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MAGAZINE OF HORROR. (Thirty-six issues, all published).
New York: Health Knowledge Inc., 1963-1971. Octavo, thirty-six issues, pictorial wrappers. Digest size magazine. This publication included new and reprint fiction. Reprints coming mainly from the pulps and with the knowledgeable editor and his two consultants Robert A. Madle and Sam Moskowitz, stories long out of print and virtually unobtainable were reprinted. Lowndes was also able to print stories by some old time writers which had been unpublished. Editor Lowndes was also able to capitalize on the resurgence of Robert E. Howard of the mid 1960s with publication of several unpublished stories including a Conan story (Spring 1967, #15). Newer material included writers as Stephen Goldin, Joanna Russ, Roger Zelazny, August Derleth, Joseph Payne Brennan, Robert Silverberg, and others. Tymm and Ashley, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines, pp. 391-395.
STARTLING MYSTERY STORIES. (Eighteen issues, all published).
New York: Health Knowledge Inc., 1966-1971. Octavo, eighteen issues, pictorial wrappers. Digest size magazine. This publication included new and reprint fiction. Reprints coming mainly from the pulps, including Seabury Quinn's Jules de Grandin stories, Paul Ernst's Dr. Satan, and Edward Hoch's Simon Ark stories. As for new material, a claim to fame is the publication of Stephen King's first two stories "The Glass Floor" in issue number 6 and "The Reaper's Image," in issue number 12. Other new fiction included authors Ramsey Campbell, John Brunner, and F. Paul Wilson with his first professional appearance. Lowndes editorials were also of interest as he covered subjects in the detective fiction genre. Tymm and Ashley, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines, pp. 608-611.
THE FANTASY FAN: THE FAN'S OWN MAGAZINE.
Elizabeth, New Jersey: Charles D. Hornig, 1933-1935. Octavo, 18 issues, printed or self wrappers. The first important weird fiction fanzine, and one of the most desirable of the fanzines of the thirties. For two years it published news and fiction related to the genre. Stories first published in THE FANTASY FAN include H. P. Lovecraft's "The Other Gods" and "From Beyond," Clark Ashton Smith's "The Epiphany of Death," "The Ghoul," "The Kingdom of the Worm," and "The Primal City," as well as tales by Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Robert E. Howard, David H. Keller and others. THE FANTASY FAN was "an interesting mix of news, articles, stories, poems, and miscellany. Hornig however, made an error in initiating a column of controversy entitled 'The Boiling Point,' which quickly led to acrimonious letter exchanges between Lovecraft, Forrest J. Ackerman, Clark Ashton Smith, and numerous others; the column was terminated with the February 1934 issue. Perhaps Hornig's greatest accomplishment was the serialization of the revised version of Lovecraft's 'Supernatural Horror in Literature' (October 1933-February 1935). However, the serialization proceeded at such a slow pace that it had reached only the middle of Chapter VIII before the magazine folded. THE FANTASY FAN also saw the first publication of Lovecraft's stories. 'The Other Gods' (November 1933) and 'From Beyond' (June 1934) as well as reprints (from amateur papers) of 'Polaris' (February 1934) and 'Beyond the Wall of Sleep' (October 1934); it also published 'The Book' (October 1934), 'Pursuit' (October 1934), 'The Key' (January 1935), and 'Homecoming' (January 1935) from 'Fungi from Yuggoth.' Brief excerpts of Lovecraft's letters to Hornig appeared regularly in the magazine's letter column. The October 1934 issue was dedicated to Lovecraft. After the demise of THE FANTASY FAN, numerous attempts were made to revive or succeed it, but no magazine truly filled its place as a news organ, a forum for the expression of fan's views, and a venue for work by distinguished writers in the field" (Joshi and Schultz, An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, pp. 90-91). "As a real help to the lover of weird and fantasy fiction Hornig's magazine reigned supreme in the field at that time ... Almost every weirdist of importance in fandom was at one time or another represented in its pages. And as a love-feast for such fans it has never again been equaled" (Moskowitz, The Immortal Storm, pp. 18-20). "... one of the legendary magazines of the 1930s ... an extremely consistent and reliable magazine ..." (Tymn and Ashley, eds., Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines, pp. 822-23). According to Hornig (writing in 1988) "THE FANTASY FAN was printed by Conrad Ruppett of Jamaica, New York, hand set. Julius Schwartz and I helped him collate and staple each copy every month for eighteen months. Except for the second issue (500 copies), there were only 250 printed, and the paid circulation never reached over 50. What happened to the residue? Well, I found someone to buy up most of the unsold copies, and that was B. K. Gores of Austin, Texas. I never heard from him before or since, never knew him in fandom, and don't know whatever happened to him. Somewhere, there should be stacks of TFF, unless they're destroyed." Joshi I-B-ii-232. Pavlat and Evans, Fanzine Index (1965), p. 37.
THE HOWARD COLLECTOR. [ALL PUBLISHED].
Pasadena, TX: Glenn Lord, 1961-1973. Small octavo, printed wrappers. All published. A major source for material by and about Robert E. Howard. Many Howard poems, letters and fragments of fiction are printed here for the first time. Most issues are scarce, especially the early numbers.
WHISPERS.
Binhampton, NY: Stuart David Schiff, 1984. Octavo, single issue, cloth. First edition. Of 376 hardbound copies this is one of 350 numbered copies signed by contributors J. N. Williamson, Margo Skinner, Fritz Leiber, Hugh B. Cave, David Morrell, Susan Casper, Stuart Schiff, Dennis Etchison, and Alan Ryan. Fiction, news, reviews and other material.