I started 2 Warps to Neptune at the beginning of 2012. I was about to turn 40, my first daughter was about to be born, and I was feeling old and out of touch with the 21st century. In short, I was getting nostalgic. I wanted to carve out a space where I could look back on my youth and relate my growing fondness for the uniquely lavish, uniquely tangible “kid culture” of the 1970s and early 1980s. Although I’ll never get tired of the emotional comfort an old toy or an old iron-on can evoke, I soon became more critical of the backwards glance. I realized that I didn’t want to relive the past; I wanted to study it. I became much more interested in the foundations, innovations, and recurring themes of the era, especially as they related to the generation growing up under the spell of Dungeons & Dragons, Atari, and Star Wars.
Now I want to go further. I want to seriously and objectively explore the popular culture of the entire Cold War era, especially the more underappreciated and esoteric artifacts, artists, and attitudes: everything from EC horror comics and first wave ufology to post-apocalyptic cinema and space disco. I can’t do that alone, and I don’t want to. So, with the help of a number of excellent writers (and more to come, I hope), I’m starting an online magazine called We Are the Mutants. (The title of the magazine is taken from graffiti seen at the University of California at Berkeley in the late 1960s: “The bomb has already dropped, and we are the mutants.”) The magazine will focus on the period from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, but anything from the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall is fair game.
2 Warps to Neptune has been a labor of love, and occasional frustration (for reasons still unclear to me, people will take your words, images, and ideas and pass them off as their own, or simply not give credit where credit is due; such is the internet) for almost five years. That’s not long in blogging years, I know, but it’s a long time for me. I’ve done my best to offer something original, and I sure as hell refused to serve swill (clickbait lists, “retro” idolatry and “good old days” propaganda, man-child birthday cakes in the shape of Atari 2600s, etc.). I always understood that 2W2N would appeal to a relatively small group, and I’m proud of that. I’m also happy that so many of you got something out of the blog, and I’ve appreciated every single positive comment and email. A geek or a nerd, to me, is not someone who dresses up like a superhero, rolls d20s, owns a complete set of Kenner’s Star Wars figures from 1978, or is a “fan” of one or more fictional franchises; a geek or a nerd is simply an intellectual who explores serious ideas and speculative notions within the context of fantasy. That’s the definition I’m bringing to We Are the Mutants, anyway.
Launch is currently scheduled for August 29, 2016. Follow We Are the Mutants on Facebook and Twitter for updates. I’ll be posting at 2 Warps to Neptune for a few more weeks at a reduced rate, although I’m taking this week off. If you’re interested in contributing to We Are the Mutants, please email Kelly at watm@wearethemutants.com.
Hope to see you on the other side.
2 Warps to Neptune 
I absolutely love this blog, I check it every single day and I’m so happy to have found it. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Kevin. Mutants will have some surprises, so stay tuned.
Great blog, it got a little to D&D for me sometimes but overall it was great.
You will be missed.
So does this online magazine require a purchased subscription?
Thanks, Ed. The magazine will be free, but I will be asking readers to subscribe, even if it’s $1/month. I want to pay the writers.
Too much D&D for some, not enough for others! I will admit that it’s an obsession of mine…
I really love(d) your blog here and it’s un-fawning but engaging approach was greatly appreciated. I’ll be following you over to your new digs.
Brad, thanks for the continuous encouragement. Not everyone here is going to like Mutants. You definitely will.
Man, the departure of 2W2N, for me, simply reveals the cold, hard truth that the party’s gotta stop sometime. Nevertheless, it’s been a long but happy road, and I’m glad to have been one of the first to discover the magic of 2W2N and see it grow into a seriously awesome and unmatched oasis of neverending nostalgic joy.
If one digs deep enough, there isn’t a shortage of Gen-Xers out there surveying our old, sometimes forgotten or long-gone landscapes…but you dug much deeper than the typical nostalgic explorer, often leaving us with more to think about than just quick glimpses into our pasts.
I don’t know what else to say except thanks so much for the memories. You know the ’70s and ’80s lives forever within me, so if you ever need a fix you know who to go to. KIT and have a bitchen summer!
A bitchen summer it will be, my friend. 2W2N will live on, in a meaningful way, at Mutants. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Greg, not sure what to say. You’ve been here since almost day one. We’ve had damn near parallel So Cal upbringings, and I’m not even sure I would have made it a year without all of your support. You won’t be disappointed in the mag. I promise. The site is not going to have any bells and whistles, at least not at the beginning. No money. However, it’s going to be clean, and the writing is going to be damn good.
I guess I can see 2W2N’s departure with an optimistic outlook, as in one window closes, another opens, or, better yet, things happen for a reason. *sigh* Won’t keep me from missing it though. I’m gonna keep that link in my top bar until the 404, lol.
Given your passion for the era and culture, and the willingness to pursue subjects on an intriguing intellectual level, I don’t doubt the least bit that the new mag will be anything short of awesome, so you know I’ll be hanging around.
Thanks again!
Arrrgh! I just discovered this blog a few weeks ago and started getting into the habit of daily check-ins. Good luck with mutants. Will stay tuned.
Hey Dave. Along with in-depth articles, there will be a “daily check-in” segment, or at least a bi-weekly check-in segment, at Mutants. Everything still in development, but we’ll be ready for launch.
2W2N is probably my favorite blog! So I’m bummed but looking forward to seeing what Mutants is going to bring. Thanks for all the posts!
Gah – one less reason to log on the the internet.
I found your site through Lefty’s; the name caught my eye & I gobbled it up. Thanks for the memories & looking forward to Mutants!
This makes me kinda sad: a LOT of things that I felt (or didn’t even know I felt) about the Era We Grew Up In were put into words here, better than I possibly could have done myself, and the pictures with the articles sparked so many neurons to fire in my brain that it felt like a virtual time machine. I may not have commented as often as I should’ve, but I’ve loved every single article here, and this place felt like one of the few places on the web that came from the same place I did.
BUT I understand the need for change, the desire for growth and all that jazz. I know that Mutants is going to be great, and I look forward to adding it to my daily internet reading list. Thanks for running such an incredible blog… and thanks for the upcoming new and incredible We Are the Mutants!
Don, thank you. If I do this right, you won’t feel like anything is missing, although there’s going to be some lag time. Apparently it’s a lot of work to start a magazine. Who knew?
I posted here several times hoping you would recupricate on my blog and it never happened. Not even an add to your blogroll list. Perhaps on your next blog or online magazine try to remember who appreciates your work and show a little love too.
Congratulations. You are the most insecure person on the internet. No small feat!
Best of luck with the mutants! 2 warps has been really fun to follow and you found some great lost treasures, photos, etc.
I know what you mean about people stealing entire blog posts with no attribution, it’s crazy.
Thanks, Mike. I definitely intend to feature foundational RPGs and role-playing at the new site….
Much obliged for all the fun stuff. 2W2N is/was one of my almost-daily internet check-ins, and it never fails/ed to deliver the grins. Looking forward to WATM come the fall.
Oh man I can’t wait to see the magazine. If it’s half as good as 2W2N it’ll be great. 🙂
Just wanted you to know that I’ve really loved the blog. Thanks.
I’ve been following this blog for well over a year or so now (and a higher strangeness). I’ve enjoyed your writing and the images you have posted. You’ve inspired me to dig into my past in a way that is not just reminiscing about my youth. I’ve been going back in really looking at the past in order to learn more about how we got where we are now and to appreciate how quickly things have changed in forty something years.
I look forward to your new venture eagerly, and I will miss checking in here everyday to see what was “new”.
Thank you.
Well, dang. I (and not “for one” as is evidenced by the comments) will miss your blog. I always kept an eye open for updates. I’ll definitely catch you on fb or wherever else you might find yourself.
Well you know I’ll be following you! I’m very interested to see what the Mutants comes up with.
2 Warps to Neptune has been one of my favorite blogs over the years, so I’m definitely looking forward to your new venture. Thank you for 5 years of writing and research.
See you on the next page (as opposed to the flip side), Troy! Thanks for all the kindness.
I will miss this blog. I come here nearly every day. Thank-you so much for your hard work and dedication. You helped bring back a lot of forgotten memories for me.
God speed.
I’ve always enjoyed reading though I’ve never posted. I understand where you are coming from though, that instead of just looking back you start to wonder the why. I look forward to your future work. Thanks for creating this blog and for all the days you provided me with something to distract me from the toil of everyday life.
Thank you!
If there was a “like” button I would click it. Spot on Gabe.
Thank you for investing your time and energy in the blog. I found 2W2N by accident about 18 months ago when I googled one of the more obscure references in “Ready Player One”, and added your site to my favourites. Looking forward to your new project later in the Summer. Good luck and all the best.
Thanks, Paul. One of the editors at Mutants is from the UK, so we’ll be covering obscure delicacies on both sides of the Atlantic…
Great news! I discovered your blog and FB page only in last few months and am very excited for MUTANTS!!
Excellent! About two months to go…
Never posted before, but been following this thread for years, sad to see it go, this was one of the very few I actually enjoyed and considered close to the roots of the beginning of the internet. Thanks for your hard work
Can anyone point me in the right direction to similar blogs, this was one of my favorites. thanks