"Attack of the Fifty-Foot Amy"
Writer: Ian Boothby
Artist: Carlos Valenti(p), Andew Pepoy(i), Nathan Hamill & Rick Reese(c)
Publisher: Bongo
In Futurama Ian Boothby embiggens Amy and relates a bizarre fable about pirating movies. Moral of the story: just don't. Despite Amy's gargantuan proportions taking up most of the space in the panels, the art team succeeds in accomplishing a cinematic scope in later scenes, and they still have much to do thanks to the imitative elements in Boothby's story.
Convolution is the key word. The story begins with Qbert, Professor Farnsworth's young clone, and Dwight, Hermes' son, attempting to win a school science project. This leads to theft of Pym Particles followed by a spoof on multiple miniature heroes.
The brief entrance into the world of Ant-Man and Shrinking Violet--beautifully percolated by Valenti, Pepoy, Hamill and Reese through a Matt Groening filter--ends with a simple spray can reversal. That sublime solution creates a whole new hair problem for Amy. Amy grows, and her brain shrinks. Despite her dopey dialogue, you can almost hear Lauren Thom's voice, Amy's voice artist. Boothby definitely mimics her delivery.
Before Amy escalates, Fry attempts to legally rent DVDs only to find that the policies for return are somewhat different in the future and dependent on the "Spanish Inquisition." Even arcane practices that have no bearing on DVDs can get you in trouble, according to Boothby's ludicrous script. The solution? Piracy courtesy of the larcenous Bender. The trouble compounds as do the Simpsons-styled movie parodies when Bender attempts to get rid of the evidence.
This riotous excursion doesn't make a helluva lot of sense, but Futurama thrives on absurdity. For the faithful fan, the story is a little predictable, and the cover as well as the tile gives away any possible surprise you can get from the main plot. Despite their disposable nature, the movie parodies are more interesting and more inventive.
Boothby doesn't just follow the example set by The Simpsons where homage is paid. Instead, he considers the movie parodies within the context of the future, and that opens the doors for twists in the expected gag. The result of Boothby's story added to the artists' expert execution of animated and comedic timing leads to a thoroughly enjoyable excursion into the Futurama universe.
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