Although the next 13-episode run of new Futurama episodes is still months away (slated for summer 2011), fans of the show can still enjoy new content with the Futurama Comics. They come out less now than they used to – once a month, rather than twice – but all of the familiar characters stay true to form.
Although a big fan of the show, I wasn't even aware of the comic books' existence until I began to get antsy for new episodes last year and went online to see what was happening. I happily stumbled into the gold mine of original Futurama stories contained in the comic books, and now I am always excited for each new issue.
The Futurama universe translates pretty seamlessly into comic books for obvious reasons: the show is itself a cartoon, and many of the people who work on Futurama –most notably, creator Matt Groening – are avowed comic book junkies. Even the show's main character, Fry, is a fledgling comic book artist. Still, I've shown the comics to other fans of the show and some didn't care for them. Since the two genres of Futurama are so similar, I thought this made for an interesting test case for why people might prefer comics over their movie and TV counterparts, or vice versa.
One important issue is character conceptualization. Many people who love comic books loathe seeing them become animated or live-action because it will corrupt how they have always seen and heard those characters in their heads. In this respect, it is impossible for any single embodiment of a superhero to do every fan justice. I'm thinking of Adam West’s campy portrayal of Batman, which longtime fans of the comic-book Dark Knight didn’t appreciate, as my prototype of a character getting butchered by live action. Then again, that show still has a cult following. And sometimes (and this is the case for Futurama, where the evolutionary process was reversed and the characters existed on TV before they did in print) an actor's portrayal of a character takes them to a place your imagination wouldn't and couldn't have thought of.
Without Billy West, the voice of many Futurama characters such as Fry, Professor Farnsworth and Zapp Brannigan (as well as other famous characters like Ren and Stimpy and the Red M&M), the world of Futurama wouldn't be the same. When I read the comics, it's his voice I hear; I don’t think I would be a fan of either the show or the comics without it.
One might think that comic book fans, who have seen their favorite characters go through myriad changes in appearance and back story through the years, would be more accepting of their less-than-perfect silver-screen incarnations. Yet the opposite is often true, with comic book fans leading the charge against the Hollywood's glut of superhero movies. But the crossover trend continues, and with a stable of new superhero movies coming this year (Captain America, Thor and the Green Lantern spring to mind) fans would do well to keep an open mind and watch out for that one character who might bring them into some uncharted territory where their heroes are new and exciting again.
Written by John Fritz
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Tags:
Futurama, TV, Cartoon, Characters, Billy West