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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 9, Winter 1945-1946
Page 228
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228 FANTASY COMMENTATOR case of all, however, was that involving Clifton B. Kruse, who did not know that his "Heat Destroyer" had ever been published. He had submitted it years ago to a contest sponsored by the magazine, and later received from them an empty envelope torn open at one end; believing the story to have been returned and lost in the mails, he had not pursued the matter further. This non-payment scandal was aired in detail by the TFG Bulletin. Moral support was received from Stanley G. Weinbaum and Henry Hasse, the latter referring his grievance to the literary agency he patronized. Aid was also lent by the International Cosmos Scientific Association, a group which had but recently sprung into existence, and concerning which we will learn more in later chapters. This aid involved the mimeographing by the ICSA of the April, 1935 Bulletin that carried the major story of the matter. This particular number received wide distribution, and the adverse effect it had on the Gernsback regime was considerable. (Wollheim's article therein was reprinted in the January 1, 1941 number of Fantasy News as a boomerang against its author in a situation where conditions were allegedly reversed, and may be consulted by those interested in a more detailed account than space permits giving here.) The upshot of the whole affair was that Nevins, Cuthbert and Barnes pooled their claims with Wollheim; a lawyer was hired, and a settlement with Gernsback finally arrived it. Mention of the last issue of the TFG Bulletin need be made but to cite a few minor matters. First, probably as reward for being an open ally in the above campaign, the ICSA was accorded official recommendation. Second, the formation of local TFG groups received sanction. And last of all, there appeared an account of an "Impossible Story Club," which was allegedly founded in the Argosy-Allstory days before the advent of science-fiction magazines, and which included such members as N.E.P. North, Ivan Nepolis, B. Murdock, etc. As far as this historian can determine, no such club ever existed, its name and membership list being a fabrication from the whole cloth by Wilson Shepard. One of the TFG's objectives had been the publication of a magazine devoted entirely to science-fiction. This was realized when in May, 1935 there appeared Astonishing Stories, an eleven-paged, small-sized, hectographed affair which sold for ten cents. Stories by Wollheim, Evert, Shepard and North were included. The almost ludicrous attempt of the sheet to pass itself off as a competitor to the professional magazines doomed it from the start, and the greatest success it ever attained was being considered a rare item by fan collectors of 1937-1938. Wollheim assumed the editorship of the TFG organ, and promptly changed its title to The Phantagraph. And after a single hektographed number it metamorphosed to printed format. The first printed number (for whose reproduction W. L. Crawford was responsible) appeared in the summer of 1935. It had large-sized pages and featured an excellent array of material; encouragement from such notables as F. Orlin Tremaine (then editor of Astounding Stories) and H.P. Lovecraft also materialized. Shortly afterward Shepard obtained access to a printed outfit and took over production itself. Encouraged by the excellent material being received from Smith, Lovecraft and others, Wollheim decided to pattern the publication after the now defunct Fantasy Fan. Simultaneously The Phantagraph was standardized on a monthly schedule and small format. The quality of material used was very high, and in this respect the magazine easily equaled its ideal. Short stories, poems, and essays by H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Henry Kuttner, Robert E. Howard, William Lumley, Duane W. Rimel, Robert Nelson, H. C. Koenig, Emil Peteja and August W. Derleth were featured. Some of this material had been intended for publication in The Fantasy Fan, as might be suspected. Collectors who have overlooked this periodical have missed much indeed. Wolheim distributed The Phantagraph through the mailings of three amateur press associations simultaneously. For a few numbers it kept the head-
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228 FANTASY COMMENTATOR case of all, however, was that involving Clifton B. Kruse, who did not know that his "Heat Destroyer" had ever been published. He had submitted it years ago to a contest sponsored by the magazine, and later received from them an empty envelope torn open at one end; believing the story to have been returned and lost in the mails, he had not pursued the matter further. This non-payment scandal was aired in detail by the TFG Bulletin. Moral support was received from Stanley G. Weinbaum and Henry Hasse, the latter referring his grievance to the literary agency he patronized. Aid was also lent by the International Cosmos Scientific Association, a group which had but recently sprung into existence, and concerning which we will learn more in later chapters. This aid involved the mimeographing by the ICSA of the April, 1935 Bulletin that carried the major story of the matter. This particular number received wide distribution, and the adverse effect it had on the Gernsback regime was considerable. (Wollheim's article therein was reprinted in the January 1, 1941 number of Fantasy News as a boomerang against its author in a situation where conditions were allegedly reversed, and may be consulted by those interested in a more detailed account than space permits giving here.) The upshot of the whole affair was that Nevins, Cuthbert and Barnes pooled their claims with Wollheim; a lawyer was hired, and a settlement with Gernsback finally arrived it. Mention of the last issue of the TFG Bulletin need be made but to cite a few minor matters. First, probably as reward for being an open ally in the above campaign, the ICSA was accorded official recommendation. Second, the formation of local TFG groups received sanction. And last of all, there appeared an account of an "Impossible Story Club," which was allegedly founded in the Argosy-Allstory days before the advent of science-fiction magazines, and which included such members as N.E.P. North, Ivan Nepolis, B. Murdock, etc. As far as this historian can determine, no such club ever existed, its name and membership list being a fabrication from the whole cloth by Wilson Shepard. One of the TFG's objectives had been the publication of a magazine devoted entirely to science-fiction. This was realized when in May, 1935 there appeared Astonishing Stories, an eleven-paged, small-sized, hectographed affair which sold for ten cents. Stories by Wollheim, Evert, Shepard and North were included. The almost ludicrous attempt of the sheet to pass itself off as a competitor to the professional magazines doomed it from the start, and the greatest success it ever attained was being considered a rare item by fan collectors of 1937-1938. Wollheim assumed the editorship of the TFG organ, and promptly changed its title to The Phantagraph. And after a single hektographed number it metamorphosed to printed format. The first printed number (for whose reproduction W. L. Crawford was responsible) appeared in the summer of 1935. It had large-sized pages and featured an excellent array of material; encouragement from such notables as F. Orlin Tremaine (then editor of Astounding Stories) and H.P. Lovecraft also materialized. Shortly afterward Shepard obtained access to a printed outfit and took over production itself. Encouraged by the excellent material being received from Smith, Lovecraft and others, Wollheim decided to pattern the publication after the now defunct Fantasy Fan. Simultaneously The Phantagraph was standardized on a monthly schedule and small format. The quality of material used was very high, and in this respect the magazine easily equaled its ideal. Short stories, poems, and essays by H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Henry Kuttner, Robert E. Howard, William Lumley, Duane W. Rimel, Robert Nelson, H. C. Koenig, Emil Peteja and August W. Derleth were featured. Some of this material had been intended for publication in The Fantasy Fan, as might be suspected. Collectors who have overlooked this periodical have missed much indeed. Wolheim distributed The Phantagraph through the mailings of three amateur press associations simultaneously. For a few numbers it kept the head-
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