100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

πŸŽ‰ Meet Toy Hero - our brand-new toy store, built by the team behind Book Hero

Whatever Happened World Tomorrow?

3.62 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 379 ratings, 84 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? chronicles the life of a young boy growing up from the 1939 New York World's Fair to the final Apollo mission in 1975. Told through the lens of a father-son relationship, this graphic novel captures an era filled with optimism, technological leaps, and cultural shifts. Combining comic book adventures of Commander Cap Crater with historical art and photography, Brian Fies offers a rich, evocative journey into half a century of innovation and changing national moods.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Whatever Happened World Tomorrow?. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This graphic novel suits readers interested in historical narratives, families, and technological evolution, appealing especially to fans of thoughtful comics and graphic storytelling. Its F&P level Y indicates suitability for young adults and adults.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The long-awaited follow-up to "Mom's Cancer" is a unique graphic novel that tells the story of a young boy and his relationship with his father.

An original graphic novel by the award winning author Brian Fies, now in paperback!; 2 Eisner Award nominations: Best Publication Design and Best Lettering. 5 Harvey Award nominations: Best Artist, Best Letterer, Best Colorist, Best Original Graphic Album, and Best Single Issue or Story.; Brian's first book, Mom's Cancer, was critically acclaimed and award winning.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, the long-awaited follow-up to Mom's Cancer, is a unique graphic novel that tells the story of a young boy and his relationship with his father.

Spanning the period from the 1939 New York World's Fair to the last Apollo space mission in 1975, it is told through the eyes of a boy as he grows up in an era that was optimistic and ambitious, fuelled by industry, engines, electricity, rockets, and the atom bomb. An insightful look at relationships and the promise of the future, award-winning author Brian Fies presents his story in a way that only comics and graphic novels can.

Interspersed with the comic book adventures of Commander Cap Crater (created by Fies to mirror the styles of the comics and the time periods he is depicting), and mixing art and historical photographs, this groundbreaking graphic novel is a lively trip through a half-century of technological evolution. It is also a perceptive look at the changing moods of our nationβ€”and the enduring promise of the future.

Praise for Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?

"A graphic novel that looks like TV's 'Futurama' bred with The Golden Age of Comic Books, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? is at times charming, at times sad and foreboding, and always thought-provoking." - Air & Space Smithsonian

"A hopelessly optimistic moon-age daydream" - The Village Voice

"An exceptional and highly engaging experience." - The Miami Herald

"Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? is a very special book that will speak to you on so many levels. And at the end of it, when you sit there and think on what you've just read, it may even make you, like it did me, realise that Fies' vision of our past and his hope for the future is something we can all share in. Quite brilliant." - Richard Bruton, forbiddenplanet.co.uk

F&P level: Y

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Air & Space Smithsonian praised it as "charming, sad and foreboding, and always thought provoking." The Village Voice called it "a hopelessly optimistic moon-age daydream," while The Miami Herald described it as "an exceptional and highly engaging experience." Richard Bruton of forbiddenplanet.co.uk hailed it as "quite brilliant," highlighting its deep emotional resonance and hopeful vision.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781419704413

Publisher: Abrams

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2012

Country: United States

Imprint: Abrams ComicArts

Illustration: 200 colour illustrations

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Brian Fies

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 163.0mm

Height: 252.0mm

Weight: 540g

Pages: 208

About the Author

Brian Fies is a science writer, illustrator, and cartoonist whose widely acclaimed first graphic novel, Mom's Cancer, won the 2005 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic (the first web comic to win the award and inaugurate this new category), the Lulu Blooker Prize for Best Comic, the Harvey Award for Best New Talent, and the German Youth Literature Prize, among other awards and recognition. He lives in northern California.

Also by Brian Fies

View all
  • A Fire Story (Updated and Expanded Edition)
    Early morning on Monday, October 9, 2017, wildfires burned through Northern California, resulting in 44 fatalities. In addition, 6,200 homes and 8,900 structures were destroyed. Author Brian Fies’s firsthand account of this tragic event is an honest, unflinching depiction of his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn’t fit into the...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • A Fire Story
    Early morning on Monday, October 9, 2017, wildfires burned through Northern California, resulting in 44 fatalities. In addition, 6,200 homes and 8,900 structures were destroyed. Author Brian Fies's firsthand account of this tragic event is an honest, unflinching depiction of his personal experiences, including losing his house and every possession he and his wife had that didn't fit into the...
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • The Last Mechanical Monster
    From Brian Fies, the acclaimed graphic novelist of Mom’s Cancer, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, and A Fire Story, comes a classic comic book adventure for all ages. Decades after being imprisoned for threatening his city with an army of giant robots, an elderly scientist reenters society, only to discover he needs help navigating life in the 21st...
    Hardback
    Sold Out

More from Graphic Novels

View all
  • New Release
    Heartstopper Volume 6
    Read it before you see it: Heartstopper Forever movie coming soon from Netflix Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. The final installment in the bestselling LGBTQ+ graphic novel series about life, love, and everything that happens in between. Everyone in school knows Nick and Charlie. Everyone knows they're going to be togetherforever. But Charlie's busy with...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Lightfall: A Place Between
    In the fourth installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea, Cad, and their friends continue their quest to restore light on their dark world. Perfect for fans of Amulet and Avatar, this next book dives deeper into the magical world of Irpa, where ancient secrets and adventures abound.After surviving a shipwreckΒ on the Fuerre Sea, Cad washes ashore on...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2699
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Tokyo Ghoul Complete Box Set
    Ghouls live among us, the same as normal people in every wayβ€”except for their craving for human flesh. A box set that includes all fourteen volumes of the original Tokyo Ghoul series. Includes an exclusive double-sided poster. Ken Kaneki is an ordinary college student until a violent encounter turns him into the first half-human, half-Ghoul hybrid. Trapped between two worlds,...
    Paperback
    $23500
    Elsewhere:
    $31500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Demon Slayer Complete Box Set
    Contains Volumes 1-23. Full colour. Double-sided Poster and Commemorative Mini-Book. Tanjiro embarks on the perilous path of a Demon Slayer, driven by a mission to save his sister and seek justice for his slain family! In the backdrop of Taisho-era Japan, we meet the compassionate Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who makes a humble living by selling charcoal. However, his tranquil...
    Paperback
    $29500
    Elsewhere:
    $41000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1
    Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 1 by Gege Akutami introduces readers to the gripping world of jujutsu sorcery and supernatural battles. This first volume sets the stage for an explosive adventure that intertwines the fate of humans and cursed spirits. In a world where cursed spirits, malevolent entities born from human negative emotions, prey on the unsuspecting, fragments of the legendary demon...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live
    From the New York Times bestselling author and creator of the hit MrBallen Podcast and YouTube channel comes a vividly illustrated graphic novel featuring nine spine-chilling stories, based on real events, of the horror that lurks within the unknown. In MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live, John Allen, known popularly as MrBallen, returns with another heart-stopping collection of strange and mysterious...
    Hardback
    $4400
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1
    One Piece (Omnibus Edition), Vol. 1 by Eiichiro Oda invites readers on an exhilarating journey across the vast and treacherous oceans. Follow the ambitious young pirate, Monkey D. Luffy, and his eclectic crew as they embark on an epic quest to uncover the legendary treasure known as the One Piece, a prize that will crown its possessor as the King...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2899
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Talons Of Power: The Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire, Book Nine)
    For every villain, there is a hero ... Turtle isn’t one of the heroes he reads about in stories. If he were, he’d use his animus powers to help Pyrrhia - instead of keeping his abilities a secret, even from his own sister. Now that Darkstalker, the sinister and impossibly old dragon from Pyrrhia’s most notorious legends, has returned, Turtle...
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Berserk Deluxe Volume 1
    In Berserk Deluxe Volume 1, journey into a dark and unforgiving world where the infamous mercenary known as Guts, wielding his colossal broadsword with unmatched ferocity, navigates a treacherous landscape filled with both supernatural and human threats. Set in a medieval realm where power is brutally wielded and exploited, Guts's tale unfolds as he battles demons and soldiers alike, driven...
    Hardback
    $8500
    Elsewhere:
    $10000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2
    Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 2 by Gege Akutami continues the gripping saga of Yuji Itadori, a courageous high school student with a heart of gold, who finds himself thrust into a dangerous supernatural world. After swallowing a piece of the formidable demon Ryomen Sukuna to gain the power necessary to save his friends, Yuji is caught in an intense conflict between...
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town
    Detective Beans: Adventures in Cat Town is back to solve all the mysteries that you need solved, and even the ones you don't need solved. He's that good. In between playing Scrabble, having sleepovers, and trips to the beach, there's always time for crime solving. Whether it's who ate Mum's donuts, who has lost their handbag in the park, which...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 5
    Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 5 by Gege Akutami continues the thrilling saga of Yuji Itadori, a teenager thrown into the perilous world of jujutsu sorcery and cursed spirits. In his quest to save his friends from malevolent supernatural forces, Yuji swallows a finger belonging to Ryomen Sukuna, a fearsome demon whose fragments, if consumed, bestow immense and destructive power. As cursed...
    Paperback
    $2099
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.