The Art of Futurama: A Visual History of Matt Groening’s Cult Classic Animated Series

by Matt Groening, Claudia Katz (foreword), David X Cohen (introduction)

Genres: Art, Science Fiction, Humor

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

Matthew 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.

Reviews

[JM]

Completamente imprescindible para los fans de la serie. Un poco el "Los Simpson nunca acabarán" de Futurama.

[Wesley Mead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hundreds of Futurama designs - from early rough sketches to full-colour final models and layouts - with a good amount of commentary (approximately 25 pages of text, plus a few comments and boxouts on the pages featuring art). Beautifully laid-out and printed on lovely paper stock.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those rare art books that ticks all my boxes and has everything included, from really rough sketches, to concept art to character design, to layouts, props, colours, storyboards...the list goes on. It is a dream book as an art book collector and should be on every collector's shelf.

But, what really sets this book apart from plenty of others of its ilk, is that this book strived to credit everyone involved. If the work could be credited, it was. Not only that, several pages are dedicated to naming everyone who worked on the show, giving them their credit. This book is clearly a celebration of artists and everyone involved in the animation process of the show, highlighting often what a team effort Futurama is. It is an absolute joy!

Honestly? This one has gotta be in my top ten fav art books.

[Cozmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: [A-]

It was amazing to see some more behind the scenes of one of my favourite shows. The insight into the colour choices and line-art were very revealing as to why Futurama has such a distinct look from other animated shows. The 3 page panels are breathtaking; epically the one of the Planet Express ship, which I would hang on my wall given the opportunity.

I do wish there was more; some of the text pages felt like they were struggling to be filled, and some of the characters didn't receive comments at all.

That being said, this is still fantastic and I intend to revisit it in the future-ama.

[Brett Plaxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of Futurama are sure to love this book. Loaded with character designs, layouts and the story behind looks and the style of the show.

Because they were crunched for time, this book doesn’t include anything on the Hulu revival episodes.

[Daniel Farrelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. especially the model sheets and scans.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly about the art, but also some great stories about the show’s origins and early ideas. 26 years later and we are still here. It just won’t stay dead!