Futurama Comics

"Futurama Comics"
The front cover of issue #1
Story	Multiple (based on characters created by Matt Groening)
Ink	Multiple
Pages	25
First publication	November 22, 2000 - July 17, 2017

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 and from 2013 to present it is the only new Futurama material being made. The comic book series continues its run, even after two cancellations of the TV series. Issue #82 was distributed via the Futuramaland app, and will not be physically printed.

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. Fry, a slacker from the 20th century who was cryogenically 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.

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. Coinciding with the change in format in issue 59, the caption was abandoned, along with the original logo. 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.

After issue 81, the print edition was cancelled and issue 82 was released as a digital only comic.

Issues

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.

Variations

Titan Magazines began printing Futurama Comics in the United Kingdom in 2002, with the first issue going on sale on October 3.^[3] 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 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.

Titan ceased publishing Futurama Comics in the UK with the release of issue 67 (US issues 67 and 68) in August, 2013.

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".

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]

References

External links

• Official Futurama Comics catalog
• Futurama covers gallery
• Comic Listing at the Infosphere.