THE COMPLETE FUTURE SHOCKS
Volume One
released 14 JUNe Publisher rebellion Writers/Artists Various
Tharg’s Future Shocks were a memorable part of primal 2000 AD: short, sharp, twist-loaded tales that specialised in bad choices, bleak pay-offs and malign but ironically appropriate fates. An edgier, punkier district of The Twilight Zone, the bad streets where even Rod Serling wouldn’t walk after dark.
Selected stories have been collected before; now these bite-sized bursts of Thrill Power are getting the completist treatment (this volume goes up to July 1981). Taken together it’s a breathless read, brimming with all the energy and spiky humour that filled the weekly’s early years.
It’s all here, from the true fate of Neil Armstrong to an eerily prescient tale about self-driving cars (“We shall rid the tarmac of humans!” – take note, Google). There’s a deliciously apocalyptic streak here – things rarely end well for mankind – and perhaps two too many stories rely on vampiric revelations. Sometimes they tumble into self-parody – wait! Earth’s just a ball in a cosmic game of billiards? – but you’re never more than a couple of pages from another caffeineshot of imagination.
It’s a diverse talent showcase too, from the classic, clean SF stylings of Ron Turner to the bubonic art of Carlos Ezquerra. Oh, and a young chap named Alan Moore. What a naggingly familiar name… Nick Setchfield