Futurama Comics
Encyclopedia
Futurama Comics is a comic book
series published by Bongo Comics
and based on the television series Futurama
. It has been published bi-monthly in the United States
since November 2000 (apart from a brief break for the crossover). It has been published in the United Kingdom
(with an altered order) and Australia
since 2002 and four trade paperbacks have been released. During the production hiatus between 2003 and 2006 it was the only new Futurama material being made.
, a slacker from the 20th century who was cryonically frozen for 1,000 years, cycloptic
ship captain Leela, and an alcohol-fueled, troublemaking robot Bender. The comic will often make more use of supporting or minor characters than the series, such as Zapp Brannigan
, Cubert Farnsworth
, the Robot Devil and Inez Wong.
Special editions of some issues are published on occasion; a variant of the first issue available only at Comic Con 2000 featured a golden background, rather than red.
In a similar vein to the parent series, each issue features a humorous caption on the cover (for example, "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)"). These captions also vary according to where it is sold. Each issue is a self-contained story which lasts one issue (though the Time Bender Trilogy spanned three issues) and it is printed in the standard 6⅝" x 10¼" size.
", which had not aired at the time the comic was released.
began printing Futurama Comics in the United Kingdom
in 2002, with the first issue going on sale on October 3rd. The UK version is a larger A4
size and there is a sidebar on the front cover previewing what is inside. The same content is featured in these issues as in the United States, but there are also competitions and more "fan art". The order of release is altered from the original line-up; the crossovers were published as part of the main series, pushing some issues back. US issue 7 was published as UK issue 6 to coincide with the release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
. Captions are also changed as well, with the aforementioned issue changed to "Rise of the Machines!" and issue 3 reading "New Version 5.0!" on account of it being printed two issues later. "DOOP the Right Thing" was not published until issue 9.
Until issue 14, the comics were published bi-monthly. From issue 15 until issue 44 they were published monthly and, to avoid catching up with the US issues (which were by now quarterly), the issues were then split in two, though "Bender Breaks Out" was published as a full issue as otherwise the story does not make sense. From issue 45 onwards the comics are reverting back to bi-monthly.
Special promotional editions are also published; a miniature edition of "DOOP the Right Thing" was included with an issue of the UK Simpsons Comics.
The comic began publishing in Australia
in 2002 and follows the same release pattern as the US. However, until issue 16, they were published quarterly, going bi-monthly in late 2005. There are variations in the captions used; "A Fit Worse Than Death" was originally printed without one, with the Australian publishers adding "Medicine In The 31st Century".
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Bongo Comics
Bongo Comics
Bongo Comics Group is a comic book publishing company founded in 1993 by Steve and Cindy Vance, Bill Morrison, and Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening. It publishes comics related to the animated television series The Simpsons and Futurama, along with original material...
and based on the television series Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. It has been published bi-monthly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since November 2000 (apart from a brief break for the crossover). It has been published in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(with an altered order) and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
since 2002 and four trade paperbacks have been released. During the production hiatus between 2003 and 2006 it was the only new Futurama material being made.
Premise
In the year 3000, the crew of the Planet Express delivery company make cargo shipments to unusual planets, as well as having adventures back on Earth. The main characters include Philip J. FryPhilip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
, a slacker from the 20th century who was cryonically frozen for 1,000 years, cycloptic
Cyclops
A cyclops , in Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead...
ship captain Leela, and an alcohol-fueled, troublemaking robot Bender. The comic will often make more use of supporting or minor characters than the series, such as Zapp Brannigan
Zapp Brannigan
Captain Zapp Brannigan is a fictional character in the animated sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with West taking over the role after Hartman's death. Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of Planets, and captain...
, Cubert Farnsworth
Cubert Farnsworth
Cubert Farnsworth is a fictional character, Professor Farnsworth's clone from the animated television series Futurama. He was created from a growth on Professor Farnsworth's back in 2989. Cubert differs from the Professor in appearance due to his nose being squashed up against the wall of his...
, the Robot Devil and Inez Wong.
Format
Each issue consists of at least one story of around 27 pages (occasionally brief stories also appear), and a letters and fanart page. There are also full-page mock advertisements marketing futuristic products (such as Brain Slugs), which parody the kinds of coupon offers found in other comic books.Special editions of some issues are published on occasion; a variant of the first issue available only at Comic Con 2000 featured a golden background, rather than red.
In a similar vein to the parent series, each issue features a humorous caption on the cover (for example, "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)"). These captions also vary according to where it is sold. Each issue is a self-contained story which lasts one issue (though the Time Bender Trilogy spanned three issues) and it is printed in the standard 6⅝" x 10¼" size.
Issues
| Issue # | Title | Plot summary | Caption | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monkey Sea, Monkey Doom! | FEISTY FIRST ISSUE! | November 22, 2000 | |
| 2 | ...But Deliver Us to Evil! | SLIMY SECOND ISSUE! | January 24, 2001 | |
| 3 | The Owner of Mars Attacks! | NEW VERSION 3.0! | March 28, 2001 | |
| 4 | D.O.O.P. the Right Thing! | BLOATED WITH COMEDY (in Alien Language 1) | May 23, 2001 | |
| 5 | Who's Dying to Be a Gazillonaire? | PRESENTED IN 2-D! NO GLASSES NEEDED! (UNLESS YOU NEED GLASSES) | July 25, 2001 | |
| 6 | Xmas Time Is Fear | PRINTED IN MINT CONDITION! | October 24, 2001 | |
| 7 | New Year's Rockin' Evil | NO ANIMATED CHARACTERS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS COMIC BOOK! | January 23, 2002 | |
| 8 | Planet X-Press Men | A NEW HIGH IN LOWBROW ENTERTAINMENT! | March 27, 2002 | |
| 9 | Freaky Fry-Day | MADE IN THE U.S.A.! (PRINTED IN CANADA) | May 22, 2002 | |
| 10 | The Big Sweep | HOW'S MY DRAWING? CALL 1-800-555-MATT! | November 27, 2002 | |
| 11 | The Cure For the Common Clod | THE MOST INFLUENZAL COMIC OF ALL TIME! | January 22, 2003 | |
| 12 | Sideshow Fry | LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FRY | March 26, 2003 | |
| 13 | The Bender You Say | STICK A FORK IN IT...IT'S FUN! | May 28, 2003 | |
| 14 | Six Characters In Search of a Story | MEAT-BAG TESTED, BENDER APPROVED! | July 23, 2003 | |
| 15 | Fry Me to the Moon! | I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT ANIMATED! | October 8, 2003 | |
| 16 | Kickin' It Old School | NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FUTURAMA! | February 4, 2004 | |
| 17 | The Time Bender Trilogy - part one | 4 OUT OF 5 ALIENS RECOMMEND... | May 26, 2004 | |
| 18 | The Time Bender Trilogy - part two: Boned to the Future | NOMINATED FOR 12 GLORVNAXX AWARDS! | July 28, 2004 | |
| 19 | The Time Bender Trilogy - part III | MORE FUN THAN A BARREL OF BRAIN SLUGS! | September 29, 2004 | |
| 20 | Bender Breaks Out | BIG |
June 8, 2005 | |
| 21 | More Than a Filling! | Presented in BENDER-VISION | October 12, 2005 | |
| 22 | A Fit Worse Than Death | No caption | November 23, 2005 | |
| 23 | The A-Team | HEY MEATBAG! BUY THIS COMIC OR BACK OFF! | February 1, 2006 | |
| 24 | Twice Told Tales of Interest | WHAT IF YOU BOUGHT THIS COMIC? | March 22, 2006 | |
| 25 | Robot Robin Hood | NOW WITH MORE FUTURE, LESS RAMA! | May 24, 2006 | |
| 26 | A Whole Lotta Leela! | THE #1 SELLING COMIC OF 3006 | July 26, 2006 | |
| 27 | Rotten to the Core | KEEP ON TREKKIN'! | October 4, 2006 | |
| 28 | Let's Twist Again | PLEASE READ RESPONSIBLY! | November 22, 2006 | |
| 29 | Downsized! | APPLY DIRECTLY WHERE IT HURTS! | January 24, 2007 | |
| 30 | Fry & the Double-Bag, Must-Have Item! | GET YOUR 30TH CENTURY FIX! | March 28, 2007 | |
| 31 | As the Wormhole Turns | DARK MATTER HAPPENS! | May 23, 2007 | |
| 32 | Doctor What | IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU READ! | July 25, 2007 | |
| 33 | Attack of the 50-Foot Amy | CONSULT A DOCTOR IF LAUGHTER LASTS MORE THAN 4 HOURS! | September 26, 2007 | |
| 34 | Planet Michelle | ATOMIC BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED! | November 28, 2007 | |
| 35 | Son of the Sun | INTELLIGENTLY DESIGNED! | January 2008 | |
| 36 | You Don't Wanna Know Jak! | Science FACT! (As Far As You Know!) | March 26, 2008 | |
| 37 | Full Metal Racket | The Yoke's On You! | May 28, 2008 | |
| 38 | Rumble In the Jungle | YIVO Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is an animated science-fiction comedy film, the second of the four Futurama straight-to-DVD films. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008.... LOVES YOU! |
July 30, 2008 | |
| 39 | Rust In Peace | BOOTHBY Ian Boothby Ian Boothby is a multiple Shuster Award, Harvey Award and Eisner Award nominee and an Eisner Award–winning comic book creator best known for his work as one of the main writers on Simpsons Comics and Futurama Comics for Matt Groening's Bongo Comics. Boothby has written more Simpsons Comics than any... - LLOYD - PEPOY |
September 24, 2008 | |
| 40 | Robot Santa's Little Helpers | ROGERS - KAZALEH - DAVIS | November, 2008 | |
| 41 | Soldier Boys | ROGERS - DELANEY - DAVIS | January, 2009 | |
| 42 | Homeward Boned | ROGERS - DELANEY - DAVIS | March 25, 2009 | |
| 43 | Welcome to My NightMall | BOOTHBY - DELANEY - DAVIS | May 27, 2009 | |
| 44 | The Fry and the Furious! | CHICKS DIG GUYS WHO READ... | July 29, 2009 | |
| 45 | Anthology of Interest II | LOBSTERPALOOZA | September 30, 2009 | |
| 46 | Follow the Reader | PLEASE BEND RESPONSIBLY! | November 25, 2009 | |
| 47 | Chitty Chitty Bend Bend | 100% SPRUNGE-WORTHY! | January 27, 2010 | |
| 48 | Claw and Order | PLANET EXPRESS GOES GREEN... REALLY, REALLY GREEN! | March 24, 2010 | |
| 49 | Dummy Up! | SIZE MURDERS! | May 26, 2010 | |
| 50 | Your Mother Wears Pilot Boots | BONUS MIND BENDING BLACK LIGHT POSTER INSIDE! | July 2010 | |
| 51 | Fry Cook | THE BLACK LIGHT BONANZA CONTINUES! | September 2010 | |
| 52 | Ro-Botox | COLLECTIBLE BLACK LIGHT POSTER #3 OF 6 INSIDE! | November 24, 2010 | |
| 53 | Bump in the Flight | COLLECTIBLE BLACK LIGHT POSTER #4 OF 6 INSIDE! | January 26, 2011 | |
| 54 | How Much is that Mutant in the Window? | COLLECTIBLE BLACK LIGHT POSTER #5 OF 6 INSIDE! | March 23, 2011 | |
| 55 | Trouble with Trilogies | COLLECTIBLE BLACK LIGHT POSTER #6 OF 6 INSIDE! | May 25, 2011 | |
| 56 | You Want Fry With That? | IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT! | July 2011 | |
| 57 | Steampunk'd | LET OFF SOME STEAM, PUNKS! | September 2011 | |
| 58 | Boomsday | November 2011 | ||
| 59 | How to Secede Without Really Trying | January 2012 | ||
| 60 | The Bot Who Cried Wolf | March 2012 | ||
| 61 | Troop Grit | May 2012 |
Specials
In 2002 it was announced that a special two-part crossover with the characters of Simpsons Comics would be printed. The mini-series was written by Ian Boothby and pencilled by James Lloyd. It was followed by another special in 2005.Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis
| Issue # | Title | Plot summary | Release date | Cover arts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somewhere Over the Brain-Bow! | August 21, 2002 | ||
| 2 | Liquid Diamond Is Forever! | January 28, 2003 |
The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II
| Issue # | Title | Plot summary | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slaves of New New York! | January 26, 2005 | |
| 2 | The Read Menace! | March 23, 2005 |
Delivery-Boy Man (San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Exclusive)
This comic was only available from Comic-Con in 2010. It is based on the comic Fry wrote in the episode "Lrrreconcilable NdndifferencesLrrreconcilable Ndndifferences
"Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, Futurama and is the 99th episode in production and broadcast order. It aired on Comedy Central on August 26, 2010. In the episode, the ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8, Lrrr experiences...
", which had not aired at the time the comic was released.
Variations
Titan MagazinesTitan Magazines
Titan Magazines is the magazine-publishing division of Nick Landau's Titan Publishing Group. Titan also owns several Forbidden Planet specialist comics and collector stores .Titan Magazines' publishing director is Chris Teather.TPG also owns Titan Books,...
began printing Futurama Comics in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2002, with the first issue going on sale on October 3rd. The UK version is a larger A4
Paper size
Many paper size standards conventions have existed at different times and in different countries. Today there is one widespread international ISO standard and a localised standard used in North America . The paper sizes affect writing paper, stationery, cards, and some printed documents...
size and there is a sidebar on the front cover previewing what is inside. The same content is featured in these issues as in the United States, but there are also competitions and more "fan art". The order of release is altered from the original line-up; the crossovers were published as part of the main series, pushing some issues back. US issue 7 was published as UK issue 6 to coincide with the release of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, commonly abbreviated as T3, is a 2003 science fiction action film directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken...
. Captions are also changed as well, with the aforementioned issue changed to "Rise of the Machines!" and issue 3 reading "New Version 5.0!" on account of it being printed two issues later. "DOOP the Right Thing" was not published until issue 9.
Until issue 14, the comics were published bi-monthly. From issue 15 until issue 44 they were published monthly and, to avoid catching up with the US issues (which were by now quarterly), the issues were then split in two, though "Bender Breaks Out" was published as a full issue as otherwise the story does not make sense. From issue 45 onwards the comics are reverting back to bi-monthly.
Special promotional editions are also published; a miniature edition of "DOOP the Right Thing" was included with an issue of the UK Simpsons Comics.
The comic began publishing in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2002 and follows the same release pattern as the US. However, until issue 16, they were published quarterly, going bi-monthly in late 2005. There are variations in the captions used; "A Fit Worse Than Death" was originally printed without one, with the Australian publishers adding "Medicine In The 31st Century".
Trade paperbacks
- Futurama-O-Rama: Collects Issues #1-4 [2002]
- Futurama Adventures: Collects Issues #5-9 [2004]
- Futurama Conquers The Universe: Collects Issues #10-13 [2007]
- The Time Bender Trilogy: Collects Issues #16-19 [2006]
- The Simpsons / Futurama Crossover Crisis: Collects both crossovers and Simpsons Comics #1 [2010]