Captain Future
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Captain Future |
| Abbreviation(s): | CF |
| Creator: | Leo Margulies, Mort Weisinger (idea), Edmond Hamilton (most of the novels), Toei Animation (animés) |
| Date(s): | 1940-1944 - 17 novels (published in "Captain Future - Wizard of Science")
1945-1946 - 3 more novels (published in "Startling Stories") |
| Medium: | novels, animated series |
| Country of Origin: | United States (novels), Japan (animated series) |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Captain Future is a science fiction pulp series (mostly) written by US Writer Edmond Hamilton as well as a Japanese animated TV series of the same name.
The main character, "Captain Future", is the brain child of at least three persons: Leo Margulies (editor at 'Standard Magazines'), Mort Weisinger (chief editor, 'Standard Magazines') and pulp writer Edmond Hamilton. In the 1940ies, a time where many super heroes (Superman, Batman, Captain America, etc.) came to see the light of day, Hamilton penned the adventures of his maybe most well-known character - Curtis Newton, a brilliant scientist, who, under the nom de guerre "Captain Future" chases interstellar criminals together with his three-man crew. In 20 epic adventures (and 7 short stories), Future and his men (Grag, the robot, Otho, the android, and Prof. Simon Wright, the "living brain") are fighting evil, righting wrongs and serve up justice in the universe - that's space opera at its finest.
One can hear and read nearly everywhere that "Captain Future" was inventend during the 1st World Scifi Convention in New York (July 2nd - 4th, 1939), but that is not correct. Actually, Weisinger and Margulies had been brooding over this idea quite some time before (it was Margulies who came up with the intention of starting a new magazine series) and finally drafted a proposal in June 1939 - clearly before the convention. At that point, Hamilton got involved and breathed life into the characters that Margulies and Weisinger had devised (not without changing some of their features since he was sure he couldn‘t work with the original concept).
The Novels
Between 1940 and 1944, 17 novels were published quarterly in the "Captain Future" magazine ("Captain Future - Wizard of Science" resp. "Captain Future - Man of Tomorrow").
Due to paper shortage during WW II, the magazine was cancelled so that between 1945 and 1946 three more novels were published in the "Startling Stories" magazine.
7 short stories (also published in "Startling Stories") completed the cycle in 1950/51.[1]
For a complete bibliography, see the ISFDB link below.[2]
Most of the "Captain Future" magazines‘s cover art was done by Earle K. Bergey, but also two covers were provided by George Rozen (No. 1, No. 8) and one by Rudolph Belarski (No. 12)[3].
The Animé
When „Star Wars“ debuted in cinemas throughout the world, it also left a lasting impression in Japan. And when George Lucas was said to have mentioned pulp series such as „Captain Future“ as one of his inspirations for his movie idea (at least according to the „Animé Encyclopedia[4][5]), TOEI Animation seized the opportunity to get hold of the Captain’s adventures and turn them into an animated series (1978/1979).
The anime was intended for export and aired in Europe 1980/81 where it became a big success (especially in France, Germany, Italy and Spain). But also in Latin America ("Capitan Futuro") and some Arab countries ("Faris alh-Fadhaa[6]"), the series was very popular.
In contrast to that, Toei experienced great difficulties to sell its products in the US and withdrew from this market by mid of the 80ies.[7]
Against common belief and although dubbed as "based on the stories of E. Hamilton" (thus suggesting a kind of free interpretation of the original stories), the anime is astonishingly true to the original novels[8][9][10].
Unfortunately, the German version has been edited heavily so that nearly a quarter of the animated material is missing (per adventure), thus creating the belief that the animé differed greatly from the original pulps (which isn‘t true). Sometimes still belittled and ridiculed as „kids‘ stuff“ (which it is definitely not!), the TV series luckily was able to shake off this misimpression over the last few years.
DVDs and BluRays
In Germany, a DVD edition featuring the heavily cut German version was released in 2003. In 2016, a „Limited Collectors‘ Edition“ and in 2019, another „Collectors‘ Edition“ (both on BluRay) filled in the gap by providing the original Japanese version (uncut) with country-specific subtitles.
Fandom
Hamilton's CF stories were mostly unknown in Europe and might have fallen into oblivion, had not TOEI Animation digged out this treasure and turned it into an animated cartoon series.
When "Captain Future“ aired 1980/81 in Europe, it provided an entry to the SciFi genre for many fans.
In Germany, the animé was heavily cut and dubbed in a way that was aimed at smaller children as an audience, so that people who loved the series quickly turned to other SciFi shows when growing older (a fate that also „Star Trek The Animated Series“ had to suffer)... Although many of them did not forget their fondness for the animé which had introduced them to other fantastic universes, this also is a reason why there are actually few "hardcore" fans of "Captain Future“: A lot of people claim to "like" the series, but there's no such thing as an "organized" fandom.
Fannish Websites
External links
- ISFDB Hamilton bibliography at the isfdb
- CF at Robert Weinberg's Site short overview including a collection of CF pulp covers
- Futuremania - The Captain Future Fan Site
Pics
CF logo (animé)
Notes
- ^ Futuremania.de, "Die Original-Romane"/The original Novels (accessed Jan. 2023)
- ^ ISFDB, Edmond Hamilton - Summary Bibliography (accessed Nov. 2015)
- ^ Futuremania, Die Originalromane (accessed March 2023)
- ^ "The Anime Encyclopedia", Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (J. Clements, H. McCarthy), 2006
- ^ It is difficult to verify this information, since it is well known that Lucas was quite interested in „Flash Gordon“ instead
- ^ translated "Space Knight"
- ^ Sean Leonard, MIT, "Progress Against the Law: Fan Distribution, Copyright, and the Explosive Growth of Japanese Animation"
- ^ "The Anime Encyclopedia", Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917 (J. Clements, H. McCarthy), 2006, ISBN: 978-1933330105
- ^ "Futuremania.de, "Die Zeichentrickserie"/The Animated Series (accessed Jan. 2023)
- ^ Futuremania - Vergleich Serie/Bücher (an in-depth comparison of the anime episodes with their corresponding pulp novels) „Conclusions“, October 2023