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Life in Hell #7
How to Go to Hell : A Cartoon Book by Matt Groening
Find out how in the hell to get to Hell in Matt Groening's indispensable collection of comic strips on which 'The Simpsons' was based. This handy compendium of creepy cartoons won't pay your taxes, bring you true love, or help you achieve nirvana, but it will help you cope with the hell we call life with a few more giggles and snorts. With dozens of hints for the hellbound, this sizzling smorgasbord of a book featuring Blinky, Bongo, Sheba, Akbar and Jeff is just the thing if you're in Hell, from Hell, going to Hell or hellbent. Life in Hell was the syndicated newspaper cartoon strip by Matt Groening which ran in the States during the 80s and early 90s. Asked to turn the characters into TV animation, Groening instead developed The Simpsons, retaining many of the characteristics of Binky, Bongo, Sheba, Jeff and Akbar in the series. In a world where The Simpsons and Futurama are as popular as ever, these hellish cartoons featuring Matt Groening's zany brand of comic genius are simply gold dust.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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148 people want to read
About the author
Matt Groening
1,066 books430 followersMatthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon.
Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons. He is also the creator of Futurama and the author of the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. Groening distributed Life in Hell in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked.
He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.
Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons. He is also the creator of Futurama and the author of the weekly comic strip Life in Hell. Groening distributed Life in Hell in the book corner of Licorice Pizza, a record store in which he worked.
He made his first professional cartoon sale to the avant-garde Wet magazine in 1978. The cartoon is still carried in 250 weekly newspapers.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 26, 2015
There was life before The Simpsons.
Anyone who can make a career out of making people laugh is a role model in my book.
I'm a fan of both The Simpsons and Futurama, but Life in Hell remains Groening's crowning achievement in my eyes.
I found this in a box of junk while cleaning a while back, so i sat down and read the whole thing through.
I forgot how much i loved this strip.
I know it's not the mose well-received comic strip, but, who the f*** cares?
I love it.
Anyone who can make a career out of making people laugh is a role model in my book.
I'm a fan of both The Simpsons and Futurama, but Life in Hell remains Groening's crowning achievement in my eyes.
I found this in a box of junk while cleaning a while back, so i sat down and read the whole thing through.
I forgot how much i loved this strip.
I know it's not the mose well-received comic strip, but, who the f*** cares?
I love it.
October 15, 2011
Not my favorite in the Life in Hell series, (IIR, it's a little less witty than the others) but still entertaining.
July 14, 2014
Oops. When I was making out my list of beloved comics, I overlooked Groening entirely. Of course, these days I think of him more as the TV guy than the comic writer. Regardless, Life In Hell was a prominent part of my college years and just beyond.
October 9, 2011
3.5 stars. "Life in Hell" is Simpsons creator Groening's non-Bart artwork. This one's a lot of fun. I was also pleased to see Groening shares my antipathy for stupid media buzzwords.
November 3, 2019
I recently found this in a box that's been stashed in the attic for 20 years. I'd forgotten how great Groening's Life in Hell was. (I'm hoping I can find the rest of my Life in Hell books in the forgotten recesses of my attic...)
The book starts off with Bongo (the one-eared rabbit) tied up in a chair in a cell while a pair of eyes at the door states, "How can we consider letting you out when you haven't realized how much you deserve being in there?" If you don't see the humor in that, you're probably not going to enjoy the rest of the book.
This is not The Simpsons, although there are bits of that cartoon scattered throughout. If you're Gen-X, this book will feel very familiar to you; a good portion of it focuses on Desert Storm AKA the first Iraq War.
The book starts off with Bongo (the one-eared rabbit) tied up in a chair in a cell while a pair of eyes at the door states, "How can we consider letting you out when you haven't realized how much you deserve being in there?" If you don't see the humor in that, you're probably not going to enjoy the rest of the book.
This is not The Simpsons, although there are bits of that cartoon scattered throughout. If you're Gen-X, this book will feel very familiar to you; a good portion of it focuses on Desert Storm AKA the first Iraq War.
March 15, 2024
(More of a 3.5)
These comics range from cynical, observant, and witty to kind of lazy in parts. The repeated drawing ones especially. The Iraq war strips are dated but still bitterly on point. I could do without the Akbar and Jeff ones but they’re not all bad, just meh compared to the best Binky ones.
These comics range from cynical, observant, and witty to kind of lazy in parts. The repeated drawing ones especially. The Iraq war strips are dated but still bitterly on point. I could do without the Akbar and Jeff ones but they’re not all bad, just meh compared to the best Binky ones.
January 16, 2021
The hell series was fun. Yeah, Simpsons are great but this is where most of it came from here. The world could use more Jeff and Ackbar.
July 20, 2025
Five just because of my love of all things related to the Simpsons, but truthfully some pretty solid strips. Topical.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews