''Astonishing Stories'' was an American
pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
* ...
science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet.
Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, nov ...
, published by
Popular Publications
Popular Publications was one of the largest publishers of pulp magazines during its existence, at one point publishing 42 different titles per month. Company titles included detective fiction, detective, adventure novel, adventure, Romance nove ...
between 1940 and 1943. It was founded under Popular's "Fictioneers" imprint, which paid lower rates than Popular's other magazines. The magazine's first editor was
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...
, who also edited a companion publication, ''
Super Science Stories
''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, payin ...
''. After nine issues Pohl was replaced by
Alden H. Norton, who subsequently rehired Pohl as an assistant. The budget for ''Astonishing'' was very low, which made it difficult to acquire good fiction, but through his membership in the
Futurians
The Futurians were a group of science fiction (SF) fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom i ...
, a group of young
science fiction fans
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
and aspiring writers, Pohl was able to find material to fill the early issues. The magazine was successful, and Pohl was able to increase his pay rates slightly within a year. He managed to obtain stories by writers who subsequently became very well known, such as
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
and
Robert Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
. After Pohl entered the army in early 1943, wartime paper shortages led Popular to cease publication of ''Astonishing''. The final issue was dated April of that year.
The magazine was never regarded as one of the leading titles of the genre, but despite the low budget it published some well-received material. Science fiction critic
Peter Nicholls comments that "its stories were surprisingly good considering how little was paid for them",
[ and this view has been echoed by other historians of the field.
]
Publication history
Although science fiction had been published before the 1920s, it did not begin to coalesce into a separately marketed genre until the appearance in 1926 of ''Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...
'', a pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
published by Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publ ...
. By the end of the 1930s the field was booming,[Malcolm Edwards & Peter Nicholls, "SF Magazines", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', pp. 1066–1068.] and several new sf magazines were launched in 1939.[Ashley, ''Time Machines'', pp. 237–255.] Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...
, a young science fiction reader, was looking for a job that year. He visited Robert Erisman, who was the editor of two pulps, ''Marvel Science Stories
''Marvel Science Stories'' was an American pulp magazine that ran for a total of fifteen issues in two separate runs, both edited by Robert O. Erisman. The publisher for the first run was Postal Publications, and the second run was published by ...
'' and ''Dynamic Science Stories
''Dynamic Science Stories'' was an American pulp magazine which published two issues, dated February and April 1939. A companion to ''Marvel Science Stories'', it was edited by Robert O. Erisman and published by Western Fiction Publishing. Amo ...
'', to ask for a job as an assistant.[Milton Wolf & ]Raymond H. Thompson Raymond H. Thompson is a Canadian scholar of medieval literature specializing in King Arthur and the Matter of Britain, and in the reinterpretation of this material in modern literature. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at Aca ...
, "Astonishing Stories", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 117–122. Erisman turned him down, but suggested that Pohl contact Rogers Terrill at Popular Publications
Popular Publications was one of the largest publishers of pulp magazines during its existence, at one point publishing 42 different titles per month. Company titles included detective fiction, detective, adventure novel, adventure, Romance nove ...
, a leading pulp publisher. Erisman had heard that Popular was starting a new line of magazines, and thought that they might be interested in adding a science fiction title.[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 82.] On October 25, 1939, Pohl visited Terrill and persuaded him to give the idea a try, and left Terrill's office having been hired, at the age of nineteen, to edit two new magazines,[Ashley, ''Time Machines'', pp. 158–160.] on a salary of ten dollars per week.[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 98.] One was ''Super Science Stories
''Super Science Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine published by Popular Publications from 1940 to 1943, and again from 1949 to 1951. Popular launched it under their Fictioneers imprint, which they used for magazines, payin ...
''; the other was at one point intended to be titled ''Incredible Stories'', but ultimately appeared as ''Astonishing Stories''.["Astonishing Stories" in Tuck, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Vol. 3'', p. 547.]
Popular was uncertain of the sales potential for the two new titles and decided to publish them under its Fictioneers imprint, which was used for lower-paying magazines.[Pohl, ''Early Pohl'', pp. 23–24.] ''Astonishing''s first issue was dated February 1940; it was bimonthly, alternating monthly with ''Super Science Stories''.[ Pohl's budget for an issue was $405: in Pohl's memoirs he recalls ]Harry Steeger
Henry Steeger III (May 26, 1903, New York City – December 25, 1990) was an American magazine editor and publisher. He co-founded Popular Publications in 1930, one of the major publishers of pulp magazines, with former classmate Harold S. Goldsmi ...
, one of the company owners, breaking down the budget for him: "Two hundred seventy-five dollars for stories. A hundred dollars for black and white art. Thirty dollars for a cover."[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp. 87–88.] Pohl could only offer half a cent per word for fiction, well below the rates offered by the leading magazines.[Ashley, ''Time Machines'', p. 107.] At ten cents, the magazine was cheaper than any of the other sf magazines of the day,[ and it sold well, despite Pohl's limited resources.][ It was certainly assisted by Popular's wide and effective distribution network, and the publisher soon increased Pohl's budget, to pay bonuses for popular stories.][ Pohl later commented that he was uncertain whether the additional funds really helped to bring in higher quality submissions, although at the time he assured Steeger it would improve the magazine.][Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 89.] Some of the additional money went to long-time writer Ray Cummings
Ray Cummings (born Raymond King Cummings) (August 30, 1887 – January 23, 1957) was an American author of science fiction literature and comic books.
Early life
Cummings was born in New York City in 1887. He worked with Thomas Edison as a ...
, who was sufficiently well known that the young Pohl felt unable to reject his stories, even though he disliked his work. Cummings came to see Pohl in person to submit his work, and refused to sell for less than one cent a word; since the first visit came on a day when Pohl had some extra money available, Pohl was never able to bring himself to tell Cummings that he could not really afford to pay that rate. Pohl comments in his memoirs that "for months he would turn up regularly as clockwork and sell me a new story; I hated them all, and bought them all."[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 90.]
Pohl stretched his budget by reducing the space he needed to fill with fiction. For example, a long letter column took up several pages but required no payment; similarly, running advertisements for Popular's other magazines did not use up the fiction budget. Some authors sent inaccurate word counts with the stories they submitted, and Popular saved money by paying them on the basis of whichever word count was less—the author's or one done by Popular's staff. The result was a saving of forty to fifty dollars per issue. More money was saved by reusing snipped elements of black and white illustrations to fill space, as multiple uses of the same artwork did not require additional payments to the artist.[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp. 88–89.]
Towards the end of 1940 Popular doubled Pohl's salary to twenty dollars per week.[ In June 1941 Pohl went to see Steeger to ask for a further raise; he was planning to resign and work as a free-lance writer if he did not get more pay. Steeger, in Pohl's words, "had complaints of his own", and was not receptive; by the end of the meeting Pohl had lost his job as editor. Pohl later commented "I have never been sure whether I quit or got fired."][Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 102.] Instead of replacing Pohl, Popular assigned editor-in-chief Alden H. Norton to add the magazines to his responsibilities. The arrangement lasted for seven months, after which Norton asked Pohl to return as his assistant.[ Norton offered Pohl a higher salary as an associate editor than he had received as the editor, and Pohl quickly accepted.][Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', p. 107.]
Pohl was not eligible to be drafted for military service as he was married, but by the end of 1942 his marriage was over and he decided to enlist. As voluntary enlistment was suspended he was unable to immediately join the army, but eventually was inducted on April 1, 1943.[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp. 109–110.] Paper was difficult to obtain because of the war, and Popular decided to close the magazine down; the final issue, dated April 1943, was assembled with the assistance of Ejler Jakobsson
Ejler Jakobsson (December 6, 1911 – October 5, 1984) was a Finnish-born science fiction editor.
Jakobsson moved to the United States in 1926 and began a career as an author in the 1930s. He married Edith Kane (1915–1997) in 1935. He worked ...
.[Ashley, ''Time Machines'', pp. 217–218.][Pohl, ''Early Pohl'', p. 131.]
Contents and reception
Because of the low rates of pay, the stories submitted to ''Astonishing'' in its first year had generally already been rejected elsewhere. However, Pohl was a member of the Futurians
The Futurians were a group of science fiction (SF) fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom i ...
, a group of science fiction fans that included Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
, C.M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...
, Richard Wilson and Donald Wollheim
Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pear ...
; the Futurians were eager to become professional writers and were glad to submit stories to Pohl.[ Asimov recalls in his memoirs that on October 27, 1939, two days after Pohl was hired to edit the magazines, Pohl turned up at Asimov's apartment and asked to buy "]Half-Breed
Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white.
Use by governments United States
In ...
", a story Pohl had been trying to sell on Asimov's behalf since June of that year. Pohl needed stories quickly for the first issue of ''Astonishing'' (though the name had not yet been selected), and as the story had been rejected by ''Amazing Stories
''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...
'' and ''Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
'', Asimov was willing to sell it for half a cent per word. A couple of weeks later Pohl also acquired "The Callistan Menace
"The Callistan Menace" is a science fiction short story by American writer Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the April 1940 issue of ''Astonishing Stories'' and was reprinted in the 1972 collection ''The Early Asimov''. It was the second scie ...
" from Asimov.[Asimov, ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 255–256.] The other Futurians were prolific as well; in Pohl's first year as an editor he bought a total of fifteen stories from them for the two magazines.Raymond H. Thompson Raymond H. Thompson is a Canadian scholar of medieval literature specializing in King Arthur and the Matter of Britain, and in the reinterpretation of this material in modern literature. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at Aca ...
, "Super Science Stories", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 631–635. Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...
, another of the Futurians, recalled in his memoirs that Pohl once asked the group for a story to fill out an issue, with $35 available to pay for it. Kornbluth and Wilson wrote a first draft, alternating turns at the typewriter; the result was edited by Harry Dockweiler, another Futurian, and then again by Pohl before it appeared in the April 1940 ''Astonishing'' under the title "Stepsons of Mars", with a byline of "Ivar Towers".[Knight, ''Futurians'', pp. 31–32.] Pohl contributed material himself, using the pseudonyms "James McCreigh" and "Dirk Wylie" (the latter pseudonym was also used by Dockweiler);[ he used his own stories when he needed to fill an issue,][ and to supplement his salary of ten dollars a week. Particularly after his marriage to Doris Baumgardt in August 1940, Pohl realized that his salary covered their apartment rent with almost no money left over, and began to augment his income by selling to himself as well as to other magazines.][ When Pohl lost his job as editor in late 1941, he had bought from himself (and paid for) a couple of stories that he had not actually written, and hence had to write them very quickly and turn them in.][Pohl, ''Early Pohl'', p. 73.]
The first issue of ''Astonishing Stories'' was dated February 1940; the lead story was "Chameleon Planet" by John Russell Fearn
John Russell Fearn (1908–1960) was a British writer, one of the first to appear in American pulp magazine, pulp science fiction magazines. A prolific author, he published his novels also as Vargo Statten and with various pseudonyms including T ...
, and it also included Asimov's "Half-Breed" and fiction by Henry Kuttner
Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
Early life
Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...
and Manly Wade Wellman
Manly Wade Wellman (May 21, 1903 – April 5, 1986) was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as ''Astounding Stories'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Unknown'' and ''Strange Stories'', Wellman is ...
. Despite the difficulties caused by the low budget, Pohl was able to pay his authors promptly, unlike some of his competitors, and he thus began to receive stories of higher quality.[ Sf historian Mike Ashley identifies "The Last Drop", by ]L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...
and L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...
as one of the better stories in ''Astonishing''; historians Milton Wolf and Raymond H. Thompson Raymond H. Thompson is a Canadian scholar of medieval literature specializing in King Arthur and the Matter of Britain, and in the reinterpretation of this material in modern literature. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at Aca ...
consider the story to be unimpressive, and point instead to Alfred Bester
Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. He is best remembered for his science fiction, inclu ...
's "The Pet Nebula" in the February 1941 issue.[ Kuttner's "Soldiers of Space" and ]Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...
's "It Happened Tomorrow", both of which appeared in the February 1943 issue, are also praised.[ Pohl was also able to print the first three of ]Ross Rocklynne
Ross Rocklynne (February 21, 1913 – October 29, 1988) was the pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He also wrote under the pen names Paul Cahendon, R. L. Rock ...
's well-liked "Into the Darkness" series.[ Other well-known writers who appeared in the pages of ''Astonishing'' include ]Leigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for ''The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Goo ...
, Clifford Simak
Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...
, and E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...
.[See the individual issues. For convenience, an online index is available at ]
Pohl told his readers in ''Astonishing''s first issue that he would listen to their feedback and respond to their requests. In addition to paying attention to their comments on stories, he included departments in the magazine that encouraged interaction with the fans, such as a letter column, a section that listed fanzines with names and addresses, and a review column.[ The reviews, primarily by Wollheim, but also including contributions from Richard Wilson, ]Forrest Ackerman
Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a p ...
, and John Michel
Field Marshal Sir John Michel (1 September 1804 – 23 May 1886) was a British Army officer. He commanded the 6th Regiment of Foot during the Eighth Xhosa War in 1851 and served as Chief of Staff of the British Army's Turkish contingent during ...
, were of a higher standard than elsewhere in the field, and historian Paul Carter regards ''Astonishing'' and ''Super Science Stories'' as the place where "book reviewing for the first time began to merit the term 'literary criticism, and adds that "it was in those magazines that the custom began of paying attention to science fiction on the stage and screen also."[Carter, ''Creation of Tomorrow'', p. 296.]
The artwork in ''Astonishing'' was initially quite poor, which was unsurprising given the minuscule budget Pohl had to work with. Much of the art was supplied by fans and artists early in their careers, including Doris Baumgardt (under the pseudonym Leslie Perri
Leslie may refer to:
* Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters
Families
* Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast"
* Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...
) and Dorothy Les Tina, who later became Pohl's first and second wives, respectively. One fan artist who stood out from the rest was Hannes Bok
Hannes Bok, pseudonym for Wayne Francis Woodard (, ; July 2, 1914 – April 11, 1964), was an American artist and illustrator, as well as an amateur astrologer and writer of fantasy fiction and poetry. He painted nearly 150 covers for various sc ...
, who went on to become a well-respected artist with a very distinctive style. Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
commented positively on Bok's work in a letter in the August 1940 ''Astonishing'', and Bok subsequently illustrated a story of Bradbury's in the April 1943 issue. Aleck Portegal, Popular's art director, had initially told Pohl that the regular artists would be unwilling to work for the low rates he could offer, but in the event some of them were willing to take less pay to get the extra work. More professional art began to appear in the magazine, including work by Virgil Finlay
Virgil Finlay (July 23, 1914 – January 18, 1971) was an American pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror illustrator. He has been called "part of the pulp magazine history ... one of the foremost contributors of original and imagin ...
, Alexander Leydenfrost, Leo Morey, Hans Wessolowski, and Frank R. Paul, all well known in the field. Some art appeared under the name Stephen Lawrence, which was known to be a pseudonym of Lawrence Stevens
Lawrence Stevens (25 February 1913 – 17 August 1989) was a South African boxer who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born in Johannesburg and died in Durban, Natal. Both of his parents were born and raised in Johannesb ...
, but it was subsequently discovered that some of this work was actually by Lawrence Stevens' son Peter.[
''Astonishing Stories'' is not remembered as being among the best science fiction magazines: both critic Peter Nicholls and sf writer ]Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of t ...
have described it as a "training ground" for writers who would go on to do their best work elsewhere.[Peter Nicholls, "Astonishing Stories", in Clute & Nicholls, ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', p. 62.][ However, Nicholls adds that "its stories were surprisingly good considering how little was paid for them",][ and Wolf and Thompson agree, claiming that "there was much that was memorable in ''Astonishing'', both by way of immediate appeal and of more lasting quality".][ Pohl himself, who later became a very successful magazine editor, felt he made many mistakes. He quotes as an example his serialization of ]Malcolm Jameson
Malcolm Routh Jameson (December 21, 1891 – April 16, 1945), commonly known as Malcolm Jameson, was an American science fiction author. An officer in the US Navy, he was active in American pulp magazines during the Golden Age of Science Fic ...
's story "Quicksands of Youthwardness" in three parts; the story was only 27,000 words long, and readers complained (justifiably, in Pohl's view) that serializing it in a bimonthly magazine meant they had to wait for five months to read the whole story, in relatively small 9,000-word pieces. Overall, Pohl assessed his performance by saying "I wasn't really a very good editor"; adding "With what I know now I could have made those magazines sing, but as it was they just lay there".[Pohl, ''The Way the Future Was'', pp. 92–94.]
Bibliographic details
''Astonishing Stories'' was edited by Frederik Pohl from February 1940 through September 1941 (nine issues), and then by Alden H. Norton from November 1941 through April 1943 (seven issues). It was published by Fictioneers, Inc., a subsidiary of Popular Publications. It was pulp-sized throughout its run, with 112 pages and a cover price of 10 cents. The volume numbering was regular, with four volumes of four numbers. It was bimonthly for the first eight issues; the next four were on an irregular schedule, and the last four, from October 1942, were bimonthly again.[
A Canadian edition appeared for three issues, dated January, March, and May 1942, published by Popular Publications' Toronto branch. It was priced at 10 cents and ran to 96 pages; it was also in pulp format, but fractionally larger than the US version. The first and third issues reprinted the November 1941 and March 1942 US issues of ''Astonishing'', but the March 1942 Canadian issue was a reprint of the November 1941 ''Super Science Stories'', omitting one story. The covers in all three issues were replaced by new paintings, and the interior artwork was also different. The artists responsible for the new illustrations and covers were not credited. In August 1942 a Canadian edition of ''Super Science Stories'' began which also alternated between reprinting the US editions of ''Astonishing'' and ''Super Science Stories''; this could be regarded as a continuation of the Canadian edition of ''Astonishing'', although the volume numbering was restarted at volume 1 number 1 when the name was changed.][Grant Thiessen, "Astonishing Stories (Canadian)", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 122–123.]Raymond H. Thompson Raymond H. Thompson is a Canadian scholar of medieval literature specializing in King Arthur and the Matter of Britain, and in the reinterpretation of this material in modern literature. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of English at Aca ...
, "Super Science Stories (Canadian)", in Tymn & Ashley, ''Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines'', pp. 635–637.
Notes
References
Sources
*Aldiss, Brian W.; Harrison, Harry (1976). ''Hell's Cartographers''. London: Futura.
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External links
Astonishing Stories
on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...
''Astonishing Stories'' Checklist
images of all covers of ''Astonishing Stories''
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Defunct science fiction magazines published in the United States
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