When Worlds Collide

Last updated
When Worlds Collide
When Worlds Collide Book Cover.jpg
First edition published by Frederick A. Stokes
Author Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction novel
Published1933 (Frederick A. Stokes)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages344 pp
Followed by After Worlds Collide  

When Worlds Collide is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel After Worlds Collide (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through February 1933) in Blue Book magazine, illustrated by Joseph Franké.

Contents

Synopsis

Sven Bronson, a Swedish astronomer working at an observatory in South Africa, discovers a pair of rogue planets, Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta, which will soon enter the Solar System. In eight months, they will pass close enough for gravitational forces to cause catastrophic damage to the Earth. Sixteen months later, after swinging around the Sun, Bronson Alpha (a gas giant) will return to pulverize the Earth and depart. Bronson Beta (discovered to be Earth-like and potentially habitable) may remain and assume a stable orbit.

Scientists led by American Cole Hendron work desperately to build an atomic rocket to transport enough people, animals and equipment to Bronson Beta to save humanity from extinction. Various other countries do the same. The United States evacuates coastal regions in preparation for the first encounter. As the planets approach, observers see through their telescopes cities on Bronson Beta. Tidal waves sweep inland at a height of 750 feet (230 m), volcanic eruptions and earthquakes add to the deadly toll, and the weather runs wild for more than two days. Bronson Alpha grazes and destroys the Moon.

Three men take a floatplane to check out conditions across the United States and meet with the President in Hutchinson, Kansas, the temporary capital of the United States. All three are wounded fighting off a mob at their last stop, but manage to return with a precious sample of an extremely heat-resistant metal one of them had noticed. This solves the last remaining engineering obstacle: no material had been found before to make rocket tubes capable of withstanding the heat of the atomic exhaust.

Five months before the end, desperate mobs attack the camp, killing over half of Hendron's people before they are defeated. With the rocket tube breakthrough, the survivors are able to build a second, larger ship that can carry everyone left alive (instead of only 100 of the roughly thousand people Hendron had recruited). The two American ships take off, but lose contact with each other. Other ships are seen launching from Europe; the French ship's tubes melt, causing it to crash. The original American ship makes a successful landing, but it is unknown if anyone else made it. The survivors find that Bronson Beta is habitable. They also find a road.

The sequel, After Worlds Collide , details the fate of the survivors on Bronson Beta.

Adaptations and influences

When Worlds Collide had far-reaching influences on the science fiction genre. The themes of an approaching planet threatening the Earth, and an athletic hero, his girlfriend, and a scientist traveling to the new planet by rocket, were used by writer Alex Raymond in his 1934 comic strip Flash Gordon . [lower-alpha 1] Jack Williamson's 1934 short story "Born of the Sun" also used the concept of a scientist and his fiancée escaping the destruction of the Earth in a hurriedly constructed "ark of space". The 1940–1941 newspaper comic strip Speed Spaulding, [2] an adaptation credited to the novel's authors, was more directly based on the novel. The themes of escape from a doomed planet to a habitable one also can be seen in Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's 1938 comic Superman .[ citation needed ]

The novel was adapted as the 1951 film When Worlds Collide , produced by George Pal and directed by Rudolph Maté, which in turn was adapted into a comic book by George Evans in Motion Picture Comics #110 (Fawcett Comics, May 1952). [3]

In 2012, the British composer Nigel Clarke wrote a large-scale work for brass band inspired by the film and likewise titled When Worlds Collide.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Raymond took the basic premise of Philip Wylie's When Worlds Collide, which was being reprinted in Blue Book magazine at the time, and used it as his starting point for adventure. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash Gordon</span> Comic strip character created 1934

Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip.

<i>Time for the Stars</i> 1956 juvenile science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Time for the Stars is a juvenile science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published by Scribner's in 1956 as one of the Heinlein juveniles. The basic plot line is derived from a 1911 thought experiment in special relativity, commonly called the twin paradox, proposed by French physicist Paul Langevin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction</span> Genre of fiction

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the Earth's civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronomical, such as an impact event; destructive, such as nuclear holocaust or resource depletion; medical, such as a pandemic, whether natural or human-caused; end time, such as the Last Judgment, Second Coming or Ragnarök; or any other scenario in which the outcome is apocalyptic, such as a zombie apocalypse, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics or alien invasion.

<i>Flash Gordon</i> (serial) 1936 film serial

Flash Gordon is a 1936 superhero serial film. Presented in 13 chapters, it is the first screen adventure for Flash Gordon, the comic-strip character created by Alex Raymond in 1934. It presents the story of Gordon's visit to the planet Mongo and his encounters with the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless. Buster Crabbe, Jean Rogers, Charles Middleton, Priscilla Lawson and Frank Shannon portray the film's central characters. In 1996, Flash Gordon was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

<i>Orphans of the Sky</i> 1963 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Orphans of the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, consisting of two parts: "Universe" and its sequel, "Common Sense". The two novellas were first published together in book form in 1963. "Universe" was also published separately in 1951 as a 10¢ Dell paperback. The work presents one of the earliest fictional depictions of a generation ship.

<i>Prelude to Space</i> 1947 novel by Arthur C. Clarke

Prelude to Space is a science fiction novel written by British author Arthur C. Clarke in 1947. It appeared for the first time in 1951 as a paperback from World Editions Inc, as number three in its series of Galaxy novels. Sidgwick & Jackson published it in the UK in 1953, followed the next year by a United States hardcover edition from Gnome Press and a paperback from Ballantine Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jor-El</span> Fictional character appearing in DC Comics

Jor-El is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Jor-El first appeared in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Wylie</span> American writer of pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and on ecological issues

Philip Gordon Wylie was an American writer of works ranging from pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and satire to ecology and the threat of nuclear holocaust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongo (fictional planet)</span> Primary setting of the Flash Gordon franchise

Mongo is a fictional planet where the comic strip of Flash Gordon takes place. Mongo was created by the comics artist Alex Raymond in 1934, with the assistance of Raymond's ghostwriter Don Moore. Mongo is depicted as being ruled by a usurper named Ming the Merciless, who is shown as a harsh and oppressive dictator.

<i>After Worlds Collide</i> 1934 novel by Philip Wylie

After Worlds Collide (1934) is a sequel to the 1933 science fiction novel, When Worlds Collide. Both novels were co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie. After Worlds Collide first appeared as a six-part monthly serial in Blue Book magazine. Much shorter and less florid than the original novel, this one tells the story of the survivors' progress on their new world, Bronson Beta, after the destruction of the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edwin Balmer</span> American novelist (1883–1959)

Edwin Balmer was an American science fiction and mystery writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron Munro</span> Comics character

Iron Munro is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Roy Thomas created the character in 1987 for Young All-Stars. He largely served to replace Superman in stories set during World War II after the Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline eliminated continuities in which Superman was active in this period.

The Alliance–Union universe is a fictional universe created by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is the setting for a future history series extending from the 21st century into the far future.

<i>When Worlds Collide</i> (1951 film) 1951 film by Rudolph Maté

When Worlds Collide is a 1951 American science fiction disaster film released by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by George Pal, directed by Rudolph Maté, and stars Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, and John Hoyt. The film is based on the 1933 science fiction novel of the same name, co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Does a Bee Care?</span> Short story by Isaac Asimov

"Does a Bee Care?" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in If: Worlds of Science Fiction in June 1957, and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. Gold Key Comics also published a comic book version of the story in 1976 in #4 of the four issue science fiction series Starstream: Adventures in Science Fiction. It also appeared in 1976's Questar: Illustrated Science Fiction Classics, published by Golden Press and adapted by A. Moniz with artwork from Jack Abel and in 1975 in Buy Jupiter and Other Stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origin of Superman</span> Fiction depicting the early life of Superman

The origin of Superman and his superhuman powers have been a central narrative for Superman since his inception, with the story of the destruction of his home planet, his arrival on Earth and emergence as a superhero evolving from Jerry Siegel's original story into a broad narrative archetype over the course of Superman's literary history and as the character's scope continues to expand across comics, radio, television and film.

<i>Almuric</i> 1939 novel by Robert E. Howard

Almuric is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert E. Howard. It was originally serialized in three parts in the magazine Weird Tales beginning in May 1939. The novel was first published in book form in 1964 by Ace Books.

<i>One in Three Hundred</i> 1953 novel by J. T. McIntosh

One in Three Hundred is a science fiction novel by British writer J. T. McIntosh. It was originally published as three novellas in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1953-54, and was then published by Doubleday & Company, Inc. During 1956 the novel was reissued by Ace as Ace Double D-113, in a dos-à-dos binding with Dwight V. Swain's The Transposed Man.

Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily U.S. newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, books and multiple media with adaptations including radio in 1932, a serial film, a television series, and other formats.

References

  1. Williamson, Al & Poplaski, Peter (1990). ""Introduction" to Alex Raymond". Flash Gordon: Mongo, the Planet of Doom. Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press. p. 5. ISBN   0878161147.
  2. "Obscurity of the Day: Speed Spaulding". StrippersGuide.BlogSpot.com (blog). 3 January 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  3. Groth, Gary; Dean, Michael (2016-11-09). The Comics Journal Library: The EC Artists Part 2. Fantagraphics Books. ISBN   978-1-60699-945-5.