Flash Forward
An Illustrated Guide to Possible (and Not So Possible) Tomorrows
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
An exploration of potential tomorrows from the host of the massively popular and critically acclaimed podcast Flash Forward
Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (And Not So Possible) Tomorrows takes readers on a journey from speculative fiction to speculative “fact.” Producer and host of the podcast Flash Forward, Rose Eveleth poses provocative questions about our future, which are brought to life by 12 of the most imaginative comics and graphic artists at work, including Matt Lubchanksy, Sophie Goldstein, Ben Passmore, and Box Brown. Each artist chooses a subject close to their heart—Ignatz Award nominee Julia Gfrörer, for instance, will imagine a future in which robots make art—and presents their chosen future in their own style. Drawing on her interviews with experts in various fields of study, Eveleth will then report on what is complete fantasy and what is only just out of reach in insightful essays following the comics. This book introduces compelling visions of the future and vividly explores the human consequences of developing technologies. Flash Forward reveals how complicated, messy, incredible, frightening, and strange our future might be.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS INCLUDE: Matt Lubchansky, Sophie Goldstein, Zach Weinersmith, Box Brown, Maki Naro, John Jennings, Julia Gfrörer, Chris Jones, Blue Delliquanti, Amelia Onorato, Kate Sheridan, Sophia Foster-Dimino, Ziyed Ayoub, Ben Passmore
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Science fiction and philosophy entangle as Flash Forward podcaster Eveleth and a rotating cast of artists explore the ways technology could change humanity for the better, worse, or somewhere in between. A dozen thought-experiment scenarios are presented doubly as short illustrated fiction and followed by Eveleth's reflections on the ramifications of the imagined change. Some are recognizable what-if tropes, like "Never Lay Me Down to Sleep" by Matt Lubchansky, in which a drug allows people to function without rest. The Blade Runner–styled future-noir "Piraceuticals" by John Jennings imagines guerrilla biohackers stealing code from price-gouging Big Pharma in Robin Hood fashion. In Kate Sheridan's "Ghostbot," technology allows humans to (somewhat) live on after their death, which Eveleth frames generously: "The way we process death is both personal and cultural." As science fiction, the pieces are overly familiar, and more effective when embracing their positioning as talking points, such as in Sophia Foster-Dimino's "Animal Magnetism," which spins an absurd dialogue between animal rights extremists into a thoughtful debate on the morality of pet ownership. Eveleth's bright tone provides ample food for thought, and fellow futurists will appreciate this buffet of prognostications.
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