DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Sun Spots, v. 3, issue 3, whole no. 11, October 5, 1940

Transcribe
Translate

Sun Spots, v. 3, issue 3, whole no. 11, October 5, 1940

Page 12

Oct. 5, 1940    SUN SPOTS   Page 12

F̲A̲N̲T̲A̲S̲Y̲ ̲M̲A̲Y̲ ̲C̲O̲M̲E̲ ̲A̲N̲D̲ ̲F̲A̲N̲T̲A̲S̲Y̲ ̲M̲A̲Y̲ ̲G̲O̲ (cont'd)
     The fine material that appears in FFM and Fantastic Novels, if up in a form that made for the greatest possible legibility, would be read through by the ordinary reader at so fast a clip that his appetite would be insatiable; he would always want more, more and still more. 
"Amazing Stories" gives you trash in an easily readable form. Munsey 
gives you the classics of literature in legal type. I wonder when some g̲e̲n̲i̲u̲s̲ is going to contrive to combine the advantages of both? It'll probably take years.
     That done away with, let us take the above  indications of collapse and examine them.The pro field to collapse simply because Famous Fantastic Mysteries cuts its price to ten cents and goes bi-monthly? That's a good joke. But you've now got "Fantastic Adventures to take the place of "Famous Fantastic Mysteries" the months it doesn't appear.! FFM gave you 128 pages every month. FN now gives you 144 pages every other
month to balance FFM's 112, and charges 20¢ against FFM's 10¢. You get
the same amount of fiction at the same price off the same company. Besides, the company gains, because both of their magazines are displayed on the stands for two months enhancing their possibilities of selling, they hope.
     "Fantastic Adventures" goes bi-monthly? But friends Ziff-Davis announces an ''Amazing Stories Quarterly" to fill in! So Ziff-Davis is s̲t̲i̲l̲l̲ producing the same amount of science-fiction.
     "Science Fiction" appears quarterly instead of monthly? But "Science
Fiction Quarterly" will probably appear semi-annually to make up for it.
     "Strange Stories" cuts to ten cents. Well, there you have a magazine
outside of the science-fiction field concentrating more on the weird line. The weird line isn't doing so good now gents. Note "Weird Tales" bi-monthly publication. The science-fiction is on top, with the weird stuff definitely bottoms—you never can tell. The position could reverse within a year.
     Now we reach the problem of life expectancy of the various magazines.
    Agreed that "Astounding Science Fiction","Thrilling Wonder Stories", and "Amazing Stories," the league-leaders,will continue to survive. If
the bottom should drop out of science-fiction, "Amazing Stories" and
"Thrilling Wonder Stories" would probably adopt a bi-monthly schedule, but could be expected to keep publishing.
     "Astounding Science Fiction" would continue its monthly policy even if it were losing money until Street & Smith had given up all hope of 
renaissance in the field. Then It would be  unceremoniously dropped
til science-fiction revived.
     Many fans point knowingly at "Science Fiction" and "Future Fiction" and mutter, "It won't be long now".
     Ha ha. Don't kid yourself pal. "Science Fiction" at least is here to
stay. Even if Silberkliet only publishes one issue a year, he'll still keep It going. "Science Fiction had a lower expense account than probably any other science-fiction magazine. It is at present one of the
better sellers on the Blue Ribbon pulp chain. "Future Fiction" outsells "Science Fiction" slightly., mainly because it is on the newsstands longer. "Science Fiction" and "Future Fiction" have always had more appeal
for the fans because of their many pages of fan features. There, at least, they'll have a stable audience, — and I'll take bets that at least one of the Blue Ribbon pulps will keep publishing come hell and high water.
(Continued on Page 13)

Saving...

Oct. 5, 1940 SUN SPOTS Page 12 F̲A̲N̲T̲A̲S̲Y̲ ̲M̲A̲Y̲ ̲C̲O̲M̲E̲ ̲A̲N̲D̲ ̲F̲A̲N̲T̲A̲S̲Y̲ ̲M̲A̲Y̲ ̲G̲O̲ (cont'd) The fine material that appears in FFM and Fantastic Novels, if up in a form that made for the greatest possible legibility, would be read through by the ordinary reader at so fast a clip that his appetite would be insatiable; he would always want more, more and still more. "Amazing Stories" gives you trash in an easily readable form. Munsey gives you the classics of literature in legal type. I wonder when some g̲e̲n̲i̲u̲s̲ is going to contrive to combine the advantages of both? It'll probably take years. That done away with, let us take the above indications of collapse and examine them.The pro field to collapse simply because Famous Fantastic Mysteries cuts its price to ten cents and goes bi-monthly? That's a good joke. But you've now got "Fantastic Adventures to take the place of "Famous Fantastic Mysteries" the months it doesn't appear.! FFM gave you 128 pages every month. FN now gives you 144 pages every other month to balance FFM's 112, and charges 20¢ against FFM's 10¢. You get the same amount of fiction at the same price off the same company. Besides, the company gains, because both of their magazines are displayed on the stands for two months enhancing their possibilities of selling, they hope. "Fantastic Adventures" goes bi-monthly? But friends Ziff-Davis announces an ''Amazing Stories Quarterly" to fill in! So Ziff-Davis is s̲t̲i̲l̲l̲ producing the same amount of science-fiction. "Science Fiction" appears quarterly instead of monthly? But "Science Fiction Quarterly" will probably appear semi-annually to make up for it. "Strange Stories" cuts to ten cents. Well, there you have a magazine outside of the science-fiction field concentrating more on the weird line. The weird line isn't doing so good now gents. Note "Weird Tales" bi-monthly publication. The science-fiction is on top, with the weird stuff definitely bottoms—you never can tell. The position could reverse within a year. Now we reach the problem of life expectancy of the various magazines. Agreed that "Astounding Science Fiction","Thrilling Wonder Stories", and "Amazing Stories," the league-leaders,will continue to survive. If the bottom should drop out of science-fiction, "Amazing Stories" and "Thrilling Wonder Stories" would probably adopt a bi-monthly schedule, but could be expected to keep publishing. "Astounding Science Fiction" would continue its monthly policy even if it were losing money until Street & Smith had given up all hope of renaissance in the field. Then It would be unceremoniously dropped til science-fiction revived. Many fans point knowingly at "Science Fiction" and "Future Fiction" and mutter, "It won't be long now". Ha ha. Don't kid yourself pal. "Science Fiction" at least is here to stay. Even if Silberkliet only publishes one issue a year, he'll still keep It going. "Science Fiction had a lower expense account than probably any other science-fiction magazine. It is at present one of the better sellers on the Blue Ribbon pulp chain. "Future Fiction" outsells "Science Fiction" slightly., mainly because it is on the newsstands longer. "Science Fiction" and "Future Fiction" have always had more appeal for the fans because of their many pages of fan features. There, at least, they'll have a stable audience, — and I'll take bets that at least one of the Blue Ribbon pulps will keep publishing come hell and high water. (Continued on Page 13)