Thrilling Wonder Biographies

[1939] Howard V. Brown cover illustration — “…And if any of you readers have some original ideas about this cover, I would like to hear about it, care of THE READER SPEAKS…” — Ray Cummings on page 37

★★★

TENTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE of Thrilling Wonder Stories (subtitled: ‘The Magazine of Prophetic Fiction’ and imprinted: ‘A Thrilling Publication’), June 1939, Vol. XIII, No. 3, published by Hugo Gernsback, featured biographies and photographs of “Our Science Fiction Family” on the pages 17 to 103. The sterling lineup of biographies of contributors included artists Jack Binder, Howard V. Brown, H.W. Wesso, Alex Schomburg, Virgil Finlay and Frank R. Paul, and writers John Taine, Otis Adelbert Kline, Ray Cummings, John Coleman Burroughs, Hulbert Burroughs, Earl and Otto (‘Eando’) Binder, Jack Williamson, Dr. Edward Elmer (‘E.E.’) Smith, Clifford D. Simak, Manley Wade Wellman, Frank Belknap Long, Jr., Max C. Sheridan, Stanton A. Coblentz, Robert Moore Williams, Carl Jacobi, Ward Hawkins, Henry Kuttner, Edmond Hamilton, Arthur J. Burks, Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr., Ralph Milne Farley, Leo Morey, Mark Marchioni, Dr. David H. Keller and the late Stanley G. Weinbaum. Weinbaum’s last story (Dec 1938) was uncompleted at his death and was finished by his sister Helen Weinbaum.

[2]

HUGO GERNSBACK’S MAGAZINE Science Wonder Stories began in June 1929 when another term to describe its type of storytelling was ‘scientifiction.’ The following year the magazine’s title was shortened to Wonder Stories. Eventually Gernsback sold the periodical to Ned Pines at Standard Publishing. As the pulp fiction market began to slump, Eando Binder and Alex Schomburg moved on to the burgeoning comic book field.

[17]

[35]

[37]

[41]

[55]

[63]

[77]

[85]

[86]

[87]

[88]

[89]

[90]

[95]

[103]

THANKS to Ulrich Merkl for the images.

The Ship of Ishtar

Today's posting of an article on Abraham Merritt, Lord of Fantasy, by Sam Moskowitz here sent me to the closet to dig out my 5th edition copy of Ship of Ishtar, from Avon paperbacks, shown above. The illustration was by fantasy artist Stephen Fabian. Next I went on a hunt through the library and found some intriguing books. The best was this 1934 memorial edition of Ishtar, cover art by Edgar Cirlin, interiors by fan favorite Virgil Finlay.

Our hero John Kenyon receives a queer block from ancient Babylon inscribed with the record of Sargon of Akkad. He strikes the stone and as it disintegrates a miniature elfin ship comes forth, a cloud of dust covers Kenyon, and he is transported to the deck of the ship where he encounters the beautiful temptress Sharane and the evil Nergal, Lord of the Dead. As the alliterative blurb says, The Ship of Ishtar is "a novel limned in lapis lazuli." Merritt's purple adventures were so popular that in 1966 Avon boasted sales of 5,000,000 copies of his reprinted works.