In a rapidly-changing world, this books seeks to be one of many resources giving you the tools to imagine the best possible future.
The comics and essays contained in the book powerfully push back on the idea that the future is all figured out and definitely is a thought-provoking ride towards addressing some of the biggest issues in our society.
The blend of comics and essays makes it a very digestible read!

A good book, and a great concept. I unfortunately just found it difficult for it to fully pique my interest, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading this one originally

This was a complete mess. The digital copy I received was unreadable, thus I can't give a review one way or the other.

Very boring. I am sad I picked this up. I had to force myself to read this and get to the end when I had other books to read

This graphic novel has some really fun and thought provoking takes and raises some really good questions. My most confusing isssue was who the target demographic is supposed to be. The cover art lets you assume a younger audience, the essay writing style a more mature, the facts and bias in the content something in between.
And while it raises some great philosophical questions I also found those to be very much like an activist or propagada, not painting a picture from different POVs or some thought provoking ideas that are not streamline social activism. So while I do not disagree with any of the points this book is trying to make, I felt like it was aggressively shoving very obvious and top of mind topics down my throat while not giving room for other - more underlying and new perspectives.

I really enjoyed how unique this graphic novel was. Graphic novels sometimes are pretty much the same plot. I really thought this was refreshing. The colors were bright. It is a scientific graphic novel that features the artwork of 12 comic/graphic artists which serves to bring to life the various potential futures ahead of us. The plot was very unique!

Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (And Not So Possible) Tomorrows takes readers on a journey from speculative fiction to speculative “fact.” Producer and host of the podcast Flash Forward, Rose Eveleth poses provocative questions about our future, which are brought to life by 12 of the most imaginative comics and graphic artists at work, including Matt Lubchanksy, Sophie Goldstein, Ben Passmore, and Box Brown. Each artist chooses a subject close to their heart—Ignatz Award nominee Julia Gfrörer, for instance, will imagine a future in which robots make art—and presents their chosen future in their own style. Drawing on her interviews with experts in various fields of study, Eveleth will then report on what is complete fantasy and what is only just out of reach in insightful essays following the comics. This book introduces compelling visions of the future and vividly explores the human consequences of developing technologies. Flash Forward reveals how complicated, messy, incredible, frightening, and strange our future might be.

I was looking forward to read this book since the introduction is really interesting, however the ARC quality is terrible and I can't read the book, I tried on several devices and zooming the images but it's always blurry. It's the first time this happens to me, if you ever change the quality I'll be happy to try again and give a proper review. Sorry

Having listened to this podcast for a few years now, as soon as I learnt Rose was publishing a Flash Forward book I knew I needed it! I would've pre-ordered it but that was only available in the US and Canada, I'd just resigned myself but then I spotted the book on NetGalley and I requested that thing so fast!!!
The book follows the same format as the podcasts, where in each section the book looks at a possible, or not so possible, future and see's how this could play out and how it would impact everyday people. In the podcast this is done through a small acted segment and then through discussion. To transfer this into a literary medium, Rose instead went with comics! This is part graphic novel and part discussion, with there first being a strip which is the same as the acted segment from the podcast, and then afterwards Rose would have a discussion about what we'd just read and how this could come about.
There were a few futures that were taken directly from podcast episodes, but they were from older episodes, so if you've not listened to them all then this won't be an issue for you, and if you have, well it's a nice reminder! I enjoyed being reminded of these possible futures and Rose's takes on them, as well as seeing how my reaction differed a few years on.
Overall, I recommend getting this content into you somehow! Whether that's through the podcast (of the same name: Flash Forward) or through this graphic novel. Rose Eveleth puts so much effort and hard graft into each episode and each story, doing so much research and talking to a vast amount of professionals and experts. Also I really liked the artwork inside the book as well, something that isn't necessarily the main part of a graphic novel like this but that's lovely to see all the same! A very ramble-y but very positive review of this! Pick it up!

I could not put this down all day.

I love the combination of sci-fi and what is really happening right now. This book is all that in one.

I love the comics and varying art styles throughout the book. I love the voice of the story and feels like a more polished version of the podcast. I feel as if each chapter covers a different topic. I also love reading the footnotes.

though i would love to read the book in colored version, reading it was a bit struggle but it was still a good read

•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 3☆
• Side characters- 3.5☆
• Flow of the story- 3.5☆
• Overall - 3.5☆

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Flash Forward: An Illustrated Guide to Possible (and Not So Possible) Tomorrows

This comic features twelve comics by some super talented comic book and graphic artists. Each comic is followed by an essay, all of which are very interesting reads.

Unfortunately, the digital copy I received from NetGalley was a really low quality, and even on my iPad I was unable to read at least 75% of the comics.
For this reason, I can’t really give a higher rating than this, but if I ever do pick up a hard copy or receive a higher quality ARC, I will come back to i]update my review.

This was a bit of a disappointment. The digital ARC was extremely blurry. While I could read the prose clearly, the text on the comic portions was mostly illegible. What sections I could understand seemed to be discussing some interesting philosophical questions about technology. I’d be interested in reading this again if a clearer ARC is provided, but in its current condition it’s a no from me.

I was very excited for this book, but the digital ARC I received is incredibly blurry. The typed text is normal, but the illustrations and comic text is fully blurry and I was not able to find a work around. I will have to find another way to decide if this book is right for my library's collection.

Thank to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

The comic sounds very interesting and I have always wanted to read more on these aspects. As a science-fiction fan this sounded right up my alley. I definitely recommend this fun take on some interesting topics. The book is organized into short essays, which have a little introduction and a comic part - a very interesting combination. Unfortunately I have lost some important aspects of the story due to the state of the digital copy I received. It was very hard to read the comic parts and I found myself struggling to understand the words. In this case, I cannot really rate the book more than 3 stars and I think it is a shame, but I am sure the final result will be great.

It is a great idea and I think people will benefit from reading this book.

I am unable to review this book due to the poor quality of the ARC. When I try to zoom in to read the text, it becomes blurry. The text is not legible and illustrations are difficult to interpret.

This is very disappointing as I listened to the Flash Forward Podcast and was really looking forward to reading this graphic novel.

I'm happy to update my review if a crisper, better quality ARC is loaded into NetGalley.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, however my Adobe keeps crashing everytime I try to open the book. I'd love to give this book another shot if I receive a Kindle copy!

[originally posted on GoodReads; please read there for best formatting]

(Actual rating: 4.5. ARC from NetGalley.)

One of the books I've enjoyed the most recently. Flash Forward features a collection of sci-fi comics from various talented authors and artists, then explains the reasoning and likelihood behind each 'future' in a well-sourced essay by Rose Eveleth. The book is a great primer for those with no prior history on the topics, as well as a vibrantly entertaining read for someone obsessed with them.

THE COMICS

I will have to keep it real with you: I can't give my full honest opinion until I see the physical book, because my NetGalley copy was so low quality I sometimes had to pause to make out the words on the page. What I could comprehend was compelling and well-written, but I don't think I can make any major statements on the art (which will be in color in the final copy!) until I see the physical version. Fortunately, I've already put in a request for purchase at my local library, so you should see an update of this review right around its March 2021 release date.

Now, that said, I did read the comics, and while the quality varied, it always hovered between "solid" and "fantastic." My only issue was that, while the essays always managed to change my mind, some comics made me quirk a ,':| face at some very unrealistic-seeming situations. A good example would be Animal Magnetism (animal rights)-- REALLY? People are REALLY going to be against owning pets? And the essay did a fantastic job of convincing me-- some people are anti-pet now!-- but the comic itself struggled to paint that world for me as clearly. I'm singling this one out, but there were a few others that had the same issue.

Really, I think each story needed more space. These comics deserved a LOT more room to spread out! I'm not certain why they were kept so short, but many needed just a few more pages to get their points across clearly, convincingly, and with real emotional power. Ghostbot, for example, was so close to reaching its full potential, but because it's so short, it unfortunately doesn't feel as emotionally touching as it could. And let me tell you, if there's someone who would be touched emotionally by robot recreations of people after their death, it is me. (Go read O Human Star, whose third volume I desperately await at my home.)

And with all that said, I still couldn't do more than knock a half a star off. It's a great set of comics, filled with talent I was familiar with (Blue Delliquanti wrote both O Human Star and an unrelated comic in this book!) as well as exciting new faces.

THE ESSAYS

I don't listen to podcasts, and I wouldn't say I expect the average podcaster to be a fantastic writer-- two different skill sets, right? But Eveleth is a genius writer. She did an outstanding amount of research, which pays off in every word she writes in her explanatory essays. She's comfortable both with discussing major, well-known cases and her personal niche interests. She'll discuss Naruto the macaque's selfie dispute in one chapter, then move on to telling you about her favorite passage from Beggars in Spain , a sci-fi book I'd never heard of before, in the next.

These essays wind up having the feeling of an extremely well-educated and intelligent friend talk to you passionately about this topic, and, frankly, that's all I want in life. Even when Eveleth discussed VOCALOID, a topic usually mangled by curious Americans, she kept the explanation engaging enough that I could follow along even as someone who already knew it all. And her analysis is fantastic; she brings to life new possibilities in her writing that you wouldn't have considered with just the sources.

Most importantly, these essays provide important context for the comics. Like I said, some seemed a little hard to believe, but Eveleth would always change my mind. On the anti-pet issue, not only did she change my mind on that, but she had me wondering whether the anti-pet people were right! She had me talking about her writing for days, debating with people on animal rights issues I'd never heard of before. This book took me so long to read because every essay inspired me to research further, so I'd often wind up reading several newspaper articles each chapter because Eveleth had gotten me so easily hooked with her passion.

That is talent right there. That is fantastic writing.

SYNERGY

These elements of the book work perfectly together. I was astounded at how easily the essays and comics converged, particularly when it came to specific story points. Eveleth could probably have walked me through every decision made on every panel. I find cowriting impressive in general, but this is another level-- a nonfiction writer (a podcaster!) working with comic artists, who sometimes worked with comic writers to team up on a single comic? Incredible. I really can't overstate how happy I am with how the mix came together.
_________

In short, I loved this book. I came for just one author (Delliquanti) and ended up loving every moment. I'd happily recommend it to just about anyone-- the addition of comics (and Eveleth's great writing voice) make it easy to read, and the book pulls no punches in terms of research, imagination, or breadth of scope. I really feel changed by this book, and I'm confident I'll continue thinking about in the future.

Was really looking forward to reading this and the intro sounded incredible. Unfortunately, the copy I received was extremely blurry and I couldn’t read it. Hoping it is fixed soon so I can check it out and give a better review. Thanks!

I'm so sad that this is impossible to read. When you try to zoom in, the tr t goes all blury and you can decifer it. Please, fix this as soon as possible! The intro seemed very promising!

**I received an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This was really good. Rose Eveleth did a great job writing this.