DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Southern Star, v. 1, issue 2, June 1941

Transcribe
Translate

Southern Star, v. 1, issue 2, June 1941

Page 21

The Munsey Panorama     SOUTHERN STAR     Page 21

The Munsey Panorama. Continued from page 8.

And when it deserves reprinting, we say that, too, don't we? Did anybody ever do that particular job before? Maybe they did; I dunno; but I don't think so. This is special research in case you don't recognize it. This is a groundwork for a future dissertation. (Let somebody a hundred years from now dissertate). This is the laying of an egg, for the benefit of posterity, if any!"
"You mean, a sort of cornerstone?"
"I mean an egg."
The grayboard glanced reproachfully at his glass, winked knowingly at McQueen, and picked up where he'd left off:

DEAD MEN'S CHESTS, by Philip S. Hichborn. 10pp, November, 1909
Here's a straight-shooting ghost story, and boy, she's a whiz. When the "Nashurma" steamed out through the Golden Gate, she had three thousand Chinese coffins for cargo; and when the occupants of the coffins started taking over the ship, it was too much for the mere mortals who had been in charge. A doggone good story, and mighty well told. Finished at eleven P. M., it left this peruser with a crease right down the middle of his forehead.
BEYOND, by Grace Tabor. 11pp, December, 1909.
Perhaps you'd call this pioneering. Author approaches scientific angles vaguely but grimly, and after a slow start gives a fair delineation of experiments in life and death. Machinery involves excessive ozone and color vibrations. The subject, a girl, is ultimately translated into pure spirit, invisible and immortal. Should be of some interest to collectors, but not of much to modern readers.
THE WIZARD OF THE PEAK, by Thomas E. Grant. Complete Novel. 45pp. January, 1910.
I wish I were learned enough to tell you just how much of the science in this tale is completely wacky; seems to me that practically all of it is. But the author puts it across with a Burroughs-like mingling of naivete and solemnity, and though you are conscious of the weaknesses, you still get a bit excited. The story is of a future day wherein the world's supply of coal has been exhausted. Dr. Luxx, mad genius, comes to the rescue with a remarkable secret invention. He averts catastrophe, and becomes the most powerful man in the world. Plotters against him are slain with a mysterious death-screen. But when another scientist at length is able to duplicate his feats, Dr. Luxx destroys himself.
This is no classic, maybe, but the mad doctor is the sort of character who sticks in your memory. He saved the world, then tried, unsuccessfully, to destroy it; humanity, indebted to him, turned against him; he is grand, he is pathetic, he is mad -- and it is hard to forget him.
THE HAWKINS CLOUD CLIMBER, by Edgar Franklin. Complete Novel, 24pp, February, 1910.
This is one (not the first) of a long series of stories having to do with the creations of inventor Hawkins. In its day the series was very popular indeed, and years after it stopped the readers were still asking for more. As you may know, Edgar Franklin was a humorous writer who appeared for more than thirty years in the various Munsey publications, and he was in a class by himself, whether you liked him or not. The Hawkins episodes were among his best efforts, but I am compelled to report that they seem sadly antiquated in '41. Much of the humor is ageless, but today the inventions, for the most part, are neither new nor startling.

Saving...

The Munsey Panorama SOUTHERN STAR Page 21 The Munsey Panorama. Continued from page 8. And when it deserves reprinting, we say that, too, don't we? Did anybody ever do that particular job before? Maybe they did; I dunno; but I don't think so. This is special research in case you don't recognize it. This is a groundwork for a future dissertation. (Let somebody a hundred years from now dissertate). This is the laying of an egg, for the benefit of posterity, if any!" "You mean, a sort of cornerstone?" "I mean an egg." The grayboard glanced reproachfully at his glass, winked knowingly at McQueen, and picked up where he'd left off: DEAD MEN'S CHESTS, by Philip S. Hichborn. 10pp, November, 1909 Here's a straight-shooting ghost story, and boy, she's a whiz. When the "Nashurma" steamed out through the Golden Gate, she had three thousand Chinese coffins for cargo; and when the occupants of the coffins started taking over the ship, it was too much for the mere mortals who had been in charge. A doggone good story, and mighty well told. Finished at eleven P. M., it left this peruser with a crease right down the middle of his forehead. BEYOND, by Grace Tabor. 11pp, December, 1909. Perhaps you'd call this pioneering. Author approaches scientific angles vaguely but grimly, and after a slow start gives a fair delineation of experiments in life and death. Machinery involves excessive ozone and color vibrations. The subject, a girl, is ultimately translated into pure spirit, invisible and immortal. Should be of some interest to collectors, but not of much to modern readers. THE WIZARD OF THE PEAK, by Thomas E. Grant. Complete Novel. 45pp. January, 1910. I wish I were learned enough to tell you just how much of the science in this tale is completely wacky; seems to me that practically all of it is. But the author puts it across with a Burroughs-like mingling of naivete and solemnity, and though you are conscious of the weaknesses, you still get a bit excited. The story is of a future day wherein the world's supply of coal has been exhausted. Dr. Luxx, mad genius, comes to the rescue with a remarkable secret invention. He averts catastrophe, and becomes the most powerful man in the world. Plotters against him are slain with a mysterious death-screen. But when another scientist at length is able to duplicate his feats, Dr. Luxx destroys himself. This is no classic, maybe, but the mad doctor is the sort of character who sticks in your memory. He saved the world, then tried, unsuccessfully, to destroy it; humanity, indebted to him, turned against him; he is grand, he is pathetic, he is mad -- and it is hard to forget him. THE HAWKINS CLOUD CLIMBER, by Edgar Franklin. Complete Novel, 24pp, February, 1910. This is one (not the first) of a long series of stories having to do with the creations of inventor Hawkins. In its day the series was very popular indeed, and years after it stopped the readers were still asking for more. As you may know, Edgar Franklin was a humorous writer who appeared for more than thirty years in the various Munsey publications, and he was in a class by himself, whether you liked him or not. The Hawkins episodes were among his best efforts, but I am compelled to report that they seem sadly antiquated in '41. Much of the humor is ageless, but today the inventions, for the most part, are neither new nor startling.