Jules Verne is sometimes called the grandfather of modern science fiction. That's not exactly accurate. Verne’s novels typically don’t extrapolate into scientific technology beyond what was actually available at the time he wrote them. Instead, Verne was more of an adventure writer, whose novels are grounded in the world of science. They also were tales of adventure in exotic settings. His scientist-protagonists prefigure many of the heroes that later populated pulp magazines -- Doc Savage, Captain Future, and many of Robert Heinlein and Van Vogt's science heroes -- as well as later, pulp-influenced characters like Batman, the Challengers of the Unknown, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, and others.
Also, many of Verne’s novels originally saw print as serial publications in a magazine published by his book publisher, Jules Hetzel, and titled Magasin d’Éducation et de Récréation. So, Verne is linked to the pulp writers of the 20th Century by the medium his work first appeared before the public.
In the following entries to The Pulp Rack, we provide information on Verne's work and how it helped to shape or inform later pulp fiction.
"The Adventures of Captain Hatteras: Verne Lays the Foundation for Fictional Pulp Adventures to Foreign Lands"
by Duane Spurlock.
Verne is of interest to pulp readers because, first, as one of the most translated novelists in the world, his novels take the readers to many of the locations that would later be the exotic settings for many, many pulp adventure stories. Click here to read more.
"Edgar Allan Poe and the Road to Pulp Fiction"
by Duane Spurlock
Certainly by no means is Edgar Poe considered a pulp writer, but his work influenced many who toiled in the weird tale genre, and his name is frequently linked with that of H.P. Lovecraft as a writer with a similar focus. And Poe’s stories contain elements that would later be picked up by writers for the weird menace pulps. Poe's work also was a mighty influence on the work of Jules Verne. Poe's only novel-length work, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, was a particular influence on The Adventures of Captain Hatteras. Click here to read more.
The Ice Sphinx: Verne’s Sequel to Poe’s Arthur Gordon Pym
By Brian Taves
This essay was written by Library of Congress researcher and Verne scholar Brian Taves as an introduction to The Ice Sphinx, published by Wildside Press as An Antarctic Mystery Or, the Sphinx of the Ice Fields: A Sequel to Edgar Allan Poe's the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym in 2005.
The Mountains of Madness: 1931
By examining Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym we took a look at one of the authors and books that helped set the stage for pulp magazine writing in the 20th Century. It’s now appropriate to look at a work strikingly influenced -- perhaps inspired -- by Pym.
At the Mountains of Madness: 2001
Edgar Poe’s Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym initially presents itself as a true account of an actual sea voyage, and H.P. Lovecraft attempts to ground “At the Mountains of Madness” in the real world with a seemingly realistic account of an expedition to the Transantarctic Mountains. Mountains of Madness, by John Long, flips the card by being an actual account of fossil-hunting fieldwork in those mountains.
"From the Extraordinary to the Impossible: Verne at the Theatre"
by Duane Spurlock
This is a play, not a novel (Verne had several successful plays based on his prose works -- in fact, he made more money from his theatrical work than he did from his novels, thanks in part to the details of his contract with his publisher, Hetzel), and this specific work was considered lost for many decades. What makes this piece particularly interesting is how it draws from several of Verne's popular novels to build its plot and allows the author to comment on his own writings.
Click here to read more.
Cities of the Fantastic: A Contemporary Series of Verne-inspired Graphic Novels
Jules Verne’s works continue to influence and inspire artists today. For contemporary examples, readers need only look at the graphic novels – or albums, to use the word typically given European works of this type – in the Cities of the Fantastic (Cités Obscures) series by Benoit Peeters and Francois Schuiten. Written by Peeters, who is French, and drawn by Schuiten, who is Belgian, the books in the series present a picture of the present or future as seen from the past – specifically, a future depicted according to a 19th Century extrapolation of mechanical science that is part steampunk, part world of marvels, part dystopia. The result is rather Vernian in its feel, thanks greatly to Schuiten’s art style, which suggests the engraving style used for reproducing illustrations in 19th and early 20th Century publications. Further, such consistently amazing architectural wonders haven’t been seen in the graphic storytelling form since the days of Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo.
Posted by ds at April 26, 2007 07:16 AM
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