The big Futurama post, filled with good news (everyone)

Hey there, meatbags, it's time to take a look at some Futurama-related items from the past few months. I will forever have the softest of soft spots in my heart for Futurama, the Fox-turned-Comedy Central sci-fi/comedy cartoon that has meant so much to me since it first launched back in 1999. I've had some fun and interesting moments surrounding the show both in and around Comic-Con, and well, I guess this is the place to talk about it.

I suppose I'll start off with the biggest item on the list. When I was at Comic-Con in July, I purchased some original animated art from the show, as seen above, from the episode "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television". I had hoped to get it signed by co-creator Matt Groening at his Bongo Comics booth appearance, but I wasn't able to get one of the randomly-distributed tickets when they were handed out.

As I was leaving the booth, I ran into Futurama writer and producer Patric Verrone, and we had a nice conversation. Quite unintentionally, I had bought some eBay items from Verrone a few weeks earlier, and it was an incredible coincidence that not only did I unknowingly make those purchases and exchange a few messages with him after seeing his name on the return address label, but we also just happened to be in a similar space at a convention with over 100,000 people.

I'm leaving some details out of the recollection, but the short of it is that Verrone took my animation art and not only got it signed by Groening, but also co-creator David X. Cohen and voice of Bender, John DiMaggio (Verrone signed it, too!). Needless to say, I was pretty stunned that this all happened, and I'm naturally pretty grateful to all involved, but mostly to Patric Verrone for the incredibly kind gesture. I love that the signatures are personalized, and oh my goodness, check out the original Matt Groening Bender doodle! How unbelievable is that?

After speaking with Verrone, I learned that he, Groening, Cohen, DiMaggio and many other Futurama alumni are creating a new cartoon for Netflix titled "Disenchantment", which will air in 2018. I can't wait to watch it, and I continue to hold out hope for a Futurama revival before too long.

Now let's look at some Futurama related pictures from Comic-Con!

Here's me with Patric Verrone after we met at the Bongo Comics booth. I keep pitching ideas to Bongo for their Simpsons-related comic book titles, but haven't had any luck so far. Maybe some day.

That's Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening in the yellow shirt, arriving at the Bongo booth for his signing.

Near the end of the day on Saturday, I got a picture with Phil LaMarr, voice of Hermes and a number of other characters on the show.

There were a few Futurama-themed costumes at the show, including this Leela...

...and this Bender.

In other news, I finally managed to find and buy some Futurama Comics original artwork! This series was published in print form by Bongo Comics until very recently. Like a few of their series, Futurama Comics moved to a digital-only platform in the past year.

This artwork is by Tone Rodriguez, who shares a last name with Bender - maybe they're related. I'm a big fan of Rodriguez's work...even his 'on model' stuff has his signature style. He's my favorite Bongo artist because he always brings a touch of Kirby to his work. 

I bought five pages in total - kind of. The art you see here is for a five-page short story, as per the description from the seller of the pages. Pages 1-2 and 3-4 are drawn side-by-side on the same pages, so these five pages are drawn on a total of...three pages. If that makes any sense.

Most Futurama Comics stories are contained to a single issue, and they're all drawn in the same basic style, so they tend to blend together after a while and 80+ issues. As such, I'm still trying to figure out exactly where this story saw print. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Check out that sound effect!

I've written a few more Futurama-themed recipes for the "Eats Like A Duck" food blog, including one for these Futurama sugar cookies! I made the above cookies recently and they turned out really well.

Lastly, Futurama kind-of-sort-of returned as a Nerdist podcast double episode with the entire cast and some of the writing staff in September. Have a listen! 

Thing sketch cards, part 4

It's time to look at some new Thing sketch cards that have made their way to my collection.  HOW EXCITING!

Thor: The Dark World card - This lovely signature-less card will most likely forever go without the name of the artist attached, but perhaps someone in the know will one day stumble upon this image and illuminate the rest of us on just whose art adorns this sketch card.  There's a lot to like about this card, starting with the fact that the mystery artist took a card from the Thor movie trading card line and, instead of choosing a character like Odin, Sif, Jane Foster or...Thor...decided to draw the Thing.  This color pencil masterpiece also includes the Thing in a checkered shirt, which is just classy.

Here's the back of the card!  The reproduced signature is of Richard McWilliams, not the artist but from the Upper Deck trading card company.

Duane Redhead - During Duane Redhead's recent stateside trip, he drew a lot of sketches, mostly of the Tick and Arthur (for obvious reasons).  Near the end of his trip, while Duane and I signed some books at Pittsburgh Comics, I twisted Duane's arm enough that he also drew the Thing a few times...including on this Teddy and the Yeti sketch card.  This closeup is, if you can't tell (come on, guys), of the cosmic ray-infused "pineapple" Thing, who totally beat up the Hulk.  Sharp viewers will note that the T&Y trading card is upside down (or is it the Thing?).  Larry walked away from the signing with cards of both the Tick and Arthur, which I'm hoping he'll scan and share soon.

Mark Dos Santos - This Marvel "Heroes and Villains" sketch card comes courtesy of Mark Dos Santos, who for whatever reason decided to forego the villain and just draw two heroes.  At first glance, it looks like the Thing is sharing a moment of camaraderie with Wolverine, but the character is actually D-Man, who couldn't decide on his own costume and instead wore an original Daredevil outfit with a Wolverine mask.  D-Man's alter ego first appeared in the original Thing series, so there's something of a connection between the two.  D-Man was originally called "Demolition Man", and I can't help but wonder if the name was shortened because of the Snipes/Stallone movie.

Heeeyyy...here's the back of the card.

Bub Shehi - This homemade card features lots of action lines!  And it's by "Bub" Shehi.  I bought it for a dollar on eBay, and it came with free shipping.  When I got this in the mail, I noticed that it cost the seller over two dollars to ship it, which means he lost money in the transaction.  Sorry fella.  It's a cool card nonetheless.

Tone Rodriguez - I've been hoping to get some art from Tone Rodriguez for a while now.  Rodriguez has drawn the Thing a number of times before (most notably for the Hero Initiative) and he always manages to impress.  It seems that he really enjoys drawing the Thing and he adds a lot of dynamic energy when he does.  When this card showed up on eBay, I snatched it up right away.  I'm loving the colors that, as you can see below, bled all the way through the card to somehow frame the Kirby Thing printed on back.  It's my second sketch card from the Fantastic Four Archives set.

Well, that's it for now.  More to come...later.