Fantastic Science Fiction

*Fantastic Science Fiction*
Editor	Howard Browne
Categories	Fantasy fiction, science fiction
Publisher	Ziff Davis
Year founded	1952
Final issue	1980
Country	United States
Language	English

Fantastic was an American digest-size fantasy and science fiction magazine. It was published from 1952 to 1980. Ziff Davis started it as a fantasy companion to Amazing Stories. Within a few years sales went down. Howard Browne, the editor, was forced to switch to science fiction not fantasy. Browne lost interest in the magazine. The magazine often published poor-quality fiction in the mid-1950s, under Browne and his successor, Paul W. Fairman. At the end of the 1950s, Cele Goldsmith took over as editor of both Fantastic and Amazing Stories. Goldsmith helped to support the early careers of writers such as Roger Zelazny and Ursula K. Le Guin. In 1965 the magazines were sold to Sol Cohen, who hired Joseph Wrzos as editor and switched to a reprint-only policy. This was financially successful, but brought Cohen into conflict with the newly formed Science Fiction Writers of America. At the end of the 1960s, Ted White became editor and the reprints were stopped.

White worked hard to make the magazine successful, introducing artwork from comics artistsBut, in 1978, Cohen sold out his half of the business to his partner, Arthur Bernhard. White resigned soon after. Elinor Mavor was the next editor, but within two years Bernhard decided to close down Fantastic. He combined it with Amazing Stories, which had always enjoyed a slightly higher circulation.

References

Ashley, Mike (2000). The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the beginning to 1950. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-865-0.
Ashley, Mike (2005). Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 0-85323-779-4.
Ashley, Mike (2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970 to 1980. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-003-4.
Atheling Jr., William (1967). The Issue at Hand. Chicago: Advent, Inc.
Clute, John; Grant, John (1997). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc. ISBN 0-312-15897-1.
Clute, John; Peter Nicholls (1993). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-09618-6.
de Camp, L. Sprague (1953). Science-Fiction Handbook: The Writing of Imaginative Fiction. New York: Hermitage House.
del Rey, Lester (1979). The World of Science Fiction: 1926–1976: The History of a Subculture. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25452-X.
Kyle, David (1977). The Pictorial History of Science Fiction. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-38193-5.
Pohl, Frederik (1979). The Way the Future Was. London: Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-02672-3.
Tuck, Donald H. (1982). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 3. Chicago: Advent. ISBN 0-911682-26-0.
Tymn, Marshall B.; Mike Ashley (1985). Science Fiction, Fantasy and Weird Fiction Magazines. West: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-21221-X.

Other websites

Media related to Fantastic (magazine) at Wikimedia Commons