In the Atompunk Age, manly men read books like this one, accompanied by a dry martini.
Tag: Atompunk
Atompunk Space Junk
Except for the X-15, none of these space vehicles ever took flight. But that rocket at the top, slightly left of center, resembles this Space-X one.
A Real Life Mecha
This primitive mecha was designed for the US Air Force in the early 1960s to service the nuclear-powered bombers which were then on the drawing board. Needless to say, the nuclear bomber program was cancelled and these monstrosities were not needed after all. Today such work would be done remotely and without a human operator. …
Lost Robot
This eerie, sad-looking robot was designed by NASA in the early 1960s to test the viability of space suits for astronauts. Sadly, it was a failure and never used. But it’s Atompunk design at its most authentic.
Worldbuilding Wednesday 4/7/21: Atompunk Computers
Atompunk computers deserve their own nomenclature. Running on vacuum tubes and early transistors, and programmed with miles of magnetic tape and punch cards, in the media they were mostly objects of menace. Many classic SF stories of the age revolve around artificial intelligence taking charge of humans and becoming their overlord. In the movie Colossus: …
Getting Around in the Atompunk Age
One of the futurism themes of the post-WWII era was transportation. This makes sense. Innovations in manufacturing and aircraft design, the growth of large cities, and the need for improved highway systems and vehicles all came together in a magic moment, in the Western world at least. Germany had its Autobahn, Britain the M- …
Gyron
In the glory years of the Atompunk Age it was customary for major automakers to create buzz by depicted futuristic “concept cars” showing what may be coming down the assembly line in the next few years. This marvelous illustration not only shows the Ford Gyron with its rocket-like tailight/exhaust piece, but also what were thought …
Swooning Spaceman
For a change, the BEM (Bug-eyed monster, even though it’s a robot) is carrying away a strapping but unconscious young man instead of a scantily clad young woman. His plight is equally dire as the robot seems none too friendly.
Equal Opportunity
A hopeful Atompunk depiction of the Space Age from the early 1960s complete with revolving space station and a family of astronauts with jetpacks. Now the early 1960s were likely as sexist as America ever got, and very very firmly into gender roles — boy child has a blue spacesuit, and girl child a pink …
Atompunk
Atompunk: A retro-futuristic aesthetic centered around the technology of the 1950s extended into the 21st century and beyond. It often depicts “traditionally American” values such as the nuclear family and a suburban lifestyle; conversely, the totalitarian regimes of Communist Russia and its satellites with their emphasis on technological power. I define its heyday as the …