Future Visions: Cartoon Museum’s Exhibition on Comic Predictions
“The Future Was Then” is a compelling new exhibition at Fitzrovia’s Cartoon Museum, delving into how comic strips from the mid-20th century onwards envisioned humanity’s future. Featuring over 80 pages of original comic art, the exhibition critically re-examines the accuracy of these often bold predictions, spanning fictional timelines from 1990 to 4000 AD. It highlights iconic space-age heroes like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Dan Dare, and even female character ‘Connie’, whose interplanetary adventures were staples of their era.
The exhibition reveals a mixed bag of success in these predictions. Many futuristic concepts, such as widespread alien invasions, teleports, or time machines, have not materialized. Space travel remains largely confined to the Moon, contrary to ambitious comic narratives projecting landings on planets like Jupiter, now known to lack a solid surface. This contrast between imaginative foresight and scientific reality forms a central theme, prompting visitors to reflect on the nature of prediction and technological advancement.
However, the exhibition also showcases remarkable instances of accurate foresight. Examples include the vertically landing rockets of “Thunderbirds,” which have become a modern reality. An 80s publication is credited with correctly anticipating how networked computing would fundamentally transform daily life from the 1990s onward. More recently, the 2019 comic “Undiscovered Country” eerily predicted an increasingly isolated USA and the emergence of a devastating global pandemic. A major highlight is “2000 A.D.,” a comic whose dystopian strips, like “Judge Dredd,” set a new, darker tone for future representations, proving surprisingly prescient despite its original publication in 1977.
This absorbing show offers a unique perspective on human imagination and its relationship with the future, appealing to both nostalgic fans and new audiences. After exploring “The Future Was Then,” visitors can also enjoy the museum’s permanent gallery. The exhibition runs at the Cartoon Museum until March 21, 2026, with a £12 entry fee granting access for a full year.
