Science fiction comedy (sci-fi comedy) or comic science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

that exploits the science-fiction (SF) genre's conventions for comedic effect. Comic science fiction often mocks or satirizes standard SF conventions – such as alien invasion of Earth, interstellar travel, or futuristic technology. It can also satirize and criticize present-day society. An early example was the ''

Pete Manx "Kelvin Kent" was a pseudonym shared by writers Henry Kuttner and Arthur K. Barnes. The byline appeared on a series of 12 science fiction stories published in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' from 1939 to 1944, featuring protagonist "Pete Manx". Leigh B ...

'' series by

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

and Arthur K. Barnes (sometimes writing together and sometimes separately, under the house pen-name of Kelvin Kent). Published in '' Thrilling Wonder Stories'' in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the series featured a

time-traveling Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

carnival barker who uses his con-man abilities to get out of trouble. Two later series cemented Kuttner's reputation as one of the most popular early writers of comic science fiction: the ''Gallegher'' series (about a drunken inventor and his narcissistic robot) and the ''Hogben'' series (about a family of mutant hillbillies). The former appeared in ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'' in 1943 and 1948 and was collected in hardcover as '' Robots Have No Tails'' (Gnome, 1952), and the latter appeared in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' in the late 1940s. In the 1950s comedy became more common in science fiction. Some of the authors contributing included: Alfred Bester, Harry Harrison, C. M. Kornbluth,

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

, and Robert Sheckley.The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders, Volume 1, Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, Page 145 '' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a comic science-fiction series written by Douglas Adams. 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. A prominent series in

British popular culture British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empire. ...

, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' has become an international multi-media phenomenon; the novels are the most widely distributed, having been translated into more than 30 languages by 2005. Terry Pratchett's 1981 novel ''Strata'' also exemplifies the comic science fiction genre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comic Science Fiction Science fiction Science fiction genres Film genres

See also

References