Category: Science Fiction History

Two Buck Rogers posts

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2 Buck Rogers posts meme

Well Space Explorers, it’s time for a couple of Buck Rogers posts. Why…? Mainly because he’s one of the first space heroes and one we still love today. There’s just something about the guy…I’m sure everyone has their reasons for being a fan. I love the early strips from the late 1920’s. They still have enough “wow” appeal to make them enjoyable reading today, nearly 100 years later! So here you go, two little tidbits of Buck Rogers’ lore. One will be familiar and one will not. Happy daydreams! Read…

New article — “Pulp History — The Thrills of 1931”

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The Thrills of 1931 ad

I didn’t know too much about Ned L. Pines before writing this article. Of course, I was familiar with the Thrilling  group of pulp magazines (I’m very fond of Thrilling Wonder Stories), and some of his other titles, Captain Future, for example. What I discovered was an ambitious and competent publisher who made a big mark on the Depression-era pulp magazine industry. This month we celebrate the 90th anniversaries of his first three magazines — Thrilling Detective, Thrilling Love, and Thrilling Adventures. FIND OUT MORE about Ned L. Pines at…

New Article — “Galloway Gallegher — Kuttner’s Sauced Scientist”

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Robots Have No Tails_1952_2008

It was my birthday at the beginning of the month and along with the festivities came a molasses-like slow-down in my blogging plans. Thus this post is a couple of week’s late. How about we all just pretend that it isn’t late at all? Sound good? Okay, then let’s get to it. My newest article for Black Gate involves a popular Henry Kuttner character — Galloway Gallegher. Gallegher’s shtick/curse is that he’s a genius inventor only when stinking drunk. His attempts to detangle the activities of his sozzled alter-ego are…

Happy Birthday to Murray Leinster (and a new article)

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Today is Murray Leinster’s birthday. He is, without a doubt, one of my very favorite science fiction writers. Leinster started publishing before 1920 and was was still publishing sci-fi teleplays and novels into the late 1960’s for TV shows such as “Time Tunnel.” (And since he pioneered (YES, pioneered!) the entire subgenre of multiple reality sci-fi stories, working on “Time Tunnel” is entirely appropriate.) My new article — “PulpFest Historical- 125 Years of Murray Leinster” is live now at the PulpFest blog so head over there and check it out!…

Book Review: Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective

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Ray Hunt book cover

Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective, First Fandom Experience. (Price: $45 including shipping, 144 pages, full color) February 2021.   First Fandom Experience has just released a new book called, Roy V. Hunt: A Retrospective. This full-color volume introduces us to the life and works of pulp-illustrator Roy Hunt. You’ve probably have never heard of him. I hadn’t. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that he was more than a just a historical footnote. Hunt was something special in a sea of entirely interesting things. And he had been all…

SILVERBLADE – Redux

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Silverblade cover iss 1

Once, a very long time ago in the 1980’s, DC put out a comic “maxi” series called, “Silverblade”. It was written by Cary Bates and the art was done by Gene Colan. The hero was Jonathon Lord, an aging movie star. One day, bitter, washed-up Lord makes a wish that is answered by an uncanny entity in the shape of the Maltese Falcon. The entity gives Lord the ability to transform into any role he ever played on the silver screen, the most notable being the swashbuckler, Silverblade. Of course,…

Super-Science Kids: First Fandom Experience, part 2

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Super Science Kids Header

Enter First Fandom Experience At PulpFest 2019, I discovered an extraordinary project called, First Fandom Experience. Father and son, David and Daniel Ritter, are dedicated pulp fans and collectors with a special interest in the early days of science fiction fandom. They, along with core team members—John L. Coker III, Sam McDonald, Doug Ellis and Kate Baxter—have created a database of materials which they make available through their website, books, and on social media. Part 1 of this interview, published on the PulpFest blog in September, was a general introduction…

PulpFest Historical — Harry Bates, Pittsburgh’s Own

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I have a new article out today on the PulpFest website. When I was asked to write about Harry Bates,  I didn’t know much about him, only that he was an early editor of ASTOUNDING STORIES. I certainly didn’t know he’d written the story on which “The Day the Earth Stood Still” was based. Certainly, this was a big contribution the history of science fiction. But, to me, the bigger contribution was his being the very first editor of ASTOUNDING. Along with publisher William Clayton, Bates started a legacy that…

New article in print!

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The Pulpster #29 cover

I have an article in THE PULPSTER #29, out this week! THE PULPSTER is the annual magazine for PulpFest and, although the 2020 convention was canceled, the committee decided to publish the magazine anyway. It’s not a regular edition, oh no! While not as thick as a Ziff-Davis AMAZING STORIES QUARTERLY, THE PULPSTER #29 is almost twice as large as the 2019 edition. Weighing in at 84 pages, plus covers, it’s more like a “PULPSTER ANNUAL.” The issue celebrates the dual centennials of Ray Bradbury’s birth and the debut of BLACK…