Yugoslav science fiction comprises literary works, films, comic books and other works of art in the science fiction genre created in Yugoslavia during the country's existence (1918–1991).
The origins of Yugoslav science fiction literature date to mid-19th century, to utopian and dystopian works of authors who wrote in Slovene language, most notably Simon Jenko, Josip Stritar, Anton Mahnič and Janez Trdina. By the end of the century, first science fiction works in Serbo-Croatian appeared, authored by Serbian writers Dragutin Ilić and Lazar Komarčić. The period from the formation of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918 until World War II Axis occupation of the country in 1941 was marked by several prominent authors, like Vladimir Bartol, Aldion Degal, Damir Feigel and Milutin Milanković, the latter, a renowned scientist, authoring Through Distant Worlds and Times, which combined autobiography, scientific essay and science fiction. During the era, science fiction elements also appeared in the works of non-genre authors, like surrealists Stanislav Vinaver and Rastko Petrović.
Serbo-Croatian and Slovene science fiction literature re-emerged in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in early 1950s, followed by the appearance of first science fiction works in Macedonian language. In the early years of socialist Yugoslavia perceived mostly as children's and young adult literature, 1950s and early 1960s Yugoslav science fiction brought a large number of works dedicated to these age categories. However, by mid-1960s works of a new generation of authors, like Vid Pečjak and the literary duo Zvonimir Furtinger and Mladen Blažić, started to enjoy popularity among wide audience. Late 1960s brought the appearance of the country's first science fiction magazines, and in the 1970s a number of publishing houses launched series of science fiction novels. The 1980s brough a renaissance of Yugoslav science fiction literature, with notable authors like Dušan Belča, Slobodan Ćurčić, Hrvoje Hitrec, Miha Remec, Samo Kuščer and Vlado Urošević, and with academically acclaimed authors like Branko Belan, Ivan Ivanji, Zvonimir Kostić, and–most prominently–Borislav Pekić (in his works like Rabies, Atlantis and 1999) venturing into science fiction genre.
Yugoslav cinema featured a number of science fiction titles, most notably Veljko Bulajić's Atomic War Bride, Krsto Papić's The Rat Savior and Dušan Vukotić's Visitors from the Galaxy. Yugoslav science fiction comics emerged in the 1930s, with the works of Đorđe Lobačev and Andrija Maurović, which could be considered pioneering works of European science fiction comics. Re-emerging in early 1950s, the Yugoslav comics scene saw its renaissance in the 1980s, with authors like Zoran Janjetov, Igor Kordej and Željko Pahek achieving international recognition. Science fiction also influenced works by a number of Yugoslav visual artists and popular music acts.
Science fiction enjoyed large popularity in socialist Yugoslavia, with first societies of science fiction fans appearing in mid-1970s. By the late 1980s, a number of science fiction fan societies were active in the country, most of them publishing their own fanzines.
Literature In Serbo-Croatian
Origins The pioneers of the Serbo-Croatian science fiction were Serbian writer Dragutin Ilić and Lazar Komarčić. Dragutin Ilić's play Posle milion godina (After Million Years), published in 1889, is considered the first science fiction work written in Serbo-Croatian, being also one of the first plays in the complete history of science fiction literature. Komarčić published the first science fiction novel in Serbo-Croatian, Jedna ugašena zvezda (One Extinguished Star), in 1903.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) Only a small number of notable science fiction works and works with science fiction elements were published in the years prior to and the years following World War I: Fran Galović's Začarano ogledalo (Magical Mirror, 1913), Marija Jurić Zagorka's Crveni ocean (Red Ocean, 1918), Dragutin Ilić's Sekund večnosti (A Second of Eternity, 1921), Josip Kulundžić's Lunar (1922), Milan Šuflaj's Na Pacifiku 2255 (In the Pacific 2255, 1924).
The late 1920s and the early 1930s brought the appearance of three science fiction works that are viewed as milestones in the history of Yugoslav science fiction literature. In 1928, scientist Milutin Milanković wrote the book Through Distant Worlds and Times, which combined elements of autobiography, scientific essay and science fiction. In 1932, Mate Hanžeković published Gospodin čovjek (Mr Man), the first utopian novel in the history of literature in Serbo-Croatian. Finally, in 1933, Stojan Radonić's Život u vasioni (Life in the Universe) was published, the novel dealing with the rise, the development and the downfall of a Martian civilization.
The late 1930s brought a number of serialized novels, published mostly in Zagreb magazines. One of the most notable authors of this period was Aldion Degal, who published the novels Atomska raketa (Atomic Rocket, 1930), Zrake smrti (Death Rays, 1932) and Smaragdni Skarabej (The Emerald Scarab, 1934), the first one dealing with the theme of first contact, and the latter two introducing the motif of death rays to Yugoslav science fiction. However, most of the authors of these serialized novels used pen names or left their work unsigned. Many of these novels lacked originality and were heavily influenced by science fiction works of foreign authors; for instance, the novel Leteća lađa (The Flying Ship) was a literary paraphrase of Jules Verne's Master of the World, and the novel Put na mars (Voyage to Mars) paraphrased Aleksey Tolstoy's Aelita. Writer and science fiction historian Zoran Živković described Mladen Horvat's Muri Massanga, dealing with telepathy, as the best Yugoslav science fiction work from this period. The last two novels published in series before the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia were Crveni duh (The Red Ghost) and Majstor Omega (Master Omega), written by Stanko Radovanović and Zvonimir Furtinger (the latter would become one of Yugoslavia's most notable post-World War II science fiction authors), signed under the pen name Stan Rager.
Prior to World War II, there were several notable works with science fiction elements written by acclaimed and essentially non-genre writers. These include stories "Posle sto godina" ("After Hundred Years", 1911) by Stojan Novaković, "Zbilo se čudo u gradu" ("A Miracle Happened in the City", 1930) by Slavko Batušić and "San doktora Prospera Lupusa" ("The Dream of Doctor Prosper Lupus", 1930) by August Cesarec. In 1921, poet and translator Stanislav Vinaver published his surrealist story collection Gromobran svemira (Lightning Rod of the Universe), with the title story and the story "Osveta" ("Revenge") featuring elements of science fiction. Certain elements of science fiction could be found in the novel Burleska gospodina Peruna boga groma (A Burlesque of Lord Perun, God of Thunder), written by another surrealist writer, Rastko Petrović, and published during the same year.
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1991) In the years following World War II, the new communist authorities proclaimed socialist realism the desired form of art. However, after the 1948 Yugoslav–Soviet split, Yugoslavia became more open to other art movements and to Western popular culture. As a result, at the beginning of the 1950s appeared a large number of science fiction translations and a new generation of Yugoslav science fiction emerged. Sneg i led (Snow and Ice, 1951) by academically acclaimed writer Erih Koš is considered the first Yugoslav post-World War II science fiction novel.
However, during this period science fiction was mostly perceived as children's and young adult literature, so the largest part of science fiction works from these years was intended for these age categories. The most notable children's and young adult science fiction works from this period include Čedo Vuković's Svemoguće oko (The Almighty Eye, 1953), Voja Carić's Aparat profesora Kosa (The Device of Professor Kos, 1958), Predrag Jirsak's Mjesečeva djeca (Children of the Moon, 1959) and Zvonko Veljačić's Dječak Dub putuje svemirom (Boy Dub Travels through Universe, 1959). Children's and young adult science fiction remained popular in Yugoslavia until the 1980s.
The novel Osvajač 2 se ne javlja (No Reports from Conqueror 2), written by Zvonimir Furtinger and Mladen Blažić, published in 1959, marked the beginning of a new era, with works dedicated to the adult audience gaining in popularity. The following year Furtinger and Blažić would publish three novels: Svemirska nevjesta (Space Bride), Varamunga, tajanstveni grad (Varamunga, the Mysterious City) and Zagonetni stroj profesora Kružića (The Mysterious Machine of Professor Kružić), becoming the first Serbo-Croatian authors devoted primarily to science fiction. Besides the duo, the 1960s brought several more science fiction authors, the most notable being Ritig Angelo, with his novels Sasvim neobično buđenje (Quite Unusual Awakening, 1961) and Ljubav u neboderu (Love in the Skyscraper, 1965). Other notable authors from this period include Milan Nikolić, Silvio Ružić, Vladimir Imperl, Slobodan Petković, Franjo Ivanušec and Danilo Alargić. Another notable work from the 1960s was the dystopian novel Bajka (Fairytale, 1965), written by politician and academically acclaimed writer Dobrica Ćosić, being his only work to venture into science fiction.Зоран Радисављевић, "Роман који нема претка", Политика, February 25, 2011
In the 1960s, Aleksandar Radenković, who wrote under the pen name Al Radek and had success with his detective novels, published two science fiction works: Čovek iz žute kuće (A Man from the Yellow House, 1960) i Druga smrt doktora Langa (Dr Lang's Second Death, 1960). The decade also brought new works intended for children and young adults, the most notable being Čedo Vuković's Letilica profesora Bistrouma (Professor Brightmind's Aircraft, 1961) i Halo nebo (Hello, Sky, 1963), Zvonko Veljačić's Dječak Dub u svijetu čudovišta (Boy Dub in the World of Monsters, 1961), Milivoj Matušec's Suvišan u svemiru (Redundant in Space, 1961) and Berislav Kosier's Brik i kompanija (Brik and the Company, 1967).
During the 1960s, several publishing houses started publishing editions of science fiction works. In 1967, the publishing house Jugoslavija started its Kentaur (Centaur) series, which would, during the following decades, publish the most prominent science fiction novels in Serbo-Croatian. During the decade, a number of newspapers and magazines (like Večernje novosti and Politikin Zabavnik) started to publish science fiction stories regularly or periodically, and at the end of the decade, in 1969, the first science fiction magazine was started, Kosmoplov (Spacecraft), the publication of which, however, ended already in 1970.