Futurama Comics

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Futurama Comics is a comic book series based on the television show Futurama. It is published by Bongo Comics. Originally published only in the US, the UK now has its own version of the series. The stories are the same in both but the running order and other features are different.

Just like the TV series, each comic has a caption at the top of the cover (e.g., "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)"). Some of the UK comics have different captions on the top of their comics. Both series contain a letters page, artwork from readers and previews of other Bongo Comics coming up. During the hiatus in production of new TV episodes between 2003 and 2006, the comics were the only media still being actively produced for the Futurama franchise.

Contents 1 US issues 1.1 Upcoming US Issues 2 Simpsons Crossovers 3 UK issues 3.1 Upcoming UK issues 4 Trade Paperbacks 4.1 Upcoming Trade Paperbacks 5 Writers and artists 6 External links

[edit] US issues

The series has been out since November 2000 and so far consists of 27 issues plus 4 special issues. Originally published 6 times a year, the series is now published 4 times a year.

• Issue 1 - "Monkey See, Monkey Doom!"
  • First published November 22nd 2000.
  • Caption: FEISTY FIRST ISSUE!
  • While digging a large hole to hide one of Professor Farnsworth's inventions that he's hiding from the police, Fry, Bender and Leela find a time capsule from the 20th Century. This capsule has loads of old junk in it, and Fry, seeing this, begins to miss all the things he used to have. While reading an old comic, he finds an ad for some sea monkeys, and purchases some from an old store that sells 20th Century stuff. Unfortunately, the sea monkeys don't impress his friends as much as he wanted them to; at least not until they come into contact with the professor's gamma radiation, and begin to grow, and grow, AND GROW!
• Issue 2 - "...But Deliver Us To Evil!"
  • First published January 24th 2001.
  • Caption: SLIMY SECOND ISSUE!
  • Planet Express wins an award; Most Efficient Delivery Company on Weekends and Holidays. Soon after, some aliens named Lucy and Ricky hire the crew to take a package somewhere for them and insist on coming with them on the delivery to see what makes Planet Express so great. But soon the crew are attacked by space pirates, and then they discover that the two visitors aren't all they make themselves out to be.
• Issue 3 - "The Owner Of Mars Attacks!"
  • First published March 28th 2001.
  • Caption: NEW VERSION 3.0!
  • The gang head to a flea market where Leela discovers some collectible creatures called 'Needy Newbies' that she finds really cute. Inez Wong apparently also collects them, and she treats Leela to one, as well as inviting her to a weekly collectors meeting at her place. She and Zoidberg both go, but when a selfish Inez doesn't let her or anybody else talk about their collections because she only brags about hers, Leela swears that she will stop Inez from getting the whole collection. The race to get the last two Newbies begins.
• Issue 4 - "DOOP The Right Thing!"
  • First published May 23rd 2001.
  • Caption: BLOATED WITH COMEDY (In Alien Language 1)
  • Captain Zapp Brannigan of the D.O.O.P. is lost on the jungles of a planet known as Da Nang 4, whose natives are at war with the Democratic Order of Planets. A message to Kif from Zapp reveals he has been made the king of a native tribe and he requests that a one-eyed queen be sent to him, specifically Leela. Leela reluctantly goes to Da Nang 4 and while she and Kif go to find Zapp, Bender and Fry look for some booze on the planet.
• Issue 5 - "Who's Dying To Be A Gazillionaire?"
  • First published July 25th 2001.
  • Caption: PRESENTED IN 2-D! NO GLASSES NEEDED! _{(UNLESS YOU NEED GLASSES)}
  • Seems like the Professor owes the IRS a million dollars, and Fry sees the only way of getting the money is to go on the deadliest game show on Earth: Morbo's Who's Dying to Be a Gazillionaire. This game show has one major difference over the one that it's parodying: If you go for $1,000,000 plus, and get the answer wrong, you die!
• Issue 6 - "Xmas Time Is Fear"
  • First published October 24th 2001.
  • Caption: PRINTED IN MINT CONDITION!
  • The plot premise involves an alliance between three of the galaxy's most evil villains: The Robot Devil, Santa Claus and Richard Nixon's Head. Basically, the Robot Devil tries to get Bender (amongst other robots) to gather everybody of New New York into Times Square, with the message that Robot Santa has been reprogrammed to be nice. However, the real fact is that Santa hasn't changed at all, and is preparing to slaughter everybody there. To discover the motives for Beelzebot and Nixon, you'll have to read it.
• Issue 7 - "New Year's Rockin' Evil"
  • First published January 23rd 2002.
  • Caption: NO ANIMATED TV CHARACTERS WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS COMIC BOOK!
  • It's New Year's Eve 3001. After a cameo from Nick Clark (the great, great, great, etc grandson of Dick Clark's Head.) there is a power outage, thanks to the Professor's New Year's ball that takes up too much power. To pass the time, the crew decide to look at the What-If? Machine, although only one question is asked this time... with Bender posing what would happen if he travelled back to 1999. And in a parody of The Terminator, we discover that on the night Fry is to be frozen, someone from the future has gone back to stop the event from ever happening...
• Issue 8 - "Planet X-Press Men"
  • First published March 27th 2002.
  • Caption: A NEW HIGH IN LOWBROW ENTERTAINMENT!
  • In this parody of The X-Men, Professor F (Farnsworth) and his school of mutant rejects are visited by a strange robot named Benderine (Bender) and decide to take him into their team, despite some objections from Uniclops (Leela) because he has been created by Momento (yeah, you guessed it... Mom.) The rest of the crew are parodies on some of the major X-Men characters, these being Wonder Boy (Fry), Rouge (Amy), The Weather Mon (Hermes), and Lobstrocity (Zoidberg).
• Issue 9 - "Freaky Fry-day"
  • First published May 22nd 2002.
  • Caption: MADE IN THE U.S.A.! _{(PRINTED IN CANADA)}
  • Great Nephew Day has arrived, and Fry gets the Professor a present in the form of a glowing green rock that is legally distinct from Kryptonite on by the fact that it's not called by the same name. Also, its effects on Superman are unknown. Its effects on Fry and the Professor, if they both wear it simultaneously around their necks, is that once they both sleep, they will awaken with the other's body. The only thing is, the Professor wants to keep it a secret for a while so that he can use Fry's body to be young again, while Fry is just presumed to be the Professor acting insane and he's taken away.
• Issue 10 - "The Big Sweep"
  • First published November 27th 2002.
  • Caption: HOW'S MY DRAWING? CALL 1-800-555-MATT!
  • After an ash-fall on NNYC, which is rather like a snowfall but with meteor ash instead of being fallen precipitation from clouds as frozen ice crystals, Scruffy discovers some smooth white rocks and decides to teach Fry, Bender and Leela the sport of "swurling" where upon you move a rock into a bullseye on ice. Yes, somehow falling ash automatically freezes the water too, but anyway... Scruffy discovers the three are all naturals. But he's not the only one, and a washed-up swurling coach named Vic Lebruteski decides to take the whole crew under his wing for the next Olympics. Leela doesn't quite trust him though.
• Issue 11 - "The Cure For The Common Clod"
  • First published January 23rd 2003.
  • Caption: THE MOST INFLUENZAL COMIC OF ALL TIME!
  • Fry gets the old 20th Century disease of influenza, otherwise known as the common cold. Unfortunately, it isn't quite as common as it once was. After being put into Bubble Boy style containment, it turns out Leela, Hermes and Amy have picked it up too. But it effects the populace of the 31st Century a lot differently, making them all revert to primal tendencies. The Professor, Bender and Zoidberg, whom are all immune to the effects of it, race around trying to get the others contained before more get infected.
• Issue 12 - "Sideshow Fry"
  • First published March 26th 2003.
  • Caption: LET YOUR FREAK FLAG FRY!
  • The crew go to see a circus, and while waiting for the show to start come across a freak show. Fry here reveals that he's got an "outie" as they call it, which is basically that his belly button sticks out. Apparently this trait was considered to be, as Leela puts it, "The O.J. Simpson of body parts" in their time. Fry is spotted by the circus' freak-show runner and he and the ring master capture fry as one of their own freaks, where upon he finds life isn't so bad and falls in love with a bearded woman. Meanwhile, Bender plots revenge on cannon-shooter extraordinaire The Unhuman Cannonball, aka a robot named Dewey whom Bender knew during his brief stint as a military cook. Jealous that Dewey took over his job unfairly, Bender seeks his justice by replacing him for the circus' main event.
• Issue 13 - "The Bender You Say"
  • First published May 28th 2003.
  • Caption: STICK A FORK IN IT...IT'S FUN!
  • Bender's luck at cooking isn't going too well, especially after the health inspector drops by. Bender looks for another job, an it just so happens that The Robot Devil is willing to make Bender his cook. Unfortunately, it seems that Bender's cooking kills ol' Beelzebot, so Bender steps into his place. And, uh... yeah. Hilarity ensues.
• Issue 14 - "Six Characters In Search Of A Story"
  • First published July 23rd 2003.
  • Caption: MEAT-BAG TESTED, BENDER APPROVED!
  • Bongo Comics proudly presents the first comic in history that can be read seven different ways. Six characters unleash a handful of Professor Farnsworth's better to be forgotten inventions on the third planet from the Sun for a sequential tour de force that you'll never forget.
• Issue 15 - "Fry Me To The Moon"
  • First published October 8th 2003.
  • Caption: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT ANIMATED!
  • Fry's dreams come true when he is offered the chance of a lifetime -- to play the part of his childhood comic book hero Space Boy in a big budget, special effects filled, motion picture extravaganza! But the life of a Hollywood star and superhero is not all its cracked up to be, and nothing can prepare him for the movie's surprise twist ending!
• Issue 16 - "Kickin' It Old School" +
  • First published February 4th 2004.
  • Caption: NOT YOUR GRANDFATHER'S FUTURAMA!
  • When Professor Farnsworth's clone Cubert shows a slight dip in his studies and a decrease in his IQ, he is sent across the galaxy in search of a school that will save his brain from atrophying. But Cubert's not the only one sent off to boarding school. Fry, Leela, and Bender find themselves trapped in the Blackboard Jungle as well. Join us for the prologue to "The Time Bender Trilogy" - a special Futurama story arc - in four parts!
• Issue 17 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 1"
  • First published May 26th 2004.
  • Caption: 4 OUT OF 5 ALIENS RECOMMEND...
  • Fry, Leela, Bender, and Cubert return to Earth from last issue's outer space adventure at boarding school only to find the planet Earth complete uninhabited. But before they can figure out where everyone has gone, they are forced to defend the planet from alien invaders who try to claim it under Intergalactic Planetary Salvage Laws.
• Issue 18 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 2"
  • First published July 28th 2004.
  • Caption: NOMINATED FOR 12 GLORVNAXX AWARDS!
  • After defending their recently uninhabited world from alien invaders, Fry, Leela, and Bender set out to discover the whereabouts of their missing colleagues as well as billions of citizens from Planet Earth. But "where are they?" soon turns into "when are they?" and "how" and "why" also make a little appearance in Part 2 of "Time Bender Trilogy.".
• Issue 19 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 3"
  • First published September 29th 2004.
  • Caption: MORE FUN THAN A BARREL OF BRAIN SLUGS!
  • Fry is caught in the midst of an interplanetary war, Leela has angered the gods in Ancient Greece, Bender is on trial in Salem, Mass., and the Planet Express crew along with Earth’s entire population have been transported back to the Age of Dinosaurs. Will the world ever get back to normal, or is everyone totally boned? Find out in the exciting, time-bending conclusion of Bongo’s biggest and best ever "thrill"-ogy!
• Issue 20 - "Bender Breaks Out"
  • First published June 8th 2005
  • Caption: BIG ZOIDBERG BENDER ISSUE!
  • Never before in the history of comics has there been an issue quite like this one! Bender, feeling under-appreciated, goes off on a mind-bending, time-twisting, space continuum-shattering odyssey that will take him across the galaxy and through the offices of Bongo Comics in a mad, mad, mad, mad chase. Only you, dear reader, will be able to bring him back when "Bender Breaks Out!"
• Issue 21 - "More Than A Filling!"
  • First published October 12th 2005
  • Caption: Presented in BENDER-VISION
  • Fry goes to the dentist for the first time in years and there are strange signals coming from his mouth. Nobody knows where they are from until Planet Express learned they were from an alien race, and everything goes okay until Fry grinds his teeth in his sleep.
• Issue 22 - "A Fit Worse Than Death"
  • First published November 23rd 2005.
  • Caption: (None)
  • Bender becomes the 31st century’s newest diet guru, and before long President Nixon appoints him czar of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. But too much power in the wrong robots hands is a dangerous thing, and the physically tired and huddled masses of New New York City are soon yearning to be free of Bender’s tyrannical exercise regimen.
• Issue 23 - "The A-Team"
  • First published February 2nd 2006.
  • Caption: HEY MEATBAG! BUY THIS COMIC OR BACK OFF!
  • A space anomaly and some reckless piloting by Bender bring about the reappearance of one of Planet Express’ earliest crew - once presumed dead. But when the old crew turns out to be far superior to the current crew, one of them has to go! However, the now stellar and once interstellarly lost crew may not be all they seem to be....
• Issue 24 - "Twice Told Tales Of Interest"
  • First published March 22nd 2006.
  • Caption: (None)
  • As in the tradition of Futurama’s annual "Anthology of Interest" episodes, Bongo Comics presents an issue of inquisitive inquiries and questionable queries that will boggle the mind when Professor Farnsworth’s What If Machine reveals the alternate pasts, presents, and futures of the Planet Express crew. Witness the Santa Robot’s reign of terror when we dare answer the question "What if it was X-mas every day?" Then Fry poses the question, "What if my life was more like a sit-com?"
• Issue 25 - "Robot Robin Hood"
  • First published May 24th 2006.
  • Caption: NOW WITH MORE FUTURE, LESS RAMA!
  • Gather ‘round and hear tell of the three "deliverers" who fell from the sky, and liberated the good and filthy people of Bottingham... and of the metal rebel who threw off the chains of oppression and over taxation and without faint heart challenged the dastardly sheriff the one who robbed from the rich, gave some to the poor, and kept most of it for himself Robot Hood! Hear ye! Hear ye!
• Issue 26 - "A Whole Lotta Leela"
  • First published July 26th 2006.
  • Caption: THE #1 SELLING COMIC OF 3006!
  • After a freak accident with Bender's Time Rifle, Leela is blown to past, present, and future bits, dividing her into her todler, teen, and elderly selves. Anyway you look at it, there's a whole lotta Leela going on.
• Issue 27 - "Rotten To The Core"
  • First published October 5th, 2006.
  • Caption: KEEP ON TREKKIN'!
  • When the Earth is wrecked by weather anomalies that threaten to destroy the entire planet, the Planet Express crew must travel to the inner core to find out what or who has caused the world to fall off of its orbit...

+ Issues 16-19 form "The Time Bender Trilogy." Issue 16 is the intro to the Trilogy.

[edit] Upcoming US Issues

• Issue 28 - (Title Unknown)
  • Due for publication November 29th, 2006.
  • After making a delivery to the offices of one of Fry and Bender's favorite TV shows, The Scary Door, the Planet Express crew find themselves transported to a parallel dimension of sight and sound, talking dolls, and roadside diners and dates with Death and a lot of ironic plot twists! Will they ever escape? Ironically, not until they make plans to stay!

[edit] Simpsons Crossovers

Also published are 2 crossovers with The Simpsons.

• Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis: Issue 1 (of 2) - "Somewhere Over The Brain-bow!"
  • First published August 21st 2002.
  • They said it couldn’t be done! But Bongo didn’t listen to the nay-sayers, refuse-niks, and non-believers. So here it is, folks! The story that you’ve been waiting for... a story so big it can only be told in a special two-part mini-series! What would happen if the Planet Express crew met the Simpsons… and how is it even possible? Take one millennial edition of a Bongo comic, add in two Brain Spawns, mix in one 20th century man plucked out of time who’s destined to save the universe, and stir it up with an interstellar three-eyed creature with a huge appetite... and anything is possible!
• Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis: Issue 2 (of 2) - "Liquid Diamond Is Forever!"
  • First published January 28th 2003.
  • When we last saw our fearless Planet Express crew, they were trapped in a Simpsons comic book for all eternity by the evil Brain Spawn! Professor Farnworth had been committed! Fry was trapped at Springfield Elementary School! And Nibbler, the only one holding together the delicate fabric of reality together, was having his brain lactified! Is all lost? Is there any future drama for the Futurama crew? Are they finally, truly and totally boned? Find out for yourself in the senses shattering finale of the epic we could only call... Chapter Two!
• Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II: Issue 1 (of 2) - "Slaves Of New New York!"
  • First published January 26th 2005.
  • The long-awaited sequel to the Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis is here at last! With the brittle fabric between reality and fiction stretched beyond its limits, the entire citizenry of Springfield finds itself trapped in New New York a thousand years in the future. Once there, the advanced 31st century populace, which has overcome war, famine, and cured the common cold, does what any technologically and morally evolved culture would do - make the citizens of Springfield into slaves!.
• Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II: Issue 2 (of 2) - "The Read Menace!"
  • First published March 23rd 2005.
  • After all of the residents of Springfield are enslaved in 31st century New New York City, the Simpsons and the Planet Express crew must work together to restore order, find a peaceful resolution, and repair the huge gaping vortex in the side of the New New York Public Library that has unleashed every character from the world of literature on an unsuspecting populace. Prepare yourself for..."The Read Menace"! Read it and weep with laughter.

It may be worth noting that the evil Mr. Burns was also enslaved, before being purchased, freed and almost married by the equally malevolent Mom and is appointed head of one of her subsidiaries. When all of the Simpsons characters are shunted back into their fictional universe, Mom reveals that Burns left her a gift before he went; a lock of his hair. The crossover ends as Mom observes a fully grown Burns clone floating in a tank of green liquid, while assuring the clone that he would soon be awoken and that together they could conquer the world.

What this may mean remains to be seen...

[edit] UK issues

The UK comics are slightly different to their US counterparts. They are A4 size (bigger) and are now published monthly (they were bi-monthly beforehand). There are more competitions and posters in the UK comics than the US comics, and the publishing order has changed slightly (for example, "New Year's Rockin' Evil", a parody of The Terminator , was published at the same time Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released in British cinemas.

The stories, and thus synopses, are identical to the US comics and were described above.

• Issue 1 - "Monkey See, Monkey Doom!"
• Issue 2 - "...But Deliver Us To Evil!"
• Issue 3 - Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis Part 1: "Somewhere Over The Brain-bow!
• Issue 4 - Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis Part 2: "Liquid Diamond Is Forever!"
• Issue 5 - "The Owner Of Mars Attacks!"
• Issue 6 - "New Year's Rockin' Evil"
• Issue 7 - "Who's Dying To Be A Gazillionaire?"
• Issue 8 - "Xmas Time Is Fear"
• Issue 9 - "DOOP The Right Thing!"
• Issue 10 - "Planet X-Press Men"
• Issue 11 - "Freaky Fry-day"
• Issue 12 - "Big Sweep"
• Issue 13 - "The Cure For The Common Clod"
• Issue 14 - "Sideshow Fry"
• Issue 15 - "The Bender You Say" (Part 1)+
• Issue 16 - "The Bender You Say" (Part 2)
• Issue 17 - Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis II Part 2: "The Read Menace!"++
• Issue 18 - "Six Characters In Search Of A Story" (Part 1)
• Issue 19 - "Six Characters In Search Of A Story" (Part 2)
• Issue 20 - "Fry Me To The Moon" (Part 1)
• Issue 21 - "Fry Me To The Moon" (Part 2)
• Issue 22 - "Kickin' It Old School" (Part 1)
• Issue 23 - "Kickin' It Old School" (Part 2)
• Issue 24 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 1a"
• Issue 25 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 1b"
• Issue 26 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 2a"
• Issue 27 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 2b"
• Issue 28 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 3a"
• Issue 29 - "The Time Bender Trilogy: Part 3b"
• Issue 30 - "Bender Breaks Out"+++
• Issue 31 - "More Than A Filling!" (Part 1)
• Issue 32 - "More Than A Filling!" (Part 2)
• Issue 33 - "A Fit Worse Than Death!" (Part 1)
• Issue 34 - "A Fit Worse Than Death!" (Part 2)
• Issue 35 - "The A-Team" (Part 1)
• Issue 36 - "The A-Team" (Part 2)
• Issue 37 - "Twice Told Tales Of Interest" (Part 1)
• Issue 38 - "Twice Told Tales Of Interest" (Part 2)

+ Futurama Comics UK went monthly at this point - stories are being split into 2 magazines now in order to avoid "catching" up with the US comics too quickly.
++ Part 1 was published as Simpsons Comics #103.
+++ Due to the storyline of Issue 30, it was published intact rather than split over two issues. This is because the comic has to be whole for it to make any kind of sense. The comics reverted to 2 parters after Issue 30.

[edit] Upcoming UK issues

• Issue 39 - "Robot Robin Hood" (Part 1) - due in December 2006
• Issue 40 - "Robot Robin Hood" (Part 2) - due in January 2007
• Issue 41 - "A Whole Lotta Leela" (Part 1) - due in February 2007
• Issue 42 - "A Whole Lotta Leela" (Part 2) - due in March 2007

[edit] Trade Paperbacks

These are collections of the above comics (typically four or five) published in a paperback graphic novel form.

• "Futurama-O-Rama" - Collects US issues #1-4
• "Futurama Adventures" - Collects US issues #5-9
• "Futurama: The Time Bender Trilogy" - Collects US issues #16-19 (the Time Bender Trilogy)

[edit] Upcoming Trade Paperbacks

• Simpsons/Futurama Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis (All four crossover comics plus Simpsons comic #87)

There is currently no word as to whether US issues #10-15 will be released in a trade paperback, although they probably will be eventually.

[edit] Writers and artists

The first 10 comics (US numbers), plus "Big Sweep" and "Sideshow Fry", were written by writer Eric Rogers, a writer's assistant on the Futurama TV show. Patric M. Verrone (who wrote for the show) wrote "The Cure For The Common Clod", "Six Characters In Search Of A Story" and "Bender Breaks Out", and Simpsons Comics writer Ian Boothby wrote the Time Bender Trilogy plus both Simpsons Crossovers.

Artists for the series include James Lloyd, John Delaney, Tom King, Pam Cooke and Mike Kazaleh. Apart from "Freaky Fry-day", which was a joint effort between John Delaney and Tom King, each comic is drawn by one artist.

[edit] External links

• Futurama Madhouse Reviews Reviews of the first 17 comics + the Simpsons crossovers, more are added regularly.

Futurama
Characters
Philip J. Fry | Turanga Leela | Bender | Professor Hubert Farnsworth | Dr. John Zoidberg | Hermes Conrad | Amy Wong Zapp Brannigan | Kif Kroker | Nibbler | Cubert Farnsworth | Calculon | Mom Others: Recurring non-robot characters | Recurring robot characters | Secondary characters
Futurama Universe
Planets: Eternium | Omicron Persei VIII
Aliens: Cygnoid | Decapodian | Nibblonian | Neptunian
Politics and Religion: Earth Government | Robotology | D.O.O.P.
Technology: Gadgets | Suicide booth | Planet Express Ship | Nimbus
Media	Other
Episodes | Comic Books | Video Game	Timeline | Blernsball | All My Circuits | The Scary Door | Locations | Products | Slurm