Our Critically Acclaimed Futurism Cartoons Instagram Page Is Getting Its Own Book

In the future they probably won’t make physical books. Either everything will go completely digital—to save the trees, if there are any left—or our attention spans will have been ravaged by social media to the point that all ideas will be expressed in the form of likes, emojis, and memes. But one way or another, books will go the way of the dodo. However, the good news for all you bibliophiles is that it’s not quite the future yet. And in a few weeks, Running Press, a division a Hachette Book Group, is publishing Cartoons from Tomorrow: A Futuristic Comic Collection, a new book written by Luke Kingma and illustrated by Lou Patrick Mackay based on the critically acclaimed Futurism Cartoons Instagram feed.

Pre-Order The New Futurism Cartoons Book: Cartoons From Tomorrow

If you’re not already one of the over 61,000 people who follow Futurism Cartoons on Instagram, you really should be. Created by Kingma and Mackay back in 2017, the series takes a satirical, often absurdist look at humanity’s evolving relationship with science and technology. By making making half-serious predictions about what the future might look like, Futurism Cartoons make poignant observations about some of the coolest and most terrifying things happening in our world today. It covers everything from artificial intelligence, robot ethics, and technology, to alien life, environmental degradation, and space colonization.

Oh, and politics. Don't forget the politics.

“Science fiction plays an enormous role in shaping public understanding and sentiment around emerging technology,” Kingma explains. “With Futurism Cartoons, we wanted to go even deeper. We wanted those conversations to happen every day, not every 1-2 years. We also wanted to break out of the habit of asking, ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’ Technology can be good. It can also be weird. Those stories aren’t really being told.”

Cartoons from Tomorrow: A Futuristic Comic Collection

Cartoons from Tomorrow takes everything people love about the Futurism Cartoons Instagram and puts it into book form. It features 125 single-panel comics, including 80 all-new cartoons that haven’t been seen on Instagram.

The book is already getting high praise.

"Clever and clear, Cartoons from Tomorrow visits everything from humanoid super robots to parallel and virtual realities, but humanity still dates and shops and sings karaoke. This is tomorrow through the eyes of today."―Amy Kurzweil, cartoonist for The New Yorker

"Wry and often ingenious, it's like Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal meets The New Yorker. But watch out-there are glimmers of that dangerous substance: hope."―David Brin, Futurist/scientist/best-selling author

"The future isn't what it used to be. But if we can't have flying cars and moon colonies, at least we can get some laughs, courtesy of this fine collection of cartoons that shine a light on the technological and social absurdities of our fallen age."―Zack Stentz, writer for Thor and X-Men: First Class

Basically, Cartoons from Tomorrow: A Futuristic Comic Collection will make you wish all your favorite Instagram feeds were books. It’s set for release nationwide on September 17, 2019, but you can pre-order your copy today.