BONGO COMICS REVIEW: FUTURAMA #61

Bender takes charge of a bot scout, but after declaring that membership is for robots only, he is soon challenged by Leela’s all-girl, evil mutant troop. Not wanting to be left out, Fry forms a troop of his own, with himself as its only member! When Planet Express sponsors a field trip and delivery competition, Fry, Leela, and Bender set out to prove to each other who has the top troop!

 

Spoilers Below

Troop Grit

Fry, Leela, and Bender all form their own take on ‘scouts’ and unlike most scout counselors that preach togetherness and working together(sometimes) these guys have to turn it into a big-ol competition. Bender’s group consists of little bots and has named his group “Destroy All Humans” where mutants aren’t allowed, Leela has started a group called “The Sisterhood of Evil Mutants” that doesn’t allow little bots, and after using Cerebro Fry starts up his own scout troop minus any mutants OR robots called “The Fry Scouts”!  As you can probably guess each scout leader runs their troop differently, what with Bender promoting helping old people across the street while robbing them, Leela playing camp fire songs….in the sewer, and Fry going the old school route by promoting his love of the outdoors and badges.

It doesn’t take long for Hermes to get tired of all the rickety rack and as such he zaps the crew to fall asleep only to wake up in time for a delivery on a remote planet that also acts as a stage for the next round of competitions amongst the troops. Bender’s group wins a competition by being the fastest to build shelter, Fry wins a round by ‘finding food’ and Leela’s troop reenactment of Wicked is so good that its easily the best entertainment. However, things soon go awry when the planet they are inhabiting starts to spew volcanic magma everywhere causing. Thankfully, the scout leaders cool down and get together for a ‘special delivery’ courtesy of Planet Express and as a result they form one big scout troop where everyone is invited both small or BIG!

Of all the Bongo comics the Futurama series may be the best one. The stories and plots seem to be a lot better than the Simpsons comics and most importantly they are WAY funnier. The one character that the Futurama comics can’t seem to get right in my opinion is Zoidberg. For one, he is one of the most popular crew members and he only makes cameos every issue, and I don’t even think his lines convey his genius ala the show. However, this issue did have a bunch of great moments, like the constant X-Men shout outs and a special appearance by a certain “Lost” droid! Definitely worth a buy, which is great because it should hold you over until the Futurama TV series premiers on Comedy Central on June 20th, 2012.(Check your local listings!)

(9.0 out of 10)