Failure to Launch
A Tour of Ill-Fated Futures
Published on 22. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-63899-123-6 (ISBN)
Description
"Incredibly fascinating." - BOOKLIST Starred Review
Not all dreams come true! While history is written by the winners, the full story of humanity is built on the moments when things went completely sideways; the spectacular screw-ups, monumental mistakes, and explosive errors that paved the way for the bright and shiny achievements we normally celebrate. Today, the losers get their due as we honor the speed bumps we had to hit on the road to progress!
In this entertaining tour of ill-fated futures, some of comics' brightest talents relate the historical failure they're most passionate about, bringing each moment to life in a hopeful and inspiring short story anthology. Some of these dreams were too big for their time, some were unfairly stopped by forces beyond their control, and some were best left on the cutting room floor, but all are windows to a world of possibility that's still - for now - just beyond the horizon.
Features work by RYAN NORTH, HARRY "HBOMBERGUY" BREWIS, EVAN DAHM, BLUE DELLIQUANTI, RYAN ESTRADA, and many more!
Not all dreams come true! While history is written by the winners, the full story of humanity is built on the moments when things went completely sideways; the spectacular screw-ups, monumental mistakes, and explosive errors that paved the way for the bright and shiny achievements we normally celebrate. Today, the losers get their due as we honor the speed bumps we had to hit on the road to progress!
In this entertaining tour of ill-fated futures, some of comics' brightest talents relate the historical failure they're most passionate about, bringing each moment to life in a hopeful and inspiring short story anthology. Some of these dreams were too big for their time, some were unfairly stopped by forces beyond their control, and some were best left on the cutting room floor, but all are windows to a world of possibility that's still - for now - just beyond the horizon.
Features work by RYAN NORTH, HARRY "HBOMBERGUY" BREWIS, EVAN DAHM, BLUE DELLIQUANTI, RYAN ESTRADA, and many more!
Reviews / Votes
"The dizzying breadth of theories explored here is itself an achievement, sure to lead readers down a rabbit hole of further study. Incredibly fascinating while still being firmly grounded in realistic human concerns." - BOOKLIST Starred Review"Incisive critiques of capitalism, technology, inequality, and the limits of human ingenuity." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"If you like reading about big ideas and outsized dreams-and particularly if you enjoy a bit of schadenfreude-this one is worth checking out." - GEEK DAD
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 257 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
894 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63899-123-6 (9781638991236)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Editor Kel McDonald has been working in comics for over a decade-most of that time has been spent on their webcomic Sorcery 101. More recently, they have organized the "Cautionary Fables and Fairytales" anthology series while contributing to other anthologies like Dark Horse Presents, Smut Peddler, and Sleep of Reason. They've also worked on Buffy: The High School Years and recently finished a creator-owned series, Misfits of Avalon, and the Eisner-nominated Stone King. Kel is currently working on the self-published series, The City Between. Their work can be found at kelmcdonald.com.
Content
Bagels in Space - Helen Greetham
Birth - Blonsky - Dani Coleman & Einar V. Masson
CGIdol - Victor Santiago & Bolu Oriowo
Dead Calls - Nakata "knack" Whittle & Sam "sunnyshea" Roberts
Dead-Eyed - Keeper & Hamilton
Death of a PC Repair Shop - E. Altman
The Digesting Duck - CS Garcia Martinez
The First Union - Harry "Hbomberguy" Brewis & Skutch
Hemispheres - Violet Kitchen
The Indestructible Bicycle - Erica Eriksson
Lead Balloon - Katie Tiedrich
Little Islands - Blue Delliquanti
Lost Dogs - Iris Jay
Magic City, All of Fire - Evan Dahm
Milking It - Colin O'Mahoney & Mari Rolin
Ninit'i, or The End - Kelci D Crawford
One Man's Beast, Another Man's Bacon - Triple Dream Comics
The Panopticon - Shannon Saar
The Paradise within Reach of All Men - Ryan North & Kel McDonald
The Pasilinic Sympathetic Compass - Maddi Gonzalez & Alice Woods
Pneumatic Tube to Nowhere - Cat Parra
Poma - Ashley Hasfal
The Rain-Making Machine - Lore Vicente
Rats! Rats! Rats! - Ryan Estrada & Aaron Cruz
The Second Extinction of the Pyrenean Ibex - Erin Roseberry
To Be Believed to Be Seen - Tuisku H.
The Unfinished Wind Power Revolution - Matthew R Francis & Maki Naro
What Happens at Midnight? - Colton Fox
When Do We Get Our Star Trek Future? - Jonathan Dalton
The World Turns - Barbara Mazzi
Zigurats - Andre Valente
Birth - Blonsky - Dani Coleman & Einar V. Masson
CGIdol - Victor Santiago & Bolu Oriowo
Dead Calls - Nakata "knack" Whittle & Sam "sunnyshea" Roberts
Dead-Eyed - Keeper & Hamilton
Death of a PC Repair Shop - E. Altman
The Digesting Duck - CS Garcia Martinez
The First Union - Harry "Hbomberguy" Brewis & Skutch
Hemispheres - Violet Kitchen
The Indestructible Bicycle - Erica Eriksson
Lead Balloon - Katie Tiedrich
Little Islands - Blue Delliquanti
Lost Dogs - Iris Jay
Magic City, All of Fire - Evan Dahm
Milking It - Colin O'Mahoney & Mari Rolin
Ninit'i, or The End - Kelci D Crawford
One Man's Beast, Another Man's Bacon - Triple Dream Comics
The Panopticon - Shannon Saar
The Paradise within Reach of All Men - Ryan North & Kel McDonald
The Pasilinic Sympathetic Compass - Maddi Gonzalez & Alice Woods
Pneumatic Tube to Nowhere - Cat Parra
Poma - Ashley Hasfal
The Rain-Making Machine - Lore Vicente
Rats! Rats! Rats! - Ryan Estrada & Aaron Cruz
The Second Extinction of the Pyrenean Ibex - Erin Roseberry
To Be Believed to Be Seen - Tuisku H.
The Unfinished Wind Power Revolution - Matthew R Francis & Maki Naro
What Happens at Midnight? - Colton Fox
When Do We Get Our Star Trek Future? - Jonathan Dalton
The World Turns - Barbara Mazzi
Zigurats - Andre Valente