John B. Michel was an American science fiction fan, writer, editor, and early Futurian associated with the political current known in fandom as Michelism. He is important less as a famous professional author than as a figure who made 1930s fan debates about science fiction, politics, technocracy, and utopianism unusually intense.
Table of Contents
| Quick fact | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | John B. Michel |
| Dates | 1917-1969 |
| Also used | Hugh Raymond |
| Known for | Futurians, Michelism, fan politics |
| Associated group | The Futurians |
| Main context | New York science fiction fandom of the late 1930s and 1940s |
Who Was John B. Michel?
Michel belonged to the New York fan milieu that produced the Futurians, a group whose members included future writers, editors, and critics. His importance comes from the way he joined fan organization, ideological argument, and literary ambition. In a period when fans argued seriously about what science fiction was for, Michel pushed the idea that the genre should serve human progress and a more rational social order.
Michelism
Michelism was the fannish label for Michel’s belief that science fiction should naturally align with forces working toward a more unified, rational, and humane world. In practice, that meant arguments about technocracy, socialism, communism, utopian thought, and the social responsibility of speculative writing. The term could be used seriously, teasingly, or hostilely depending on who was writing.
The debates around Michelism are useful because they show that early fandom was not only escapist or literary. Fans used fanzines and club meetings to argue about society, politics, technology, and the future. Those arguments helped give science fiction fandom a sharper public identity.
The Futurians
The Futurians were informal, brilliant, argumentative, and influential. Michel was one of the initial members and was elected director in 1941. The group included people who later became central to science fiction publishing and writing. Their conflicts were legendary, but their seriousness about the future helped define one strand of fan culture.
Why Michel Matters
Michel matters because he represents the political edge of early fandom. He reminds readers that fan history includes ideology, activism, argument, and attempts to make science fiction a tool for thinking about real social change. Even fans who rejected Michelism had to answer the questions it raised: should science fiction merely entertain, or should it imagine better worlds in a politically meaningful way?
Related entries include Futurians, Science Fiction Fandom Glossary, and fanac.
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