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Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

(August 16, 1970) It All Comes Tumbling Down [Vision of Tomorrow #12]

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Black & White Photo of writer of piece Kris Vyas-Mall
By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

Last month, I was so optimistic. Plans were afoot to expand the Graham Publishing SF magazines into three. First, as I touched on previously was to be Sword and Sorcery.

Cover for unpublished Sword & Sorcery #1 showing a Conan-esque barbarian leading a woman in a state of undress (ala Deja Thoris in Princess of Mars). Behind them is a dark gothic tower on a high mountain and skull like demon face watches over them from the sky.

This was to be a fantasy-oriented magazine edited by Ken Bulmer, which already had a bunch of great names attached to its first issue, including Michael Moorcock, John Brunner and Brian W. Aldiss. This project went as far as to have proofs printed, some of which have been making their way around fan circles (if someone has one, I would appreciate a copy).

The other was a Walter Gillings-edited venture called Vanguard. This would have been a reprint magazine akin to Famous Science Fiction but with more focus on British and Australian authors, John Russell Fearn in particular.

However, Graham has decided to instead cut his losses and has pulled the entire venture. Therefore, not only are the other two projects stillborn, this is going to be the final ever issue of Vision of Tomorrow.

Just as with the various New Worlds problems, this untimely demise seems to owe more to behind-the-scenes issues than to the actual quality of the magazine. Firstly, the distribution problem. I buy direct in order to avoid any such difficulties, but most people rely on shops stocking the magazine. New English Library are supposed to be the distributor but I know that even determined fans have struggled to see a copy out in the wild.

There has also been the global paper cost rise. As economies have expanded throughout the prior decade, paper demand has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, you cannot easily just harvest more trees into wood pulp and expand the number of saws in a mill. The whole cycle of expanding the forest areas to be harvested can take decades. There have been experiments with faster growing materials and moving to storing of more records on microfiche, but these are in the early stages and unlikely to be instituted in newly industrializing countries around the world. This all means that the average cost of printing a magazine has gone through the roof, which has made new ventures very difficult.

Finally, there seems to have been some commotions behind the scenes. The associate editor was removed from his post a few months back and there are reports of disagreements over content and format between Graham and Harbottle. How much this impacted the overall fortunes of the magazine I cannot confidently to say, but it is hard to imagine it has made anything easier.

So let us all raise our glasses and toast to the final issue of Vision of Tomorrow, an underappreciated venture, and mourn for what could have been:

Vision of Tomorrow #12

Vision of Tomorrow #12 Cover Illustrating Cassandra's Castle, showing Cassandra flying up into the sky on a jetpack as a large red hand extends from her abstract castle, an alien landscape in the background.
Cover by Stanley Pitt, and, to my eyes, the best they have done

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Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[July 14, 1970] Hit For Six (Vision of Tomorrow #11)

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Black & White Photo of writer of piece Kris Vyas-Mall
By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

So, Britain has a new Prime Minister. Edward “Ted” Heath (not the conductor). He couldn’t be more different from the last Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Hume. Heath is the son of a carpenter and a chambermaid. He worked in banking, is unmarried and has a passion for sailing yachts and playing the organ.

Black & White Photo of Prime Minister Edward Heath outside the door of 10 Downing Street, waving to the crowd Two microphones can be seen off the left hand side of the picture
Edward Heath moves into his new house

One of the first orders of business for him, as it would have been for Wilson, is a meeting with The Six, AKA the leaders of the six members of the European Economic Community, in order to discuss the possibility of Britain’s entry into the Common Market. This is a particular passion project for Heath, who is a known Francophile and whose previous negotiations in this era led to the press declaring him “Lord Heath of Brussels”.

In fact, Britain is not the only country trying to join. Ireland, Denmark and Sweden have all made applications to join and these have been going on for some time. There is however a reason this year will be different. That is the absence of Charles de Gaulle. Central to French politics over the last decade, he used his power to oppose any enlargement of the EEC.

Black and White Photo of the December Hague Summit 1969 showing people around a long table in The Hall of Knights in the Hague
The December Hague Summit

With his retirement and replacement by Pompidou, who has switched his approach to appeal to more liberal voters, the calculus has changed. Following the Hague Summit in December negotiations have officially begun again in Luxembourg. There are a number of points that are still subject to negotiation, but things appear to be moving forward.

In the pages of Vision of Tomorrow, Europhilia is on display and it is time for me to negotiate my way through six stories: some about major nations, some involving small grand duchies, but all will be covered with sufficient weight:

Vision of Tomorrow #11

Cover of Vision of Tomorrow #11 illustrating Last Vigil by Michael Moorcock with an advanced city with thin towering structures on a mountainous cliff edges above a stormy sea.
Cover by Eddie Jones

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Magazine/Anthology, Science Fiction/Fantasy

[June 18th, 1970] A Case of Déjà Vu (Vision of Tomorrow #10)

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Black & White Photo of writer of piece Kris Vyas-Mall
By Mx Kris Vyas-Myall

As I am writing this, voting in the UK General Election is taking place. However, we will have to wait until tomorrow for the results. As such, I want to address one of the biggest perpetual issues in Britain, the housing crisis.

It has become a kind of a dark joke over the last 50 years. At election time, every party leader will say how much they feel for the plight of the homeless and pledge to end the crisis. Then, as soon as voting is over, they will go back to ignoring the issue. Therefore, I feel, it is worth listing off the endemic problems causing this.

For a start, there is the obvious matter of money and organization. The UK spends a smaller share of GDP than the rest of Western Europe on housing and leaves decisions in the hands of local councils, which have a patchwork of plans. On top of that, housing building largely relies on the private sector who are more interested in high-priced luxury developments than on those for the poorest families.

Colour photo of the Ronan Point tower block, post-disaster where one corner has collapsed with ceilings hanging like loose tiles
Ronan Point, post-disaster

With this combination of political short-terminism, lack of investment and reliance on the private sector, it has led to a lot of poor-quality housing stock. An infamous example was the Ronan Point Disaster, where a gas explosion collapsed the corner of a tower block.

Black and White Advertisements for Homeless Charity Shelter. On the Left is one with a knife. The text reads: Sentenced the day he was born. He was born in a crumbling tenement, grew up in a room his family shared with rats and cockroaches. With no hope of escapee. He lived like a wild animal and was put away when he reacted like one. Over a million people live in conditions that are breeding grounds for delinquency, mental and physical illness, illiteracy, broken marriages. Shelter helps re-house some of the most badly off, and fights to get something going for the others. Our crying need is money. Give to shelter and you help give him a decent chance. The advert on the right has a razor blade. The text says: If Mrs. F. kills herself, it'll be third time lucky. For Mrs. F. death would be a happy release from the stinking hole she and her family live in. Twice she's tried suicide. To escape the stench, the damp, the flying insects, the peeling walls. At least a million people live in conditions that are breeding grounds that spawn mental and physical illness, crime, illiteracy, broken marriages. Shelter helps rescue some of the worst-hit and campaigns vigorously to get something done for the rest. But it's a big job. It takes big money. Please give all you can.
Some of Shelter’s recent advertisements

With this lack of a political solution, it is unsurprising that several groups in the voluntary sector have been trying to fill the gap. The biggest of these is Shelter and, whilst all major parties praise their work, they seem to be getting sick of the situation. They are now withholding funds from local authorities that don’t help the poorest in their communities and running advertisements blaming the current biggest social ills on the housing crisis.

There are also other groups taking more direct action. Running in the election in London is a loose party grouping called “Homes Before Roads”, opposing the plans to try to deal with London’s congestion by building a series of ring roads through current residential districts. In a different way there is also the Squatters’ Movement, who are taking control of empty housing stock and trying to get official recognition for their use by those who cannot afford to go anywhere else.

However, I am not hopeful of even direct action resulting in a solution. Whether Wilson or Heath are Prime Minister next week, I suspect the situation will still be much the same in the mid-70s: homelessness and poor-quality housing are endemic; the political parties say what a scandal this is; make vague promises at a solution; promptly ignore it again.

I am also getting a sense of déjà vu from the latest issue of Vision of Tomorrow, with an expansion of articles on the history of SF and the writers retreading old ground:

Vision of Tomorrow #10

Painted Colour cover for Vision of Tomorrow #10 (July 1970). Cover illustrating Echoes of Armageddon by Lee Harding. It shows the close up of the face of a man of ambiguous ethnicity in an environmental suit looking scared. In front of him are two people in environmental suits running along a path way dodging laser fire from futuristic flying drones. Behind this all is shadowy ruined Earth.
Cover by Stanley Pitt

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