“Neon in the Gutters: Cyberpunk Visions of the Future” features comics and graphic novels from the university’s Eaton Collection, one of the world’s largest science fiction archives. The exhibit opened April 21 and will remain on display through the academic year.
Cyberpunk emerged in the early 1980s as writers and artists imagined near-future worlds where advanced technology coexisted with social decay. The genre coined terms like “cyberspace” and popularized themes of corporate dominance, hacking culture and human-machine integration.
“Early cyberpunk gave us leather-clad hackers jacking into corporate mainframes,” said Andrew Lippert, special collections processing archivist and exhibit curator. “Today’s creators use the genre to explore everything from trans identity to Indigenous futurism.”
The exhibit traces this evolution through foundational works like William Gibson’s Neuromancer comics adaptations and Bruce Bethke’s 1983 short story that gave the genre its name. Contemporary pieces showcase how diverse creators have expanded cyberpunk’s visual palette from dark, neon-lit streets to vibrant, globally influenced aesthetics.
Notable items include early digital comics from the 1980s, Japanese manga like Ghost in the Shell, and recent works addressing surveillance capitalism, police militarization and digital identity.
The Eaton Collection began in 1969 with 7,500 books and has grown to more than 300,000 items, including manuscripts, fanzines and comics.
More information: The exhibit is located on the fourth floor of Tomás Rivera Library in Special Collections & University Archives. Free visitor parking is available Fridays after noon in several campus lots, including Lot 6 Blue near the library. Weekday visitors should check UCR’s parking website for paid options. Viewing hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with some holiday closures. For more information about the exhibit or collection, contact specialcollections@ucr.edu.
