by Victoria Silverwolf (if you found us at San Diego Comic-Con and can't figure out why we seem to be 55 years behind you, this should clear things up!) Bad News Drives Out Good News This month started off in a optimistic way, as President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act on July 2, after … Continue reading [July 20, 1964] Dashed Hopes (August 1964 Fantastic)
[At time of publication, the state funeral for our late President, John F. Kennedy is underway. Given the tumult of the last few days, we can only hope this article marks the resumption of some kind of normalcy, such as may yet be possible…] by Victoria Silverwolf My colleagues have already written eloquently about the … Continue reading [November 25, 1963] State of Shock (December 1963 Fantastic)
by Victoria Silverwolf This month it seemed as if many news items evinced memories of previous happenings. Often these occurred on the anniversaries of earlier events, creating a sense of familiarity. Nigeria, granted independence from the United Kingdom on October 1, 1960, became a republic on the same date three years later. Governor-General Nnamdi Azikiwe … Continue reading [October 24, 1963] Sounds Familiar (November 1963 Fantastic)
by Gideon Marcus Around the world, events herald a heightened rate of change. Civil Rights marchers and boycotters in Birmingham, Alabama have been met with fire hoses, attack dogs, and mass incarceration. Casualty reports for servicemen killed in Vietnam are becoming a weekly occurrence. In a more hopeful vein, the nuclear test ban group at … Continue reading [May 6, 1963] The more things change… (June 1963 Galaxy)
by Victoria Silverwolf It might be my imagination, but it seems that events came in pairs this month. On April Fools' Day, two new medical soap operas premiered on American television. I'm not fond of that genre – give me Route 66 or Alfred Hitchcock Presents when I want something other than science fiction and … Continue reading [April 23, 1963] Double, Double (May 1963 Fantastic)
by Gideon Marcus Science fiction has risen from its much maligned, pulpish roots to general recognition and even acclaim. Names like Heinlein, MacLean, Anderson, Asimov, and St. Clair are now commonly known. They are the vanguard of the several hundred men and women actively writing in our genre. One name that comes up again and … Continue reading [Apr. 17, 1963] Would-be poetical (May 1963 Fantasy and Science Fiction)
by Victoria Silverwolf Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. (The more it changes, the more it's the same thing.) Jean-Baptiste Alphose Karr, Les Guêpes, January 1849 Those famous words of the noted French journalist of the previous century are worth pondering at this time, when we look forward to a new year. Thanks … Continue reading [December 22, 1962] The More Things Change . . . (January 1963 Fantastic)
by Gideon Marcus Since humans have been a species, there has always been a frontier. Whether it be Alaska for the first settlers of the Americas, or the New World (for Europeans), or the Wild West (for White Americans), there has always been an "over there" to explore. Today, our frontiers are the frozen Arctics, … Continue reading [July 9, 1962] To the New Frontier (August 1962 Galaxy Science Fiction)
by John Boston Last month, I asked: can they keep it up? Amazing’s marked increase in quality, that is. Well, no, not this month anyway. The May 1962 Amazing labors under a large handicap: half of it is given over to The Airlords of Han by Philip Francis Nowlan, the second Buck Rogers novella, reprinted … Continue reading [April 15, 1962] REGRESSION TO THE MEAN (the May 1962 Amazing)
by Gideon Marcus It's not quite time for a funeral, yet! Nearly a decade ago, the Chicken Littles of our genre scribbled at length in our magazines and buttonholed each other at conventions to voice their fears that science fiction was dying. Well, it is true that we are down to just six American sff … Continue reading [February 14, 1962] St. Valentine's Update (The Second Sex in SFF, Part V)
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