The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas had approached Spivak in the mid-1940s about creating a fantasy companion to Spivak's existing mystery title, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. The first issue was titled The Magazine of Fantasy, but the decision was quickly made to include science fiction as well as fantasy, and the title was changed correspondingly with the second issue. F&SF was quite different in presentation from the existing science fiction magazines of the day, most of which were in pulp format: it had no interior illustrations, no letter column, and text in a single column format, which in the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley "set F&SF apart, giving it the air and authority of a superior magazine".
Other Worlds, Universe Science Fiction, and Science Stories were three related US magazines edited by Raymond A. Palmer. Other Worlds was launched in November 1949 by Palmer's Clark Publications and lasted for four years in its first run, with well-received stories such as "Enchanted Village" by A. E. van Vogt and "Way in the Middle of the Air", one of Ray Bradbury's "Martian Chronicle" stories. Since Palmer was both publisher and editor, he was free to follow his own editorial policy, and presented a wide array of science fiction.
Avon published three related magazines in the late 1940s and early 1950s, titled Avon Fantasy Reader, Avon Science Fiction Reader, and Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader. These were digest size magazines which reprinted science fiction and fantasy literature by now well-known authors. They were edited by Donald A. Wollheim and published by Avon.
Science Fiction Adventures was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1956 to 1958 by Irwin Stein's Royal Publications as a companion to Infinity Science Fiction, which had been launched the previous year. It was edited by Larry Shaw throughout its short run. Science Fiction Adventures focused on longer fiction than appeared in Infinity; these were often labelled as novels, though they were rarely longer than 20,000 words. Shaw declared in his first editorial that he wanted to bring back a "sense of wonder", and he printed straightforward action-adventure stories. Robert Silverberg was a prolific contributor, under his own name and under the pseudonym "Calvin M. Knox", and he also collaborated with Randall Garrett on two stories in the first issue, under two different pseudonyms. Other well-known writers occasionally appeared, including Harlan Ellison, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Algis Budrys, and Harry Harrison. Ed Emshwiller contributed cover art for nine of the twelve issues, and one of the other three was one of John Schoenherr's earliest sales.
Science Fiction Adventures was a British digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1958 to 1963 by Nova Publications as a companion to New Worlds and Science Fantasy. It was edited by John Carnell. Science Fiction Adventures began as a reprint of the American magazine of the same name, Science Fiction Adventures, but after only three issues the American version ceased publication. Instead of closing down the British version, which had growing circulation, Nova decided to continue publishing it with new material. The fifth issue was the last which contained stories reprinted from the American magazine, though Carnell did occasionally reprint stories thereafter from other sources.
Fantastic Novels was an American science fiction and fantasy pulp magazine published by the Munsey Company of New York from 1940 to 1941, and again by Popular Publications, also of New York, from 1948 to 1951. It was a companion to Famous Fantastic Mysteries. Like that magazine, it mostly reprinted science fiction and fantasy classics from earlier decades, such as novels by A. Merritt, George Allan England, and Victor Rousseau, though it occasionally published reprints of more recent work, such as Earth's Last Citadel, by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore.
A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine was an American pulp magazine which published five issues from December 1949 to October 1950. It took its name from fantasy writer A. Merritt, who had died in 1943, and it aimed to capitalize on Merritt's popularity. It was published by Popular Publications, alternating months with Fantastic Novels, another title of theirs. It may have been edited by Mary Gnaedinger, who also edited Fantastic Novels and Famous Fantastic Mysteries. It was a companion to Famous Fantastic Mysteries, and like that magazine mostly reprinted science-fiction and fantasy classics from earlier decades.
Strange Stories was a pulp magazine which ran for thirteen issues from 1939 to 1941. It was edited by Mort Weisinger, who was not credited. Contributors included Robert Bloch, Eric Frank Russell, C. L. Moore, August Derleth, and Henry Kuttner. Strange Stories was a competitor to the established leader in weird fiction, Weird Tales. With the launch, also in 1939, of the well-received Unknown, Strange Stories was unable to compete. It ceased publication in 1941 when Weisinger left to edit Superman comic books.
Strange Tales was an American pulp magazine first published from 1931 to 1933 by Clayton Publications. It specialized in fantasy and weird fiction, and was a significant competitor to Weird Tales, the leading magazine in the field. Its published stories include "Wolves of Darkness" by Jack Williamson, as well as work by Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. The magazine ceased publication when Clayton entered bankruptcy. It was temporarily revived by Wildside Press, which published three issues edited by Robert M. Price from 2003 to 2007.
Ghost Stories was an American pulp magazine that published 64 issues between 1926 and 1932. It was one of the earliest competitors to Weird Tales, the first magazine to specialize in the fantasy and occult fiction genre. It was a companion magazine to True Story and True Detective Stories, and focused almost entirely on stories about ghosts, many of which were written by staff writers but presented under pseudonyms as true confessions. These were often accompanied by faked photographs to make the stories appear more believable. Ghost Stories also had original and reprinted contributions, including works by Robert E. Howard, Carl Jacobi, and Frank Belknap Long. Among the reprints were Agatha Christie's "The Last Seance", several stories by H.G. Wells, and Charles Dickens's "The Signal-Man". Initially successful, the magazine began to lose readers and in 1930 was sold to Harold Hersey. Hersey was unable to reverse the magazine's decline, and publication of Ghost Stories ceased in early 1932.
Doc Savage was an American pulp magazine that was published from 1933 to 1949. Street & Smith already had a successful hero pulp, The Shadow, and were interested in adding another. They planned to create one called The Phantom, but when Standard Publications launched The Phantom Detective in early 1933 the character of Doc Savage was created instead. Each issue ran a lead novel. Most were written by Lester Dent, but there were four ghost-writers—Harold A. Davis, Ryerson Johnson, Laurence Donovan, and Alan Hathway—until 1941, after which Dent wrote all the lead stories until 1946, when Bogard and Davis returned. The novels almost always featured science fiction elements, such as a metal-destroying ray, a teleportation mechanism, or the ability to revive a dead person from history. Despite this, Street & Smith considered Doc Savage to be an adventure magazine, not a science fiction magazine, so the short stories that accompanied the lead novel were straightforward adventure fiction. Writers who frequently contributed these stories included Steve Fisher, Laurence Donovan, and William Bogart.
Science-fiction and fantasy magazines began to be published in the United States in the 1920s. Stories with science-fiction themes had been appearing for decades in pulp magazines such as Argosy, but there were no magazines that specialized in a single genre until 1915, when Street & Smith, one of the major pulp publishers, brought out Detective Story Magazine. The first magazine to focus solely on fantasy and horror was Weird Tales, which was launched in 1923, and established itself as the leading weird fiction magazine over the next two decades; writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Robert E. Howard became regular contributors. In 1926 Weird Tales was joined by Amazing Stories, published by Hugo Gernsback; Amazing printed only science fiction, and no fantasy. Gernsback included a letter column in Amazing Stories, and this led to the creation of organized science-fiction fandom, as fans contacted each other using the addresses published with the letters. Gernsback wanted the fiction he printed to be scientifically accurate, and educational, as well as entertaining, but found it difficult to obtain stories that met his goals; he printed "The Moon Pool" by Abraham Merritt in 1927, despite it being completely unscientific. Gernsback lost control of Amazing Stories in 1929, but quickly started several new magazines. Wonder Stories, one of Gernsback's titles, was edited by David Lasser, who worked to improve the quality of the fiction he received. Another early competitor was Astounding Stories of Super-Science, which appeared in 1930, edited by Harry Bates, but Bates printed only the most basic adventure stories with minimal scientific content, and little of the material from his era is now remembered.
Ace Mystery was a weird menace pulp magazine which published three issues starting 1936, followed by two more under the title Detective Romances. It was published by Periodical House and edited by Harry Widmer. Writers who appeared in the magazine included Frederick C. Davis, who wrote all three lead novels, Hugh B. Cave, and Robert C. Blackmon; magazine historian Michael Cook comments that these were capable writers, but the rest of the magazine was too low-quality to succeed. Some of the stories were fantasy rather than weird menace -- for example, one story was about a sculptor who could shrink dead bodies. Science fiction historian Mike Ashley is more positive than Cook, describing the magazine as "of reasonably good quality", and singling out Charles Marquis Warren's "Coyote Woman" for praise; Ashley quotes pulp historian Robert K. Jones, who considered the "Coyote Woman" "...among the most effective vampire stories to appear in the pulps".
New Mystery Adventures was a pulp magazine that appeared from 1935 to 1937. It included a mix of genres: there were occasional science fiction stories, and fantasies such as "Buried Alive" by Wayne Rogers and "Rescued by Satan" by Richard B. Sale, as well as adventure stories by authors such as L. Ron Hubbard. There were also mystery stories and weird menace stories. One story in Lars Anderson's "Domino Lady" series appeared, and other mystery writers included Octavus Roy Cohen and Steve Fisher.
The Spider was an American pulp magazine that was published from 1933 to 1943. It included a lead novel in every issue that featured The Spider, a heroic crimefighter. It was published by Popular Publications, as a rival to Street & Smith's The Shadow and Standard Magazine's The Phantom Detective. Many of the stories involved science fiction plot devices, such as a metal-eating virus, or giant robots.
The Western Raider was an American pulp magazine. The first issue was dated August/September 1938; it was followed by two more issues under that title, publishing Western fiction, and then was changed to a crime fiction pulp for two issues, titled The Octopus and The Scorpion. Both these two issues were named after a supervillain, rather than after a hero who fights crime, as was the case with most such magazines. Norvell Page wrote the lead novels for both the crime fiction issues; the second was rewritten by Ejler Jakobsson, one of the editors, to change the character from The Octopus to The Scorpion.
Operator #5 was a pulp magazine published between 1934 and 1939. The lead novels featured Operator #5, whose real name was Jimmy Christopher of the Secret Service. The novels were written by Frederick C. Davis until November 1935, then by Emile C. Tepperman until March 1938, and then Wayne Rogers for the remainder of the run; all three used the house name "Curtis Steele" on all their work for Operator #5. The plots always involved science fictional ideas such as revival of the dead, sonic rays that could cause panic, rays that damaged the ionosphere, and future war scenarios. Both Tepperman and Rogers embedded their novels in longer story arcs that went on for many issues, involving the invasion of America. In Tepperman's case the invading force was the Purple Empire; in Rogers' case it was the Japanese, and the sequence was unresolved when the magazine was cancelled in 1939, with the Japanese dropping atom bombs on American cities. The short stories that accompanied the lead novel were often spy stories, and included series with repeating characters such as Red Finger and John Vedders, Secret Service Agents whose adventures were chronicled by Arthur Leo Zagat and Frank Gruber, respectively.
Thrilling Mystery was an American pulp magazine published from 1935 to 1944. New York publisher Standard Magazines had a stable of magazines with the "Thrilling" prefix, including Thrilling Detective, Thrilling Love, and Thrilling Adventures, but in 1935, Popular Publications, a rival publisher, launched a weird menace pulp titled Thrilling Mysteries. Standard Magazines sued over the use of the word "Thrilling", and Popular conceded, settling out of court. Thrilling Mysteries was cancelled after a single issue, and in October 1935 Standard began Thrilling Mystery. Like Thrilling Mysteries this was a terror pulp, but it contained less sex and violence than most of the genre, and as a result, in the opinion of science fiction historian Mike Ashley, "the stories had greater originality, although they are not necessarily of better quality". Ashley singles out Carl Jacobi's "Satan's Kite", about a family cursed because of a theft from a temple in Borneo, as worthy of mention. There were two detective stories by Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan. Other contributors included Fritz Leiber, Fredric Brown, Seabury Quinn, Robert Bloch, and Henry Kuttner. There was little science fiction in the magazine, but some fantasy: pulp historian Robert K. Jones cites Arthur J. Burks "Devils in the Dust" as "one of the most effective" stories, with "a mood as bleak as an arctic blizzard", and Ashley agrees, calling it "particularly powerful".
Eerie Mysteries was an American weird menace pulp magazine that published four issues in 1938 and 1939. This was Ace Magazines' third weird menace pulp, and it was no more successful than its predecessors, Ace Mystery and Eerie Stories. As with Eerie Stories, the contents were all pseudonymous, and some were reprints from Ace Mystery or Ten Detective Aces, another Ace Magazines title, where the original detective story had enough violence to be a suitable candidate. The magazine's tagline was "10 Complete Horror-Thrillers", and the reprints had their titles changed to suit the new magazine, but the new titles, such as "When It Rained Corpses" by Ralph Powers, or "Skull and Double Cross-Bones" by Eric Lennon, stressed sex less than earlier weird menace magazines had done, and pulp historian Peter Haining cites Eerie Mysteries as an example of a magazine attempting to cash in on a trend that was already starting to fade away. Haining adds that the contents were also tamer than usual: "descriptions of beautiful females being molested and tortured were notably fewer". All four covers were painted by Norman Saunders, and Haining suggests that some or all of the interior art was re-used from other Ace Magazines titles.
Captain Zero was an American pulp magazine that published three issues in 1949 and 1950. The lead novels, written by G.T. Fleming-Roberts, featured Lee Allyn, who had been the subject of an experiment with radiation, and as a result was invisible between midnight and dawn. Under the name Captain Zero, Allyn became a vigilante, fighting crime at night. Allyn had no other superpowers, and the novels were straightforward mysteries in Weinberg's opinion, though pulp historian Robert Sampson considers them to be "complex...[they] pound along wtih hair-raising incidents..full of twists and high suspense". Captain Zero was the last crime-fighter hero magazine to be launched in the pulp era, ending an era that had begun with The Shadow in 1931. There was room in the magazine for only one or two short stories along with the lead novel; these were all straight mystery stories, without the veneer of science fiction of the Captain Zero novels.
