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Postholocaust fantasies

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Even by the late sixties most science fiction writers had rejected the mutant superpowers theme as absurd; but it was replaced with the ever-popular mutant monster, which already by the seventies had become a cliché. The nuclear cautionary film series Planet of the Apes had given a special twist to the theme of nuclear mutation which was imitated by popular comic book artist and writer Jack Kirby in his Kamandi series.
Even by the late sixties most science fiction writers had rejected the mutant superpowers theme as absurd; but it was replaced with the ever-popular mutant monster, which already by the seventies had become a cliché.
The nuclear cautionary film series Planet of the Apes had given a special twist to the theme of nuclear mutation which was imitated by popular comic book artist and writer Jack Kirby in his Kamandi series.

 

which more than one reader pointed out stole directly from Beneath the Planet of the Apes, with its warhead-worshipping simians.
which more than one reader pointed out stole directly from Beneath the Planet of the Apes, with its warhead-worshiping simians.

 

By the way, the wrecked statue of liberty showed up again in this comic
By the way, the wrecked statue of liberty showed up again in this comic

 

and on the cover of this macho thriller; note the contrast between old and new models of femininity.
and on the cover of this macho thriller; note the contrast between old and new models of femininity.

 

In the 1974 series, Doomsday Squad, the superheroes, far from being able to prevent the war, emerge only after the holocaust has taken place, by accident, according to the absurd illogic of modern warfare. This series was reissued in the eighties, when the theme of the hero roaming the ruined earth had become firmly established as a convention as stereotyped in its characteristics as the western.
In the 1974 series, Doomsday Squad, the superheroes, far from being able to prevent the war, emerge only after the holocaust has taken place, by accident, according to the absurd illogic of modern warfare. This series was reissued in the eighties, when the theme of the hero roaming the ruined earth had become firmly established as a convention as stereotyped in its characteristics as the western.

 

The Ex-Mutants was a series about highly-attractive heroes and heroines who are bred to normality in a world filled with pathetic and dangerous mutants.
The Ex-Mutants was a series about highly-attractive heroes and heroines who are bred to normality in a world filled with pathetic and dangerous mutants.

 

Occasionally the series tried to treat the threat of nuclear war seriously, as in this story in which another world, like their Earth, plunges over the nuclear brink.
Occasionally the series tried to treat the threat of nuclear war seriously, as in this story in which another world, like their Earth, plunges over the nuclear brink.

 

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Next: Radioactive Rambos

Chart of trends in nuclear war fiction

In the early sixties, interest in atomic themes, now more accurately called nuclear, declined markedly. Fewer novels and movies depicting nuclear war were created, and if the A-bomb in the hands of terrorists and other assorted villains became a cliché of both Cold War thrillers and comic books, the plots seldom confronted the threat of nuclear war itself. The Cuban Missile Crisis in particular seems to have frightened most Americans into a panicky avoidance of the entire subject. The treaty banning atmospheric testing helped to put the weapons out of people's minds as well. Not until the debate over America's placement of new intermediate range missiles in Europe erupted in the early eighties did the theme of nuclear warfare re-emerge in force in popular culture. Note the long, slow decline in the number of nuclear war novels and stories published during the sixties and seventies, and the dramatic increase during the eighties. In the eighties and nineties, nuclear war was treated much more pessimistically.
In the early sixties, interest in atomic themes, now more accurately called nuclear, declined markedly. Fewer novels and movies depicting nuclear war were created, and if the A-bomb in the hands of terrorists and other assorted villains became a cliché of both Cold War thrillers and comic books, the plots seldom confronted the threat of nuclear war itself.
The Cuban Missile Crisis in particular seems to have frightened most Americans into a panicky avoidance of the entire subject. The treaty banning atmospheric testing helped to put the weapons out of people’s minds as well. Not until the debate over America’s placement of new intermediate range missiles in Europe erupted in the early eighties did the theme of nuclear warfare re-emerge in force in popular culture.
Note the long, slow decline in the number of nuclear war novels and stories published during the sixties and seventies, and the dramatic increase during the eighties. In the eighties and nineties, nuclear war was treated much more pessimistically.

Next: Postholocaust fantasies

Human A-Bombs and Superheroes

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Clearly, ordinary humans were incapable of containing the atomic genie. Popular culture began to depict the bomb as a monster on the loose. Human A-Bombs such as these could be defeated only by the superior powers of comic book superheroes, providing a comforting psychological barrier between the reader and the atomic menace.
Clearly, ordinary humans were incapable of containing the atomic genie. Popular culture began to depict the bomb as a monster on the loose.
Human A-Bombs such as these could be defeated only by the superior powers of comic book superheroes, providing a comforting psychological barrier between the reader and the atomic menace.

 

A more common theme had the hero deriving his super-powers from atomic power, as in the case of Atomic Mouse, who energized himself by eating uranium 235 pills much as Popeye fortified himself by munching cans of spinach.
A more common theme had the hero deriving his super-powers from atomic power, as in the case of Atomic Mouse, who energized himself by eating uranium 235 pills much as Popeye fortified himself by munching cans of spinach.

 

Radioactivity had been touted as invigorating since the discovery of radium, and science fiction writers had promoted the notion that superior beings would evolve from radiation-induced mutations, but these ideas found their most striking and long-lasting home in the comics. Captain Atom gained his superpowers by being blasted with an H-bomb the first time in 1960. In this 1986 revival, the absurd premise of an atomic explosion as incubator is referred to in an tongue-in-cheek manner on the cover: "After they blow him to bits, the adventure begins!"
Radioactivity had been touted as invigorating since the discovery of radium, and science fiction writers had promoted the notion that superior beings would evolve from radiation-induced mutations, but these ideas found their most striking and long-lasting home in the comics.
Captain Atom gained his superpowers by being blasted with an H-bomb the first time in 1960. In this 1986 revival, the absurd premise of an atomic explosion as incubator is referred to in an tongue-in-cheek manner on the cover:
“After they blow him to bits, the adventure begins!”

 

The crime-fighting heroes in this 1988 comic gain their superpowers through the exposure of their parents to the radiation of the Hiroshima bomb.
The crime-fighting heroes in this 1988 comic gain their superpowers through the exposure of their parents to the radiation of the Hiroshima bomb.

 

When in 1985 Superman confronted the threat posed by the nuclear arsenal, the disaster depicted on the cover turned out to be only a nightmare, but the Man of Steel was unable to solve the problem definitively. "They Did it! They finally had a nuclear war! And nobody survived....except me!"
When in 1985 Superman confronted the threat posed by the nuclear arsenal, the disaster depicted on the cover turned out to be only a nightmare, but the Man of Steel was unable to solve the problem definitively.
“They Did it! They finally had a nuclear war! And nobody survived….except me!”

 

Obviously if he could have destroyed the nuclear arsenals he would have done so long ago, and he has not;
Obviously if he could have destroyed the nuclear arsenals he would have done so long ago, and he has not;

 

In recent decades it has become apparent that there are no easy solutions to the nuclear menace. Superman's only solution in this story is to raise the next generation to be less hostile and violent. You may recognize a close similarity between this story and the plot of the 1988 film, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
In recent decades it has become apparent that there are no easy solutions to the nuclear menace. Superman’s only solution in this story is to raise the next generation to be less hostile and violent. You may recognize a close similarity between this story and the plot of the 1988 film, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

 

Such protection as most contemporary superheroes can manage is dubious and limited. "It's a sphere of protective mystical energy. I pray it will be strong enough." (Dreadstar, March 1983)
Such protection as most contemporary superheroes can manage is dubious and limited.
“It’s a sphere of protective mystical energy. I pray it will be strong enough.”
(Dreadstar, March 1983)

 

"You'll have to use your sword to absorb the radiation. The sphere will hopefully protect us from the impact."
“You’ll have to use your sword to absorb the radiation. The sphere will hopefully protect us from the impact.”

 

Such protection as most contemporary superheroes can manage is dubious and limited.
Such protection as most contemporary superheroes can manage is dubious and limited.

 

The superhero is barely able to preserve himself and his companion.
The superhero is barely able to preserve himself and his companion.

 

"Outside the crater it gets worse" "The air is filled with the smells of charred metal and flesh." "It's a good mile's walk before any physical signs of the once living begin to appear."
“Outside the crater it gets worse”
“The air is filled with the smells of charred metal and flesh.”
“It’s a good mile’s walk before any physical signs of the once living begin to appear.”

 

"It's still yet another two miles before Vanth sees his first body. The children are the worst to look at. Vanth walks on. There is nothing he can do here... ...nothing.
“It’s still yet another two miles before Vanth sees his first body.
The children are the worst to look at.
Vanth walks on. There is nothing he can do here…
…nothing.

 

Next: Chart of trends in nuclear war fiction

More Early Reactions

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Few writers in the early months of the atomic age emphasized the dangers posed by the new weapon as strongly as Will Eisner, who depicted the end of the world through nuclear terrorism in his newspaper comic strip The Spirit, February 3, 1946. Back at Wildwood...-and before the eyes of horrified people for miles around, the cabin, then the mountain, disappear in an atomic explosion that grows and grows and grows until....
Few writers in the early months of the atomic age emphasized the dangers posed by the new weapon as strongly as Will Eisner, who depicted the end of the world through nuclear terrorism in his newspaper comic strip The Spirit, February 3, 1946.
Back at Wildwood…-and before the eyes of horrified people for miles around, the cabin, then the mountain, disappear in an atomic explosion that grows and grows and grows until….

 

" ...Billions of miles away, in the dark reaches of outer space, the inhabitants of a planet pause to notice a tiny flash that for a moment brightens the whole sky. Where there was once a huge planet teeming with life and people there is now nothing...absolutely nothing!! " "See that celestial explosion Glugg?" "Shhh... Zogk has just discovered the secret of making fire! The medicine men say that it will enable us to rule supreme over all the other animals on our Earth! They are now deciding whether to share the secret with the other tribes in valley or keep it until we can work out a lasting peace!!" In a scene reflecting early postwar debates over who should own the new technology, Eisner ironically has the death of the earth witnessed by primitive humans on another world who are busy creating their own arms race, then shifts perspective again--
” …Billions of miles away, in the dark reaches of outer space, the inhabitants of a planet pause to notice a tiny flash that for a moment brightens the whole sky. Where there was once a huge planet teeming with life and people there is now nothing…absolutely nothing!! “
“See that celestial explosion Glugg?”
“Shhh… Zogk has just discovered the secret of making fire! The medicine men say that it will enable us to rule supreme over all the other animals on our Earth! They are now deciding whether to share the secret with the other tribes in valley or keep it until we can work out a lasting peace!!”
In a scene reflecting early postwar debates over who should own the new technology, Eisner ironically has the death of the earth witnessed by primitive humans on another world who are busy creating their own arms race, then shifts perspective again–

 

--to remind us that the holocaust we have just witnessed happened, after all, only in a comic strip, but in such a way as to satirize the postwar fad for Atomic cocktails and so forth, reminding us that the cavalier attitude toward the bomb reflected in so much of popular culture could be fatal. "Eat at Joe's. Food Served with Atomic Speed"
–to remind us that the holocaust we have just witnessed happened, after all, only in a comic strip, but in such a way as to satirize the postwar fad for Atomic cocktails and so forth, reminding us that the cavalier attitude toward the bomb reflected in so much of popular culture could be fatal.
“Eat at Joe’s. Food Served with Atomic Speed”

 

Most people have forgotten that the bikini was named after the site of the first postwar atomic test. Its designer, Louis Réard, thought the bottom-baring daring new swimsuit would have an impact comparable to the bomb.
Most people have forgotten that the bikini was named after the site of the first postwar atomic test. Its designer, Louis Réard, thought the bottom-baring daring new swimsuit would have an impact comparable to the bomb.

 

In 1946 Naval Captain Walter Karig published this fictional account of a future nuclear war to justify the continued relevance of the Navy in the Atomic Age.
In 1946 Naval Captain Walter Karig published this fictional account of a future nuclear war to justify the continued relevance of the Navy in the Atomic Age.

 

It portrays a number of fantastic defensive devices, including this impregnable electronic shield to protect the U.S. from enemy missiles, decades before Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative.
It portrays a number of fantastic defensive devices, including this impregnable electronic shield to protect the U.S. from enemy missiles, decades before Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.

 

Such bizarre fantasies were, of course, embraced in popular media as well. A war comic book entitled Attack cashed in on the craze for atomic weapons in the early fifties by retitling itself Atomic Attack.
Such bizarre fantasies were, of course, embraced in popular media as well. A war comic book entitled Attack cashed in on the craze for atomic weapons in the early fifties by retitling itself Atomic Attack.

 

This one contained a story featuring a broad array of atomic weapons
This one contained a story featuring a broad array of atomic weapons.

 

including atomic machine guns and atomic grenades.
including atomic machine guns and atomic grenades.

 

Clearly the author has not bothered to adapt his style to the new weapons. Three missiles have struck one submarine, doing it serious damage.
Clearly the author has not bothered to adapt his style to the new weapons. Three missiles have struck one submarine, doing it serious damage.

 

A recurrent theme of the early fifties was atomic secrecy. The Claus Fuchs case, then the Rosenberg trial and execution, led to a large number of fictional depictions of atomic spy cases. Despite the best efforts of the FBI, the Soviet Union succeeded in creating--first--an atomic bomb and then, with breathtaking rapidity--a hydrogen bomb.
A recurrent theme of the early fifties was atomic secrecy. The Claus Fuchs case, then the Rosenberg trial and execution, led to a large number of fictional depictions of atomic spy cases. Despite the best efforts of the FBI, the Soviet Union succeeded in creating–first–an atomic bomb and then, with breathtaking rapidity–a hydrogen bomb.

 

Next: Human A-Bombs and Superheroes

Collier’s “Preview of the War We Do Not Want”

But it was not the threat nuclear weapons posed to the world at large that most concerned America's leaders: it was the threat they posed to the Soviet Union. On October 17, 1951, the popular magazine Collier's published a special issue imagining how America might defeat its adversary and impose its values on the Soviet people. Several distinguished and influential writers contributed to this project, entitled "Preview of the War We Do Not Want," and government consultants advised the editors.
But it was not the threat nuclear weapons posed to the world at large that most concerned America’s leaders: it was the threat they posed to the Soviet Union. On October 17, 1951, the popular magazine Collier’s published a special issue imagining how America might defeat its adversary and impose its values on the Soviet people. Several distinguished and influential writers contributed to this project, entitled “Preview of the War We Do Not Want,” and government consultants advised the editors.
Among other contributors: Arthur Koestler, Bill Mauldin, Edward R. Murrow, J. B. Priestly, Walter Reuther, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, Lowell Thomas, Walter Winchell, and Philip Wylie.
Although the USSR starts the war by invading Western Europe, the U.S. is the first to use nuclear weapons, here destroying Moscow, but not so thoroughly that prisoners cannot crawl away from the rubble of the Lubianka Prison. During this period almost everyone had difficulty estimating the scope of the damage that would be inflicted by a bomb.
Although the USSR starts the war by invading Western Europe, the U.S. is the first to use nuclear weapons, here destroying Moscow, but not so thoroughly that prisoners cannot crawl away from the rubble of the Lubianka Prison. During this period almost everyone had difficulty estimating the scope of the damage that would be inflicted by a bomb.
The Soviet Union strikes back, doing serious damage to Washington, D.C.
The Soviet Union strikes back, doing serious damage to Washington, D.C.
All is well, as the prisoners in Siberia revolt, the people of the Soviet Union generally rise up to cast off the Communist government and welcome their American liberators.
All is well, as the prisoners in Siberia revolt, the people of the Soviet Union generally rise up to cast off the Communist government and welcome their American liberators.
Communism once eliminated from the earth, the two peoples join together enthusiastically. A spirited Russian lass, fetching even in her grimy overalls, helps the hero of this Philip Wylie story rebuild Philadelphia, but commits suicide because she has been sterilized by radiation, making way for her still-fertile American rival.
Communism once eliminated from the earth, the two peoples join together enthusiastically. A spirited Russian lass, fetching even in her grimy overalls, helps the hero of this Philip Wylie story rebuild Philadelphia, but commits suicide because she has been sterilized by radiation, making way for her still-fertile American rival.

Previous:The Atomic Age Opens

Next: More early reactions


 

The Atomic Age

An early "instant book" swept together a potpourri of popular articles greeting the atomic age with both fear and exhilaration and was available on the newsstands by the end of August, 1945.
An early “instant book” swept together a potpourri of popular articles greeting the atomic age with both fear and exhilaration and was available on the newsstands by the end of August, 1945.

 

The cover of Picture News, January, 1946, read "Will the atom blow the world apart? George Bernard Shaw warns: It's likely-If we don't watch our step!"
The cover of Picture News, January, 1946, read “Will the atom blow the world apart? George Bernard Shaw warns: It’s likely-If we don’t watch our step!”

 

The same month, Science Comics, in "The Exciting Story of the Atomic Bomb," proclaimed: "the world entered a new era: the Atomic Age!"
The same month, Science Comics, in “The Exciting Story of the Atomic Bomb,” proclaimed: “the world entered a new era: the Atomic Age!”
For most Americans, the Hiroshima weapon was simply "the bomb that won the war."
For most Americans, the Hiroshima weapon was simply “the bomb that won the war.”

 

So fierce had American opposition to the Japanese been during the Pacific campaign that few probably saw the irony in such words accompanying an image of "the peace-loving nations of the earth" meditating wiping the "Japs" off the earth. In addition, this notion that the atomic age simultaneously promised utopia or armageddon was a commonplace of the period right after the war.
So fierce had American opposition to the Japanese been during the Pacific campaign that few probably saw the irony in such words accompanying an image of “the peace-loving nations of the earth” meditating wiping the “Japs” off the earth.
In addition, this notion that the atomic age simultaneously promised utopia or Armageddon was a commonplace of the period right after the war.

 

Shortly after the famed 1946 Bikini Atoll atomic bomb test, Superman was sent to cover a similar event.
Shortly after the famed 1946 Bikini Atoll atomic bomb test, Superman was sent to cover a similar event.

 

With a little grit, know-how, and common sense, nuclear war could be survived. Fire departments distributed this 1952 comic book to help the public deal with the incendiary side effects of the new weapon. Fretful Mom: "Tom-It- It's frightening! When I think that some day we may be under an A-bomb attack it makes my knees weak! I feel so helpless!" Wise Dad replies: "I know, Mother! The threat of war isn't pleasant! But we've got to face it! We've got to be ready when and if it does come! If we are, we'll be far from helpless!"
With a little grit, know-how, and common sense, nuclear war could be survived. Fire departments distributed this 1952 comic book to help the public deal with the incendiary side effects of the new weapon.
Fretful Mom: “Tom-It- It’s frightening! When I think that some day we may be under an A-bomb attack it makes my knees weak! I feel so helpless!”
Wise Dad replies: “I know, Mother! The threat of war isn’t pleasant! But we’ve got to face it! We’ve got to be ready when and if it does come! If we are, we’ll be far from helpless!”
Even more effort was put into getting the public to feel comfortable with atomic power. Pro-nuclear comics such as these continued to appear throughout the fifties and later, and were often distributed free to children in public schools.
Even more effort was put into getting the public to feel comfortable with atomic power.
Pro-nuclear comics such as these continued to appear throughout the fifties and later, and were often distributed free to children in public schools.

 

The tendency to trivialize the threat of nuclear weapons is apparent even in this early post-war children's comic. America's favorite duck cooks up his own atomic bomb, hoping to get rich
The tendency to trivialize the threat of nuclear weapons is apparent even in this early post-war children’s comic. America’s favorite duck cooks up his own atomic bomb, hoping to get rich.

 

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But he is not much of a scientist, and his explosions seem at first ineffective.
But he is not much of a scientist, and his explosions seem at first ineffective.
But it turns out that his mild explosions cause people's hair to fall out, just like the radioactivity from real atomic bombs, so he gets rich anyway-selling hair-restoring tonic.
But it turns out that his mild explosions cause people’s hair to fall out, just like the radioactivity from real atomic bombs, so he gets rich anyway-selling hair-restoring tonic.

 

Next: Collier’s “Preview of the War We Do Not Want”