Comic Review: Futurama Comics Annual #1

Two great stories for any body who misses Futurama as much as we do.

Overview:

In the first story, Fry is hitting a mid-life crisis seeing as he is over a thousand-years-old. In an attempt to be young again Fry convinces the gang to head to “Burning Mom” to party for days on end. It turns out the real Mom set the whole party up as a way to destroy all of her critics, but Fry convinces her and himself that being old is not as bad as it seems.

In the second issue, Fry is telling the kids at the orphanage a story, a Futurama version of Pinocchio, starring Bender. Following much of the same plot as the classic, Bendocchio’s path varies due to his lack of morals and refusal to learn any lessons. There is also a couple of great twist endings that put the story over the top, and keep to Bender’s lovable character.

Our Take:

Despite the many resurgences of Futurama there still feels like there is a void in its absence. It makes it difficult to think about a world without The Simpsons. Thank goodness Matt Groening’s next adventure Disenchantment is just under a month away, coming August 17th on Netflix. Having a giant-sized Futurama Annual drop today excited me, but I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I started reading.

Right off the bat, I was impressed with the many references involved in the first story. It kicks off with Fry playing a future version of Pokemon Go! Involving a trip to a satire of Burning Man is something that you wouldn’t expect from any comic title. And, there was even a mashup version of Death Race meets Wacky Races, which involved many obscure vehicles throughout pop culture. Beyond those, there were fun jokes involving everything from Star Wars to Gremlins. Anybody as nerdy as I am is going to love reading this story.

I also really enjoyed the Pinocchio satire. This is a classic tale that has been loosely retold many times, but more often than not, they avoid the overall plot of the Disney film. Bendocchio goes all out, offering all the most memorable scenes of the movie, but with brilliant Futurama humour and characters involved. The best part is easily Dr. Zoidberg playing the part of the giant whale. That’s just one of the many pieces that made this a really enjoyable read.

One of the other things I wanted to mention was the very appealing pin-up pages offered on the back of the cover pages. They are both very cool looking and if I were still in college I would probably hunt them out in poster form for my walls. This book is worth the pick up for those two images alone, never mind the great stories that fill the pages.

There just isn’t enough Futurama in the world anymore. We have become so attached to these lovable characters that any time they make an appearance it is like visiting an old friend. There was no doubt that this special Annual Futurama Comics issue would be an enjoyable read. The surprise came from how well this book was actually done. The first story featuring “Burning Mom” is as good as some of the shows best episodes. Futurama fans are going to love this book, and I would recommend picking it up just to revisit all the beloved characters and fun. It’s worth the few dollars to be able to return to the future with Fry, Bender and Leela.