Futurama-O-Rama

Futurama Comics #1-4

by Matt Groening

Get ready every Futurama and Matt Groening fan, here comes Futurama–o–rama, the very FIRST comic compilation based on the Emmy–nominated television show Futurama. It's a long way from making a pizza delivery on New Year's Eve to the bustling cityscape of New York in the 31st century, but for Phillip J. Fry it only took one little cryogenically frozen nap. Waking up in a future imagined by The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, Fry finds a job at an interplanetary messenger service and falls in with Leela, a sexy one–eyed space orphan, and Bender, an alcoholic misanthropic robot programmed to bend things. Blast off with this all–new Futurama comics collection, and leap feet first into a fun–filled future!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Humor, Science Fiction, Fiction, Comedy, Graphic Novels Comics

116 pages, Paperback

First published November 26, 2002

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

[Aaron]

As a huge fan of Futurama (it's probably my favorite show ever, honestly), I had a great time with this. Eric Rogers, who is the actual writer of this comic (not Matt Groening), does an excellent job capturing the voices of each character, and the art and visual jokes are all spot-on. Rogers even went on to write for the show itself once it came back on Comedy Central.

That said, having only one writer, as compared to a full team devoted to each episode of the show, does raise the hit-to-miss ratio of jokes quite a bit. The dialogue here, while good, is nowhere near as punchy as that of the show, which occasionally takes you out of it.

Also, a few of the story premises feel pretty thin. There's a particularly egregious Vietnam allegory in the final issue in this collection that feels tone deaf and like it has nothing discernible to say. When compared to some of the commentary about war the show did, it feels borderline dumb.

But, overall, this is still a joy to read. I'm glad there's more Futurama to be discovered out there in the world, and I'm sure I'll read the other volumes that are available. Basically, if you're a fan of the show, you'll enjoy this. If you haven't seen the show, go watch it about 200 times all the way through, then come back to this.

[Bill]

1) a graphic novel
2) because i like comics and graphic novels
3) it's all colorful and easy to understand
4) i can watch it on tv and there is no shadows underneath the characters
5) i recommend this book to everyone that likes futurama and comics

[Anthony Amorelli]

I liked this comic because I like futurama. It's a funny show and this was a funny book. The artwork was just like how the show is so it wasn't really different or weird and I liked how they did it.

[Angel Leiva]

it’s a fun read, glad to see more adventures of these characters in book form

[Matthew Ward]

3.5 stars. These were fun stories that felt like they were just more episodes of the show I love so much! The advantage of reading in comic format is that there are specific jokes you catch in reading and more jokes catered to a comic book fan. Good stuff!

[Jorge Garzón Jiménez]

Cuatro divertidas historias del universo de Futurama. Los chistes y situaciones son iguales que en la serie. Es como estar viendo un capítulo. Maravilloso.
Imprescindible para cualquier fan.

[Krystl Louwagie]

Not much to report on these-enjoyable, but didn't get me too emotionally invested. Nothing will ever top the amazing "Bender's Big Score"! And I do like the animated show better than the comics-just when the show isn't on (and not as good as it used to be), I take what I can get!

[Matthew J.]

Operation: "read a bunch of the random crap you've acquired over the last 20 years so you can make some danged room on your shelves," continues.
This was fine. It was fun. The art looks like the show. The character mostly feel right. There are some good gags.

[Nicolas]

It was like watching an episode in my mind. This was really fun.

[Jay]

For those addicted to Futurama, like me, this book is mandatory. It was like watching four new episodes of the series. It was really good.

[Nikola Hranikova]

Skvely komiks )) uz se tesim na dalsi...

[Chris]

A great comic book, in keeping with the spirit of Futurama. Lovely artwork and the Futurama-esque ads are great fun.

Recommended for any fan great or small

[Ronaldo]

The book seemed kind of boring at first then it became kind of funny.

[Emily]

I love this exploration of the Futurama world. It's awesome to be able to read more adventures. Now it's time to convince someone to get the show back on the air.

[Brenda Burns]

Some collected issues of the Planet Express crew. You can get more fun with Futurama right here in comic book form. Just love these guys. Leela is the best.

[Charlie]

Made me want to watch the show 👍

[Dillon Harris]

I usually find comic books based on a previously existing IP take time to find a voice seperate from what it’s based off, a reason to exist in this medium. The first volume of ‘Futurama’ comics does not have that issue, immediately finding a seamless way of telling us shorter, but eventful stories revolving around the Planet Express team, a group of characters I feel very connected to.

I definitely think the last story is the best in regards to having both a tale we are invested in on top of great gags, but all four shine in at least one of these areas, and none left me unsatisfied. A great way of delivering (pun unintended) more from this team beyond the fantastic tv series.

[King Haddock]

The best part was the "advertisements." Someone had way too much fun designing and writing those.

The more detailed panels are worth looking closely at. There are some amusing gags hidden in the background.

[Elizabeth Martinez]

This brought the same fun that the show has provided for me. I enjoyed that each issue felt like an episode. This world is so wacky and I love to see the characters and everything they go through day to day. Leela is my girl, and Bender is a whole mess.

[Malcolm Cox]

4 fun new adventures following Philip J Fry and co. as the battle against giant mutant sea monkeys, collectible gremlins, Zap Brannigan and other fiends in the future. Looks and feels just like the show, these are great, but I can' t help feel they would be better on screen.

[David Meyer]

These weren't bad. There was a decent amount of the humor hidden in the background that you expect from the makers of Futurama and The Simpsons, but overall it felt like ideas that didn't make the cut for the show.

[Calum]

Four fun issues of varying quality but they all capture the voices of the characters. Issue one was definitely the best as it felt the most like an episode of the show while the rest did feel like they were missing something.

[Seth the Zest]

A fun little romp. I'm impressed by how reasonably the show lends itself to comics. Side note, the fourth comic book is probably a bit insensitive. The jokes make sense if you're a white guy writing about Vietnam but land less well if you reflect on the treatment of the Vietnamese.

[Msha]

Jakožto fanoušek mohu říct, že to není špatné. Pokud chcete Futuramu rozšířit o další příběhy proč ne, ale promluvy postav mi nepřijdou, tak přesvědčivé jako u seriálu (mají trochu odlišný charakter). Ale, že bych se u čtení ani jednou nezasmála říct nemůžu.

[Hywel Rees]

Good fun, if you like Futurama!

[Kay]

- Fry’s Sea-monkeys
-Planet Express hijacking
- Furbie collection can’t be completed
- Zap has bugs in him

[Ash]

One of my favourite tv series. The comics still show the same characters and plot I enjoy except without the amazing voice actors.

[Stephen Gower]

Reads like the show, but maybe the writing isn't as tight.

[Luke Smith]

Not as good as the show but still pretty good

[Booklepuff]

I really loved this graphic novel as it was exactly like watching episodes of the TV show (which is my favourite cartoon ever). The illustration style perfectly matches the TV style too. My two favourite stories were ‘Monkey Sea, Monkey Doom’ + ‘The Owner of Mars Attacks!’

I love the sassy humour, the futuristic elements and all of the characters. It was nice to have a story with Zapp and Kiff in too as they aren’t always in every episode / story. My favourite characters are Fry, Leela, Nibbler, Bender and Zoidberg - he makes me laugh so much!