Get Duffed, Again!
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - October 18, 2009
     Homer Simpson's favorite beer, Duff, has always been a brand every brewery with an eye for business would like to have in their catalogue. The South Australian Brewing company produced Duff beer up to mid-1996 when Fox successfully sued the brewery, forcing them to cease its manufacture. The Duff beer cans became a hot collector's item among fans of The Simpsons, even if the label looked quite different to the one on The Simpsons. In 2001, a family-owned brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand, was approached by lawyers demanding that they cease and desist all production of their "Duffs" brand alcoholic beverage. In complying with Fox's wishes, the Duff family rebranded their beverage "McDuffs."
     It is believed that Matt Groening has never allowed licensing Duff beer over concern that it would encourage kids to drink. However, recently bottles and six packs of Duff Beer have been available in several European countries, including Spain, Italy, Germany and Belgium, where – according to the label of a bottle purchased in Italy – the beer is being brewed. However, no mention of Duff beer can be found on the company's web site. Adding to the mystery, the site promoting Duff beer in Europe, duffeurope.com, is no longer available, while its sister sites duffitalia.it and duff-bier.de are still online. According to the German site, the local manufacturer is Eschweger Klosterbrauerei, but no information on this particular product can be found on their site either.
     In conclusion, at this point it is unknown to us whether this version of Duff beer, the label of which is this time very similar to the one on The Simpsons, is still manufactured or not. We only know by experience that you may be able to find it in little shops selling alcoholic beverages in Europe. Since there is no mention of Fox, The Simpsons or Matt Groening on the label, we can only assume that the product is not endorsed by them. So don't be surprised if it suddenly disappears from the market...
     If you have more information about the new Duff, please contact us.

Five Emmy Nominations This Year
By Don Del Grande (ddelgran@snpp.com) - July 17, 2009
     The Simpsons received five nominations for three awards in this year's Primetime Emmy Awards. The first one is for the show itself, for the episode "Gone Maggie Gone", and the second one for music composer Alf Clausen, for composing the background music to the same episode.
     The show's competition in the Animated Program Less Than One Hour category is:

• American Dad ("1600 Candles")
• Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
• South Park ("Margaritaville")

Bart Simpson Mad about Sergio
Bongo Comics Press Release - July 14, 2009
     Sergio Aragonés (MAD Magazine, Groo the Wanderer) will become a regular featured artist and writer in Bart Simpson comics beginning with issue #50. Sergio Aragonés will provide the entire contents of Bart Simpson #50 as well as the cover art. The issue will include an eleven-page main story entitled "The Simpson Project." Mr. Aragonés will also contribute a new and ongoing feature entitled "Maggie’s Crib," a series of pantomime stories much in the vein of his classic three-page "A Mad Look At..." feature found in MAD Magazine. Sergio will also be a contributor of stories to the Bart Simpson title as well as other Bongo Comics Group titles on a regular basis.
     "I have been a Simpsons fan from the very beginning," says Sergio Aragonés. "I watch the show, read the comics, and collect everything that has come out, so imagine the pleasure to now be writing and drawing my favorite family... I couldn’t be happier!"
     Bill Morrison, Bongo Comics Creative Director, says, "We’ve put some of the funniest characters ever created in the hands of the world’s funniest cartoonist. I predict it’ll be just like that movie The Perfect Storm, only hilarious."
     "Sergio’s the best," says Matt Groening, Bongo Comics founder and publisher, "and it’s an honor to work with him."
     Sergio Aragonés is certainly the most honored, having won every major award in the profession, including the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award. One of his Eisner awards was earned for his first collaboration with Bongo Comics in Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #5 in 2000. This story is currently available in the "Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror Spine-Tingling Spooktacular" reprint collection.
      Aragonés has contributed to every issue of MAD Magazine since January 1963 with the exception of one (due to an error at the post office). For more information about the artist, visit his official site.
     Bart Simpson #50 will be released on October 28, 2009. Bart Simpson is a bimonthly comic book launched in 2000.

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