Maps Of The Apocalypse

With the end coming soon (according to some prophets) lets take a look at what the world will look like in the post-apocalypse, shall we?

First up we have TSR's 1st ed. Gamma World map. Brilliant and ready to inspire the imagination of any GM/Mutant Lord!
Gamma World had a general campaign world background with factions set up but left things open - wide open, in fact, to really fill in the blanks DIY old-school style. One hex on that map of the future United States was about 80 miles, I believe. The map itself is fantastic with parts of the east coast blown to bits as well as California tumbling into the sea and notice Florida shrinkage. Classic post nuclear world!

Here's hoping that whole east coast - west coast thing is settled....or not!
I'll try to get an actual scan of this map in the near future.

Next we move into the realm of comic fantasy with Jack Kirby's world of Kamandi.
The creative insanity of Jack's vision of a future world brings us mutant animals controlling their own empires within the former United States. Beyond that we have such lovely vacation spots such as The Kanga-rat Murder Society, Mad-Hole, Island of the God Watchers and The Strange Fire Area among others. So plan your travel packages and Mutant Games now!

Vaughn Bode's future world fantasy of Cobalt 60 (now optioned by Universal Studios and Zach Snyder for a live action movie) brings us again to a grim world of mutants and savagery. The beautiful map below (created by his son Mark, I believe) shows the San Francisco area complete with flooded craters. Poor California!

The distopian future of Judge Dredd brought us the Judge, Jury and Executioner police force along with it's Mega-cities. But the real challenge for any traveler is a journey through the deserts of the Cursed Earth, a land of mutants, gangs and dinosaurs. Land too tough for even a Judge!


Finally, Dr. Chet Snow's post earth-change map of the United States. Again, bad news for California but not so bad for Tucson AZ where I may be able to pick up some beach-front property. I believe Dr. Snow's first major earthquake prediction date has come and gone but he still has a year and a half so we'll see. Other prophetic maps of similar ilk can be found here dealing with Nostradamus and pole-shifts.

And last I'd like to mention, if you really want to get a gander of what a post-nuclear world will be like in your home town, head on over to Ground Zero at Carlos Labs and look at the grim reality for yourself.

Mutant Future here we come!

"History shows again and again
How nature points out the follies of man"

-Blue Oyster Cult

The Future Was Yesterday

Almost by default, post-apocalyptic futures are just that, grim futures after the fall of man. We can all imagine a time in the far future where our once mighty though foolish civilization, at the peek of it's power, is now in ruin.

But what if that future was yesteryear? What if the apocalypse happened in the past?

In films and stories where, at the time, the end of the world was within arms reach. That always sent more of a chill up ones spine. What if that future was not centuries away but maybe decades or just years?

Remember John Carpenter's Escape From New York (1981)? The Future - 1997 where New York was turned into a giant prison didn't seem that far off or that implausible.

The Last Man On Earth (1964) film was based on the book I am Legend and took place between 1966 and 1968.

What if, at the end of Dr. Strangelove (1964) we continued the story? 2011? Almost 50 years after the great war?

What if the post-apocalypse was now? What if the Mutant Future was now? Where was technology in 1964? Sure, we had The Bomb but computers still filled a room with memory on tape. The Beatles just invading the American shores. Fifty or one hundred years in that future sure would be different.

I've been thinking a lot about running a Mutant Future / Gamma World 1st ed. game. I think it actually might take place now, in 2011 with the destruction of the world happening in our recent past, 1964, and using Stanley Kubrik's Dr. Strangelove as the back-story. What is the ratio of males to females? Would a mine-shaft gap come into play? The Purity of Essence cults?

I think that would be very interesting and maybe even a bit more messed up as one may face 1st generation mutations in the very year we live in now.

Much to ponder, much to ponder.....

Welcome to the Post-Apocalypse

Ahh, yes. One of my favorite, if not the favorite, genre - the post apocalyptic theme. Always loved this concept as far back as I can remember. The idea of man not being 'King of the World' anymore - to being just a supporting cast member in the ruins of his once might civilization has always thrilled me.

Maybe it was those Kamandi comics I read as a kid? Planet of the Apes infinite loop stories? Soylent Green? Omega Man? These are the images and stories I loved as a kid. Will man burn-out or fade away? Most likely fade away - with a whimper.

One common thread in most of these stories is society breaking down - and quickly at that. Martial law, chaos, riots, mass shootings, mass graves…Grim world indeed but probably true if humanity faced the end of it's civilization. Face it, we're pussies in the scale of the universe.

What's usually left is a scattering of humans roaming the ruined wastelands. Rules? There are no rules. It's survival, man!

So here's a list of some of the movies and stories that really capture the good and bad of this future world. If you haven't yet, go watch the books and read the movies!

Kamandi - Jack Kirby's comic about the last boy on earth. Great inspiration but by this time, Kirby's high-octane writing can leave you breathless. Must read.

Judge Dredd - 2000AD hero of Megacities and the Cursed Earth. One of the best comics (the movie sucked ass). Must read.

Daybreak 2250 A.D. (Andre Norton) 1952 novel full of mutants and a small population of humans. Gamma World inspiration. Good read.

Thundarr the Barbarian - Saturday morning cartoon. Best portrayal of a post 1994 Mutant Future!

Star Barbarian - Great Sci-Fi concept of humanities colonization of the stars only to revert back to barbarism. Great concept but didn't like the book that much.

I Am Legend (1954 Richard Matheson) and it's various film adaptations Omega Man, I Am Legend, Last Man On Earth) Good stories in either form.

Alas Babylon (1959 Pat Frank) Post Apocalyptic radiation = bad. Good read.

The Day After - 1980's American television program about the hopeless doom after a nuclear war. Meh.

The Day After Tomorrow - I haven't seen this post-climatic apocalyptic story. Written by Whitely Strieber

The Stand (Stephen King) The plague and the fall of humanity and the traveling across country is great stuff . Didn't get much into the battle of good and evil. Movies, book, comic - all good.

The Road - This ain't no beatnick journey! I haven't read the book but the movie was quite depressing and horrific. Not the post-apocalyptic world I want to live in. Bleak! Bleak! But watch it anyway.

The Planet of the Apes - The infinite loop concept of the movies is great in an of itself. Very good.

Plant Guy - Comic book written by me! Mutant plants, the Roctopus! A must read!

Soylent Green - Part of Chuck Heston's 1970's gun toting apocalyptic fury. Nuff said.

The Road Warrior Trilogy - "A fella' , a smart fella might have a weapon under there." Must see.

Night of the Living Dead and it's sequels - The classic first film captures the quick descent into savagery better than almost any other story. Oh and don't forget the zombies! Must see many times.

The Walking Dead - Speaking of zombies, these series is pretty gruesome and hopeless but the humans fight on. The comic is good too. Must See.

Ever Since The World Ended - Survivors in a post plague world eek out a society in this documentary style film. Very good.

The War Game - A banned documentary from 1965 showing society's breakdown despite best efforts of the government in post nuclear Britain. Depressing but must see.

The Quiet Earth - Last man on earth movie. Very good.

A Boy And His Dog - Young Don Johnson's foray into the post Apocalypse. Good.

Children Of Men - Sterile humanity - End Of Line. Distopian must see .

Blindness - Blindness messes with humanity in a big way. Heavy and depressing.

Knowing - If you love the ancient astronaut theory this movie's for you! I loved this.

28 Days Later - Romero inspired end of the world zombie flick. Must See

Delicatessen - What's the post apocalypse without cannibalism? Weird

Night of the Comet - Valley girls go shopping at the end of the world. Fair, very 1980's

If anyone has any other suggestions, please let the world know before it's too late.

UPDATED: This just in....To coincide with this blog post was the release of the teaser trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy...