Good news, everyone! This week The Art of Futurama: A Visual History of Matt Groening’s Cult Classic Animated Series hit store shelves. It features never-before-seen concept art, original drawings, a preface from Groening himself, and behind-the-scenes commentary from those who have helped bring the beloved cartoon to life over the last 25 years. But you don’t need Fry to deliver your copy to see what Futurama treasures await readers. Nerdist has an exclusive inside look at The Art of Futurama.
Matt Groening’s new book from Abrams ComicArts is a Futurama feast. This deluxe hardcover book is a first for the show. It explores the development and history of the popular sci-fi animated series.
It covers the making of the series’ first seven years at Fox, which began in 1999. But it also includes insight into every installment via “brand-new content, never-before-seen concept art, sketches, developmental work, and a complete episode guide.” Many of those drawings also come with commentary from Groening, showrunner David X. Cohen, and producer Claudia Katz. Cohen also provides an introduction and Katz wrote the book’s foreword.
Fans will find 176 pages of colorful artwork when they take their copy for an intergalactic spin. But we have a sneak peak at a few of those pages right here. These sneak peeks include designs and sketches that were used to create some of the show’s most famous moments and episodes. They also provide an idea of the kind of commentary readers will encounter on each page. This book promises to give even the most dedicates viewers new ways to appreciate the show.
“When the show premiered on March 28, 1999, it was heralded as one of the best-looking shows on television,” writes Katz in her forward. “This book is a tribute to all the talented artists who helped mold, build, and shape the beautiful, stunning, epic and (twenty-five years later) ever-expanding Futurama Universe.”
It’s also a tribute to this show’s enduring legacy. Multiple cancellations at multiple networks haven’t been able to stop it. Now viewers will get a chance to both eread and see why.
