Mondo 2000
Encyclopedia
Mondo 2000 was a glossy cyberculture
magazine
published in California
during the 1980s and 1990s. It covered cyberpunk
topics such as virtual reality
and smart drugs
. It was a more anarchic and subversive prototype for the later-founded Wired magazine.
Mondo 2000 originated as High Frontiers in 1984, edited by R. U. Sirius
(pseudonym for Ken Goffman). He was succeeded as Editor-in-Chief by Queen Moo (anthropologist Alison Bailey Kennedy, a.k.a. "Queen Mu" and "Alison Wonderland").
Sirius was joined by hacker Jude Milhon
(a.k.a St. Jude) as editor and the magazine was renamed Reality Hackers in 1988 to better reflect its drugs and computers theme. It changed title again to Mondo 2000 in 1989.
Art director and photographer Bart Nagel, a pioneer in Photoshop collage
, created the publication's elegantly surrealist
aesthetic. Along with the print version of Boing Boing
— with which Mondo 2000 shared several writers, including Mark Frauenfelder
, Richard Kadrey
, Gareth Branwyn
, and Jon Lebkowsky
— Mondo 2000 helped develop what was to become the cyberpunk
subculture
.
R. U. Sirius left at the beginning of 1993, at about the same time as the launch of Wired. The magazine continued until 1998, with the last issue being #17.
Writers featured included William Gibson
, Nan C. Druid (psuedonym for Maerian Morris), Rudy Rucker
, Bruce Sterling
, and Robert Anton Wilson
.
Cyberculture
Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
during the 1980s and 1990s. It covered cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
topics such as virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
and smart drugs
Nootropic
Nootropics , also referred to as smart drugs, brain steroids, memory enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve mental functions such as cognition, memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration...
. It was a more anarchic and subversive prototype for the later-founded Wired magazine.
Mondo 2000 originated as High Frontiers in 1984, edited by R. U. Sirius
R. U. Sirius
R. U. Sirius is an American writer, editor, talk show host, musician and cyberculture celebrity. He is best known as co-founder and original Editor-In-Chief of Mondo 2000 magazine from 1989–1993. Sirius was also chairman and candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election for The Revolution Party...
(pseudonym for Ken Goffman). He was succeeded as Editor-in-Chief by Queen Moo (anthropologist Alison Bailey Kennedy, a.k.a. "Queen Mu" and "Alison Wonderland").
Sirius was joined by hacker Jude Milhon
Jude Milhon
Jude Milhon , in Anderson, Indiana, best known by her pseudonym St. Jude, was a hacker and author in the San Francisco Bay Area....
(a.k.a St. Jude) as editor and the magazine was renamed Reality Hackers in 1988 to better reflect its drugs and computers theme. It changed title again to Mondo 2000 in 1989.
Art director and photographer Bart Nagel, a pioneer in Photoshop collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
, created the publication's elegantly surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
aesthetic. Along with the print version of Boing Boing
Boing Boing
Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...
— with which Mondo 2000 shared several writers, including Mark Frauenfelder
Mark Frauenfelder
Mark Frauenfelder is a blogger, illustrator, and journalist. He is editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and co-editor of the collaborative weblog Boing Boing. Along with his wife, Carla Sinclair, he founded the bOING bOING print zine in 1988, where he acted as editor until the print version folded in...
, Richard Kadrey
Richard Kadrey
Richard Kadrey is a novelist, freelance writer, and photographer based in San Francisco.Kadrey's novels are Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, Aloha From Hell, Metrophage, Kamikaze L'Amour, and Butcher Bird: A Novel Of The Dominion...
, Gareth Branwyn
Gareth Branwyn
Gareth Branwyn is a writer, editor, and media critic.He has covered technology, DIY media, and cyberculture for Wired, Esquire, the Baltimore Sun and other publications. He has also been an editor at Mondo 2000, and at Boing Boing when it was a print zine...
, and Jon Lebkowsky
Jon Lebkowsky
Jon Lebkowsky is an web consultant/developer, author and activist who was cofounder of FringeWare, Inc. . FringeWare, an early attempt at ecommerce and online community, published a popular "magalog" called FringeWare Review, and a literary zine edited by Lebkowsky called Unshaved Truths...
— Mondo 2000 helped develop what was to become the cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
.
R. U. Sirius left at the beginning of 1993, at about the same time as the launch of Wired. The magazine continued until 1998, with the last issue being #17.
Writers featured included William Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
, Nan C. Druid (psuedonym for Maerian Morris), Rudy Rucker
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and philosopher, and is one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of...
, Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, and Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
.
Publications
- Mondo 2000: A User's Guide to the New Edge Rudy Rucker, R.U. Sirius, Queen Mu (ISBN 0-06-096928-8)
External links
- Complete selection of magazine covers to Mondo 2000
- Mondo 2000 articles on the WELL
- "Mondo 2000: A User's Guide to the New Edge", by Tim Appelo. (1992) Entertainment Weekly magazine review.
- Mondo 1995: Up and Down With the Next Millennium's First Magazine, by Jack Boulware. (1995) SF Weekly / Suck article.