Retro-futuristic poster makes fun of futurism

David from Wondermark sez, "I thought you guys would appreciate this retro-futuristic poster I designed! It was painted by Carly Monardo, whom you might know from her work on the webcomic Dr. McNinja -- she dug into old Popular Science covers to really get the proper retro feel. " Futurism Print [preorder] (Thanks, David!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Shrdlu

#14: My apologies to you, Robert E. Smith, the defunct ATF and its licensees.

However, you might have considered the slightly less hackneyed Dom Casual or Brody.
Bouncy Bouncy

Isn’t Futurism the Italian art movement of the early 20C? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism
chaoflux

This reminds me of the tagline we are using for Esozone this year. Esozone : The Other Tomorrow, basically with that same idea, but less smarmy.

Esozone is in Portland, October 10 – 12, esozone.com for details.

Dennis McKenna and Paul Laffoley are gonna be there, yadda yadda yadda
Banksynergy

#7 – indeed it is, but did you read the rest of the page? “The Futurists admired speed, technology, youth and violence, the car, the plane and the industrial city, all that represented the technological triumph of humanity over nature, and they were passionate nationalists.”
I think this picture fits well. Maybe not the “violence” part… Hrm, maybe I can Photoshop this up to be more violent. /grin

Speaking of retro-futurism. Bioshock.
That is all.
MarlboroTestMonkey7

Lovely!
Still, i’ve often wondered, and this I say in no way to imply anything wrong with this image or the message their authors want to convey, if someone could introduce blacks, latinos or asians characters into this kind of retro recreations.
Of course, all the advertisements for the Future That Never Was, was geared specifically at whites, but I think it would be refreshing, original, to somehow work a little equality into the now-we-know-better-re-vision of the past.
Just sayin’
romulusnr

I’d send a copy of this to the Seattle Monorail Project, if they still existed.
Susan Oliver

if someone could introduce blacks, latinos or asians characters into this kind of retro recreations.

Or (ahem) women.
MarlboroTestMonkey7

Actually Susan, women are well represented on retrofuturist art, althought not as equals of men (also a reflection of the era’s sensibilities), but in numbers.
wondermark

#9 & #11 — An early draft of the design included one woman & one man, but ultimately due to fidelity to the period style we decided to go with two white men. If I were writing a story set in the period instead of attempting a pastiche of the style I’d certainly have done it differently!

#13 — Normally I’d totally agree, but again that choice was made for period fidelity. See for example: http://media.popularmechanics.com/images/covers/195605.jpg
Kit10inDublin

That’s great!
eustace

This is a Devo album cover that never was.
jesseewles

But all that stuff IS real now.
-j
Strophe

Hilarious. On a moderately-related note, Dr. McNinja rocks my very stoic face off. They breath hysterical life into otherwise moribund memes.
Shrdlu

Brush Script should be banned like Comic Sans. Can’t respect any graphic designer who would use Brush Script.
eti

It’s fun to laugh at the folly of those who dared to dream so many years ago. We’re far too smart for that now and all our inventions work without problems.
zikman

wondermark ftw!