My Rating
“TV Or Not TV”
Love and marriage, love and marriage… to some it’s a beautiful thing. In the Bundy house the word “curse” seems more appropriate. Al and Peggy sit watching game shows on a disturbing old television set. No, it’s not a black and white , just a near cousin. As the two finally get see if the contestant, a lady dressed in a suit of lamb chops, will survive the pit of wild boars, the reception goes out. Who will win the new car?!
Insults and personal jabs begin to fly from redhead lips, and the defeated man of the House gets up and shuffles towards the antique. With a mighty bash of his fist, Al punches the top of the television set. See what four touchdowns in one game gets you! In a symphony of creaks, buzzes, and pops, smoke begins to roll out of the television console. Nobody!
Fast forward to a week later. Al Bundy has not left his seat since the accident. His mind has cracked under the stress of no electronic stimulus. Peg, Kelly, and Bud stand behind the father debating their next move. Do they steal his wallet? Leave and find a new dad? Or get a replacement television? As they argue amongst themselves, Al begins to move. His psychosis forces him to do a faceplant into the wooden coffee table. Al’s first nightmare begins…
It’s the year 2020. The house is the same, the car is the same, and God forbid the shoe store job is the same. So, what’s different? The Bundys have become old and fat. Kellie has pumped out a few units with a complete zero. Bud, well Bud’s still Bud. Al wakes up to a plethora of young grandchildren assaulting him for allowance money. Then suddenly out of the blue a game show host walks into the Bundy living room. What…?
Which comatose nightmare will Al Bundy choose to live out? Will Peggy become a supporting wife for once and find her man a new TV? Can Marcie and Steve find one ounce of compassion towards their neighbors? Collect the series to find out!
Reviewer Notes
I was a huge fan of the Married With Children television series, and in my opinion, this was the best era of the Fox network. The Bundy family was bigger than the Simpson at one point, then the show disappeared into the sunset. With that said, I’m not quite sure what to say about the comic book. I bought this issue from a dollar bin last year, so I had no expectations on the quality of the story or artwork.
Now Comics was considered an indie publisher in 1990 but they were able to compete with the big labels by locking in contracts on some famous properties of the time. Married With Children was one of them. After reading just one issue I was a little put off by the production value.
Overall, the story was something that would have been used on the live show, but the chemistry was definitely not present in the comic. Without seeing an episode of the television show I feel a reader wouldn’t understand the Bundy dynamics or their interactions with the neighbors.
A huge part of the show was the insane interaction between the live audience and the actors. In this comic it takes away so much of the energy. With that said, let me cover the art briefly.
I was never a fan of the hyperinflated characterizations of real people. Mad Magazine is a perfect example for what I’m talking about. Some people love this style, I do not. In this series the artists seem to over draw the character faces in an attempt to “pull us in” or have us “get it”. It would be like
watching the television show and every camera angle was a close-up with a wide angle lense.
This book is like a cheap tchotchke sold in the studio lobby at Fox Studios for departing audiences members. If you are not a fan of the show I would skip this series. I’m giving issue No.06 of “Married… With Children” 2 out of 5 stars.
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