This is gonna be so cool! This tattoo…”	Sherri L. Smith	Gerald Steffen, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/16/03	“Sorry little dudes…”	Brent Fletcher	Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
2/23/03	“Remember men, cleanliness is next to laziness”	Gail Simone	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
3/2/03	“Lousy, stupid alarm clock.”	Gail Simone	John Costanza, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
3/9/03	“We will, we will, rock you.”	Brent Fletcher	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
3/16/03	“Homey, how come you’re never romantic…”	Earl Kress	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
3/23/03	“Lisa Simpson Presents: The History of Polo”	Sherri L. Smith	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
3/30/03	“Great Springfield Pickup Lines”	Jesse Leon McCann, Amanda McCann	Phil Ortiz, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
4/6/03	“The Ab-Miser is the number one workout…”	Brent Fletcher	John Costanza, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
4/13/03	“Bart Simpson! If I’ve told you once…”	Jesse Leon McCann, Amanda McCann	John Costanza, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
4/20/03	“What are those? … The little chickadees…”	Brent Fletcher	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
4/27/03 (reprint of 1/12/03)				Vancouver Province
5/4/03	“Hmm. I think someone could use a B-A-T-H.”	Sherri L. Smith	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
5/11/03	“Homer, it says here that babies are like scientists…”	Sherri L. Smith	Mike Rote	Southtown Star
5/18/03	“Now for a little suntan lotion…”	Brent Fletcher	Mike Rote	Southtown Star
5/25/03	“Now tell me again how did you get…”	Rich Koslowski	Rich Koslowski, Jason Ho	Southtown Star
6/1/03	“Cleanliness is next to Marg-liness.”	Gail Simone	Kim Le, James Huang	Vancouver Province
6/8/03 (production credit adds Art Villanueva)	“A full can a day keeps the hairstyle okay.”	Gail Simone	Kim Le, James Huang	Vancouver Province
6/15/03	“Children! Childred! Let’s get this show on the road…”	Jesse L. McCann	Kim Le, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
6/22/03 (production credit adds Art Villanueva)	“The Monstromart has such good deals…”	Sherri L. Smith	Istvan Majoros, James Huang	Vancouver Province
6/29/03 (production credit adds Rick Reese)	“Who wants fresh-baked cookies?”	Earl Kress	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
7/6/03	“Mr. Burns, the marketing group for your new cologne…”	Gail Simone	Kim Le, Jason Ho	Vancouver Province
7/13/03	“Homer, go check on Maggie … Why me?”	Brent Fletcher	John Costanza, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
7/20/03 (production credit Nathan Kane, Chris Ungar)	“Chief Clancy Wiggum’s Crimewatcher’s Notebook”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
7/27/03 (start production credit Chris Ungar) REDUCED TO 1/3 PAGE FORMAT STARTING HERE	“All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Graduate School”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
8/3/03	“Every month I get letters from lonely…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Miami Herald
8/10/03	“And now, the school’s cultural enrichment committee…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Miami Herald
8/17/03	“Handsome Pete’s Shellfish Tales”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
8/24/03	“Springfield Celebrates Take Our Daughters to Work Day”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
8/31/03	“When Catchphrases Collide”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
9/7/03	“Hey Bart! We need a little neighbor favor”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
9/14/03	“Little Remoh In Slumberland”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Vancouver Province
9/21/03	“Gazooka Moe And His Guys”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
9/28/03	Mostly pantomime, Bart fishing	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho	Salt Lake Tribune
10/5/03	“I’m afraid there’s no cure”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
10/12/03	“Today On Channel 6”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
10/19/03	“Featuring The Girls Of Apt. 15996”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
10/26/03	“As part of my contractual obligation…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
11/2/03	“Look, Homer, lemonade! Come to think of it…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
11/9/03	“Original Comic Strip Art For Sale”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
11/16/03	“Calling all cars! Burglary in progress…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
11/23/03	“Your Very Own Grease-Absorbant (sic) Krusty Burger…”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
11/30/03	“I’d like a triple scoop of double fudge ripple.”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
12/7/03	“One fine morning in Moe’s Tavern”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
12/14/03	“On This Day In Springfield History, Part I”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
12/21/03	“On This Day In Springfield History, Part II”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune
12/28/03	“Good morning ladies and gentlemenahavin!...”	Patric M. Verrone	Jason Ho, Mike Rote	Salt Lake Tribune