SCIENCE FICTION IN ENGLISH MAGAZINES
by Bob Tucker
(Series Eight)
British science fiction, with the death of "Scoops," has just about gone pfft, to quote a New York columnist. The small four-cent magazines in the field do not run enough "science" fiction to make reading them worth your time.
The "Triumph" is still running the "Invisible Charlie" series, and they get no better each time. The "Wizard" has come forth with the "Worms of Doom." It's the old idea of the gent with a world-conquering mania again. He lets loose strange worms upon the world, said worms capable of devouring steel. Of course, they devour the most popular buildings first of all. It's funny how the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building taste better than ordinary ones.
"Amazing Stories" publishes a British Edition over there, so that helps somewhat. When questioned, "Wonder" and "Astounding" say that they don't publish such editions, but "Wonder" adds "as yet," so maybe someday....
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AN ANECDOTE
by Forrest J. Ackerman
In the early days of science fiction when there were not many authors who wrote it and Amazing was chiefly a magazine of Verne-Wells-Poe reprints, Bob Olsen was writing and had a friend who thought he could too. Bob had two tales published in Amazing without mentioning the accomplishment to his friend who succeeded in having nothing accepted (he was not writing stf). Then, with the third story, Bob's name appeared on the cover, giving him quite a thrill. 'Stories by: H. G. Wells, Bob Olsen, Edgar Allan Poe', it read. "Uh, what do you think of that?" asked Bob proudly, now displaying his work, his name with Wells and Poe. The friend sized up a moment. Then, "They've got you just right, all right," he seemed to have to admit, Bob swelling with pride—"half way between a live one and a dead one!"
Bob still thinks he was a little bit envious, tho.
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ALIER'S ALIBI
by Mortimer Weisinger
Years ago, when Hugo Gernsback's "Scientific Adventures of Baron Munchhausen" were appearing serially in the Electrical Experimenter, it occasionally transpired that an installment was omitted. At such intervals various ingenious excuses were offered to explain the missing chapters. Perhaps the gem of them all is the one which we are reproducing herewith, taken from a 1915 issue.
"Baron Munchhausen, as will be noted, has failed to make his appearance this month. Urgent wireless telegrams to his chronologist-in-chief, the Hon. I. M. Alier, of Yankton, Mass., disclosed the fact that the venerable old gentleman had contracted a virulent case of Atmospheris Marsianis, which sometimes attacks Interplanetary travellers not acclimatized to the peculiar Martian air. Mr. Alier, however, states that Professor Flitternix, the Baron's companion, advises him that Munchhausen will be back on the job next month. Of course we're sorry, but what can we do?"
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