Armageddon 2419 A.d.

Author: Philip Francis Nowlan

It's not altogether clear how it happened, but this novel about saving America from Mongolian conquerors somehow became one of the great space adventures. But let's start with the novel. Sometime after the First World War, European and Asian powers banded together against the United States, and by the beginning of the 21st century the Mongolians had taken over the country and forced Americans to live in primitive communities in the forests and mountains. But one veteran of the Great War, Anthony Rogers, fell into a state of suspended animation, and woke in 2419. Falling in with one tribe of Americans in the forests of what had been Pennsylvania, he proves to be a master tactician, helping them to defeat a rival gang, then going on to lead the war that will free America from the Mongolian invaders. Why it's on the list: A newspaper editor enjoyed the story so much that he suggested that Nowlan should turn it into a comic strip for his paper. They changed the name of the hero to Buck Rogers, and after the first few strips they abandoned the plot of the novel completely and it became a tale of adventure in outer space. It was the first science fiction comic strip which lasted for years and in turn inspired television series and films. Which makes Armageddon 2419 A.D. the unlikely progenitor of one of the great space adventures of science fiction.