Future Life
Entry updated 19 February 2024. Tagged: Publication.
Letter-size saddle-stapled Media Magazine printed on a mixture of newsprint and glossy paper. Published by Future Magazine Incorporated, a subsidiary of O'Quinn Studios. Editors included Bob Woods and Herman Zimmerman. 31 issues April 1978 to December 1981. Publication schedule was generally monthly with some gaps after #16.
An attempt to establish a more science-fact oriented companion to Starlog, this magazine was initially entitled Future but with the March 1979 issue became Future Life to avoid confusion with a similarly-titled economics publication. It featured Interviews with many sf notables including Gregory Benford, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K Le Guin, Frederick Pohl, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Theodore Sturgeon, John Varley and Roger Zelazny. Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Ellison also contributed articles; Ellison's column "An Edge in My Voice" ran for some time in the latter period of the magazine's existence, with his usual pointed observations on the idiocies of US society. Artwork was a major feature: well-known artists appearing with both covers and interior work include John Berkey, Chesley Bonestell, David A Hardy, Robert McCall (1919-2010), and Boris Vallejo. The "Gallery" section featured lesser-known artists, and sometimes could be separated from the magazine as poster art. Editorials were by contributed co-publisher Kerry O'Quinn.
While the quality of the magazine was generally high, its mixture of cutting-edge articles on such science-fact themes as Cryogenics, Robots and (especially) Space Habitats with sf Cinema material may have divided the intended audience. Future Life failed to achieve long-term success. [GSt/DRL]
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