Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines: (Historical Guides to the World's Periodicals and Newspapers)

970 Pages·1985·2.91 MB·English

by  Marshall B. Tymn

Recent Titles of
Historical Guides to the World's Periodicals and Newspapers
This series provides historically focused narrative and analytical profiles of periodicals
and newspapers with accompanying bibliographical data.
Black Journals of the United States
Walter C. Daniel
Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Magazines
Michael L. Cook
American Indian and Alaska Native Newspapers and Periodicals, 1826-1924
Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr., and James W. Parins
British Literary Magazines: The Augustan Age and the Age of Johnson, 1698-1788
Alvin Sullivan, editor
British Literary Magazines: The Romantic Age, 1789-1836
Alvin Sullivan, editor
British Literary Magazines: The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 1837-1913
Alvin Sullivan, editor
Children's Periodicals of the United States
R. Gordon Kelly, editor
International Film, Radio, and Television Journals
Anthony Slide, editor
SCIENCE FICTION,
FANTASY,
AND
WEIRD FICTION
MAGAZINES
Edited by
Marshall B. Tymn
and
Mike Ashley
Historical Guides to the World's Periodicals and Newspapers
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut • London, England
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tymn, Marshall B., 1937-
Science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction magazines.
(Historical guides to the world's periodicals and
newspapers, ISSN 0742-5538)
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Science fiction—Periodicals—History. 2. Fantastic
fiction—Periodicals—History. I. Ashley, Michael.
II. Title. III. Series.
PN3433.T9 1985 809.3'876 84-11523
ISBN 0-313-21221-X (lib. bdg.)
Copyright © 1985 by Marshall B. Tymn and Mike Ashley
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 84-11523
ISBN 0-313-21221-X
ISSN 0742-5538
First published in 1985
Greenwood Press
A division of Congressional Information Service, Inc.
88 Post Road West
Westport, Connecticut 06881
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction by Thomas D. Clareson xv
Abbreviations xxix
Section I: English-Language Magazines 3
Section II: Associational English-Language Anthologies 783
Section III: Academic Periodicals and Major Fanzines
Joseph L. Sanders 809
Section IV: Non-English-Language Magazines, by Country
Hal W. Hall and Mike Ashley 847
Appendix A: Index to Major Cover Artists 901
Appendix B: Chronology 921
Bibliography 927
Index 931
Contributors 965
Preface
This volume was compiled to fill a gap in the library of reference works
currently available in the field of fantastic literature. Although the contents of
science fiction, fantasy and weird fiction magazines have been partially indexed
by Donald B. Day for the 1926-1950 period, by Norm Metcalf for the 1951-
1965 period, and by the New England Science Fiction Association from 1966
to the present, no guide as comprehensive in scope as this has ever been pub
lished. This volume gives full coverage of the pulp age of science fiction and
fantasy, beginning with the general pulp magazines such as Argosy, which was
first published in 1882 and regularly included science fiction and fantasy, through
the decades of specialist pulp titles that began with the publication of Weird
Tales in 1923, up to the contemporary pulps of the early 1980s. It was during
the pulp era (roughly from 1926 until the early 1950s) that fantastic literature
separated itself from the mainstream of publishing. A long line of specialist pulp
titles appeared that were to remain virtually the only outlet for science fiction
and fantasy writers during this period. A knowledge of that era is crucial to an
understanding of the history of this literature. It was the pulp era that determined
the directions in which the genre would develop and laid the groundwork for
future writers. Thomas D. Clareson's introduction to this volume provides a
balanced historical perspective on this important period in the history of science
fiction and fantasy literature.
Our purpose in compiling this volume is to provide scholars, researchers and
the general reader with a useful tool for evaluating the science fiction, fantasy
and weird fiction magazines as a historical and literary phenomenon, and to
furnish a bibliographic apparatus for documenting the appearance of these mag
azines in all their various phases. Except as it appears scattered througout general
histories of this genre, and in capsule form in Peter Nicholls' The Science Fiction
Encyclopedia (1979), commentary on these magazines has never been available
in any sustained form. This volume provides that commentary for the historian
V1U PREFACE
and general reader, not only for titles for which information is partially available,
but for those titles which have never before been researched.
The volume is divided into four sections: Section I: English-Language Mag
azines (279 titles), Section II: Associational English-Language Anthologies (15
titles), Section III: Academic Periodicals and Major Fanzines (72 titles), and
Section IV: Non-English-Language Magazines, by Country (184 titles). In ad
dition, it includes two appendixes: an index to major cover artists and a chronology.
Section I, which makes up the bulk of this volume, contains magazines pub
lished in the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia that are devoted
wholly or in part to science fiction, fantasy and weird fiction in all of its forms
and variations, beginning with the publication of Argosy in 1882 and ending
with the early 1980s. It includes all of the important, as well as all of the less
significant, magazines meeting these criteria. The cornerstone of the volume is
the Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact entry, which presents the editorial pol
icies of John W. Campbell in a new light.
Section I concentrates on fiction magazines in the broad spectrum of science
fiction, fantasy and weird fiction and does not generally include nonfantasy and
nonfiction magazines. A few general fiction or nonfiction titles are included,
however, either because of their historical importance or for associational sig
nificance. Hence, although the first English-language all-fantasy magazine was
Weird Tales in 1923 and the first all-science fiction magazine was Amazing
Stories in 1926, several earlier magazines figure in the history and development
of science fiction and fantasy magazines, the most obvious being the general
fiction magazine Argosy. Because of its importance, an entry is given to Argosy
and its companion, All-Story. The same reasoning applies to the inclusion of
The Thrill Book, which is often erroneously cited as the first science fiction
magazine but is more properly considered a precursor to the fantasy magazine
Weird Tales. Science and Invention, Hugo Gernsback's nonfiction technical
magazine, which published some science fiction, was another direct antecedent
to the science fiction magazine, and it, too, is included. The Black Cat magazine
is often cited as an early supernatural magazine, although it was no such thing,
and we felt that an entry was necessary to clarify this situation, especially as
another short-lived Canadian fantasy magazine of the same name claimed to
revive the spirit of the original publication.
Like Gernsback's Science and Invention, two modern popular science mag
azines, Omni and Ad Astra, also include science fiction. Most of the magazines
in Section I, however, are devoted primarily to fiction, although nearly all of
the science fiction magazines have carried an occasional nonfiction article. Omni
and Ad Astra are included for their science fiction and because of their relevance
to the science fiction field. Magazines that concentrate on the cinema or other
aspects of fantasy and the occult, with only a passing acknowledgment to fiction,
including one or two stories an issue—and these frequently reprints—are ex
cluded. Thus, you will find no entries for Famous Monsters of Filmland, World
of Horror, New Witchcraft, and their ilk, although Questar is included because
PREFACE IX
it was making a serious attempt to publish relevant science fiction before it
suspended publication.
It was not our initial intention to deal with mystery, crime and thriller mag
azines, as these are included in another volume in Greenwood's Historical Guides
to the World's Periodicals and Newspapers, Michael L. Cook's Mystery, De
tective, and Espionage Magazines. However, it was inevitable that there would
be some overlap if only because so many horror stories are also mysteries. Some
of the overlaps were obvious, such as Gernsback's Scientific Detective Monthly,
but once one accepted the inclusion of that title in this book, it left the way open
to a number of other borderline magazines such as Ace Mystery. This in turn
opened the door to the weird-menace or terror pulps. These pulps have been
included when (a) their contents to some extent justify inclusion, (b) their titles
might imply a fantasy connection, and confusion might arise through their ex
clusion, and (c) their contributors are of associational interest. We would make
special reference to the entries on Dime Mystery Magazine, Terror Tales, Horror
Stories and Thrilling Mystery for further clarification. Our emphasis is on the
supernatural, weird or science fiction aspects of the magazines, as opposed to
Cook's emphasis on the detective or mystery story.
This same dichotomy affected the hero pulps. Although it was a simple enough
decision to include such titles as Doc Savage and Dusty Ayres, where there was
a close enough affinity with the science fiction field, the definition became more
hazy as we drifted toward such bizarre crime fighters as The Scorpion and The
Octopus. Once into the realms of The Shadow and The Avenger, we decided
that we had come too far. The dividing line, however, is vague and arbitrary,
and the decision was made to exclude all those that usually offered a natural
explanation for bizarre events, where that explanation was discovered by natural
means. Here again, there is some overlap between our volume and Cook's, but
the emphasis in our book is different from that in Cook's.
The entries in Section I, which are arranged alphabetically, follow a standard
format. Each entry begins with a narrative section on the magazine's history and
development. This section provides a view of the magazine's editorial policies
and emphases as well as changes in those policies; an idea of the nature of the
magazine's contents; the people who played a role in its founding and devel
opment; the magazines it influenced and those that influenced it; and an assess
ment of its significance within the field.
The narrative section is followed by two appended sections, outlining the basic
details of the magazine's publication history and providing location sources and
sources for further information. This information will be particularly useful to
those wishing to do further research. Each section uses the following format:
Information Sources
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lists reference sources specific to the magazine.
INDEX SOURCES: Lists sources where the magazine is indexed.
X PREFACE
REPRINT SOURCES: Gives full details of other English-language reprint editions of the
magazine, such as British or Canadian editions of an American magazine, and of
later magazines that reprinted chiefly from a source magazine. This section also
cross-references to foreign-language editions included in Section IV. In addition,
it provides information on any derivative anthologies that either drew their contents
entirely from the magazine or relied heavily on it as a source publication.
LOCATION SOURCES: Lists locations of partial and complete runs of the magazine in
academic and public library collections.
Publication History
TITLE: Gives the original full title of the magazine, with references to subtitle where
relevant, and all title changes and variations with relevant issue dates.
VOLUME DATA: Gives the full volume and issue sequence, using cover dates and
qualifying all changes and errors. Also specifies magazine schedule (quarterly,
bi-monthly, monthly, weekly, etc.) and all changes in schedule, together with the
total number of issues published.
PUBLISHER: Lists the publisher(s) and place of publication. In some instances the
publisher's location may be different from the editorial and executive offices, and
such variations are noted.
EDITORS: Lists all editors directly responsible for the selection of stories and assembling
of issues. When duties are divided, that is so indicated.
FORMAT: Gives the size and shape of the magazine as well as the number of pages in
the magazine. The following general terms are used:
Pulp: Magazines printed on cheap, pulp stock usually measuring 7 by 10 inches, although
dimensions vary by up to half an inch either way.
Large Pulp: Magazines printed on the same cheap paper as pulps but measuring SV2 by
11 inches, again with variations; sometimes referred to as "bedsheet."
Neo-pulp: Also magazines printed on pulp paper but of slightly better quality. Dimensions
are usually slightly smaller than the pulps, about 6 by 9 inches, but with variations.
Digest: Magazines usually printed on pulp stock, 5 by IVi inches.
Large Digest: In between neo-pulp and digest in size, measuring 5V-> by 8V2 inches. Used
for a while by Astounding and New Worlds.
Slick: Glossy magazines printed on coated stock throughout, usually measuring 8 by 11
inches.
Large-size: Usually a pulp magazine masquerading as a slick, with glossy, coated covers
and some coated interior sheets, but printed predominantly on pulp stock. Di
mensions are usually 8 by 11 inches.
Pocketbook: Paperback format, usually measuring 4 by 7 inches. The number of pages
is given after the format designations. All pages are counted exclusive of covers
and regardless of the actual numbering within the magazine. Other variations are
usually specified within the entry. Magazines can be either perfect bound, or glued
with a spine on which the magazine's title and off-sale date are printed, or saddle-
stapled in booklet form, with no spine.
PRICE: Gives the cover price at time of sale in the country of publication, together with
any variations.
PREFACE xi
In addition to the alphabetical arrangement of the entries in this section, entries
providing cross-references will aid the reader in locating the entries on magazines
that underwent name changes or merged with other magazines. Moreover, when
ever an entry refers to a magazine that has a separate entry in this volume, an
asterisk (*) after the first mention of that magazine so indicates.
Greenwood's Historical Guides to the World's Periodicals and Newspapers
are not designed to include books. Yet in the science fiction field, there is, at
times, a close affinity between original paperback anthologies and magazines.
The 1970s paperback series Infinity, for instance, was a direct descendant of the
1950s magazine Infinity. Omitting such anthologies altogether would create a
gap in coverage. Thus, Section II was devised to include those paperback an
thology series that have a close affiliation with magazines. It does not include
showcase anthologies, such as The Berkley Showcase, New Voices or the Clarion
volumes, or even all original anthologies or anthology series. Because of their
importance to the field, Orbit, New Dimensions and Universe are included, along
with Infinity, Nova and New Writings in S.F. Chrysalis was a borderline case,
but we opted for inclusion. You will not find Continuum, SF Emphasis, Pulsar,
or even New Writings in Horror and the Supernatural because these were planned
solely as anthology series with no tug of the forelock to magazines.
Nor is the distinction between magazines and anthologies as obvious as one
might expect. Donald A. Wollheim, editor of the Avon Fantasy Reader, always
asserted, for instance, that the Reader was a series of paperback anthologies;
yet, because it appeared on a fairly regular basis at a time when paperback
anthologies were the exception rather than the rule, the persuasion of the fan
field was to accept the Reader as magazines, and as such they are still indexed
today. Thus, the Avon Fantasy Reader appears in Section I. James Baen, on the
other hand, launched Destinies as a magazine in book form, and Forrest Ack-
erman treated the U.S. editions of Perry Rhodan in the same manner. These
two series appear in Section II. A number of British wartime magazines, such
as Strange Tales, Strange Love Stories and Occult, were issued in book form
by way of convenience. Although one can argue either way regarding their
placement, they appear in Section I. Whenever there could be some question as
to whether an entry would be in Section I or II, there is a cross-reference referring
the reader to the proper section.
In addition to the number of fantastic fiction magazines that has existed since
the late 1920s, fanzines and, more recently, academic journals have provided a
wealth of material about science fiction and fantasy. This volume would not be
complete if it did not provide some information on these nonfiction magazines,
for they contain much that is of interest to both the scholar and the fan. Section
III includes brief entries on a selected list of nonfiction fanzines and scholarly
journals. The list is limited to magazines that contain a strong, continuing body
of worthwhile information, contain at least one solid, continuing feature of value
to the reader, or are of historical significance.
Nor is fantastic fiction limited to the English-speaking world. It has developed