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Author Topic: I'm new to Futurama comics - which should I start with?  (Read 3322 times)
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karelm
Crustacean
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« on: 04-22-2009 19:58 »

Since I have exhausted all the TV and DVD movie futurama episodes, I was looking for more great stories and looking into the comics.  I have never read a comic before so I'm thinking it would be hard to draw me in but what is a great first read for someone new to the Futurama comics.  Are they pretty much like the episodes?  Do you have to read them in order or are there some standout books?
I.C. Weiner

Bending Unit
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« Reply #1 on: 04-22-2009 21:56 »

I haven't read any of them but let me know if they are worth reading after you find one to start with.
x.Bianca.x

Urban Legend
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« Reply #2 on: 04-23-2009 11:05 »

I just have one comic. number #14 I believe. That's the only one I've read :p
Atilla

Crustacean
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« Reply #3 on: 04-23-2009 11:07 »

I had the very same idea as karlem when I found out, there are comics about Futurama. Just wanted to have more Futurama stories.
Well now I have all the Futurama comics ever came out.
To answer your question, yes they are like the episodes, most of them is a single story. Most of them I realy liked, there are stories connected to an episode of the show (like issue #35 when fry and bender remembers back how great was to be a superheroe, and we can see another superheroe story of captain yesterday).
There are parrodies like the issue #8 which is an x-man parrody, a realy good one.
So, after reading all of them I dare to say, they worth it. Not all of them are as mindblowing as the episodes of the show, but most of them are.
My personal favourites are #14 and #20, that's real innovation!
For you last question: you don't have to read them in order exept the time bender trilogy. It is diveded into 3 (or more like 4) comics (#16-#19, there is also a trade paperback which collect the whole time bender trilogy).
If you decide to read futurama comics the best starting point is http://www.futuramics.info/blank.php?page=issues
This is a great site collecting all the covers, and also a short review of the plot.
My advise is: start reading them:)
Books

Near Death Star Inhabitant
Urban Legend
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« Reply #4 on: 04-23-2009 12:52 »

The Hun! :laff:
KurtPikachu2001

Urban Legend
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« Reply #5 on: 04-23-2009 19:41 »

The first one I got was issue #13.  You might want to check EBAY for back issues.   Futurama comic books are awesome, and you'll find a lot of stories you'll like!   If you want to start to collect them, try to get Futurama-O-Rama and Futurama Adventures, and Futurama Conquers The Universe to start out with, or just check EBAY for back issues. 

You can find them at your local comic shop for book store at the mall. 
leelasbluehair

Bending Unit
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« Reply #6 on: 04-23-2009 19:53 »

I got only 10 issues I got first four issues in usa version
Future Shock

Liquid Emperor
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« Reply #7 on: 04-25-2009 09:19 »

Buy ten of them and pick them out with your eyes closed in a reading order. If you can't choose, force.
Scruffy@Jail

Crustacean
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« Reply #8 on: 04-26-2009 03:01 »

Can you get hold of them comics in countries such as Sweden ?
leelasbluehair

Bending Unit
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« Reply #9 on: 04-26-2009 07:39 »

I don't think so they're only in uk,usa and probably in australia
Atilla

Crustacean
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« Reply #10 on: 04-28-2009 10:26 »

Your only chance is ebay. I could collect all of them in about one month. Of course the shipping cost is way out of the limit, but if you think it worth it, then, well it worth it:)
Everthing is possible even from such coutries like Hungary. If I could collect them, then I guess everybody can:)
leelasbluehair

Bending Unit
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« Reply #11 on: 04-28-2009 16:11 »

well I buyed from tesco.com this first four issues of futurama comics in usa version and It costed me only about 4 bucks
Atilla

Crustacean
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« Reply #12 on: 04-28-2009 20:48 »

You mean the four trade paperbacks (Futurama-o-rama, futurama advantures, futurama conquers the universe, time bender trilogy), or the slim comics?

By the way if my information is correct there are a new trade paperback comming this summer which will contain the futurama/simpson crossover comics.
Huzzah!
leelasbluehair

Bending Unit
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« Reply #13 on: 04-29-2009 07:09 »

I buyed futurama-o-rama only.huzzah cos I got only first 2 parts downloaded.
Chug a Bug

Bending Unit
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« Reply #14 on: 05-09-2009 19:12 »

Bit of an old post but worth a reply I think...

You could start with any of them, really. Apart from a few such as the time-bender-trilogy theres absolutely no continuity between comics they're all standalone stories.

The quality of them varies a lot, both in terms of story and drawing. A lot of them are very off-model drawing wise. When Ian Boothby took over the overall story quality improved but to be honest if you're looking for more "good" Futurama you're going to be disappointed.. at least I was. His comics lack decent characterisation, it's like watching a kids' cartoon... half decent stories, but the characters are pale imitations of themselves, little more than cardboard cutouts, really.

Stick with Fanfics. They're free, and the stories are usually better too. At least the good ones are.
Svip

Administrator
DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #15 on: 05-09-2009 20:36 »

Personally, I avoid anything not made by Matt Groening and his team.  Or rather, "approved" by Matt Groening.  Not because the comics or fan fictions are necessarily worse than an episode or film, and I am not ruling out the possibility that some of these are better than some episodes and films.  My reasoning is because I am a fan of canon.  Canon is what keeps my clock ticking.

My point is, if I cannot regard it is canon, it seems weird to me, because while I can place it, I cannot get myself to accept to place it.  In addition, a story that I am not supposed to be remembering as part of canon seems sort of a waste of time.  But I guess that's just my issue.
Jezzem

Urban Legend
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« Reply #16 on: 05-09-2009 21:05 »

I have that same issue. Interesting, no?
Otis P Jivefunk

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #17 on: 05-10-2009 13:47 »
« Last Edit on: 05-10-2009 13:49 »

I have nearly all of the comics, I'm missing a few issues in the late 30's. But anyway, from memory I would say issue #4 is one of the best, a real good Zapp story. Issue #16 I think was rather good, I seem to remember it having great artwork too. There are other good ones but I can't remember the numbers...
Chug a Bug

Bending Unit
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« Reply #18 on: 05-16-2009 17:14 »
« Last Edit on: 05-16-2009 17:15 »

Personally, I avoid anything not made by Matt Groening and his team.  Or rather, "approved" by Matt Groening.

Depends what you mean by "approved" I guess. The stories often start with start "Matt Groening presents..." or at least his signature on the title page. So I hardly think they're unapproved. Unless I'm missing something?

Quote
My point is, if I cannot regard it is canon, it seems weird to me, because while I can place it, I cannot get myself to accept to place it.  In addition, a story that I am not supposed to be remembering as part of canon seems sort of a waste of time.  But I guess that's just my issue.

I know exactly what you mean. But I'm desperate for any new Futurama stories, canon or not. That is until I read a bad one like #41 which I then desperately try to forget...
speedracer
Bending Unit
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« Reply #19 on: 05-16-2009 19:01 »

I just finished reading the first four issues (from the Futurama-O-Rama collection).  None of them are terrible, and #4 is excellent -- it wouldn't be a bad idea to turn it into an episode on the off chance that the show ever comes back.
Jeffbot

Crustacean
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« Reply #20 on: 06-12-2009 09:32 »

In my opinion, they seemed to take more time and put more effort into the earlier stories, both with regards to the writing and the art.  More recently, the quality has lacked, though you might get a few chuckles out of them.  That hasn't kept me from buying them, since I'm desperate for more Futurama, but they're not for everyone.  They have a disproportionately high ratio of comic book related humor in the books.

I mean, I get it - if you're reading it then you probably know about other comics, but not EVERY issue needs an X-Men joke.
hobo bot

Bending Unit
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« Reply #21 on: 06-12-2009 19:44 »

Being sad, its numerical order all the way for me baby!  :D
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #22 on: 06-13-2009 01:37 »
« Last Edit on: 06-13-2009 01:38 by Futurama_Freak1 »

Stay away from anything penciled by Mike Kazaleh.
Atilla

Crustacean
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« Reply #23 on: 06-13-2009 21:12 »

Stay away from anything penciled by Mike Kazaleh.

I agree with that completely. The worst thing i saw was a block with URL. I wasn't able to recognize him, until someone called the robot URL.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #24 on: 06-14-2009 03:56 »

"look at me, i'm a comic artist!"

Gorky

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #25 on: 06-14-2009 04:00 »

Leela's got a bit of an Exorcist pose goin' on there.

(I do agree that some of the artwork in the comics is appallingly bad. That's a bigger turn-off to me as a reader than the occasionally sub-par writing.)
Frisco17

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #26 on: 06-14-2009 04:01 »

Also her head is friggin' huge.
Atilla

Crustacean
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« Reply #27 on: 06-14-2009 18:33 »

"look at me, i'm a comic artist!"



Thanks for the picture, but that's not the one I'm talking about. As soon as I get near my comic collection I'll search for the block I mentioned.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #28 on: 06-15-2009 00:09 »

Incidentally, my favorite artist is Picasso.

Gorky

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #29 on: 06-15-2009 04:25 »

Why is it that those random background gnome-ish characters seem more on-model than the two female leads? Prioritize, guys--you're artistes, for Christ's sake.
Freako

Urban Legend
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« Reply #30 on: 06-20-2009 11:46 »
« Last Edit on: 06-20-2009 12:26 by Futurama_Freak1 »



God damn, what happened to Morbo's head,



WHAT THE HELL, Who approved this?
He can't even draw a supporting character's hair right.

*Head Desk*
brainslugged

Crustacean
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« Reply #31 on: 06-24-2009 12:59 »
« Last Edit on: 06-24-2009 13:00 »

Apologies about the long post. Since there's people who feel uncertain about whether to get into Futurama comics or not, I thought I'd defend those comics a bit.

WHAT THE HELL, Who approved this?
He can't even draw a supporting character's hair right.

*Head Desk*

Fun fact: back when they were making season one of Futurama, they apparently planned to have Cubert look like that. There's this screenshot from a season 1 DVD featurette. (Those are colour tests; they were still looking for good colours for all the characters, and that's why colours are all weird in the pic.) Cubert's concept was there straight from the beginning but they couldn't fit him in season one, so he came in later on, with a different hair. Anyway, one thing I find really puzzling: how on Earth did the artist of that comic obtain such an ancient reference sheet of Cubert, and why? At the time when that comic was printed, Cubert's looks had been established long ago, and you don't usually spread early concepts everywhere. I always thought that panel of Cubert's early looks was hilarious and odd.
(Btw, notice in the screenshot that little thingie that's smaller than Nibbler. I think it's the Pocket Pal. He's mentioned in the commentaries of "Less Than Hero" and BWABB.)

So anyway, enough random sidetracking, I'll talk about the comics now.

I started reading Futurama comics after I'd seen all Futurama episodes. I had this desperate need to get more Futurama contents, so as soon as I found out there's Futurama comics, I looked them up. And my feelings of them are highly positive.

Issues 16-19 (or "The Time Bender Trilogy") make up a continuing storyline, but other than that, all the issues are standalones and it doesn't matter if you read them out of order.

The comics have been printed all the while as the TV series went on, and a couple of things change as TV series introduces new elements. For example, in the first issues Amy is a slut, but as she later becomes involved with Kif, the jokes about her shallow relationships stop.

There's a bunch of references to the episodes, and those references are always amusing. There's also some things that contradict with information known from episodes. But for me, Rule Of Funny overrules everything else and I don't mind contradictions. I've understood that these comics are out-of-continuity and not canonical. They're just fun things to read but you don't have to take them too seriously. I take them like that; fun, light entertainment.

About art: from what I've seen, Simpsons comics appear to have a lot more steady art quality, and there's some basis in complaining about Futurama comics art.
I feel that issues pencilled by Tom King and James Lloyd have very enjoyable art to look at. John Delaney draws in a style that looks a bit odd for Futurama. He uses a lot of shadows and some odd expressions. But I loved a particular DC superhero comic he used to do years ago, and I enjoy seeing more of his art, even if his style's a bit odd for Futurama.
Then there's Mike Kazaleh whose art gets a lot of flak. *shrug* I can see a lot of flaws in his art but the stories are still enjoyable, and I don't let the art bother me too much. If the story gives me entertainment and if the jokes make me smile, I don't feel like going all hatehatehate about the art.

The comics have pop culture references and other humor in Futurama style. As in the TV series, there's some jokes that only certain kinds of nerds will get. Like for instance, the last issue's Speed Force Burgers fastfood place had some cameos that gave a lot of amusement for a superhero fan.

There's also some Simpsons/Futurama crossover comics. They make up a big, continuing plot and the issues have to be read in the correct order so that the story makes sense. I feel the plots of these crossovers are not as satisfying as normal Simpsons or Futurama comics. But they still have a lot of funny scenes, and I get a lot of kicks out of seeing Fry/Bart, Lisa/Leela and Mom/Mr. Burns team-ups. Plus the art's looking good.

People outside of US, UK and Australia will very likely have trouble tracking down Futurama comics. I don't know if they're being translated to other languages than English. So these people will probably have to resort to online stores, and try to purchase their comics from across the sea.

Unlike other comicbook publishers, I think Bongo doesn't publish free previews/sneak peeks of their stories? That's sad, since previews could get more new people into reading their stuff. But you can see some scans of their comics over here to get a basic gist of their humor. (That's a comic fans community where people post short story snippets of comics, trying to advertise their favourite comics to other people.)

My opinion summarized: even if Futurama comics get some criticism, I feel that some of it is just nitpicking fanwank. People who are unfamiliar with Futurama comics shouldn't get too discouraged by the criticism they hear; they should try reading Futurama comics for themselves, and see if these comics appeal to them personally or not. In my opinion Futurama comics are well worth checking out, even the ones that have sucky art. As all the issues (except #16-19) are standalones, it doesn't matter that much which issue to pick as an introduction. My personal favourites are issues #11, #38 and #42. And what Atilla said about #14 and #20 is true, those issues had some really clever and unique narrative tricks.
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