Despite multiple adaptations, "Crime and Punishment" is probably better known today; but as long as people get the general idea, I guess. From 1993,
Ray Bradbury Comics #1, featuring "
A Sound of Thunder," written by Ray Bradbury, adapted by Richard Corben; "Tyrannosaurus Rex" Written by Ray Bradbury, adapted by Garces; and
"A Sound of Thunder", adapted by Al Williamson. The latter reprinted from EC's classic 1954
Weird Science-Fantasy #25.
Both versions hit the same notes: in 2055, after a recent election just missed electing a fascist, a hunting party from "Time Safari, Inc." is getting ready to travel back to the prehistoric past and bag a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The hunters are briefed on the need to avoid changing history, and are advised they will have to stay on the special path: even inadvertently crushing a flower or blade of grass could have cascading effects. But one of the hunters panics and flees into the forest...The build-up underlines repeatedly how skull-numbingly dangerous time-travel could be, so
of course capitalism is involved.
"Tyrannosaurus Rex" is a more cheery little number, and one I'm not sure I had read before: a stop-motion animator greatly enjoys creating dinosaur footage, but the producer not only lowballs him, he tries to take custody of the dinosaur for himself. The animator refuses, since that would be like giving up his own baby, but the producer's abuse subconsciously inspires him...to make the monster more in the producer's image! The producer is furious, but his lawyer puts a clever spin on it...Bradbury was a good friend of
Ray Harryhausen, and I wonder how much of this one could be based on reality!
The stop motion animator story reminds of that one Tales from the Crypt episode where the protagonist, a horror comic book artist (played by Harry Anderson from Night Court) draws things that come life, so in the end to get rid of his horribly abusive wife, he draws a monster based on her that kills her so he can shack up with a better match for him. I think he just erases the drawing of said monster so that it can't be traced back to him.
ReplyDeleteI can DEFINITELY see time-travel being taken over by capitalism, first only the rich can afford to do it, then eventually the middle & lower classes can afford to do it after the techs being streamlined & dummified so that anyone can basically do it, with certain restrictions of course.