The latest installment in the Bob’s Burgers comic series from the creators of the hit animated comedy TV show, Bob’s Burgers #3 comes to us from Dynamite Comics and, much like its predecessors, is separated into five sections having each member of the family present their own side of this kooky world that they call home. It’s an interesting dynamic, to say the least, though the format often limits how much fun they cram into 32 pages.

Whatever the case this third installment offers a lot to everyone’s favorite band of restaurateurs.
Story

Much like its previous installments, the comic itself is divided into five sections so that each family member can tell their own hilariously twisted story.

Tina’s Erotic Friend Fiction Presents:

“Trick Shot Tina” sees everyone’s favorite socially awkward bespectacled dreamer play the main protagonist in a spin-off spaghetti western wherein a horrible tragedy involving a favorite horse and trick-shot mishap has Tina “drinking to forget in this one horse town”. That is, until, the best gunman in seventeen miles pays a visit to this little podunk village after conflicting attire puts him at odds with the local branch of sinister banditry and Tina, in all her awkward glory, is called upon to solve this pressing matter with her sharp eye and quick reflexes.

Tina’s awkwardness tends to hit something of a personal note with this author. Whether it be her tendency to instantly become infatuated with whatever form of male she meets or her far-fetched delusions of grandeur, I think we can all find a bit of ourselves within this bespectacled character of a hit animated TV comedy. The comic itself is pretty good, it does grow a bit absurd at times with Tina winning gun fights by shooting the guns out of people’s hands, but what can you really expect from a lone dreamer forever trapped in her own imagination.

Bob’s Burger of the Day Ideas

Presenting the Fortune Cookie Burger! A novelty item meant to mimic those classic hallmarks of any Chinese take-out dish, the fortune cookie burger sports a bun molded into the shape of these aforementioned after-dinner treats with a fortune written inside of the burger in KETCHUP (Pretty astounding work going on here folks).

Though it may only be confined to a single page, Bob’s Burger of the Day Ideas presents a sort of insight into the mind of an adventurous chef stretching the definition of the ‘burger’ beyond its simple confines as a slab of meat perched between a sesame seed bun. I might be reading a bit too much into this, art appreciation classes tend to do that. Whatever the case, it’s an interesting segment and worthy of whatever yuks you manage to muster.

Louise’s Unsolved Mysteries and Curious Curiosities

In Louise’s “Who Forted?” We see this lovable rabbit-eared rapscallion take to the alleyways with a myriad of baskets in her wake intent on forming her own mega-fort out of cardboard boxes. It begins, innocently enough, with the acquisition of a refrigerator box and events naturally coalesce into an entirely cardboard-based society that inevitably threatens to implode in itself with the sheer mass of it all.

Personally, I’ve always found Lousie’s cheery-eyed nature and general miscreant behavior a stand-out in this odd world that Bob and his family had called home. As for her comic, it strikes a nostalgic tone, harking back to those old carefree days of pillow forts and lazy afternoons of childhood wonderment marred only by the occasional tetanus shot when things got hairy. It’s fun and simple. What more could you ask of this bunny-eared girl?

Letters from Linda

“Dear Smellopolis.com”stars Linda, or KoolMomma 2000, whichever you prefer, as an amateur perfumist hoping to give those fine folks over at smellopolis.com there next big perfume sensation. I mean, who could possibly resist those timeless classics such as “dryer sheets scent” or “fresh can of tennis balls scent”? It’s another one of those short-n-sweet ones and much like Bob’s Burger of the Day Ideas it offers us a unique glimpse into the confused and muddled world of a middle-aged housewife.

Although Linda might certainly not be one of my favorites for the series–I believe I’ve already established myself in the Louise fan base pretty firmly with my previous statements–but the writers really encapsulate the writing style of a delusional woman pretty nicely. Not that I’d know anything about middle-aged woman writing, but I personally am still waiting to hear back from that scented candles company about the viability of a “Cheeto dust scent” so until then fingers crossed.

Gene Belcher Presents

Ah, Gene, where would Bob’s Burgers be without this little comedic relief constantly making quips and gas expulsions. Here we see this classic figure of comedy bring his typical style of humor to the table with “Guys and Frogs: The Musical”, which is essentially an artistic rendition of the daily adventures of a young boy in a wide, open, mysterious world. One day, when Gene was playing near the creek bed, he spies some frog eggs which he readily steals away to his home and, in typical childhood fashion, raises the eggs on his own before inevitably growing bored of them after the first day.

Events naturally coalesce into Biblical frog plague in a matter of months and Gene is forced to become a sort of Pied Pieper for these amphibious creatures and leads them back to the creek-bed where they belong. It’s a finely written tale with a sort Tom Sawyer-esque carefree nostalgia to it. Gene seems content to lead his own lot in life rather than heel to the will of his father and, in a sense, I feel we can all appreciate that.
Art

Art serves an important purpose within the comic book world. If not for the colorful illustrations and iconic ‘pop art’ to grace these pages we’d essentially have a book dedicated to dialogue and internal thoughts with the occasional ‘biff’ or ‘bam’ to break up the shallow monotony of it all. In terms of art style Bob’s Burgers tends to follow closely to that of the show’s, simple character designs with an emphasis on unique environments and eye-grabbing scenery.

The art style has a sort of ‘natural’ feel with the narrative. Personally, I couldn’t take the comic’s dialogue seriously were it presented in the typical action comic hyper-realism. The simplicity adds a lot to the experience allowing for that all important atmosphere. A personal favorite of mine is within Louise’s segment from artist Kat Kosmala wherein the aforementioned box fort begins to collapse into a singularity and all of the occupants–including a raccoon riding astride a dinosaur chasing a man wearing stilts–perform a mass exodus of the building while the superstructure behind them crumbles. Words fail to describe the sheer power of the scene.
Overall

I might not be much of a comic man myself, personally I prefer the moving picture variety of Bob’s Burgers to this segmented comic book variant, but whatever the case it’s got enough of a feel of the TV show to keep me reading through each and every section. The same characters are there to keep us entertained with that trademark character and wit that we’ve come to expect from all of them. Though, personally, I believe they should dedicate more time towards those two masters of the household rather than their cadre of lovable ragamuffins.

Whatever the case, if you’ve got a hankering for more Bob’s Burgers and you’ve just finished marathoning every episode ever, than be sure to check out their new comic series. It might not push the envelope, per se, but it’s more of the same and what more could you ask for?