Science fiction comedy, or comic science fiction, is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre conventions for comedic effect. The genre often mocks or satirizes standard science fiction conventions, concepts and tropes, such as alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel or futuristic technology, and it can also satirize and criticize present-day society.
Facts
Partially Attested
Place of OriginSource names the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories, an American publication, as the venue for an early example but does not explicitly state a country of origin for the genre. Notable ExampleThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 1 Defining TraitExploits science fiction genre conventions for comedic effect 1 FAQs
Who wrote some of the earliest science fiction comedy?
Henry Kuttner and Arthur K. Barnes wrote the early Pete Manx series in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
An early example was the Pete Manx series by Henry Kuttner and Arthur K. Barnes, who sometimes wrote together and sometimes separately under the house pen name Kelvin Kent. The series appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories in the late 1930s and early 1940s and featured a time-traveling carnival barker who uses his con-man abilities to get out of trouble.
Connections
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Science fiction comedy - Wikipedia
Main body, Pete Manx paragraph
Published in Thrilling Wonder Stories in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the series featured a time-traveling carnival barker who uses his con-man abilities to get out of trouble.
Main body, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy paragraph
Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it later morphed into other formats, including stage shows, novels, comic books, a 1981 TV series, a 1984 computer game, and 2005 feature film.
Lead section, paragraph 1
Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that exploits the science fiction genre's conventions for comedic effect.
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