In the Space Age, the future was always bright! This full-color hardback covers a time of limitless possibilities — and anxieties — from “duck and cover” through the Cold War, Space Race and UFO Craze. Relive the movies (“The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”), TV (“Space Patrol,” “The Jetsons”), and swag (toys, comics, games). Featuring interviews with stars of sci-fi movies (Kevin McCarthy, Linda Harrison), TV (“Lost in Space,” “Star Trek”), and more. “Futuristic” is a time trip to a future that never exactly came to pass, but lives on vividly in our imaginations. Now shipping!
ORDER at TwoMorrows | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Walmart
SEE Mark Voger interview with Conskipper HERE
SEE “Futuristic” reviewed in Psychobabble HERE
SEE “Futuristic” reviewed in The Imaginative Conservative HERE
SEE 13th Dimension preview HERE
Watch the ‘Futuristic’ trailer
Trailer by Ian Voglesong | Music: “Silver Shank” by Brian Altano (feat. Thomas Rakowitz).
“Voger is the best pop-culture historian out there.”
— Bradley J. Birzer in The Imaginative Conservative
REVIEWS
■ “It’s ‘Futuristic!’ The new, terrific book from Mark Voger! Out-of-this-world fun! Highly recommended!” — Retro-toonist Patrick Owsley on Facebook
■ “I have 5 other books by Mark Voger and each one is like a precious gift that keeps on giving. I’m a lifelong sci-fi fan with emphasis on ’50s SF movies like “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “It Came From Outer Space,” etc. and TV series like “Twilight Zone,” “Lost in Space,” “Star Trek TOS,” “Outer Limits,” you name it. So as soon as I found out that Voger was doing classic sci-fi, I pre-ordered this book months ago and when I received it it was like getting an early Christmas present! Wow, eye-poppingly great stuff! Voger’s books are beautifully designed and well written and just plain FUN to devour and go back to and re-read or just flip through one gorgeous pages after another. Don’t be put off by the slightly higher price for this book; it’s worth every penny and more! Enjoy! And thank you Mr. Voger — I can’t wait to see what your next book will be!” — Lee B. Sobel on Amazon (FIVE STARS)
■ “What makes it exceptional in his dedicatedly fun body of work is his willingness to wrestle with the not-so-fun topics that were always at the brain base of sci-fi. You can’t discuss mid-twentieth century science fiction without addressing the A-bomb, the Cold War, McCarthy’s witch-hunts, and the dangers of certain fields of technological ‘progress.’ In our current age — when dystopian fascism no longer seems like some distant, futuristic threat and artificial intelligence seems likelier to cure the human race of its creativity and ability to think than cure cancer — too much of sci-fi’s dark stuff is more relevant than ever.
“What impressed me most is how deftly Voger handles this material. Get too specific, and the core fun intentions of the book go up in a mushroom cloud. Get too evasive, and the author looks like he’s whistling past the space graveyard. That’s a tough tightrope to walk when putting together a book that mostly wants to dazzle you with pics of clonky robot toys, and Voger does it perfectly, and from a politically wise and humanistic point of view, making ‘Futuristic’ both thoughtful and fun.” — Mike Segretto on Psychobabble
■ “‘Futuristic’ might very well be Voger’s best, and that’s saying something profound. Voger explores what might have been had the 1950s and 1960s shaped the aesthetic of space flight and the Space Age. The book, simply put, is ‘retro’: a nostalgic celebration of the Space Age and all its hope and optimism for a better and more humane world.” — Bradley J. Birzer on The Imaginative Conservative
■ “The latest and greatest from my ol’ college roomie, Mark Voger.” — Doug Kirby, co-founder of Roadside America (and my ol’ college roomie)
■ “An escalating series of pleasant surprises in ‘Futuristic.’ I wasn’t expecting to see the ’64 World’s Fair and Tang. I really wasn’t ready for more than a cursory mention of ‘Lost in Space.’ So, when I saw how much coverage you provided, I was thrilled. Plus, you kept coming back to it. I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised and, ultimately, delighted. Then, finishing up the book, you gave me the biggest laugh with your comic rendition, circa 1965, with scenes clearly from ‘The Reluctant Stowaway,’ ‘Island in the Sky,’ ‘There Were Giants in the Earth’ and the cliffhanger opening of ‘The Sky is Falling.’ A wonderful surprise and a cool book for anyone, like you, who remembers the show with such obvious fondness.” — From reader Joe F. via email
Above is the comic strip (from the “Futuristic” endpapers) that Joe F. refers to! I drew it in 1965 when I was 6. Joe must be a “Lost in Space” superfan, naming all the episodes referenced in my 1965 scrawlings as he did — including one my adult self wasn’t aware of.
I wrote back to him: “When I was reunited with my 1965 ‘artwork’ (drawn on my father’s shirt cardboard with a Bic pen), I didn’t know where that little robo-creature came from. I was certain it wasn’t from my own imagination … the thing was too sophisticated (in its way) for what I was (barely) capable of back then. So when you said ‘The Sky is Falling’ and I Googled it, there it was! Now I know.”
Above is the side-by-side.